8.17.2005

80's music

I was in an 80's mood the other night while packing. I listened to a selection of my five-disc collection of Living in Oblivion.

There is just a distinctive feel to some 80s music, almost as if 80s is a genre all its own. Here's a short list of some one-hit wonders who typify 80s music for me. (Links to songs are to iTunes URLs so iTunes will need to open. #3 is the exception. It is not available on iTunes. Whatever!)

This is not a meme, but feel free to add to the list. Whatever you list has to be something that is typically 80s. Acts like U2 and Bruce Springsteen, while highly popular in the 80s, transcend eras and so cannot be included. I'm interested to know what typifies 80s music for you?

1. "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo
2. "The Promise" by When in Rome
3. "Promises, Promises" by Naked Eyes
4. "Digging Your Scene" by Blow Monkeys
5. "I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls

And finally, too good to be in the list and one of my favorite 80s songs of all time... "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners

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12 comments:

chief gordon said...

"take on me" - aha
"once in a lifetime" - the talking heads
"beat it" - michael jackson

Anonymous said...

"everybody wants to rule the world" by tears for fears.
"chains of love" by erasure
"money for nothing" by dire straits (f/ sting!
and speaking of sting, i think the police as a band typify the 80s genre.

Anonymous said...

oops. that last one was me.

chief gordon said...

"faith" - george michael
"1999" - prince
"girls just want to have fun" - cindi lauper
"i just called (to say i love you)" - lionel richie

Anonymous said...

i'm all out of love, i'm so lost without you... air supply?

chief gordon said...

"bizarre love triangle" - new order

Chris Spinks said...

Comments on comments:
aha - awesome!
talking heads - I would have thought "burning down the house"
mj - the whole "thriller" album!
tears - had a friend in college who had their greatest hits. it is great!
erasure - one of my favorite albums of the 80's. or should I say cassettes?
dire straits - epitomize mtv culture; those animated movers were cool!
sting/police - what's the 'f/ sting!' mean? he and the police do capture 80s style, though I think their stuff is good in any era.
george michael - still going strong; have you listened to his newest? came out in 04, i think. 'patience'. i have it on itunes. couple of songs are addictive.
prince - to me this guy's music is timeless. it's as good today as it was in 84(?).
cyndi lauper - totally 80s!
lionel richie - sorry david, lionel didn't sing this song. stevie wonder did on the "woman in red" soundtrack. i used to have the whole song memorized! luckily most of it has vanished into that grey matter of my head that is not in use. i do have lionels greatest love songs. 'penny lover', 'hello', etc.
air supply - i have their greatest hits if you ever want to get your wives in the mood! what am i talking about? both you guys don't seem to have a problem with that. but you can still listen to air supply.
new order - i have their greatest too!

chief gordon said...

stevie wonder?? oh well, i was only like 7 when that song came out.

chief gordon said...

okay, i had to do some research. i kept picturing lionel richie sitting at a piano in a large room singing, "i just called." i now know it has to be either "say you say me" or "hello."

whew. that was really bothering me.

Anonymous said...

chris: f/ sting means featuring sting. the ghostly "i want my mtv" on money for nothing is sting!

chief: it's "hello." the video alternates from him at the piano to him seducing that blind chick. and then she makes a clay sculpture of his head. it's a little creepy.

Chris Spinks said...

thanks mike! I had no idea that was sting on the dire straits song.

chief gordon said...

aaaaah! that is creepy! no wonder it's been stuck in my head all these years.