When I commenced this countdown several weeks ago, I knew there’d be at least a handful of selections readers glance to and immediately question my musical taste if not my sanity or manhood all together. To those critics I say— tough shit. This is a daily rundown of my favorite 80s songs, not necessarily its … Read More
I should probably provide a little context that accompanies this selection. I don’t think Olivia Newton John’s “Physical” is one of the more exquisite songs of the 80s. It’s simple and borderline corny. However, what made it so fantastic was the insanely sexual overtures that both boys and men (and I’m sure many females for … Read More
There weren’t many female rock groups in the 80s capable of producing a superb rock power ballad. Ok, there were zero female rock groups in the 80s capable of producing a superb rock power ballad. All except for Heart—-of course. The 2013 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame prepared a virtual smorgasbord … Read More
Spoiler alert— while I was/am a big fan of Styx, this is their lone song on my countdown. Truth be told my favorite three tunes from the band are “Babe”, “Come Sail Away” and “Lady”. However, all three are from the 70s. While in general I wasn’t a huge fan of rock bands in the … Read More
Look, man—I’m not going to waste my time disagreeing with you that Michael Sembello’s 1983 hit “Maniac” is a pretty foolish song. There’s no denying it’s wonderful cheesiness. Does it really matter anyway? Schindler’s List and Forrest Gump are brilliantly written cinematic masterpieces, but that doesn’t make Dumb and Dumber any less enjoyable. Get off … Read More
Here’s a fun story about “Open Arms” I was oblivious to until recently. Every 80’s fan recalls John Waite, who scored a huge hit single with “Missing You” in 1984, right? That’s actually a rhetorical question. Anyway, years before his one-hit wonder Waite was in a British rock group called the Babys, and had Waite … Read More
Before jumping into particulars and anecdotes about “Power of Love”, let me preface this entry by saying Huey Lewis & The News’ “Sports” album is among a tiny handful of my most cherished 80s albums. For me anyway it rivals Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Prince’s “Purple Rain” and Lionel Richie’s “Can’t Slow Down” as the decade’s … Read More
When it comes to 80s pop music groups, there’s four I personally identify as my core favorites: Hall & Oates, Huey Lewis & the News, Men at Work and Duran Duran. Of them, I probably like Duran Duran the least, but my penchant for wearing out any cassette mix tape I owned containing ‘Hungry Like … Read More
You can dance if you want to. You can also understand the song’s meaning if you want to. You can know the lyrics if you want to. You can live as you like if you want to. You can know Men Without Hats is actually from Canada despite their signature British new wave sound—if you want … Read More
Before doing a little research on this entry for the countdown, I’ve always regarded Matthew Wilder’s “Break My Stride” as one of the puffier songs from the 80s I regard among my favorites. Musically I still do. However, I had no inkling of the struggles Wilder went through in making this a hit—his lone big … Read More
