55.
Paperlate -
GenesisI can't believe this? The third lowest Genesis song on Rock rds. Only over two of the ones I tanked. Even the ones I found the most boring
"Mama" and
"Throwing It All Away" are higher than this. For me this is their most upbeat song ever, and my second favorite from them. Question" Was it just too much fun to upgrade?
54.
Stone Cold -
RainbowHands down best Rainbow song ever. Takes a little AOR ,and adds a little mellow Metal vibe ,and you get pure Rock n roll gold at the end of the Rainbow.
53.
Everybody Wants You -
Billy SquierThe song commences with revving up motor magic. What more can you possibly want. There are still two Billy Squier songs I like better, but Am I the only one who rides motorbikes here?
52.
Shakin' -
Eddie Money I don't need no videogames to remind me of the awesomeness of this jam. A big
MTV favorite back then. Gotta love Eddie's delivery here. The lyrics are every 80's guy's dream. Be cruised around in a muscle car with
Apollonia. My favorite intro for a Eddie Money song. You don't hear it, but those guitars are revving up the motor. We have a full tank and Eddy is in for the ride of his life. Eddie's playful lyrics are the the meaning of the word "HOT". Their is definitely some blues rock in here too. Now that I think about it? I'm actually quite lucky it ends up this high aren't I.
51.
Abracadabra -
Steve Miller BandOne of my favorite songs of the year......for Pop. Love it from every angle. The break with the guitars still sounds like fire, and the extended version sounds even more apt for the rock format, but I have to set my guitar bar high when ranking songs on mainstream rock. This is a good slot for the song. I am still a bit worried we might turn this into a Pop Rd. Not that I didn't contribute to that too, but I chose my pop cruise overs carefully.
50.
Waiting for a Girl Like You -
Foreigner My favorite Power ballad for this band. Not a bad rank. Foreigner has a strong presence on Rock format. Blows the piss out of
"I Want To Know (how to write a Whitney Houston love ballad". I never liked that song, but this one rides well it's Foreigner rock vibe. So at least I can breath easily that we will play hard with
"Juke Box Hero" ,
"Urgent"? I mean this is top 50, so I expect at least top 30 these other two.
49.
(Oh) Pretty Woman -
Van HalenThis is the way to do a cover. Let Alex warm us with some percussion magic(album version) while you get the band in gear. The guitars are fine here as both Michael Anthony and Eddie do what they can with what they have. This is not a fast rocker, but have
David Lee Roth do vocals ,and growls, and you have a certified rocking jam. Pop knew it. Mainstream Knew it, but apparently some of us couldn't be convinced
48.
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) -
AC/DCLong live explosions in rock music.Bop your head ,and throw up your Metal devil horns. It's a rock anthem, and that's what you do. It gets the job done. I love the song, but compared to the many more I love from this band it falls right where I think it should.
47.
Somebody's Baby -
Jackson BrowneA great song. One of my top 100 of the year, but pleasant sounding song is all it brings to the table among the 1982 Guitar fire on this list.
46.
Hurts So Good -
John Mellencamp This should have easily been his best showing on these rds. His biggest radio rock hit, but also his biggest Pop cruisover. One of the ones I will easily upgrade on a Mainstream rock rd, because it got it's fame on rock format. The rest of the world just caught on to it as well. For me it hits nicely into Biker rock territory. The drums, guitars in the intro are the revving up mode. The music video captures the song's vibe perfectly. The lyrics are great. They have that 80's let's fall in love ,and have a good time. Be young. You can grow up later. Why accelerate the process.
45.
Crimson and Clover -
Joan Jett & the BlackheartsJoan Jett hit a home run with this one. I am glad the correct one is higher, but i would have been ok with both of these in the top 30.
44.
Find Another Fool -
Quarterflash Both Quarterflash and "Night Shift" peaked in my top 20. I love all three. I'll put the other ones high on pop, but this one belongs to Rock radio. Her vocals light up the chorus, and she sings it rather fast. Women in rock sing about different themes than guys. Guys sing about easy girls I can get, but that is it. Women sing about women I want to get, but have to work at it. I relate to their lyrics. I am I guy ,and I know the stupid things I do. These songs really sing to me. It's a real turn on to hear the ladies strike back through music. Powerful words. Anyway. this song is fast. Can you imagine how fast it would sound live? That would really blow my mind. Guitars and sax solos never sounded so perfect together.
43.
Pressure -
Billy JoelOne of my favorite Billy Joel songs, and I couldn't quite squeeze it into my top 50. I always loved hot this one throws some classic music/ opera stuff type melodies ,and instrumets. Really cool and fierce at the same time.
42.
Freeze Frame -
The J. Geils BandThis is really unfair. This is a jam. Literally sounds lie The J.Geils Band jamming it up at the local pub. This would sound great live. We have all sorts of tasty sounding instruments. Brass takes center stage ,and adds some amazing speed and tempo to the song. It hurt to keep this one out of my top 10. Sometimes I feel it would be better to keep the actual YE #s a secret til we actually do the Rd, then reveal them when the song shows up on the rd. This is the number 1 Rock song of the year ,and it can't even make the top 40. These are the Pop cruise overs we should be upgrading. the soundtracks of our 80's lives.
42.
Should I Stay or Should I Go -
The Clash Not much difference in my rock lists. I still love it. It's my favorite of theirs', and easily cracks my top 30. Apparently we as a group thought they should go.
I lost my first Top 10 song today , and I'm not happy about that. Especially since it was a top 5. I also took a couple of undeservingly top 20 hard hits. I also have a couple of pop cruise overs ,or maybe pop cruised over into Mainstream? Whatever the cause. The point is I feel they have used up their free ride points on this list. We have a rather nice Guitar fire going ,and I would like to keep it burning all the way to the end.
***On a side note: "Hurts So Good" is one of my favorite Rock/pop songs of the 80's ,and I would be heartbroken if a misheard lyric hurt it's chances on this RD. John doesn't sing
"Sink your teeth right through my bone". The line is
"Sink your teeth right through my bones". Takes on a whole different meaning. The lyrics have a playful double meaning, because pop craves double meanings in songs, but the song is actually about taking chance and falling in love. Love hurts has its up and downs, but something worth having has to hurt just a little so we can appreciate it more. Anyway I hope some of those bottom ranks didn't think "
bone"=dick=cock rock=tank.