Revenge of the 80s Radio

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The podcast version of this week’s Revenge of the 80s Radio show is up and available at the bottom of this post. The second hour features a conversation with Martha Davis of The Motels — the full, uncut version (the interview previously had to be edited to fit the live radio time constraints). Davis’ voice remains one of the most unique and recognizable in music history although she, surprisingly, never took formal lessons as a young woman.

Martha Davis is currently touring the nation with a new Motels lineup — including a FREE concert at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles on August 14th — and working on several interesting projects. Over the last few years, Davis put out some new material with The Motels and is in the middle of reworking Beautiful Life, which she first released in 2008 but will re-release for reasons she gives during the interview.

In our discussion, the topics Martha and I talk about include:

• Martha’s eclectic array of musical influences
• The first Motels band (1971-1977) vs. the second incarnation of the band (1978-1987)
• The eventful year of 1987
• Martha’s thoughts on music and how much of her own experiences take life in her songs
• Her particular disdain for Barney the Dinosaur

We also delve into Martha’s mind as a songwriter and revisit her evolution as a musician and performer. Davis is a true musical thinker; listening to her newer music reveals that she probably did not appreciate the constraints of the music industry and its need for constant “hit” songs from hot acts. As I learned in the interview, that was a part of the reason The Motels had to end. Although she made a brief disappearance from the music industry after her solo Policy album, she (thankfully) did not deprive us who loved her as the lead Motel her gift of a beautiful voice and soul. For that, Martha Davis, I and many others are grateful.

The first hour featured classic alternative tracks from artists including David Bowie, Taxxi, ABC and Blancmange.

[podcast]http://www.revengeofthe80sradio.com/wp-content/uploads/Rev080709h1.mp3[/podcast][podcast]http://www.revengeofthe80sradio.com/wp-content/uploads/Rev080709h2Full.mp3[/podcast]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (49.4MB)

Podcast (feed-2): Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:55 — 59.4MB)

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