Question: What are the Top 5 songs of the 1980s?
Scott: In no particular order...
1. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" - The ProclaimersAndrew: Wow! Talk about a hard one to start with. But unlike Scott, I won't shirk my responsibility to put these in order... ;)
2. "We're Not Gonna Take It" - Twisted Sister
3. "Thriller" - Michael Jackson
4. "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" - Beastie Boys
5. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" - Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
1. "Melt With You" -- Modern English
2. "Every Breath You Take" -- The Police
3. "Little Red Corvette" -- Prince (story of my life)
4. "Sweet Dreams" -- Eurythmics
5. "Sweet Child of Mine" -- Guns and Roses
I think that about covers it, unless you folks have any suggestions? Though, I can't imagine what anyone could add to these lists...
86 comments:
"Moving in Stereo" - the Cars
"Hungry like the Wolf"- Duran Duran
"Rock you like a hurricane"- Scorpions
"Sweet Dreams"- Eurythmics
"Don't stop Believing"- Journey
These are the best 80's songs, not necesarily the best songs during the 80's.
My sane and rational Top 5:
"Rapture" - Blondie
"Addicted to Love" - Robert Palmer
"Our House" - Madness
"Sweet Dreams" - The Eurythmics
"Don't Answer Me" - The Alan Parsons Project
--and my Bizarro World doppelganger's Top 5:
"Star Trekkin" - The Firm
"I Lost on Jeopardy" - Weird Al Yankovic
"The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" - Julie Brown
"Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child" - Mojo Nixon
"Turning Japanese" - Todd Monroe
This one's gonna be tough for me to reply to. :-)
I've always described myself as a "musical idiot" because, unlike 99% of the population, music with actual lyrics never played a huge part in my life.
For this question, I chose some of my favorite songs... but even then, I'm not exactly an expert on the musicians, nor could I tell you the albums these songs appeared on, the names of everyone in the band, etc.
Expanding my music horizons is definitely on my bucket list. :-)
look, it's not my favorite decade, but it is music ... and I'm gonna stay withing the realm of popular music. No top 5 limitation, and in no particular order though, sorry:
Money for Nothing - Dire Strait
The Way It Is - Bruce & the Range
Billie Jean - the king of pop
Time After Time - Cyndy Lauper
I Love Rock 'n Roll - Joan jett
She Drives Me Crazy - FYC
Betty Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes
Addicted to Love - Robert Palmer
What's Love Got to Do With It - Tina Turner
Every Breath You Take - The Police (how 80's!)
Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds
anything by the Clash
Best - shmest... have no clue. I was a sheltered kid (rock was bad) who loved Bon Jovi anyway. I have been slowly accumulating songs I remember and like. Here are my favs of the ones from the 80s I have on my Friday playlist...
Sweet Dreams
Livin' on a Prayer
Holding Out for a Hero
You Give Love a Bad Name
In no particular order:
U2 - "With Or Without You"
Queen and David Bowie - "Under Pressure"
Phil Collins - "In the Air Tonight"
Foreigner - "I Want to Know What Love Is"
Thomas Dolby - "She Blinded Me With Science"
Men at Work - "Down Under"
Falco - "Rock Me Amadeus"
This is from TJ, who keeps getting blocked by blogger:
This is a really tough one. There were so many great songs in the 80’s, but the ones that really stood out to me were:
1. Queensryche – Eyes of a Stranger
2. Yes – Love Will Find a Way
3. Poco – Call it Love
4. Night Ranger – Don’t Tell Me You Love Me
5. Tears for Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Backthrow – Aw, yeah! Mojo Nixon! I saw them in college. They were great fun.
This is a tough thing to do, because my tastes in music have changed a lot since then. (They changed significantly when I discovered Hendrix and the Doors in college.) But in my high school 80s years, my favorites if I’m remembering right were:
“Overkill” and “It’s a Mistake” by Men at Work, off the terrific “Cargo” album
“Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes
“Tom Sawyer” and “YYZ” by Rush off the great “Moving Pictures” album
“What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” and “Walking Away” by Information Society
“Synchronicity II” by The Police, off the outstanding “Synchronicity” album
“Don’t You (Forget about Me)” by Simple Minds. Every time I hear this, I have a Breakfast Club flashback
“Big Country” by Big Country
As for albums, Prince’s “Purple Rain” was fantastic. “Let’s Go Crazy,” “When Doves Cry,” the title track and more. The movie is great, too.
But I’ll tell you this: I disliked the 80s work of Heart, “Starship” (the successor to Jefferson Starship) and Chicago, but came to absolutely detest their 80s output when I dove into their late 1960s and 1970s discography while I was in college. Seriously: How could the band that started as Jefferson Airplane and maker of “White Rabbit” devolve to eventually create the most execrable song of the 1980s, “We Built This City on Rock and Roll”?!? Sure, Starship’s 80s music has popular, but… man.
Shawn, It's hard to disagree with your choices. You know what's funny about Duran Duran, is that I actually liked their album stuff better than their singles most of the time.
Backthrow, I can't believe I forgot "Don't Answer Me"! That should have been in my top 5 for sure. Dang it.
Sweet Child O' Mine GnR
Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
Brass in Pocket - Pretenders
Rock the Casbah - Clash
Free Falling - Tom Petty
My personal favorites:
Behind the Wall of Sleep - Smithereens
The Magnificent Seven - Clash
Running Down a Dream - Tom Petty
Mystery Acheivement - Petenders
In God's Country - U2
Scott, How can you not know 1980s music? It's... everywhere.
Jed, That's a great list for someone who doesn't enjoy the era! :)
rlaWTX, Around 1983/84, a friend of mine from California showed up with a vinyl album from some group he had just heard in a club called "Bon Jovi." He said they were going to be huge and none of us believed him because he had said the same thing about a group called "Wombat Suicide." Sure enough, he was right this time. They hit it big on MTV about three months later.
Big Mo - you always have a way of pulling your punches l.o.l. !! seriously, I understand exactly where you are coming from about STARSHIP. I know my tastes have changed.
To all: may I suggest you folks check out an album called "Frank 'n' Dawg." This is a collaboration betwee4n jazz guitarist Frank Vignola and mandolinist David Grisman. It makes for terrific dinner music.
Mountain Man, All excellent! "With or Without You" was fantastic. The whole album was actually.
This is impossible as I will forever rank this my favorite decade for music, as mentioned before 1984 my fave year period, but Top 5 at the moment:
The Replacements' "Here Comes a Regular"
Golden Earring's "Twilight Zone"
Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
Van Halen's "Mean Street"
Run DMC's "It's Tricky"
>>You know what's funny about Duran Duran, is that I actually liked their album stuff better than their singles most of the time. >>
"Careless Memories" and "I'm Looking at Cracks in the Pavement" chief amongst the album cuts.
Big MO, Great list! And that reminded me of New Order. I got into them at the end of the 1980s in college when they released songs like "Bizarre Love Triangle".
I bought both of the big Men At Work albums and I thought they were great.
Also, I should add Billy Idol. Good stuff!
djskit, I bought Tom Petty's greatest hits when it came out and I couldn't believe how every song on it was fantastic. My favorite is "Last Dance With Mary Jane" but there isn't a bad song on it.
just a question of relativity, Andrew!
Jed and Big Mo, Yeah, it's kind of jarring how Starship/Airplane basically changed genres.
Eric, I really liked "The Chauffeur," "Friends of Mine," and "Tel Aviv". And from the radio releases, "New Moon on Monday" and "Is There Something I Should Know."
You know, the 1980s are probably my favorite period too. There are very few bands I didn't like that back then in any genre. That's really not true today.
Jed, I guess it is. :)
By the way, we're doing your article tomorrow (Compliance).
oh good. I have to pick up my son's fiancee at the airport about 2:00 p.m. eastern, but should be around to field comments.
btw, for Petty fans, there are some outstanding concert videos available. He is a good guy. My older son is an entertainer and once did a state fair with Petty. They usually have a buffet going for the entertainers, and my son walked in one night for dinner by himself. Tom saw him, and waived him over to join him. Pretty nice of him, I thought.
1) "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake
In truth, I can't stand this song anymore, but for all of 1988, this was my jam!
2) "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits
The intro/refrain to this song, "I want my MTV," pretty much encapsulates the musical ethos of the decade in four simple words. Well, three words and an acronym.
3)"Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS
I just love this song.
4) "Drive" by The Cars
My connection to this song actually occurred in the early 2000s when it came on the car radio and my girlfiend and I spontaneously pulled over and danced in my headlights. Yeah, I'm probably never going to top that one.
5)"Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant
This song was featured in the premiere episode of the 80s DIC Entertainment cartoon series that no one remembers (and is incidentally my favorite), Kidd Video. The song served an important plot point in that it directed our heros journey. Namely, that they were to "rock down to Electric Avenue" and then "take it higher" which meant ascending the clock tower at the center of Neon City.
Honorable Mentions
1) Anything by "Weird" Al Yankovick
Actually deserving of more than an honorable mention, since I can pretty much define my childhood by his parodies. Still, they are just parodies, and I think the spirit of the question calls for original songs.
2) "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," "Time After Time," "She Bop," and "All Through the Night" by Cyndi Lauper
Really, I could name the entire songlist for She's So Unusual. Cyndi is the first solo female artist to release four top five Billboard hits on a single album and still the only one to do so on a debut.
3) The 1985 cover of the Argent classic "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" by Petra
Yeah, I ran with the Jesus crowd as a kid. What of it?
4) "That Was Then, This Is Now" by The Monkees
5) THIS MASH-UP of "In Too Deep" by Genesis vs. "Wild Ones" by Flo Rida
"In the Air Tonight" - Phil Collins
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - U2
"Synchronicity I" - The Police
"Diamond Fields" - Pat Benatar
"Africa" - Toto
1. Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
2. Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen
3. Life During Wartime - Talking Heads
4. Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure
5. Aerosmith - The Other Side
You may notice a theme of my top 5...
1. Metallica, "Master of Puppets"
Heavy metal at its finest hour. Rawk on.
2. Iron Maiden, "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
No, they weren't - and aren't - Satanists. They're just really, really good musicians and it's a really, really good song.
3. Guns 'n' Roses, "Welcome to the Jungle"
How these guys got popular, I'll never know, but they did and it works.
4. AC/DC, "You Shook Me All Night Long"
One of the best singles from one of the best bands on their comeback album no one thought would work.
5. Motley Crue, "Dr. Feelgood"
Hard-hitting, heavy, and really well-written song from a band that gave up (snort, snicker) drugs.
Jed, No problem. Agreed on Petty. I've never met him, but everything I've seen about him is overwhelmingly positive.
tryanmax, I love Eddie Grant! LOL! I bought his album based on that song alone and I listened to it all the time. :)
I liked Cyndi Lauper a lot too. I thought she was much better than Madonna.
Kenn, I love Synchronicity I (and II). After I bought that album and liked the whole album, that got me to look at their older stuff and they because one of my favorite bands ever. "Bed's Too Big," "Bring On The Night," "Walking on the Moon."
Jimmy, Excellent list. It took me a while to get into the Talking Heads, but I'm really glad I did.
5minutes, I have a little metal in my tastes and those are the bands pretty much. Good call!
Stevie Ray Vaughn -- Texas Flood
U2 -- With or Without You. There was nothing like it on the radio before it.
The Cure: Killing An Arab
Joy Division -- Love Will Tear Us Apart
The Cult -- She Sells Sanctuary
The Alarm -- Strength
REM -- Driver 8
Guadalcanal Diary -- Litany
The Police -- Spirit in the Material World
U2 -- Sunday Bloody Sunday from the Live at Red Rocks album
Floyd, I totally agree about "With or Without You." That was such an amazingly original song. There was nothing like it. And even after, the only other songs to compare are from the same album. It still stands out today.
On REM, I love "Losing My Religion."
Also should mention Bowie. His 1980s stuff many not be as big as his earlier stuff, but I still loved it -- China Girl, Let's Dance.
tryanmax - love the Electric Avenue shoutout. I have a fond (if vague) memory of a cover band on Bourbon Street, some hurricanes, and well, you know :) Ditto, Cyndy Lauper and the Cars. Hard for me to summon up any love for the Monkees or Whitesnake. As for Knopfler, whew! BTW, his latest, Privateering is all about professionalism. Simple tunes, done to absolute perfection!
Saw Bowie at the Tower on the original Ziggy & the Spyders show. Incredible rock theater at it's finest.
Floyd - Ah, the Vaughn brothers :)
Andrew -
Re: Scott, How can you not know 1980s music? It's... everywhere.
Oh, I know a lot of it. But you see how knowledgeable (to the point of obsession) I am about other topics... I'm not there yet when it comes to 80s music.
If I watch a movie, I need to know everything about it.
If I listen to a song, chances are I know nothing about it, except that it's a good song. :-)
I have 1045 tunes on my “80s Rule!” iPod playlist — from The A’s “After Last Night” to ZZTop “Velcro Fly”. They’re all my children, I can’t just pick 5. But if you twist my arm...
"Colours" — Rez Band
"Sounds" — Phil Keaggy
"Tattoo" — 77's
"Chameleon" — Petra
"Jim Morrison's Grave" — Steve Taylor
;-)
Scott, There are points between disinterest and obsession, you know? LOL!
goozergrafx, 1045 tunes... awesome! :)
I have to say honestly that I know none of the ones you mention though! Wow. Clearly, I am missing something.
Well, Andrew, unless you were a fan of real Contemporary Christian Music, I wouldn't expect you to have heard of them (except for Petra.) My list was nod to those bands (and many more) who were every bit as talented and culturally current as what was in the mainstream, yet were never able (or allowed) to escape the Jesus Music ghetto.
I'll come up with a Mainstream 5 in a tick. ;-)
Yeah, That wasn't my thing. The only two I can think of were Winger and Amy Grant who went more mainstream.
Petra is pretty awesome! the "Beat the System" album is on today's playlist on my computer here at work (Christian music M-Th, "secular" rock on Friday).
I recognize, and like, most of the stuff listed, but most of what I know is from clandestine radio listening back then and classic rock radio nowadays...
goozergrafx, Phil Keaggy was the one with the brass instrument, right? (imagining cassette cover)
Amy Grant had great early stuff, then she went mainstream... and blah. But I don't think she ever qualified as "rock"... :)
rlaWTX, No, I wouldn't call her rock. I would say she was definitely late-80s pop. Micheal Bolton era. And yeah, kind of blah.
"clandestine radio" LOL! That sounds very rebellious! :)
rlaWTX — You are thinking of Phil Driscoll, who played the trumpet. Phil Keaggy is a guitar virtuoso. As for Amy, she had two great albums, the pop-oriented "Unguarded" and the even better "Lead Me On", which was harder-edged and more mature. Petra was the first Christian Rock I heard after I got saved, but thank goodness I met some brothers early on who were in the know about that "clandestine" stuff. :-)
Lesse now...mainstream picks...great stuff that IMHO can't be mistaken for anything other than the 80's:
"Relax" — Frankie Goes to Hollywood
"New Year's Day" — U2
"In the Air Tonight" — Phil Collins
"The Pleasure Seekers" — The System
"She Blinded Me With Science" – Thomas Dolby
(hmmm...gonna have to make it at least 10!)
"How Soon Is Now?" — The Smiths
"Drive" — The Cars
"Dirty Laundry" — Don Henley
"Let's Go Crazy" — Prince
"Oh Yeah" — Yello
First ones to pop into my head that I wouldn't skip in the rotation. :-)
Jed, I saw Bowie in Denver on his big retirement tour (right before he started Tin Machine). He played three hours at McNichols area and it was fantastic! It was also interesting to see everything from hippies to emos come see him. He really had several generations of fans there.
goozergrafx, I had "Relax" on my list originally but then changed my mind. Great song! Excellent list too.
Speaking of Stevie Ray and Jimmy Vaughn, I can't believe I didn't think to give an 80's shout out to the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Sure, there is Powerful Stuff, but, my personal favorite is there cover of the old Ron Holden tune "My Babe." Quite special, actually, particularly the live version.
Bowie is a consummate actor as well as magical performer. I suspect that show was every bit as special.
The below is the correct answer. You are welcome.
7. "Tuff Enuff" - Fabulous Thunderbirds
6. "Chicago Song" - David Sanborn
5. "Our House" - Madness
4. "Genius of Love" - Tom Tom Club
3. "The Magnificent Seven" - The Clash
2. "You Got'ta Fight For Your Right to Party" - The Beastie Boys
1. "She Blinded Me With Science" - Thomas Dolby
Regarding U2 "With or Without You..."
Yeah, there were never any slow, three chord, rock ballad, love songs featuring vocals, electric guitar, bass and drums on the radio until U2 came along.
Right...
Rufus, Thanks for the correct answer! LOL! :)
As an aside, how could I forget "Madness"?
Am I sensing a hint of sarcasm in your U2 answer? ;)
Goozergraphics:
"Colours" — Rez Band
Rez is a great band, and Colours was fantastic, but I'd go with "Three Seconds" or "Silence Screams" from the Silence Screams album.
"Chameleon" — Petra
I'd favor Angel of Light off the Never Say Die album, Judas' Kiss off More Power to Ya, or Adonai off of Beat the System. Also - everything they did from This Means War and On Fire.
"Jim Morrison's Grave" — Steve Taylor
Thumbs up on this one... Steve's a great guy. I really wish he'd record new material.
Andrew -
Re: Scott, There are points between disinterest and obsession, you know? LOL!
I know, and it never occurred to me til just now that this was a problem.
For example, when I first started watching Woody Allen's movies, I researched them, read a few books on the guy, etc. Same with TV shows - if I like one, I need to know EVERYTHING there is to know about it.
Yet when I think of something like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, it's like, "How intimidating! I can't possibly devour all that there is!"
But you don't have to do that in order to be a fan; you just have to like the work... sometimes I have to remind myself of that.
Write yourself a sticky note. ;P
This is where I pimp one of my favorite bands from the 80's, The Tubes
Talk To Ya Later or almost any other song off The Completion Backward Principle.
The Cars, Moving In Stereo & Candy O
Alan Parson's Project, Eye in the Sky
The Police, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
"Relax" is a great tune, and Welcome to the Pleasuredome a phenomenal album experience (mmmm, LPs), but I'll always prefer "Two Tribes." Wish I still had that 45, though. Speaking of wishes, another Top 5, synth-centered:
Flock of Seagull's "Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)"
Thompson Twins' "Lies"
Men Without Hats' "Pop Goes the World"
The Cars' "Since You're Gone"
Van Halen's "I'll Wait"
Not to be a complete Floyd, but The Cars' first two albums, "The Cars" and "Candy-O" are both 70s albums, along with about 20% of the songs folks listed today.
Like Goozer and Mr. E. Pluribus, it's a hard decade to narrow to a list of 5, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention "Haircut 100" since they appear to have been left out. I played the hell out of their album (did they make more than one?) Also, the B-52s eponymous first album was released in '79, but got little airplay until '80 - '81 (and it's awesome!) and they finished the decade with the great album, Cosmic Thing.
These are my personal preferences of course. The music critics (for "critics" read "assdouches who write for Rolling Stone and thought the Seattle Sound was a great leap forward...so to speak) will no doubt disagree. But I haven't read a single word of RS since the one with the Janet Jackson cover. Yeah, you know the one.
So. In no particular order:
Runnin' Down a Dream by Tom Petty. I still remember where I was the first time I heard this in my 1976 Firebird Formula.
Sweet Child o'Mine by Guns n Roses. Another bolt from the blue. Too bad Axl went from total badass to bitchy diva before the follow-up album even hit the store.
Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard. This and the above "Sweet Child" were the twin anthems of my senior year of high school. Yeah, there are some memories there.
Roll Me Away by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. This one took a while to grow on me, but now I can't get enough. From a minimalist intro to a soaring anthem, this really speaks to my wanderlust. For the record, "12 hours out of Mackinaw City" is Rochester, MN. That's according to Bob himself in concert last month in Saint Paul.
Raise Your Hands by Bon Jovi. My favorite from Slippery When Wet. I'm mystified that it never got more respect. I loved its use in "Spaceballs" when we are introduced to the Eagle 5. (Back in the day, my dad actually asked me "Which one's Bon and which one's Jovi?" True story.)
Legs by ZZ Top. Honestly, I thought they were a new band. But what the hell did I know, I was only 11 or so.
There are so many more in the Honorable Mention category. The 80s gets a bad rap for music, but for me it was the last good decade for rock. Or pop for that matter. It's all pretty much sucked for more than 20 years and it will continue to suck until the influence of "Grunge" is finally defecated out of pop culture.
Those are all '80s songs? Huh. Well, I can't get to five, but I'll go with "Sweet Child of Mine" and "(Don't You) Forget About Me." Also, is "Don't Stop Believin'" an '80s song? It sounds like it should be. If it is, I'm including it.
And whoever dissed U2 upset me, so I'm going to go to YouTube now and play some of their songs. And then maybe Coldplay.
Outlaw, "One in a Million"... awesome Tubes song!
Alan Parsons was great too. So were the Police.
Eric, I wore out a Thompson Twins album. I miss LPs. I like the sounds so much better.
Rufus, We're informal around here when it comes to dates. ;)
The Cars were really a 70s band? Huh. I did not know that. I never really heard anything by them until the mid-1980s when "Drive" hit it big.
Dave, I share your hate for grunge. I like almost every style and genre of music... except grunge. Blech.
Def Leppard was great. They're a great pop-metal sound.
T-Rav, Apparently, they aren't all 80s songs. So be careful remembering this thread if you're ever on Final Jeopardy.
So did anyone listen to the mash-up?
Anyone?
tryanmax, Yes. Just now. That's kind of interesting.
>>Def Leppard was great. They're a great pop-metal sound. >>
As much as l love Pyromania, High 'n' Dry still my favorite, more hard rock than pop, plus "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" set the standard and blows away any power ballad they subsequently made ("Foolin'" comes close). Producer "Mutt" Lange hadn't taught the boys to over-produce themselves to death just yet. Still, hard to deny the catchy hooks-galore on Hysteria.
AP, I finally got speakers for my uncle's old component unit, which includes a turntable, dual-cassette, and 8-track player, and have been spending way too much on vinyl lately. Bob Seger, J. Geils Band, and Exile on Main Street should not be listened to on anything but vinyl. That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it. Got a nice Duran Duran disco remix EP, too. Good to be back home ...
Eric, I agree Def Leppard was better before they became over-produced. Same with Van Halen in my opinion.
Vinyl is great. It just sounds so much richer.
There is no bad Van Halen except the Gary Cherone debacle (which did have 1-2 decent tunes on it). More keg-party entertaining with Dave, more well-rounded band with Sammy. That is all. ;-)
True, I wouldn't say there's bad Van Halen, but I definitely like the more raw sound from earlier Van Halen better than the more produced sounds from later.
I think that mash-ups are my new favorite genre. A good mash-up breathes new life into an existing song. A great mash-up adds new meaning to a song. And an excellent mash-up is like a whole new song that just happens to be assembled from other songs.
Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard: always turn this one up loud when it comes on the radio...
rlaWTX, It's a great song for those with a sweet tooth. ;)
tryanmax, I like some.
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