« Karma Apples | Main | I'll Be DC-ing You »
July 11, 2006
Mudge's Favorite 134 Songs of the 80s, #130 - #126: Same As It Ever Was
As Tim pointed out to me today, I should 'fess up here: if I'd made this list in 1990, there'd be quite a bit on it that I wouldn't dream of putting on there now. While I am trying to stay true to what I liked then, there are some songs and bands I was way into 20 years ago (the bulk of Dokken's catalog, for example) that just flat out doesn't stand up now. For example, back then I thought that Dokken's "In My Dreams" was a brilliant song. I listen to it now and not only does it not hold up, but I question what I had ever been thinking in liking it. So my list in 2006 does not reflect songs I loved then but cannot accept now. Make sense? And now, on with the countdown:
130. Hungry Like The Wolf, Duran Duran The Fab Five's breakout hit, thanks to a groundbreaking video that reached heavy rotation on MTV and featured Indian scenery, a scantily clad woman running around in body paint who kicked Simon LeBon's ass, and faux ecstatic howling at the end worthy of Meg Ryan in a deli. Was the song any good without the video? Who knows... because I defy you to hear the song and not think of the video's visual imagery. They're inseparable by now. God, is it hard to believe that this song will be 25 years old next year.
129. Let's Go All The Way, Sly Fox. I'd almost forgotten how much I once liked this song, until by chance I heard it on the radio the morning after I'd finished my initial list. Harmless electro-pop with a badly chroma-keyed video, Sly Fox were among my favorite one hit wonders of the decade.
128. Once In A Lifetime, Talking Heads This was the first exposure I ever had to Talking Heads, and all I remember thinking was, "these guys are freaking weird, what a spaz that singer is." Which is, as you know if you've seen the video, is what he was aiming for. But that opening... "And you may find yourself..." and the kick-ass bass line... and those bizarre hand gestures.... this one is a classic of the video age.
127. When I See You Smile, Bad English This song is the only one that got me to lift my boycott of all things Diane Warren. John Waite has a great voice (ever hear any of his 70s stuff with the Babys?), and Neil Schon and Jonathan Cain bolted from Journey to join this short-lived "supergroup" of the hair era. As power ballads go, this one has everything you need: three chord chorus, a piano intro to the power chord body, the short but "rocking" guitar solo that was supposed to remind you that these guys could rock if they chose to, and the female-friendly lyrics that revealed the bad-ass rockers as softies underneath who had been tamed by that one special girl. I turned 21 the summer this song came out; much of my fondness for it springs from its effect on the young women of Minnesota; "Smile" was bery, bery good to me. They do lose points, however, for John Waite's hair, which looks just a little too much like mine did (read: too hard to control and not really conducive to that style). Link to video here.
126. Alex Chilton, The Replacements How could a Minnesota boy not throw a bone out to quintessential Minnesota undergound band? If they hadn't been such drunks and addicts, and not so insistent that weren't going to sell out, they could really have become huge, huge domainant stars. One of the best tunes from a band that never got the mainstream attention and success that it deserved. Audio only link here.
Comments
you're taste in music is wholly depressing
Posted by: Sarah at July 12, 2006 03:27 PM
