Yes, this is the second time Hall & Oates make it onto the Video Of The Week segment - and once again it's for cheese more than discovery. But I did learn one thing this past week: that the song Out Of Touch was, indeed, from H&O.
For some reason, maybe because of the ''oh oh ohs'' at the end of the chorus, I associated this more to Billy Ocean or just about any other pop act of the 80s. Then again, if I'd remembered that after just about every time Hall sings ''I'm out of time'', backing vocals (Oates') repeat the word ''Time!'', it might have clued me in.
Also, from now on, whenever one of my musicians wants to add a useless chord to a song, even more so in an intro, I will refer them to this particular piece's intro as a ''don't''.
The video quality isn't that great, but at 3:09, you can still witness Daryl Hall's mondo dance from the front to the back of a giant O - the only way to scream ''80's!'' any louder would be to watch Pamela Anderson's sex tapes with Bret Michaels and Tommy Lee.
As an added bonus, as for the last time I featured Hall and Oates, I have included a Live At Daryl's House performance of the song. Two, as a matter of fact.
The first one is from KT Tunstall, who takes a backseat riding the Glockenspiel and lets the band get its props:
On the second version, Patrick Stump - who must be a legend in his family and circle of friends - dishes out a semi-convincing solo at the end, in addition to taking more turns singing than Tunstall (the song starts at 3:12):
Oh, I know what you're thinking, 'cause chances are I'm thinking the exact same fucking thing.
Here's the story: I had no clue this ''hit'' song from the 80s even existed until a couple of weeks ago when I saw it on Much More Retro, the music video channel I turn to for laughs when I'm either bored and alone, or to add a funny backdrop and mood when I have someone over, something that'll make background noise and won't interrupt us or require our total attention until it becomes way too cheesy.
So this comes on, and I'm shocked, awed, and overwhelmed. I laugh so hard I almost piss my pants.
Now, I won't even pretend to know anything about Hall & Oates other than it's an 80s group formed by Darryl Hall and John Oates, and that for most of my life, I thought - just by their name alone - they were a country duo. I also vaguely remember a segment of a skit called 'In The Year 2000' on Late Night With Conan O'Brien where Conan and cohort Andy Richter ''take a look into the future'' and come up with funny anecdotes that both make fun of news events and pop culture icons, and in one particular segment, they referred to the end of Hall & Oates, saying each member would be heading their separate ways, but instead of each keeping their own moniker, ''Oates will be in Hall, and Hall will be in Oates'', a gay joke if I've ever heard one.
And, looking at this video, there are, indeed, a number of them that can be made - Oates' mustache alone practically smells of anus right through the screen. The fact that they seem like they've just gotten back from a Miami Vice shoot also mesmerizes me.
Other things to look for: saxophone enters at 2:40 - an 80s staple; also, starting at 3:15, the guys start to realize that maybe they would need to move, come up with some sort of choreography, since they've been static - as opposed to ecstatic - for over three minutes so far; 3:30 brings a climax of both saxophone AND homoerotic choreography...
Also, for the first time, an added bonus: if that wasn't enough for you, there's a more 'modern' version where Montréal electro duo Chromeo are guests in a webisode of Live From Darryl's House, where Hall admits the beat was from his Casiotone (the 'rock'n'roll 1' pre-set) and so was the bass line...
Things to watch for in that clip: the song starts at 3:49, before that it's a behind-the-music type talking about the making of the song) a fat black man thinks he's at the dentist at 3:57; two of Daryl's band members seem genuinely happy to be playing again at 5:09; Hall inserts a break that wasn't in the original song, at 5:33, and he looks proud; ONE OF Hall's professional studio musicians asks himself what the fuck he got himself into at 6:20; Hall's guitarist shows the kids how it's done with a solo on the acoustic guitar, despite having a guy with a fucking Les Paul right next to him at 7:18; at 7:35, you'll notice the guy with the Les Paul gets a bit annoyed; the song 'breaks down' and tries to turn into a sexy bedroom ditty at 8:28 but, unfortunately, nocando; Daryl's so happy kids dig his music at 8:54...