My fellow Illinoisan ~

The 80-'s was indeed the product of an explosion of music marketing thanks to the video and MTV. There was quality mixed in but it was often out shined by the pretty people who made nice videos. How else could we explain away Rockwell or Falco or Debarge or ANYTHING from Footloose.

Sort of along the same lines, I recently unearthed a tape mix I did many years ago for myself of all ELO songs. That got me to pondering' . What the hell was the deal with ELO? Definitely POP music, but unlike anything else. Jeff Lynne seemingly well respected as a producer, but everything he produced had that orchestral sound, up to and including the Traveling Willbury's. The "live" show scandals .... and as far as I can see today, no recognition or respect for ELO. Not saying they deserve it, but they just kind of dropped off the map for some reason. I think they sold quite a fewer records in their day. I guess my question  is how did they become so popular and then fall so far off the radar. And what exactly was their charm?

I don't know why these dumb ass thought on ELO are bouncing around in my head, but it feels good to get them out somewhere.