20.
Distant Early Warning -
RushThis record has not stood the test of time. Not even classic rock radio plays any songs from it. It's
RUSH ,and everything , but I considered this one one of their weakest. The verses have a slight melody feel from
"New World Man" bit that's it. I still like it, but not enough for top half action. On a side note it would be the second best song on that chart if it was on today's Active chart. true story.
19.
Panama -
Van HalenTwo Van Halen songs in my top 10. Don't look too surprised. It's all about
David Lee Roth's delivery on this one.
18.
Round and Round -
RattI demand a recount. This just won't do. Not for this Metal classic. It made top 20, but you all could do much better than this. This is clearly the best Metal song of 1984, and the most danceable too.
Stephen Pearcy is pure fire on the vocals. Before all the late 80's Glam this song and
"Photograph" came the closest to the top 10 on
Hot 100. This is one of the songs that opened up the door for a harder metal sound on pop charts. Even
KLOS had finally given in to the popularity of Metal and started to play all of them on a regularly basis.
17.
Hold Me Now -
Thompson Twins How does a RD make me hate a song just a little? When it shows up higher than
Ratt and
Van Halen. My second favorite Thomson Twins song, but I have nothing nice to say about it tonight.
16.
Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) -
The Icicle WorksI recall this one well. Gave it top 20 chart action in real life. I always loved the way the percussion sounds during the vocals. It would have been a perfect one for me to put in my top 10 for the Modern Rock rd.
15.
Rock You Like a Hurricane -
Scorpions...and the last Metal song drops on a Mainstream Rock rd. Unbelievable. At least this is the best sexually charged
Scorpions song ever.,and the list reflects it. I couldn't leave it out of my top 10. never. A mainstream Rd without any Metal in it's top 10 looks naked to my eyes. How does it even make sense?
14.
Middle of the Road -
PretendersI knew this would end up high. Fantastic song for the band, and the last time I fully got into one of their songs. I'm just glad I got my chance to rank it high on the Modern Rock rd.
13.
Talking in Your Sleep -
The RomanticsAnother classic one. That had more success on mainstream than Modern Rock. It has slightly lost it's charm with me through the years. I still love it, but now adays I give more spins to
"One In A Million".
12.
That's All -
GenesisI like this one. Charted it top 20 back then, but it's in no way one of my favorites. Terrific pop song. Great for HOT AC, but we will get to my favorite Genesis songs soon enough.
11.
Sunglasses at Night -
Corey HartThis song is awesome. It has that Modern Rock meets /pop vibe , but the Synths also scream Italo Disco melodies. I always enjoyed this one on Rock format. His vocals were very commanding and the song takes you by surprise by letting loose on some mean sounding guitar works.
10.
Let's Go Crazy -
PrinceYup. I knew this would happen. Spectacular song, but not on my rock list.
Prince is pop king material and that's that. This has guitars but so did 80+songs on this list. The biggest difference for me would be the overall vibe of the song and maybe his vocals. On a side note. I recall
"Beat It" also getting substantial airplay on Mainstream. Including KLOS. Mainly for
Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo, so
PULSE might just get a chance to rank
Michael Jackson in the top 5 for 1983 Mainstream . I'll put that one a bit higher on my list because of the fiercer vibe, but don't expect miracles.
9.
Owner of a Lonely Heart -
YesI'm not the biggest prog rock fan, but this is hands down my favorite
Yes song. I love everything they did on it. Even the percussion had it's charm. I guess
"Changes" is now my second, but this is the one I come back to often. Also made my top 5 in real life.
8.
You Might Think -
The CarsMy favorite band ever gets three songs in the top 10. remember this was my #1 on
Unhinged top of 1984? I love everything about this song. Including the music video which won some MTV thingie awards. The best aspect for me are Ric's quirky vocals. They just glue every melody together, and thumbs up to Elliott Easton mini guitar solos. I didn't put all three Cars songs in my top 10, but I knew I could count on the rest of you to do it.
7.
Here Comes the Rain Again -
EurythmicsThis is a great song. Not really crazy about it for this list. It doesn't scream Rock vibe to me at all. I would probably put this higher on a Hi-NRG/dancepop list than a Rock list.
6.
Magic -
The CarsDamn I was hoping my
#2 rank would push this one to the top after seeing how well
"Drive" preformed on Modern Rock, but you guys still like
"Drive" better, but that's the issue. I never liked "Drive better than this one or
"You Might Think". I'm still hoping
"Drive" wins now.
5.
Dancing in the Dark -
Bruce Springsteeneasily one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs. Gave it a top 5 rank in the day. It's a bit more on the poppy side, but has a great melody to boost. I would have preferred
"Glory Days" to be Bruce's highest RD Performer ever.
4.
Pride (In the Name of Love) -
U280's U2 is hard to argue with. It's their best era ever. I think this hits well, but it's not even close to
"Desire". I think
"New Year's Day" and even
"Two Hearts Beat As One" will be their top 3 breaking point. Or at least should be
3.
Rebel Yell -
Billy IdolAwesome. I knew this song would go to the top 3 here. Even without my top 10 rank. you can just imagine how high I'm gonna put this Scream fest next time. Funny enough I challenge the rest of you to be able to pull this trick off in 1983 Modern Rd. I might be the highest ranker for it?
2.
Eyes Without a Face -
Billy Idol Amazing top 2. Both of these were in my top 10 in the modern rock Rd. Not much more praise I can add except that
#9 on the modern Rock RD still seems questionable to me. It should have been top 3.
1.
Drive - The Cars
Finally my favorite band of all time gets their crown. I wish it had been with
"Magic", but why complain when it's
The Cars. Ironically enough I was one of the top 3 rankers for the Modern Rock Rd, but I'm always gonna lean more towards the Harder Rock songs on mainstream Rock. That was more my thing in the 80's anyway. This song is great and I almost guessed it would win? I couldn't put it any higher than
#22. Most of this RD are based on my actual chart runs, so it gets hard to rank them. It felt almost like having to reimagine my own Top 100 of 1984. Both this and
"Oh Sherry" reached to #3 on my charts ,but "Oh Sherry" had a slightly longer chart life. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
singingrulebritannia .
GReat Rankdown. It' must be a task to search out all those extras , but I appreciate those getting recognition as well. Most of them are also favorites of mine. 1983 is gonna be a blast and I will post
KLOS top 95.5 playback list when the time comes.