Random Record Reactions EP1: Waking Up With the House on Fire by Culture Club

[@loggieisg]

another common brandon banger

[@DeadPlayin]

w mans 🙏❤️

[@ciconneannamae9599]

🎼 Released in October 1984, I played this album repeatedly since then - love the DDD (full digital recording) and sharpness of the recording. THE WAR SONG and MISTAKE No. 3 were released as singles in the US, but the gem is THE MEDAL SONG which was a single released in the U.K. Deep cuts Crime Time, The Dive, Don't Wanna Talk About It and a song about a journalist, Mannequin are my favourites as well. 🎵🎶

[@DeadPlayin]

It's a fantastic record that I've never heard anyone I know talk about. The record as a whole is a gem. My personal favorite is either The Dive, or Unfortunate Thing. Those songs are just a blast to listen to

[@ciconneannamae9599]

@@DeadPlayin I watched your video on your reaction to COLOUR BY NUMBERS - another Culture Club classic!! 👍

[@nicoledanubio798]

Loved your review. Boy George is my absolute favorite person and singer. I'm so happy you had the opportunity to hear how amazing he is....and the band. Definitely one of the greatest bands of the 80s. Not only is he talented, but he's funny, witty, super intelligent and very real. I look forward to all of your reviews on his music. ❤

[@DeadPlayin]

Thank you :) Boy George is definitely special, and a pivotal part of pop from the 80s. I'm so happy I discovered Culture Club while I was just looking around a record store. I appreciate the support, and I'll be glad to have you around!

[@BroadwayLatinBear]

Boy did I enjoy this! I’ve been a hardcore Culrure Club fan since 1982 and although it’s not my favorite album I do enjoy it. Hearing your perspective was so hilarious and refreshing! I loved it!

[@DeadPlayin]

I enjoyed it a lot too, lmao. It’s a really fun record to listen to, and I’ve been listening to it regularly now. I’m glad that you liked the video though 🙏 I appreciate you watching it

[@CultureClubHistory]

I had to comment again and say how great it is that your actually reviewing the music without letting Boy George’s image get in the way.. normally people focus on him before the music… Great review..

[@DeadPlayin]

Of course! I'm here solely for the music, so I don't really care about that stuff. He seems like a cool and interesting guy anyways, and he made great music. Thanks again :)

[@bendelosangeles3560]

As others have said, it is great to hear the music unbiased by their popularity. If people your age were more open minded about music, we would have better music out there! Great review! Check out their earlier albums too. Their first, "Kissing To Be Clever" is very reggae influenced. Their second album (my favorite) "Colour By Numbers" is a very pop and R & B sounding album. Happy adventures on your listening journey!

[@DeadPlayin]

Exactly! Popularity doesn't equate to quality, so hopefully more people start to understand that. I've also reacted to Colour By Numbers, so you should check that one out if you haven't already! Whenever I eventually continue this series, I'll make sure to pick up Kissing To Be Clever. Thanks for the support!

[@drewhoffman4469]

Made me remember how much I loved it the first time I heard it! You are awesome!

[@DeadPlayin]

Glad I was able to do that :) I appreciate it

[@stuartmiddleton3750]

The war song video is amazing boy George with 400 school kids dressed as skeletons Have a look for it. Boy George is an amazing artist. Also the song heroin from the album tense nervous headache it's really trippy.

[@DeadPlayin]

Will do! Thanks for the suggestion!

[@c_m_b_3110]

The chokehold that The Medal Song has on me is not healthy. I feel like people hate on this album all the time but I like it a lot. It definitely is not a bad follow-up to Colour By Numbers.

[@DeadPlayin]

I enjoyed listening to it a lot since it was a fresh experience for me. I think both albums hold up well tbh. The Dive and Unfortunate Thing are my favorites

[@toyahw01]

Pleased you liked the album. Love Culture Club and it's my favourite album by them. It was great to hear a fresh honest review from the perspective of someone young and unbiased. Checkout the first two albums Kissing To Be Clever and Colour By Numbers. Each album is very different.

[@DeadPlayin]

I appreciate it :) I had a great time listening to it and taking a step back in time. I’ll make sure to check those out, so thank you!

[@jdr2006]

I love this album! Great review. Try their newer album from 2018 called Life. I'm curious to see how you compare then to now. It might be hard to come by, although it was released in vinyl. Waking up was their third album. The 4th album was called From Luxury to Heartache. Maybe you can try that one.

[@Kevin-1969]

And From Luxury to Heartache

[@josephboys9965]

Culture Club was life for me in the '80's. I clearly remember waiting for the new LP's to release. This was a weird album from them for me. War song and mistake no. 3 were the singles but i liked a few others better. Specifically Dangerous man, unfortunate thing and Dont talk about it. Singles wise mistake no. 3 is my favorite. It makes me incredably happy to see the younger generation acknowledging the brilliance of Boy George and Culture Club.

[@DeadPlayin]

That's nice to hear! This LP is like a relic to me since it has so much personality and style that we don't unfortunately see that often in today's records. It's literally like stepping into a time machine when I listen to it. I'm glad to have the opportunity to listen to it and enjoy it!

[@sanfranciscowasalmostdestr3519]

You must to listen their best album : "Colour by numbers" a real masterpiece of pop, funk, and soul music. The voice of Boy George is just incredible + the backup vocals with the talented Helen Terry. Boy George is a legend now. At this period in 80's, even Smokey Robinson and Steevie Wonder have requested to sing with him...

[@DeadPlayin]

I'll definitely make sure to do so! Boy George has one of the best voices I've ever heard, so I'm glad that he was able to be recognized for his work. Helen Terry is amazing with backup vocals, so I can't help but appreciate her too.

[@sanfranciscowasalmostdestr3519]

@@DeadPlayin A lot of celebrities defended him in despite of this personaly that at the time in 80s, upset many people with little minds, as Elvis Costello, Sting, Diana Ross, Dionne Worwick, Freddie Mercury, Luther Vandross, etc... Their loved his voice and music so much. I can't wait about your next post with Colour by numbers ;)

[@DeadPlayin]

@@sanfranciscowasalmostdestr3519 I'm glad they made it through the hard times. I'll be checking it out in due time :)

[@Willsontime]

This was my favorite Culture Club CD in the 80’s even though it was considered a flop by the group at the time but this was probably only because their was no monster hit on it.

[@DeadPlayin]

Yeah, it’s my favorite out of the two I’ve heard. It being considered a flop is a tragedy tbh, but I guess I understand since you made the point of it not having any major hits.

[@glamnesianouveaux2039]

I don't usually love the younger generation doing these videos but I enjoyed watching yours as you feel the music. I have been a hardcore Culture Club fan since 1982 and Kissing To Be Clever is my ALL TIME most cherished Culture Club album, you MUST get a copy and listen to it. i'd love to watch you listening to it * BUT ... Waking Up With The House On Fire is such an underrated album and this album was when the media started turning on them after their great success of their first 2 albums. Everyone will say Colour By Numbers is their best but not for me ... I prefer Waking Up With The House On Fire and Kissing To Be Clever at number one. What I enjoyed about this video is that you don't know it's history and the media turning on Culture Club with this album so you are listening with fresh ears and being fair and not judgemental which is GREAT!!!! I am SO glad you loved Dangerous Man, The Dive and Unfortunate Thing!!!!! ... Great choices *** For me it's all about - Dangerous Man, Hello Goodbye, Mistake No.3, The Dive, Don't Talk About It, Unfortunate Thing and The War Song + Please also check out the cooooool edginess of From Luxury To Heartache for 1986 !!!!!! ....

[@DeadPlayin]

I understand why you feel that way about the younger gen doing these reactions. A good amount of them may not get the album, leading to an unfair critique of it. I definitely need to listen to Kissing To Be Clever, so maybe I’ll react to it whenever I get a new camera! I’ve heard about some of the controversies surrounding the group around the release of this album, so maybe I’ll make a more in-depth video about their history one day. Waking Up With The House On Fire is such a sleeper of an album. No one I know has ever heard of it, but it just stood out to me cause of its unique cover. I thought it would be an interesting listen, so I’m glad I was right! I’m glad that you enjoyed this reaction though, and I’m glad I was given the opportunity to react to this album :)

[@onefiercechild]

You must be pretty young not to know who Culture Club are, considering they are still around and currently touring. But applause to you for taking a chance and giving it an honest review. I'm glad you enjoyed it and will lead you to exploring their other albums and Boy George's current stuff. Just a side note - Culture Club had a number of great backing vocalists. Helen Terry being the most legendary but also vocalists like Jocelyn Brown, Ruby Turner, Kym Mazelle, Derek Green, Angie Brown, Mary Pearce plus a number of others who were, or became, famous in their own right.

[@DeadPlayin]

Yeah, I'm only 19, so I'm like a baby compared to them, lmao. I just ordered Colour by Numbers, so I'll be reacting to it in a future episode. I think I saw somewhere that they're touring and stuff so maybe I could catch them in person one day. Thanks for listing out the backup vocalists so I can look more into them too. Glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@lalaelijah969]

First of all, thank you for your fresh and unbiased review of the Waking Up album - it really is a forgotten gem! Culture Club we’re one of the biggest bands of the 80’s, rivalling the likes of Jackson and Madonna, their biggest hits ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’ ‘I’ll Tumble 4 Ya’ and ‘Karma Chameleon’ made them a global phenomenon. It is interesting that you didn’t rate ‘The War Song’ as highly on the album because, despite reaching No.2 in the charts, in many ways it really was their downfall moment. The public did not take kindly at all to being told “people are stupid” and sadly Culture Club never had a hit again…until of course they reformed in 1998 with ‘I Just Wanna Be Loved’ which saw them up at No.4 in the UK Charts - interesting US trivia, George had many solo hits including ‘The Crying Game’ & ‘Everything I Own’ but one fun song that charted only in America, reaching No.14 (dance charts) in 1987, was called ‘Live My Life’. Thank you for your open minded approach to music; look forward to more of your reviews.

[@DeadPlayin]

I appreciate it 🙏 I had never heard of them until I picked up this album, but just from listening to it, I know they had to be pretty popular back in the day. The War Song is a banger, but I don't think it's as good as tracks like Unfortunate Thing, The Dive, and Dangerous Man. I'll make sure to look into them more, so thanks for the information on them! I'm glad you enjoyed the video though. I'm aiming for a reaction every week, so be on the lookout for one this weekend!

[@lalaelijah969]

You have done the band and us fans a great service…you have inspired me to play the album tonight at this wee get together and the company is loving it…so thanks again for reminding the world of this incredible album. 👍😎🎉

[@DeadPlayin]

@@lalaelijah969 Nice :) I just ordered Colour by Numbers, so I'm covering them again soon.

[@squigglyunicorn7777]

Awesome! Culture Club are epic! My favorites off this album are The Medal Song, Unfortunate Thing and Mistake Number 3, though I have to say I don't like Hello Goodbye much. Overall 8/10 :) ❤

[@DeadPlayin]

Unfortunate Thing is amazing! Hello Goodbye was good, but it was a bit too basic. I'm glad you enjoyed the reaction though :)

[@CultureClubHistory]

Great review… Culture Club we’re one of the biggest bands in the world during the 80’s just ask your mum..😂 You definitely need to review Culture Clubs other albums. Like "Kissing to be Clever " or "luxury to heartache" or the most popular album "colour by numbers"

[@DeadPlayin]

Thank you :) and my mom was born in the 80s, so she might know a little bit about them, lmao. I just bought Colour by Numbers and plan to react to that, so stay tuned!

[@traviscisco]

This Culture Club album received terrible reviews because of various controversies (the lead singer's very exposed heroin addiction and the USA's 1980's objection to gay/drag culture.) I admit that the songs on this record seem less inspired than their previous work; however, it's been one of my guilty pressures for decades. It is very fresh to see this album reviewed (great job!)

[@DeadPlayin]

Yeah, I’ve heard ab some of the things surrounding the controversial nature of this album. I still have some more of their albums to listen to 🙏 I got a reaction to Colour by Numbers that you should check out too! Thanks for the support :)

[@traviscisco]

@@DeadPlayin I will do that.

[@DeadPlayin]

Thank you!

[@johnwihebrink4017]

I love this album. Great album. It is my favorite Culture Club album if not their must popular

[@DeadPlayin]

Glad to hear that :) I just got Colour By Numbers, so stay tuned for a reaction to that

[@PungiFungi]

7.5 is too generous a rating. This album was when Culture Club jumped the shark and never recovered the high that was Colour By Numbers. Personally I give it a 4.5

[@DeadPlayin]

I understand why you’re saying that. I just personally feel like it had a great sound and good vocals. There are some banging tracks on this record

[@robertonunesoliveira]

🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@Kevin-1969]

I was really different at the time

[@DeadPlayin]

At the time this album came out?

[@Kevin-1969]

@@DeadPlayin yeah the Fall of 1984, the album was way different to the previous one.

[@DeadPlayin]

@@Kevin-1969 It honestly was. Both were good in their own ways tho

[@Kevin-1969]

Your reviews are very good, I am interested to see your review on their fourth album from 1986, it’s different again it’s called From Luxury to Heartache.

[@DeadPlayin]

@@Kevin-1969 Thank you so much :) I would love to make more record reviews once I get some more important projects out of the way 🙏