ok, i shouldn't say that because "west end girls" would easily trump everything but "kiss" for me. and "live to tell" is classic enough even though it's only about my 6th-favorite madonna ballad. and there are plenty of other good songs there. but still, "kiss."
― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 06:31 (fifteen years ago) link
Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, "On My Own"
This was #1 when I was born. :/
― Robo-Tony! Robo-Toni! Robo-Toné! (The Reverend), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 06:32 (fifteen years ago) link
Don't get me wrong, I looooooooove "Kiss," but, for me at least, this is easily "West End Girls."
― Someone Still Loves You Evan and Jaron (Tape Store), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 06:40 (fifteen years ago) link
Nothing on this list comes close to the majestic strangeness of "Walk Like an Egyptian," which wraps up everything that was great, multicolored, angular, and art-damaged about this part of the 1980s in one perfect package.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 06:49 (fifteen years ago) link
This was #1 when many others were conceived as well.
― Eazy, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 06:52 (fifteen years ago) link
i want "take my breath away" to get at least one vote
― winstonian (winston), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 06:54 (fifteen years ago) link
xp: I see what you did there!
― Robo-Tony! Robo-Toni! Robo-Toné! (The Reverend), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 07:10 (fifteen years ago) link
yess my birth year! unfortunately by birth song is "greatest love of all".
voting for "addicted to love".
― miss precious perfect (musically), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 07:33 (fifteen years ago) link
i never imagined 'west end girls' went no 1 in the US!
1. live to tell2. papa don't preach3. kiss4. when i think of you5. west end girls6. walk like an egyptian
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 08:59 (fifteen years ago) link
west end girls, b/c "in every city, in every nation / from lake geneva to the finland station" is a great couplet.
― snuh, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:03 (fifteen years ago) link
lex otm about everything.
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:08 (fifteen years ago) link
Dionne & Friends, "That's What Friends Are For" or janet, madonna or prince.
― p-noid (titchyschneiderMk2), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:18 (fifteen years ago) link
You're all secretly voting for Whitney, aren't you?
― Pancakes Hussein Obama (Pancakes Hackman), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:25 (fifteen years ago) link
im voting for whitneys aunt.
― p-noid (titchyschneiderMk2), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:26 (fifteen years ago) link
Oh my god, how to choose... West End Girls was obviously classic but... erm, was Rock Me Amadeus really that *late*? I thought it came out much earlier, like, 84 or something. Anyway, that just pips PSB for me.
― Le FAP Le LAP Le FAP Le FAP Le FAP! (Masonic Boom), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:33 (fifteen years ago) link
shit, i forgot these:Starship, SaraFalco, "Rock Me Amadeus"Pet Shop Boys, "West End Girls"Whitney Houston, "Greatest Love of All"Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, "On My Own"Simply Red, "Holding Back the Years"Genesis, "Invisible Touch"Madonna, "Papa Don't Preach"Cyndi Lauper, "True Colors"The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian"
86 wasnt bad at all.
― p-noid (titchyschneiderMk2), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:40 (fifteen years ago) link
voted PSB, but Falco comes second, not least because of this crazy video...
― snoball, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:41 (fifteen years ago) link
...also because he has the most outrageous headstonehttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Falco_Grab.jpg/200px-Falco_Grab.jpg
― snoball, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:43 (fifteen years ago) link
Some strong contenders here. Went for "True Colors" in the end.
The mid-to-late 80s were usually better in the American charts than the British ones. The Brits were a bit too busy looking for "the next big thing" while the Americans settled with the new wave/new romantic stuff that they hadn't really discovered until 1982-83 anyway.
― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:45 (fifteen years ago) link
Heart, "These DreamsFalco, "Rock Me Amadeus"Prince and the Revolution, "Kiss"Robert Palmer, "Addicted to Love"Pet Shop Boys, "West End Girls"
This is one HELL of a run of five consecutive #1's ...
Really tough decision, and trying to decide on the basis of "most iconic video" isn't helping either ...
― NoTimeBeforeTime, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 12:55 (fifteen years ago) link
oh fuck i forgot he died. :-(
― Nathalie (stevienixed), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:10 (fifteen years ago) link
roughly 20 of these are great but PSBs just over the two Madonnas.
― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:16 (fifteen years ago) link
i love 'On My Own' fwiw, esp. Labelle at the end ("this wasn't how it was supposed to eeeeeeeeeeeeend")
― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:17 (fifteen years ago) link
That video! I had forgotten the scene in the Biker Bar. Oh god yes.
― Le FAP Le LAP Le FAP Le FAP Le FAP! (Masonic Boom), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:32 (fifteen years ago) link
So did Robert Palmer. Why couldn't God take Phil Collins or Mick Hucknall instead?
I'm kind of blown away that Boston's "Amanda" was a #1.
― Pancakes Hussein Obama (Pancakes Hackman), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:35 (fifteen years ago) link
Yup! Also: "Human," "When I Think of You," "Invisible Touch," "Venus," and "Sledgehammer." I could've voted for any one of them, but I'm particularly fond of "Live To Tell" this morning.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:42 (fifteen years ago) link
Going through these in my head, half of them sound the same to me...
Heart, "These DreamsMr. Mister, "Kyrie"Steve Winwood, "Higher Love"Peter Cetera, "Glory of Love"Madonna, "Live to Tell"Cyndi Lauper, "True Colors"Bruce Hornsby & the Range, "The Way It Is"Simply Red, "Holding Back the Years"Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, "On My Own"
There's a slight spread from fast and upbeat to slow and maudlin but basically this is MOR/AOR heaven.
― talk me down off the (ledge), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:48 (fifteen years ago) link
lots of early digital synth pads and arpeggiated marimba pattern type things
― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:49 (fifteen years ago) link
if only 'Sweet Freedom' was in this thing
― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:50 (fifteen years ago) link
I heard "On My Own" at the supermarket a couple of weeks ago; it was better than I remembered.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 13:52 (fifteen years ago) link
There are a few duds in there but overall, great year. Tracks that are absolutely essential to the fabric of the universe: "Rock Me Amadeus," "West End Girls," "Sledgehammer," "Walk Like an Egyptian."
Songs that I like a lot but which reasonable people might disagree: "The Way It Is," "Kiss," "Higher Love," "True Colors," "Human." Those aren't my favorite Madonna songs but they are not mistakes by any stretch of the imagination.
I voted for "Sledgehammer" but I suspect "West End Girls" will narrowly edge out "Kiss" for the win in this one.
― Ye Mad Puffin, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:15 (fifteen years ago) link
"Kiss," of course. Everyone else should fold up their penises and go home.*
* Stolen from Xgau's review of Dirty Mind.
― Jazzbo, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:19 (fifteen years ago) link
goddam this kicks 89's ass
west end girls is the one i'd most like to hear this second, but i could easily vote for like 5 of these
― now is the time to winterize your manscape (will), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:31 (fifteen years ago) link
This is easily my favorite year for chart music.
― HI DERE, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:35 (fifteen years ago) link
For real. Some of the songs that made the top ten ("Let's Go All The Way," "Sweet Freedom," "Opportunities," "Rumors") would be winners on any list.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:38 (fifteen years ago) link
"Walk Like an Egyptian" (even though this got hella played), "Human", "When I Think of You", "Sledgehammer", "Kiss", "West End Girls", "Live to Tell" as good or better than everything I ended up voting for from any of the polls '86 & forward.
OTM x & xxpost
― now is the time to winterize your manscape (will), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:39 (fifteen years ago) link
Unironically, Peter Cetera. That song has been stuck in my head for months.
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:40 (fifteen years ago) link
...not to mention Falco, "Addicted to Love" , Boston coming correct, hell, even the Mr. Mister seems awesomne through the hazy gauze of nostalgia.
ha! was going to say the peter cetera & maybe greatest love of all would be the only ones I flip stations on
― now is the time to winterize your manscape (will), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:44 (fifteen years ago) link
I would
― now is the time to winterize your manscape (will), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:45 (fifteen years ago) link
I even harbor a soft spot in my heart for the breakdown in "Kyrie." "These Dreams" was my older sister's favorite song for like three months; she'd take one of the stereo speakers into the bathroom with her while she was getting ready for school. The semispoken bits have a kind of majesty in retrospect.
― Ye Mad Puffin, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:48 (fifteen years ago) link
The worst song on here is the Huey Lewis song, which is just okay compared to everything else running the gamut from good to essential.
― HI DERE, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:48 (fifteen years ago) link
Nah - Iceman would have punched Kelly McGillis in the mouth if she'd used "Take My Breath Away" as a "love theme."
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 14:51 (fifteen years ago) link
Synths sounded horrible at the time. Really, this was DX7 Hell. But still some nice songs.
― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 15:08 (fifteen years ago) link
I can totally do without "That's What Friends Are For" (despite the fine Wonderian harmonica work) "Amanda" (which seems a bit like Classic Rock's incongruous lone entry), "Sara," "Stuck With You," "Invisible Touch," "Next Time I Fall," "Glory of Love," and "You Give Love a Bad Name."
"Take My Breath Away," "Holding Back the Years," and "Live to Tell" all have kinda the same interminable ploddiness to my mind; I do not love these songs (apologies for dissenting from the LtT love).
The rest are good to great, as has been amply noted.
ER WAR SUPERSTARER WAR POPULAR
AMADEUS AMADEUS
― Ye Mad Puffin, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 16:03 (fifteen years ago) link
yes "kiss" will win of course, because nothing else in a fair-to-middling list gets close to its orbit.
― paper plans (tipsy mothra), Tuesday, February 3, 2009 1:29 AM Bookmark
― double bird strike (gabbneb), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 16:05 (fifteen years ago) link
voted PSB, but Falco comes second
^^^^^
Always hated "Sledgehammer" (video even more than the song). Candidates for third place:
Prince and the Revolution, "Kiss"Madonna, "Live to Tell"The Bangles, "Walk Like an Egyptian"
And maybe these, too:
Heart, "These Dreams"Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald, "On My Own"Billy Ocean, "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)"
Love Bananarama and love "Venus" (Shocking Blue version), but that cover always seemed pretty pointless to me.
― xhuxk, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 16:10 (fifteen years ago) link
AMANDA
― Joe, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 18:00 (fifteen years ago) link
PAPA DON'T PREACH
― De Pussyclot Dolls (The Brainwasher), Tuesday, 3 February 2009 18:01 (fifteen years ago) link
Pretty impossible. Eight year old me with my newly acquired boombox listening to 99.9 KISS FM all day long all summer long playing with my GI Joes and BMX bike. Those were the days. Lots of that 80's melancholy synth work in this list too. Yeah, I really can't pick.
― matt2, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 18:10 (fifteen years ago) link
Crap year overall, but that list makes the year look better. And I admit to underappreciating some of those at the time. And even utter dogshit like "Rock Me Amadeus" at least has the lol80's factor going for it. Ultimately it's between "Live To Tell" and "West End Girls"
Ummm...PSB take it.
― Myonga Vön Bontee, Tuesday, 3 February 2009 18:47 (fifteen years ago) link
US 86: 20/30UK 86: 8/18
― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Friday, 6 February 2009 16:20 (fifteen years ago) link
I rank the top ten!
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 9 March 2019 11:54 (five years ago) link
Oh! I love that Jermaine Stewart song.
― nicky lo-fi, Saturday, 9 March 2019 13:12 (five years ago) link
The production lets it down.
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 9 March 2019 13:14 (five years ago) link
Hmmm, I'd move "Throwing it all away" and "Human" to Meh, and "Typical male" to The Hague, making space for "Rumours", "Manic Monday" and "Word Up!" in Good To Great; "Nikita" can go to The Hague too, and we'll move You Give Love a Bad Name" and "If You Leave" out of there and up to Solid (maybe "Danger Zone" too). "Life in a Northern Town" and "The Rain" also decidedly not Meh but Solid.
I strongly agree with not including Bruce Hornsby & The Range at all, as it doesn't even deserve as much as a hearing at the ICC.
― dorsalstop, Saturday, 9 March 2019 16:06 (five years ago) link
YOU SENT ME TO THE HAGUEBUT YOUR MEM'RY I STILL PLAGUEAMANDA
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Saturday, 9 March 2019 16:09 (five years ago) link
"Typical Male" to The Hague? I love the bridge, Phil Collins' drumming, and Tina's ferocity.
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 9 March 2019 16:27 (five years ago) link
Oh man, another reason to hate Phil Collins.
― dorsalstop, Saturday, 9 March 2019 16:44 (five years ago) link
1986 is my favourite music year in history, for both nostalgic (it was the year I became a precocious, obsessive radio/Casey Kasem listener) and quantitative (there is just a ridiculous amount of music from that year that I adore) reasons. From the list of US #1s alone, these are some of my favourite songs ever:
Pet Shop Boys, "West End Girls"Prince and the Revolution, "Kiss"Madonna, "Papa Don't Preach"Madonna, "Live to Tell" Janet Jackson, "When I Think of You"The Human League, "Human"Genesis, "Invisible Touch"Whitney Houston, "How Will I Know"
and from Alfred's extended list:
Genesis – Throwing It All AwayThe Pretenders – Don’t Get Me WrongJanet Jackson – What Have You Done For Me LatelySly Fox – Let’s Go All the WayBelinda Carlisle – Mad About YouJanet Jackson – NastyPhil Collins – Take Me HomeThe Bangles – Manic MondayCameo – Word Up!Madonna – True BlueEl Debarge – Who’s JohnnyThe Dream Academy – Life in a Northern TownTimex Social Club – RumoursHoward Jones – No One is to BlameOrchestral Maneuvers in the Dark – If You Leave
If absolutely forced, I'm sure I could sustain on a playlist of just those songs for the rest of my life.
― Timothée Charalambides (cryptosicko), Saturday, 9 March 2019 17:08 (five years ago) link
The Billboard charts were insanely white in those days.
― Mr. Snrub, Saturday, 9 March 2019 17:14 (five years ago) link
Wow, what a year
― yuh yuh (morrisp), Saturday, 9 March 2019 17:27 (five years ago) link
xpost
I suspect that the further you go back in time, the whiter the charts look. I'll leave it to the Billboard obsessives to confirm or deny that, but I do remember Casey Kasem listing the top songs on the "Black" charts (along with Country, Easy Listening, etc) as a sidenote during each week's countdown.
― Timothée Charalambides (cryptosicko), Saturday, 9 March 2019 17:31 (five years ago) link
1981-1982 were particularly bad
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 9 March 2019 17:46 (five years ago) link
Mr. Mister, “Is It Meh or Sound, Solid Entertainment (It Actually Appears to be Both)”
― breastcrawl, Saturday, 9 March 2019 17:47 (five years ago) link
Updated, which gave me a chance to slot "The Way It Is."
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 9 March 2019 17:52 (five years ago) link
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 9 March 2019 16:27 (four hours ago) Permalink
“Typical Male” is my favorite song from Tina’s post-comeback era: great chorus, especially the synthy horn line (I love how it echoes the underrated '83 Kc and the Sunshine Band single “Give It Up”). There’s also the post-bridge chorus breakdown, where everything drops out except drums, staccato guitar, and that voice (the “WAAAAHHH” that drops in, sax or Tina?), then it rebuilds for a full-instrumentation chorus.
People on Spotify have graciously assembled the Billboard Top 100s from basically every year as playlists. Unfortunately, not all songs are on Spotify, meaning the user is faced with the choice of either leaving it out, or inserting a karaoke or cover version, which can totally derail the playtlist. In the 1986 list, the real “Sweet Freedom” was not available, so we get someone called “Done Again” covering the song, and oh yes – we get a bad Michael McDonald impersonation! I am totally throwing this on the mix for my next gathering, just to see if anyone goes “Dude…wait…that’s not actually… Mic-… seriously, what the FUCK IS THIS!?” https://open.spotify.com/user/12128872417/playlist/4rhgAIno9OiopUzNhOZDbc?si=AQovrMTcSCCISb8-nWUWpg
― Prefecture, Saturday, 9 March 2019 21:34 (five years ago) link
"I confess I'm a fool for a man/With a clever m-i-i-i-ind"
― Let's have sensible centrist armageddon (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 9 March 2019 23:00 (five years ago) link
Here's just the #1 songs.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 April 2021 02:36 (three years ago) link
Alfred, I need more detail around your hatred of True Colors. Maybe I was a couple of years too young, but I’m trying to imagine hating it.
― "The Pus/Worm" by The Smiths (hardcore dilettante), Sunday, 11 April 2021 03:01 (three years ago) link
hd, i just saw your true colors.
shining through.☺
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Sunday, 11 April 2021 15:29 (three years ago) link
I wouldn't personally say I hate it but 'True Colors' was a pretty tepid single in its context as a follow-up to her first monumental + iconic album (and even as a follow-up to a song about the gahdamn Goonies).
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Sunday, 11 April 2021 15:39 (three years ago) link
('Change of Heart' is much better.)
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Sunday, 11 April 2021 15:41 (three years ago) link
Puzzled that “sledgehammer” was a hit , just seems like a nothing song
― calstars, Sunday, 11 April 2021 16:13 (three years ago) link
lol over the past 2 or 3 years, after mildly admiring it since 1986, I've converted into thinking it's among the best 5 or 10 songs of the entire decade.
― Johnny Fever, Sunday, 11 April 2021 16:17 (three years ago) link
“sledgehammer” is great, the coda!!
― brimstead, Sunday, 11 April 2021 16:22 (three years ago) link
just about the only goofball Britsoul pastiche that works
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 April 2021 16:48 (three years ago) link
wouldn't personally say I hate it but 'True Colors' was a pretty tepid single in its context as a follow-up to her first monumental + iconic album (and even as a follow-up to a song about the gahdamn Goonies).
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch),
this
There’s just no groove to sledgehammer imho. Rhythm is just off
― calstars, Sunday, 11 April 2021 17:17 (three years ago) link
a Teddy Riley remix would’ve been sweet
― brimstead, Sunday, 11 April 2021 17:19 (three years ago) link
On board with most of Alfred's ratings except I love "Take My Breath Away" (come on, that synth bassline is everything!) and I'm sorry but Glory of Love is a great song. Sure, the production and Cetera's vocals are by the numbers but the songwriting is top notch.
― daavid, Sunday, 11 April 2021 17:21 (three years ago) link
The "Sledgehammer" video was huge, a mainstay of "Greatest Videos EVAH" countdowns.
― blue whales on ambient (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 11 April 2021 17:34 (three years ago) link
xpost Yeah, I read the list to my wife, and while she sentimentally bumped a couple of songs up a level, she sent that one straight to "good to great." I don't know about that, but I think it's better than the Hague. (My personal bump went to "Higher Love.")
Re: "Sledgehammer," a good comparison might be something like "Tempted" by Squeeze, which has the same relatively slow tempo (and maybe the exact same relatively slow tempo) but is a lot more of a groove. I think the drum take in "Sledgehammer" might have been a really early take, too, with the rest of the stuff mixed and matched from other takes and experiments, which might be why for such a "groove" song the drums themselves are kind of relatively sluggish (compared to the great horn chart, or the awesome bass).
The novel demo-evolution versions Gabriel released were pretty incredible. Like, listen to how "Sledgehammer" evolved. In its own way the most basic form at the start has a great groove and this real air of menace and melancholy that goes missing in the final form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJU_MLQc2fc
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 11 April 2021 17:36 (three years ago) link
I was only 14 at the time, but I already hated the way most records sounded this year, even if the songs were OK to good. Worst of all of these is probably "Stuck With You".
― Halfway there but for you, Sunday, 11 April 2021 17:53 (three years ago) link
“sledgehammer” ... among the best 5 or 10 songs of the entire decade.
Yup.
― avatar of a kind of respectability homosexual culture (Eric H.), Sunday, 11 April 2021 18:36 (three years ago) link
Bruce Hornsby and the Range – The Way It IsDionne and Friends – That’s What Friends Are ForPatti LaBelle and Michael McDonald – On My OwnHeart – These DreamsRobert Palmer – Addicted to Love
would upgrade all of these to "good to great" personally
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 11 April 2021 18:51 (three years ago) link
"these dreams" especially, crystalline perfection
I'd upgrade "These Dreams" today
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 11 April 2021 18:54 (three years ago) link
“Human” is my jam from 86, just slow it downnnnnn
― calstars, Sunday, 11 April 2021 18:59 (three years ago) link
I remember knowing that sledgehammer was number 1 for several weeks in a row and crossing a certain street in my hometown. ‘86!Still not a fan of the song though. Suspect the famous video (which I’ve never seen, thank god) is part of the reason this mess rose to the top.
― calstars, Sunday, 11 April 2021 19:08 (three years ago) link
wrong! #1 is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_UYYPb-Gk
― xzanfar, Sunday, 11 April 2021 19:52 (three years ago) link
Aerosaliva
― calstars, Sunday, 11 April 2021 20:10 (three years ago) link
4 calstars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gIO5wP6oyc
― brimstead, Sunday, 11 April 2021 23:15 (three years ago) link
It's a guilty pleasure
― The Rampaging Goats of Llandudno (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Sunday, 11 April 2021 23:24 (three years ago) link
4 calstars: 📹
― calstars, Sunday, 11 April 2021 23:47 (three years ago) link