The hole (and earworms)

I served a 2-year mission in Brazil for my church (LDS) from 1986 to 1988. During that time we set aside our young lives to serve – no movies, no music, no dating, etc. So, I'm often a little surprised when I hear an old song or see a movie that everyone else knows except me, and it usually turns out that it came out during those years I was in Brazil.  It's sort of a 'pop-culture hole' in my life. But you can't always avoid music and I'll admit that I became acquainted with U2 toward the end of my mission (still now sure how I missed hearing them before my mission). But U2's "The Joshua Tree" was HUGE whereas a lot of other music I might have loved didn't always make it to the streets of Brazil – like The Housemartins.

A few years ago I heard "Happy Hour" on the radio. It sounded like my kind of music from high school, but for the life of me I couldn't remember it. So I bought their CD of "greatest hits" and it turned out to be "quite good;" it was just one of those things from that little hole in my life. (Incidentally, one of The Housemartins went on to much greater fame.) I thought about including the video for "Happy Hour" below but then I'd have to warn you that it's one of the most powerful earworms ever recorded. Taylor said it was actually "quite good" the first time he heard it but a week later complained: "Man, I've had that song stuck in my head for days!", so listen to it at your own risk (but really, it's "quite good"). I looked for the a'capella "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (which is so beautiful it sometimes brings a little tear to my eye) but apparently there isn't a video for it, so instead – and since I've had "Build" stuck in my head for days – I'll share this. Enjoy!