Honestly, the moment I heard Todd read that was the moment where I knew that this was gonna be a way more tragic story than what you'd be able to parse just from reading the album's Wikipedia article. I knew the Human League's story past 1981 wasn't a pretty one considering that this is the same band that later wrote "The Stars are Going Out" (arguably the strongest track on the otherwise mediocre follow-up to Crash), but just hearing Phil Oakey openly admit to how trapped the band became with that album and its sunken costs is just painful and does a lot to contextualize how dire their predicament really was.
i'm just imagining giving a gut-wrenching speech of regret and guilt to your girlfriend about how sorry you are that you cheated, and she lets you get through all of it without saying a word and is like "yeahhhh.....funny thing about that".
It's weird but I feel it's a bit of a relief. At that point we can either break up or stay together, but at least we're even and I was the one to break the ice.
something very satisfying about the symmetry of jimmy jam and terry lewis being like "human league? i dunno, call the song human" and the human league being like "we're working with jimmy jam? guess we have to call one of the songs jam?"?
That's correct, jam and lewis produced the singles "Wait & See (Risk)" & "Addicted to You (Up-In-Heaven mix)" for Hikki's 2nd J-pop album "Distance" in 2001 on that same album Hikki also collab with Rodney "Darkchild" Jenkins on the single "Time Limit" As a long time Hikki fan, they have work with different very notiable Western Producers. On they're English language album "Exodus" Hikki had production by Timberland and Danja, on they're 2nd English album "This Is The One" they had Stargate and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. The KH3 opening song "Face My Fears was done with Skrillex and Poo Bear, they 2018 album "Hatsukoi" had drumming done by Grammy Winner Chris Dave. Even They're recent album "Bad Mode" last year a few of the songs on that album were produced by A. G. Cook of PC Music and Sam Shepherd A.K.A Floating Points.
This album sounds like watching a relationship that isn’t working any more, and the only reason the two people are still together is, because they own pets.
That used to be referred to as an Irish Divorce (back before we could actually do that as a thing) where you're both just waiting for the other one to kick the bucket stewing in your mutual bitterness and stubbornness.
Best Worst Lyrics from each Trainwreckord: "We love Spam in America" (Jewel) "I'M KEEL ROY! KEEL ROY!" (Styx) (honorable mention to "modren man") "A Tribe Called Quest is a bad investment" (MC Hammer) "I've got my magic pie" (Oasis) "Word to the wisdom tooth" (Van Halen) "This here'll take the stain out and won't mess your hair" (CCR) "Jesus died for somebody's sins, I've got my HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROIN" (Billy Idol) (honorable mention to "I am the neuromancer and I'm trancing") "Rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel [said in the least rebellious tone possible]" (Lauryn Hill) "I'm drinkin' a soy latte, I get it double shotte, it goes right through my body and you know I'm satisfied" (Madonna) "Dancin' on my tippie toes, my tippie toes :)" (Robin Thicke) "We are the Claaaaaaaaaaaaash" (The Clash) "I'd love to hurt the population >:(" (Hootie and the Blowfish, the world's least threatening band) "It's a Love thing" (The Beach Boys) "I had to take the brother out for bein' rude" (Arrested Development) "I luv making luv to u
"I had to take the brother out for being rude" isn't actually from the Arrested Development album that was covered. A better one would be "After I scold you, I hope I can mold you".
"Go to the counter to pay for me and my friend / A homeless man pulls out a roll, says it's on him." - Jewel "But you had an abortion..." - Arrested Development "I drive my Mini Cooper / and I'm feeling super duper / and they tell me I'm a trouper / and you know I'm satisfied" (HM goes to: "Couldn't take the loneliness, I couldn't take the phoniness / my father had to go to work, I used to think he was a jerk." - Madonna "Drifting from the way, she got turned down one day / now she thinks that she's bisexual." - Lauryn Hill "Did you ever sigh when a homeless walked by / or changed the channel on a starving child"; "THE CANDY MAN / YEAH, THE CANDY MAN CAN!"; "Open your mouth, and say aaaaahhhh-men! / Rinse cup and spit again." - Van Halen "My husband doesn't let me buy those tabloid magazines because he says it makes me fight with him more! / Positive people like positive people." - Liz Phair "Nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah" - Oasis "Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tock." - Metallica "I'm going to get me a big, big, big, great, big car / and I'm gonna drive, drive, drive, I'll drive so far; "Fingerpoint's gonna pop tonight / I'm gonna point at the best girl in sight"; "I shout 'I am a dirty punk!' / Gonna rock your neighborhood" - The Clash
@@afterdinnercreations936 oh don't get me wrong. Thanks to trainwreckords I learned about "calling occupants" by carpenters. And that was my fav song for a good 3 months. Still love it.
I know right, to think that it’s something he’s only started doing in the last few years, I can’t imagine his channel with out it. It’s become one of my favourite UA-cam series.
16:13 It seems strangely poetic that Jimmy Jam co-wrote a song called "Human", and the Human League wrote a song called "Jam". Real creative energy flowing in _that_ studio, let me tell you.
I really don't know anyone who thinks Every Breath or The One I Love are love songs. The one's like an in joke that everyone knows like Born in the USA. The second doesn't even *sound* romantic. Careless Whisper though. "Should've known better than to cheat a friend" is right there in the chorus but people still think it's the perfect slow dance tune. How? It's a friggin dirge. Human... I don't know anyone outside this video who cares enough to analyze the lyrics.
@@grfrjiglstan I think that worked because the beat was still very cold and robotic, so the emotional vocals layered over it created a weird balance. Kinda like vaporwave.
"I'll swang me another girl, yessiree." Added to the legend of bad lyrics featured on Trainwreckords. I look forward to those even more than watching clips of trucks hitting the 11-foot-8 bridge!
Hate to say it but I'm pretty sure the 11 foot 8 bridge has been adjusted to accommodate the heights of the penske trucks. So we're not going to be getting any new crashes
Upon review... It was written as Ross, it became Chris Titus and Erin from "Norman Rockwell is Bleeding" and the accompanying episode of "Titus". Which... ended poorly in hindsight.
If he was enthusiastic about them, it would sound incredibly jarring. Todd still does these videos "in character" to a degree, albeit much less than he used to, and that character is a bit of a sadsack. Iif he'd actually sounded engaged and then switched back to asking "....at what cost a hit?" in a tone of impending doom, it would have been...weird.
@@maxpowr90 We'd probably have to wait about seven years (10-year rule) unless Todd makes an exception like with Robin Thicke's Paula. I think Timberlake is still doing his own thing, but I guess we'll wait and see what happens.
@@lhwinterit's not really a comment on their skin color but on the cultural differences and the awkwardness of hearing new wave pros use lingo they obviously don't know
@@lhwinter I don't know if it'd be "allowed" but it would be very much be on brand for Brits to make disparaging remarks about skin color and ethnicity. Honestly most the world would have been happy if the Brits were just openly racist but left everybody else alone.
There's a moment with each TRAINWRECKORDS where I think "Oh God no." For this, it was when I found out the Human League had to sing a song titled "Swang".
"Human" sounds like a Phil Collins ballad, which makes me wonder if the Human League would have had more success in Adult Contemporary. That to me sounds like a more obvious sellout move than going R&B.
To me it sounds quite a lot like the R&B ballad-ish cuts Jam and Lewis did with Alexander O’Neal, like A Broken Heart Can Mend, Saturday Love and Crying Overtime. Synthetic but warm-sounding synths, energetic drum machines and vocals quite heartfelt with some spoken bits. I admit Oakey’s voice mightve lent itself well to AC though.
@@SamAronow am I sounding that much like Patrick Bateman? If so, yes quite a lot, although I don’t find Fore their most accomplished album like he does 😂
"Human" played every day at the gas station I worked at 7 years ago. I got tired of it but I've realized that the song is just polished to perfection. Its a good song but not something I'd listen to everyday
Yeah, as a massive fan of Prince and Minneapolis sound in general, I can forgive the lazy lyrics and just appreciate how gorgeous the production on Human is.
I can't help by find it utterly adorable hearing these white British girls like Joanne and Susan Ann be confused and dumbfounded over the meanings behind hip-hop vernacular.
Its not even hip hop, its like general "Hip' American vernacular that had been around for years before that lmao But I knew girls "like that" growing up, its very much an intentional refusal to read context. Because, you know, they're above it 😒
I was embarrassed on their behalf when I saw that clip but tbf when they joined the band they were literally teenagers picked up on a night out so. I guess you can't really expect better
It's unfortunate that the rest of the album doesn't hold up to its lead single. As Todd discussed, the production, instrumentation, and vocals on Human are gorgeous and quintessentially 80s
Yup. That song is *brilliant.* It's a Jam & Lewis classic! I also think Phil does a GREAT job singing it. On that song, the collaboration works beautifully! As for the rest of the album... well... the less said the better...
@@Splattermeltright, he pretty much hinted at it when discussing Human, and Jam and Lewis. But if you liked that sound the album was.....fine?? Sure definitely of the time, but perfectly fine none the less.
I mean, its a good song. I'd say that it'd been better if they saved it for another band though, because while Oakey sings it perfectly, his little "compromise" (which almost caused the whole song to get trashed) is easily the worst part of the song and it isn't close. I spent so long looking for a version of the song without that spoken word part at the end.
Ironic because Moroder also got a shot at producing for Janet Jackson on the album before _Control_ and whiffed it almost as bad as Jam & Lewis did with Oakey
To be fair, the name "Human League" was chosen by the original band, before they left and had Phil deal with contract obligations. It's actually a weird story...
I love a lot of what Jam and Lewis did. Their sound likely got me into R&B, based on what they did and what I was listening to. But I have to say, not letting the female members of a band do their own vocals is beyond a dick move.
The "Human" song perfectly suited Phil Oakey's distinct vocal range, as did Electric Dreams, that's why it was a huge hit. The problem with the rest of the Crash album was that the other songs didn't, apart from "Love Is All That Matters" which at least did sound like a proper Human League song. Of course, Crash wasn't helped by the over-produced funk and jettison of the cold-synth pop feel of their earlier work.
After watching this video I looked up and discovered that “Human” and “Love Is All That Matters” are the only songs on the album by Jam and Lewis as a songwriting team (along with credits for a six-way collaborative effort w/ some frequent associates on “I Need Your Loving”), which feels like a significant piece of the puzzle - they made their name writing stunning pop songs that lived up to the promise of all that futurist holographic sound design, and when they used other people’s material it was usually with an ear for something that would benefit from the futurist-holographic-sound-design treatment… which is maybe something you could say of the _Dare_-era Human League’s work, but less so of their five-years-later burnt-out scraps of a failed album. There just wasn’t enough chasing-off of whatever it was that kept the League from finishing this record on their own, especially when Jam and Lewis gave as many of the surrounding slots to their former Flyte Tyme bassist (author of “Swang”) as they did to themselves.
Yeah, I only know that song and “Love Action,” although I’m aware they were pretty important in the early 80s as a new wave act, which is one of my favorite genres.
I mean, I understand how you could feel that way. Me on the other hand, as a retail worker putting up with the most obnoxious assortment of big band music and boring pop rock music, I would do anything to hear "Human" in the daytime again.
As a fellow grocery store worker, I think we all have a certain few songs that really drive us up the wall. For me, its Always Something There To Remind Me, god i cant stand that song
I know the pain. When I worked retail, it was Manic Mondays. For some ungodly reason it would repeat about 4 times an hour, which sucks for an 8 hour shift. Drove me near batty and now I cringe whenever I hear it.
This is a really interesting period of The Human League's history trying to find their place in a changing world. They are still perhaps the best pop band ever in my mind.
“Pobody’s nerfect!” Thank you, Todd. Thank you for giving me this riposte to anyone who plays that card. No one expects other people to be perfect. We only expect you to account for your behavior.
So it’s a line from a Simpson’s character? I have not watched that show in decades, so I would not know. In any case, thanks to whoever came up with it.
@@amandahaynes7030 When they go to Australia, Lisa wants to buy a digeridoo as a souvenir, but Marge tries to convince her to buy a “pobody’s nerfect” hat instead.
The only other clipshow videos I can think of are Queen's "Innuendo" and "The Show Must Go On," and they were done that way because, by that point, Freddie Mercury was too sick to film anymore videos.
From what I can tell it tends to be most commonly done either out of necessity (e.g. Queen, the Human League, the second video for Devo's "Post-Post Modern Man"), or to acknowledge the end of an act, be it through dissolution, retirement, or death (e.g. Michael Jackson's "Love Never Felt So Good", Talking Heads' "Lifetime Piling Up", the Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86", and even then those three all get more creative with the format, as does the Devo video). The only true exception to the pattern that I can think of is the video for the 1990 remix of "Fame" by David Bowie, largely because that was meant to be part of the lead-in to an unprecedentedly huge reissue campaign.
Also, 2000 Light Years Away by Green Day, but - It's not a clipshow of music videos but rather old performances - It was done for the release of a greatest hits record in 2017 which included the song in spite of it being from their second album Kerplunk which had no singles or music videos
@Mister Metokur Basically the first video got rejected because MTV wanted to use a different version of the song, so a new one had to be slapped together at the last minute. The band weren't available to shoot new footage because of how suddenly it had to be made, so the director just shot a Home Shopping Channel parody with other actors and stuck in clips from old Devo videos that matched the fake products.
I cant stop looking at the lead singer. Depending on the light and angle he can look like John Travolta in his forties, nic cage in his 30's, or a potatoe.
I honestly think he got better-looking when he got older; the increasingly thin buzz-cut from the mid-90's onwards holds up much better than that "80's Skrillex" look from the Dare era.
When 80s nostalgia came back, I was completely baffled because I remember people back then complaining that music wasn’t organic anymore and everything sounded so cold and plastic fantastic. (Think of Bill Hicks’ stand up bit against Debbie Gibson and Rick Astley)
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 The thing about music is, after a certain amount of time, the mediocre and bad stuff tends to go away in people's memories even if they sold a bunch of records. This happened to a lot of smash hits from the 60s and 70s, too. If you go back and look at the Billboard Hot 100s, there are very few bubblegum and teen idol tracks from that time period that have stood the test of time outside of the truly solidly-made stuff like Everlasting Love. Almost nobody listens to The Osmonds or Captain and Tennille these days, but they sold TONS of copies back then. It's almost unthinkable now, but Led Zeppelin never made any Billboard Top 100 year-end list in the 70s. Yes are prog rock legends but they only charted once on the Billboard year-end 100 during the 70s, and even then, "Roundabout" was only the 92nd most popular song of 1972 at the time. Even pop records that are widely considered untouchable classics today, like Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours", didn't chart all that high on the Billboard 1977 year-end single lists: Dreams was #33 (it was No. 1 for only a very short time in 1977), Don't Stop was #52, and Go Your Own Way was #94.
As a Brit who grew up watching reruns of Top of the Pops with my ex-goth Mum, this is insanely eye opening. Literally like, all of these songs are anthems imo. Love is all the matters and Tell me when are classic Human League songs, but apart from Human I'd never heard of anything from Crash. Says it all really
This is also the reason they alienated a lot of their original fans who just dropped their jaws in disbelief when they first heard it. It sounded *nothing* like The Human League, which in itself would have been a minor problem if the songs were good. They weren't. Hate to say this but American commercial radio was at an all time low during the mid 80's. The only thing that mattered were college radio stations where they played all the good stuff. This album was produced as the "hot ticket" to be played on American commercial radio (shivers) when they should have hired a producer who could make them played on college radio. I don't care what Jam and Lewis produced back then or how well it did. Most of it is dated today and R&B is probably the most intellectually dead music style these past 40 years. There were a whole heap of good producers who could have produced a good Human League records and they(?) picked some guys who made "funky rhythms" ? I'd say the record company and their "tin-eared accountants" (taken from Dead Kennedy's "MTV - Get off the air.") who insisted on this was the culprit.
Giorgio Moroder composed a lot of the good human league. In fact he is responsible for a ton of 80's hits, like Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins, What a feeling- Irene Cara, On the radio- Donna Summer, The Scarface movie theme, Take my Breath Away- Berlin, Call Me- Blondie, Limahl - Never Ending Story, and a ton more. Giorgio Moroder is a musical genius.
@@ratherbedealingarms No, because why would I subject myself to that? Between Rae Sremmurd and The Human League, maybe people should just stay away from that word, especially as a song title.
I'll say one thing and just one thing: "Human" is my favourite 80's ballad ever. I just echo what Todd himself said: musically, everything is perfect. The lyrics... what lyrics?
The song “Human” was featured on a compilation called “Hipertensao” which was put out by a Brazilian Portuguese label called Som Livre and it was a soundtrack to a Portuguese soap opera of the same name as it was shown on Rede Globo, a Brazilian TV channel in 1987.
One of my favourite things Todd does is contextualising clashing/different musicians and producers from the past with 21st century examples. The DJ Mustard and Lumineers comparison sent me lol.
The more I listen to this, the more the singers sound like they just want to go home and take a nap, but they're stuck trying to pretend this wasn't a bad idea.
Wow, Todd, i can't believe you can't appreciate the "while you were gone, i was human too" part. That hits sooooo hard. I remember when this song dropped. It was such a beautiful peice. Everyone songs about being sorry and wanting their lover back. This is the only song that has both of them saying sorry. It's fantastic. It's sweet and a satisfying ending to the song.
It might have been that he heard the story about the backstage drama before the song, and that swayed his opinion. Or maybe it really did just remind him of the Piña Colada song, which he absolutely despises.
I can absolutely confirm that to Brits in the mid 1980’s “jam” was known by most people only in the context of fruit preserves. Not until Technotronic in 1989 did that start to change and even then many of us considered that song to about filling doughnuts (why else would you be pumping jam?).
But, George Harrison’s 1970 album All Things Must Pass came with a bonus disc called ‘Apple Jam’. Did it really take two decades for Harrison’s home audience to get the pun?
As a high school junior in 1986, I loved the new direction that Human League took with "Crash." Maybe it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but those guys could've taken a page out of the Depeche Mode playbook and stuck with what got them famous. Either that or stayed focused on the UK. Also, George Michael's "Monkey" was a remix and actually produced by Jam and Lewis. "Love is All That Matters" was released here in the US, but never charted.
This was around the same time “Strawberry Shortcake” was still popular in the toy line. And then the movies “ET”, “Tron”, “Annie”, and “Rocky 3” were there.
It helps that they were probably the best synth act at evolving thier sound as the 80’s wore on. The difference between Power Corruption and Lies in 1983 and Technique in 1989 is pretty stark.
I would say the albums from the 2000s was kind of a weak period for them since that whole alt rock trend didn’t suite them luckily their recent album Music Complete got them back on track again
@@patricklauer4452 Incidentally I would say Waiting for the Sirens' Call would make a good Trainwreckords episode. It has its fans, sure, but it's still one of the band's most divisive albums (rivaled only by Lost Sirens and Republic, the latter of which I'll admit to liking), and its incredibly hostile production (which makes Republic's making look amicable by comparison) directly led to the hiatus that killed the band's massive early 2000's comeback in its tracks. Get Ready though is a solid album, I definitely understand why that briefly put them back on the map for all of four years or so.
@@musyarofah1 To be fair, the band's first album without Hook's involvement was a pretty big step up from the last two Hook-era albums (Waiting for the Sirens' Call and Lost Sirens); I've heard stories about how Hook was the direct instigator for a lot of the studio hostility that led to him leaving the band (among other things he bought the full rights to the Hacienda behind everyone else's backs out of spite), and considering that plus the fact that he was the one who pushed hardest for New Order to be a rock band (just look at how he was dressing by the late 80's compared to everyone else), something tells me that Sumner taking the reins of the band in 2011 was for the better. Plus Music Complete still gives credit to the full band for every track, so it's likely that they're still pretty collaborative despite Sumner being their main creative director now.
I can’t help but be reminded of Cut The Crap by The Clash, despite the lack of band drama in Crash it has the same feel of a dying band desperately trying to pull together an album that nobody involved is enjoying - even down to the album being led by the producer who was most interested in making the band more pop.
Love Todd in the shadows content because I learn about a bands history in a way where it is presented well; plus I discover more music that I can listen to.
Just from the little clip played in this, I ended up looking up the Human League track "Louise", that's a damn good song with a great synth-bassline groove to it. Whether it's this, the greater ouvre of Dexy's Midnight Runners, or "Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls" by Coven, thanks again Todd for exposing me to some great music I wouldn't have known before.
Has "Human" ever been sampled in vaporwave? Because that is a perfect vaporwave beat. I could see someone like Saint Pepsi or Luxury Elite doing a lot with that beat
@@Splattermelt This is one of the many offshoots of vapour. This would be early telepath. A really good current example of this would be desert sand feels warm at night.
I kinda miss that phase where KMFDM had a weird cover of some relatively obscure song on every album. Being Boiled and Mini Mini Mini were especially great.
I love it when Todd contextualises producer/artist mismatches. The concept of Mitski being produced by Marshmello fills me with horror to this day
@@BenjaminSteber It was in the Liz Phair trainwreckords episode!
Door's open for a Chris Cornell/Timbaland episode.
Animal Collective's latest hit LP (Prod. Scott Storch)!!!
@@MrLurchMedia I'd pay five whole dollars to hear that
@@CMBlue A bit too steep a price for me.
"I HAVE to like it, its all I've got it" is such a familiar and gutwrenching feeling for anyone whos struggled with their creative work
Honestly, the moment I heard Todd read that was the moment where I knew that this was gonna be a way more tragic story than what you'd be able to parse just from reading the album's Wikipedia article. I knew the Human League's story past 1981 wasn't a pretty one considering that this is the same band that later wrote "The Stars are Going Out" (arguably the strongest track on the otherwise mediocre follow-up to Crash), but just hearing Phil Oakey openly admit to how trapped the band became with that album and its sunken costs is just painful and does a lot to contextualize how dire their predicament really was.
Yeah, I would love to pretend I don't relate to that sentiment as much as I do.
as an artist i can confirm
Took me about 31 years to not hate every note I had ever written. But then I realized it was just the lyrics that were bad lmfao
Or many "romantic" relationships
i'm just imagining giving a gut-wrenching speech of regret and guilt to your girlfriend about how sorry you are that you cheated, and she lets you get through all of it without saying a word and is like "yeahhhh.....funny thing about that".
Imagine a confessions pt 3 where the wife says she's pregnant too and it isn't usher's
@@rubberwoody Its like Irreplaceable but theres a spoken word break where Beyonce says she cheated too
It's weird but I feel it's a bit of a relief. At that point we can either break up or stay together, but at least we're even and I was the one to break the ice.
something very satisfying about the symmetry of jimmy jam and terry lewis being like "human league? i dunno, call the song human" and the human league being like "we're working with jimmy jam? guess we have to call one of the songs jam?"?
And writing the most hackneyed possible choruses around those titles
I love Human, it's soooooo slick, the rest of the album can die though
Fun fact about Jam and Lewis: they produced two number one j-pop hits for Utada Hikaru, the kingdom hearts singer back in 1999.
everything's connected
@daveraschke So basically they're like Sora?
That's correct, jam and lewis produced the singles "Wait & See (Risk)" & "Addicted to You (Up-In-Heaven mix)" for Hikki's 2nd J-pop album "Distance" in 2001 on that same album Hikki also collab with Rodney "Darkchild" Jenkins on the single "Time Limit"
As a long time Hikki fan, they have work with different very notiable Western Producers. On they're English language album "Exodus" Hikki had production by Timberland and Danja, on they're 2nd English album "This Is The One" they had Stargate and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. The KH3 opening song "Face My Fears was done with Skrillex and Poo Bear, they 2018 album "Hatsukoi" had drumming done by Grammy Winner Chris Dave. Even They're recent album "Bad Mode" last year a few of the songs on that album were produced by A. G. Cook of PC Music and Sam Shepherd A.K.A Floating Points.
*_RECONNECT_*
Who or what is that.
This album sounds like watching a relationship that isn’t working any more, and the only reason the two people are still together is, because they own pets.
It feels like finishing a career in last place, out of breath and falling down.
That used to be referred to as an Irish Divorce (back before we could actually do that as a thing) where you're both just waiting for the other one to kick the bucket stewing in your mutual bitterness and stubbornness.
@@peema10 back in the before times when all we had was Scrap Saturday to get us through the week.
@@Becka_Harper "Mara!" "yesboss"
This comment section giving me life support.
Best Worst Lyrics from each Trainwreckord:
"We love Spam in America" (Jewel)
"I'M KEEL ROY! KEEL ROY!" (Styx) (honorable mention to "modren man")
"A Tribe Called Quest is a bad investment" (MC Hammer)
"I've got my magic pie" (Oasis)
"Word to the wisdom tooth" (Van Halen)
"This here'll take the stain out and won't mess your hair" (CCR)
"Jesus died for somebody's sins, I've got my HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROIN" (Billy Idol) (honorable mention to "I am the neuromancer and I'm trancing")
"Rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel [said in the least rebellious tone possible]" (Lauryn Hill)
"I'm drinkin' a soy latte, I get it double shotte, it goes right through my body and you know I'm satisfied" (Madonna)
"Dancin' on my tippie toes, my tippie toes :)" (Robin Thicke)
"We are the Claaaaaaaaaaaaash" (The Clash)
"I'd love to hurt the population >:(" (Hootie and the Blowfish, the world's least threatening band)
"It's a Love thing" (The Beach Boys)
"I had to take the brother out for bein' rude" (Arrested Development)
"I luv making luv to u
Your archival work is deeply appreciated. (God, I still cannot believe "peñis colada" happened.)
@@Tesseract_King You gotta love how that line is so befuddling stupid that she has to explain the joke.
@@Tesseract_King This line do have me one of my favorites Todd joke.
"Peñis Colada is not gonna make you win a Grammy!"
"I had to take the brother out for being rude" isn't actually from the Arrested Development album that was covered. A better one would be "After I scold you, I hope I can mold you".
"Go to the counter to pay for me and my friend / A homeless man pulls out a roll, says it's on him." - Jewel
"But you had an abortion..." - Arrested Development
"I drive my Mini Cooper / and I'm feeling super duper / and they tell me I'm a trouper / and you know I'm satisfied" (HM goes to: "Couldn't take the loneliness, I couldn't take the phoniness / my father had to go to work, I used to think he was a jerk." - Madonna
"Drifting from the way, she got turned down one day / now she thinks that she's bisexual." - Lauryn Hill
"Did you ever sigh when a homeless walked by / or changed the channel on a starving child"; "THE CANDY MAN / YEAH, THE CANDY MAN CAN!"; "Open your mouth, and say aaaaahhhh-men! /
Rinse cup and spit again." - Van Halen
"My husband doesn't let me buy those tabloid magazines because he says it makes me fight with him more! /
Positive people like positive people." - Liz Phair
"Nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah" - Oasis
"Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tock." - Metallica
"I'm going to get me a big, big, big, great, big car / and I'm gonna drive, drive, drive, I'll drive so far; "Fingerpoint's gonna pop tonight / I'm gonna point at the best girl in sight"; "I shout 'I am a dirty punk!' / Gonna rock your neighborhood" - The Clash
When he drops trainwreckords, it's like Christmas. This series has SO MUCH REWATCHABILITY. The cringe of those bad songs never gets old.
I must have watched the Beach Boys one a hundred times. "Petty dickery and shameless pandering" has become part of my daily life.
depends on the album. Some of them have good songs, even great ones
@@afterdinnercreations936 oh don't get me wrong. Thanks to trainwreckords I learned about "calling occupants" by carpenters. And that was my fav song for a good 3 months. Still love it.
I know right, to think that it’s something he’s only started doing in the last few years, I can’t imagine his channel with out it. It’s become one of my favourite UA-cam series.
This comment is still correct. I'm at home with Covid, and am currently binge rewatching all of them
16:13 It seems strangely poetic that Jimmy Jam co-wrote a song called "Human", and the Human League wrote a song called "Jam". Real creative energy flowing in _that_ studio, let me tell you.
These guys are more creative than Spielberg
I understood that Sopranos reference@@littlekingtrashmouth9219
Shyamalan level twist happening.
The "I love lamp" approach to songwriting
"Human" may just match "Careless Whisper" for songs that people find romantic without knowing what they're really about
“Every Breath You Take” says hi.
And “The One I Love” by REM
"Saving All My Love For You" holds the irony as well
I really don't know anyone who thinks Every Breath or The One I Love are love songs. The one's like an in joke that everyone knows like Born in the USA. The second doesn't even *sound* romantic.
Careless Whisper though. "Should've known better than to cheat a friend" is right there in the chorus but people still think it's the perfect slow dance tune. How? It's a friggin dirge.
Human... I don't know anyone outside this video who cares enough to analyze the lyrics.
@@psychonaut1502 The one with The Sinatras? Dang...as if all of the complex love triangles weren't bad enough....
"So they had to turn their gut-rending power ballad into the goddamn Pina Colada song."
You magnificent writer you that was fucking hilarious.
The best part is, they basically did the same thing to "Don't you want me", and it worked really well there.
@@grfrjiglstan I think that worked because the beat was still very cold and robotic, so the emotional vocals layered over it created a weird balance. Kinda like vaporwave.
My favorite line is the one about the scones
"I'll swang me another girl, yessiree." Added to the legend of bad lyrics featured on Trainwreckords. I look forward to those even more than watching clips of trucks hitting the 11-foot-8 bridge!
That confounded bridge!
Literally came here directly from the latest bridge feeding!
You’re being a penius . . . colada that is.
Hate to say it but I'm pretty sure the 11 foot 8 bridge has been adjusted to accommodate the heights of the penske trucks. So we're not going to be getting any new crashes
I always cringe when I hear a Bullshit Apology for cheating song.
If the bitch believes it they are going to get cheated again.
I love how "Human" is basically Ross saying "we were on a break" made into a song
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Upon review... It was written as Ross, it became Chris Titus and Erin from "Norman Rockwell is Bleeding" and the accompanying episode of "Titus". Which... ended poorly in hindsight.
The song is amazing…
They. Were on. A break. Toxic Ross haters need to accept he was right and move on.
@@AndreNDP somebody cheated on their girlfriend hey? Can’t think why else you would be so weird about it.
16:22 - Todd has a dad? I’d always imagined he’d emerged from the shadows, fatherless, motherless, and opinionated.
ok old but, what if the shadow is his dad?
@@NikolaiOrelovGNR and the light is his mother, for video out light there can be now shadows
@@NikolaiOrelovGNRthanks now I'm imagining a shadow creature saying cringy day things and calling me sport
@@sugarbugx3564was your father the dad from Clarissa Explains It All?
I think the interesting thing about Todd's ads is that you can hear the soul leaving his body while reading the script.
If he was enthusiastic about them, it would sound incredibly jarring. Todd still does these videos "in character" to a degree, albeit much less than he used to, and that character is a bit of a sadsack. Iif he'd actually sounded engaged and then switched back to asking "....at what cost a hit?" in a tone of impending doom, it would have been...weird.
The most delightfully miserable ad reads on UA-cam.
I mean, he's paid for them. It's not like he's being forced to do it. Oh, and it's a character.
It's funnier when he does Nebula ads and mentions "My friend, Lindsey Ellis," when she's his ex girlfriend.
@@Anomaly188they are friends now, so why would he refer to her as his ex, when they broke up like ten years ago? That’d be really strange.
I live for this series. I have watched every trainwreckords episode ten times and it is one of the best series ever to grace UA-cam.
ditto
Same here
Same.
It's so addictive!
Only 10 each? Get on my level
"Compared to the polished NES graphics of the later 80s, 'Dare' is strictly Atari."
Goddamn I love what a way with words Todd has.
So "Dare" is Desert Falcon or Solaris?
“Video gaaaaames, I play those! Yaaaaay!”
~ I guess she's an XBox. And I'm more an Atari. ~
Is that a Cee-Lo Green reference?
@@typicalfurry2747 Maaaaaaaaaybe
if dj mustard produced for the lumineers? wouldn't that just be man of the woods by justin timberlake?
Didn't that crash? Is Todd's hindsight better than his foresight? Stay tuned to find out.
😏yes
@@bendorlinhg6180 Todd Definitely owes us Man of the Woods Trainwreckords.
Sick burn
@@maxpowr90 We'd probably have to wait about seven years (10-year rule) unless Todd makes an exception like with Robin Thicke's Paula. I think Timberlake is still doing his own thing, but I guess we'll wait and see what happens.
"Gotta get some jam? What, for your scones, you pasty Brits?!"
Easily my favorite Todd line ever.
Would the ‘pasty brits’ be allowed to comment on Todd’s skin colour & ethnicity? 🙄
Web Intothevoid said that Human League unique points is ankward lyrics that sounds like someone who use english as a second language 😅
@@lhwinterit's not really a comment on their skin color but on the cultural differences and the awkwardness of hearing new wave pros use lingo they obviously don't know
@@lhwinter I don't know if it'd be "allowed" but it would be very much be on brand for Brits to make disparaging remarks about skin color and ethnicity. Honestly most the world would have been happy if the Brits were just openly racist but left everybody else alone.
Todd's lack of respect for the English gets me every time
“The makeup that looked like it was applied with a t-shirt cannon” I always knew Homer Simpson’s makeup shotgun idea had legs.
And he also got it set on "Whore".
There's a moment with each TRAINWRECKORDS where I think "Oh God no."
For this, it was when I found out the Human League had to sing a song titled "Swang".
For funstyle all of the songs were that moment.
@@daishoryujin95 Oh yeah from minute one you're like, "Excuse me?!"
Why is that?
“The make-up that looked like it was applied with a t-shirt cannon.” Yes!! Love it, good times
@Pete Harrison Stop it.
That counts as a Simpson reference.
@@schris3 "women won't like being shot in the face" -Lisa S.
@@jonathancote9372 "women will like what I tell them to like"
"Human" sounds like a Phil Collins ballad, which makes me wonder if the Human League would have had more success in Adult Contemporary. That to me sounds like a more obvious sellout move than going R&B.
One less victim for soft rock to claim (Chicago, Lionel Richie, etc).
To me it sounds quite a lot like the R&B ballad-ish cuts Jam and Lewis did with Alexander O’Neal, like A Broken Heart Can Mend, Saturday Love and Crying Overtime. Synthetic but warm-sounding synths, energetic drum machines and vocals quite heartfelt with some spoken bits. I admit Oakey’s voice mightve lent itself well to AC though.
@@mmsiphonevinyls1027 Ya like Huey Lewis and the News? 😉👉
@@SamAronow am I sounding that much like Patrick Bateman? If so, yes quite a lot, although I don’t find Fore their most accomplished album like he does 😂
Because of the synths, I could easily see it being a Duran Duran or Culture Club record.
“A poor man’s Wang Chung” is heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time.😅
"Human" played every day at the gas station I worked at 7 years ago. I got tired of it but I've realized that the song is just polished to perfection. Its a good song but not something I'd listen to everyday
Which Jimmy Jam power ballad did it best?
"Human"
"Let's Wait a While"
"Come Back to Me"
I used to work in retail. They would play the neck out of this song.
It is a beautiful song. It's now unfortunately misplaced in an insurance ad, but I still listen to it to this day.
@@tcbvgames
"Can You Stand The Rain"
"Tender Love"
Yeah, as a massive fan of Prince and Minneapolis sound in general, I can forgive the lazy lyrics and just appreciate how gorgeous the production on Human is.
"See baby, if you'd stay with me I wouldn't cheat" - this song
Basically! Lol
Human gives the same excuse Pete Campbell gave Trudy for cheating.
After years of covering early ‘80s British crossovers, we finally get a Young Ones clip.
Yes, loved that show!
R.I.P. Rik Mayall.
No, we are not watching the bloody Good Life!
I thank my college girlfriend for showing me that back then lol
YES! WE'VE GOT A VIDEO!!!
Right. Anyone tell the stiffie joke?
"they became a poor man's Wang Chung"
Don't you mean...Swang Chung? 😉
I love Wang Chung!
Everybody Have Jam Tonight
Jam Hall Days
@@awzthemusicalreviews jam this!
ua-cam.com/video/pSg_6T8HrRg/v-deo.html
I can't help by find it utterly adorable hearing these white British girls like Joanne and Susan Ann be confused and dumbfounded over the meanings behind hip-hop vernacular.
Its not even hip hop, its like general "Hip' American vernacular that had been around for years before that lmao
But I knew girls "like that" growing up, its very much an intentional refusal to read context. Because, you know, they're above it 😒
It's actually adorable 🥰 especially when they are being genuine in trying to say American Hip Hop/Rap lingos.. It's adorable..
You say that as if they're a seperate species lol
I was embarrassed on their behalf when I saw that clip but tbf when they joined the band they were literally teenagers picked up on a night out so. I guess you can't really expect better
@Terrence Clay
I found that Scene the Best Part of the Video and yes they were adorable
It's unfortunate that the rest of the album doesn't hold up to its lead single. As Todd discussed, the production, instrumentation, and vocals on Human are gorgeous and quintessentially 80s
Yup. That song is *brilliant.* It's a Jam & Lewis classic!
I also think Phil does a GREAT job singing it.
On that song, the collaboration works beautifully!
As for the rest of the album... well... the less said the better...
Yes, but not even a bad album. He essentially just doesn't like the sound. This isn't even close to what would be considered a 'TRAINWRECKORD'.
@@Splattermeltright, he pretty much hinted at it when discussing Human, and Jam and Lewis. But if you liked that sound the album was.....fine?? Sure definitely of the time, but perfectly fine none the less.
I mean, its a good song. I'd say that it'd been better if they saved it for another band though, because while Oakey sings it perfectly, his little "compromise" (which almost caused the whole song to get trashed) is easily the worst part of the song and it isn't close. I spent so long looking for a version of the song without that spoken word part at the end.
Todd making fun of terrible apologies is one of my favorite running gags.
Did he ever do that Jason Derulo song? It seems like it would've been perfect.
@@sandboxsub333 if you're referring to "Whatcha Say", then yes! It's actually one of Todd's earliest reviews haha
"Top 10 Worst Apology Songs in Pop Music" when?
Giorgio Moroder sure managed to get a heartfelt performance out of Phil on Electric Dreams - but then he is a goddamn genius
That song is pretty good, I first heard it on their Very Best Of compilation. I have yet to see the movie.
Ironic because Moroder also got a shot at producing for Janet Jackson on the album before _Control_ and whiffed it almost as bad as Jam & Lewis did with Oakey
It takes a genius to recruit Kenny Loggins to save his planet from a black hole.
@@Champiness So...........if I follow, Moroder produced the album she did before Control and it turned out to be an EXTREMELY bad decision?
But the rest of the album they did together is BAD. Some songs in there are Swang level material
To be fair, the name "Human League" was chosen by the original band, before they left and had Phil deal with contract obligations. It's actually a weird story...
In all fairness it's a more attention-grabbing name than "Heaven 17."
@@VinchVolt oh and Orange Juice and Aztec Camera weren't? J/k I love all these bands unashamedly lol
@@VinchVolt
That was a Clockwork Orange reference (book not movie):
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 in the movie too
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 Yeah I know, I just think "The Human League" sticks out more as a band name.
I love a lot of what Jam and Lewis did. Their sound likely got me into R&B, based on what they did and what I was listening to.
But I have to say, not letting the female members of a band do their own vocals is beyond a dick move.
Funny thing is. Ian Burden (Bassist/Keyboardist) vocal in this album was Jam and Lewis idea 😆
The "Human" song perfectly suited Phil Oakey's distinct vocal range, as did Electric Dreams, that's why it was a huge hit. The problem with the rest of the Crash album was that the other songs didn't, apart from "Love Is All That Matters" which at least did sound like a proper Human League song. Of course, Crash wasn't helped by the over-produced funk and jettison of the cold-synth pop feel of their earlier work.
After watching this video I looked up and discovered that “Human” and “Love Is All That Matters” are the only songs on the album by Jam and Lewis as a songwriting team (along with credits for a six-way collaborative effort w/ some frequent associates on “I Need Your Loving”), which feels like a significant piece of the puzzle - they made their name writing stunning pop songs that lived up to the promise of all that futurist holographic sound design, and when they used other people’s material it was usually with an ear for something that would benefit from the futurist-holographic-sound-design treatment… which is maybe something you could say of the _Dare_-era Human League’s work, but less so of their five-years-later burnt-out scraps of a failed album. There just wasn’t enough chasing-off of whatever it was that kept the League from finishing this record on their own, especially when Jam and Lewis gave as many of the surrounding slots to their former Flyte Tyme bassist (author of “Swang”) as they did to themselves.
@@Champiness Minor complaint but Terry Lewis was the bassist for Flyte Time, David Eiland (the guy who wrote Swang) played sax.
Todd : "Swang? I have a bad feeling about this..."
Me : "it would be funny if that was the best song"
Also me : "it wasnt funny"
Me reading the title: I don't know The Human League
Todd plays "Don't you want me, baby": Oh god, them?
Yeah, that's pretty much me with almost every band he covers, even the One Hit Wonderlands where the song is right there in the title
Listen to the album that Don't You Want Me comes from. It's really good early synth-pop.
Yeah, I only know that song and “Love Action,” although I’m aware they were pretty important in the early 80s as a new wave act, which is one of my favorite genres.
@Pete Harrison Stop spamming links to a crappy mixtape you spam-bot.
@@Jaceblue04 It's a bot most likely, just report it.
As a grocery store employee, I could gladly go my entire life without hearing "Human" ever again.
I think that song deserves credit for starting the adult contemporary movement of the late 80s. They were pioneers again.
I mean, I understand how you could feel that way. Me on the other hand, as a retail worker putting up with the most obnoxious assortment of big band music and boring pop rock music, I would do anything to hear "Human" in the daytime again.
When I worked in a grocery store back in high school I wanted to pull my hair out everytime I heard "What A Fool Believes"...
As a fellow grocery store worker, I think we all have a certain few songs that really drive us up the wall. For me, its Always Something There To Remind Me, god i cant stand that song
I know the pain. When I worked retail, it was Manic Mondays. For some ungodly reason it would repeat about 4 times an hour, which sucks for an 8 hour shift. Drove me near batty and now I cringe whenever I hear it.
This is a really interesting period of The Human League's history trying to find their place in a changing world. They are still perhaps the best pop band ever in my mind.
“Pobody’s nerfect!”
Thank you, Todd. Thank you for giving me this riposte to anyone who plays that card. No one expects other people to be perfect. We only expect you to account for your behavior.
Whether Todd intended it or not, I count this as a Simpsons reference.
So it’s a line from a Simpson’s character? I have not watched that show in decades, so I would not know. In any case, thanks to whoever came up with it.
@@amandahaynes7030 When they go to Australia, Lisa wants to buy a digeridoo as a souvenir, but Marge tries to convince her to buy a “pobody’s nerfect” hat instead.
@@zombiedodge1426something tells me Todd was a young man who digested and committed to memory the Simpsons seasons 1,2, and 4 DVDs
The only other clipshow videos I can think of are Queen's "Innuendo" and "The Show Must Go On," and they were done that way because, by that point, Freddie Mercury was too sick to film anymore videos.
From what I can tell it tends to be most commonly done either out of necessity (e.g. Queen, the Human League, the second video for Devo's "Post-Post Modern Man"), or to acknowledge the end of an act, be it through dissolution, retirement, or death (e.g. Michael Jackson's "Love Never Felt So Good", Talking Heads' "Lifetime Piling Up", the Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86", and even then those three all get more creative with the format, as does the Devo video). The only true exception to the pattern that I can think of is the video for the 1990 remix of "Fame" by David Bowie, largely because that was meant to be part of the lead-in to an unprecedentedly huge reissue campaign.
Wasn't also another reason why "The Show Must Go On" video was a clipshow was that it was used to promote the band's 2nd greatest hits album
Also, 2000 Light Years Away by Green Day, but
- It's not a clipshow of music videos but rather old performances
- It was done for the release of a greatest hits record in 2017 which included the song in spite of it being from their second album Kerplunk which had no singles or music videos
@Mister Metokur Basically the first video got rejected because MTV wanted to use a different version of the song, so a new one had to be slapped together at the last minute. The band weren't available to shoot new footage because of how suddenly it had to be made, so the director just shot a Home Shopping Channel parody with other actors and stuck in clips from old Devo videos that matched the fake products.
The video for George Harrison’s “All Those Years Ago,” released the year after John Lennon’s death, is basically a Beatles clip show.
The universe felt me grasping at straws, nearing the end of my nonstop Todd in the Shadows marathon, and delivered me from boredom.
Maybe get help on that?
@@TheEvilCheesecake I’ve said too much...
I swear at this point Todd has gone through half or more of the few songs they repeatedly play at my store over and over again.
Rofl. Yep, live it everyday.
I cant stop looking at the lead singer. Depending on the light and angle he can look like John Travolta in his forties, nic cage in his 30's, or a potatoe.
I honestly think he got better-looking when he got older; the increasingly thin buzz-cut from the mid-90's onwards holds up much better than that "80's Skrillex" look from the Dare era.
Or Darren Criss right now.
The Dan Quayle spelling!
or cillian Murphy
But, you listed 3 varieties of potato.
I regularly drove to school in 1986. Yes Todd, "I Need Your Loving" did sound like every third song on the radio and yes it did blow.
How often was it played?
@@dragontales1999 Hourly
@@jimpemberton2246 oh god, imagine having to listen to that for days every hour.
When 80s nostalgia came back, I was completely baffled because I remember people back then complaining that music wasn’t organic anymore and everything sounded so cold and plastic fantastic. (Think of Bill Hicks’ stand up bit against Debbie Gibson and Rick Astley)
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 The thing about music is, after a certain amount of time, the mediocre and bad stuff tends to go away in people's memories even if they sold a bunch of records. This happened to a lot of smash hits from the 60s and 70s, too. If you go back and look at the Billboard Hot 100s, there are very few bubblegum and teen idol tracks from that time period that have stood the test of time outside of the truly solidly-made stuff like Everlasting Love. Almost nobody listens to The Osmonds or Captain and Tennille these days, but they sold TONS of copies back then. It's almost unthinkable now, but Led Zeppelin never made any Billboard Top 100 year-end list in the 70s. Yes are prog rock legends but they only charted once on the Billboard year-end 100 during the 70s, and even then, "Roundabout" was only the 92nd most popular song of 1972 at the time. Even pop records that are widely considered untouchable classics today, like Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours", didn't chart all that high on the Billboard 1977 year-end single lists: Dreams was #33 (it was No. 1 for only a very short time in 1977), Don't Stop was #52, and Go Your Own Way was #94.
"Gotta Get Some Jam" could have been an amazing jingle for a jam company.
Need jam? Go to the supermarket.
This message brought to you by the UK Jam Board.
Or Tesco's.
As a Brit who grew up watching reruns of Top of the Pops with my ex-goth Mum, this is insanely eye opening. Literally like, all of these songs are anthems imo. Love is all the matters and Tell me when are classic Human League songs, but apart from Human I'd never heard of anything from Crash. Says it all really
"Tell Me When" is a classic and I'm also fond of "Don't You Know I Want You."
I really love how those British gals say kicking with their accents.
They looked so taken aback too. I wonder they’d react to popular modern slang today lol
Ki'n
The Sheffield accent has it's charms.
@@Mitch93 The only British accents I knew are kinda the popular ones, the scouse, mancunian, brummie and the London one.
- "And then 'e says to us, "that's cool," and we were goin': "wot?!" Wot's "cool"?!" 😵
The Human League is a pretty underrated band here in the states. They still have plenty of good songs and mixes for anyone who likes synth-pop.
This is also the reason they alienated a lot of their original fans who just dropped their jaws in disbelief when they first heard it. It sounded *nothing* like The Human League, which in itself would have been a minor problem if the songs were good. They weren't.
Hate to say this but American commercial radio was at an all time low during the mid 80's. The only thing that mattered were college radio stations where they played all the good stuff. This album was produced as the "hot ticket" to be played on American commercial radio (shivers) when they should have hired a producer who could make them played on college radio.
I don't care what Jam and Lewis produced back then or how well it did. Most of it is dated today and R&B is probably the most intellectually dead music style these past 40 years.
There were a whole heap of good producers who could have produced a good Human League records and they(?) picked some guys who made "funky rhythms" ?
I'd say the record company and their "tin-eared accountants" (taken from Dead Kennedy's "MTV - Get off the air.") who insisted on this was the culprit.
Giorgio Moroder composed a lot of the good human league. In fact he is responsible for a ton of 80's hits, like Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins, What a feeling- Irene Cara, On the radio- Donna Summer, The Scarface movie theme, Take my Breath Away- Berlin, Call Me- Blondie, Limahl - Never Ending Story, and a ton more. Giorgio Moroder is a musical genius.
I'm a simple man. Todd posts a Trainrecords episode, I watch it immediately.
I think I might like this series even more than one hit wonderland
@@tiffanielafleur6597 they both are equally great imho
I then watch it over rand over forever.
I'm that way with any Todd video. The wait is always worth it
@Bloody Pulp If that Disney jingle is a smash hit, he will be compelled to talk about it.
This is my favorite series from Todd. Extremely interesting he does such a good job at describing the albums and how they fail.
This is my favorite channel on UA-cam...
It still is!!!!
SWANG
Was I the only one who thought of Swangin.avi? With that Drake song in the background?
Anyone else watch Rae Sremmurd’s “Swang” immediately after this?
@@ratherbedealingarms No, because why would I subject myself to that? Between Rae Sremmurd and The Human League, maybe people should just stay away from that word, especially as a song title.
...relax and S W A N G
SWANG INTO TOMORROW
Thanks, Todd. I laughed my arse off at "Jam? What, for your SCONES, YOU PASTY BRITS?!"
"Saving Throw" legit sounds like a good name for a band, by the way. Thanks for adding another one to the list.
Natural 20, gotta be the name of their big rivals. ;)
This album is just f-tier Duran Duran
^
Human League are f-tier Duran Duran.
Haha
That spoken word part is the one of the best parts of the song.
The icy, cynical way she said it was just perfect.
So glad you intro'd this video with the legendary Rik Mayall! Nothing else says early 80's than The Young Ones.
"I HAVE to like it, it's all I've got" Wow...I cant even make fun of that, that is just...jesus
I'll say one thing and just one thing: "Human" is my favourite 80's ballad ever. I just echo what Todd himself said: musically, everything is perfect.
The lyrics... what lyrics?
we don't pay attention to the lyrics.
The song “Human” was featured on a compilation called “Hipertensao” which was put out by a Brazilian Portuguese label called Som Livre and it was a soundtrack to a Portuguese soap opera of the same name as it was shown on Rede Globo, a Brazilian TV channel in 1987.
Which Jimmy Jam power ballad did it best?
"Human"
"Let's Wait a While"
"Come Back to Me"
@@tcbvgames "Making Love In The Rain"
@@tcbvgames Can You Stand The Rain by New Edition.
"Honey, there's a new Trainwreckords video!"
One of my favourite things Todd does is contextualising clashing/different musicians and producers from the past with 21st century examples. The DJ Mustard and Lumineers comparison sent me lol.
"were so far into the future. It's like we're so 3008 and you're so 2000-late!" - the Human League probably
"Human" is one of those songs with a lousy premise, but the song still slaps.
Stop trying to make fetch happen.
@@BarronVonSchnoot ?
@@BarronVonSchnoot "fetch"...??????
Slaps like a mf!! I've always liked this song.
The bafflement as to what 'attitude' could mean is physically hurting me
I'm just here to worship my second favorite Todd and feed the algorithm
Who's the first?
The Todd obv ✋
@@michaelharrison5725 Todd from Mario, of course. (Drawfee)
@@rebeccat.6134 came here to say this
@@Guitar-Dog ✋
The more I listen to this, the more the singers sound like they just want to go home and take a nap, but they're stuck trying to pretend this wasn't a bad idea.
Wow, Todd, i can't believe you can't appreciate the "while you were gone, i was human too" part. That hits sooooo hard. I remember when this song dropped. It was such a beautiful peice. Everyone songs about being sorry and wanting their lover back. This is the only song that has both of them saying sorry. It's fantastic. It's sweet and a satisfying ending to the song.
It might have been that he heard the story about the backstage drama before the song, and that swayed his opinion. Or maybe it really did just remind him of the Piña Colada song, which he absolutely despises.
Thank you! I adore this song!
Todd got this one wrong to be honest, not to mention it didn't have half bad reviews at the time. A number of them positive also.
"JAM? JAM FOR YOUR SCONES YOU PASTY BRITS?!" Wow, Shocks Fired. Didn't realize he would take them at the Brits...hahahaha. Love the line Todd
At least Philip Oakey still has Electric Dreams to fall back on.
Well, it turns out that Janet had something the Human League didn't with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Control.
Ba dum tss!
Your avatar reminds me of another Human League album
@@p0werfu11 MAN GUE crew rise up
I can absolutely confirm that to Brits in the mid 1980’s “jam” was known by most people only in the context of fruit preserves.
Not until Technotronic in 1989 did that start to change and even then many of us considered that song to about filling doughnuts (why else would you be pumping jam?).
But, George Harrison’s 1970 album All Things Must Pass came with a bonus disc called ‘Apple Jam’. Did it really take two decades for Harrison’s home audience to get the pun?
I always fill my doughnuts with my feet stompin’
have you never heard of The Jam?
honestly just using that context for the song makes it better
Are you referring to the 1989 release of the legendary Belgian techno anthem “Pump Up The Jam?”
"It's 1986, I wear a headband" I died from this
As a high school junior in 1986, I loved the new direction that Human League took with "Crash." Maybe it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but those guys could've taken a page out of the Depeche Mode playbook and stuck with what got them famous. Either that or stayed focused on the UK. Also, George Michael's "Monkey" was a remix and actually produced by Jam and Lewis. "Love is All That Matters" was released here in the US, but never charted.
It sounded better when we were in high school than it sounds now.
I still love "Don't You Want Me", it's one of my favourite songs. I can't even explain why, it just sounds perfect to me.
This was around the same time “Strawberry Shortcake” was still popular in the toy line. And then the movies “ET”, “Tron”, “Annie”, and “Rocky 3” were there.
It’s because it is perfect
Sometimes it's just that simple. Phil and Susan really sell it, the melodies and instrumentation are lovely, and it's really well produced.
Dang it if “Human” is so smooth. Crazy how good the song sounds.
I'm here to provide the obligatory "If Todd has a 10 year waiting period for Trainwreckords, that's actually 2011, not 1991" to blow your mind.
“You need some jam? For your scones!?”
This may be one of the all time greatest Todd lines ever.
The make up that looks like it was applied by a T-shirt cannon, had me.
I’m surprised he didn’t reference Homer Simpson’s make-up shotgun.
I only know their “Don’t you want me Baby” hit. But there is me exposing my ignorance. Thanks Todd!
The whole album, Dare, is fan freaking tastic.
I loved the whole Dare album. It blew my little 14 year-old mind.
@@Remerdre my mom was also 14 around 1981. Don’t know why I’m bringing that up but she loves the human league too
Check out ‘Lebanon’.
I feel New Order are one of the few synth pop and new wave bands from this area that are still pretty consistent quality wise.
It helps that they were probably the best synth act at evolving thier sound as the 80’s wore on. The difference between Power Corruption and Lies in 1983 and Technique in 1989 is pretty stark.
I would say the albums from the 2000s was kind of a weak period for them since that whole alt rock trend didn’t suite them luckily their recent album Music Complete got them back on track again
@@patricklauer4452 Incidentally I would say Waiting for the Sirens' Call would make a good Trainwreckords episode. It has its fans, sure, but it's still one of the band's most divisive albums (rivaled only by Lost Sirens and Republic, the latter of which I'll admit to liking), and its incredibly hostile production (which makes Republic's making look amicable by comparison) directly led to the hiatus that killed the band's massive early 2000's comeback in its tracks.
Get Ready though is a solid album, I definitely understand why that briefly put them back on the map for all of four years or so.
no, Pet Shop Boys is. The current New Order is basically just 'Bernard Sumner & The Others', especially with the departure of Peter Hook.
@@musyarofah1 To be fair, the band's first album without Hook's involvement was a pretty big step up from the last two Hook-era albums (Waiting for the Sirens' Call and Lost Sirens); I've heard stories about how Hook was the direct instigator for a lot of the studio hostility that led to him leaving the band (among other things he bought the full rights to the Hacienda behind everyone else's backs out of spite), and considering that plus the fact that he was the one who pushed hardest for New Order to be a rock band (just look at how he was dressing by the late 80's compared to everyone else), something tells me that Sumner taking the reins of the band in 2011 was for the better.
Plus Music Complete still gives credit to the full band for every track, so it's likely that they're still pretty collaborative despite Sumner being their main creative director now.
This was honestly the most painful Trainwreckords I’ve watched so far.
13:04
“I know we’ve been living and breathing 80s nostalgia since 2002…”
EXACTLY one year too late for the ‘Glitter’ Soundtrack.
YES ANOTHER TRAINWRECKORDS!!! Probably my favorite series from you yet Todd, I marathoned them all like... two days ago lol
The return of the best series on UA-cam
I can’t help but be reminded of Cut The Crap by The Clash, despite the lack of band drama in Crash it has the same feel of a dying band desperately trying to pull together an album that nobody involved is enjoying - even down to the album being led by the producer who was most interested in making the band more pop.
"A poor man's Wang Chung"
*Living In A Box wants to know your location*
In a box. Of course.
Love Todd in the shadows content because I learn about a bands history in a way where it is presented well; plus I discover more music that I can listen to.
When you look up new Todd videos and you’re sad there isn’t one. Then 10 minutes later you see it posted. Life is good
A Todd video uploaded on my 19th birthday? Today really is a good day
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday :)
💜🎂🎈🥳
I did not know how much I wanted a remake of The Notebook starring Kelsey Grammer. And yet here we are.
Hard same. Everything exactly the same, just swap Gosling for Grammar
Someone should do a fake trailer for this using clips from Frasier
Where are we?
Just from the little clip played in this, I ended up looking up the Human League track "Louise", that's a damn good song with a great synth-bassline groove to it. Whether it's this, the greater ouvre of Dexy's Midnight Runners, or "Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls" by Coven, thanks again Todd for exposing me to some great music I wouldn't have known before.
Todd is the kind of guy that I have to hide my record collection before he comes over.
But is useless.
todd really trying his darndest to not sound annoyed during the ad read
That's why I love him
File "Swang" under the list of "Stop trying to make Fetch a thing!" words right along Batman Beyond and their copious use of the word "Schway".
I refuse to believe anybody doesn’t like Fascination. You’re a stronger man than me if you can even pretend to not love that song.
NerdWithanAfro, a colleague of Todd's, put it in the honorable mentions of his Worst Songs Of 1982. His lists have a lot of biased opinions
Jo Callie wrote the riff after trying, and failing, to play ‘Reeling in the Years’. True story.
That slightly detuned synth hook sounds so wrong, and yet so damn right.
@@evapalma9899 lol wut? All opinions will have a bias. That’s literally what an opinion is.
I don't! I like a few of their singles, but I never liked that one.
Has "Human" ever been sampled in vaporwave? Because that is a perfect vaporwave beat. I could see someone like Saint Pepsi or Luxury Elite doing a lot with that beat
I never think about that. Luxury Elite could've easily sample "Human".
This also works in that classic slushwave way.
@@DerekPower Oh yeah. Give that shit to Telepath and watch him turn it into dreamy, vaguely dystopian magic
@@DerekPower Slushwave?
@@Splattermelt This is one of the many offshoots of vapour. This would be early telepath. A really good current example of this would be desert sand feels warm at night.
This series never disappoints.
German industrial metal band KMFDM has a sick cover of the Human League’s “Being Boiled”. Rocks hard.
noice.
Ever hear this version of the original? It's a tweaked version of the John Peel session. ua-cam.com/video/HrYwPuTyfKg/v-deo.html
I kinda miss that phase where KMFDM had a weird cover of some relatively obscure song on every album. Being Boiled and Mini Mini Mini were especially great.
@@lorcannagle the J Hogstorm remix of “Mini Mini Mini” on Ruck Zuck blew my mind.
@@Wyattporter Yeah, that was one of the standout tracks on Ruck Zuck