Tag Archives: ‘Til Tuesday

Song of the Day: “Voices Carry” by ‘Til Tuesday

91l9jdeLHtL._SL1500_In honor of Aimee Mann’s birthday today, the song of the day is “Voices Carry” by ‘Til Tuesday. This is the title-track of ‘Til Tuesday’s debut album. The single was released on March 28, 1985. It was the band’s highest-charting single and their only top ten hit in the U.S., peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally it reached the top twenty in Canada and Australia.

Speaking on the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, Mann explained what inspired the lyric: “I wrote it about a friend of mine – a male friend – who was talking about a relationship where the girl didn’t want to be affectionate with him in public, like, ‘Keep your voice down, don’t tell people we’re going out.’ The reason I related to that story was because of my history.”

The music video earned ‘Til Tuesday an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist. The part where Mann causes a scene in the theater (the interior shots were filmed at the Strand Theater in Dorchester, Massachusetts) is iconic of the early MTV era. Mann later dipped a toe into acting. Look closely in the scene in The Big Lebowski where the nihilists are ordering pancakes and the gal on the end has a foot cast as the camera pans down – yep, that’s Aimee Mann!

Top 40 Songs This Week – November 8, 1986: Songs 40-31

dj-casey-kasem-1987-10-17-american-top-40-80s-165Welcome to a brand new week of the Top 40 Countdown! It’s been too long since the last one. It is always fun to go back and reminisce with songs from the ’80s, and rediscover songs we may have forgotten about, or discover new old songs we may have missed the first time around. This week, we will Return to 1986. This was right in the middle of high school for me. I had just begun my junior year. This was an ancient time when we actually celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving, and didn’t just jump from Labor Day to Christmas. Right now, we are between Halloween and Thanksgiving. In high school, we were beginning to wrap up our Fall sports. I did Cross Country, so it was starting to get a little too cold to run in tank tops and those pre-Michael Jordan ’80s shorts. Soccer and Field Hockey were wrapping up, and we were ramping up for the big Thanksgiving Day football game.
Now, let’s Return to the week ending November 8, 1986, and listen to what was on the radio back then. You can click on the song title to get the YouTube video, and you can click on the album cover to check out the song on Amazon.


40. “Shake You Down” by Gregory Abbott

We begin the countdown with Gregory Abbott’s debut into the Top 40. This lead single from Abbott’s debut album Shake You Down was his biggest hit, and would go on to hit the top of the charts. Gregory Abbott is still out there releasing music – most recently, 2019’s “My Heart Has Found a Home“.

 

 

39. “You Know I Love You…Don’t You?” by Howard Jones

This was from Jones’ third studio album One to One. It didn’t hit the Top 40 in the U.K., peaking at #43. However on this chart, it would peak all the way up to #17.

 

 

 

38. “Wild Wild Life” by Talking Heads

This is one of my all-time favorite Talking Heads songs. Released as the lead single from their seventh studio album True Stories, it would peak at #25. The video is also a lot of fun, and won “Best Group Video” at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1987.

 

 

 

37. “Don’t Get Me Wrong” by The Pretenders

This song would eventually peak at #10. The Pretenders were in a major transitional period at this point. This was the first single off of the Get Close album. A few years earlier, original members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon died of drug overdoses. During the recording of this album, Chrissie Hynde found that Martin Chambers’ drumming had deteriorated, still struggling after losing his 2 best friends. So Hynde let him go, leaving her as the only original Pretenders member. The album turned out to be a success. Chambers reunited with The Pretenders for their 1994 album Last of the Independents (which produced the smash single “I’ll Stand By You“), and has been there ever since. I saw them open for Journey and Def Leppard in the summer of 2018, and they still rocked. Look for them touring with Journey in the summer of 2020!

 

36. “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel

This is easily my favorite Peter Gabriel tune. It would only peak at #26 on this chart, but was a #1 hit on the Mainstream Rock chart. This came of Gabriel’s smash album So. However, it will forever be linked with the iconic scene in the 1989 movie, Say Anything…, as John Cusack’s Lloyd Dobler is holding a boombox, over his head, with this song blaring outside of Diane Court’s (Ione Skye) bedroom.

 

35. “Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone)” by Glass Tiger

This classic by the Canadian rock group, Glass Tiger, was starting to drop out of the countdown, falling from 28 to 35. But, it was a smash hit in Canada and in the U.S., hitting #1 and #2, respectively. And yes, that is fellow Canadian Bryan Adams on backing vocals.

 

 

34. “(Forever) Live and Die” by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD)

This song by the English electronic band was climbing up the charts this week. It would go on to peak at #19 in the US, #11 in the UK, and it would break into the Top 10 in several other countries.

 

 

 

33. “What About Love” by ‘Til Tuesday

Yes, ‘Til Tuesday had other songs besides “Voices Carry“. And somebody else besides Heart did a song called “What About Love“. This song isn’t as good as either. But Aimee Mann has a great voice, and this song isn’t too bad.

 

 

32. “Two of Hearts” by Stacey Q

Here is another song on the way out of the countdown, dropping from 23 to 32 this week. But not before becoming a huge hit, peaking at #3, and becoming one of the highest selling singles of 1986. The song was ranked number twenty-seven in VH1’s 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the ’80s.

 

 

31. “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King

This 1961 Ben E. King hit song was re-released to coincide with the classic 1986 movie of the same name. It peaked at #4 in 1961 and peaked at #9 in 1986. In the ’80s, there was a lot of ’50s and ’60s nostalgia in movies, television, and music. There were many ’60s covers in the ’80s. And there were several re-releases, including this one.

 


That wraps up today’s list of songs. Let me know what you think so far. What were you doing this week in 1986? Any favorite memories you’d like to share? We’ll be back tomorrow to continue the countdown.

One Hit Wonders: ‘Til Tuesday

Voices Carry by ‘Til Tuesday

by Robert Mishou

The lyrics to this somewhat chilling song were written by lead singer Aimee Mann and depict an unfortunate and domineering relationship. The woman in this song is looking at her relationship with her boyfriend and coming to the realization that he is emotionally abusive. She says that she is falling in love with him, but she is unsure of his thoughts because he is not forthcoming and his thoughts scare her a bit:

I’m in the dark, I’d like to read his mind
But I’m frightened of the things I might find
Oh, there must be something he’s thinking of
To tear him away
When I tell him that I’m falling in love
Why does he say

His response to her revealing her feelings is the song’s chorus, “Hush, hush, keep it down now, voices carry.” Is he embarrassed about being with her? Or is he emotionally unavailable? The next verse gives the listener a partial answer – and it is not a positive one:

I try so hard not to get upset
Because I know all the trouble I’ll get
Oh, he tells me tears are something to hide
And something to fear
And I try so hard to keep it inside
So no one can hear

He wants her to behave as she is told – be seen and not heard. This possible dangerous situation is reaching a breaking points as she is coming to the realization that this is not the best situation. She must admit to herself that, “He wants me only part of the time / He wants me if he can keep me in line.” In the video, the actor playing her love interest does an excellent job in being a jerk, but he has to because this is the essence of the song. This is ‘Til Tuesday’s first single and it reached #8, but like everyone else in this series, the great start fizzled and they quietly faded into the background of ‘80s music.

Remember That Song: 9/9/14

Can you name the artist and song:

And I can’t deny when I’m with you
That you step outside of all those fears locked up inside


Last Song: “Voices Carry” by ‘Til Tuesday from the album Voices Carry (1985)

Great job Robert (@mishouenglish) and Gretchen (@peacesong464)!!!

Oh, there must be something he’s thinking of to tear him away-a-ay
When I tell him that I’m falling in love why does he say-a-ay