Song Of the Day: April 10, 2006
The Monroes - What Do All The People Know?
From the Alfa Records EP "The Monroes," 1982
Okay, I got into a bit of trouble in the comments a few weeks ago for suggesting that the Slickee Boys were new wave bandwagon jumpers, which turns out not to have been the case. I stand behind this statement for the Monroes, however. This EP is actually not terribly new wave at all, but straightforward early '80s pop/rock in the style of, say, Greg Kihn. But man, that album cover just screams "A&R wants to pitch us as a new wave band, so here we are wrapped in purple satin and surrounded by slanty red lines." I don't know if you can see it in the small version of the photo below, but beardy dude on the right (the one in the second O in the band name) does NOT look very happy about this photo shoot.
"What Do All The People Know?" was a very minor hit: I heard it a few times on KBCO in Boulder in early '83, so I always associate this song with Modern English's "I Melt With You," the English Beat's "I Confess," the Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way" and Bow Wow Wow's "So You Wanna Hold Me," all of which were huge on that station around then. But much like "Everywhere That I'm Not" by Translator or "A Million Miles Away" by the Plimsouls, this is a song that people remember as being a much bigger hit than it was, turning up regularly on those budget-price "hits of the '80s" comps with some regularity.
-Stewart Mason
posted by Jon Harrison at 9:23 PM
19 Comments:
Heard this on WXRT in Chicago a couple of years ago when in for a visit. The way they talked about it made it sound like a regional hit... reminded me of Martin Briley's "Salt in My Tears," which KGGO in Des Moines seemed to play every hour when I was a kid. No one I knew from outside the Midwest had ever heard it.
Thanks for posting this one. I remember Long Island, NY's WLIR in the new wave heyday usually followed this with "Make a circut with me" by the Polecats. I never knew who this group was, so thanks again. Have you ever heard of a similar band called "Propaganda"?
This reminds me of one of those new Fearless "Punk Goes '80s" comps. And not in a good way.
Great site...
I first heard this song around ten years ago on Volume 4 of the Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80s series.
Not only did WLIR play this song regularly in the NYC area, but mainstream AOR NYC stations like WNEW put it in their rotation as well. The Monroes were doomed to failure when their label folded almost simutaneously with this release (much like the dB's "Like This" LP on Bearsville Records).
Joe McC here.
Another winner I forgot I liked, Jon. This brings back memories of spiked hair and the collar on the polo shirt turned up.
Having grown up in Chicago, I can testify that this song and the Martin Briley tune got a lot of play on local radio.
Keep up the good work, Jon!
*cough* my song *cough*
Joe and Stewart-
I humbly apologize. Entry has been properly credited to Stewart.
Jon
Anonymous -
Are you referring to the Propaganda that had one of those 10" discs on Epic's NuDisk imprint? I've got one called "Calling On Moscow."
And yes, I had that Polecats EP back in the day too. I admit to having liked "Circuit" quite a bit.
If I had hair at all, it'd be new wave hair.
Jon
Stewart-
Was Alfa a subsidiary of some huge label?
Jon
i covered this lo-fi four-track style:
http://www.appelstein.com/automat/
Jon,
Alfa is a major label in Japan that as far as I know still exists today. I have some J-pop records on Alfa, and some old Yellow Magic Orchestra and Plastics stuff. (I *think* the Plastics records are on Alfa.) The fine print suggests no affiliation with a US label, just a PO Box in L.A. I assume that they opened a US branch in the early 80s and then shut it down when it had no hits.
It was big enough in '82 that it entered the repertoire of cover bands on the bar circuit in central NJ...probably due to its WNEW-FM exposure.
I love this song. The grocery store I shop at played it last week.
This song got a lot of play in Minneapolis and ranked high (like top 10, if memory serves) in the WLOL top 100 of that year. I've always loved it. Bought that EP out of a cut-out bin around that time . . .
This was a staple on Chicago's WXRT when I was in high school. Whenever I hear it, I can almost hear Frank E. Lee follow with the band info. Stuck between new wave and rock 'n' roll, a netherworld that produced some great singles, i.e. off broadway, "mirror star," the tommy tu-tone hit, "girl of my dreams" by bram tchaikovsky, etc. Those were the days.
I actually once Owen A Copy of This Ep right here in Good Ol' NYC where it did get a fair share of airplay. On a few stations. The rest of The EP is pretty Crappy compaired to The song in question. only goes to show all you need is one catchy 3 minute tune for people to talk about your forgettable band 29 years Later 1982 is a long time ago.
Great song. Thanks for the listen.
FYI, it was reviewed in Pop Power! by Emmett McAuliffe, copyright 1990
Hey...not sure if this is still active, but I came across your site after a google search for this song...why the google search you ask? Because I heard this song on my XM Radio this morning, on the "1st Wave" channel. I, too, remember it from KBCO while I was in college in Boulder during that time...
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