Song of the Day: 'Space Invader' by the Pretenders

Final day of my series of instrumentals I actually listen to: "Space Invader" has always worked as the perfect musical interlude on Side 1 of the debut album by the Pretenders. That it's the band's only original that Chrissie Hynde didn't write and is still so good gives you an idea of how talented soon-to-be late colleagues James Honeyman Scott and Peter Farndon truly were. But what might have become dated -- a few seconds of the sound effects from the 1979 video game "Space Invaders" are heard at the very end of the track -- now stands as the only reminder that this utterly timeless classic is from 1979-80.

Interesting factoids: "Space Invader" appeared in the film "Cheech and Chong's Next Movie" (1980) and the television series "Miami Vice" (1984-89) and "The Sopranos" (1999-2007). 

Game developer Dona Bailey cited the song as her introduction to video games, saying the song inspired her to play the original arcade game "Space Invaders" and then join Atari, where she developed the 1980 arcade game "Centipede."

Song of the Day: 'Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares' by Bananarama

Day 4 of instrumentals I actually don't skip: This was one of my early lessons in the topic. My brother Bill had brought home the 12-inch single of Bananrama's "Shy Boy" (b/w "Don't Call Us") and I was instantly hooked. He then found "Really Saying Something" -- which actually came out first -- and I couldn't wait for two more songs by my "new favorite group." The A-side was an instant classic. But to have the B-side, "Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares," turn out to be an instrumental was a major blow -- that was about 25% of the band's material at that point, and it basically happened again when the B-side of their next single, "Cheers Then," turned out to be the three-worded "Girl About Town"(!) -- yet 40 years later it's music to my ears. 

Of note: The track is credited to these three women who supposedly don't play instruments and singer/songwriter Vaughn Toulouse, who has twice provided my Song of the Day. ("You See the Trouble With Me" and "Fickle Public Speaking.") Sadly, the openly gay Toulouse died at 32 in 1991 of AIDS-related illness

Song of the Day: 'Europa' by Blondie

Day 3 of instrumentals I actually don't skip: One of the funnest things included in the new Blondie box set is a radio spot for the 1980 album "Autoamerican" that must have left the general public -- and DJs -- scratching their heads. (It begins with "Here's Looking at You" and only gets weirder from there!) Today's pick is the quasi title track from said album, which set the tone for the band's most experimental work to date. 

Song of the Day: 'Going to Neon' by Romeo Void

Day 2 of my series of instrumentals I don't skip: Today's pick appeared on Romeo Void's third and final album, "Instincts." Saxophonist Benjamin Bossi had always been an integral part of the band -- his solo on "Never Say Never" is one of the most iconic music moments of the new wave. But on "Going to Neon" it was as producer David Kahne wrote the song just so Bossi could pretend he'd been commissioned to score a film noir throwback I most definitely would want to see. 

Song of the Day: 'The Loop' by KajaGooGoo

As a kid, nothing disappointed me more than realizing one of my groups had slipped an instrumental into the mix. Albums usually only had nine songs, so to "lose" one right off the bat was painful -- especially slinging popcorn for $3.35 an hour. Sometimes it was a hard-to-find B-side that turned out to be an instrumental, which made finally running it down that much more disappointing. (I'm looking at you, Romeo Void. You think it was easy for me to get my hands on a seven-inch single of "White Sweater"???!!!) Then there was Saint Etienne, a band that never shied away from putting out a lot of great material -- but overdid it with Sarah-less songs. And then there were singers who didn't play instruments who had instrumentals, which begged the question: How is this even your song!? Still, every so often I'd have to admit one of my artists did produce a winner. This week I'll reveal five that I never skip, starting with this unexpected jazzy treat from KajaGooGoo, which appeared on their first post-Limahl LP, "Islands." If only Swing Out Sister had continued to make music like this, with or without lyrics!