KROQ top 50 1983

https://jasonvorhees.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/0054.jpg

way weaker than '82 imo, gonna go with modern love or suicidal tendencies

love the image, nice add.

"love cats" 1b "Pale Shelter"

Pepsi = "Institutionalized"

lol

1. duran duran - is there something i should know?
4. big country - in a big country
5. culture club - church of the poison mind
7. tears for fears - mad world
9. duran duran - union of the snake
10. the english beat - i confess
12. david bowie - modern love
13. talking heads - burning down the house
14. u2 - new year's day
17. the police - king of pain
24. the rolling stones - undercover of the night

^^^ good songs

these are getting better and better... "acceleration" is such a jam.

i voted "save it for later" but the '82 list was better.

which one incorporates the exotic eastern riff better:
"the cutter" vs. "living on the ceiling"?

barbie and the kens were a bobby o act. spoiler alert: this kroq-bobby o connection has ramifications in the immediate future.

there are only 8 (maybe 9 depending on where barbie and the kens themselves were from) tracks by american acts up there. culture club has 5.

"cool places" and "one thing" use the same keyboard setting.

i was in the Frolic Room (dive w/ Belushi's photo behind the bar) on Hollywood Blvd last week when "Undercover of the Night: came on and it was such an '80s moment I shuddered

agree that 82 list is better. by 83 new wave and new pop have kinda calcified and though i like every example up there i'm not the hugest fan of 'the big music'. domination by a handful of acts is nothing new but here it takes the form of acts kroq already played having massive top 40 years - culture club, police, duran duran, bowie. it's not the same as adam ant dominating in 1981 or devo in 1980 (not for me at least).

god what shite

voted SuicTends

OHHHDACOVAH OF DAH NIEEEEET

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DISPAIR-OS

well it was instructive to learn that Mick can't ask someone to teach him one word in Spanish

'Well I'm telling you they never got it right / Until they put out Undercover of the Night'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVJkfXeTs9Q

not even Bianca!

omg Nena AND Peter Schilling?!

I mean c'mon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pL3IoB_3A

or

love cats
the one thing
save it for later
modern love

fuck

sad i missed 82

In a Big Country. Now that is a fucking hit. Whoah man.

I know it's Big (Country) and signaled the resurgence of a kind of heartland authenticity on both sides of the Atlantic but yeah I may vote for "In a Big Country." It's unstoppable.

Save it for later over The Cutter

man save it for later is so amazing that at first glance i can't imagine another vote. otoh, i have not thought of "swear" for 30 years but i'm astonished that i actually DO remember it (it is unremarkable imo).

i confess
pale shelter
one thing
cool places (doesn't this have a go-go on it?)
whisper to a scream

all featuring pretty highly.

i remember dear prudence from hyaena. i think whammy kiss was about the last b52s song i really liked.

probably the last year i was really listening closely to radio.

yeah jane wiedlin is on 'cool places'

yeah yeah sting's a douche but "every breath you take" is a juggernaut

Dear Prudence, just a smidge above Mad World. But so many of these are classics.

To be back in a time when any of these could come on KROQ at any given moment...

i don't know a lot of these songs but i can't imagine liking any of them more than "in a big country"

Oh my god this is even harder, like I couldn't even choose between Never Stop and The Cutter on the Porcupine poll.

Institutionalized was this early? Because that didn't enter my life until about 85 or so. It feels anachronistic on this list.

Haha that Peter Schilling's Bowie song is better than any of the actual Bowie songs on the list. (Wait, who am I kidding, I love that album with all of my 12 year old soul)

Dreams walking in broad daylight

that '82 list was absolutely the peak of something wasn't it?

as for '83, i coud easily put all five culture club songs in my top 10. english beat, echo & the bunnymen and eurythmics (all the "e" bands, that is) would also be in there.

voting "church of the poison mind."

Peter Schilling's Bowie song is better than any of the actual Bowie songs on the list.

otm times ten

So much awesome to choose from:

men without hats - the safety dance
the police - every breath you take
big country - in a big country
peter schilling - major tom (coming home)
talking heads - burning down the house
u2 - new year's day
the fixx - one thing leads to another
nena - 99 luftbaloons
suicidal tendencies - institutionalized
eurythmics - sweet dreams (are made of this)
adam ant - strip
thomas dolby - she blinded me with science
the romantics - talking in your sleep
icicle works - whisper to a scream (birds fly)
billy idol - rebel yell

Amazing amount of bands that were either officially one-hit wonders but those that weren't technically were still one-track wonders for me personally.

I want to vote for Suicidal Tendencies just because it was such an important song for me when I was a kid and it stands out on this list like a sore thumb (injured while skating, natch) but "Sweet Dreams" is just so iconic and still sounds relevant when I hear it all these years later. Gotta go with that.

And yeah, Peter Schilling's "Major Tom" shits all over Bowie's.

this was the year i got into pop music

kind of weird to see '83 pop music with all the black people filtered out

men without hats - the safety dance
big country - in a big country
david bowie - modern love
the police - king of pain
the polecats - make a circuit with me
eurythmics - sweet dreams (are made of this)
the english beat - save it for later
elvis costello - everyday i write the book
icicle works - whisper to a scream (birds fly)

English Beat narrowly over Big Country.

"The Cutter" over "Save It For Later"

Burning Down The House over Let's Dance/Safety Dance/She Blinded Me With Science

Still love "Save It for Later." Otherwise, pretty much rock bottom for me.

I think aside from Costello, the only one of these acts I saw live in '83-84 was... Big Country! In St Petersburg, FL!

Blancmange for the win.

precipitous drop from '82 imo, loads of crap on this list. for me the contest is between both English Beat songs and the winner is "I Confess"

I spent a lot of time in '83 wondering whether "Save It For Later" was better, not as good as, or just as good as "I Confess" tbh

kind of weird to see '83 pop music with all the black people filtered out

otm.

"Love Cats" easily.

the Billboard top 50 of '83 still seem pretty...like...'83 is the year of "Atomic Dog" and "Juicy Fruit" and "Cold Blooded" and "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" and "I Like It" and "Candy Girl," but:

1. "Every Breath You Take" The Police
2 "Billie Jean" Michael Jackson
3 "Flashdance... What a Feeling" Irene Cara
4 "Down Under" Men at Work
5 "Beat It" Michael Jackson
6 "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Bonnie Tyler
7 "Maneater" Daryl Hall & John Oates
8 "Baby, Come to Me" Patti Austin and James Ingram
9 "Maniac" Michael Sembello
10 "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" Eurythmics
11 "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" Culture Club
12 "You and I" Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle
13 "Come On Eileen" Dexys Midnight Runners
14 "Shame on the Moon" Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
15 "She Works Hard for the Money" Donna Summer
16 "Never Gonna Let You Go" Sérgio Mendes
17 "Hungry Like the Wolf" Duran Duran
18 "Let's Dance" David Bowie
19 "Twilight Zone" Golden Earring
20 "I Know There's Something Going On" Frida
21 "Jeopardy" The Greg Kihn Band
22 "Electric Avenue" Eddy Grant
23 "She Blinded Me with Science" Thomas Dolby
24 "Africa" Toto
25 "Little Red Corvette" Prince
26 "Back on the Chain Gang" The Pretenders
27 "Up Where We Belong" Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
28 "Mr. Roboto" Styx
29 "You Are" Lionel Richie
30 "Der Kommissar" After the Fire
31 "Puttin' on the Ritz" Taco
32 "Sexual Healing" Marvin Gaye
33 "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" The Human League
34 "Time (Clock of the Heart)" Culture Club
35 "The Safety Dance" Men Without Hats
36 "Mickey" Toni Basil
37 "You Can't Hurry Love" Phil Collins
38 "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" Journey
39 "One on One" Daryl Hall & John Oates
40 "We've Got Tonight" Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton
41 "1999" Prince
42 "Stray Cat Strut" Stray Cats
43 "Allentown" Billy Joel
44 "Stand Back" Stevie Nicks
45 "Tell Her About It" Billy Joel
46 "Always Something There to Remind Me" Naked Eyes
47 "Truly" Lionel Richie
48 "Dirty Laundry" Don Henley
49 "The Girl Is Mine" Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
50 "Too Shy" Kajagoogoo

i love 'in a big country'

^ Me too, that's near the top for me but it came down to the 2 Bowie songs for me, don't get the Let's Dance hate/indifference ITT

I'm not sure if I get that's it's such a huge drop from 82. see the 85 list if you want to see a cliff: http://www.radiohitlist.com/KROQ/KROQ-1985.htm It does seem that while in 1982 the Eurythmics single would be an obscurity, by 1983 it's a top 10 hit.

actually prefer the '85 list! "Nemesis," "Opportunities," "In Between Days," "The Perfect Kiss," "Slave to Love" - plenty of real dogs on the list to be sure but I prefer the peaks in '85 to anything except the Michael Jackson singles in '83

Love a lot of these and could vote for any of those:

the safety dance
church of the poison mind
mad world
major tom (coming home)
pale shelter
love cats
the cutter

looking at this list, with the rolling stones' "undercover...," and the '85 list, with two mick jagger songs, and wondering how/why they kept getting airplay on this format. it doesn't make any sense in hindsight. did it make sense then?

hindsight renders mick jagger's solo career incomprehensible in any airplay context, but the stones jumped on the new wave thing early and hard, no? if anything undercover is like, too KROQ of a song

"Just Another Night" got to #12 on the pop chart and #1 AOR and massive MTV airplay on name recognition alone so I'm not surprised.

i sort of get that, but under the same reasoning they could've been playing styx ("mr. roboto") or zz top or don henley or any number of classic rock survivors, so i'm still curious how the stones specifically won over that crowd while none of their peers did. (except bowie, but i think he's a very different case, much more obviously part of the new wave.)

he's handsomer?

than henley? how dare you!

totally just guessing, but maybe cuz the stones were new wave friendly since '78? zz top, henley etc took a little longer to hop on board with the sonics

DON: To hear "Boys of Summer," and to some extent Glenn's "The Heat is On" on top forty radio was gratifying to us. It felt great that our message could work in a new decade.

GLENN: Hey, Henley, remember, I got the "Miami Vice" spot.

DON: Well, yeah.

again just guessing but it does seem like kroq's punk leanings would demand an anti-El Lay playlist, even if "boys of summer" and "stand back" aren't that far from "take on me" now

styx ("mr. roboto") or zz top or don henley - these are all american acts

in the context of AOR and MOR radio 1979-1981 Stones sounded like the Pistols; plus, like croup said, they'd already gone shorter and tougher during their mall rat years.

A lot of sentimental favorites on this list but it doesn't really matter that much what's on it because "Burning Down The House" is on it.

Whenever I hear "Burning Down The House" I feel real pride and gratefulness that I live in society where this song could be a massive hit.

jesus christ

I'm a big fan of all of these:

1. duran duran - is there something i should know?
2. men without hats - the safety dance
3. the police - every breath you take
4. big country - in a big country
5. culture club - church of the poison mind
6. david bowie - let's dance
7. tears for fears - mad world
8. peter schilling - major tom (coming home)
9. duran duran - union of the snake
11. culture club - do you really want to hurt me
13. talking heads - burning down the house
14. u2 - new year's day
15. madness - our house
17. the police - king of pain
18. greg kihn band - jeopardy
19. the fixx - one thing leads to another
20. nena - 99 luftbaloons
23. suicidal tendencies - institutionalized
25. culture club - karma chameleon
27. eurythmics - sweet dreams (are made of this)
28. adam ant - strip
29. tears for fears - pale shelter
31. thomas dolby - she blinded me with science
34. elvis costello - everyday i write the book
36. the romantics - talking in your sleep
37. inxs - the one thing
38. the cure - love cats
41. icicle works - whisper to a scream (birds fly)
42. the b-52's - whammy kiss
45. the police - synchronicity II
46. tears for fears - change
47. billy idol - rebel yell
48. echo & the bunnymen - the cutter
50. ub40 - red red wine

Whenever I hear "Burning Down The House" I feel real pride and gratefulness that I live in society where this song could be a massive hit.

― Guayaquil (eephus!),

that's how I feel about "Church of the Poison Mind."

in the context of AOR and MOR radio 1979-1981 Stones sounded like the Pistols

I don't think I agree with this at all.

If you mean they sounded best in ..38 Special, Foreigner, Robert Plant, and Van Halen's company, you're right

I meant that I don't see that their toughness or modern quality particularly stood out on AOR radio. Not sure that their music from that period was even played on MOR radio.

Maybe "Beast of Burden."

Oh, and "Waiting on a Friend?"

I will say that reading the nominations thread for the classic rock poll did suggest to me that the stations I grew up with may have been more hard rock-oriented than others around the country.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

ilm why u hate culture club?

KROQ top 50 1984

I think I voted "Undercover of the Night."

kind of weird to see '83 pop music with all the black people filtered out

This is the only reason I can think of for why '83 is so much stronger than '84--that and including the apparent punk crossover "Institutionalized."

... '83 is stronger because all of the black people were filtered out?

7. tears for fears - mad world 0
29. tears for fears - pale shelter 0
8. peter schilling - major tom (coming home) 0

well this is unfortunate

xp: Hope you're joking. No, the '83 list is stronger than the '84 list because the apparent bias in both seems to hurt '84 more.

To my ears, new wave synth-pop also took a dip in quality across the board between '83 and '84.

7. tears for fears - mad world 0
29. tears for fears - pale shelter 0
8. peter schilling - major tom (coming home) 0

well this is unfortunate

― Frontier Psychiatrist, mardi 22 juillet 2014 17:01 (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Indeed

I thought I voted for Schilling. I probably didn't vote at all. I usually comment but forget about the whole actual picking a song thing.

In a Big Country might have the worst guitar tone on the planet.

Hope you're joking. No, the '83 list is stronger than the '84 list because the apparent bias in both seems to hurt '84 more.

haha that is a very different (and understandable/defensible) thing from what you actually wrote