80s0n8 Big 40 Countdown Schedule

[Jon]

Not much to say about this week, this is about the time I tuned out pop music on the radio.

33. DUDE (LOOKS LIKE A LADY) - AEROSMITH

One of the later Aerosmith songs that is massively overplayed.


32. THAT'S WHAT LOVE IS ALL ABOUT - MICHAEL BOLTON
20. DON’T MAKE ME WAIT FOR LOVE - KENNY G/LENNY WILLIAMS
18. SHAKE YOUR LOVE - DEBBIE GIBSON
1. I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW - TIFFANY

The beginning of the end of listenable pop music on the radio. For every good song, there's crap like this.


14. THE ONE I LOVE – R.E.M.
13. WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME - U2

Two more songs that seem so out of place in a countdown like this. Lots of pop acts, and throwaway wonder-how-they-had-a-hit wonders, then there's these guys!

Pretty bad countdown overall, except for a few songs.

 

[sadchild]

33: DUDE (LOOKS LIKE A LADY) - AEROSMITH

aka 'vince neil looks like a lady (from behind)'.

27: CATCH ME (I'M FALLING) - PRETTY POISON

had a friend who liked this song at the time, and he listened to it over and over. so glad i haven't heard it since then! not that it's the worst song in the world, but i've heard it 100x more than i ever wanted to.

18: SHAKE YOUR LOVE - DEBBIE GIBSON

don't like it, but it's an earworm. i "just can't shake" this damn song whenever i hear it.

11: BAD- MICHAEL JACKSON

liked this album a lot back in the day, but even back then i couldn't STAND this song. still can't. prince was right to say 'no thanks' to singing it with mj.

"The first line in that song is, 'your butt is mine', now who gonna sing that to whom?" Prince recalled later to Chris Rock in a 1997 interview for MTV. "Because you sure ain't singing that to me. And I sure ain't singing that to you."

3: (I'VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE - BILL MEDLEY & JENNIFER WARNES

still hate this song. maybe if i'd seen dirty dancing back in the day i'd think different, but this is pure nails on a chalkboard to me.

2: MONY MONY - BILLY IDOL

every time i went dancing in the 90s, half the floor shouted "hey everybody get laid get f@#$d!!!" between each verse lyric, and replaced "mony mony" with "f@#$in' horny". not sure how/where that started but after a quick googling, i'm seeing now there were several different chants around the country:

"Hey, what's that... get laid, get f@#$d!"
"She's fat, I'm drunk"
"Come on everybody, get naked, get f@#$d"
"Hey get drunk, get laid, get f@#$d!"
"Hey! Hey what? Get laid, get f@#$d!"
"Hey motherf@#$r, get laid, get f@#$d!"

Mony Mony: What are the origins of the Audience Participation? (Warning: Cuss Words!) [Archive] - Straight Dope Message Board

 

[Aaron]

1982

40. ON THE WINGS OF LOVE – JEFFREY OSBORNE
39. A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS - TAVARES
38. LOVE COME DOWN – EVELYN KING
37. AFRICA - TOTO
36. BE MY LADY – JEFFERSON STARSHIP
35. ROCK THE CASBAH – THE CLASH
34. THE ONE YOU LOVE – GLENN FREY
33. I’M SO EXCITED – THE POINTER SISTERS
32. YOU AND I – EDDIE RABBITT & CRYSTAL GAYLE
31. MISSING YOU – DAN FOGELBERG
30. I.G.Y. (WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORLD) – DONALD FAGEN
29. GET CLOSER – LINDA RONSTADT
28. HEARTBREAKER – DIONNE WARWICK
27. THE LOOK OF LOVE - ABC
26. EYE IN THE SKY – THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECT
25. I KEEP FORGETTIN’ (EVERY TIME YOU’RE NEAR) – MICHAEL MCDONALD
24. LOVE ME TOMORROW - CHICAGO
23. YOU CAN DO MAGIC - AMERICA
22. IT’S RAINING AGAIN – SUPERTRAMP
21. SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT – PAT BENATAR
20. PRESSURE – BILLY JOEL
19. SEXUAL HEALING – MARVIN GAYE
18. SOUTHERN CROSS – CROSBY, STILLS, AND NASH
17. AMERICAN HEARTBEAT - SURVIVOR
16. YOU DON’T WANT ME ANYMORE – STEEL BREEZE
15. NOBODY - SYLVIA
14. THE GIRL IS MINE – MICHAEL JACKSON & PAUL MCCARTNEY
13. DIRTY LAUNDRY – DON HENLEY
12. ROCK THIS TOWN – STRAY CATS
11. JACK AND DIANE – JOHN COUGAR
10. MUSCLES – DIANA ROSS
9. STEPPIN’ OUT – JOE JACKSON
8. MANEATER – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES
7. MICKEY – TONI BASIL
6. WHO CAN IT BE NOW – MEN AT WORK
5. HEARTLIGHT – NEIL DIAMOND
4. GLORIA – LAURA BRANIGAN
3. HEART ATTACK – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
2. TRULY – LIONEL RICHIE
1. UP WHERE WE BELONG – JOE COCKER AND JENNIFER WARNES

 

[Jon]

1982


38. LOVE COME DOWN – EVELYN KING

I used to work at a place that had the 'Muzak' system piped in for audio entertainment. You could set your watch by what songs they played at what time, including this one. It got old after a while to say the least.


37. AFRICA - TOTO

Yes, it's overplayed to an extent, but still enjoyable. Toto was always on my 'don't get enough credit' list for being the musicians they were.



35. ROCK THE CASBAH – THE CLASH

Probably not their best album (London Calling qualifies there), but it sure was a fun one. And 'Straight to Hell' off the same album (Combat Rock) is probably my favorite Clash tune of all time.



30. I.G.Y. (WHAT A BEAUTIFUL WORLD) – DONALD FAGEN

Always thought the production on this song made it very pretty and easy to listen to. It's easy to mistake it for a Steely Dan song (as I did the first few times).


28. HEARTBREAKER – DIONNE WARWICK

I remember seeing this video on the early days of MTV as a kid, and not knowing who she was before hand. It was just weird to see an artist on MTV who had a career before I was born.



21. SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT – PAT BENATAR

While it's not terribly overplayed (not like Love is a battlefield) she does have better songs. Always liked 'Sex as a weapon' better than anything else she's done, and she does have some good ones.

20. PRESSURE – BILLY JOEL

His best song? Take the songwriting of a John Lennon or a less weird Warren Zevon and combine it with Paul McCartney's sense of melody and this is what you get. Always liked when he got serious.


19. SEXUAL HEALING – MARVIN GAYE

Instant panty dropper. Marvin was smooth!

18. SOUTHERN CROSS – CROSBY, STILLS, AND NASH

Shame they're not getting along anymore, they've always been on my list of acts to see in concert. Not going to get that chance now.



14. THE GIRL IS MINE – MICHAEL JACKSON & PAUL MCCARTNEY

The worst song on Thriller.

13. DIRTY LAUNDRY – DON HENLEY

Written in 1982, still true today, I dare say more so.





11. JACK AND DIANE – JOHN COUGAR

GAH!!!!!



9. STEPPIN’ OUT – JOE JACKSON

This and 'Is she really going out with him' are the pinnacle of his career. He's got a lot of good ones that you don't hear often (Including 'Got the time' which was covered by Anthrax of all bands).

8. MANEATER – DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES

'Whoa oh here she comes', reminds me of a few ex-girlfriends in high school.


7. MICKEY – TONI BASIL
6. WHO CAN IT BE NOW – MEN AT WORK
4. GLORIA – LAURA BRANIGAN

Enjoyable tunes in their own right. 'Mickey' is one of the first songs you think of when you think 80's. Anyone who hasn't heard Colin Hay (of Men At work) solo is really missing out. And Laura Branigan was a hit machine.

 

[semipenguin]

Hip hip hooray aye. Yippie aiy yippee yaye.

I hated this song for years. It's grown on me through the years. Now I can tolerate it

 

[Jon]

Hip hip hooray aye. Yippie aiy yippee yaye.

I hated this song for years. It's grown on me through the years. Now I can tolerate it

This ones better.

 

[sadchild]

38. LOVE COME DOWN – EVELYN KING
I used to work at a place that had the 'Muzak' system piped in for audio entertainment. You could set your watch by what songs they played at what time, including this one. It got old after a while to say the least.

this is how i feel about don henley "heart of the matter". feels like heard it on the muzak where i worked every stinkin' hour.

37. AFRICA - TOTO
Yes, it's overplayed to an extent, but still enjoyable. Toto was always on my 'don't get enough credit' list for being the musicians they were.

steve lukather is everywhere. mj's "beat it", "human nature" & "girl is mine". onj's "physical". won a grammy for co-writing "turn your love around". i read he's been on over 1500 albums!

14. THE GIRL IS MINE – MICHAEL JACKSON & PAUL MCCARTNEY
The worst song on Thriller.

worst of the 7 singles yes, but personally i'd put 'lady in my life' as the worst on the album.

This ones better.

This one's my fav ABC track (but i like both songs posted earlier too)

 

[sadchild]

1982

first, we just heard TWENTY FOUR of these songs a month ago. if there are 10 years in a decade, we should be hearing each year once every 10 weeks.

40. ON THE WINGS OF LOVE – JEFFREY OSBORNE

not a big fan, but it was nice to hear it for the first time in many years. sang along to the hook like a total goofball.

33. I’M SO EXCITED – THE POINTER SISTERS

14 years old. went out dancing in '84 with my cousin. packed house. we're sitting at the (soda) bar, heads on our palms. both of us feeling rejected & dejected. this song comes on (84 is when it was re-released) and a cute girl across the room lifts her dress to the beat twice and flashes her backside (panties) to the room (not us specifically). we both SHOOT up out of our chairs like the fire alarm went off and quickly maneuver our way to her side of the room, and watch her for the rest of the night, hoping for another glimpse. it never happened. this basically sums up my sex life as a teenager.

that night is all i think of every single time i hear this song. how pathetic my teen years were.

27. THE LOOK OF LOVE - ABC

abc released a new album this year: lexicon of love 2. the lead single "viva love" is really really good! unfortunately the only way i've found to see the video (or even hear a decent quality stream of the song) here in the states is the link below. the ABCVEVO youtube channel says "The uploader has not made this video available in your country." why would they do that?

ABC | Viva Love | Video

25. I KEEP FORGETTIN’ – MICHAEL MCDONALD

regulators! mount up. it was a clear black night...

22. IT’S RAINING AGAIN – SUPERTRAMP

i shouldn't like this song. it's sooo cheesy. the only place i ever hear it is the vj 40, but i crank it every time. something's wrong with me...

5. HEARTLIGHT – NEIL DIAMOND

yawn

2. TRULY – LIONEL RICHIE

yyyyaawwwwwnnnnn

1. UP WHERE WE BELONG – JOE COCKER AND JENNIFER WARNES

yyyaaaAAAWWW-- sh*t, my jaw just cracked off.

 

[HecticArt]

33. I’M SO EXCITED – THE POINTER SISTERS

14 years old. went out dancing in '84 with my cousin. packed house. we're sitting at the (soda) bar, heads on our palms. both of us feeling rejected & dejected. this song comes on (84 is when it was re-released) and a cute girl across the room lifts her dress to the beat twice and flashes her backside (panties) to the room (not us specifically). we both SHOOT up out of our chairs like the fire alarm went off and quickly maneuver our way to her side of the room, and watch her for the rest of the night, hoping for another glimpse. it never happened. this basically sums up my sex life as a teenager.

that night is all i think of every single time i hear this song. how pathetic my teen years were.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

1982

first, we just heard TWENTY FOUR of these songs a month ago. if there are 10 years in a decade, we should be hearing each year once every 10 weeks.

The 80s usually does a reasonably good job at distributing its countdowns. They usually don't do them that close. It is cool to see the chart movements but covering all decades is a better strategy (although on a personal note they could drop everything 1986 onwards).

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I missed the 1982 countdown as my SL2 chose not to record anything last weekend. I hope the Reset+Erase option is visible otherwise I am likely screwed.

 

[Aaron]

1986

40. ALL I WANTED - KANSAS
39. YOU BE ILLIN’ – RUN-D.M.C.
38. SOMEDAY – GLASS TIGER
37. WELCOME TO THE BOOMTOWN – DAVID & DAVID
36. FOOLISH PRIDE – DARYL HALL
35. THE FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT, I GOTTA WEAR SHADES – TIMBUK 3
34. TRUE COLORS – CYNDI LAUPER
33. WAR – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
32. WHAT ABOUT LOVE – ‘TIL TUESDAY
31. VICTORY – KOOL & THE GANG
30. LOVE IS FOREVER – BILLY OCEAN
29. EMOTION IN MOTION – RIC OCASEK
28. LAND OF CONFUSION – GENESIS
27. CONTROL – JANET JACKSON
26. WILD WILD LIFE – TALKING HEADS
25. IS THIS LOVE – SURVIVOR
24. YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU…DON’T YOU? – HOWARD JONES
23. I DIDN’T MEAN TO TURN YOU ON – ROBERT PALMER
22. (FOREVER) LIVE AND DIE – ORCHESTRAL MANOEUVRES IN THE DARK
21. C’EST LA VIE – ROBBIE NEVIL
20. FREEDOM OVERSPILL – STEVE WINWOOD
19. DON’T GET ME WRONG – THE PRETENDERS
18. THE RAIN – ORAN “JUICE” JONES
17. SHAKE YOU DOWN – GREGORY ABBOTT
16. NOTORIOUS – DURAN DURAN
15. STAND BE ME – BEN E. KING
14. I’LL BE OVER YOU – TOTO
13. TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT – EDDIE MONEY
12. TO BE A LOVER – BILLY IDOL
11. EVERYBODY HAVE FUN TONIGHT – WANG CHUNG
10. WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN – BANGLES
9. LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL – LIONEL RICHIE
8. THE WAY IT IS – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE
7. AMANDA – BOSTON
6. WORD UP – CAMEO
5. HIP TO BE SQUARE – HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS
4. THE NEXT TIME I FALL – PETER CETERA WITH AMY GRANT
3. TRUE BLUE – MADONNA
2. HUMAN – HUMAN LEAGUE
1. YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME – BON JOVI

 

[semipenguin]

Clearly the best song on the countdown

 

[microbob]

I liked this one

37. WELCOME TO THE BOOMTOWN – DAVID & DAVID

 

[semipenguin]

I liked this one

37. WELCOME TO THE BOOMTOWN – DAVID & DAVID

I don't remember this song. It was ok. Different from other songs of it era

 

[Jon]

1986


38. SOMEDAY – GLASS TIGER

This is also the same band that had Bryan Adams sing back up on one of their hits (Don't forget me when I'm gone). I can't recall any other hits of theirs, at least not in the states.






28. LAND OF CONFUSION – GENESIS

Probably the best song of the later Genesis pop years. And an entertaining video with Reagan puppets and such.



23. I DIDN’T MEAN TO TURN YOU ON – ROBERT PALMER
21. C’EST LA VIE – ROBBIE NEVIL

Both real good examples of the blue-eyed soul genre. I believe Robbie Nevil had one more hit on top of this one, but this is his best. Robert Palmer was one of those that could do no wrong in the 80's.


15. STAND BY ME – BEN E. KING

Another example of an older song that charted thanks to a popular movie (which I admittedly have never seen).



10. WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN – BANGLES

I had a pretty serious crush on Suzanna Hoffs back in the day.


5. HIP TO BE SQUARE – HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS

I've always been a Huey Lewis fan, but this is one of their worst songs, along with 'Bad is Bad.'

4. THE NEXT TIME I FALL – PETER CETERA WITH AMY GRANT

Peter Cetera is just a bad reminder of what Chicago became after their guitarist shot himself and he became the voice of the band.


1. YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME – BON JOVI

For a lot of years I thought this was Bon Jovi's first album, it is their best. I still rock out to this song when it comes on the radio.

 

[sadchild]

@Jon, in my opinion Stand By Me is one of the best movies of ALL TIME. A must-see. "Chopper, sick balls!"

39. YOU BE ILLIN’ – RUN-D.M.C.

so different from everything else charting at the time. groundbreaking album. "it's tricky" was probably the first rap song i ever really got into.

32. WHAT ABOUT LOVE – ‘TIL TUESDAY

not a one hit wonder? who knew? in fact, the onederland channel doesn't seem to know...

20. FREEDOM OVERSPILL – STEVE WINWOOD

great album, but never thought of this as a single. never heard it on the radio back then, but i sure heard "higher love" and "the finer things" get spun a hundred or so times.

18. THE RAIN – ORAN “JUICE” JONES

"you without me's like corn flakes without the milk!!" f*ckin' poetry right there.

17. SHAKE YOU DOWN – GREGORY ABBOTT

awayoway... awayoway... awayoway... awayoway... awayoway...

12. TO BE A LOVER – BILLY IDOL

weak. had no idea this song charted so high. never liked it. i'll stick with rebel yell.

8. THE WAY IT IS – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE

does he say "shit" in this song? and he said, "shit, that's just the way it is". that's what i hear.

7. AMANDA – BOSTON

sure it's a sappy 'monster ballad' but the harmonies (both vocal and guitar) are amazing.

 

[HecticArt]

@Jon, in my opinion Stand By Me is one of the best movies of ALL TIME. A must-see. "Chopper, sick balls!"

39. YOU BE ILLIN’ – RUN-D.M.C.

so different from everything else charting at the time. groundbreaking album. "it's tricky" was probably the first rap song i ever really got into.

32. WHAT ABOUT LOVE – ‘TIL TUESDAY

not a one hit wonder? who knew? in fact, the onederland channel doesn't seem to know...

20. FREEDOM OVERSPILL – STEVE WINWOOD

great album, but never thought of this as a single. never heard it on the radio back then, but i sure heard "higher love" and "the finer things" get spun a hundred or so times.

18. THE RAIN – ORAN “JUICE” JONES

"you without me's like corn flakes without the milk!!" f*ckin' poetry right there.

17. SHAKE YOU DOWN – GREGORY ABBOTT

awayoway... awayoway... awayoway... awayoway... awayoway...

12. TO BE A LOVER – BILLY IDOL

weak. had no idea this song charted so high. never liked it. i'll stick with rebel yell.

8. THE WAY IT IS – BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE

does he say "shit" in this song? and he said, "shit, that's just the way it is". that's what i hear.

7. AMANDA – BOSTON

sure it's a sappy 'monster ballad' but the harmonies (both vocal and guitar) are amazing.

Pretty much that.

Except that I dig To Be A Lover.
It's a little different for Billy, but I think Steve's guitar is great. Great simple drive, and a ton of attitude.
Killer tone too.

 

[Jon]

Pretty much that.

Except that I dig To Be A Lover.
It's a little different for Billy, but I think Steve's guitar is great. Great simple drive, and a ton of attitude.
Killer tone too.

Pretty much. To be a lover is kind of a departure for Billy Idol, but it is a good song. Also 'Cradle of Love' was a little different than what we're used to hearing from Billy, but it was a good one also IMO. And that video.

 

[sadchild]

I dug "Cradle Of Love" too, despite it being radically different from the Rebel Yell album.

I technically "should" like "To Be A Lover" because I'm a Sigue Sigue Sputnik fan (beyond just "Love Missile F1-11") and "To Be A Lover" feels very Sputnik-ish (btw Sputnik's Tony James was in Gen X with Billy prior).

Don't know... just can't get into it... even 3 decades later *shrug*