₦airaland Forum

naptu2:
I read the silly British tabloids in the late 1980s and early 1990s and I could very clearly see what they were doing, although, at the time I didn't know why.

It was quite obvious that they were trying to hound Princess Diana. There was a particular story that angered me. It was a story about William and Harry. At that time they were in kindergarten and primary school, so I wondered how a paper could be writing about what little kids said in school and taking it so seriously, as if they were adults.

Anyway, the tabloids tried to link that name, Dirty Diana, to Princess Diana. It was reported that Michael would not perform the song during the UK leg of his "Bad" tour, because of the way that the tabloids tried to link the song to Princess Diana.

I have since found out that Michael actually planned to remove the song from his set list during his performance at Wembley Stadium, but that he reintroduced it and performed the song after Princess Diana told him that it was her favourite.


This song is just like Billie Jean in the sense that it is actually about groupies. It's the second hard rock song of Michael's career.


Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana (1987)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUi_S6YWjZw

naptu2:
At last! I've got good quality audio with the original video.

The riff gets me every time. His guitar playing was simply out of this world.

O yeah!


In France, a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name,
By chance his girlfriend came across a needle and soon she did the same.
At home there are seventeen-year-old boys and their idea of fun,
Is being in a gang called 'The Disciples'
High on crack and totin' a machine gun.

Time.
Time.

Hurricane Annie ripped the ceiling of a church and killed everyone inside.
You turn on the telly and every other story is tellin' you somebody died
A sister killed her baby 'cause she couldn't afford to feed it,
And yet we're sending people to the moon.
In September, my cousin tried reefer for the very first time
Now he's doing horse - it's June.

Time.
Time.

It's silly, no?
When a rocket ship explodes and everybody still wants to fly.
But some say a man ain't happy unless a man truly dies.
Oh why?
Time.

Time.
Time.


Baby make a speech, Star Wars fly
Neighbors just shine it on
But if a night falls and a bomb falls
Will anybody see the dawn?

Time.
Time.

Is it silly, no?
When a rocket blows,
and everybody still wants to fly
Some say man ain't happy truly until a man
truly dies
Oh why,
oh why?
Siiiiggn o' the times.

Time
Time

Prince - Sign O The Times (1987).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsZcz9T_-Jc

naptu2:
This song is very special to me. This is the first time that I heard Prince infuse hip hop into his music and I was really into hip hop then. This song is a very funky combination of soul, rock, hip hop and pop.

I’m glad that I found the original video. This video messed with my mind.

But more importantly, this song would touch you if you knew what was happening in the world at that time.

This was 1986/87 and AIDS was real serious business then. The symbol for AIDS at that time was a skull and cross bones. The information campaign around AIDS at that time was designed to scare the hell out of you. It felt like HIV/AIDS was a death sentence and that the person was condemned to die a slow and horrifying death. And then there was that night in 1986 when Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti announced the first case of AIDS in Nigeria. It was incredibly scary.

People rarely talked or sang about AIDS then, but Prince did. He sang, “In France a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name”.

He also sang about gangs, “At home there are 17 year old boys and their idea of fun is being in a gang called the disciples, high on crack and toting a machine gun”.

He sang about poverty, “A sister killed a baby because she couldn’t afford to feed it and we’re sending people to the moon”

This song was released just a few months after the space shuttle exploded and he sang about that too.

“It's silly no, when a rocket ship explodes
And everybody still wants to fly?
But some say a man ain't happy
Unless a man truly dies
O why?
Sign O The Times”

He sang about drugs, “September my cousin tried reefer for the very first time, now he’s doing horse. It’s June”.

He also sang about atomic bombs. "If a night falls and a bomb falls, will anybody see the dawn?"

And the thing was that this was a really cool and funky song. It was message music, yet it wasn’t a sad song.

This song was a big hit in Nigeria and it had very good airplay on NTA2 Channel 5.

I’m tempted to post the entire lyrics, but I won’t. Still, you really need to listen to this song. Listen to the lyrics.

Prince – Sign O The Times (1987)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EdxM72EZ94

naptu2:
NigeriaInfo is gold! You will not believe what they are playing at the moment!

We've got to move these. . .refrigerators.

We've got to move these colour TVs!

naptu2:
O that guitar!
O that guitar!
O that guitar!


This is the good old days.

"We've got to move these refrigerators"


Dire Straights - Money For Nothing (1985).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTP2RUD_cL0

So no one told you that your life was gonna be this way.
Your job's a joke, you're broke, your love life's DOA.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear.
When it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, but

I'll be there for you

Ishilove:
I am shocked and embarrassed that an ex-officer of the law said this. His activities while in office needs investigated

naptu2:
I remember when I often confused people by saying Bon Jon Jovi and they wouldn't be able to say it properly again. Some people would he so confused that they wouldn't know what I did. They knew that something was wrong with what I said, but they didn't know what.

naptu2:
Me: "Bon Jon Jovi"

Them: "No! It's Jon Jon Jovi! Wait, what did I just say"?

naptu2:
Whoa! We're halfway there!
Whoa o! Living on a prayer!

Why is there a Rebel Flag hanging from the State House Walls?

Why can't we love one another?