Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Too Shy (1983)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song laments vulnerability and self-consciousness in a social settings. Are you often "too shy?" Or are social gatherings easy for you? Professionally, I'm fine. When I worked in advertising, I was good in front of a roomful of clients. At the card shop I'm fine talking to customers. I'm less comfortable socially.

 

2) In the lyrics, a girl self-censors, telling herself, "hush hush." Have you more recently shushed someone, or were you shushed? I was shushed.

 

3) Band member Nick Beggs recalls that they called themselves Kajagoogoo because it sounded like something that would make a baby laugh. It is fun to say. Can you think of another word that you just enjoy saying? "Gubernatorial." 

 

4) This was the only US hit for the British band, earning Kajagoogoo the title "One Hit Wonder." Can you think of another artist or band who had one really popular song and then just kind of disappeared? Who can forget funky Billy Chin and little Sammy John?
 

 
5) Though fame was fleeting here, Kajagoogoo remained popular in England. Lead singer Limahl recalls the adulation as "overwhelming," and he was shocked when he stepped on stage in Cornwall to see row after row of fans wearing their hair like he did. Have you ever handed a photo to a stylist and said, "Make my hair look like this?" Kinda sorta. I said I wanted my hair to look like Olivia Benson's on SVU and he knew what I meant. That was more than a decade ago. Liv has changed her hair many times but this is still my cut. I've changed up the color since then, but I'm staying with this style.

 

6) In 1983, when this song was popular, the Lotus 1-2-3 program made it easier for PC users to make spreadsheets. Are you answering these questions on a Mac or PC? Laptop, phone or tablet? MacBook Air.

7) 1983 saw Abbey Road Studios open their doors for the first time for public tours. During the first two months, 22,000 tickets were sold to fans who wanted to see where the Beatles made their magic. What's the last ticket you purchased? Probably my airline tickets for my flights to/from Los Angeles last month.

 
8) Also in 1983, McDonald's introduced Chicken McNuggets. When was chicken most recently on the menu at your home? How was it prepared? Last week I took a tray of prepared pulled barbecue chicken out of my refrigerator and popped it in the microwave.

 

9) Random question: Have you ever forgotten where you left your car in a parking lot? I don't drive, so I've never been the one who has done the forgetting. But I have wandered around parking lot with friends who have misplaced their cars. Seems to happen a lot.