Peachy v. Punch in The Face
by Zube (zube@stat.colostate.edu)
Created:  Oct 3, 2006
Updated:  Jun 29, 2008
http://www.stat.colostate.edu/~zube/peachy.txt

I sometimes listen to Radio Nigel [1], an online station whose tagline
is "We Don't Do THAT 80s."  To emphasize this theme, one of their
station IDs contains a bit of a song they normally wouldn't play,
followed by the sound of (I guess) the lead singer of the band getting
punched in the face [2].

OK.  So they are defining, perhaps in a crude way, who they are.  For the 
record (oh dear), Radio Nigel plays alternative/progressive 80s music.

Still, it's an interesting definition.

For example, Asia and Toto get a punch in the face, but Wang Chung, ABC,
the Go-Gos and U2 are just peachy.  (Indeed, WLOG, they could change 
their slogan to "We Do Do THAT U2").

Now, I can imagine placing all the bands listed above on one side of the 
line (peachy) or on the other (punch in the face) and I can imagine a few
other partitions.  But what interests me is the line that puts Asia
on one side and the Go-Gos on the other.  Such a line is either exceedingly
thin or it must be drawn using a kind of Advanced Mathematical/Taste Fusion
Theory heretofore unknown to man.

<puts on spoilsport hat> 

This is not what I meant:

Go-Gos | Asia

"See, there's the line."

No, no.  What I mean is, What common factors do the Go-Gos have with
Wang Chung, ABC and U2 and not with Asia that put them in the peachy 
category while Asia gets punched?

Honestly, is _Our Lips Are Sealed_ really that far from _Heat of The Moment_?

<takes off spoilsport hat, puts on impatient investigator fedora and
taps pencil on desk>

One other observation:  It takes an amazing amount of "taste hubris" to 
punch both Toto and Asia and then play Toni Basil's _Mickey_ with
a straight face.  

*****

[1] Radio Nigel is an enigma.  They are awarded bunches of points for
playing _This Beat Goes On_ / _Switchin' to Glide_ by The Kings, a pair
of songs whose failure to make the top 40 *twice* for the same release
should be enough to make it a standard on any alternative station.
(They are also a pair of terrific songs that should be heard together,
similar in spirit to _Tainted Love_ / _Where Did Our Love Go?_ by Soft
Cell.)  They get a big gold star and a thank you for Tim Curry's _I Do
The Rock_.  They occasionally play _White Lines_ by GrandMaster Flash,
which should give them a free pass on absolutely everything, but they
also play the wretched Duran Duran version, so back to the end of the
line they go.  They seriously surprise me by playing _I Need You_ by
Paul Carrack, arguably one of the world's most perfect love songs, and
then follow it with a squawking, atonal,
no-mortal-pain-compares-with-free-verse-set-to-music Edie Brickell
offering.  As you might suspect, I have a love-hate relationship with
this station.

[2] I haven't heard these station IDs in a while now, so perhaps they
have pitched them.