I thought I'd need hours (maybe days) to come up with my list, what with all the ‘80s goodness floating around in my head, but in the end it took all of maybe two minutes. And there was no question about it -- it had to be these five. Collectively, they take me back to the happiest period in my life by far (age 0-9, approx.). It’s been pretty much downhill since.
5.) Send Me an Angel, Real Life (1983): A movie was released in 1986 that changed
4.) Danger Zone, Kenny Loggins (1986): Being six years old is all about danger. Whether you’re jumping from your tree house to the roof of the storage building or mixing different flavors of Kool-Aid together, you’re pushing yourself to the limit with every second. And not only was this song dangerous, it was so dangerous it needed its own zone. That, combined with Loggins’ edgy vocal stylings, made it my anthem through a large chunk of elementary school. One could justifiably compose his/her ‘80s list exclusively of Kenny Loggins’ hits, if one were so inclined (“Footloose,” “I’m Free (Heaven Helps the Man),” “Playing With the Boys,” “I’m Alright,” etc.).
3.) Glory of Love, Peter Cetera (1986): The Karate Kid Part II taught me how to love. First you chop through blocks of ice. Then you stand up to the village bully. Then you race a beautiful Okinawan girl up the seashore to the unmistakable falsetto of Chicago’s Peter Cetera. That's about it. Makes me a little sad that we’ve likely seen the end of the middle-aged pop artist (besides Madonna, I guess). You’ve got to be pretty nowadays and know how to dance and whatnot. And unfortunately, notwithstanding his Busey-esque good looks, Cetera’s got a dance for radio. This video just makes me happy in a whole bunch of indefinable ways.
2.) Thriller, Michael Jackson (1982): Thriller had a longer run in my Walkman than any other tape. I wasn’t allowed to watch MTV back then, so I didn’t see the video until years later. Couldn’t get enough of the song, though. Yep, before the plastic surgery and Jesus Juice and all that nonsense MJ was one of the coolest guys on the planet. (Thought about embedding the Philippines prison clip, but I figured almost everyone’s already seen it. Just in case, though, here it is.)
1.) Heart of Rock n Roll, Huey Lewis and the News (1984): My favorite song from the time I was five to about eleven. The first song I can remember singing along with when it came on the radio. Easily beats “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” “Vogue” and “The ABCs” for the title of “Greatest Listing Song of All-Time.” Next to Mozart’s “Requiem,” maybe the best piece of music ever written, period. You heard me right.
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AUTHOR THOMAS PYNCHON TURNED 72 TODAY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM. I'LL FINISH GRAVITY'S RAINBOW THIS SUMMER, I SWEAR.
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20 comments:
I think you win this time. That is the good list. So, here's a distant runner-up list anyway:
-Welcome to the Jungle
-Don't You Forget About Me
-Oh Sherry
-Total Eclipse of the Heart
-Like a Virgin
However, yeah, we're keeping it to top40 for some reason, yeah? Why not some twang:
-Marina del Rey
-Pancho and Lefty
-Lookin' for Love
-I Love a Rainy Night
-Some Fools Never Learn
And even THAT's stupid because it's just a boys only clubhouse, right? Why not:
-Eighties Ladies
-18 Wheels and Dozen Roses
-Mama He's Crazy
-Seven Year Ache
-I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool
Or, why not just mix the guys with the girls, go for the duets:
-You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma
-Meet Me In Montana
-Paradise Tonight
-Islands in the Stream
-Face to Face
(hopefully those are all eighties)
Pardon my language, but HOLY FUCKING SHIT! Rad? Aunt Becky on a BMX bike?!? I think my head just exploded.
I take umbrage with your use of Peter Cetera. Yes, the song is a masterpiece, but KK2 had no Elisabeth Shue, so it loses points by association.
I do have a great story about "Glory of Love", however. The first wedding I ever attended (that I recall) was in 1987. I couldn't tell you who was getting married (someone my dad worked with?) or where it was. But I can tell you that the groom got down on a knee and sang "Glory of Love" IN THE CEREMONY. Even at 5 1/2, I knew that I was witnessing the collision of the incredibly lame and the incredibly awesome.
And if anyone is curious as to the font of Loggins's musical genius, just watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX1Nh6c80wo
Oh, and by the way Gibbles, it's Barclay with a "c".
Sorry, Justin. Fixed the spelling.
I'm in love w/ES as much as the next guy, but Kumiko was every bit as hot (if not hotter) as/than Elisabeth Shue (at the time), who didn't really hit her stride until Cocktail, four years later. And did you ever see her do a fan dance? Or make a really fancy cup of tea? The best she could manage was some subpar soccer dribbling. She could also run while clapping. Bout it. No, Shue never had Kumiko-calibre skills.
OK seriously?!? And I thought aunt Becky was cool THEN... bonus points for the sweet skills! Secondly, I feel like Tom Cruise ruined Top Gun forever for me. At this point, I would love for Kenny Loggins to fly alongside Goose and sing 'you've lost that loving feeling.' Moving along.
The longer I thought about this, the harder it was to distinguish a cut-off point... so basically, I'll leave it at 5 OF my favorite 80's songs... you know, the ones that tug the good ol' heart strings the most.
5. 18 and Life, Skid Row ('89) - This one's in the outfield compared to the rest of the group... but I can just remember playing this tape over and over in my brother's boom box wondering if I'd ever personally know the sound of '18 and life' followed by the slam and echo of a gavel ringing in my convicted ears.
4. Bizarre Love Triangle, New Order ('86) - I'll go ahead and say that I think this is an Asian thing. Either way, this song was and still is the JAM! Next question.
3. The Lady In Red, Chris DeBurg ('86) - I'll fight this one to the death. Pure unadulterated 80's love cheese and I can't get enough. I made sure we played this song at my wedding. That right, I totally did.
2. Take On Me, a-ha ('85) - How can one song win so many awards and then have the group vanish the very next year? Penciled in cartoon bad guys... I mean, come on! I wish I had played this one at my wedding too.
1. Beat It, Michael Jackson ('82) - I think he could have been the first black president if he would have run in the 80's. I used to think the chorus sang, 'no one wants to feel a beating...' Man, I even argued someone in high school for weeks until I went back and realized I'm an idiot. As if I hadn't come to that conclusion before.
I almost feel guilty not putting any U2 in here... but I just feel like since I never stopped listening to them, they don't pulse the reminiscent vibes quite as much as the rest of the list. Ooh, and Erasure. But most of their good stuff came out in the early 90's.
Post Script - Ralph Macchio is so beast. Can you tell I hang out with middle schoolers?!? Can't wait to read the rest!
Beast, huh. Never heard that one. Heard wizard, though. Or maybe saw it on Juno. So are 'beast' and 'wizard' the new 'cool'? (Seems like 'sick' is already on its way out.)
Can't believe you've never seen Rad.
Two lists: first, my top 5 '80s songs when I was in the eighties; second, my top 5 '80s songs now that I'm in the aughties.
5. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" - Def Leppard ('87)
4. "Rock Me, Amadeus" - Falco ('85)
3. "Wild Boys" - Duran Duran ('84)
2. "One Night in Bangkok" - Murray Head ('84)
1. "Eye of the Tiger" - Survivor ('82)
5. "Magic Number" - De La Soul ('89)
4. "Graceland" - Paul Simon ('86)
3. "Loneliness is a Gun" - House of Love ('88)
2. "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" - The Smiths ('86)
1. "Eye of the Tiger" - Survivor ('82)
So glad you picked One Night in Bangkok. I'd had the melody stuck in my head for the last few months but couldn't remember the lyrics/title to save my life. It was starting to seriously upset my calm.
top five 80s songs:
billie jean - mj
these dreams - heart
barracuda - pat benetar
patience - g'n'r
pretty woman - van halen (not van haggar)
i still haven't found what I'm looking for -u2
i can't go for that (no can do) - hall & oats
working for the weekend - loverboy
raspberry beret - prince
hello - lionel richie
you will notice that there are 10... deal with it.
these songs will speak for themselves...no explanation needed. #6 & 7 were thrown in for good measure.
7. You're the Inspiration - Chicago ('84)
6. Hungry Eyes - Eric Carmen, Dirty Dancing Soundtrack ('87)
5. Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin, Cocktail Soundtrack ('88)
4. Bust a Move - Young MC ('89)
3. The Longest Time - Billy Joel ('84)
2. What a Feeling - Irene Cara, Flashdance Soundtrack ('83)
1. Jump (for my love) - Pointer Sisters ('83)
The Suttons have good taste. That kid will have some nice tunes waiting for him on the other side... in a little over a month, right? Crazy.
not a terrible list bob. you really can't go wrong with m.j., prince, or u2. but i do see problems. #1, "barracuda" was performed by heart not benatar. maybe you were thinking of "love is a battlefield," which kicks ass by the way. #2, "hello" does have a pretty great melody, but if i were you, i would have saved it for the top 5 creepiest songs list (when will that be, ryan?). and #3, while "pretty woman" is a great, great song, v.h.'s cover of it is pretty much one of the top 5 musical crimes of the past 30 years. right up there with britney's butchering of "satisfaction." oh, and i apologize for being a snob. happy baby day.
Weed, I should have done my research! I don't know why I thought it was benatar, but then again, I didn't look any up, just rattled them off. I guess Heart is just that bad ass. As for VH - I just saw them live a few weeks ago, so I'm probably a little bias. Lastly, you are absolutely right about "hello" being one of the creepiest songs... that may just be what keeps me coming back.
OK, I thought since everyone else is posting more than 5... I figured I'd add just two more (until I think of another one). (#6) This song came on the radio while Bob and I were driving home from a wedding this weekend.
7. Rio, Duran Duran ('82?)
6. Hungry Like The Wolf, Duran Duran ('82?)
you were right! It was Duran.
... Duran. (why two?)
Alrighty. I'll give the stragglers a few more days to post if they'd like, and a new category will go up mid-next week.
ehhem...mid-next week was like a mid-week ago.
Yep, right you are. No excuse, really... just dragging my feet. Anyway, new category going up tonight!
er, tomorrow.
next.
In case you missed it, winner and new category posted:
http://desertislandtopfives.blogspot.com/
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