The best thing about asking the writers of this zone any question is the variety of answers you can receive. We have such a diverse taste in music at 411 that we're like one big bright, colorful rainbow of musical goodness.
This week, on very, very short notice, I posed the question, "What are your top 5 choices for tracks from the 1980s?" What sparked this was that last week, Billboard released its Top Tracks of all time. I laughed, rolled my eyes, and said to Mitch, "You can't judge the whole of music without first looking at some of the best times."
With that, I bequeath to you the Writers' Responses:
[Morgan Marx]
As any scenester snob will tell you, it isn't cool liking a band's most popular song. No one professes their die hard love of a particular artist by pointing to the highest charting single that everyone and their mother knows, even if they couldn't tell you who sang it.
However, the beauty of a topic like this is the ability to cut through the BS. Sure, Black Francis is a genius and the Pixies have plenty of overlooked songs that I could write about. But, more often than not, I'd rather listen to the saccharine sweet tones of Kim Deal talking about a very large penis.
Between "Gigantic," The Smiths and The Waitresses, I'm starting to wonder about myself…
Honorable Mentions: The Cure – "A Forest," Depeche Mode – "Never Let Me Down Again," Echo and the Bunnymen – "The Killing Moon," Mission of Burma – "That's When I Reach Form My Revolver," Morrissey – "Everyday Is Like Sunday," Nine Inch Nails – "Down In It," Sugarcubes – "Birthday," Violent Femmes – "Gimmie The Car," The Waitresses – "Christmas Wrapping," and every other single by the following five bands.
5. Joy Division – "Atmosphere" from Substance: Ian Curtis took his own life two years before I was born. The fact that fans continue to discover his music well after the band dissolved is a testament to Joy Division's talent. Has the name of a song ever been more fitting? The track envelops the listener in a thick shroud of sound. It's a simple song; a simple bass line laid over a driving drumbeat. And then there's Curtis' drone, relaying a series of short lyrics and commands. Even without knowing Curtis' story, it's a song that can bring tears to a listener's eyes.
4. The Jesus and Mary Chain – "Just Like Honey" from Psychocandy: The brothers Reid are known for their chainsaw guitars and audio assault. This track is heavy on the fuzz but is more "pretty" than aggressive. It shimmers and seems shorter than its three minutes. While Curtis urged the listener "don't walk away," Jim Reid thinks "walking back to you is the hardest thing that I can do." Many of the songs on this list share a structure: repetitive drumbeat, supporting baseline, and hushed or semi-talked lyrics. Sofia Coppola used this song at the close of Lost in Translation. Scarlett Johansson sang backup for the JAMC at Coachella a few years ago, meaning that she and I shared the same square mile of earth and air for an evening. Does that affect my fond feelings for the song? Why yes, yes is does…
3. X – "Los Angeles" from Los Angeles - I heard this song well before I ended up moving to the West Coast. I was sad to discover that, unlike the warnings from many LA based bands, I've yet to become a smack addicted hooker, despite living in North Hollywood for two years. But I still appreciate John Doe and Exene Cervenka's ruminations on the city I call home.
2. Pixies – "Gigantic" from Surfer Rosa: The simplest, most effective base line known to man. Sure, "Debaser," "Hey," and "Nimrod's Son" might capture the Pixies as a whole. But "Gigantic" is just the perfect pop song. Is it written about the most lurid part of an interracial affair? Sure, but that doesn't mean it isn't sweet and irresistible. While cynics may claim that the recent Pixies reunion was nothing more than a quick cash grab, the joy of seeing Kim Deal sing this song with a smile plastered to her face was worth it.
1. The Smiths – "How Soon Is Now?" from Hatful of Hollow: I know, I know, not very original. But it was the first Smiths song I heard before I knew anything about the band (thanks Boston's WFNX "Leftover Lunch"). Johnny Marr's vibrato guitar latches onto the listener and doesn't let go. Morrissey is at his most sorrowful and his most poignant. I think everyone has experienced that feeling of going out full of promise, whether to a club or a concert, only to find yourself heading home alone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sob into a pillow.
Were the 80s really this depressing? To me, it was a time of Voltron and an NES system for kindergarten graduation and Thundercats and shoes with dinosaur tracks on the soles. For Curtis, Morrissey, Ian McCulloch and Dave Gahan it was a time of sexual insecurity, blackness, and haunting reverb. What a difference a generation makes.
[Dan Marsicano]
5. Van Halen- "Hot For Teacher": "Hot For Teacher" is not only a classic Van Halen song, but the video is hysterical, sexy, and has the Van Halen brothers poorly dancing. Basically, everything I've ever wanted in a music video.
4. Metallica - "One": Metallica's first single, the band augmented the song with a haunting video based on the movie "Johnny Got His Gun." The song starts off slow, but segue ways into one of the most memorable moments in Metallica history, with machine-gun riffing and Hammett soloing as if the atomic bomb was about to be dropped. The song is one of the few off of …And Justice For All that was played extensively throughout the 90's and a song that most fans associate the band with.
3. Extreme- "More Than Words": Yes, I put "More Than Words" in my top 3. Yes, its cheesy as fuck and the video is god-awful. You have to admit though; the song is catchy. The vocal interplay between Gary Cherone and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt is fantastic, as is Bettencourt's acoustic work, especially the quick flamenco-ish solo at the end. "More Than Words" is the only big Extreme hit, but it is still remembered 20 years later, something most 80's ballads aren't.
2. Guns N' Roses- "Welcome To The Jungle": With the opening riff, the music world was turned on its head. "Welcome To The Jungle" helped to bring 80's metal back from the depths of hell called glam and hair metal. The song, along with their fuck-it-all attitude, made their debut album, Appetite For Destruction, a huge success.
1. Michael Jackson- "Thriller": The first epic music video, the over-ten minute long video was famous for being directed by John Landis. The video is over-the-top, but made Michael Jackson a household name and propelled Thriller to one of the most successful albums of all time.
[Rob Samuels]
I thought about going a number of ways with this. I could have listed the best selling singles of the decade, maybe written about the best rock singles of the time, or I could have written about my personal favorite cheese-tastic monstrosities. I chose option 3.
5. The Human League – "Don't You Want Me" (1981): This song is so fucking awful it's brilliant. I loathe everything about it, and yet appreciate exactly why it hit the top of the charts so quickly. It's tacky, synthy, cheesy and absolutely shitty. That's what 80's pop was all about.
4. Frankie Goes to Hollywood – "Relax" (1983): This song was an absolute phenomenon in the UK and mainland Europe. The media hated it but it was a chance for Britain to gay it up a bit. The 80's were a weird time for sexual liberation, as it was the first time Gay lifestyle garnered mainstream attention, and this song really helped drive it there. The song is preposterously tongue-in-cheek - and very of the time.
3. Erasure – "A Little Respect" (1988): This is a fucking brilliant song. Anyone who doesn't enjoy singing this in the pub with your mates and trying to hit the high notes whilst drunk is a fool. The brilliant thing about ‘A Little Respect' is that it is very 80's in it's sound, yet timeless as a pop song, as Wheatus proved a few years back by doing an excellent cover.
2. A-Ha – "Take On Me" (1985): If you haven't seen the video for this song, then you're life isn't complete. Morten Harket's hair is a thing of precision beauty. Not only is the video magnificently dated but the song is too. Take on Me is so quintessentially 80's - and for me defines the era. Amazingly the song was first released in 1984 but bombed in the charts, so the band re-mixed it and paired it with the infamous video, and voila! An instant classic.
1. Nena – "99 Luftballons" (1984): This song was a huge success across the globe hitting number 1 in ten countries, as well as number 2 in the States. ‘99 Luftballons' is so brilliantly 80's, in that no one could ever get away with trying to write a song like that in 2008. A cracking little cheese-pop ditty that deservedly takes my number 1 spot.
[Jeff Modzelewski]
So, for my list, I decided to focus on songs that really represented the 80's. While I may think that "One" is the best single to come out of the 80's, I figured that I'd focus on songs that really represent "80's music."
5. Peter Gabriel - "Games Without Frontiers": I almost put "In Your Eyes" on this list, but I decided to go with quality over Gabriel's most well known song. "Games Without Frontiers" is simplistic yet powerful, dark and light at the same time. Gabriel is able to give a strong commentary on war and nationalism without sounding preachy.
4. INXS - "Need You Tonight": This is simply an amazing song. Everyone knows that riff. 20 years after it's release, (and 10 years after his death) Michael Hutchence is still a sex symbol, primarily because of this song and video. Hell, even I'm sexy when I do this song in karaoke (ok, that's just a huge lie).
3. Prince - "When Doves Cry": Another amazing song by a bonafide 80's sex symbol. Prince is everything that Michael Jackson wishes he could have been. Prince is an amazing singer, songwriter, and musician, and "When Doves Cry" is one of the best songs ever written.
2. Cyndi Lauper – "Time After Time": How can you not get sentimental listening to this song? Cyndi Lauper's unique voice is gorgeous on this song. It's well written, with meaningful lyrics, and it's probably showcases Lauper's voice better than any other song she did.
1. Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean": Yeah, I know I ripped on Michael earlier in this list, but "Thriller" deserves the praise that it gets. Unfortunately, Jackson started going over the top with the "Bad" album, and it was all downhill after that. But this song is Jackson at the top of his game. Anyone who doesn't have this in their top 5 doesn't appreciate 80's music.
[Vanessa]
Ok, so technically, I'm not a part of the 80's generation, as I wasn't even born when half the songs I picked were released. However, as I seem to have been born in the wrong decade anyway, we'll just ignore that fact. It was kind of hard narrowing down my top five songs, but I did the best I could! I'm sure there's people out there that are going to disagree with me, and that's ok.
Honorable Mentions: Soft Cell - "Tainted Love," Grandmaster Flash- "The Message," Culture Club, "Karma Chameleon," Beastie Boys- "Fight For Your Right, Phil Collins- "In The Air Tonight," A-HA- "Take On Me," Berlin- "Take My Breath Away"
5. The Clash - "Rock The Casbah": Taken from 1982's Combat Rock, "Rock The Casbah" is a great example of both The Clash's political and rock sensibilities.According to the album notes on the box set The Clash on Broadway, "Rock the Casbah" originated when the band's manager Bernie Rhodes, after hearing them record an inordinately long track for the album, asked them facetiously, "does everything have to be as long as this raga?" (referring to the Indian musical style known for its length and complexity). Joe Strummer later wrote the opening lines to the song: "The King told the boogie-men 'you have to let that raga drop.'" The rest of the lyrics soon followed.
4. The Police - "Every Breath You Take": I love the fact that people use this for their wedding song, thinking that it's some fabulous declaration of love and devotion. Some people really need to listen to the lyrics before they use this as the soundtrack to their honeymoon. The track was in fact written during the collapse of Sting's marriage to Frances Tomelty; the lyrics are the words of a sinister, controlling character, who is watching "every breath you take / every move you make".
3. Public Enemy - "Fight The Power": First released from Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, "Fight The Power" is a tor de force of a song, one that is both inspiring and just as magnetic today. The verses are lyrically tight, jaw-dropping and thought provoking. It is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
2. U2 - "With Or Without You": From The Joshua Tree, "With Or Without You" is a signature U2 song. It's beautiful, catchy, haunting, and a great combination of pop and rock. Bono's vocal stylings coupled with the heart-felt lyrics allow this song to be cemented in musical history.
1. Michael Jackson - "Thriller": Even if you don't like Michael Jackson's music, you have to at least give credit where credit is due. Without a doubt, MJ was a staple of the 80's. The video for "Thriller" was a landmark event, iconic for the classic dance sequence, the premise and the fact that it was directed by An American Werewolf in London director, John Landis.
[Storman Norman]
I have never been a big fan of 80's music. I am a product of 1982 and it wasn't until the 90's when I really began to appreciate and enjoy music, I still can't really vibe with the pop culture of the time. So my knowledge of 80's music does not encompass bands that have vanished into obscurity, or metal, or basically anything that is not Rap or R&B.
Honorable Mentions: Janet Jackson- "Let's Wait A While", Bobby Brown - "My Prerogative", LL Cool J-"Going Back To Cali", Public Enemy- "Fight The Power",
5. Prince - "Purple Rain": You can't have a top 5 80's list without Purple Rain. Prince teamed up with The Revolution to create what would become his signature song. The fusion of rock, pop and gospel music never made it to the number one spot in the US (reached the #2 spot) but is a staple of 80's music.
4. N.W.A - "Boyz-n-the-Hood": This rap song is so fucking tight, that there is even an emo version of it. This was my introduction to gangster rap and is one of my all time favorite rap songs. "Cause the boyz-n-the-hood are always hard, come talking that trash, we'll pull your card…," this is the epitomy of gangster rap. Although the song did not garner respect on the charts, it is a staple in the history of gangster rap.
3. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - "Parent's Just Don't Understand": This song highlights the epic battle between parents and their kids, the story of my adolescences. Parent's just don't seem to understand that at 16 you do have a rep and that all school is a big fashion show that you have to take books to. They won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance in 1989 with this song and it launched DJ Jazzy & The Fresh Prince from relative anonymity to stardom almost overnight.
2. LL Cool J - "I Need Love": This is the first rap ballad I ever heard and two decades later it is still unmatched. This was the second single released from the multiplatinum album, Bigger and Deffer. "I Need Love," spent significant time atop R&B charts in 1987. Many said that this tarnished the tuff guy image that he boasted in previous songs but it did quite the opposite, it proved that even the tuffest of guys just need to be loved.
1. Michael Jackson - "Bad": Thriller is MJ's best album, but this is his best song. For the first time we got to see a side of Michael that wasn't humble and soft spoken. His confidence and swagger beamed through the radio waves and it was like a rebuttal to those who challenged his manhood. Just as many of the King of Pop's songs, it made its home atop almost all pop/R&B charts for many weeks. The knife fight in the video is classic.
[Dan Haggerty]
This list is my top metal singles of the 80's. And by single I mean a song since I was partying way to much then to remember if this was a record, a video, or on the radio. Although I doubt the radio would have had the balls to play a few of these then.
5. Iron Maiden - "Number Of The Beast": And out of the British Invasion we were introduced to none other than metal's answer to the Air Raid Siren. From the underground the stars align with a catchy riff, fun rhythm, and loud anthem to loudly proclaim that the metal underground was indeed the real deal, and then sit back and wait for the critics to take years figuring out what us jean-jacket clad street warriors got in the first chorus. I dare anyone to not pump their fist along with "Six... Six-Six... The number of the beast!"
4. Black Sabbath - "Zero The Hero": The much maligned one-off with Gillian on leads delivers one of biggest songs of the band's catalog. I mean, this riff is so fucking huge it needs the fifteen seconds of the previous song just to get started. And when it gets rolling, it becomes a freight train that just crushes any poor sap to accidental get in the way, including the random city I might add. Add the insane shriek of mad-man Gillian who has a mosh pit of demons dancing through his head and one awesome solo from the immortal Iommi and this becomes one bad ass song.
3. AC/DC - "Hells Bells": It's one thing for the masters of boogie-groove rock and roll to make a big comeback with the toughest album of their career, it's another to open it up with an almost doom like riff that would signal the release of Armageddon if it wasn't so goddamn melodic. We were being forced to nod out head along in strict obedience on this before Quiet Riot invented the phrase "Bang Your Head" several years later. This is simply one of the meanest, toughest, yet grooviest slog fests of the 80's. And further the song that I, along with a whole generations of teens, would undoubtedly be most likely to get drunk to at the time.
2. Rush - "Limelight": Rush might have been slowly growing into pop rock terrain and synth textures by this point, but boy did they release a monster of an album in Moving Pictures on the way there. "Limelight" catches the band in the perfect storm of mainstream hooky-ness, hard rock sizzle, and metal work ethic. All three band members firing on all cylinders in this baby, putting out more combined musical capacity than some band's entire catalog. Lifted on a great Peart lyric (his mastery of verse here reaches it's career peak), and Alex delivers a career defining solo, the perfect fusion of ability and passion.
1. Metallica - "Master Of Puppets": The title track to one of the biggest metal albums of all time, and there is a reason for it. This monster crunches and crushes. Tearing between thrashing riffs and almost doom-y chugs with riffs so heavy they could drag a black hole off it's course. And when the song does deliver a break, it becomes an interlude that slowly builds with such methodical purpose it single handily makes you want to commands you to bang your head. One of the few songs that should come with a warning against neck injuries.
[Ben Czajkowski]
I feel as though I am doing the 1980s a huge disservice in only picking five of the best from that decade. There were hundreds of songs that deserve some consideration, from countless genres. I decided to go with the tracks that I grew up listening to on WISH 99.7 in Pittsburgh.
Honorable Mentions: Styx – "Mr. Roboto", Motorhead – "Ace of Spades", Michael Jackson – "Thriller", MJ – "Billie Jean", The Police – "Every Breath You Take", U2 – "Sunday, Bloody Sunday", Madonna – "Like A Virgin", Dexy's Midnight Runners – "Come On Eileen", Police – "Don't Stand So Close To Me", Whitney Houston – "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", Rick Astley – "Never Gonna Give You Up" and like 100 others.
5. Soft Cell – "Tainted Love": Very few people know or care that this song was actually not an original. It was a cover of Gloria Jones. Despite who may have done it since then, Soft Cell's cover is still the best of them all. It went on to set all kinds of records across the chart. It's probably the song Soft Cell is most known for, as well.
4. Night Ranger – "Sister Christian": This power ballad from the early 80s holds a special place in my heart. A mother that used to drive me to elementary school played this song every morning. It wasn't until years later that I realized how powerful and potentially sad the song lyrics really were.
3. Depeche Mode - "Personal Jesus": Released right on the cusp of the end of the 80s, I think this song has had a huge impact on musical creativity. Who the hell am I kidding? Depeche Mode's unique sound has spurred musical revolutions, over the years. This song was Mode's twenty third UK single, and probably their best. "Personal Jesus", though, I could argue, created a religion all of its own. It was hard not to throw this in as number 1.
2. Duran Duran - "Hungry Like the Wolf": Another track from the early 80s and before I was even born, this has to be Duran Duran's signature song. I hate saying it, but without MTV this song probably never would have been heard by anyone born after 1983, at least in the U.S. As I found out a few years ago, the technology and techniques used for this song were, ultimately, revolutionary. It, of course, was inspired by Little Red Riding Hood.
1. Eurythmics - "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)": Best fucking song of the 80s. Hands down. With this song, I can't go through the 1980s without mentioning the influence of the music video. Countless songs gained incredible ground because of the revolution that once was MTV. The prominent and beautiful video for this song really helped to propel it to the kind of sensation it became. The lyrics of the song suggest an exploration for contentment, and the "Sweet Dreams" are the desires that motivate us. Annie Lennox was just so hot with that hair. Rwar.
[Mitch Michaels]
Honorable Mentions: Foreigner - "I Want To Know What Love Is", Prince & The Revolution - "Kiss", Bon Jovi - "Livin' On A Prayer", Bobby McFerrin - "Don't Worry, Be Happy", Paula Abdul - "Straight Up"
5. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - "I Love Rock ‘n' Roll": In the 80's, rock ‘n' roll was truly in danger thanks to the move from guitar to synthesizer. So it's good to know that this jukebox anthem would remain one of the biggest songs of the decade. Joan Jett actually covered this one - the original was by band called the Watchers. Jett recorded is in 1979 with members of the Sex Pistols, but re-recorded the single we all know and love in 1982 with her Blackhearts. It was #1 for seven weeks and made her a household name. There's nothing groundbreaking about the track - just a love letter to a genre that was just barely old enough to buy beer around that time. Great riff and proof that the simplest sentiments are sometimes the best.
4. The Police - "Every Breath You Take": Before Biggy bit the bullet, "Every Breath You Take" was the greatest song about a stalker ever released. And, despite "Somebody's Watchin' Me", it still is. As many hits as The Police had, "Every Breath" is the least arty and most accessible, which makes its odd subject matter even stranger. Those muted guitar chords and the background vocals on the bridge are as iconic as the opening lines "Every breath you take/Every move you make…".
3. Poison - "Every Rose Has Its Thorn": In Christmas of 1988, Poison reached the #1 spot for the first and only time in their career with what has become the front running power ballad of the hair metal era. Sure, power ballads had been done before, but none could pack the junior high and high school dances quite so well as when Brett Michaels went tender. Written about a love gone wrong (with an L.A. stripper, no less), "Thorn" includes some great guitar work by C.C. DeVille. Unfortunately, it would also begin the trend of "tender acoustic rock" from the hair metal bands, which would ultimately spell the end for our friends in spandex.
2. U2 - "With Or Without You": From possibly the quintessential rock album of the 1980's, "With Or Without You" was the opening salvo fired from the soon-to-be classic Joshua Tree in 1987. U2 had built a reputation as a solid rock band up to that point, but "With Or Without You" would mark the beginning of their biggest commercial period. A huge across the boards hit, the song spent several weeks at #1 and remains a rock radio staple to this day. You can think what you want about how U2's present state of near deities, but one "And you give yourself away/And you give yourself away/And you give/And you give…" kicks in, you can't help but sing along.
1. Phil Collins - "In The Air Tonight": Phil Collins' first solo single and it's still his best. Just the creepiest, moodiest vibe ever. Released in 1981, "In The Air" is still causing waves today, as it just went #1 in New Zealand thanks to a great ad campaign. I don't know where I was when I first heard this song, but I remember wanting to hear it again. Phil's drum part in this song (which kicks in midway in one of the greatest percussive moments of the decade) would go on to provide the template for studio drum sound in the 80's. And speaking of defining the 80's, Phil Collins would go on to top the charts for the entire era, with hits like "Against All Odds", "Another Day In Paradise" and several others.
Now, it's time for the Reader's Response. Obviously, the 1980s was a very diverse decade, as sampled here. Now weigh in with your top five in the comments below. Later, this weekend, we'll look at the best lists from you, the reader!
