It's Friday...You Know What That Means! FMF Is Back!
After a short, tryptophan- and carbohydrate-induced coma last week, we return to musical excursions in time with the Friday Musical Flashback.
Today's edition features one of the most loved (and successful) examples of the crossover-driven 80's songs from Britain. From the short-lived creative powerhouse that was the Eurythmics, comes Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).
Annie Lennox and Dave Steward had been recording music together for a few years, making themselves minor celebrities in Europe. In 1982, they recorded a moody, minimalist, stark synth-driven track that would become a worldwide smash well before reaching US shores late that year. Everything about the tune is unforgettable, from the simple notes and chords emanating from Steward's synth programming, to Lennox's haunting voice. Up to that point, no one had been able to integrate that cold, electronic, Kraftwerk-type, mainland Europe trance-pop, with the warm, American-inflected music coming from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
This was the track to do just that.
And, as they say, the proof is in the pudding: Sweet Dreams was simultaneously a #1 Pop song, #2 club single, top 20 mainstream rock, and top 40 adult contemporary song. Who does that?!
Not only was the music innovative, the visual imagery crafted for the song was equally notable. The striking video, featuring Annie Lennox's incredible cheekbones and her early Grace Jones-like, close-cropped "traffic-cone-orange" hair, along with Steward playing his cello among cows in a pasture, helped to define MTV in the 80's. (I wanted to link in the video, but the bums at SonyBMG requested that YouTube disable embedding. Here's the link to the page where you can find the video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=QQHrspjw4aA)
After two decades-plus, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) still sounds sexy, inviting and simultaneously, distant and off-putting. Indeed, sweet dreams are still made of all that!
The flashback joint for the last Friday in November: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by the Eurythmics.
Eurythmics :: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Album: Sweet Dreams
Released: 1983
Billboard peak: #1 Pop Singles, #2 Club Play Singles, #16 Mainstream Rock, #36 Adult Conteporary
Play the Track: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (to download, Mac users, Control-click, and choose 'Save Link As...' Windows users right-click the link and choose 'Save Target As...').
Today's edition features one of the most loved (and successful) examples of the crossover-driven 80's songs from Britain. From the short-lived creative powerhouse that was the Eurythmics, comes Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).
Annie Lennox and Dave Steward had been recording music together for a few years, making themselves minor celebrities in Europe. In 1982, they recorded a moody, minimalist, stark synth-driven track that would become a worldwide smash well before reaching US shores late that year. Everything about the tune is unforgettable, from the simple notes and chords emanating from Steward's synth programming, to Lennox's haunting voice. Up to that point, no one had been able to integrate that cold, electronic, Kraftwerk-type, mainland Europe trance-pop, with the warm, American-inflected music coming from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
This was the track to do just that.
And, as they say, the proof is in the pudding: Sweet Dreams was simultaneously a #1 Pop song, #2 club single, top 20 mainstream rock, and top 40 adult contemporary song. Who does that?!
Not only was the music innovative, the visual imagery crafted for the song was equally notable. The striking video, featuring Annie Lennox's incredible cheekbones and her early Grace Jones-like, close-cropped "traffic-cone-orange" hair, along with Steward playing his cello among cows in a pasture, helped to define MTV in the 80's. (I wanted to link in the video, but the bums at SonyBMG requested that YouTube disable embedding. Here's the link to the page where you can find the video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=QQHrspjw4aA)
After two decades-plus, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) still sounds sexy, inviting and simultaneously, distant and off-putting. Indeed, sweet dreams are still made of all that!
The flashback joint for the last Friday in November: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by the Eurythmics.
Eurythmics :: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)Album: Sweet Dreams
Released: 1983
Billboard peak: #1 Pop Singles, #2 Club Play Singles, #16 Mainstream Rock, #36 Adult Conteporary
Play the Track: Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (to download, Mac users, Control-click, and choose 'Save Link As...' Windows users right-click the link and choose 'Save Target As...').
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Yes, definitely a great song! Thanks for the flashback.