This Is Art, Kids!

We are gearing up for the end here with another crop of tracks. As we get closer to the top 10 the number of good songs increases. This was a decent set of tunes, let’s check them out

29.Lionel Ritchie-You Are

I like the bass line in this song, that’s about it though.

28.Styx-Mr.Roboto

This opens with an awesome sci-fi intro that wouldn’t sound out of place as the music for a cold open to Star Trek. I couldn’t tell you a single thing about the plot of the song(Is he a robot? A robot in disguise? Who is Kilroy?), but it really doesn’t matter when the song slaps as hard as this one does.

27.Joe Cocker,Jennifer Warrens- Up Where We Belong

From the An Officer and A Gentleman soundtrack. This is more prime 80’s cheese, doesn’t really do a lot for me.

26.The Pretenders- Back On The Chain Gang

This one is an all timer for me. The perfect way she describes their relationship as “ A break in the battle” is such a great way to describe how a great relationship can feel like a reprieve from the struggles of life. It also has one of the best solo lead lines of the whole decade. The Pretenders are so cool!

25.Prince-Little Red Corvette

A classic that needs no more ink spilled over it. I will say this though, who keeps used condoms in their pocket and why does it being Saturday night make that alright?

24.Toto-Africa

Never been a big fan of this one. Music video is super weird too, it’s mostly just the lead singer reading a book interspersed with clips of the band playing on a large stack of books.

23.Thomas Dolby-She Blinded Me With Science

I always thought this song was a metaphor for something, but according to an interview it is just about a scientist falling in love with his lab assistant. He sure fooled me. Anyway, song is a little too silly for me, but the music video is a lot of fun.

22.Eddy Grant-Electric Avenue

A dang good song that I have nothing insightful to say about.

21.Greg Kihn Band-Jeopardy

I always conflate this with the Weird Al parody. This is one of those instances where I like the Weird Al parody better, Al has more passion in his voice.

20.Frida- I Know There’s Something Going On

Frida from ABBA dishes on her divorce. I love the thunderous drums and the chorus sounds so big! That guitar solo sounds nasty with all that distortion!

19.Golden Earring- Twilight Zone

I watched the video for this for the first time. It’s a surrealist dream and makes no sense(Much like the lyrics to this song.). Fantastic video for a fantastic track.

18.David Bowie-Let’s Dance

The music video for this is a short film about aboriginal struggles in Australia. Yes, really that’s what the music video is about. Song kills it and it has the only good Stevie Ray Vaughn solo on it.

17.Duran Duran-Hungry Like The Wolf

I want to start a parody band called Durian Durian. We would have a hit single called “Thirsty Like A Cat”. Those dreamy boys hit another one out of the park here.

16.Sergio Mendes-Never Gonna Let You Go

This is known for having an extreme amount of chord changes. It’s a pity that they don’t add up to a good song.

15.Donna Summers-She Works Hard For The Money

It’s funny how a song’s commercial uses can forever taint a song for you. I’ll never be able to hear this song without picturing a McDonald’s commercial.

14.Bob Seger-Shame On The Moon

I always misheard on the lines as “Until you’ve been inside a man, you don’t know how he feels” and I always thought the song just had a really suggestive bent to it. It is quite a shame that I was wrong, it took all the juice away from this bit. The song is ok, not Bob’s best, but at least it doesn’t make me think of trucks.

13.Dexy’s Midnight Runners-Come On Eileen

Imagine wanting to cosplay the great depression. If this is all you know by them, you should dig deeper. Their first two records are really friggen great.

12.Eddie Rabbit and Crystal Gale-You & I

A really snoozer right here. The kind of thing they use to put insomniac patients to sleep.

11.Culture Club-Do You Really Want To Hurt Me

This video has not aged well(A lot of blackface.). This song has a lot of neat Caribbean touches that I’ve never noticed before(Dig that steel drum part and that dub bass line!). Decent track

I liked about 11(!) tracks out of this bunch. This is the point where I feel we start to get the bulk of the tracks that would be most likely to appear on a best of the 80’s comp. With only ten tracks left, will it be a strong finish?