Best year in Music - full stop! I was 14 and have so many great memories from the profound 'music of my youth' It is the joy of growing up in Southern Ontario where we had access to all the music from Toronto at that time. Thank you for the memories
40years hard to believe getting old really suxs yikes omg scary gosh who would have thought certain age and point in life we all realizing.Class of 85-89 it's that's me
The first time that I saw this video was in the summer of 1984 on the music video series, Night Tracks on SuperStation WTBS. WTBS is now called just TBS. I love this song very much!!!
I always thought of Martha and the Muffins as a New Modernist or Mod band, the short name for Modernist. The reason being, for me, there is a vital clue there, looking at the Two Tone coloured floor, where it was filmed. Though I agree, there is a small touch of New Wave in this song. If they had done more songs like this, and Saigon, they might have been the next B-52's.
It was way ahead of it's time. We thought the world would keep moving forward, from where we were back then. 1984 seemed like just another step in the inexorable advance into the future... Little did any of us know that it was to be a high water mark, a zenith, a peak from which culture, music, and society would descend... to whatever anyone wants to call the cluster we live in now. Cheers!
Such a fab song. I was blown away the first time I heard it way back when. Pretty innovative video for the time as well. The 80s were truly the last great decade in music.
Wow! For years I've been trying to find out who played the bass on this track. I will research Eluriel Tinker Barfield, and I'm very grateful to you for pointing me in this direction.
Peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts, No. 11 in Canada (I believe), and No. 46 on the U.K. Singles Chart in 1984. Great New Wave song.
I'm from Toronto Canada and I remember watching this video on MUCH MUSIC as a kid and I loved it thanks for uploading this video I don't even remember the last time I saw this video but I still hear this song once in while on the radio and why not it's a great song.
It's true they weren't a staple for radio play across the US, but anyone who cared enough to seek out interesting music, knows about M&M. They're the early production work of Daniel Lanois. This particular video played MTV A LOT. I don't have an algorithm to tell you the degree of their following, but if you didn't hear them, that settles it. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I heard them on the radio plenty, and I still have the original LPs up to 1985 that I brought brand new.
Black Stations White Stations 1984 catchy,like Eurythmics with 1984 or Van Halen 1984 intro riff.Their biggest hit this tho it says to be blessed and part of the greatest decade of all time never to forget miss it so much oh hail the 80s atmosphere could harp on and explain vibes and feelings like no other time or place in history
Gotta say this...with all due respect, Martha, you really turned me on during the 80's...I wanted to marry you after I saw M+M perform at Ontario Place. LOLOL Superb memories.
Oh my god...I've loved '80s music all my life and I've just discovered this gem NOW? (in 2021). Well I'm glad I eventually did--awesome song, awesome message, awesome video. It's SO '80S and I love it. That whole geometric checkered aesthetic is just cool. I kinda want that living room. :P (And the keyboard.)
those were certainly great times i remember coming back into the the city of Toronto and hearing was very inspiring for my own musical endeavours I may have posted something before about how it's too bad that not many people outside of TORonto have heard of this but thankfully that changes with TH-cam and posts like this keep listening Cheers!
Thanks ROoooo80. We've remastered 'Mystery Walk' including B-sides and dance mixes. Once we've finished with Martha's 'SOLO•ONE' project we'll be putting MW out.
Amazing drums from Yogi Horton on this project. He died a few years after this was recorded. His finesse and powerful grooves helped to push M+M to the next level (in my opinion). He also worked with Luther Vandross among many others.
This song is funny yet has a message. I remember calling a radio station requesting a song knowing it is a top 10, top 5 record just to hear DJ tell me " that song doesn't fit our format."
This really was one of the great songs of the New Wave Era. I was always hoping WLIR / WDRE in New York would play Martha and the Muffins / M+M. Echo Beach and, more so, Black Stations / Whites Stations really stuck out. This song is iconic for 1984....
I remember WLUM/Milwaukee and WHRK/Memphis playing the song. It even packed dance floors at Milwaukee's Park Avenue, Papagaio, Tropicana, Club 219 and La Cage. That and the song's lyrics prompted me to buy the 12 inch and even my sisters couldn't get enough playing it to death. BTW this was their only major hit on Billboard's Dance/Club Play Chart, where it peaked at number 2 in 1984.
I'm bi-racial (black/white) My BFF is white. We sing this song all the freakin' time and use it to find each other in crowded areas. Thank you Martha & the Muffins for this song! It's ICONIC Canadian 80s.
So many "New Wave" bands successfully blended their sound with something a little more "soulful"....Talking Heads, Falco, Wang Chung, Buggles, Martha and the Muffins!!! What a fun new sound (at the time). I was entering my teen years and was very excited by this sound.
I only remember seeing this video once back in 1984 on the N.Y.-based R&B/dance music show HOT TRACKS (it came on WDIV Channel 4 in Detroit at 1:00 a.m. Saturday nights.) Don't ever remember playing this on MTV back in the day, or anywhere else. And yeah, they never quite took off in the U.S. at all, for whatever the reason--too bad, because this was a cute little fun song. I always thought the song was referring to how music stations were segregated to some extent at the time.
+Howard B. Chak I distinctly recall hearing this song for the very first time on the weekly 1050 CHUM Top 30 Countdown in Toronto on the evening of Thursday, March 29, 1984. And, as a matter of fact, MuchMusic at the time did not sign on until five months later on Labour Day weekend of that year (September 1, 1984).
I distinctly recall hearing this song for the very first time while I was listening to the weekly 1050 CHUM Top 30 Countdown on the evening of Thursday, March 29, 1984 (while I was a Grade 8 student at Bliss Carman Senior Public School out in suburban Scarborough, Ontario). (I also remember that this song was not issued as being from Martha and the Muffins at the time, but being from "M + M" instead.) Similarly, looking from another perspective, but hard to believe one of my favourite women in the world, former Denver Broncos Cheerleader Amanda Lofland (DBC from 2008 to 2010; and 2012) would be born a little more than five months later [one week after I not only started Grade 9 at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute on Tuesday, September 4, 1984, but it was also on that exact same day that Brian Mulroney was elected Prime Minister of Canada as well (when Brian Mulroney's ruling Progressive Conservative party won 211 seats in the then 282 seat House of Commons)]. As a matter of fact, I now colloquially refer to the 1984 Canadian federal election as "the federal election that happened in Canada one week prior to Amanda Lofland being born (in Denver, Colorado)." On a personal note here, but not only have I battled social anxiety disorder for very much all of my life, but also at my school dance that same afternoon, there was a girl whom I so wanted to dance with (and, in many respects, is a dead ringer for Amanda Lofland appearance wise) that day named Michelle Atkinson. Nevertheless, I was so fearful of being rejected by Michelle upon asking her to dance (I had major self-confidence issues back then, basically due to being regarded as an outsider in society by the majority of my peers while I was growing up) that I chickened out that particular day (and was consequently quite upset about it afterwards). In any case anyone wants to know here, but at the next school dance on Friday, June 1, 1984, I actually did gather the courage in order to ask Michelle Atkinson to dance. Not only did she dance with me, but it was also the highlight of my afternoon as well (considering that the song I danced to with Michelle was, fittingly enough, Foreigner's "Waiting For A Girl Like You"). Just as I considered Michelle Atkinson to be prettiest girl in the entire school during the 1983-84 school year [considering that she was a Grade 7 student, whereas I was a Grade 8 student (there was only Grades 7 & 8 at this particular school)], I also consider Amanda Lofland to be the prettiest Denver Broncos Cheerleader of all-time [sorry to all you Renee Herlocker fans out there (considering that I was actually one of Renee's fans prior to me discovering Amanda back in May 2009)]. Put another way, if I had to pick nowadays between wanting to dance with either Michelle Atkinson or Amanda Lofland, I would probably have a very difficult deciding in the process (although I would probably give the slight edge to Michelle in the end). Fast forward to the afternoon of Friday, December 22, 2000. After my psychopath-narcissist mother walked out on my father back in March 1988, my paranoid schizophrenic father, more or less, left me to fend for myself afterwards [inasmuch as not really giving me any kind of financial support whatsoever (upon finally deciding to cut me off completely, financially speaking, upon me obtaining my undergraduate at the University of Toronto Scarborough in June 1993)]. Believe you me, but the past 21 years of my life have been tumultuous, to say the very least. Continuing on, but when I got to reading the Sports section of my favourite hometown newspaper, the "Toronto Star", I ascertained while reading the inside pages that the Denver Broncos [even though they were not my favourite NFL team at the time (both Renee Herlocker and Amanda Lofland changed that)] were going to be playing their last ever game at old Mile High Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers (who were, ironically, my favourite NFL team back then) the following day on Saturday, December 23, 2000. In fact, I do recall this particular "Toronto Star" article (titled "Say goodbye to Mile High") as somewhat piquing my interest that particular afternoon. A few weeks later, on the evening of Monday, January 15, 2001, while I was surfing the Internet that particular evening (because I lived such a boring life at the time). upon recalling the article in the "Toronto Star" [as I originally had been on the website of the Pittsburgh Steelers, wanting to know as to when Three Rivers Stadium was going to be imploded (which it eventually was on Sunday, February 11, 2001 (even though I more tend to identify that venue as being the home venue of the MLB Pittsburgh Pirates during my youth))], I consequently decided to surf over to the website of the Denver Broncos in order to ascertain as to what the Broncos new home venue was going to be for the 2001 NFL season [which was, obviously, INVESCO (now Sports Authority) Field at Mile High]. But, not before I decided, being the guy that I was, to check out who the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders were. To make a long story short here, even though I did discover the legendary Renee Herlocker for the very first time that particular night, I was not that completely taken with her upon first noticing her. Nevertheless, Renee was most definitely pretty enough that I most certainly would not be forgetting about her anytime soon (that was until Amanda Lofland very much changed everything when I would eventually discover her eight years later in 2009). Sadly, in October 2008, I would suffer a nervous breakdown (after not only years of acute social isolation, but also constantly being underemployed in marginal jobs as well). In some respects, it was probably not the best the time for me to discover Amanda Lofland on the Internet. But, Amanda's physical appearance was such that she literally "swept me off my feet" (and, even to this very day, I still have a considerable level of affection for Amanda). Even though I should not be really mentioning this here on TH-cam, but I was so infatuated with Amanda Lofland back in both 2009 and 2010 that the situation got so dire that Scott Bliek, the Directory of Security for the Denver Broncos, even had to intervene on Amanda's behalf (in effect, he was threatening to get the Denver Police involved if I did not stop harassing Amanda). Moreover, I am quite ashamed regarding what happened in this respect nowadays. Still, I consider the "Scott Bliek Intervention" to not only be a character building event in my life four years later in 2014, but I also now realize that if I been around some decent people in my life while I was younger, I probably never would have engaged in this quasi-criminal behaviour in the first place. Lastly, being motivated, as well as inspired when I ascertained that Amanda Lofland was engaged to be married on Monday, January 28, 2013, I subsequently decided, on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, to go to my very first Toastmasters meeting. Even though my original intention of joining the Toastmasters was to improve my conversational skills with others (for I have bombed so many job interviews in the past), joining the Toastmasters, instead, has not only considerably improved my level of self-confidence for probably the first time in my life (considering that I will be 44 years old on Thursday, June 26, 2014), but it also has consequently really put my life in perspective for probably the first time in my life as well. In addition, I also happen to have this song on my "Songs from 1984 Videos (Homage to Amanda Lofland)" playlist, along with Renee Herlocker having own channel on TH-cam as well (by the way, congratulations on being pregnant, Renee). One final remark, but cheers from "your perpetual Canadian admirer" David Hood, Amanda (at the risk of Amanda's fiance Jimmy James possibly wanting to give a knuckle sandwich in the process).
I've been listening to the retrospective "Then Again" for days now... it was time for some visuals! Great to see M+M have a TH-cam Channel! Love ya' Martha + Mark :)
i just bought the Mystery Walk (30th Ann. ) issue on itunes for 9.99 love the 5 bonus tracks The first time i saw this video was on a sunday morning show called "Switchback" with Stan the Man
I was 13 when this came out and It inspired me to spin the radio dial and listen to something other that the dominant, mainly white-oriented FM rock station in town. And I bought a T-Connection tape because I felt I was lacking funk. Thanks! Not related to this song: I still call yogurt smoothies "synthy shakes" because of you guys.
I really loved this song when iw as little. :) I used to hear it on the radio all the time. Nowadays you'd be lucky to find anything on the radio that's at least half-decent.
the first time I heard this song was on a TV show called New York Hot Tracks I think it was on April 1984 I was only 11 at the time it took 25 years to find it :-)
I hope you don't mind me chiming in here, Rafael, but I distinctly recall hearing this particular song for the very first time when I was listening to the 1050 CHUM Top 30 countdown in my home town of Toronto on the evening of Thursday, March 29, 1984. (For the record, 1050 CHUM had a weekly CHUM Chart from 1957 up until Saturday, June 7, 1986.) Likewise, you must also be close in age to me as well, because I was not only just under three months away from my 14th birthday, but also a Grade 8 student at Bliss Carman Senior Public School (a fancy for either middle or junior high school) out in the east Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada at the time as well.
Lopez: Yeah, that's where I remember seeing the video---of course, I never saw it on MTV, since they didn't even play black music until 1988. And it rarely got any airplay on any stations where I grew up. Go figure.
I was 11 in 1984 too. And I remember New York Hot Tracks as well! I used to watch that little show every week! (How many exclamation points can I put into a reply?!!!!)
A great effort and album from M+M .Noting has the tension of DanceParc. i love the vocal melodies and lines she comes up with the brass and and the arrangemants of Lanois are 1st class. Just sounds too comfy and pop trying to please. By 1985 i was no longer able to catch them on MTV and it had changed so much. Incredible Band ! Wish I could find danceparc and someof the earlier singles again! thankgod for YUOTUBE! Great melodic line opening .If words could speak I wonder what they'd say ?
I'm in the US, and I can confirm that they have a decent cult following. In my younger days as a DJ, I played them often, and still hold onto their 80-85 vinyl LPs, and I'd never part with them. M&M were never huge anywhere, not here nor there. As for fleeing Toronto, don't believe everything you hear. They recorded some in the UK, but that's hardly fleeing.
Now that there’s a software synth version of the VCS, I keep watching the video to see if I can match the settings Mark uses to be able to do the wild solo from the song.
EB I'm not sure whether I should tell you this but while I've used my own EMS Synthi A on many MatM tracks, the solo on BS/WS was done on a Prophet 5. I played it while Martha "played" the presets. From there it went into a Prime Time digital delay manipulated by Daniel Lanois. We were all doing this together in real time and when we got the take we liked, we kept it! I used the Synthi A in the video because it looked cool...
I like, that in my capacity to get lyrics correct (after listening for 30 or more years with some examples! HA!!!) that the 🎶 He Was Black She Was White 🎶 part ... I cannot tell even to this day which order it’s in. And I think I like it because it doesn’t matter. He or she was black, and she or he was white speaks the same either way. Nifty, huh!? Don’t get back to me with the order you know it as, as I don’t wanna know. I’m just sharing this little piece of me/magic with you right now.
A voice inside my car told me today There was a song of love they would not play She was black, he was white A voice inside my car told me today Black stations, white stations break down the doors Stand up and face the music, this is 1984 Black stations, white stations feet on the floor Dance on the ceiling with us, this is 1984, ha! When I dream, I dream in black and white Trip the light fantastic through the night Dance with me while they sleep When I dream, I dream in black and white
1984. I was 11. Great year. One of my favorite summers.
Best year in Music - full stop! I was 14 and have so many great memories from the profound 'music of my youth' It is the joy of growing up in Southern Ontario where we had access to all the music from Toronto at that time. Thank you for the memories
40years hard to believe getting old really suxs yikes omg scary gosh who would have thought certain age and point in life we all realizing.Class of 85-89 it's that's me
Martha is such a beautiful woman and wonderful artist. Your music still puts a smile on my face after all these years.
The first time that I saw this video was in the summer of 1984 on the music video series, Night Tracks on SuperStation WTBS. WTBS is now called just TBS. I love this song very much!!!
I always thought of Martha and the Muffins as a New Modernist or Mod band, the short name for Modernist.
The reason being, for me, there is a vital clue there, looking at the Two Tone coloured floor, where it was filmed. Though I agree, there is a small touch of New Wave in this song. If they had done more songs like this, and Saigon, they might have been the next B-52's.
Though it dates itself, this song will Always be one of my favourites.
Back in 1984, it seemed to fit its time perfectly.
it really did
It was way ahead of it's time. We thought the world would keep moving forward, from where we were back then. 1984 seemed like just another step in the inexorable advance into the future... Little did any of us know that it was to be a high water mark, a zenith, a peak from which culture, music, and society would descend... to whatever anyone wants to call the cluster we live in now.
Cheers!
@@AgentJayZAgree 💯
Everything seemed so optimistic then.
Such a fab song. I was blown away the first time I heard it way back when. Pretty innovative video for the time as well. The 80s were truly the last great decade in music.
Wow - I have not heard this song in almost 30 years. I like finding all the stuff I liked in the 1980s.
This song makes one thing perfectly clear: Eluriel Tinker Barfield is one hell of an awesome bass player!
Wow! For years I've been trying to find out who played the bass on this track. I will research Eluriel Tinker Barfield, and I'm very grateful to you for pointing me in this direction.
The bass is sick!
In the future: Stand up and face the music. This is 2024.
Fantastic band . . . Gorgeous, talented singer . . .
Agreed, and yes she's very sexy
Peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts, No. 11 in Canada (I believe), and No. 46 on the U.K. Singles Chart in 1984.
Great New Wave song.
was this their only hot 100 hit?
@@RedStrikerBeetleborgLate response sorry, but yes in fact it sadly was their one and only ever Hot 100 Chart entry.
Echo Park was number 1 in Australia ❤😊
I loved them in 1984, and I still love them the same in 2014. I hope Martha and Mark are doing well.... American fan ;)
So very 80's. I was a teen when this song came out. LOVE it.
I'm from Toronto Canada and I remember watching this video on MUCH MUSIC as a kid and I loved it thanks for uploading this video I don't even remember the last time I saw this video but I still hear this song once in while on the radio and why not it's a great song.
Member... video hits..r was that just in the wet coast..
The first Martha And The Muffins video I ever saw back in the 80s. I've always loved this song.
It's true they weren't a staple for radio play across the US, but anyone who cared enough to seek out interesting music, knows about M&M. They're the early production work of Daniel Lanois. This particular video played MTV A LOT. I don't have an algorithm to tell you the degree of their following, but if you didn't hear them, that settles it. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I heard them on the radio plenty, and I still have the original LPs up to 1985 that I brought brand new.
Black Stations White Stations 1984 catchy,like Eurythmics with 1984 or Van Halen 1984 intro riff.Their biggest hit this tho it says to be blessed and part of the greatest decade of all time never to forget miss it so much oh hail the 80s atmosphere could harp on and explain vibes and feelings like no other time or place in history
Gotta say this...with all due respect, Martha, you really turned me on during the 80's...I wanted to marry you after I saw M+M perform at Ontario Place. LOLOL Superb memories.
Oh my god...I've loved '80s music all my life and I've just discovered this gem NOW? (in 2021). Well I'm glad I eventually did--awesome song, awesome message, awesome video. It's SO '80S and I love it. That whole geometric checkered aesthetic is just cool. I kinda want that living room. :P (And the keyboard.)
I used to see it every weekend on the TBS show called NIGHT TRACKS. And all the way back in yes,you guessed it...1984!
so many good songs from this band. a great singer
those were certainly great times i remember coming back into the the city of Toronto and hearing was very inspiring for my own musical endeavours I may have posted something before about how it's too bad that not many people outside of TORonto have heard of this but thankfully that changes with TH-cam and posts like this keep listening Cheers!
One of the greatly underplayed bands ever. Loved then then and now.
Thanks ROoooo80. We've remastered 'Mystery Walk' including B-sides and dance mixes. Once we've finished with Martha's 'SOLO•ONE' project we'll be putting MW out.
Martha Johnson 😍
What a classic wonderful fun song. Brings back young grade school days.💜💜🥰🥰
Amazing drums from Yogi Horton on this project. He died a few years after this was recorded. His finesse and powerful grooves helped to push M+M to the next level (in my opinion).
He also worked with Luther Vandross among many others.
Danseparc definitely had underrated grooves. How did people not notice? I was 12 when this album hit and it blew me away.
This song is funny yet has a message. I remember calling a radio station requesting a song knowing it is a top 10, top 5 record just to hear DJ tell me " that song doesn't fit our format."
Think back to INXS' "Original Sin."
i was shocked to find out this was Martha and the muffins
also known as M+M
This really was one of the great songs of the New Wave Era. I was always hoping WLIR / WDRE in New York would play Martha and the Muffins / M+M. Echo Beach and, more so, Black Stations / Whites Stations really stuck out. This song is iconic for 1984....
Vincent Ree screamer of the week with barry raviolli and larry the duck. Donna donna malibu sue. Long live WLIR DARE TO BE DIFFERENT
Vincent Ree LIR was the best! My friends and I have tons of mixtapes from that era.
It's the keyboardless, suitcase version of the VCS3, the Synthi A. MatM
I always loved this song. Love the video too, Martha looks fabulous in it.
it's like the 80's barfed all over this video . Love it :)
I still love this song! Play Toronto soon please!
Martha sure looks lovely in this video !!
This is 2021, but I like this song anyway.
I remember WLUM/Milwaukee and WHRK/Memphis playing the song.
It even packed dance floors at Milwaukee's Park Avenue, Papagaio, Tropicana, Club 219 and La Cage. That and the song's lyrics prompted me to buy the 12 inch and even my sisters couldn't get enough playing it to death.
BTW this was their only major hit on Billboard's Dance/Club Play Chart, where it peaked at number 2 in 1984.
I remember this song. Back in 1984.
Same here. Heard it on the radio from time to time in the later part of that summer.
Making it clap to this in 2018. God bless us all
I'm bi-racial (black/white)
My BFF is white.
We sing this song all the freakin' time and use it to find each other in crowded areas.
Thank you Martha & the Muffins for this song!
It's ICONIC Canadian 80s.
We love this story! Thanks for sending...
@@MarthaandtheMuffinsOfficial New Year's Playlist!
So many "New Wave" bands successfully blended their sound with something a little more "soulful"....Talking Heads, Falco, Wang Chung, Buggles, Martha and the Muffins!!! What a fun new sound (at the time). I was entering my teen years and was very excited by this sound.
Blondie, Culture Club, Heaven 17, Haircut 100, Yaz, Squeeze, Style Council, Human League....
I only remember seeing this video once back in 1984 on the N.Y.-based R&B/dance music show HOT TRACKS (it came on WDIV Channel 4 in Detroit at 1:00 a.m. Saturday nights.) Don't ever remember playing this on MTV back in the day, or anywhere else. And yeah, they never quite took off in the U.S. at all, for whatever the reason--too bad, because this was a cute little fun song. I always thought the song was referring to how music stations were segregated to some extent at the time.
I remember when this used to be played on Video Hits. I thought it was cool then and I still do now .
Thanks for the post best song ever...I've been looking for this forever...
Brand new earbuds.... had to welcome them into the fold (of my head) to an appropriately respectable tune.
Of course!!
This is such a brilliant album!
I like Martha's voice and the band is good. It reminds me some positive memories.
Genius. Just plain genius.
Thanks so much for posting this.
been looking 4 this,telling people bout this..they thought i was tripping
such epic times to reflect on
I heard this on SiriusXM FirstWave (classic alternative) this evening. Great song!!
So amazing. Thank you for posting this brilliant track. Reminds me of when I was 13 dancing like a crazy kid in my living room.
Great Tune , love the bass..........
1984 Wow what a year in Music
I remember watching this video on MuchMusic back in the 80's when I lived in Canada.
+Howard B. Chak I distinctly recall hearing this song for the very first time on the weekly 1050 CHUM Top 30 Countdown in Toronto on the evening of Thursday, March 29, 1984.
And, as a matter of fact, MuchMusic at the time did not sign on until five months later on Labour Day weekend of that year (September 1, 1984).
Member... video hits..lol
I distinctly recall hearing this song for the very first time while I was listening to the weekly 1050 CHUM Top 30 Countdown on the evening of Thursday, March 29, 1984 (while I was a Grade 8 student at Bliss Carman Senior Public School out in suburban Scarborough, Ontario). (I also remember that this song was not issued as being from Martha and the Muffins at the time, but being from "M + M" instead.)
Similarly, looking from another perspective, but hard to believe one of my favourite women in the world, former Denver Broncos Cheerleader Amanda Lofland (DBC from 2008 to 2010; and 2012) would be born a little more than five months later [one week after I not only started Grade 9 at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute on Tuesday, September 4, 1984, but it was also on that exact same day that Brian Mulroney was elected Prime Minister of Canada as well (when Brian Mulroney's ruling Progressive Conservative party won 211 seats in the then 282 seat House of Commons)]. As a matter of fact, I now colloquially refer to the 1984 Canadian federal election as "the federal election that happened in Canada one week prior to Amanda Lofland being born (in Denver, Colorado)."
On a personal note here, but not only have I battled social anxiety disorder for very much all of my life, but also at my school dance that same afternoon, there was a girl whom I so wanted to dance with (and, in many respects, is a dead ringer for Amanda Lofland appearance wise) that day named Michelle Atkinson. Nevertheless, I was so fearful of being rejected by Michelle upon asking her to dance (I had major self-confidence issues back then, basically due to being regarded as an outsider in society by the majority of my peers while I was growing up) that I chickened out that particular day (and was consequently quite upset about it afterwards).
In any case anyone wants to know here, but at the next school dance on Friday, June 1, 1984, I actually did gather the courage in order to ask Michelle Atkinson to dance. Not only did she dance with me, but it was also the highlight of my afternoon as well (considering that the song I danced to with Michelle was, fittingly enough, Foreigner's "Waiting For A Girl Like You").
Just as I considered Michelle Atkinson to be prettiest girl in the entire school during the 1983-84 school year [considering that she was a Grade 7 student, whereas I was a Grade 8 student (there was only Grades 7 & 8 at this particular school)], I also consider Amanda Lofland to be the prettiest Denver Broncos Cheerleader of all-time [sorry to all you Renee Herlocker fans out there (considering that I was actually one of Renee's fans prior to me discovering Amanda back in May 2009)].
Put another way, if I had to pick nowadays between wanting to dance with either Michelle Atkinson or Amanda Lofland, I would probably have a very difficult deciding in the process (although I would probably give the slight edge to Michelle in the end).
Fast forward to the afternoon of Friday, December 22, 2000. After my psychopath-narcissist mother walked out on my father back in March 1988, my paranoid schizophrenic father, more or less, left me to fend for myself afterwards [inasmuch as not really giving me any kind of financial support whatsoever (upon finally deciding to cut me off completely, financially speaking, upon me obtaining my undergraduate at the University of Toronto Scarborough in June 1993)]. Believe you me, but the past 21 years of my life have been tumultuous, to say the very least.
Continuing on, but when I got to reading the Sports section of my favourite hometown newspaper, the "Toronto Star", I ascertained while reading the inside pages that the Denver Broncos [even though they were not my favourite NFL team at the time (both Renee Herlocker and Amanda Lofland changed that)] were going to be playing their last ever game at old Mile High Stadium against the San Francisco 49ers (who were, ironically, my favourite NFL team back then) the following day on Saturday, December 23, 2000. In fact, I do recall this particular "Toronto Star" article (titled "Say goodbye to Mile High") as somewhat piquing my interest that particular afternoon.
A few weeks later, on the evening of Monday, January 15, 2001, while I was surfing the Internet that particular evening (because I lived such a boring life at the time). upon recalling the article in the "Toronto Star" [as I originally had been on the website of the Pittsburgh Steelers, wanting to know as to when Three Rivers Stadium was going to be imploded (which it eventually was on Sunday, February 11, 2001 (even though I more tend to identify that venue as being the home venue of the MLB Pittsburgh Pirates during my youth))], I consequently decided to surf over to the website of the Denver Broncos in order to ascertain as to what the Broncos new home venue was going to be for the 2001 NFL season [which was, obviously, INVESCO (now Sports Authority) Field at Mile High].
But, not before I decided, being the guy that I was, to check out who the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders were. To make a long story short here, even though I did discover the legendary Renee Herlocker for the very first time that particular night, I was not that completely taken with her upon first noticing her. Nevertheless, Renee was most definitely pretty enough that I most certainly would not be forgetting about her anytime soon (that was until Amanda Lofland very much changed everything when I would eventually discover her eight years later in 2009).
Sadly, in October 2008, I would suffer a nervous breakdown (after not only years of acute social isolation, but also constantly being underemployed in marginal jobs as well). In some respects, it was probably not the best the time for me to discover Amanda Lofland on the Internet. But, Amanda's physical appearance was such that she literally "swept me off my feet" (and, even to this very day, I still have a considerable level of affection for Amanda).
Even though I should not be really mentioning this here on TH-cam, but I was so infatuated with Amanda Lofland back in both 2009 and 2010 that the situation got so dire that Scott Bliek, the Directory of Security for the Denver Broncos, even had to intervene on Amanda's behalf (in effect, he was threatening to get the Denver Police involved if I did not stop harassing Amanda). Moreover, I am quite ashamed regarding what happened in this respect nowadays. Still, I consider the "Scott Bliek Intervention" to not only be a character building event in my life four years later in 2014, but I also now realize that if I been around some decent people in my life while I was younger, I probably never would have engaged in this quasi-criminal behaviour in the first place.
Lastly, being motivated, as well as inspired when I ascertained that Amanda Lofland was engaged to be married on Monday, January 28, 2013, I subsequently decided, on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, to go to my very first Toastmasters meeting. Even though my original intention of joining the Toastmasters was to improve my conversational skills with others (for I have bombed so many job interviews in the past), joining the Toastmasters, instead, has not only considerably improved my level of self-confidence for probably the first time in my life (considering that I will be 44 years old on Thursday, June 26, 2014), but it also has consequently really put my life in perspective for probably the first time in my life as well.
In addition, I also happen to have this song on my "Songs from 1984 Videos (Homage to Amanda Lofland)" playlist, along with Renee Herlocker having own channel on TH-cam as well (by the way, congratulations on being pregnant, Renee).
One final remark, but cheers from "your perpetual Canadian admirer" David Hood, Amanda (at the risk of Amanda's fiance Jimmy James possibly wanting to give a knuckle sandwich in the process).
Another classic track still relevant today.
there seemed something really powerful, engaging, timeless and fresh with their song echo Beach, it seems something they could never achieve again
Great music.
so creative multi layerd music!
t give boost to my inner world.
the way i look trough my camera in desolate urban ereas.
thanks for this music!
I've been listening to the retrospective "Then Again" for days now... it was time for some visuals! Great to see M+M have a TH-cam Channel! Love ya' Martha + Mark :)
I can’t believe this record is 40 years old!!
i just bought the Mystery Walk (30th Ann. ) issue on itunes for 9.99 love the 5 bonus tracks
The first time i saw this video was on a sunday morning show called "Switchback" with Stan the Man
I was 13 when this came out and It inspired me to spin the radio dial and listen to something other that the dominant, mainly white-oriented FM rock station in town. And I bought a T-Connection tape because I felt I was lacking funk. Thanks!
Not related to this song: I still call yogurt smoothies "synthy shakes" because of you guys.
Respect for u Martha.
"Great song by a great Canadian 80s' group!"
Superb tune
Cool video. Interesting memories.
I really loved this song when iw as little. :) I used to hear it on the radio all the time. Nowadays you'd be lucky to find anything on the radio that's at least half-decent.
Try 98.5 CKWR weekday afternoons. This song and other Canuck New Wave stuff.
I remember WLUM/Milwaukee playing this song back in '84. I even have the 12 inch.
the first time I heard this song was on a TV show called New York Hot Tracks I think it was on April 1984 I was only 11 at the time it took 25 years to find it :-)
I hope you don't mind me chiming in here, Rafael, but I distinctly recall hearing this particular song for the very first time when I was listening to the 1050 CHUM Top 30 countdown in my home town of Toronto on the evening of Thursday, March 29, 1984. (For the record, 1050 CHUM had a weekly CHUM Chart from 1957 up until Saturday, June 7, 1986.)
Likewise, you must also be close in age to me as well, because I was not only just under three months away from my 14th birthday, but also a Grade 8 student at Bliss Carman Senior Public School (a fancy for either middle or junior high school) out in the east Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada at the time as well.
Yes! Me too, NY Hot Tracks.
rafael lopez heard it on hot tracks channel 7 (ABC). I was 10...
Lopez:
Yeah, that's where I remember seeing the video---of course, I never saw it on MTV, since they didn't even play black music until 1988. And it rarely got any airplay on any stations where I grew up. Go figure.
I was 11 in 1984 too. And I remember New York Hot Tracks as well! I used to watch that little show every week! (How many exclamation points can I put into a reply?!!!!)
An excellent band and song! 40 years later, are prospects at commercial stations any better? ~ I played the "Mystery Walk" album this morning.
A CLASSIC!!!!!
OMG! I love Martha Johnson so much. She's a brilliant lead vocalist, and songwriter. :)
Top song.
Forty years ago I dreamed of the future, now it is all the past.
I love the verses...very cool
Best M+M song
Great Track! Still Relevant
ive been trying to figure the name of this song for years! now I found the video! thank U :D
A great effort and album from M+M .Noting has the tension of DanceParc. i love the vocal melodies and lines she comes up with the brass and and the arrangemants of Lanois are 1st class. Just sounds too comfy and pop trying to please. By 1985 i was no longer able to catch them on MTV and it had changed so much. Incredible Band ! Wish I could find danceparc and someof the earlier singles again! thankgod for YUOTUBE! Great melodic line opening .If words could speak I wonder what they'd say ?
Thanks, this is cool!
@ 2:26 is that Mark Gane playing around with the VCS3 Synth?
Kwadwo Holloway Hey there Kwadwo, the answer is yes and yes (although it's actually the suitcase version of the VCS3, the Synthi A.
80's the best !!!!!!!!!!!!
Talking Heads' "Remain in Light" style....awesome song
Very good and original video.
Good to see Gary Coleman got some work in the 80's....
so cool video 1984
Anyone else remember hearing this played on Video Hits every day after school on CBC? CanCon at it's best.
alllll love this song…………
You may have missed out on those early M&M days, but many of us didn't. Peace!
I'm in the US, and I can confirm that they have a decent cult following. In my younger days as a DJ, I played them often, and still hold onto their 80-85 vinyl LPs, and I'd never part with them. M&M were never huge anywhere, not here nor there. As for fleeing Toronto, don't believe everything you hear. They recorded some in the UK, but that's hardly fleeing.
Genius.
Now that there’s a software synth version of the VCS, I keep watching the video to see if I can match the settings Mark uses to be able to do the wild solo from the song.
EB I'm not sure whether I should tell you this but while I've used my own EMS Synthi A on many MatM tracks, the solo on BS/WS was done on a Prophet 5. I played it while Martha "played" the presets. From there it went into a Prime Time digital delay manipulated by Daniel Lanois. We were all doing this together in real time and when we got the take we liked, we kept it! I used the Synthi A in the video because it looked cool...
Haven't heard this in ages
0:12 Hello there to you as well
I like, that in my capacity to get lyrics correct (after listening for 30 or more years with some examples! HA!!!) that the 🎶 He Was Black She Was White 🎶 part ... I cannot tell even to this day which order it’s in. And I think I like it because it doesn’t matter. He or she was black, and she or he was white speaks the same either way.
Nifty, huh!?
Don’t get back to me with the order you know it as, as I don’t wanna know. I’m just sharing this little piece of me/magic with you right now.
Does anybody know the name of the synthesizer (?) shown at 2:30? It's an old modular, right?
EMS Synthi A
cool video yaaaaaaaaa
A voice inside my car told me today
There was a song of love they would not play
She was black, he was white
A voice inside my car told me today
Black stations, white stations break down the doors
Stand up and face the music, this is 1984
Black stations, white stations feet on the floor
Dance on the ceiling with us, this is 1984, ha!
When I dream, I dream in black and white
Trip the light fantastic through the night
Dance with me while they sleep
When I dream, I dream in black and white
If waves could speak, I wonder what they'd say...
finally!!