#71 Martika (+ Sinéad O'Connor bonus)

 
Here's Martika at the 71st slot in the 1991 MusiCards checklist. It's her only card in the standard set, but she also has a pair of cards in the UK edition, one of which looks the same as above but with the logo moved down to the opposite corner. The other UK card features a fun shot with her sax player.

I had watched Martika star on Kids Incorporated as a young-un (which I remember as kinda like Saved By The Bell but with singing), so it was a trip for me when she became a pop star with "Toy Soldiers" not long after aging-out of child acting. Seemed like she was on her way to a successful career at the time, but the longevity wasn't there and she pretty much only had that one hit. I remember watching a "Where Are They Now?" segment on her years later and she seemed happy and content with her life away from the spotlight.

I liked "Toy Soldiers" fine back when it was all over radio and MTV for those few weeks and don't mind hearing it once in a blue moon today. I'm not familiar with any of her other songs off the top of my head, but I'll take a listen here in a moment. Skimming her Wikipedia entry, I was surprised to learn she reached the Top 40 four times, working with Prince on one of those singles (which is available in 3 flavors: Martika version, Prince version, and Prince Mix of Martika version), so it might not be fair to label her a one-hit wonder. She saw a bump in visibility after Eminem sampled "Toy Soldiers" for a song in 2004. Around that time, she formed a Latin pop band with her husband called Oppera and put out a couple albums. Since then she's mostly kept a low profile living in Dayton, Ohio, occasionally performing at throwback music festivals.

Ok, after listening to a greatest hits album from Martika, she's got some decent pop tunes that call to mind the likes of Paula Abdul or early Madonna. But nothing that really sticks like "Toy Soldiers", a song written in response to a friend's cocaine addiction, in contrast to the rest of her songs that are generally upbeat. That aforelinked Prince Mix is probably the only thing besides "Toy Soldiers" I'd have much desire to give further listens to going forward, but had I owned the album as a kid back then, I bet I would have loved it. (see Forever Your Girl being a sentimental favorite of mine today.)

CUSTOM CORNER

Speaking of singers with ties to Prince, we go from Martika to "Mandinka". Sinéad O'Connor passed away last month at 56, a sad ending to a life that had been troubled for a while. I thought maybe there was a MusiCard for her-- after all, this set was put together when she was riding high at her peak, "Nothing Compares 2 U" was released as a single in January 1990, helping her score one of the biggest albums of the year, and it wasn't until October '92 when things "derailed" for her. But no, she didn't get a card in the set, so I whipped up a custom:

Gotta admit "Nothing Compares 2 U" is one of those popular songs I just never liked. Back in the day, I'd always roll my eyes and change the station whenever it came on. Not that 12-year old boys are the prime demographic for that song. I still don't really care for it today (nor the original Prince version), but I do enjoy other Sinéad O'Connor songs. "Mandinka" is a great one. "I Want Your (Hands on Me)" caught my attention the few times I heard it on the radio back in the day. And she's got several other good ones, but my favorite song of hers is "The Emperor's New Clothes".

Back in '90, my mom bought the cassette of I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, one of the few/last times I remember her purchasing an album that was actually on the pop charts at the time (These days she mostly listens to classical and bluegrass). I loved "The Emperor's New Clothes" despite the rest of the tape not doing anything for me.

I'm loath to even bring it up, but yeah, Sinéad tore up a photo of the Pope after a performance on Saturday Night Live in '92 to protest the catholic church allegedly diddling kids. Like kneeling for the anthem, it got a lot of attention and pissed off a lot of people, but her heart was in the right place fighting injustice. Years later it was revealed that, yep, the clergy was diddling a lot of kids and having it covered up. So she got some vindication there, I suppose, but sure had a rough go of it in recent years, with the loss of her son to suicide being particularly devastating. She converted to Islam in 2018, changing her name to Shuhada' Sadaqat, but still dabbled in music.

That'll do it for this post. By the way, Prince has a couple UK MusiCards which we'll hopefully get to on the blog eventually, but he was left out of the US set, likely due to licensing reasons. 

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to share any thoughts you may have regarding Martika and/or Sinead in the comments.

#33 Basia (+ Akron/Family bonus)

Basia is card #33 in the 1991 MusiCards set. I gotta admit I'm not very familiar with her, though I think I've heard a song of hers pop up on Spotify mixes. Nice enough photo of the lady here, though a little blurry.

The write-up on the back does a good job presenting an overview of the artist's career (something not all of these cards do very well!). The back photo provides a better-focused look at her, reminding me a little of a young Gillian Anderson of X Files fame.

Basia - "Time and Tide"

Ok, this is a great song. I seem to recall hearing it back in the 80s when my mom would play the easy listening station in the car. It's a triumphant 80s pop song with lasting appeal, if you ask me.

Checking out some of her other popular songs now, I'm enjoying them fine, but nothing really grabs me quite as much as the "Time & Tide" track. A lot of her stuff has a nice chill Latin jazz vibe that I wasn't expecting. Really like the Jobim cover of "Waters of March".

Continuing a quick bio from where the back of the card left off, Basia's third album was 1994's The Sweetest Illusion, and she kept busy for the rest of the decade. She was inactive for a few years, but eventually returned with her 4th album, It's That Girl Again (2009). More recently, her latest release was popular in certain circles, with Butterflies (2018) hitting #4 on the US Jazz Albums chart and reaching the Top 20 in her homeland of Poland.

Feels good to learn a bit more about this singer who I was only vaguely familiar with before this. (More info on her wikipedia entry, if you want it.)

How about you readers? Were you like me saying "who?" at this card, or am I in the minority by not being all that familiar with Basia?

There's no shortage of bad news these days, but I'm hurting from word that Miles Seaton from the band Akron/Family died the other day. They've got like 4 or 5 songs I love and several more that I like a lot. Would have liked to have seen them live at some point, but unfortunately never did.

So I figured I'd give a little tribute with a custom.

Akron/Family - "Running, Returning"

"Running, Returning" was the first song I heard from them, included on an mp3 mixtape made by an online buddy back around the mid aughts. Kinda blew my mind back then, ain't gonna lie. Just really lost myself in that song.

Their 2007 album Love Is Simple is probably my favorite record of theirs. "Ed Is A Portal", "Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead", and the middle part of "There's So Many Colors" are songs that I would consider "must hear". I listen to that triforce of songs late at night and feel like I'm at some kind of trippy bonfire campout sing-along jamboree that I'm not entirely convinced isn't a cult but I'm willing to go along with it if just for one night.

"Ed Is A Portal"/"Don't Be Afraid, You're Already Dead"/"There's So Many Colors"

Man, a real fun band. Sort of like a Dead-inspired jamband vibe in an indie folk rock setting with this cool group of guys, sometimes also venturing into the realms of Arcade Fire or Animal Collective. Sometimes they might get a bit too improv/jammy for my taste (I'm generally only a casual fan of jam bands.. like, I've never seen Phish live or anything along those lines), but they catch some pure magic here and there. 

I should listen to more of their stuff and try to check out their respective solo work too. Akron/Family didn't really have a traditional frontman, but Miles Seaton seemed to handle most of the lead vocals.

Rest in Peace, Miles Cooper Seaton. Not sure the cause of death, but regardless, 41 is too young. And he was a great dude by all accounts. Heartbreaking.

Well, to not end on a down note (and to give you something else to read while you hopefully continue listening to those Akron/Family videos), here's the next old calendar installment for this year.

This Month in 1991: February

Time for another look at what my life was like 30 years ago.

Aww.. cute baby snow leopard.

Looks like my February '91 wasn't all that notable other than family vehicle maintenance issues and some excitement at the end of the month.

Big life moment alert: "Poopy Doos move" -- The story there is that when we moved into the condo where I lived for most of my life, our neighbors beside us were a really nasty family of a husky couple and their two bratty daughters. They seemed to hate us from the very beginning, like they blamed us for the fact that the previous tenants (who they were close with) moved out, which is totally unfair. Our families really just did not get along at all. There were a few dumb incidents in my memory that still upset me to think about all these years later. Anyhow, I had nicknamed that awful family "The Poopy Doos", which while not very classy, fit them perfectly. (Funny, I don't even remember any of their real names now.) My friends and I would always refer to them as the Poopy Doos, and eventually even my mom started calling them that too.. which I thought was hilariously awesome because she tended to take the high road, being the reasonable human being that she is. So yes, it was a big day when they finally moved away! Honestly, I think I might have to open a bottle of champagne on the anniversary to celebrate 30 years of those sacks of crap being out of my life, lol!

But if I wrote a book about all the bad neighbors I've had over the years, they would only be chapter 2 of a thick paperback. I'm extremely thankful that I now live in a house and don't have to share a wall with anyone anymore. And our neighbors in the area all seem cool, happy to report.

The "Spring training starts" drawing goes to show how I was really into baseball at the time. And I think my doodle shows that my artistic talents haven't improved much since I was 13. Haha, I really do wish I was a better artist, as I'd love to be one of those awesome sports art guys out there, but I just didn't have it in me. Still like to doodle, though!

That'll do it for this post. Please let me know in the comments if you've got any thoughts to share regarding Basia, Akron/Family, and/or anything else I've rambled about here.

#30 Adamski (+ Adam Sandler, Adam Snyder, and Dick Allen)

Adamski is back with the second of his two cards in the 1991 ProSet SuperStars MusiCards set at card #30. I think this is the tightest headshot we've seen in the set so far, with his face taking up about half the card.

Ha, and that's probably the weirdest back write-up in the set so far. I think the bit with Pro Set claiming Adamski is a extraterrestrial would be known as "kayfabe" in wrestling-- going along with the made-up storyline for the benefit of the fans.

The comments on the previous post pretty much confirmed my suspicions that the vast majority of North Americans aren't familiar with him, but he was big in the European rave scene in 1990. "Killer", a collaboration with then-unknown Seal, went to #1 in the UK and Belgium, #2 in the Netherlands and Germany, and #5 in Ireland and Sweden.

But before we go labeling him a one-hit wonder, well, the follow-up single "The Space Jungle" went to #7 in the UK and broke into the top 30 in a few other countries, so I guess technically there's another Adamski hit. Despite the title, the song is effectively a modernized cover of the old Elvis Presley tune "All Shook Up" (written by Otis Blackwell in 1956).

CUSTOM CORNER

I was thinking maybe Otis Blackwell for today's custom, but instead let's pencil him in at #237, pairing him with The Smithereens, a band Otis toured with in his later years.

Adamski's real name is Adam Tinley, so I thought I might try to think of other Adams in popular music. Musicians with that first name popping to mind for me are Adam Ant, Adam Yauch and Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys, and U2 bassist Adam Clayton... all of whom are featured on MusiCards already.

I took a look in my iTunes library and found songs from a couple Adams in my music collection.

Adam Sandler has had quite the career, getting his start as a popular cast member on Saturday Night Live in the early 90s and going on to a successful string of comedy films. His lowbrow humor might have worn thin for many by this point, but he still cranks out projects on a regular basis, and received universal praise for his dramatic turn in 2019's Uncut Gems. 

It's easy to forget Sandler sold millions of CDs in the 90s. They're All Gonna Laugh at You! (1993) and What the Hell Happened to Me? (1996) were both huge, while What's Your Name? (1997) and Stan and Judy's Kid (1999) also went gold. His albums are a mix of comedy skits and humorous songs.

At some point I ended up with his first 3 albums. I may have bought one of them, but the rest were hand-me-downs from friends who stopped listening to them.

"The Chanukah Song" is probably his best-known song, debuting on SNL's "Weekend Update" and later featured via in-concert recording on What the Hell Happened to Me?

Another song off that album, "Ode to My Car", got some censored radio play on the main station I listened to back then, San Diego's 91X, and I liked it well enough to buy the CD. Or maybe a friend of mine bought it and I just borrowed it.. hard to remember at this point. Another favorite song is "The Goat Song" from What's Your Name? which is kind of a rock opera callback to an earlier skit ("The Goat" from What the Hell Happened to Me?).

Switching from a very well-known Adam S. to an obscure one, Adam Snyder is the other Adam to feature today. Not to be confused with the football player with the same name, this Adam Snyder was the keyboardist in Mercury Rev for a stint and helped create their most successful record, 1998's Deserter Songs. That's how I'm familiar with him, but my curiosity lead me to check out some of his solo demos, which I think I got on CDR from a guy who was friends with him. Turns out when left to his own devices, Adam comes up with Americana folk songs. Don't sound much like Mercury Rev (one of my all-time favorite bands), but some quality ditties none the less. He went on to release a couple records, Across The Pond (2001) and This Town Will Get Its Due (2006). The albums feature a full band, though honestly I think I prefer the earlier versions I first heard where it was just him singing while playing acoustic guitar. Those recordings sound super intimate, perfect music for when you're not 100% awake, like late at night or early in the morning. My favorite songs of his are "Leaves of Grass", "Until it Comes", and "Thru Til Morning" off that early demo CDR titled Until it Comes. But the finished versions aren't bad either. If you're into mellow folk music, might be worth giving a listen.

Not sure what Adam Snyder is up to these days, though in his career he's worked with luminaries such as New Order and The Waterboys. Looks like he had a band called The Red Cars in recent years, though I can't find much about them.

That'll do it for today. I'm excited for the next post... where we sound The Alarm.

Last minute addition...

I was heartbroken to hear of Dick Allen's passing today. He's one of my favorite baseball players to collect, as has been documented over the years on my main blog, Baseball Card Breakdown. Hurts to lose him. Man, what a rough year. :(

This above MusiCard custom isn't as far-fetched as you might think. One thing I learned about Dick Allen recently is that he had a brief recording career. Yep, in the 60s he sang lead with a doo-wop group called The Ebonistics. They performed in the Philadelphia nightclub scene and occasionally had a high-profile gig, such as halftime at a 76ers game.

"Echo's of November" was the group's biggest hit. 

The guy won NL Rookie of the Year, AL MVP, and had a successful recording career on the side. That's pretty impressive. Rest in peace, Mr. Allen.

#3 Eric Clapton (+ J.J. Cale bonus)

Eric Clapton is back with another card at #3. This looks like an earlier photo than #2 from the previous post. Mid 80s? Sort of a Miami Vice vibe to that outfit.

The back blurb focuses on his early days.

Derek & The Dominos - "Layla" (live)

As I mentioned in the prior post, I like Clapton just fine, though I wouldn't say he's an all-time favorite of mine or anything. At the time this MusiCard came out, I might not have even been able to name one of his songs. I definitely knew the sound of the opening riff of "Layla" because it was used in one of those Time-Life Music commercials that ran constantly in the 80s. ("Remember those classic songs from the 70s? Now for the first time ever, all the greatest songs from that era are available in one collection! Just listen!") But honestly, I only knew those few seconds from the TV commercial. lol. I got sick of that riff. Even today, I much prefer the different, slower second half of that song.

It wasn't until '92, with "Tears In Heaven" impossible to escape, that kids my age really became familiar with Clapton. But I eventually checked out more of his earlier stuff when I got older.

Eric Clapton - "Wonderful Tonight" (Live)

A few years ago, I was the DJ at my wife's brother's wedding reception, and he and his bride requested "Wonderful Tonight" for the first dance. I had probably heard it like in movies or whatnot before that, but it wasn't until then that I was like, "oh wow, this is a really pretty song."

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Here's my personal "best of" for Eric Clapton:

1. Layla (Derek & The Dominos)
2. After Midnight
3. For Your Love (The Yardbirds)
4. I Shot The Sheriff
5. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
6. Cocaine
7. Promises
8. The Shape You're In
9. She's Waiting
10. Wonderful Tonight
11. Sunshine Of Your Love (Cream)
12. Anyone For Tennis (Cream)
13. White Room (Cream)
14. Badge (Cream)
15. Tales Of Brave Ulysses (Cream)
16. Had To Cry Today (Blind Faith)
17. Presence Of The Lord (Blind Faith)
18. Sea of Joy (Blind Faith)
19. Tears In Heaven
20. Layla (Unplugged version)

You can see I included tracks from his earlier bands too, not just solo works. Not really much thought to the order here, other than bookending it with the different versions of "Layla". I'm sure I'm missing some good ones. Like I said, I'm just a casual Clapton fan, not exactly well-versed in his catalog. Feel free to comment below letting me know of any other songs I should check out.

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So in the previous post, I mentioned Clapton's cover of "Cocaine" by J.J. Cale was one of my favorite songs of his ("After Midnight" is another great J.J. Cale song that Clapton had a hit with). The two guys made an album together called The Road To Escondido (2006). I was late to the party, but I finally "discovered" it in 2017 when my ol' pal Doug shared it with me. I don't typically listen to a lot of blues-type stuff, but this album is awesome. Turns out it also includes the final recordings of keyboardist Billy Preston, the "fifth Beatle". Wow.. I hadn't realized that till now typing up this post.

J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton - "Danger"

I need to dig into more J.J. Cale stuff, as I seem to really like most of what I hear from him. Cale was originally from OKC, but had retired to San Diego County in the 80s where he spent his days until passing in 2013 at age 74.

MusiCards-That-Never-Were J.J. Cale custom

Again, I'd definitely recommend The Road To Escondido if you're into that sort of thing. It won a Grammy, so it's not like some obscure treasure, but like I said, I only first heard it a couple years ago. My favorite tracks are "Danger", "Sporting Life Blues", "Anyway The Wind Blows", "Three Little Girls", "Who Am I Telling You?", and "Ride The River".

That's it for today. Card #4 will bring us to the smooth harmonies of Crosby, Stills & Nash.

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IN MEMORIAM

Coincidentally on the day Clapton is featured on the blog, his former bandmate, Cream/Blind Faith drummer Ginger Baker passed away. He was 80, which is a ripe old age as far as hard-living rock 'n' rollers from the 60s go, but still sad to lose him. Cream will get a post here once we get to card #251 ("Cream at the Fillmore Auditorium").

#2 Eric Clapton (+ George Harrison bonus)

Onto card #2!

1991 Pro Set SuperStars MusiCards #2 Eric Clapton

Looks like this was a contemporary photo judging by the haircut. He was still very much a relevant artist on the popular music scene at the time, and in fact his most successful hit was right around the corner, with "Tears in Heaven" becoming one of the top songs of '92.

Eric Clapton has two cards in the set-- in addition to this one, he's got another card in the Legends subset right after this at card #3-- plus there's a Cream poster in the Historic Concerts subset (#251). He doesn't have a card in the UK edition, which seems strange since he's British, after all.

As the card states, Clapton is among the top rock guitarists of all-time. If you've got the time and interest, he's got quite the Wikipedia entry coving his eventful life.

Like with the rest of the acts in the Legends subset, his heyday was before my time, so while I've got an appreciation for his music, I can't say I was ever a huge fan of his or anything.

I think my first introduction to Clapton was "Tears in Heaven" and the acoustic rendition "Layla" from his 1992 Unplugged album. I liked them fine, but grew sick of them getting played so frequently on the radio and MTV.

Eric Clapton - "Cocaine" (Live)

It wasn't till I was older that I dug into his earlier work. Kinda blew my mind that the original Derek and the Dominos' "Layla" was basically a totally different song that rocked hard, not the lullaby-ass version from Unplugged. And you got "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room" from his time in Cream (that I'm sure I heard as a kid, but didn't realize they featured Clapton). "Wonderful Tonight" is a pretty song. And his J. J. Cale cover of "Cocaine" might be my favorite thing he's done.

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Clapton famously played the guitar solo on George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the Beatles' White Album (1968). (And he infamously broke the bro code and hit on Harrison's wife at the time, Pattie Boyd, eventually marrying her years later.)

And so I figured I'd pair this Clapton MusiCard with a George Harrison custom. The Quiet Beatle doesn't have a solo card in the set (unlike John, coming up at card #15), though The Beatles have a card in the UK edition (which we'll eventually cover, assuming this blog has the longevity to get to that point). Seems crazy Pro Set wouldn't give The Beatles a Legend card in the US version of the set (Led Zeppelin has 5 cards, by comparison!), but it was probably a licensing issue and they couldn't secure stateside rights.

The custom looks pretty cool, I think. Does that photo remind anyone else of 1991 Topps Wade Boggs? And yes, I know that George has earned a "Legends" status in the set, but since we're already in the middle of that subset, I figured I'd keep the customs a base card for a change of pace rather than keep on hitting you over the head with the gold borders of the Legends design.

I love me some George Harrison. His songs helped give variety to many classic Beatles records, sort of a secret weapon of the band. There are lots of great songs from his solo career, as well. Growing up, in addition to a few Beatles records, my mom owned one George Harrison solo LP, Dark Horse (1974). We didn't play it too often, but dusted it off and slapped it on the turntable once in a blue moon. I seem to recall it was slightly warped and that affected some tracks, so that was probably a factor why we didn't listen to it more often. And honestly it didn't do much for me at the time with the exception of the title track which I absolutely loved.

George Harrison - "Dark Horse"

I wasn't super familiar with his solo work until checking it out more when I got older, but I remember being a fan of "Got My Mind Set on You" and its silly music video. I also liked what I heard from the Traveling Wilburys, the supergroup he was in.

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Now's the time where I try to narrow down my favorite George Harrison songs onto a hypothetical mixtape to play on repeat whilst stranded on a desert island. I'm trying to grapple with if I should include his Beatles tunes in the compilation or keep it fully solo tracks.

George Harrison "desert island disc" mixtape
1. Dark Horse
2. My Sweet Lord
3. What Is Life
4. Let It Down
5. All Things Must Pass
6. Blow Away
7. The Rising Sun
8. Stuck Inside A Cloud
9. Brainwashed
10. Got My Mind Set on You
11. Far East Man
12. Wake Up My Love
13. I Really Love You
14. Greece
15. Dear One
16. Hear Me Lord
17. Dream Scene
18. On The Bed
19. Any Road
20. Isn't It A Pity

As you can see, I ultimately kept it confined to his solo career. Were I to include Beatles songs, slam dunk picks would be "Here Comes The Sun", "Long, Long, Long", and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (which I probably would have went with the symphonic remix from Love over the White Album version, though I really like both). Oh, and can't forget "Taxman" (a song whose bassline I talked about on Baseball Card Breakdown back in 2017).

But back to the mixtape, it's heavy on All Things Must Pass, which I think a lot of Beatles fans consider the best post-Beatles album from the Fab Four, respectively. I put "Isn't It A Pity" last because it's such an epic song.. figured it'd make a good closer. I could have added a few more songs, but I like trying to cap these mixes at 20 tracks.

COVER TIME

Speaking of "Isn't It A Pity", the band Mercury Rev do a nice version.

Mercury Rev + Dean & Britta "Isn't it a Pity" at the Mystery Spot, Phoenicia, NY 8/15/10

That's gonna wrap up this post. I'd love to hear your thoughts and memories regarding Eric Clapton and/or George Harrison, so chime in down in the comments if you're so inclined. Thanks!

Next up is another Eric Clapton card. I'll come up with a Desert Island Disc for him, plus we'll take a closer look at J.J. Cale.

****

IN MEMORIAM

Kim Shattuck

July 17, 1963 – October 2, 2019

Sucks to hear about Kim Shattuck's recent passing. Here's a custom card I made for Dimebox Nick's dad a while back. I thought I was pretty clever using a Burger King design for a photo where she's wearing a Burger King crown. The Muffs were a really good band, as were the Pandoras. I was bummed when Kim Deal left the Pixies (one of my favorite bands), but I thought it was cool when Kim Shattuck replaced her, as she brought a new dynamic to the band. Unfortunately she got the boot by the band's management because they wanted someone who just stood there silently and played bass, but she was a punk at heart who liked doing her own thing. She'll be missed.