SOMEBODY’S WATCHING ME: Replies to the ’80s music post so far:

Both Mansfield Fox and the SoDakMonk point out that Culture Club was a several-hit wonder. This is true. (And given how much I love the Violent Femmes’ cover of “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”, I should have remembered that.) So, in the previous post, replace the mention of “Karma Chameleon” with the song in the title of this post. …The Monk also suggests an alternative, techie explanation.

Unfogged suggests: Coke Is It.

Father Shawn O’Neal (and how is it that a post about ’80s music brought me mail from two priests?) writes:

Loads of ’80s pop did not have the punk sound, but it had the punk mentality of “Don’t waste time recording junk.”

If the ’80s band is British, the members were ticked because of the supposed Thatcherite junta and its supposed economic wasteland.

If the band was from Europe, the members were paranoid in the spirit of “99 Luftballoons” that Reagan, Thatcher, and whomever was in Kremlin was going to lob a heap of missiles that would accidentally stall out over the continent.

If the band was from the South (Let’s Active comes to mind), it was because they caught the idea off a Joy Division record and they had the crazy idea that angst could carry over with Rickenbackers.

My angst theory really comes down to awe of Ian Curtis or the jealous desire to out-Ian Ian.

More theories? Keep ’em coming….