90In your eyes - PETER GABRIEL, 1987
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXyX45A0Alk
How could I forget that amazing tune that I played on my boombox outside my former girlfriend Mistis' bedroom window?
Oh wait! That was Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) serenating his girlfiend in this memorable scene of the Say Anything film. The first statement was only one of my teenager's fantasies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_J-lxK8uCY&feature=related
Originally recorded for So, the 1986 album that includes the megahits "Big Time", and "Sledgehammer"(#126), "In your eyes" became an instant classic when Cameron Crown decided to include this song on the soundtrack of his 1989's movie.
Written for Peter Gabriel's one-time girlfriend, this is one of two songs recorded in the 1980's that were dedicated to actress Rosanna Arquette. The other one is that Toto's tune, you know, the one that makes you wanna wake up every morning to see her eyes (Rosanna, #112). No doubt that there's something about this gal's eyes.
89
Dancing in the dark - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, 1984
"Dancing in the dark" gave the New Jersey singer his first Grammy Award for
Best Rock Vocal Performance in 1985. It also won the MTV Video Music Award for
Best Stage Performance for
the Brian DePalma-directed video, perhaps best remembered for the appearance of a young Courteney Cox as a fan who is invited on stage by Springsteen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk8VZgJkpeg
The dancing from both Springsteen and Cox in this video was also the influence for the infamous "Carlton Dance" from
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS1cLOIxsQ888Do they know it's christmas? - BAND AID, 1984The mac daddy of all the charity singles and the one that inspired the
We Are The World song.
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 specifically to raise money for relief of 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia.
The song stayed at Number 1 for five weeks and raised many millions of pounds becoming the biggest-selling single in UK chart history. It has since been passed by Elton John's tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, "Candle in the Wind 1997."
Ever since its release during the christmas time of 1984, the single has made its appearence during the holidays in the UK charts for the past 23 consecutive years including the 1989's horrible version produced by the hit factory Stock, Aitken and Waterman project and the 20 years anniversary single produced by Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Paul McCartney) in 2004.
87
Just can't get enough - DEPECHE MODE, 1981
The band's first single to be released in the United States during the winter of 1982 and the only one included in this countdown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLA3WA9QOh0
It was the first Depeche Mode song to get a music video and also the only video with Vince Clarke who left the band in December of 1981 to become the other half of Yazoo in 1982 ("Situation", #121) and the music master of the synth pop duo Erasure in 1985 (which music will be featured in this countdown very soon).
86 Uptown girl - BILLY JOEL, 1984It's the working-class "downtown man" and the wealthy "uptown girl" story. Something that every common man has experienced in some point in their lives, right?
Well, Ladi Di made this tune her own when she married Prince Charles. I even had my own "uptown boy" experience during my first months living in New York City.
When Billy Joel decided to have supermodel Christie Brinkley in the video (his inspiration for the song in real life), she showed up at his house to discuss it.
He answered the door and immediately told her "I don't dance", which was true at the time. Brinkley had to give Joel basic dance steps (Clearly seen on the video, minute 2:41) so he could "dance" in the video with her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F-nt7aC_JQThis started their romance which eventually led to their marriage. They divorced in 1994 and subsequently the song was missing from the setlist during Joel's 1994 "River of Dreams" tour.
85
There's a light that never goes out - THE SMITHS, 1986
Allow me to share my interpretation of this outstanding masterpiece:
The song is about Morrisey's homosexuality and his family's disapproval of it. He asks his friend (Johnny Marr?) to take him away and possibly tries to express his feelings for him, but can't. That powerful feeling is his love and devotion, that light that never goes out..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INgXzChwipYI felt so identified with this song during that uncertain time that I had in my teenage years in Peru. You know, the time when you started to question yourself about your life, your sexuality, your future, your meaning in this world.
Morrisey and company felt like a loyal friend, a pleasant company a good listener during these difficult times.
84 Bette Davis' eyes - KIM CARNES, 1981
The song was previously written and recorded in 1974 but it was not until 1981, when Carnes recorded her version of the song, that it became a massive success. With a sound that seduced a big 80s audience "Bette Davis' Eyes" spent nine non-consecutive weeks on top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and achieved the highest seller of the year winning the Grammy Awards for
Song of the Year and
Record of the Year.
Bette Davis admitted to being a fan of the song and approached Carnes and the songwriters to thank them for making her "a part of modern times."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-RdAzkKlXY&feature=related83London calling - THE CLASH, 1980"London Calling" reflects desperation of the band's situation in 1979 struggling with high debt, without management and arguing with their record label over whether the London Calling album should be a single or double album. The lines referring to "now don't look to us / All that phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust" reflects the concerns of the band over its situation after the punk rock boom in England in 1977 had ended.
Over the years, "London Calling" has become regarded by many critics as the band's finest.
82
Dancing with myself - BILLY IDOL, 1983"Dancing With Myself" is a song released in 1981 by Idol's former band, british punk-rockers
Generation X.
Two years later, a remake of this song was released in the U.S. in an effort to introduce Idol's solo career to American audiences not yet as familiar with him.
The video of this song was played in heavy rotation on MTV for six months and sparked a whole new era of feature film directors that would try their hand at directing music videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VNx78SAq8MLike that "Turning japanese" song,
Dancing with myself is reportedly about masturbation but is actually about the famous pogo dancing.
For me this was my dance anthem, the one that encourage me whenever I felt too shy to ask a girl to dance with me or whenever girls didn't want to dance with this former chubby kid.
Believe me, it was the freakiest and weirdest scene to see me dancing with myself. I didn't care, I still don't...
81
Don't dream it's over - CROWDED HOUSE, 1987
Relationships are a hard thing to work out, when you find that special person nothing can separate you. Even in the darkest hour, do not dream that it's over because love goes on. This song definitely has staying power.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZZfuCJ970w
TO BE CONTINUED...
Hmmm... He looks very familiar to me in this picture...
The more than 96 degrees afternoon was a pleasant and fun time where I found myself dancing, drinking, meeting people and celebrating my pride in this colourful event.
