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Post by Truck Farmer on Jul 24, 2010 23:29:29 GMT -5
Unlike solgroupie, I love She's a Beauty. It's a great song to play in a strip club (so I've been told). And any band that appeared on SCTV gets bonus points from me.
I'm not a big George Michael fan, but you are absolutely right about his performance at the Freddy Mercury tribute concert. The highlight of that show for me.
I love me some Pat Benatar. I actually popped in her greatest hits CD this morning heading home from work. And she's performing here Labor Day weekend with REO Speedwagon and I plan on being there.
The Stray Cats were one of those bands that my dad and I both enjoyed very much. And I have a couple of Brian Setzer Orchestra CD's, and I even have a couple of Christmas CD's they did, which gets lots of play during the holidays.
I've always been a big fan of John Mellencamp. I've always thought of him as a Midwest version of Bruce Springsteen.
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Post by solgroupie on Jul 25, 2010 2:00:29 GMT -5
And she's performing here Labor Day weekend with REO Speedwagon and I plan on being there. The Stray Cats were one of those bands that my dad and I both enjoyed very much. And I have a couple of Brian Setzer Orchestra CD's, and I even have a couple of Christmas CD's they did, which gets lots of play during the holidays. reo speedwagon came through the tri-cities last winter and i reeeally wanted to see them, but didn't get to go. and one of my setzer cds is a christmas one - dig that crazy christmas. and i do. i do dig that crazy christmas.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jul 25, 2010 2:25:02 GMT -5
Mr. Atari's Top 100 Songs of the '80s (continued)
89: "Come Dancing"- The Kinks The Kinks belong on every top 100 list of anything to do with rock. I once got into a heated argument with a friend who refused to believe that this was a Kinks song. In his defense, it really doesn't sound anything like "You Really Got Me". But it is a nice storytelling song about lost childhood.
88: "Dance Hall Days"- Wang Chung Wang Chung had some good songs. Everyone remembers them for that dumb "Everybody Wang Chung tonight" lyric, but even that was a catchy tune. "Let's Go!" is probably my favorite song of theirs, but this one has nostalgic value, and seems to be more well known.
87: "And We Danced"- The Hooters The third song in a row about dancing. This one's a fun party song. I remember the first time I heard it, I was impressed with how the band exploded into the song after the "hooter" intro. Even now, it's more fun than it has any right to be. Sometimes, all you need is three chords and a hook.
86: "Never Surrender"- Corey Hart I feel bad for two-hit wonders. They never get the attention of the one-hit wonders, but their career plunges into obscurity just as quickly. "Sunglasses at Night" was his big hit, but this one was a sincere, heartfelt song about perseverance. I always liked it. And I'd be lying if I said the lyrics didn't motivate me a few times in my life. ("So if you're lost and on your own/you can never surrender/and if your path won't lead you home/you can never surrender.")
85: "Your Love"- The Outfield Let's get one thing straight: The Outfield are a great band. A GREAT BAND. I will not argue about this. Tony Lewis is one of the best singers ever and John Spinks is an incredibly tasteful guitarist. Their harmonies together are pitch-perfect. Their first two albums (Play Deep and Bangin') belong in the pantheon of all-time pop classics. Criminally, they get dumped on the pile of bands thought to be capable of just one somewhat-successful song. Songs like "Say it isn't So", "Since You've Been Gone", "61 Seconds", "For You", "My Paradise", and "Winning It All" say differently. They merit a much higher spot on this list (top 30 at least), but I'm giving them the place of honor at #85 (as 1985 was my favorite year in my youth).
84: "Addicted to Love"- Robert Palmer I remember when Palmer hit it big I thought, "Who is this guy? He looks like he's 40. How is he a pop star? He must be from a famous band I need to check out." He wasn't. He was just the guy from that "Doctor, doctor, gimme the news" song. He went on to have two more big hits: "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" (as featured in "Hobgoblins") and "Simply Irresistible", and slummed with a couple of the Duran Duran guys. And now he's dead. True story.
83: "Keep Your Hands To Yourself"- The Georgia Satellites Combine some CCR with some Chuck Berry and mix in some Hank Williams yodel, and you've got yourself a stew goin'. The lyrics are silly, but the music is good, old-fashioned, down-home, southern-fried 12-bar blues. And that's a stew that's welcome on my table in any decade. That it made it to #2 during the decidedly non-bluesy '80s is quite an accomplishment.
82: Pour Some Sugar on Me- Def Leppard Ah, Def Leppard. Are they power pop or are they lite metal? Who cares? Haters will keep on hating. But they sold a gazillion albums and had an original sound. I'll tell you what- if you can write some great riffs and great hooks, and get Mutt Lange to give it that Mutt Lange sound, then you too can fall asleep on piles of money and give the haters both middle fingers. The Hysteria album had seven (count 'em, seven!) hit singles. This one had terrible lyrics, but 23 years later and everyone on the planet recognizes it.
81: "I Wanna Be a Cowboy"- Boys Don't Cry When the internet hit, and I realized I could build a library of '80s music without searching for obscure and out-of-print full-length CDs, this was the first song I went looking for. It was obscure even when it was on the charts. But somehow, it exists in the subconscious of anyone who was listening to the radio in the '80s. Everyone I've ever played it for has the same reaction: "Oh yeah! I remember this song! Cool!" No one has ever said, "What is this crap? You like this?!?" (Until now, as I'm sure some wiseacre will post it below.)
80: "Goody Two Shoes"- Adam Ant Probably my favorite groove on the list. A great throwback to the big band era of the '30s. Just a great, catchy, bouncy tune. I love how it changes keys every 8 bars after the trumpet break. And the acoustic guitar really makes the song. Adam Ant also had a guest villain spot on Sledge Hammer! in the second season. If you think that didn't influence his placement on this list, then you don't know me very well.
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Post by solgroupie on Jul 25, 2010 12:52:35 GMT -5
i love come dancing. a few years ago, when i discovered how to illegally download music, i went nuts and tried to think of every obscure song i could to get, and that was one of them. i don't remember it being that big a hit for them, but it sure stood out.
the hooters was a great band - and we danced was a really fun song that always filled the dance floor where me and my friends used to hang out. they played at a club somewhere at the beach where i was living at the time and i didn't know about it until after it happened - they put on a great show, i heard.
i thought the same thing about robert palmer the first time i heard (or saw) addicted to love! i was like, who the hell is this guy?? at that same club i mentioned above - as soon as this song would come on, the dance floor would fill up with girls, dancing like the ones in the video. every time.
i can't believe you mentioned i wanna be a cowboy - i loved that song, but i only heard it a few times and it seemed no one else ever knew what i was talking about when i mentioned it. the first time i heard it on a classic (shudder) station, i thought, finally!
goody two shoes is another good song - i am not that familiar with adam ant - in fact, this might be the only song i ever heard from him that i know of. but i always liked it.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jul 25, 2010 21:42:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback, groupie. I love checking in and seeing comments on my list.
I wanted to post the next batch, but I'm not feeling very creative right now. Maybe later tonight or tomorrow.
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Jul 26, 2010 8:20:06 GMT -5
For some reason, I always thought Robert Palmer came from Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. I don't know why, probably because ELP annoy me enough that I never looked deeper than Keith Emerson and Greg Lake.
And that's what I learned from Mr. Atari's blog.
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Post by Truck Farmer on Jul 26, 2010 12:29:49 GMT -5
Your Love is probably one of my favorite 80's songs. And if you watch the Washington Nationals play when they are at home, whenever Josh Willingham is coming to the plate that's his music they play.
I've always like Robert Palmer and when I use to do karaoke, that was a song I would usually sing. I actually had a lady come up to me while I was singing it one night, and stuff a dollar bill in my pants. And I haven't had that much action since. Almost forget to mention, when he played with the 2 guys from Duran Duran in Power Station, I thought they were incredible. And my favorite member was the drummer Tony Thompson. He had such a unique sound on the drums and combined with the others just make them one of my faves.
Def Leppard was THE band of the 80's. As much as I loved Hysteria, Pyromania is the album I most cherish from them. Photograph and Rock of Ages are still awesome songs.
And since Mr. A mentioned it, I will add HAMMMMMMMMEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!
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Post by solgroupie on Jul 26, 2010 13:18:28 GMT -5
power station! what happened to them? they didn't stay together for very long. was that just a temporary project? i liked them too.
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jul 26, 2010 14:04:09 GMT -5
I always thought Power Station was just a one-off side project for Palmer and the Duran Duran guys. According to wikipedia, their album was recorded and released before Palmer's solo stuff.
And TF, it's actually the drum sound that makes me not enjoy Power Station. It's just too bombastic and distracting for me. But you'll be happy to note that The Outfield is recording a new album this summer for release in a few months.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Jul 27, 2010 0:41:49 GMT -5
Ah Adam Ant, I had his albums back when he was in Adam and the Ants and sang "Ant Music!" - They sometimes get lumped into new wave but they were actually considered part of the lesser known "New Romantics" movement (with Duran, Duran leading that charge)
Then he went solo, and had this hooked filled commerical hit that I loved ("don't drink, don't smoke, what do you do?"). I think it was on that same album, maybe one before, when he changed his style. You mentioned the big band sound... in the LPs opening song I was struck by this horn section - and at one point, there's this huge drum roll that rattles the shelves and make my heart thump. I was like "Holy sweet mother... that was incredible." The change in sound came as a (pleasant) surprise - great LP, fun song (and I loved him in Sledge too)
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jul 27, 2010 3:22:29 GMT -5
Mr. Atari's Top 100 Songs of the '80s (continued)
79: "Higher Love"- Steve Winwood Winwood had a great career long before the '80s. The guy wrote, "Gimme Some Lovin'" and recorded with Eric Clapton, for crying out loud. And man, could he sing. But unlike other rock legends who made a killing in the '80s by wussing out (I'm looking at you, Heart & ZZ Top), his "selling out" phase still had great musicianship and class. "Back in the High Life", "The Finer Things", "Roll with It" and "Valerie" were all worthy hits, too. This one had a great percussion track which puts it on my chart.
78: "Glory Days"- Bruce Springsteen Okay, I'll say it: I don't really like Springsteen. I don't really dislike him, but I've never understood his superstardom. He's blue-collar and gritty, I get that. He puts on a high-energy show. Neat. His songs just never did anything for me. Still, his heyday was a good time in my life, so I have good memories of his music; and I think this is the most appealing of his hits for me.
77: "Centerfield"- John Fogerty Two of my great loves in life: Baseball and Creedence. To have them together? It's a thing of joy. I like the clapping, I love the twangy riff, but most of all, I love how it makes me feel. Every time I hear it, I feel like it's opening day in April. The snow is melting, the sun is up, and there's new grass on the field. It's even more significant to me, as I played centerfield from little league through high school ball. Fogerty perfectly captured how it feels to love baseball. Plus, I can't get enough of how he pronounces the word "shoes" in the third verse.
76: "Twilight Zone"- Golden Earring I've never paid attention to the lyrics of this song. To this day, I have no idea what the line is after "This is a madhouse..." or the significance of "the bullet hits the bone." I could look it up, but I won't. It's better to mumble my way through as I sing along. What I do know is that, just like "Radar Love" before it, it's an awesome jam song with a super-cool bass line and guitar solos that build and build and build.
75: "I Wanna Know What Love Is"- Foreigner Foreigner weren't a whole lot different than Supertramp, Styx, REO, and Cheap Trick as '70s AM rockers who helped keep pop-rock alive in the wake of disco and punk. Lots of music snobs think that whole era should be eschewed. I am a music snob, but I have to disagree with my snobby brethren. Some great songs came out of those bands, usually played by good musicians (who played real instruments) and very good singers. Lou Gramm and Mick Jones are prime examples. And if you think you're too good to blast this song in the car and sing along at the top of your lungs, then you need to get over yourself.
74: "Second Wind (You're Only Human)"- Billy Joel Billy Joel is a poor man's Paul McCartney, and I think he's okay with that. He's written A LOT of songs and even though some of them are god-awful ("Piano Man" comes immediately to mind), some of them are pretty good. He was a major player in the '50s renaissance that hit mid-'80s music, with songs like "Uptown Girl" and "For the Longest Time"; and other songs like "Tell Her About It", and "Pressure" were worthy hits. Those songs, plus the ones on 1989's Storm Front ("We Didn't Start the Fire", "Shameless", "I Go To Extremes") definitely earn him a place on this list. "Second Wind" was always my favorite.
73: "Everybody Wants You"- Billy Squier Oh, Billy Squier, where've you gone? He was the heir to Led Zeppelin (or at least he tried to be) with "The Stroke" and "Lonely is the Night". He sang like Plant and he played guitar like Page, and wrote songs that worked on '80s radio. "Everybody Wants You" has a hook that sticks with you for a month. Billy had a great sound and a great future, but had the misfortune of failing spectacularly on MTV. And we are all that much poorer as a result.
72: "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me"- Aretha Franklin & George Michael One of the mainstays on '80s radio was the duet ballad. Mike Reno & Ann Wilson. Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton. Lionel Richie & Diana Ross. Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes. Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes. So, so many. And not all of them sucked. Still, I think at least one deserves a spot on this list, and so I picked this one. It's a pretty good song, but it's really the best of the pack because of the performers. These two are a pairing for the ages, and their talents supersede the song itself. It really is impressive to listen to this one.
71: "The Look of Love"- ABC So help me, I like ABC. It's British dance pop that is so very, very white. But good gravy, I could listen to it all afternoon. Martin Fry has a great voice, and their stuff is catchy. They did a song called "When Smokey Sings", which was a tribute to Smokey Robinson and attempted to capture the Motown sound. I can't tell you how white it is. They're like musical Lik-M-Aid. Empty calories with no nutritional value, but still tasty.
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Post by Mighty Jack on Jul 27, 2010 4:50:40 GMT -5
I love, love LOVE "Twilight Zone" - I think the line after madhouse is something about being cloned... but that never made sense to me. GE: A band with 2 of the greatest driving songs in the history of rock. I like the Squire number. And I mean no disrespect but I can't join you on the Foreigner parade, and it's not because I'm a snob or unable to get over myself. It's... yuck - Foreigner, Styx, REO... it's all the kind of white bread stuff I really can't enjoy. I'm sorry but it makes my ears cry and... just... well... Yuck! Note: My brother loves REO Speedwagon and I sometimes ask him if he's a nerd and would like me to lend him some CDs that have some teeth and balls to them - he reminds me he likes Judas Priest and that he has plenty of teething balls.... so you know, I only mock in a big brother, teasing way
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jul 27, 2010 10:00:21 GMT -5
It's okay, MJ. You like Blondie, who just...ergh...bleck...so...nails...chalkboard... Yuck! So I guess we're even. And you can put your mind at ease- there's no REO or Styx on the countdown. Journey, on the other hand...
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Post by Mr. Atari on Jul 27, 2010 13:46:39 GMT -5
Mr. Atari's Top 100 Songs of the '80s (continued)
The hits keep on coming:
70: "Holding Back the Years"- Simply Red Simply Red isn't one of those bands that come immediately to mind when one thinks of classic '80s music. But when this song or "If You Don't Know Me By Now" comes up on my iPod, I never skip it. I always let it play all the way through, and I'm always glad I did. There's just something about their music that goes deep into the soul for me. And a really nice muted trumpet performance in this one- a bit of a rarity in popular music.
69: "The Summer of '69"- Bryan Adams What other song would you put at #69 in a list of best songs of the '80s? Adams was only 10 years old in 1969, so he took a lot of heat about the lyrics to this one. But I give him a pass, because I was 10 years old in the summer of '85 when this was a huge hit, and those were the best days of my life. I love that a song about nostalgia can create so much nostalgia for me. How meta.
68: "Calling America"- ELO A very obscure song by a very not-obscure band. I'm not a big fan of Lynne's over-orchestrated mid-'70s output. I love (LOVE) the Time album with its digital rock innovations that helped pave the way for bands like Radiohead and The Flaming Lips. This song, however, has the '80s written all over it, and I love it even more for that. I distinctly remember listening to it on my Walkman and calling the radio station to request it so I could tape it from the broadcast onto my boom box. Definitely my favorite ELO song, and one I'm kind of glad is obscure; because I know it won't get ruined by being in some stupid commercial like all the other ELO songs (and #61 below).
67: "Owner of a Lonely Heart"- Yes Apparently someone at MST had a problem with this song, based on Servo's critique in the unfunny host segment from "Final Justice". Don't let that ruin the song for you. It's a nice complex and wholly original piece of work. Yeah, the synth hits are a bit much, but the guitars, drums, and bass are high quality Yes, as always. There was a pizza place in the town I grew up called Joe's Pizza. It was a total hole in the wall, and had a jukebox that played warped 45s. In high school, my friends and I would inevitably end up there after a night of bowling or cruising or whatever. We would ALWAYS play this song on the jukebox while we ate the world's best sausage & pepperoni. They also sold Cherry RC (!) which was AWESOME! Man, that was some good eating and good atmosphere.
66: "Cult of Personality"- Living Colour Speaking of a complex and wholly original music, here comes Living Colour. I remember trying to cover this in a band once. We gave up when we realized our guitarist couldn't pull off the Vernon Reid riff. And our singer couldn't pull off Corey Glover's range. And the bass player and I were all too aware that we were a pale imitation of Muzz Skillings and Will Calhoun. So basically, we couldn't even match one element, let alone the whole song. I think this is about how every band in the world would measure up to every song Living Colour ever did. They reunited recently and put out a really good album last year called, The Chair in the Doorway. It's worth checking out.
65: "Paradise City"- Guns 'n' Roses Stephen King once wrote that, "good music leaps out of your speakers, grabs you by the throat, and demands that you pay attention." No album in my life did that like Appetite for Destruction. It was a full-blown napalm assault on everything else in the industry. Still probably the best guitar tone on any album ever. I once heard a story (probably apocryphal) that Slash tried 50 different combinations of guitars and amps in the studio to get it just right. He settled on a cheap Mexican Les Paul knock-off and a pawn-shop Marshall stack. I picked this song over "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Sweet Child O' Mine" for three reasons: 1) No one's every covered it and crapped all over it's legacy (cough *Sheryl Crow* cough). 2) It features a gym teacher whistle. More songs need to feature a gym teacher whistle. 3) The guitar solo at the end is just sick. Unbelievably sick.
64: "Jessie's Girl"- Rick Springfield Rick Springfield had a couple really good songs. "Affair of the Heart" and "Don't Talk to Strangers" are also a big part of the soundtrack to my childhood. A girl in 3rd grade once told me she thought I was cute and that I had hair like Rick Springfield. Don't think that didn't have an effect on who I am today. Rick Springfield hair and my Member's Only jacket made me quite the elementary school stud.
63: "Sea of Love"- The Honeydrippers I didn't learn that The Honeydrippers were Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck until about 3 years ago. I just thought it was a one-hit wonder playing a beautiful cover of an old '50s soul song. Now I like it even more. You want to talk about guts? Guts is when you risk your entire heavy metal legacy to put out an album of songs you like in a completely different style. Oh yeah, Paul Shaffer, Nile Rogers, and Brian Setzer also contributed to the album. Holy crap!
62: "She Blinded Me With Science"- Thomas Dolby My dad is a pastor. That meant Sunday mornings were looong days waiting for him to run two services and an hour of Sunday school. We'd swipe his car keys and go sit in the station wagon to listen to Casey Kasem's "America's Top 40" on the car's radio. Whenever I hear this song, I smell the hot dashboard and vinyl seats and feel the itchy church clothes all over again. And you know what? It's a good memory.
61: "Break My Stride"- Matthew Wilder It really pisses me off when companies use old songs for their ad campaigns. Now, this song will always make me think of some chick doing yoga and a credit card company. Which sucks because up until about two months ago, I felt like this was my little piece of arcane music history. For dozens (hundreds?) of sound and mic checks, I've tested my vocal mic by singing, "Last night I had the strangest dream: I sailed away to China, in a little rowboat to find ya. And you said you had to get your laundry cleaned." It always lightened the mood and gave everyone a laugh. Now it makes people want to check their bank balance.
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Post by callipygias on Jul 27, 2010 21:26:11 GMT -5
63: "Sea of Love"- The HoneydrippersI didn't learn that The Honeydrippers were Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck until about 3 years ago. I just thought it was a one-hit wonder playing a beautiful cover of an old '50s soul song. Now I like it even more. You want to talk about balls? Balls is when you risk your entire heavy metal legacy to put out an album of songs you like in a completely different style. Oh yeah, Paul Shaffer, Nile Rogers, and Brian Setzer also contributed to the album. Holy crap! I'm hardly objective, since I all but worship anything Zeppelin, but I do love this song. Happy surprise to see it on your list. I never really thought about the guts it took for them to do it; I guess it's a testament to how otherworldly cool they are that it never even occurred to me. Mostly I'm a traitor to the '80s, but I'm sure there will be more I like as your countdown goes on. (So far there are plenty I've never even heard of, though.)
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