1984
No, not George Orwell’s.
There was a post on the TFF boards by a member who wanted to know what the lyrics for “Fish for Life” by Mancrab.
Although I’ve browsed through pages of TFF stuff and history, for whatever the reason, this post kept igging me all day and night Friday. Of course, it’s not really the first time Mancrab has been mentioned or notated, something, just something, had the wheels in my head turning.
Maybe it’s coinciding with the tourography project. Maybe not.
I began to question my own actions back in the mid-eighties…like did I really buy that vinyl record even though I didn’t have a record player at home? How did I come across the information to go out to Second Coming Records on Sullivan Street and brought home a new copy of Graduate for $30? How did I hear of Mancrab and what made me take the 45 home?
I remember feeling brilliantly cool carrying a bag of vinyl records out of the store. It made me feel like a VIP because I enjoyed music which I didn’t have to share with anyone. I would go to my classmate’s apartment, have him/her record the music and stash those special LP’s safely inside my closet. Man, those were the days. The one thing I missed the most about records are the sheer size of those album covers - the artistic expressions that CD’s can’t even come close to replicating.
I still haven’t found my LP’s, I think I’ve relocated them to another part of my closet which requires some muscle and height for removal. But it did spark me to find those recorded cassettes of the precious TFF music. So, off I go…
At a lonely corner of my closet, I found a small pile of these recorded tapes. Penned with my high school penmanship, I curiously unearthed the dusty piles to find “Fish for Life” and whatever came across my fancy that night. It didn’t take long and one by one, I popped these little projects into my sturdy Panasonic walkman. Yes people, I STILL have one of those!!!
Surprisingly enough, I knew most of the lyrics to the songs I haven’t even heard in two decades…OMG – the thought is chilling!! TWENTY YEARS!!!
Then I closed my eyes and went back in time…the music booming through the headphones was a true testament of how time has gone by.
I felt a wave of goosebumps engulf me – the first song on this unmarked cassette was, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” I still remember the day when I entered the electronics store in Chinatown to purchase a blank audio cassette – this particular one grabbed my attention with its two golden reels. Hark! I felt ‘high tech’ for a 13-year-old.
The sound quality was unlike any other – in contrast to my other recorded tapes, most of the music was dubbed from a worn cassette or from popular local radio stations here. I had completely forgotten that MTV actually played on an ultra-secret FM station which was received only by my mega-cool AIWA walkman. My brother had bought me this overpriced and inconceivable walkman when I was a kid. He set aside some of his summer wages so I could have this high tech recordable gizmo.
[So that’s how I recorded “Scenes From the Big Chair” on an audio tape! Because my father refused buy us a regular radio, I had to find a way to record my favorite music on audio. I was extremely diligent, listening to the radio for hours and pressing red “REC” button whenever the hit came on.]
As I listened to radio version of EWTRW, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. There’s just something strangely special about a song played flatly with a bit of cackling noise in the background, lacking the CD quality and enhanced bass sounds. When I auto-reversed it (remember having to manually take out the tape and FLIP the damn thing on the subways?), I heard the unmistakable voice going, “Rain on the Outside, Rain on the Inside”.
Then I remembered the moment where I saw the video on MTV (only once) and gushed over Ian Stanley who stood like an awkward geezer strumming a guitar with ants in his pants.
When the song ended, I finally understood why the post lingered over my mind for days.
It was passion.
This isn’t about Tears for Fears (although it does seem so), but this is about the passion or the lack thereof. At that age, I was filled with hopes and dreams and had set my mind to do something about my future – to see Europe, to live a successful creative life, to delve into subject matter that was not influenced by societal norms. I woke up every morning diligently hoping to capture every audio or video that would bring me happiness. My attention to detail, to seek out information and to concoct a fulfilling lifestyle could have been a formula for something much greater than I what I’ve achieved today.
Somewhere in my adult journey, I lost this passion. It was cast off for a more practical solution in life which never truly suited me.
Although it isn’t too late, the good news is that Mikayla will be spared as this belief/thought has certainly failed in personal endeavors.
There was a post on the TFF boards by a member who wanted to know what the lyrics for “Fish for Life” by Mancrab.
Although I’ve browsed through pages of TFF stuff and history, for whatever the reason, this post kept igging me all day and night Friday. Of course, it’s not really the first time Mancrab has been mentioned or notated, something, just something, had the wheels in my head turning.
Maybe it’s coinciding with the tourography project. Maybe not.
I began to question my own actions back in the mid-eighties…like did I really buy that vinyl record even though I didn’t have a record player at home? How did I come across the information to go out to Second Coming Records on Sullivan Street and brought home a new copy of Graduate for $30? How did I hear of Mancrab and what made me take the 45 home?
I remember feeling brilliantly cool carrying a bag of vinyl records out of the store. It made me feel like a VIP because I enjoyed music which I didn’t have to share with anyone. I would go to my classmate’s apartment, have him/her record the music and stash those special LP’s safely inside my closet. Man, those were the days. The one thing I missed the most about records are the sheer size of those album covers - the artistic expressions that CD’s can’t even come close to replicating.
I still haven’t found my LP’s, I think I’ve relocated them to another part of my closet which requires some muscle and height for removal. But it did spark me to find those recorded cassettes of the precious TFF music. So, off I go…
At a lonely corner of my closet, I found a small pile of these recorded tapes. Penned with my high school penmanship, I curiously unearthed the dusty piles to find “Fish for Life” and whatever came across my fancy that night. It didn’t take long and one by one, I popped these little projects into my sturdy Panasonic walkman. Yes people, I STILL have one of those!!!
Surprisingly enough, I knew most of the lyrics to the songs I haven’t even heard in two decades…OMG – the thought is chilling!! TWENTY YEARS!!!
Then I closed my eyes and went back in time…the music booming through the headphones was a true testament of how time has gone by.
I felt a wave of goosebumps engulf me – the first song on this unmarked cassette was, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” I still remember the day when I entered the electronics store in Chinatown to purchase a blank audio cassette – this particular one grabbed my attention with its two golden reels. Hark! I felt ‘high tech’ for a 13-year-old.
The sound quality was unlike any other – in contrast to my other recorded tapes, most of the music was dubbed from a worn cassette or from popular local radio stations here. I had completely forgotten that MTV actually played on an ultra-secret FM station which was received only by my mega-cool AIWA walkman. My brother had bought me this overpriced and inconceivable walkman when I was a kid. He set aside some of his summer wages so I could have this high tech recordable gizmo.
[So that’s how I recorded “Scenes From the Big Chair” on an audio tape! Because my father refused buy us a regular radio, I had to find a way to record my favorite music on audio. I was extremely diligent, listening to the radio for hours and pressing red “REC” button whenever the hit came on.]
As I listened to radio version of EWTRW, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. There’s just something strangely special about a song played flatly with a bit of cackling noise in the background, lacking the CD quality and enhanced bass sounds. When I auto-reversed it (remember having to manually take out the tape and FLIP the damn thing on the subways?), I heard the unmistakable voice going, “Rain on the Outside, Rain on the Inside”.
Then I remembered the moment where I saw the video on MTV (only once) and gushed over Ian Stanley who stood like an awkward geezer strumming a guitar with ants in his pants.
When the song ended, I finally understood why the post lingered over my mind for days.
It was passion.
This isn’t about Tears for Fears (although it does seem so), but this is about the passion or the lack thereof. At that age, I was filled with hopes and dreams and had set my mind to do something about my future – to see Europe, to live a successful creative life, to delve into subject matter that was not influenced by societal norms. I woke up every morning diligently hoping to capture every audio or video that would bring me happiness. My attention to detail, to seek out information and to concoct a fulfilling lifestyle could have been a formula for something much greater than I what I’ve achieved today.
Somewhere in my adult journey, I lost this passion. It was cast off for a more practical solution in life which never truly suited me.
Although it isn’t too late, the good news is that Mikayla will be spared as this belief/thought has certainly failed in personal endeavors.
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