80s0n8 Big 40 Countdown Schedule

[Aaron]

Yeah not a good countdown year.
7 good
11 okay
22 bad/don't know

I probably didn't pay much attention to the Love and Rockets song back then, now I see it as one of the best from that countdown.

 

[Jon]

15 good ones. The rest are crap. Milli Vanilli twice?

 

[MonoStereo]

Ouch. I might like 8 or 9 of those songs. MIGHT.

 

[scotchandcigar]

3.

 

[sadchild]

Good 9
Okay 6
Bad 25 (#40 - #30 were ALL bad ones)

I missed these chart-toppers on my earlier list:

Bette Midler "Wind Beneath My Wings" #56
New Kids "I'll Be Loving You Forever" #69

16. IF YOU DON'T KNOW ME BY NOW - SIMPLY RED

3. BATDANCE - PRINCE

My guess.

1. RIGHT HERE WAITING - RICHARD MARX

The other two guessed this one. I lose again!

1989 was a good year for music... that never made the top 40. Here are 13 I would count as 'good'.
#44 10,000 Maniacs "Trouble Me"
#52 White Lion "Little Fighter"
#53 Bad English "Forget Me Not"
#60 Indigo Girls "Closer to Fine"
#63 Billy Squier "Don't Say You Love Me"
#65 Call "Let The Day Begin"
#68 Robert Palmer "Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming"
#74 Bulletboys "Smooth Up"
#78 Cinderella "Gypsy Road"
#80 Stage Dolls "Love Cries"
#91 Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock "Joy & Pain"
#98 Guns N' Roses "Nightrain"
#100 Tora Tora "Walkin Shoes"

#46 Chuckii Booker "Turned Away"

Dude has a high top fade AND a rat tail? The urban mullet!



#95 Graces "Lay Down Your Arms"

First time hearing, pretty good. Features a member of the Go Go's.

Will never reach the top 40
#44 10,000 Maniacs "Trouble Me"
#46 Chuckii Booker "Turned Away"
#48 John Mellencamp "Jackie Brown"
#49 Aretha/Whitney "It Isn't, It Wasn't..."
#52 White Lion "Little Fighter"
#53 Bad English "Forget Me Not"
#60 Indigo Girls "Closer to Fine"
#63 Billy Squier "Don't Say You Love Me"
#64 Saraya "Love Has Taken Its Toll"
#65 Call "Let The Day Begin"
#68 Robert Palmer "Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming"
#71 Jets "You Better Dance"
#72 Outfield "My Paradise"
#73 John Cafferty "Pride & Passion"
#74 Bulletboys "Smooth Up"
#75 Waterfront "Nature Of Love"
#78 Cinderella "Gypsy Road"
#79 Whistle "Right Next To Me"
#80 Stage Dolls "Love Cries"
#81 Cyndi Lauper "My First Night Without You"
#83 Dead Or Alive "Come Home With Me Baby"
#85 Adrian Belew "Oh Daddy"
#86 Dion "And The Night Stood Still"
#91 Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock "Joy & Pain"
#92 Doobie Brothers "Need a Little Taste of Love"
#94 Information Society "Lay All Your Love On Me"
#95 Graces "Lay Down Your Arms"
#97 Paul Shaffer "When The Radio Is On"
#98 Guns N' Roses "Nightrain"
#99 Tangier "On The Line"
#100 Tora Tora "Walkin Shoes"

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Will never reach the top 40
#48 John Mellencamp "Jackie Brown"
#65 Call "Let The Day Begin"

This weeks surprises.

 

[HecticArt]

#44 10,000 Maniacs "Trouble Me"

So close! I thought it might have just broken 40 though.

#52 White Lion "Little Fighter"

It's a little higher than I would have expected it to be.

#60 Indigo Girls "Closer to Fine"

I thought this would have made it to 50 or so.

#65 Call "Let The Day Begin"

Great song, but I didn't think it got higher than 100.

#74 Bulletboys "Smooth Up"

I thought it might have gotten pretty close to 40.

#78 Cinderella "Gypsy Road"

I thought it might have just broken 40.

 

[scotchandcigar]

3.

I'd be interested in seeing where @sadchild came up with more than 3 good songs.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I'd be interested in seeing where @sadchild came up with more than 3 good songs.

@HecticArt also had 9 or 10. They are likely counting the 4-5 tolerable ones (the ones that don't make you want to shoot the radio) as good.

Here are my 4:

14. THE END OF THE INNOCENCE - DON HENLEY
10. TOY SOLDIERS - MARTIKA
8. LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME - BON JOVI
5. ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY - GREAT WHITE

The Bon Jovi one is borderline.

 

[HecticArt]

I count the ones that are OK along with the ones that are good.
Sometimes I’ll add in the ones that I only like sometimes, but that’s usually when I’m more in the mood to hear them. It’s far from a methodical system. I hope I don’t skew anyone’s data sets.

 

[scotchandcigar]

Here are my 4:

14. THE END OF THE INNOCENCE - DON HENLEY - Yes.
10. TOY SOLDIERS - MARTIKA - Never heard of it. Just listened now; would not have picked it.
8. LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME - BON JOVI - I like some from them, but this isn't their best.
5. ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY - GREAT WHITE - Don't like hair bands. I might like some Great White, but not this.

My other two:
4. SO ALIVE - LOVE AND ROCKETS - a classic from them.
24. EXPRESS YOURSELF - MADONNA - this is an awesome pop tune, one of her best

I count the ones that are OK along with the ones that are good.

Same here, but songs like Angel Eyes by Jeff Healy Band are not even good enough for OK. The Cher song is probably on people's lists, but it's the reason I never listened to pop stations.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

My other two:
4. SO ALIVE - LOVE AND ROCKETS - a classic from them.
24. EXPRESS YOURSELF - MADONNA - this is an awesome pop tune, one of her best

I missed So Alive completely. Make that 5. A *** in my library.
The Madona song is ok and one of the ones I would not shoot my radio over.

 

[sadchild]

Best song in the 40
4. SO ALIVE - LOVE AND ROCKETS

I was a hair band guy so
26. 18 AND LIFE - SKID ROW (good)
21. HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK - WINGER (okay)
8. LAY YOUR HANDS ON ME - BON JOVI (okay)
5. ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY - GREAT WHITE (good)

These have personal stories behind them, each remind me of a person
18. ANGEL EYES - JEFF HEALEY BAND
14. THE END OF THE INNOCENCE - DON HENLEY (Bruce Hornsby!)

Guilty pleasures
27. IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME - CHER (good)
10. TOY SOLDIERS - MARTIKA (okay)
1. RIGHT HERE WAITING - RICHARD MARX (good)

Aside from its 3 crummy ballads, I like this entire album
15. I'M THAT TYPE OF GUY - L.L. COOL J.

Ok to hear these once or twice a year, but no more
29. DRESSED FOR SUCCESS - ROXETTE
28. CRAZY ABOUT HER - ROD STEWART (owned the album on cassette)
2. ON OUR OWN - BOBBY BROWN

One of a handful of Prince songs I don't really know why I like, but somehow I do ("Kiss" is another example)
3. BATDANCE - PRINCE

...

PS: Hate hate HATE HAAAATE this one...
24. EXPRESS YOURSELF - MADONNA

 

[scotchandcigar]

PS: Hate hate HATE HAAAATE this one...
24. EXPRESS YOURSELF - MADONNA

It seems so inoffensive to me.

 

[sadchild]

It seems so inoffensive to me.

I'm not an 80s Madonna fan anyway, can't stand most of her hits. My first exposure was "Burning Up" in 83 which was ... not good but not awful. Watching her crawl around in the road caught my attention the first couple times.

"Crazy For You" is ok. "Into The Groove" is tolerable. "Live To Tell" is ok. "Papa Don't Preach" is good lyrically but don't care for it musically. I like "Oh Father" but it's not the type of song ya really go out of your way to listen to, like "Russians" by Sting. An occasional listen is plenty.

The rest of her 80s tripe, I don't like it at all. It's generally either cheesy or offensive. "Express" to me is cheesy.

It drives me nuts that the song basically says if a guy buys you shit, that doesn't mean he really loves you. The way to really know for sure is ... wait for it ... make him say it. F%#@ing stupid.

And what drives me even more nuts is when it's called a female empowerment anthem. It has nothing to do with a woman expressing herself. It's nowhere in the lyrics. It's HER telling HIM to tell HER that he loves her and "then you'll know you're love is real". What a joke. AND how is this female empowerment when she says, "What you need is a big strong hand to lift you to your higher ground"?? So a woman can't reach that higher ground without a man? Buncha bull.

/endrant

 

[scotchandcigar]

It drives me nuts that the song basically says if a guy buys you shit, that doesn't mean he really loves you. The way to really know for sure is ... wait for it ... make him say it. F%#@ing stupid.

And what drives me even more nuts is when it's called a female empowerment anthem. It has nothing to do with a woman expressing herself. It's nowhere in the lyrics. It's HER telling HIM to tell HER that he loves her and "then you'll know you're love is real". What a joke. AND how is this female empowerment when she says, "What you need is a big strong hand to lift you to your higher ground"?? So a woman can't reach that higher ground without a man? Buncha bull.

/endrant

I honestly never paid attention to the lyrics. I thought it was about expressing yourself. And it's got an awesome groove. Plus the melody has some nice jazzy bends to the notes.

Vogue and Material Girl have good grooves too.

 

[Aaron]

I like most of Madonna's hit songs.

Nobody likes "Good Thing" by Fine Young Cannibals? I like that one way more than the overplayed other hit.

 

[sadchild]

I kinda like "She Drives Me Crazy" as an occasional thing. But I don't like anything else from FYC whatsoever. Rubs me the wrong way.

 

[Jon]

I honestly never paid attention to the lyrics. I thought it was about expressing yourself. And it's got an awesome groove. Plus the melody has some nice jazzy bends to the notes.

Vogue and Material Girl have good grooves too.

Since you all asked, here's my top 5:

1. Ray of Light
2. Causing a Commotion (song gives me the same vibes that Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) does).
3. Take A Bow
4. Crazy for You
5. Into the Groove

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

My 6 Madonna songs I own in order:

1. Like a Prayer
2. La Isla Bonita
3. Crazy for You
4. Like a Virgin
5. Material Girl
6. Papa Don't Preach

I never liked her in the 80s or 90s aside from Like a Virgin. In Y2K hearing the songs again, they have grown on me. But only these 6 so far.