Pat Benatar had a string of hits back in the 80's, along with several multi-platinum album releases and a slew of Grammy awards. Her debut album, "In The Heat Of The Night" was released shortly after signing to Chrysalis records in 1979. She was signed as a result of getting the attention of record executives through a regular gig at "Catch A Rising Star" in the late 70's. 

 

Unlike other female rock vocalists, Benatar had not been part of a band before getting signed as a solo artist. Linda Ronstadt had Stone Poneys, Cyndi Lauper had Blue Angel, Gwen Stefani had No Doubt, even Madonna had the Breakfast Club. 

Now it's true that Benatar subsequently formed a band with guitarist/producer/eventual husband Neil Giraldo after getting signed, and that band pretty much kept a consistent line-up throughout her career. But there was no band-she-fronted-before-going-solo for Pat Benatar. What she did have was a classically trained voice that could run circles around most of her contemporaries. She also has the distinction of having the second video ever played on MTV back when it debuted in the 80's (it came on right after The Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star.") Which video was it?

The late late movie on cable right now is the 1984 Coen Brothers film "Blood Simple." Even though The I should be asleep, it's no use. I'm hooked. It's a great film, and not really a film that one can have on in the background. 

Missing out on the subtleties (by attempting to write while half-watching) is to miss out on the essence of the film. "Blood Simple" was the first major film release for the Coen Brothers, yet it comes off like the work of seasoned vets. Some of the actors who appeared in the film would turn up in other Coen Brothers films (notably Frances McDormand, who also turned up at the altar next to Joel Coen in 1984). 

In the same manner that Spielberg frequently casts Tom Cruise and Tim Burton repeatedly uses Johnny Depp, the Coen Brothers would develop a group of actors who would rotate in and out of their films. There's McDormand, who would later make her star turn in "Fargo," along with others like John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, and John Turturro. 

Veteran character actor Dan Hedaya's only Coen Brothers film was "Blood Simple," in which he's one of the five main characters. But he has a credit in common with actress Frances McDormant. Both had recurring roles in a popular 80's TV cop drama, although it doesn't look like their characters ever appeared together in the same episode. What was the show?

Following the previous post's theme of bands with the word 'sister' in their name, what do we get if we look up bands with 'brother' in their name? Lots and lots and lots, far outnumbering the sisters. And, whereas several bands with 'sister' in the name were nevertheless lacking any female members, it is also rare to find a band of 'brothers' that has any female members. 

 

The use of 'brothers' appears to be more literally taken, too, with far more actual 'brothers' than there were actual 'sisters.' The Righteous Brothers, The Everly Brothers, The Brothers Johnson, The Allman Brothers, The Isley Brothers, The Neville Brothers, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Chemical Brothers, and who can forget The Doobie Brothers? 

There are not as many bands from the 80's using the word, though. The Blues Brothers, The Pontiac Brothers, and The LeRoi Brothers come to mind, and it is true that The Jungle Brothers put out their first record in the 80's. But wait, we're forgetting Bros! 

To be fair, most of the civilized world has forgotten Bros, but let's see if our readers remember anything about them. At the heart of the group were an actual pair of twin brothers, their manager had also managed The Pet Shop Boys, and they scored eleven Top 40 hits in their native U.K. before virtually disappearing from sight. Their first big hit was released in 1987, it reached #2 in England and Switzerland and #1 in Ireland. It was also their only entry in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, stalling at #83 (to be fair, they did a little better on the dance charts). Considering the band's eventual fate, you gotta love the title of the song. What was it?

A while back the "Message" took on the subject bands with the word "twins" in their name (Thompson Twins, Cocteau Twins) that did not include any actual twins. But what about other band names based on familial relationships? 

In the case of sisters, both The Pointer Sisters and Sister Sledge did feature actual sisters. Not so with The Sisters of Mercy, though. Dee Snider might have looked a little like somebody's sister (if that somebody was Sammy Hagar), but Twisted Sister had no actual sisters. And the name Shakespeare's Sister owed more to The Smiths' song catalog than to any siblings of the Bard of Avon. It's a similar story for the Manchester trio that had a hit in 1986 with "Break Out." What was the full name of the band?

Last week the sky was falling over in Russia, in the form of a meteor that fell to earth. Fortunately nobody overreacted in the fashion predicted by at least a few apocalyptic films from the 80's - no counterstrike, no accidental armageddon. And anyways, WWIII is SUPPOSED to be initiated by the release of a red balloon, not by a meteorite.

Comedian, Steven Colbert got the opportunity to make jokes about the 80's arcade game "Asteroids" before The I had the chance (Grrr), but we can still use the occasion to offer some "Asteroids" related trivia. Atari's "Asteroids" was the most successful arcade game the company ever released, and it has long since earned an exalted status among video games.

Shortly after its release in 1979, the game inspired sequels, home versions, imitators, and bootlegs, some of which are still showing up today. Rumor has it there's supposed to be a Hollywood film inspired by the game. I remembers how, intentionally or not, the game's appearance coincided with the release of the first Star Wars sequel "The Empire Strikes Back." The asteroid chase was one of the best parts of the film, and upon exiting the Mall theater after watching it for the 27th time, one could head over to the arcade for several rounds of Atari's "Asteroids." 

Several films from the 80's featured shots of "Asteroids" arcade game, either in the background, or being played by the characters. These included "Fast Times At Ridgemont High," "War Games," and "Terms Of Endearment." But perhaps the most ironic, given last weeks dashcam images of the Russian meteor streaking through the sky, was a 1984 film starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, and Robert Beltran. It featured teenagers left to fend for themselves in a post apocalyptic wasteland populated by zombies, only this time thermonuclear war was not actually to blame. What was the name of the film?

In honor of Valentine's day, the "Message" contemplates the works of one of the great romantics - Bryan Ferry. I was checking out some selections from Bryan Ferry's 2012 album "The Jazz Age" today. It's a collection of Ferry's best known tunes redone in a 1920's ragtime jazz kind of style. While not entirely novel, the experiment is more than a novelty. The interesting part, especially from a sound engineering point of view, is the success the album achieves in sounding like it was recorded some time between the world wars. 

What's more, the songs are done as instrumentals! Other rock stars of the 80's have taken a stab at revisiting the big band sound (Joe Jackson's "Jumpin' Jive," as well as numerous releases by The Brian Setzer Orchestra), but they typically retained most of their identity throughout. Considering how much of Ferry's artistic identity is tied to his voice, it's a gutsy move to push the mic aside. It's likely that a listener who wasn't in on the setup wouldn't even know it was him. But I guess being as successful as Bryan Ferry means that you don't have to obsess about being properly identified (unless someone mistakes you for Christian Bale.) 

Bryan Ferry's success began back in the 70's with the incredibly influential Roxy Music. He started developing his solo career early on, and much of it ran concurrent to his participation in Roxy Music. His 1985 album "Boys and Girls" was his only U.K. #1 as a solo artist, and is probably his best known album in the U.S. But 1987's "Bete Noire" should not be overlooked. Without losing sight of Ferry's signature style, it manages to be a little more adventurous. This is probably in part thanks to the collaborative nature of the record. David Gilmour makes an appearance, and producer Patrick Leonard shares writing credits on several songs. Just as noteworthy is the co-writing credit for the song "The Right Stuff." No, it wasn't a New Kid, it was someone much cooler. Who was it?

Scanning through the endless newsfeeds, I've noted that an online friend has posted a video by Kid Creole and The Coconuts. Hearing Kid Creole takes me back to my college days. Kid Creole's third album "Tropical Gangsters" was in regular rotation at the time, and understandably so. Probably the standout album in the band's catalog, it featured the U.K. hits "Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy" and "Stool Pigeon." 

Ol' Kid Creole was ahead of the curve, too. The record had swing before the swing craze, "gangsters" before the gangstas, and an homage to Cab Calloway (in the form of the Kid himself) years before Janet Jackson's "Alright" (to be fair, Ms. Jackson did get the genuine article for her vid.) Kid Creole's Cab Calloway inspired persona was all part of his schtick, the invention of frontman August Darnell. Darnell an eager and energetic performer from the Bronx who started his first band in the 60's, and spent time in Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band during the 70's. 

Putting together a latin swing ensemble and releasing a cycle of theme albums about a mystery woman, all the while appearing in a yellow zoot suit and fedora, might not have seemed like an obvious move in 1980. But Kid Creole's catchy tunes caught a break on the U.K. charts, and the band has managed to persist in one form or another to this day. Not only that, they've had several appearances in major films, they produced stage shows, they had their own T.V. movie, and they even collaborated with Prince and Sheila E. Perhaps we'll save their six degrees of separation with the New Wave Blitz crowd for next week, but for now: 

The band's breakthrough 1982 album "Tropical Gangsters" was released in the U.S., but the American record label changed the title. Perhaps they were nervous about the notion of "gangsters" as a theme for a record (an anxiety they've clearly overcome since), but they decided to call it something else. So what was the U.S. title of Kid Creole & The Coconuts' third album?