As of today - October 18, 2015, the Royals have won the first two games of the current series. But the Jays did claw their way out of the hole in the divisional series to win it. So they aren't out of this yet.
But this is not a sports blog, so I won't go any further than that. What I will talk about today is the music that was popular at the time of the Jays-Royals playoff series in '85. I was all of twenty-one years old then, slugging it out in art college by day, and headbanging in the clubs by night.
The music scene was vibrant in '85, though there were very divisive genres establishing themselves. What was once New Wave wasn't quite so new anymore, sort of mainstreaming and melding itself into other styles, maybe not quite so easily defined by this point. For example, CFNY, a Toronto alternative radio station, ran a top ten album list that included artists such as New Order, The Cure, Kate Bush, Tears for Fears, and Simple Minds. Absolutely none of that interested me back then. Having said that, nowadays I can appreciate some of that music.
The Billboard chart for that year showed top artists like Madonna, Wham!, Prince, R.E.M., The Smiths, and Phil Collins. Again, no interest. This stuff was simply too lightweight for my tastes. I was a rocker, favouring harder, heavier, louder music.
My radio was tuned to T.O. stations Q107 (about 98% of the time) and CHUM-FM (the rest of the time). Hard rock, heavy metal, and what would later be termed "classic rock" were the main course on these stations, with the odd appearance by Talking Heads, The Police, and some of the other slightly more rock-oriented modern artists. I dialed up CFNY occasionally just to see what was going on out there on Mars, but I rarely heard anything I liked.
While MuchMusic (Canada's answer to MTV) brought Savatage, Loudness, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister into my living room, I wasn't a big fan of those particular '85 metal chart-toppers. Granted, a few years later, I'd learn to love Savatage. I did like bands like The Cult, Accept, Malmsteen, Ratt, and Dio, all of whom released notable albums and videos that year.
I remember hearing some of the more underground hardcore on late-night metal radio shows. That was tough for me to swallow at the time... not nearly as "melodic" as what I was used to. I was slightly intrigued by, but not willing to bow to, bands Exodus, Celtic Frost, WASP, Slayer, S.O.D., and their ilk. This sounded more dangerous and subversive than the Scorpions and Iron Maiden that I held dear to my heart. Again, some years later, I did develop a liking for a bit of that stuff.
Successful and popular heavy bands of '85 like Anthrax, Fates Warning, Dokken, and Megadeth did fall under my radar a year or two later, but at the time, I was immersed in my older-school metal... Sabbath, Priest, Scorpions, Maiden, AC/DC, and Leppard, and slightly less heavy bands like Triumph, Rush, Coney Hatch, Kim Mitchell, and April Wine (all Canadian, that last bunch).
I did enjoy lighter rock such as Dire Straights' Brothers in Arms smash hit LP, Heart's 1985 release, Sting's first solo album, blues-rock ace Stevie Ray Vaughan, a bit of Bryan Adams (but not much), Bryan Ferry, and John Fogerty's Centerfield. And I mustn't forget David Lee Roth's goofy but fun little EP Crazy From the Heat.
AC/DC, ZZ Top, U2, Tom Petty, Supertramp, Cheap Trick, and Saga all produced what I felt were substandard albums that year. All artists who I've liked, even loved (some to this day), but '85 must have simply been an off year for them.
Oh, and half-way between heavy and light fell my fave band Rush's Power Windows, which knocked my socks off with its blend of big power chords, chiming arpeggios, complex passages within simpler song structures, and a brighter, more optimistic vibe than their last album (the excellent but downer Grace Under Pressure). Power Windows was my personal Number One Album of the Year.
OK, Jays... "hit the ball and touch 'em all, a moment in the sun"!
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