I chose 1981 music as my theme this year. My newest novel The Summer of Princess Diana is set in the summer of 1981, and oh! the music! Let’s take a look back at a pivotal time in the music industry.
Not much to choose from for the letter “Z,” but actually, this song by Adam & The Ants is pretty appropriate. Adam Ant is so symbolic of 1981, with his punk-rock look, his electronic/synthesized music. (By the way, Adam Ant was born Stuart Leslie Goddard, but that name certainly wouldn’t fly in 1981 punk-rock clubs, would it?)
The song title is spelled with a “Z,” but the lyrics do refer to a Xerox copier. According to Wikipedia, whereas Xerox machines are used to make paper copies of documents and other visual images, Xerox (Zerox) is used as a metaphor for plagiarism in the song’s lyrics:
Lock up your brain ‘Cos I’m here again
I’m never bored I’ll steal your chords
Ooh-ooh Zerox Machine Ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
Give me a line Or a middle eight
I’ve got the best So I want the rest
Ooh-ooh Zerox Machine Ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
Let’s get together Before its too late
Collect up the ideas And duplicate
Filling up the forms Send them off tonight
And you’ll be the owner Of the copyright
Of the copyright Of the copyright
Times of the essence Get your ears to the ground
However else Can the hits be found?
I may look happy, healthy and clean A dark brown voice and suit pristine
But behind the smile there is a Zerox Machine
Thanks for coming along on this journey with me! I hope you had fun revisiting some old songs. Many of these were a big part of my life in 1981, especially from April to September, when I was in Switzerland and, yes, working as an au pair for a family very much like the Brusadins.
Adam ant.. goodie two shoes? Hmmm Am I right? Congratulations on finishing this years A to Z, I enjoyed following along.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, that’s right! Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fun theme! And, congrats on completing the A to Z challenge! It was a good time and I’m glad to let my brain rest about letters for a bit… https://www.inspiredpossibility.com/blog
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLike
Martha, What a fun fun fun topic! You continue to pick awesome themes each year. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, my friend!
LikeLike
Not sure if my comment went through. Let me try one more time, using a different browser.
Zerox? Another one I didn’t know.
Congrats on finishing A- Z, I sure got to know a couple of oldies but goodies throughout your musical alphabet.
Watch out for my reflection post, you’ll be featured 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another one I didn’t know.
Congrats on finishing A- Z, I sure got to know a couple of oldies but goodies throughout your musical alphabet.
Watch out for my reflection post, you’ll be featured 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congrats on completing the A to Z!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congrats on the A to Z challenge completion. Who knew there were so many musical gems from 1981?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Who knew, indeed!
Congratulations to you, too, Monty! Well done…
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂 it was a good first year of the challenge for me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for a fun AtoZ to visit! Enjoyed it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not familiar with “Zeroxs” gut loved Adam Ant’s “Goody Two Shoes,” on my i-pod.
This has been a fun ride through 1981 music. Surely not as rich as our coming of age years in the seventies, but some gems nonetheless.
Thanks for all the work that you do. Your topic choices are unfailingly captivating.
Until next year. Or sooner. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Connie! Already brainstorming for next year.
LikeLike
Goodness, gracious!!
Beth
https://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL
LikeLike
Hari OM
Oh squeallll squeakkk… I was such an Adam Ant fan I even adopted the pirate fashion style for a while!!! Did that make me a Zeroxer??!!!
Thanks for a fab month, Martha. YAM xx
Z=Zany
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! I love knowing this about you! 😘
LikeLike
Now that Adam & The Ants song is a real blast from the past.
In the UK we knew the name of Xerox but it never really caught on as the generic name for photocopy machines in the way Hoover did for vacuum cleaners.
Well done on making it to the end of the challenge
Today’s post: Z Is For Omega
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well done, you too! It’s not easy to get through the entire month – now we look to next year! Thanks very much, Dino.
LikeLike
Using Zerox to represent plagiarism is interesting…. For quite a few years I did not know that Xerox is the name of the company making the machines… i thought the machine was called Xerox … visiting from A to Z
https://pagesfromjayashree.blogspot.com/2022/04/hazelnut-coffee.html
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! It’s like Kleenex or Band-aid, I guess….
LikeLike
Same with Prozac–this is actually a trade name, the generic name is fluoxetine. But I still say I am on Prozac, since most people will recognize that name.
BTW,I don’t remember this song at all. But I remember most of the other ones you shared.
LikeLiked by 1 person