NME recently posted their thoughts on the top 100 songs of the 80s. You can find the list here. I’ve tackled one of their lists before.
So, I thought I’d give you 5 songs that I think that should be on their list that didn’t make the cut. I tried to approach this as my musical opinions would have been in 1989. A mere 15 year old, my musical tastes were a little rough around the edges so some of these wouldn’t probably make it if I was looking at this through my current musical state of mind.
To get in the mood as I drove to pick up some dinner tonight, I popped on the XM 80s channels to see if I’d get any inspiration. Instead I got a reminder that there was some bad music in the 80s. First, a Glass Tiger track. I don’t remember Glass Tiger and I think that’s a good thing. Next up, Arcadia. Again, don’t remember them but they do a passable imitation of Duran Duran. Then, the famous Styx with Mr. Roboto. Now this song is awesome. Awesome in the way the Charlotte Bobcats were awesome this year. They are both bad, but it’s a spectacle of bad that must be seen (or heard).
Now back to some songs I’d have included in a top 100 at the end of the 80s:
1) Guns N’ Roses – Paradise City. Now this is one I’d argue even today still belongs in any top 100 of the 80s. I feel like this better encapsulates the ferocity of their debut than Sweet Child O’ Mine which came in at number 60 on NME’s list. And the video is pretty cool too.
2) Beastie Boys – Paul Revere. No Beasties songs on NME’s list and Paul’s Boutique was released in 1989! I went back to their debut because I didn’t really get into Paul’s Boutique until at least a year later. The laid back beat and the ridiculous story the three Beasties spin is a reminder of how sometimes simple is better when it comes to hip hop.
3) Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer. Toss up between this song and In Your Eyes, but one of the two of those has to make that list because those are quintessential 80s songs (not in the same way that Mr. Roboto is). Also, the video for Sledgehammer is also most likely burned in the memory of anyone who grew up in the 80s.
4) Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams. This is the first time I remember liking anything so full of synthesizers. Annie Lennox’s delivery perfectly plays off those synths. That a song that’s so melancholy could have been such a big hit is a testament to its greatness.
5) Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight. Ok, this one probably doesn’t make it today. But I thought that the song was so good in the 80s, and when those drums kick in, I think I can still make an argument today. My 80s self would also have the positive reinforcement of this song playing prominently in a show I’d never miss, the great Miami Vice (ok, it hasn’t aged well either). Enjoy:
Nothing to Write Home About 