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Originally posted January 4, 2012
“Suspense” is a song performed by the American singer-songwriter Toni Basil. Chrysalis Records released it as the second single from her eponymous second album. “Suspense” peaked at #8 on the US dance chart on January 5, 1985.
“Moonbeam” is a song by Canadian new wave and synthpop band Men Without Hats. The song was released as the second single from the LP “Pop Goes The World”. “Moonbeam” failed to gain much traction only reaching #23 on the Canadian singles chart, and #46 on the U.S. Dance Chart on April 23, 1988, after spending two weeks on the survey.
SIDE A: Moonbeam, Beam Me Up (Extended Vocal Version) 7:42 Moonbeam, Beam Me Up (Radio Edit) 5:50
SIDE B: Dub Beam 4:14 Home On The Beam (House Is A Home Mix) 5:57 Moonbeam (Bacc-A-Pella/Vocal) 3:42
** Burning The Ground is an inclusive website we accept all people, and support everyone’s unique self. This song’s lyrics and music video are not meant to be offensive to anyone in any way.
“Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” is a song by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released as the lead single from the band’s ninth studio album Permanent Vacation in 1987.
The track reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 41 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, number four on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, number 22 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart and number 45 on the UK Singles Chart. It was re-released in early 1990 and peaked at number 20 in the UK. It was certified gold in the UK for sales and streams exceeding over 400,000 units.
The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler, lead guitarist Joe Perry and songwriter Desmond Child.
The song talks about a man who is mistaken for a woman. According to Desmond Child, Steven Tyler came up with the idea after mistaking Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil for a woman with long blonde hair. Tyler’s bandmates made fun of him, joking about how the “dude looked like a lady”. In his book The Heroin Diaries, Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx concurs that the song was inspired by Neil.
Despite the song’s mainstream success, “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” has been accused of being transphobic, with “its lyrics and music video’s offensive insinuations about trans women.” In 2012, Desmond Child said, “I talked Aerosmith into the whole scenario of a guy that walks into a strip joint and falls in love with the stripper on stage, goes backstage and finds out it’s a guy.” In 2019, Child confirmed that the song was about a man who “just walks into a bar and sees this gorgeous blonde up on the stage and then goes backstage after the show and then she ‘whips out a gun, tries to blow me away.'”
Vox’s Abbey White pointed out that “the song also plays on the idea that trans women intentionally deceive men or are ‘in disguise’, that they are unattractive or repulsive … and at one point mixes pronouns, going from ‘Oh she like it’ in one line to ‘Oh, he was a lady,’ in the next.”
Child has refuted all allegations of transphobia, describing the song as “accepting” because of the lyric, “Never judge a book by its cover, or who you’re going to love by your lover.”
On August 27, 2013, Fox News played this song while introducing Chelsea Manning. As well as the network’s use of masculine pronouns and Manning’s deadname, playing this song received backlash from commentators.
After Caitlyn Jenner called “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” her “theme song” in 2017, backlash ensued from fans and from LGBT activists due to the perceived transphobia.
The video for “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” features the band performing live onstage as well as random moments of characters portraying drag queens, including a cameo appearance by A&R man John Kalodner dressed up in a wedding dress at one point. This is a joke based on the fact that Kalodner always dresses in white. Joe Perry’s wife Billie also appears in the music video, pretending to play the saxophone on stage.
There are also some provocative sexual performances, both led by singer Steven Tyler as well as a presumed female who has her skirt torn off to reveal the Aerosmith “wings” tattoo on her buttocks. The video was directed by Marty Callner.
“Dude” picked up two MTV Video Music Award nominations in 1988 (the first for the band). It was nominated for Best Group Video and Best Stage Performance, but failed to gain the wins. The band made up for it eventually, winning over 10 “moon-men” and 4 Grammys in the 1990s.
SIDE A: Dude (Looks Like A Lady) (Urban Dude Mix) 6:45 Dude (Looks Like A Lady) (Dude This Way) (A Cappella) 4:16
SIDE B: Dude (Looks Like A Lady) (Extended Rockin’ Dude Mix) 5:46 Dude (Looks Like A Lady) (Rockin’ Dude Edit) 3:51
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1988
Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
U.S. Billboard Hot 100
#14
1988
Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks
#4
1988
Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/ Club Play
#41
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Geffen Records – PRO-A-2882
Format: Vinyl, 12″, Promo, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop
“Small World” was the second single released, and title track of the fifth studio LP by American Pop/Rock band Huey Lewis & The News. The single debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on October 8, 1988, peaking at #25 on November 26, 1988, after spending eleven weeks on the survey.
Although it reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, the album did not sell as well as the band’s previous albums, Sports and Fore!. However, Lewis himself stated in a Behind the Music interview that the recording process for Small World had the most favorable working conditions.
