47. Hair Metal

47. "Lunatic Fringe" by Red Rider

I really liked the stereoecholiscious sound of this song back when I heard it on FM radio in 1981. It never went anywhere on the charts, but it did manage to make it's way onto Season 1 Episode 15 ("Smuggler's Blues) of Miami Vice. If you didn't like Miami Vice, you may be tempted to not watch the whole video below, but you should watch it right up to the opening credits at least. There's a nifty triple-boom boat explosion you don't want to miss.



At the time the song came out, I never really could make out enough of the lyrics to understand it's anti-anti-semitism message. But thanks to the interwebs, the written lyrics unmistakably prove that these Canadian rockers don't like Nazis. But do you know what they do like? Not dancing. Their moves in this video are pretty much the exact same ones I used at every school dance.


By the way, this is the kind of song that sounds really good turned up loud while driving at night with the windows open. Try it. You'll like it.

Fun song-related story: Every three weeks or so I get my hair cut at a salon called "Lunatic Fringe" by Reina Summers--a young woman who gives the absolute insanely best shampoos ever known to humankind. I could go on and on about how incredible the shampoos are, but I won't, because anything I say will fall far, far short of what it feels like to have a fifteen-minute shampoo in which wave after wave of goosebumps shoot down your neck and spine all the way to your toes. Suffice it to say, whatever you think is the most awesome thing you could possibly experience in life--well, times that by ten, and you still won't be in even the same ballpark as one of Reina's shampoos. Anyway, one Wednesday afternoon I left work with barely enough time to make my regular 5:00 appointment. As I started up the 4Runner, "Lunatic Fringe" began playing on the radio. I cranked up the volume and tore out of the parking lot with an enormous grin on my face. Oh, the delight of listening to that song as I drove slightly above the speed limit to get to Lunatic Fringe on time for my super-shampoo!

Reina Summers -- Shampoo Goddess

Now every time I hear the opening of "Lunatic Fringe" on the radio, I imagine I'm in the middle of one of Reina's shampoos, and thanks to Pavlovian classical conditioning, the goosebump waves start up.

I know. It's just a fantasy. It's not the real thing. But sometimes a fantasy is all you need.