What I Like About The Romantics: "Talking In Your Sleep"

Most people are probably familiar with Detroit power pop/new wave band The Romantics through their hit "What I Like About You." Maybe you had no idea that was The Romantics. Maybe you thought "The Romantics" was just a movie starring everyone and their mother. Whatever the case may be, the band wasn't just a one hit wonder. Sure, "What I Like About You" is some pop rock perfection and all, but I recently came across another great single they had back in 1983 called "Talking In Your Sleep."

Following basic television's transition from an analog transmission to a digital transmission, we non-cable folks were more than overjoyed to receive a few extra channels in addition to the eight or so channels we already had. One of these extra channels is "TheCoolTV" where music videos from all different eras are played 24/7 (what MTV used to be, I suppose). Anyways, so there I was a few evenings ago chowing down when I flipped on the channel and "Talking In Your Sleep" was playing. I tuned in just after the video had started, but managed to use my detective skills (thank God for bass drum covers) to find out what band I was watching.

Aesthetically, the video's a bit hard to swallow because it doesn't touch the quality of the song. While the song is more power pop than new wave, one can't help but lean towards new wave seeing the style of the band. There's a lot of hair (hey, it was the '80s) and a lot of leather (still the '80s) -- and I see some lipstick, too (?...well, it's still the '80s). The black leather suits they don add a certain toughness to their image and sound, kind of fighting off the hairstyles and all -- though it doesn't make things explicitly macho or bad boy. They cooly strut through what appears to be a dark cave filled with beautiful women -- most of which appear to be scantily dressed. Marilyn Monroe makes a cameo (looking pretty great considering she had been dead for about 21 years at the time). I love the way drummer Jimmy Marinos looks at the camera when he pounds his rack and floor tom drums. Watch/hear the magic below.

The Romantic - "Talking In Your Sleep"

And if for some reason you're trying to recall what "What I Like About You" sounds like, below is the video for that hit. Drummer Jimmy actually handles lead vocals on this (who knew?). As you will see, this was before new wave came to be an influence.

The Romantics - "What I Like About You"

In regards to music as a whole, I think the topic of image v. sound and how aesthetics can affect the reception of music is a debate/topic for another time. Just enjoy the music for now.

BUY: "Talking In Your Sleep" is from The Romantics' 1983 album In Heat. You can pick it up on Amazon here. "What I Like About You" is from The Romantics' 1980 self-titled album. Amazon's got that one, too, here.

The Romantics
Official Site