"Abadabadango" by Kim Carnes

Song#:  2414
Date:  08/03/1985
Debut:  74
Peak:  67
Weeks:  4
Genre:  Synthpop



Pop Bits:  Carnes nearly got back in the Top 10 with "Crazy in the Night (Barking at Airplanes)" (#15), the first single from her ninth album Barking at Airplanes. Next up to be released was this track with the odd title. This time around the tune didn't catch on and it disappeared after a short month on the Pop chart. Thanks to the first single, the album sold fairly well and reached #48. Unfortunately, it would be the last time an album of hers would reach the Top 100 on the album chart.

ReduxReview:  I'm not sure who picked Carnes' follow-up songs, but they just didn't know what the hell they were doing. This song is another case of a bad follow-up to a Carnes hit. My guess is that this track was selected because it had the same synth sound and child-like feeling/melody as "Crazy in the Night;" like one of those "if it worked once, it'll work again" kind of things. But it didn't. They may have also thought that the kooky title would spark interest and catch on. It didn't. This is my least favorite song on an album that had a lot of solid tunes. I remember back when I found out this was the follow-up to "Crazy." I was totally incensed. I knew this song would go nowhere and that's exactly what happened. What a bummer. While this song is not truly horrible, it should not have been a single and I'll go so far to say it should not have been on the album. Especially when she had a couple of terrific remakes that were left on the cutting room floor with The Buggles' "I Am a Camera" and Little Steven's "Forever." Both of those songs later appeared on the deluxe version of the LP. I dearly love Kim Carnes, but this was an all around miss.

ReduxRating:  3/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) So what gives with the title? When Carnes appeared on American Bandstand in 1985, Dick Clark asked her the same question. Carnes stated that the translation is "man in a train station in India wearing a Hungarian shawl." (She was obviously joking as the title is really just a made up word.) Carnes then added that it's just a way of saying get up and go for it.  2) Carnes was always a musician first, but it doesn't mean she didn't try acting back in the day. She first made a very brief appearance on an episode of The Patty Duke Show back in 1965. Then she got a role in a 1967 musical comedy titled C'mon Let's Live a Little, which starred singer Bobby Vee. The low-budget flick didn't get anywhere, but it did co-star another singer/songwriter that would play an important role in Carnes' music career - Jackie DeShannon. DeShannon would later co-write the song "Bette Davis Eyes," which Carnes would record and take to #1 in 1981. Needless to say, Carnes gave up acting to focus on music.

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