Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Totally OT - Top 100 Songs Meme

Okay, I wasn't tagged, but I must respond to the Top 100 songs of your senior year meme. Yes, this is total procrastination on my part. Being the science-minded woman I am, I feel the need to analyze the data instead of merely listing the songs in numerical order and stating my opinions. So, here goes. Songs I loved are in red. Songs I liked are in blue. The stinkers (my dislikes) are in green. Finally, songs I needed to look for in iTunes because I didn't know or remember them are in orange.

Thriller was the big album in 1983. Need I say more about one of the names topping the list? And yes, I do own a vinyl copy. It's in my attic somewhere, getting destroyed by VA heat and humidity. Here's a list of all the Michael Jackson songs in the top 100. The only song I liked was Beat It.
2. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson 

5. Beat It, Michael Jackson 

49. The Girl Is Mine, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney 


68. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Michael Jackson

89. Human Nature, Michael Jackson 

Flashdance was hot at the theatres, and so was the music from the soundtrack. I liked both of these songs.
3. Flashdance... What A Feelin, Irene Cara 

9. Maniac, Michael Sembello 

Competition for the 1983 Grammy for Best New Artist was fierce, with Asia, Jennifer Holliday, Human League, Men at Work and Stray Cats as nominees. The winner had the most hits in the top 100. While I liked Down Under, I LOVED Stray Cat Strut and Don't Cry.
4. Down Under, Men At Work 

33. (Keep Feeling) Fascination, Human League 

42. Stray Cat Strut, Stray Cats 

54. Overkill, Men At Work 

76. It's A Mistake, Men At Work 

84. (She's) Sexy + 17, Stray Cats 

98. Don't Cry, Asia 

I went to one concert in 1983. Billy Joel sang two of the songs from this list, and I loved them both.
43. Allentown, Billy Joel 

45. Tell Her About It, Billy Joel
While 1983 had it's share of sappy love songs, it also had a collection of wacky, techno, weird and funky songs. Here are a few I liked.
18. Let's Dance, David Bowie 

19. Twilight Zone, Golden Earring 

22. Electric Avenue, Eddy Grant 

23. She Blinded Me With Science, Thomas Dolby 

30. Der Kommissar, After The Fire 

31. Puttin' On The Ritz, Taco 

51. Goody Two Shoes, Adam Ant 

52. Rock The Casbah, Clash 

63. Come Dancing, Kinks 

64. Promises, Promises, Naked Eyes 

The number one song of 1983, and the others on my LOVE list are ones I still listen to and sing along with, loudly, whenever possible.
1. Every Breath You Take, Police 

10. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), Eurythmics 

25. Little Red Corvette, Prince 

26. Back On The Chain Gang, Pretenders 

41. 1999, Prince 

46. Always Somethmg There To Remind Me, Naked Eyes 

48. Dirty Laundry, Don Henley 

53. Our House, Madness 

56. Gloria, Laura Branigan 

58. She's A Beauty, Tubes 

71. Straight From The Heart, Bryan Adams 

74. I'm Still Standing, Elton John 

79. Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy, Sammy Hagar 

82. Steppin' Out, Joe Jackson 

87. Lawyers In Love, Jackson Browne
97. You Got Lucky, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers 

The stinkers on my list are pretty bad. Even though I didn't love or even like these songs, I'm sure I danced or skated to them, and since I sang/sing all the time, I know the words to many of them. YIKES! I even find myself singing along in the grocery store these days when I hear them. How embarrassing is that?! (Especially when we're talking about Air Supply or Spandau Ballet!)
6. Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Bonnie Tyler 

7. Maneater, Daryl Hall and John Oates 

8. Baby Come To Me, Patti Austin and James Ingram 

11. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, Culture Club 

12. You And I, Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle 

13. Come On Eileen, Dexy's Midnight Runners 

14. Shame On The Moon, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band 

15. She Works Hard For The Money, Donna Summer 

16. Never Gonna Let You Go, Sergio Mendes 

17. Hungry Like The Wolf, Duran Duran 

21. Jeopardy, Greg Kihn Band 

24. Africa, Toto 

27. Up Where We Belong, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes 

28. Mr. Roboto, Styx 

29. You Are, Lionel Richie 

32. Sexual Healing, Marvin Gaye 

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, Journey 

39. One On One, Daryl Hall and John Oates 

40. We've Got Tonight, Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton

44. Stand Back, Stevie Nicks 

47. Truly, Lionel Richie 

50. Too Shy, Kajagoogoo 

55. Is There Something I Should Know, Duran Duran 

57. Affair Of The Heart, Rick Springfield 

59. Solitaire, Laura Branigan 

60. Don't Let It End, Styx

61. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You, Laura Branigan 

62. China Girl, David Bowie
65. The Other Guy, Little River Band 

66. Making Love Out Of Nothing At All, Air Supply 

67. Family Man, Daryl Hall and John Oates 

69. I Won't Hold You Back, Toto 

70. All Right, Christopher Cross 

72. Heart To Heart, Kenny Loggins 

73. My Love, Lionel Richie 

75. Hot Girls In Love, Loverboy 

77. I'll Tumble 4 Ya, Culture Club 

80. Heartbreaker, Dionne Warwick

81. Faithfully, Journey 

83. Take Me To Heart, Quarterflash 

88. What About Me, Moving Pictures 

90. Photograph, Def Leppard 

91. Pass The Dutchie, Musical Youth 

92. True, Spandau Ballet 

94. I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart, Eric Clapton 

95. It Might Be You, Stephen Bishop 

96. Tonight I Celebrate My Love, Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack 

99. Breaking Us In Two, Joe Jackson 

100. Fall In Love With Me, Earth, Wind and Fire
Say what? I don't remember these at all! Even a little snippet from iTunes didn't help.
20. I Know There's Something Going On, Frida

78. All This Love, Debarge 

85. Try Again, Champaign 

86. Dead Giveaway, Shalamar 

93. Far From Over, Frank Stallone 

Okay, that was fun. I'm not tagging anyone, but if you want to play, get your list here. Just change the date and you'll be in business.

3 comments:

  1. I hate tagging, so I"m glad you tagged yourself, Tricia. You're always tagged in my book anyway.

    Wow! The 1983 list is so much more awesome than 1985. I mean, Little Red Corvette. Can anything get better than that song? And I'm still standing is one of Elton's very best songs. Seriously, I like half these songs. The Clash was my favorite band in that era--but I agree, Rock the Casbah is a seriously weird song.

    Also, saw Billy Joel. My sister and I flipped for it. I lost (I wanted Fleetwood Mac).

    Great analysis, Tricia!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow -- you're down on Eddie Rabbitt and Styx? There's just no pleasing you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Chris!
    Actually, I do like some stuff by Styx, but Mr Roboto is not on that list. And as for Mr. Rabbit--nope. I tried, but he just didn't do it for me. I like Kenny Loggins, Stevie Nicks, and Loverboy, but the 83 songs didn't work for me. When I looked at the lists for 82 and 84, I liked many more songs. Isn't that always the way?

    ReplyDelete