“So jump in the river and learn to swim...”

October 16, 2021 3:26 PM

Satellite, by The Hooters, was a minor and underrated 1987 hit, reaching #61 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #22 on the UK Singles Chart, and charting in several European countries [lyrics][live on Top of the Pops]. The song was written by Eric Bazilian, Rick Chertoff, and Rob Hyman, and was used on an episode of Miami Vice called "Amen... Send Money".
posted by Wordshore (15 comments total)

Memory is odd. I couldn't identify the song by the title, but I was pretty sure I had this album given the date. Even when the music began, I wasn't sure I knew it. However, once the lyrics started, every word flowed from my brain in an unstoppable torrent.

I recall that I found this song reassuring at the time. The bizarre state of tele-evangelism in the 1980s struck me as so weird, it was good for teen me to see that other people saw through it as well.
posted by mollweide at 4:12 PM on October 16, 2021 [4 favorites]

Bazilian also wrote (What If God Was) One Of Us which is, arguably, one of the best songs about faith ever written in modern times. It covers a hell of a lot of ground in one simple song. (Wikipedia article ).

The Hooters were, I think, a highly underrated band. I still remember songs like And We Danced, All You Zombies, and 500 Miles (no, not that one) as being some of the best songs of that era.

Edit: Their first album was Nervous Night.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 4:23 PM on October 16, 2021 [13 favorites]

Ok, but if there is only room in history for one of these bands, then that band is Toy Matinee.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:26 PM on October 16, 2021 [2 favorites]

Correction: first album was Amore; second was Nervous Night, which is the one most people have heard. Satellite was on the third album, One Way Home.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 4:31 PM on October 16, 2021 [1 favorite]

Get your ass in the water and swim like me.

(This is fun and entirely new to me. I was alive at the time, but too young to pay attention. The 1/2 second melodica features are delightful. And the editing is great. Thanks!)
posted by eotvos at 4:59 PM on October 16, 2021 [1 favorite]

They were instrumental in the rise of Cyndi Lauper as well.
posted by OHenryPacey at 5:18 PM on October 16, 2021 [3 favorites]

The Hooters are a tremendously underrated band IMO. I still feel like "All You Zombies" was one of the most interesting popular hits of the 80s, and just about every single off of Nervous Night and One Way Home was a catchy mixture of roots rock and pop.

I actually feel like The Hooters were a little ahead of their time, and their use of mandolin, harmonica, accordian, etc. coupled with thoughtful lyrics and pop hooks were a precursor for alt-country bands like Son Volt and Wilco.

In addition to the songs above, "Karla With a K" and "Johnny B" are worth a listen.
posted by lumpy at 7:35 PM on October 16, 2021 [6 favorites]

Takes me back to high school! I have their CDs, but (obviously) haven't listened to them in far too long.
posted by Tailkinker to-Ennien at 8:12 PM on October 16, 2021 [1 favorite]

This nicely encapsulates my experience of TV at the time. All the cool old movies and their programming hosts were dropped because instead of worrying about wages and licensing fees, TV stations could sell off the entirety of their late night air time to evangelicals and other odious hucksters….and here we are.
posted by brachiopod at 9:13 PM on October 16, 2021 [4 favorites]

I remember seeing the video on MTV when I was 10 years old and really grooving on it for somewhat inexplicable reasons. What a fifth grade Jewish kid in Cleveland knew about televangelists could fit on the head of a pin and still leave room for a couple of angels to dance, but it definitely made an impression and stuck with me.
posted by merriment at 9:22 PM on October 16, 2021 [2 favorites]

This nicely encapsulates my experience of TV at the time. Right down to the screen snow of UHF channels 17 and 48 during faith-healer hours.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:20 AM on October 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

The Hooters are one of a handful of '80s bands that I as a Canadian always think are Canadian for some reason.
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:03 AM on October 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

How many songs are called 'Satellite'?
Rickie Lee Jones
Dave Matthews Band
Lena, from Eurovision Song Contest
posted by Bee'sWing at 6:08 PM on October 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

I saw The Hooters open for Squeeze back in the day and they were great live. They did a cover of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" that was, um, a different take.

Their first album was Nervous Night.

Regret to inform their first album was Amore (1983), which included the original versions of four songs: "All You Zombies," "Hanging on a Heartbeat," "Fightin' on the Same Side," and "Blood from a Stone." I vastly prefer the Amore version of "Fightin' on the Same Side" to the later recording.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:11 PM on October 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

Rob Hymen co-wrote "Time After Time" with Cyndi Lauper; he and Eric Bazilian played on the record. Live version by The Hooters.

Fun fact: the song ""Nervous Night" wasn't on the original album Nervous Night.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:15 AM on October 19, 2021 [2 favorites]