Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Pains me to add this but alas a LH 4 stringed thinggy is used what are they called again
Anyway by far the biggest commercial single but nonetheless the worst of the Vapors.

Jimmi Jones


A personal Favourite.

I like all three.

Never saw that song-performance video of "Turning Japanese" before and I never knew the Vapors had a Ric bassist. In the early days of MTV they had a more comical video for this song, with an archtypical, stereotyped Japanese tourist running around with his camera chasing some some pretty girl to photograph... Always thought it was a catchy-tune of sorts in it's heyday in the 80s....

8mileshigher wrote:Never saw that song-performance video of "Turning Japanese" before and I never knew the Vapors had a Ric bassist. In the early days of MTV they had a more comical video for this song, with an archtypical, stereotyped Japanese tourist running around with his camera chasing some some pretty girl to photograph... Always thought it was a catchy-tune of sorts in it's heyday in the 80s....

Actually, his sound on Turning Japanese is one of the best recorded 4001 sounds I've ever heard IMHO.

Always loved The Vapors, I was in a band a few years back called The Daylight Titans, took the name from a Vapors tune.

I love the Magnets LP. BTW i bought my first Vapors LP New clear days in a Mall in Florida in the early 80s whilst on holiday.

Those videos sum up the 80's. Weird hairdo's.........lots of posing and strange looks aimed at the camera etc. The songs are decent though. I actually remember one of them.

Gawd Brian your showing yer age.

Dave Fenton does have a Mullet that would frighten the most avid fan....

scotty wrote:Gawd Brian your showing yer age.

Nah not age Scotty, generally IMO the musicians of the 80's did not do music and our ears a lot of favours with a few notable exceptions of course. This band was quite good. So your taste in music gets a pass in my view.

winston wrote:Those videos sum up the 80's. Weird hairdo's.........lots of posing and strange looks aimed at the camera etc. The songs are decent though. I actually remember one of them.

Ha! Yep lots of weird hairdos in the 80s, but the 80s were by no means the only decade of strange `dos! Just check out some photos of the guys in The Move, or early Roxy Music stills. Come to think of it, the whole 80s flipped bangs hairstyle was a takeoff taken to the extreme of Roxy Music lead singer Bryan Ferry's bangs falling into his face; ABC, the Human League, Duran Duran, Japan, and Spandau Ballet all wanted to be the next Roxy Music, or at least their singers all wanted to be Bryan Ferry.

winston wrote:

scotty wrote:Gawd Brian your showing yer age.

Nah not age Scotty, generally IMO the musicians of the 80's did not do music and our ears a lot of favours with a few notable exceptions of course. This band was quite good. So your taste in music gets a pass in my view.

My music collection from the 80s must be entirely composed of the exceptions.

paologregorio wrote:

winston wrote:

scotty wrote:Gawd Brian your showing yer age.

Nah not age Scotty, generally IMO the musicians of the 80's did not do music and our ears a lot of favours with a few notable exceptions of course. This band was quite good. So your taste in music gets a pass in my view.

My music collection from the 80s must be entirely composed of the exceptions.

Probably............generally you have good taste in music.

Always thought the bass on the Vapors records sounded wonderful. Really well recorded, and nice basslines as well.
The Magnets album is, in IMHO, the better of the two. However, sadly, "Turning Japanese" will be what they're remembered for.

StringTheorist wrote:sadly, "Turning Japanese" will be what they're remembered for.

Yup and thats exactly it,shame really they had so many great songs.Silver machine is a great one from magnets LP.