rowellfarm490
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Post by rowellfarm490 on Jan 17, 2020 14:11:28 GMT -5
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rowellfarm490
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Joined: October 2003
Posts: 9,398
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Post by rowellfarm490 on Jan 17, 2020 14:17:33 GMT -5
The Lost Hits of the Late 80s rankdown is now complete! Thanks again to all participants. You guys are the ones that make all of this fun and worthwhile! And special thanks to those who provided commentary throughout. It's always interesting to hear what you guys have to say about the songs in the rankdown and their placement. As for the results themselves, I definitely was not expecting "Beds Are Burning" to win but it was cool to see a surprise winner pull off the upset. And pretty much all of us really liked the song too with only one of us not ranking it top 25. We've now reached the end of this Lost Hits of the 80s trilogy as well. I've really enjoyed hosting this series but I do feel there are many more great "Lost Hits" from the 1980s that deserve a chance to get ranked. So, I am currently working on putting together another Lost Hits rankdown. However, I haven't figured out all of the specifics yet on how I want to put the song list together. When I do though I will get that rankdown up and running. Here are my current thoughts on what this rankdown might look like... What I'm thinking right now is doing another iteration of Lost Hits rankdowns: Early 80s, Mid 80s, and Late 80s. However, this time around I will be selecting the songs rather than the points dictating which songs are on the list. I plan on choosing a variety of good quality songs that have not been ranked before (at least to the best of my knowledge). A few selections may end up in the 80s rock chart rankdowns though.
Unlike Lost Hits Part 1, these rankdowns will only have 50 songs instead of 100. I plan on choosing 15 songs from each year and they will be taken from the next 100 lists I put together for each year of the 80s. So, for example, the Early 80s rankdown would have 15 songs from the 1980 list, 15 songs from the 1981 list, 15 songs from the 1982 list, and 5 songs from the 1983 list (since the Early 80s encompasses about 1/3 of 1983, also those selections will have to have peaked before April 1983). {RECAP} 1. Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning 2. Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin 3. R.E.M. - The One I Love 4. Erasure - A Little Respect 5. Erasure - Chains of Love 6. Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al 7. Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere 8. Icehouse - Crazy 9. Dead or Alive - Brand New Lover 10. Cyndi Lauper - I Drove All Night 11. Def Leppard - Hysteria 12. Level 42 - Lessons in Love 13. Salt-N-Pepa - Push It 14. Roy Orbison - You Got It 15. Information Society - Walking Away 16. Janet Jackson - The Pleasure Principle 17. Heart - There's the Girl 18. Howard Jones - Everlasting Love 19. Prince - I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man 20. Def Leppard - Animal 21. Belinda Carlisle - Circle in the Sand 22. M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up the Volume 23. John Mellencamp - Paper in Fire 24. Europe - The Final Countdown 25. Jane Wiedlin - Rush Hour 26. Steve Winwood - Back in the High Life Again 27. Wang Chung - Let's Go! 28. Nu Shooz - Point of No Return 29. Lita Ford - Kiss Me Deadly 30. Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love 31. Double - The Captain of Her Heart 32. Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood 33. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Little Liar 34. Benjamin Orr - Stay the Night 35. Squeeze - Hourglass 36. The Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene 37. Rod Stewart - Forever Young 38. Jody Watley - Some Kind of Lover 39. Aerosmith - Dude (Looks Like a Lady) 40. Kenny Loggins - Nobody's Fool 41. Kon Kan - I Beg Your Pardon 42. Steve Winwood - Holding On 43. Eddie Money - I Wanna Go Back 44. Billy Joel - A Matter of Trust 45. Annie Lennox and Al Green - Put a Little Love in Your Heart 46. Van Halen - Finish What Ya Started 47. Men Without Hats - Pop Goes the World 48. Jody Watley with Eric B. & Rakim - Friends 49. Was (Not Was) - Walk the Dinosaur 50. Oran 'Juice' Jones - The Rain 51. Bruce Hornsby & The Range - Every Little Kiss 52. Animotion - Room to Move 53. Natalie Cole - Jump Start 54. Luther Vandross - Stop to Love 55. Chico DeBarge - Talk to Me 56. Cinderella - Nobody's Fool 57. Journey - I'll Be Alright Without You 58. Howard Jones - You Know I Love You… Don't You? 59. Johnny Kemp - Just Got Paid 60. Giant Steps - Another Lover 61. The Cover Girls - Because of You 62. Poison - I Won't Forget You 63. Waterfront - Cry 64. Smokey Robinson - One Heartbeat 65. Rod Stewart - Crazy About Her 66. Anita Baker - Just Because 67. Cinderella - Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone) 68. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Parents Just Don’t Understand 69. Boston - We're Ready 70. Don Johnson - Heartbeat 71. The Belle Stars - Iko Iko 72. Exposé - When I Looked at Him 73. Rick Astley - It Would Take a Strong Strong Man 74. Seduction - (You're My One and Only) True Love 75. Sweet Sensation with Romeo J.D. - Sincerely Yours 76. Kool & The Gang - Stone Love 77. Jeffrey Osborne - You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song) 78. Kansas - All I Wanted 79. Karyn White - Superwoman 80. Michael Morales - Who Do You Give Your Love To? 81. Loverboy - Heaven in Your Eyes 82. The Nylons - Kiss Him Goodbye 83. Billy Ocean - Love Zone 84. The Deele - Two Occasions 85. REO Speedwagon - In My Dreams 86. 2 Live Crew - Me So Horny 87. REO Speedwagon - Here with Me 88. Jimmy Harnen with Synch - Where Are You Now? 89. Fat Boys featuring The Beach Boys - Wipeout 90. Chicago - You're Not Alone 91. Natalie Cole - I Live for Your Love 92. The Boys - Dial My Heart 93. Michael Bolton - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay 94. Chicago - If She Would Have Been Faithful... 95. Billy Ocean - Love Is Forever 96. Klymaxx - I'd Still Say Yes 97. Kenny G - Silhouette 98. Michael Bolton - That's What Love Is All About 99. New Kids on the Block - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind) 100. New Kids on the Block - Please Don't Go Girl
{STATS ARE BURNING}
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2020 14:18:43 GMT -5
Wtf Cody :(
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peacebone
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Post by peacebone on Jan 17, 2020 14:20:10 GMT -5
I'm just going to rank the stuff I recognize on this list: 1. Erasure - A Little Respect 2. Erasure - Chains of Love 3. Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning 4. Double - The Captain of Her Heart 5. M/A/R/R/S - Pump Up the Volume 6. Information Society - Walking Away 7. Pet Shop Boys - It's a Sin 8. R.E.M. - The One I Love 9. Icehouse - Crazy 10. Steve Winwood - Back in the High Life Again 11. Belinda Carlisle - Circle in the Sand 12. Salt-N-Pepa - Push It 13. The Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene 14. Cyndi Lauper - I Drove All Night Oran “Juice” Jones - The Rain (forgot to list this and I’m too lazy to edit all the following numbers) 15. Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al 16. Janet Jackson - The Pleasure Principle 17. Dead or Alive - Brand New Lover 18. Level 42 - Lessons in Love 19. Prince - I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man 20. Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere 21. Rod Stewart - Forever Young 22. Def Leppard - Hysteria 23. 2 Live Crew - Me So Horny 24. Was (Not Was) - Walk the Dinosaur (last song of these I like at least somewhat) 25. Europe - The Final Countdown 26. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Parents Just Don't Understand 27. Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood 28. Cinderella - Nobody's Fool 29. Men Without Hats - Pop Goes the World 30. Don Johnson - Heartbeat 31. Cinderella - Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone) 32. Michael Bolton - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay 33. New Kids on the Block - Please Don't Go Girl 34. Aerosmith - Dude (Looks Like a Lady) [ok I know there's probably a ton of s**tty hair metal and adult contemporary here but this song is unbearable in every way possible, come on guys]
Outside of that one major complaint, I can't really say there's anything else about these results that irk me. Excellent top 10.
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Troy
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I have learned I will rise & you'll see me return Being what I am Theres no other Troy For me 2 burn
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Post by Troy on Jan 17, 2020 14:21:24 GMT -5
hey, my #s 2 & 3 take the top two spots - hard to complain about that... look at those EIGHT perfect rankings by singingrulebritannia - impressive! thanks for being a fantastic host throughout all of these 80s rankdowns rowellfarm490
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jan 17, 2020 14:23:31 GMT -5
I kinda made a mistake not participating for the last 2 sections as I got a bit busy but I’ll try to do the next 80s Rankdowns that you host.
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gonecountry
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Post by gonecountry on Jan 17, 2020 16:14:53 GMT -5
Color me stunned. Midnight Oil "Beds are Burning" at #1. Would never have seen that one coming. but that's what a #82 for It's A Sin will do Cody Wants Out... . Don't get me wrong, I love Midnight Oil but It's A Sin is iconic, IMO. If you like Midnight Oil, they have IMO at least 3 or 4 better singles: Blue Sky Mining, Dead Heart, Forgotten Years, King of the Mountain. Man, those are all GREAT songs. Thanks rowellfarm490 for a great rankdown! The Top 10 was pretty close to perfect. I'm not going to even complain about how Pulse Music Board did Van Halen, 2 Live Crew, and Johnny Kemp (RIP) dirty. Was pleasantly surprised that Nu Shooz and Cyndi Lauper did so well.
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Red
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Post by Red on Jan 17, 2020 17:11:39 GMT -5
{WASN'T HERE EARLIER, SO WORD WALL, IT IS}#10: This was my dark horse to do damage in this top ten. I've listened to this seemingly every day since I sent for this rankdown, and I'm beginning to regret ranking it as low as I did. It might have been able to replace Prince in my top five, even. #9: I prefer "You Spin Me Round" somewhat, but I'm not complaining about this making the top ten, either. Hard to go too wrong with DoA, especially around this time. #8: Icehouse are great. Glad to see this make the top ten, too. #7: Funnily enough, this grew on me slightly from when gates used this in his Synthpop RD and I ranked it low there. I still contend that this isn't one of the Mac's best songs, but for a late 80's song, it definitely could have been worse. #6: I'm really surprised this got as high as it did, though I was expecting someone to rank this low, for some reason. This is just a lot of fun. #5: Okay, real talk, while I do like "Chains of Love" quite a bit, this means that one of my favorite songs here will win no matter what. (Imagine ranking this bottom 20, though.) #4: Hey look, gates, someone kept you from being lowest! I already talked about this song before, but I can't stress enough just how much this song grew on me over the years. It went from being a cute song that I appreciated to a song that crushes my soul every time I listen to it. #3: WOW. This is now the second time in a row in one of these Lost Hits RDs that the song that I thought was going to win finished #3. I love this song so much, and it's a shame that I couldn't put it #1, but...you'll see why when we get to the top two. #2: Despite me ranking this song #3, this song is pretty much perfect. I don't even know if I can say definitively that "West End Girls" is my favorite PSB song now, because of songs like this and "Being Boring". I have slept wayyyyyy too hard on these guys. #1: Nah, we're breaking out of the word wall for this. #1: So, uh, what? Let me get this straight: Not only did my #1 that I thought was going to be so incredibly divisive make the top ten, not only did it make the top five, and not only did it make the freaking top two, you mean to tell me that it was also the winner with the second lowest standard deviation? Like, I should be celebrating one of my 100 favorite songs winning this rankdown, but I'm genuinely stunned. I was fully prepared to do this word wall and talk about "Beds Are Burning" at #8 or #7 and talk about how engrossing and ensnaring the song is, but...I mean, okay, sure. rowellfarm490, as always, great job, and I will gladly do another set of Lost Hits songs, especially if they're 50 songs instead of 100. I mean, it was worth it to get to this end result, but I don't know if I want to listen to 100 more late-80's pop songs, you know?
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newpower
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Post by newpower on Jan 17, 2020 18:42:05 GMT -5
Fantastic Top 5. Was hoping for a PSB song but I love the Midnight Oil song too. Thanks rowellfarm490 for hosting another great rankdown.
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Az Paynter
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Post by Az Paynter on Jan 17, 2020 19:18:52 GMT -5
#teamF**kingAUSSIE!!!!!
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mamooshka
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Post by mamooshka on Jan 17, 2020 19:35:04 GMT -5
This is one of the most interesting RD series that I've participated in. Thanks for hosting, rowellfarm490 . The divisive songs are fascinating (particularly when the posters explain the reasons for their like or dislike). Music is truly more than just the sum of the sonic signals - it often embodies an experience involving all the senses. Attachment Deleted
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singingrulebritannia
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Post by singingrulebritannia on Jan 17, 2020 20:04:45 GMT -5
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Post by Doc Indie Party Rock on Jan 18, 2020 1:03:35 GMT -5
10. I Drove All Night - Cyndi LauperNot a very well known Cyndi Lauper song, but I always got drawn in by the intro. Sounds like violins mixed with synths. Very aesthetic and not used enough in music. 9. Brand New Lover - Dead or AliveOnly Def Leppard can beat my favorite Hi-Energy band of all time. The best thing about 80's bands is they are real bands. This is a real band producing these heavenly NRG sounds on their instruments. Not some computer overlapping thingie stuff they use today. The vocals of Pete Burns were always the icing on Dead Or Alive songs, and you have to listen to the extended versions to get the full effect of Hi-NRG music. Otherwise you are only getting a slice of the cake. Also I never watched any of that Big Brother shit until I heard Pete Burns was on it. A very interesting person to say the least. 8. Crazy - IcehouseThis song is good, but I still always prefer "Electric Blue". 7. Everywhere - Fleetwood MacI don't know how this song made it into the top 10. Its a decent little melody, but not a very strong one. Fleetwood Mac are overrated. 6. You Can Call Me Al - Paul SimonTrue story. For almost my entire youth I though Chevy Chase sang this song. I didn't even know who Paul Simon was. All I knew is that some short guy was on bass, but Chevy was my favorite comedian of all time and he brought the song to life. This kinds of happy go luck song would never made my top 30 unless I thought Chevy Sang it. I was heartbroken when I found out the short guy was the actual singer. The video made this song as popular as it became. 5. Chains of Love - ErasureI'm also one of the listeners who preferes "Chains Of Love" to "A Little Respect". I thought the sounds on "Chains Of Love" were stronger, and I always loved the acapela intro. 4. A Little Respect - Erasurebut I still loved this song. Through the years my favorite Erasure song became "Always". 3. The One I Love - R.E.M.This song is decent. They were kinda starting off and the song was kinda simple. "Orange Crush" was stronger. This is not the kind of sound I identified with 80's. The 80's for me were the big productions, big synths, big vocals and loud guitars. This was more fit for 90's. which is were they actually became great at this style. 2. It's a Sin - Pet Shop BoysThis one is massive for its time. The dark Hi-Energy vibe worked wonders with Neil Tennant's vocals. There is an extended version of this which you need to hear if you love the synth melody of this song. 1. Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil I like this song. This is surely their best, but I was always gonna be the lowest ranker when this song faces the bigger 80's production sounds. True story. when I was 17 I started going out with this cute 15 year old. She dressed kinda raggy but was really pretty. She was the first girl who got me liking these alternative rock bands, and I also was her first glam metal boyfriend. rowellfarm490 This was fun. Let's do another one soon.
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Juanca
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Post by Juanca on Jan 18, 2020 2:04:45 GMT -5
30. Tunnel of Love (72): I remember the hype of new Bruce back in the day in radios back home (Brilliant Disguise wasn't played). The song, however, flopped. I also didn't like it a bit. Too monotonous and sort of drags too much for me. Not a bad song, but one of my least favorite singles from Bruce. Time to clear my bottom 40! 29. Kiss Me Deadly (4): NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Contrary to #30, this was a BIG hit back, making it to the top of our #1 pop station. It also made the top of my personal chart, as I love all of it, starting from the intro, continuing with the melody, the vocals, that awesome bridge, and the final guitars. It's hard rock done right. I kept it in one of my mixtapes for a long time, and it's one of my favorite rock songs of the 80s. I'm astonished that this has left before the top 20 :( 28. Point of No Return (55): The music and vocals are pretty good, but the melody sounded a bit repetitive now that I heard it after many years. This made the top 20 in my personal chart, and I still like the sound of it. It just ended up not being as strong to make my top half. 27. Let's Go (32): I ranked this and Hypnotize in my personal chart, with the latter performing a bit better. I still like Dance Hall... and Everybody... better than this song, but this is a good synthpop representative in this RD, with cool explosive chorus. I saw them live a couple of years ago, and it was great to sing along to this song :) Btw, Wang Chung released Orchesography last year with re-recordings of their greatest hits with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. New videos to Dance Hall Days and Everybody Have Fun Tonight was released: 26. Back in the High Life Again (57): I didn't care much for this song back in the day, but I've appreciated a bit more the musicality, lyrics and vocals with time. Now my bottom half is finally cleared! 25. Rush Hour (25): PERFECTO!! This was a hit back home, reaching the top 5 of our pop stations, and the top 3 in my personal chart. It still sounds cool. I like the combination of tenderness in the verses and strength in the chorus and bridge. The vocals work pretty well, too. My favorite JW song was, however, Inside a Dream, which led my personal chart for a week: 24. The Final Countdown (3): WTF??!!! This is a CLASSIC. That intro is one of the best and most memorable 80s intros. The vocals are superb. And the production is as epic as it could be. This is a case of a song that may not have been as big when released, but became huge years later. Back home it barely made the top 25 in our pop stations, but by the end of the decade it was heard much more than other 'hits' of their time. This should've stayed longer than Def Leppard in this RD... 23. Paper in Fire (22): Honestly, I didn't like this song back in 1987. It wasn't that played in radio stations back home, but the video had pretty good rotation. I just wasn't into this type of rock style. It's taken me decades to really appreciate the song's qualities in terms of the great vocals, instrumentation, even melody, even if I'm still not much into this type of rock. By the way, back home the song that became a hit of this era was Real Life -a personal chart-topper. 22. Pump Up the Volume (27): I don't think I'd heard this song in its entirety before this RD, just some bits and pieces. I dug it!! Interesting, eclectic, modern, curious, fun. Good beat, samples and sound effects. Sorta guilty pleasure. 21. Circle in the Sand (15): This was a big hit back home, and another personal chart-topper for her. I love the music and production, the Middle Eastern influences including in the bridge and outro, the melody and vocals. I still listen to it with relative frequency. Nice song to listen to in sunset drives :) 20. Animal (44): A minor hit back home and in my personal chart. I like the pop production and sound combined with the rock vocals, drums (kudos!) and guitars. But this is not in my top 5 of DL songs. 19. I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man (30): Another minor hit. It's a fun pop track from Prince, with some good retro vibe (and a far too long outro ). 18. Everlasting Love (17): This actually made the top of our #2 pop station, and my personal top 5. I really like the pure pop style of this song. The piano intro / bridge 1 is a nice elegant touch, the melodic, sing-along verses and choruses with great background vocals also worked. Even better for me, the Latin-like percussion in the bridge 2 that made me like this song almost as much as New Song -my favorite HJ song. 17. There's the Girl (47): Although this was a minor hit back home, that chorus has kept stuck in my head forever. It made my personal top 10 at that time, but now it felt a bit underwhelming for what Heart can really do. Melody and vocals are great, but this time it sounded a bit too AC for me to place it higher. 16. The Pleasure Principle (24): I only heard of this song in the late 90s. I really like the production, beat, and melody. I like it much more than her 80s ballads.
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Juanca
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Post by Juanca on Jan 18, 2020 14:46:40 GMT -5
15. Walking Away (37): OK! Clearing my bottom 2/3 :) This was a hit back home, and I charted this and WOYM at once --they made it to my runner-up spot. I like the electronic vibe and effects, but the chorus is far miles better than the slightly underwhelming verses. I do like WOYM more than this. 14. You Got It (7): Come on, now!! I almost had this in my top 5. Vocals are superb. He's one of my favorite male singers of the 1900s. And I love how he sings here. The classic guitar-rock sound was great as well as the melody. This was a minor hit back home and a personal top 5. With time it's become a classic with great recurrent rotation back home. It's also become a staple in my personal playlists. A timeless classic that I was really hoping would make the top 10 :( 13. Push It (6): Really?! I loved this song since I first heard it. It was the type of quirky, different, fun music and sound that I dug. It wasn't played much back home but it was favorite dance tune of mine. I love it even more with time. And when they performed it in the NYE's special it sounded just as fresh as back in the 80s. 12. Lessons in Love (5): So I guess it was time for my top 10 purge Just like The Final Countdown, this song didn't do much back home when it was first played. However, by 1989 when radios were allocating more airplay to oldies and preparing for the 80s specials, the popularity of this song increased significantly. I think this as a great example of sophistipop. Great vocals (including strong background vocals), melody and instrumentation that has a strong melancholic vibe, that's occasionally broken by the brass sounds. The vocal melody in the bridge, followed by the guitars take the song to another level. 11. Hysteria (12): It was their biggest hit back home off this album, and my highest ranked DL song -runner-up spot. Another song with a strong melancholic and nostalgic vibe that immediately connects and brings back personal memories of the 80s. I love the instrumentation and vocals (background included). One of the best examples of 80s soft rock ballad. 10. I Drove All Night (18): YAY! It was about freaking time that Cyndi got another top 10 in one of these RDs. Having only two is still shameful, but better than just one. This is not in my top 10 Cyndi songs, but it's still a bop- and was a personal top 5. I really like the dark production here, starting with that intro. She also did an interesting job with her vocals, using her lower register more than ever, but then roaring in the final minute making it feel a more epic. This is THE ultimate version of this song IMO, even though it's not the first one recorded. That was the 1987 version by Roy Orbison, which was only mastered and released as a single in 1992, following production by Jeff Lynne. I like Roy's version, but I still prefer Cyndi's 9. Brand New Lover (26): YAY! Great to see another top 10 by DoA. The songs in the 17-26 zone were vey close so any of them could've been #17. This was a personal top 15 even though it was barely played back home. This isn't in my top 5 DoA songs anymore, after drindie helped me discover their Fan the Flames album, but it's still a solid, fun song by them. 8. Crazy (34): It was a personal top 5 and a hit in our #2 pop station back home. I thought I was going to rank this higher, but it didn't click as much with me this time as I thought it would. I still like Electric Blue a bit more. It's a solid pop song with great vocals and very 80s production, though, so I won't complain about seeing it in the top 10. 7. Everywhere (9): Tango In The Night is one of my favorite 80s albums. I love all the singles, as they showcased the strengths of all the members one way or another. In this case, I love the dreamy music and vibe throughout the song, that have always made me stop in my tracks, relax, daydream, and smile :) Christine's vocals greatly supported by Stevie's and Lindsey's background vocals. This was their 3rd single back home, but it was only played in one of the less popular pop stations. Regardless, I loved it, and it became their 3rd personal chart-topper in a row from this era. They'd end up having another one with Isn't It Midnight, and 5 more personal top 10s (Family Man, Seven Wonders, Caroline, You and I, and Tango in the Night). 6. You Can Call Me Al (19): A big hit back home, and a personal chart-topper. My mom LOVED this song. I loved its simplicity, with pretty good melody alongside the great use of different instruments throughout the song -percussion, trumpets, bass, flute (?). Great to see it top 10, but also happened to see that my lowest remaining leaves before the top 5 Rooting for my #1 or #2!! 5. Chains of Love (10): This was their first hit back home, making the top 10 in pop radio, and the top 5 in my personal chart. The extended version of this song became VERY popular as well in our 3rd pop radio station in ~1989, regaining popularity as the decade ended. I liked it in 1988 but loved it after a couple of years. Ecstatic to see 2 songs of one of my favorite 80s acts! 4. A Little Respect (1): OH, NOOO!!!! This is my favorite Erasure song, which is something, as I love many of their songs. Interestingly, this is another case of a song that took me a bit to love. When it was first released, it barely made a dent in the charts back home, and I sort of overlooked it and didn't make it enter my chart. Some time after the Chains of Love extended version became more popular, radios started to play ALR again, including the extended version, actually making the decade end charts, and with time becoming one of the most popular 80s songs in radio and dance clubs. I re-charted it in 1991, and it made it to the top for a couple of weeks, at a time when I discovered a lot of their pre-Innocents music as well. They were the artist of the year in my personal chart in 1991. I love ALR's simple but effective melody and music. Those slightly confusing few seconds contribute to the overall feeling of confusion and despair of the song, and simple piano bridge adds enough drama to elevate the song as well. Andy's vocals are super emotional throughout the song and I think carry the song effectively. I guess I'm happy it made it this far, but I was hoping it could be in the top 2... 3. The One I Love (13): This was the first song I heard by REM, as it was their first song to be played in pop stations, with limited success -although its video performance was more successful than its pop radio performance . It made my personal top 10, and with time I've come to like it much more than I did back in 88. Great to see 4 songs in the top 5 have a member the LGBT+ community in the front. Crossing fingers they're at #1, too! 2. It's A Sin (2): WTF??!!!!!!!!!!!! This is as epic as it could be, and I'm sorry but this shouldn't have been beaten by BAB. How can you objectively rank this in bottom 15 in this RD? Anyway. This was a great comeback for them back home, after the success of WEG (Tonight is Forever was barely played and nothing else). It wasn't as massive as WHIDTDT or AOMM were, but a top 5 hit. Personally, it went quickly to the top of my personal chart. I LOVE the epicness of the instrumentation. It's like a modern classic opus. The drama of the intro, the choir and thunder effects, and then the electric electronic dynamic sound that goes hi energy with pulsating, desperate, emotional vocals. The bridge takes us back to reflection, and then it keeps going to the mea culpa, apocalyptic outro. This type of drama was almost unheard of in synthpop back in the day. The disco mix sort of helps us appreciate the complexities of the production, and adds some more epic drums -although also a few effects that I don't care much. The lyrics are also astounding, and hit home in my own moments of struggle between sexual orientation and catholicism. I've sung my heart out to this song a couple of times in karaoke and getting emotional in the process. It was a strong battle for #1 for me between this and Erasure, as I love both songs a lot. I do wish this had made #1 to celebrate one of the, if not THE, most LGBT+ representative Hot 100 RDs we've had :'( 1. Beds Are Burning (16): Their biggest hit back home, although it took a lot of time to become that. It initially received little airplay, but it was resuscitated around 1989 (by the same radio that resuscitated A Little Respect). An interesting melody and sound, with different vocals. I specially like the second half of the choruses, the pre-chorus, and the musical bridge. The verses are a bit abrasive, though, and the music is not as interesting to me as songs like Blue Sky Mine from them, which contributed to my not making this a top 15. This is a pretty good song, and definitely a surprise, but a bit of a disappointment to see it at #1 to be honest
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