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August 22, 2006
Mudge's Favorite 134 Songs of the 80s: Last of the Teens
Here we go... the last three songs of the teens. After this, we've only got the top ten left. But that's no slight to songs 13 through 11 -- they're all classics and among my favorite songs of all time.
13. Come On Eileen, Dexy's Midnight Runners Except for my friend Eileen in DC, I have never known anyone who didn't like this song. (She was in 7th grade when it came out... do you wonder what kids in junior high must have done with that song to that poor kid?) But as for me... I loved this song when it first came out, even though I couldn't understand what the hell they were saying.
In the 90s, I have even more positive memories of Come On Eileen. When I was at Boston University from 1997-1999, it was the Thursday night tradition among the Rat Pack (Dave, Damian, Hamish, Steve, Stover, whichever girls wanted to come along, and a couple of other hangers-on) to go to T's Pub. From 9:00 to 10:30 was trivia night (and in the whole 16 months, I/we never lost a single time we played... winning table got $100, which we would promptly turn around and spend on more $5 pitchers and other assorted libations). Then, at 10:30 there would be dancing and a DJ until the wee hours of the morning. Virtually all the time, that meant that the girls danced while we boys stayed seated at our tables and held court like the kings of BU we imagined ourselves to be. But...
That would always change as soon as the opening violin strains for "Come On Eileen" would sound. The second this song would hit, every guy in our Rat Pack would rush the floor, grab a girl, and we'd have this goony circle and goofy dance we'd all do in our half-inebriation (okay, total inebriation). To this day, when I hear this song, I have the mental image of my grad school crew bouncing with hands in the air during the chorus. Why didn't we ever dance to any other song? Because we're boys and boys don't dance? I dunno. But for this song, we were all dancing fools. Those nights at T's Pub are among my favorite Boston memories, and Dexy's Midnight Runners were a fun part of them. So "Come On Eileen" makes #13 on my list, even if my reasons are based more in the 90s than the 80s.
12. Pride (In The Name Of Love), U2 U2's fourth appearance on my list is their powerful tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., from 1984's "The Unforgettable Fire." From Edge's jangly and instantly recognizeable guitar intro, to Bono's impassioned delivery, to the driving rhythm line, everything about this song is classic. This single came out shortly after I saw the U2 Red Rocks concert, and if I hadn't been hooked before, I was hooked with this song. U2 made so many contributions to the 80s musical legacy (and the decades beyond, but who's counting?), and "Pride" was among the best. My second favorite U2 song of the decade, and still among my five favorite U2 songs ever, "Pride" comes in at #12 on this list.
(removed for lack of storage)
11. Welcome To The Boomtown, David and David Unbelievably, I almost forgot about this song when I made my list. Actually, I did forget about it... but one morning last month I gave Tim a ride to work while his car was in the shop, and I mentioned that I was planning this list... and the first song he asked about was "Welcome To The Boomtown." And I virtually kicked myself, because it was one of my favorites at the time, has held up incredibly well, and still is one of my absolute favorites of this or any other decade. So Tim - thanks for the memory jog, or else I might have never remembered to get this song on -- one that makes it all the way up to #11 on my list.
The song itself -- a visit to the ugly underbelly of the world of the beautiful people -- features a great synth backbeat, a really good sort of bluesy guitar lead, and knowingly cynical lyrics that cut through image and style to reveal the aching lack of substance behind so many of those lives we think we wish we led. In a decade of Reaganesque, yuppie-ish excess, it was a reminder we needed... not a social conscience a la Bono or the "I Ain't Gonna Play Sun City" effort, but rather just a stark rendering of the idea that not everything was as wonderful as it seemed... and that getting everything you always thought you wanted can be an emptier experience than we might expect.
"Welcome To The Boomtown" damn near made my top ten -- this was a particularly difficult choice, choosing the order of songs 9 through 11. It's still a great song, and finishes at #11 on my countdown.
Comments
You came on Eileen?
Gross.
Posted by: Erika at August 24, 2006 12:27 AM
