Again, hard for me to decide mine, especially given how much great music came out of that decade. My favorite song ("Driven Like the Snow") is from the 80s, so I guess that's it.
As people have said, way too many to choose from, though "The Golden Section" by Coil and "Peace Sells" by Megadeth are the two songs that immediately come into mind.
mentions of an honorable kind: Metallica - Master of Puppets Iron Maiden - Revelations New Order - Blue Monday Sisters of Mercy - Lucretia, My Reflection Megadeth - Black Friday Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me Van Halen - Jump U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday Kraftwerk - Computer Love Judas Priest - Bloodstone Killing Joke - Eighties Slayer - Raining Blood
Bauhaus - Terror Couple Kill Colonel Brian Wilson - Love and Mercy The Buggles - Living in the Plastic Age The Cure - Catch The Dream Academy - Life in a Northern Town The Dukes of Stratosphear - 25 O’Clock The Flaming Lips - One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning Guided By Voices - Hey, Hey Spaceman New Order - Temptation Nirvana - Blew Pet Shop Boys - What Have I Done To Deserve This? R.E.M. - We Walk The Smiths - Sweet and Tender Hooligan The Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion They Might Be Giants - Ana Ng
I think Walk Like An Egyptian is the song that plays in my head whenever I think about 1980s America. It's just so iconic to the timeframe and location that it's difficult to imagine anything else.
Take On Me is the apotheosis of 80s pop, I refuse to hear otherwise, and I'm indignant that it's taken 21 posts for it to have even been mentioned. For. Shame.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Take On Me is the apotheosis of 80s pop, I refuse to hear otherwise, and I'm indignant that it's taken 21 posts for it to have even been mentioned. For. Shame.
It's the apotheosis of '80s Pop as a concept, but there were other sublime songs in the '80s, both pop and otherwise. So many that it's easy to forget even amazing songs.
Hell, I even forgot this, and it's one of my all-time favourites:
actually in all seriousness my favorite 80s band is almost certainly The Blue Nile who I have never seen anyone else even mention in that conversation.
been listening to New Order's singles compilation in the car recently and they had a lot of good ones - "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "True Faith" are two that come to mind.
I also love "If You Leave" by OMD even though I am a cheeseball for this
I forget whether it was here or not when I last said that "Bizarre Love Triangle" by New Order may just be the best song ever recorded in my humble opinion, but if I haven't said it here before I'm saying it here now. So that's one, but I want to mention a few others I like since everybody else is and it's difficult to pick just one anyway.
been listening to New Order's singles compilation in the car recently and they had a lot of good ones - "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "True Faith" are two that come to mind.
I also love "If You Leave" by OMD even though I am a cheeseball for this
I had forgotten that song existed ("If You Leave"), but thank you for reminding me so that I can listen to it for the first time in years. :)
Also, I somehow forgot about Pet Shop Boys. I like most of their stuff. I see "What Have I Done To Deserve This?" listed above and that's a great song, but if "Opportunities" hasn't been mentioned yet I'll do so now.
Ooo, The Cars! "You Might Think" is also a great song.
As for Dead Or Alive, they may be primarily known for "You Spin Me Round", but I think another single by them is worth a listen if you haven't heard it before, namely this one:
Here's one that became a favourite fairly recently. I first heard "Juicy" by one Biggie Smalls many years ago, but didn't hear the song he sampled to make it until I played GTA: Vice City. That's this song, and I think it's very good.
How could I forget: Every song off of Ludus' The Seduction and Coil's Horse Rotorvator, but particularly "Unveiled (A Woman's Travelogue)" and "Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)" respectively. For your edification:
How could I forget: Every song off of Ludus' The Seduction and Coil's Horse Rotorvator, but particularly "Unveiled (A Woman's Travelogue)" and "Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)" respectively. For your edification:
I thought about putting "Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)" instead of "The Golden Section", since it holds special place in my heart (for several reasons), but the last 3 songs on Horse Rotorvator are just so damn good, even if every song on that album is good.
Heart and Soul -- Joy Division Blue Monday -- New Order M -- The Cure A God in an Alcove -- Bauhaus Thursday's Child -- The Chameleons Once in a Lifetime -- Talking Heads Driven Like the Snow -- The Sisters of Mercy Talk About the Weather -- Red Lorry Yellow Lorry Molly's Lips -- The Vaselines
There are others I'm sure but these come to mind first
- Rush -- "Tom Sawyer" and "Red Barchetta" - Soft Cell -- "Tainted Love" - Herbie Hancock -- "Rockit" - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -- "The Message" - Joe Jackson -- "Steppin' Out" (albeit in covered form, courtesy of AM & Shawn Lee) - Cyndi Lauper -- "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (see also: STRFKR's version) - Michael Jackson -- most of the singles from Thriller and Bad, tbh
"She-Bop" is worth a listen as well. Best song about female masturbation I've ever heard! (If I were typing this on TV Tropes, it would look like this in the edit: [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative best song about female masturbation]].)
At the moment it's harden my heart by quarterflash, but that's largely because i'm delving into what the originator of why i like certain vocal styles of late.
Heart and Soul -- Joy Division Blue Monday -- New Order M -- The Cure A God in an Alcove -- Bauhaus Thursday's Child -- The Chameleons Once in a Lifetime -- Talking Heads Driven Like the Snow -- The Sisters of Mercy Talk About the Weather -- Red Lorry Yellow Lorry Molly's Lips -- The Vaselines
There are others I'm sure but these come to mind first
Most of these are quite good, although few are personal favourites. I mean, "Thursday's Child" is nowhere near "Second Skin" or "Perfume Garden" for me, the former being kind of perfect; "M" has a sterling main riff, but structurally it's a bit inert, and there are so many other great songs from that period of their career; and "Once in a Lifetime"... well, uh, OK, no problem there, but most of that album is that good.
Comments
probably something by Rush, though. "Limelight" or "Subdivisions" perhaps.
—or—
—or—
—although there are may other candidates.
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Iron Maiden - Revelations
New Order - Blue Monday
Sisters of Mercy - Lucretia, My Reflection
Megadeth - Black Friday
Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me
Van Halen - Jump
U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday
Kraftwerk - Computer Love
Judas Priest - Bloodstone
Killing Joke - Eighties
Slayer - Raining Blood
(The other Jane)
Which is funny, because it's on my profile activity page right now.
(The other Jane)
Bauhaus - Terror Couple Kill Colonel
Brian Wilson - Love and Mercy
The Buggles - Living in the Plastic Age
The Cure - Catch
The Dream Academy - Life in a Northern Town
The Dukes of Stratosphear - 25 O’Clock
The Flaming Lips - One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning
Guided By Voices - Hey, Hey Spaceman
New Order - Temptation
Nirvana - Blew
Pet Shop Boys - What Have I Done To Deserve This?
R.E.M. - We Walk
The Smiths - Sweet and Tender Hooligan
The Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion
They Might Be Giants - Ana Ng
Hell, I even forgot this, and it's one of my all-time favourites:
Also, seriously, listen to "Ceremony" and "100000 Fireflies", please. They are just so perfect.
magnifique
I also love "If You Leave" by OMD even though I am a cheeseball for this
New Order have, in general, released many, many excellent singles, but "Ceremony" is a strangely elemental song.
Duran Duran - "Girls on Film" "Rio"
Depeche Mode - "Everything Counts" "Strangelove"
The Cars - "Drive"
consider these mentioned
I'm just gonna keep posting here until I've named every 80s song I ever liked
(The other Jane)
Blue Monday -- New Order
M -- The Cure
A God in an Alcove -- Bauhaus
Thursday's Child -- The Chameleons
Once in a Lifetime -- Talking Heads
Driven Like the Snow -- The Sisters of Mercy
Talk About the Weather -- Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
Molly's Lips -- The Vaselines
There are others I'm sure but these come to mind first
- Rush -- "Tom Sawyer" and "Red Barchetta"
- Soft Cell -- "Tainted Love"
- Herbie Hancock -- "Rockit"
- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five -- "The Message"
- Joe Jackson -- "Steppin' Out" (albeit in covered form, courtesy of AM & Shawn Lee)
- Cyndi Lauper -- "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (see also: STRFKR's version)
- Michael Jackson -- most of the singles from Thriller and Bad, tbh
more if I can think of any
and since you mentioned Cyndi Lauper, I'd toss in "Time After Time" if I haven't already