Friday, May 25, 2007
Sounds of the 80’s: More Than 100 Songs
Jeff wants 80’s suggestions? You know I can’t resist this. How about a list of more than 100 songs that go from the end of the 70’s (Pink Floyd’s “When the Tigers Broke Free” to--what sounds, at least--like the early 90’s (all of the Screaming Trees songs). It also covers a wide spectrum of styles--punk, rock, metal, goth, country, and pop are all cozying up on this list.
Here, then, is a list of the 80’s type stuff that I have on the laptop or on my mp3tunes.com account:
- “Voices Carry” by ‘Til Tuesday
- “Killer in the Home” and “Goody Two Shoes” by Adam and the Ants. Or Adam Ant. Whichever.
- “Oh Daddy” by Adrian Belew
- “Der Kommisar” by After the Fire
- “Games People Play” and “Don’t Answer Me” by Alan Parsons Project
- “Forever Young” by Alphaville
- “Sometimes it Feels Like” and “How Much is Enough?” by Bad Religion
- “She’s In Parties” by Bauhaus
- “The Metro” by Berlin
- “Look Away” by Big Country
- “White Wedding” by Billy Idol
- “Everything is Broken” and “Man in the Long Black Coat” by Bob Dylan
- “I Still Believe” and “Let the Day Begin” by The Call
- “Shake it Up” and “Drive” by The Cars
- “Under the Milkyway” by The Church
- “Straight to Hell” and “The Magnificent 7” by The Clash
- “Still in Hollywood” by Concrete Blonde
- “Misguided Angel” and “Walking After Midnight” by Cowboy Junkies
- “Don’t Dream it’s Over” by Crowded House
- “(I Just) Died in Your Arms” by Cutting Crew
- “Crimson & Clover” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
- “Where the Hawkwind Kills” by Daniel Lanois
- “Let’s Dance”, “This is Not America”, “Blue Jean”, and “Ashes to Ashes” by David Bowie
- “Holiday in Cambodia” and “I Fought the Law” by Dead Kennedys
- “Rock of Ages” by Def Leppard
- “Life In A Northern Town” by The Dream Academy
- “The Killing Moon” by Echo & the Bunnymen
- “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by the Eurythmics
- “We Care A Lot” and “Epic” by Faith No More
- “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco
- “The Sign of Fire” and “One Thing Leads to Another” by The Fixx
- “Over the Hills and Far Away” and “Wild Frontier” by Gary Moore
- “Our Lips Are Sealed” by The Go Go’s
- “Twilight Zone” by Golden Earring
- “Lupita Screams” and “Walkin’ With the Beast” by The Gun Club
- “Don’t Believe Anymore” and “No Promises” by Icehouse
- “Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain)” by INXS
- “Centerfold" by J. Geils Band
- “Living in America” by James Brown
- “Jane Says” by Jane’s Addiction
- “Just Like Honey” by The Jesus and Mary Chain
- “Dallas" by Jimmy Dale Gilmore
- “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division
- “The Sentinel” by Judas Priest
- “Too Shy” by Kajagoogoo
- “Wardance" by Killing Joke
- “Kids in America” by Kim Wilde
- “Come Dancing” and “Young Conservatives” by The Kinks
- “Cult of Personality” by Living Color
- “Our House” by Madness
- “Ride the Lightning” and “Damage, Inc” by Metallica
- “Effigy (I’m Not An)” and “Golden Dawn” by Ministry
- “Straight Edge” and “Look Back and Laugh” by Minor Threat
- “"Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns” by Mother Love Bone
- “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” by Motley Crue
- “Kyrie" by Mr. Mister
- “Blue Monday”, “Bizarre Love Triangle”, and “True Faith” by New Order
- “The Carny” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
- “Head Like a Hole” and “Sin” by Nine Inch Nails
- “Dead Man’s Party” by Oingo Boingo
- “What Presence” by Orange Juice
- “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” by Paul Simon (w/ Ladysmith Black Mambazo)
- “Red Rain” and “Mercy Street” by Peter Gabriel
- “Dragnet Drag” and “Socrates the Python” by Peter Murphy
- “The Different Story (World of Lust and Crime)” by Peter Schilling
- “When the Tigers Broke Free” by Pink Floyd (1979)
- “Vamos" by The Pixies
- “Synchronicity II”, “Canary in a Coal Mine”, and “When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around” by The Police
- “Back on the Chain Gang” by The Pretenders
- “Let’s Go Crazy”, “When Doves Cry”, and “Purple Rain” by Prince
- “Love My Way” by Psychedelic Furs
- “The Whisper” by Queensryche
- “Somewhere Down That Crazy River” by Robbie Robertson
- “Hammerheads" and “Running on the Rocks” by Shreikback
- “Alive and Kicking” and “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds
- “I Want Your (Hands on Me)” by Sinead O’Connor
- “How Soon is Now” by The Smiths
- “Mommy’s Little Monster” and “Prison Bound” by Social Distortion
- “Peek a Boo” by Siouxsie and the Banshees
- “Dominion/Mother Russia”, “This Corrosion”, “Flood II”, and “Marian (Version)” by Sisters of Mercy
- “Abracadabra" and “I Want to Make the World Turn Around” by the Steve Miller Band
- “Englishman in New York” and “Fragile” by Sting
- “I Wanna Be Adored” by The Stone Roses
- “Rock This Town” by Stray Cats
- “Birthday" by the Sugarcubes
- “Here’s Where the Story Ends” and “My Finest Hour” by The Sundays (1990)
- “Twist in My Sobriety” by Tanita Tikaram
- “Such a Shame”, “Life’s What You Make It”, and “I Believe in You” by Talk Talk
- “King for a Day” and “Why Me” by Planet P Project
- “Heart and Soul” by T’Pau
- “Africa" by Toto
- “Drowning Man”, “Bad”, “One Tree Hill”, and “All I Want is You” by U2
- “Jamie’s Cryin’” and “Hot for Teacher” by Van Halen
- “Turning Japanese” by The Vapors
- “Mexican Radio” by Wall of Voodoo
- “Whole of the Moon” by Waterboys
- “Don’t Go”, “Only You”, and “Winter Kills” by Yaz
- “Subtle Poison”, “Grey Diamond Desert”, “When Night Comes Creeping”, and “Clairvoyance” by Screaming Trees
Comments & Trackbacks
My head, and my until recently totally mitigated crush on you, just exploded. You, sir, are my 80’s music
twindoppleganger.Hmmm. The strike through gods loathe me.
I get that a lot.
Not the strikethrough gods part. The first bit.
PS- Fixed and stuff. Tell the truth: it was “I Want Your (Hands on Me)” by Sinead O’Connor that really pushed you over the top, wasn’t it?
It was a combination of peek-a-boo, the A.P.Project, the Sundays and Mother Love Bone. The Ministry drove the nail in the coffin of my secret love, though.
That’s some list. You have a much better memory for this stuff than I do.
I’d go with Coming up Close over Voices Carry. But yeah, good band. I’d put A Flock of Seagulls in there someplace. Joan Jett, eh. Don’t tell anyone, but I actually have an LP by The Runaways. C&C was a good cover.
And I’m really PO’d that on the Trinity Sessions CD I checked out from the library, the Sweet Jane track was completely toast. Best song by the CJ’s, IMHO. Even better than Lou Reed doing it.
Annie Lennox == HOT!
I remember the original Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room, by Brownsville Station. (Didn’t even have to look that up.)
Robbie Robertson—one of the best albums of the decade.
Police: good, Sting: bad.
They got less interesting over time, but Van Halen’s debut album is one of the greatest rock LP’s of all time.
Wall of Voodoo always reminds me of Timbuk3. And how many people are into Yaz? “You can feel the difference.”
I’ve heard most of those tunes, but don’t own much of what’s on your list. I think I was spending money on <s>booze</s> guns rather than music, during the 80’s. And when I did buy CDs, they were just as likely to be 70’s (or even older) reissue as 80’s stuff.
Wow, unlike you young pup, I actually lived through the ‘80’s and I couldn’t remember that song list unassisted.
I think you overestimate the youthfulness of me. I’ll show you my drivers license at the party.
And, for the record, I wouldn’t have remembered all of those right off hand. I stayed up until an obscene hour going through the songs on my laptop and on my mp3tunes account finding stuff that made me say: gotta listen to it right now. And it’s amazing how much stuff I like was actually released either in the very last of the 70’s or the very beginning of the 90’s. I had to prune off quite a few.
Love me some music.
No ZZ Top? No Midnight Oil? And I’m supposed to agree with a list that does not have ZZ Top or Midnight Oil?
To quote a computer, “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dave.” (I’ve been waiting to use that one.)
No Men Without Hats (Not “The Safety Dance” as that’s just obnoxious after two repetitions in a week, but rather “I Got The Message” and “Antarctica” which are their much better B-sides.) or Men At Work ("Overkill" or “Dr. Heckyll And Mr. Jive” anyone?)? And Oingo Boingo’s “Dead Man’s Party” without including “Reptiles and Samurai” and “We Close Our Eyes”? (So sayeth the person that went to one of their Hollowe’en shows.) And, for the love of all that is holy, no “I Need You Tonight/Mediate” and “Devil Inside” for the INXS entry? (And if I may step into 1990 for a moment, Peter Murphy’s “Cuts You Up” is a mainstay on just about every Top Whatever Forever Ever list I have.)
And (Sniff) no Devo or Talking Heads? No They Might Be Giants?!? The very roots of nerdcore gone? Swear-ta-fricken-Bran, dude, if I gotta make my own list to make up for the deficiencies of your list, something is going to suffer.
And when I do, I’m putting Wierd Al on it, just to see you suffer! Suffer! (Insert maniacal laughter.)
EDITORS NOTE: The previous poster is hereby banned unless he has had sufficient coffee intake.
A driver’s license? Cool, I got a couple of fake ones of those too.
Good list, David, or at least the ones I recognoze--there’s a bit of a generational divide between us. I’m going to try to track down the ones I don’t recognize at least by name.
I find you woefully deficient with regard to Flesh for Lulu.
I’ve heard the song “Hurt” of Johnny Cash and it really encouraged me to get to the happy finish of a drug rehab in california . The treatment changed my whole life in good.
I’m upset to see Pink Floyd so low. I hope it’s just a list out of the top of your mind and not a top 100. And because I mentioned Pink Floyd, their music can still be played today and it would have million of fans from the young people. Too bad teenagers don’t have walkmans anymore to listent to their parent’s tapes.