Many other stereotypical 1980s songs might make my all-time top 500, some of which are clearly better than these, but these were what I thought of first.
A Flock of Seagulls - "I Ran": Even Grand Theft Auto can't ruin this. Maybe I should be glad that GTA introduced this song to a new generation.
Big Country - "In A Big Country": No relation to Bryant Reeves, whom Dick Vitale pegged as a "diaper dandy" his freshman year at Oklahoma State, who in turn is no relation to former Vitale "diaper dandy" LSU freshman Shaquille O'Neal from long before the truncated nickname.
The Psychadelic Furs - "Pretty in Pink": These first three all sort of sound alike but so be it.
Cyndi Lauper - "She Bop": I bop, you bop, he bops, we bop, they bop... you get the idea. Definitely a regular verb, song title nonwithstanding.
Van Halen - "Jump": So the one time I went to a Van Halen concert (in the extremely short-lived Gary Cherone era; one of the few platforms to unite Dave people and Sammy people was common hatred of Cherone) featured the least surprising encore ever.
(Not that I've been to a ton of concerts in my life, but still. Eric Clapton - no way of knowing unless/until you were keeping track and realized he hadn't done either "Cocaine" or "Sunshine of Your Love" yet. Veruca Salt - I saw them right after American Thighs came out. That tripleheader with Great White (long before they killed 100 Rhode Islanders), Tesla, and Ted Nugent? Couldn't tell you Nugent's finale but I do know Tesla never played "Love Song." But yeah, Van Halen... there's only one song with which Van Halen could possibly end a concert.)
Posted by Matt Bruce at April 4, 2005 01:54 PMI like the (quasi-)contextual grouping, they make these not only easier to rank but result in more meaningful rankings. The relative ranking of I Will Remember You and I Ran (So Far Away) would have more to do with my feelings on Power Ballads versus that proto-typical style of 80's pop and not even invoking the question of how effective/interesting these particular incarnations are.
This comparative approach ignores various unclassifiable and/or transcendent evocations of mixed genres... but then again so has Matt.
1. Van Halen, "Jump" - At first I put the Furs here... but even though there are better VH songs, and better VH songs from the Roth era, and VH songs from 1984... this still ain't bad. The outro solo is the best part.
2. The Psychedelic Furs, "Pretty In Pink" - A much better song than any of the following.
3. A Flock of Seagulls, "I Ran (So Far Away)" - Ranked over Byrant Reeves wholly due to Jules.
4. Big Country, "In A Big Country" - Ahh, Bryant Reeves.
5. Cyndi Lauper, "She Bop" - This song would be better if it had a professional wrestler in the video.
Rhapsody is now 23/25... yes, 6/5 this time (they added Tonight, Tonight [and much of the rest of the S'Pumpkins catalog] since my last ranking.)
Posted by: John at April 9, 2005 06:39 PMWhen I wrote "I Will Remember You" I was thinking of "I Remember You"... and/or possibly "I Will Be There For You." I deny that it was any of the other possible choices I've come across trying to decipher that bit of nonsense.
Posted by: John at April 9, 2005 07:26 PM