And this one goes out to Mrs. Mendalla, who's in Italy on business:

;

Mendalla

What, no Chicago?  No Journey?  lol.  I made a CD for a friend  - a mix of 80's and some 90's ballads and titled it Confidential:  Songs you Know the Words to But Don't Admit it

I was never big on Journey, but here's Chicago:

I love the title you came up with. So much more imaginative than "80s greatest ballads" or whatever a record company would call it.

Mendalla

Mendalla …. The memories of listening to Air Supply are flooding back. The most prominent is the summer of 1981, I think – there was an Air Supply concert in Duluth Minnesota. I lived in Thunder Bay about 4 hours north. I was a big fan, as were some of my friends - so 5 or 6 of us drove down after work (got off early I recall) and went to the concert and then drove home. Got home about 3:30 am and got up and went to work in the morning. Ah those were the days, sappy love songs and being able to stay up most of the night.

Air supply is o.k. Journey, Chicago and R.E.O. Speedwagon are better. Poison, Bon Jovi, Def Lepard, Lita Ford, and Skidrow are the best.

I'd never argue that Air Supply is one of the best, only that I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I still enjoy their music and that they are better than their reputation would suggest.

As for best of the eighties? Of your list, I'd only include Def Leppard and maybe Bon Jovi. My list would be more like:

U2 (War, A Sort of Homecoming, and The Joshua Tree are three of my favorite albums of any era)

Leonard Cohen's eighties albums (Various Postions, I'm Your Man)

Peter Gabriel's run of self-titled albums and Us

Simple Minds

Genesis (at least until it degenerated into three solo acts trying to look like a band)

The eighties versions of Yes and the Moody Blues

Eighties AC/DC (Brian Johnson joined in 1980 and released Back in Black, one of their finest albums)

Mendalla

And, since I do want this to be a music thread as much as a discussion about music, here's what may be my favorite song of the 80s:

Mendalla

And a classic from Down Under:

Mendalla

 Ah yes, AC/DC  with  Brian Johnson. I think my favorite U2 album is Rattle and Hum.  As for Air Supply, it definitely lands on the TORMENT side of things.  Even when I was in high school and they were hot, I wasn't a fan.  

 PS I LOVE Journey.   Steve Perry's vocals are great.

Well trishcuit, if I meet you at the Five Oaks picnic, I'll make sure I bring along my copy of "Lost in Love". 

But, you have restored international relations by being a fan of "acker dacker" (ac/dc). 

lol!  "I'm All Out of Love" was the first song I learned on the guitar.  

A lot of 80s music has really stood the test of time.  There are SO many covers of 80s songs that my daughter and her friends listen to.  She looks at me cross-eyed when I sing along.  (so embarrassing!)

My school's graduating class is currently voting for "their" song.  Believe it or not, one of the final 3 is "Don't Stop Believing" .  I mean, come on kids, it's 2010 -  get your own music! sheesh.

Randy Bachman just played Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven is a Place on Earth" on Vinyl Tap. It's a great eighties tune that sits on the uneasy fence between pop and rock:

And that is her real life husband who appears in the romantic bits near the end. Morgan Mason, son of the great English actor James Mason.

Mendalla

And the classic REO - not my favourite necessarily, although I love it, but I suspect it is the most well known.

Oh I wish I could just hit play and watch them all. Currently loading the first video. My old best friend used to like Air Supply, that was the mid-late 80's, I was indifferent myself, if anything thinking it was our parents' music.

I like to throw on my Chartbreakers tape or my Blast Off and Countdown records from time to time, both from 1982, some of my first albums ever. They remind me of being a kid, back when my favorite song was Joan Jett's I Love Rock n'Roll. What a rebel she was! "Put another dime in the jukebox baybeh!"

I liked Chilliwack, the Headpins, Blondie, Pat Bennatar, the Payolas, Queen, Alan Parsons Project, the Pretenders, Steve Miller Band, J. Geils Band, Flock of Seagulls, Human League and Gary Numan (though I didn't know their names yet), remember: Keep Feeling Fascination? 

and Cars? 

 Awesome stuff!

I got into U2 in 87 or 88. I have a particularily fond memory based in Pride. My fave U2 album is the Unforgettable Fire, probly because of Brian Eno's influence.

 David Bowie put out some stuff in the 80's that stood the test of time. He's just so funky and original that you can't place his sound to a certain decade very easily.

Belinda Carlisle's great, at least her three hits I remember were: the Cream cover "I Feel Free", that one, and Circle in the Sand.

Oooo, I love Let's Dance and Modern Love and China Girl! Add him to my list too!

Let's not forget "Mad About You", another great, exuberant love song in same vein as "Heaven is a place on Earth":

Mendalla

Hey, I liked "China GIrl" so much, I married one .

Mendalla

I was trolling youtube last night and watching really old Wham! videos.

George Michael.

Smokin hot.

incredibly talented.

Clearly NOT interested in women sexually.

Sigh...

Good thing I was clueless back then

But if KD Lang were to come callin at my door...

Ew! Ew! KD Lang is so gross! George Michael is awesome though. I love his Listen Without Predudice album, and Father Figure. He's an absolutely fabulous singer.

Big smiles Mendalla! I bet that song has alot of meaning to you. I love the lines:

"I'll give you television,

I'll give you eyes of blue,

I'll give you man 'o' wars to rule the world!"

(at least I always thought it was man 'o' wars, because they are a jellyfish that to posess means power and status in Asian culture, am I right?)

And the lione "visions of swastikas in my head" like he's afraid what he would do. Great song. Brilliant, brilliant dude. I love him in Labyrinth too!

Yeah, Mad About You. She gave me the first idea of Heaven as a thing you feel, not some phoney thing. I really apreciate that. I remember feelings of rebellion starting in me, to Circle in the Sand and I Feel Free. I was 14. I thought she was the most beautiful woman on earth.

VH1 will sometimes do hour and a half blocks of Awesome 80's and sometimes I'll have it on while I'm at the computer. Incidentally the tv. is in the living room and the computer is in what was meant to be a bedroom we use for the computer and storage. Anyway it was on when my wife got up. "Africa" by Toto was playing and like I often do I was singing along a bit. Then I heard her singing too. I got quiet so I could listen to her. That was so cool, singing to the same song. I posted that on facebook and she was sort of embarrassed and sort of touched.

Btw, when I really sing along it amuses her so much. I can't sing for anything, but I like it.

Mendalla wrote:

Hey, I liked "China GIrl" so much, I married one .

Was the song called "China Girl"? I knew I hadn't heard those lyrics correctly. I up and married a Korean girl. O well, next time.

The love song of my Yobo and I is also from the 80s...

lol - love this thread!!  I read part of this thread last night and went off to be singing "I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you...!" 

ACDC is cool too.  My kids like them!!

At least you didn't rickroll the thread (hidden a Rick Astley video under a link that claimed to be something else).

Mendalla

well, this is the most my sweetie has paid attention to the cafe, but it was to mostly groan in AGONY over REO speedwagon & Air Supply.  He submits this for all of you:

In particular he LOVED that ACDC made it on the list 2 times. 

Birthstone wrote:

well, this is the most my sweetie has paid attention to the cafe, but it was to mostly groan in AGONY over REO speedwagon & Air Supply.  He submits this for all of you:

  Please someone turn this into a video link for me :)

 

In particular he LOVED that ACDC made it on the list 2 times. 

Cool list (so far, haven't watched it all the way through).

For some bizarre reason, I keep thinking that Harrison's Cloud Nine came out in the 90s so I was surprised to see it on the list. It reminds me, however, of a couple other favorites of mine from the end of the decade (which I'll put into the next post).

Mendalla

Traveling Wilbury's, "Handle With Care". A supergroup like this could have been a mess. Instead, it was pure genius.

And, speaking of the Wilburys, Roy Orbison was set to end the eighties on a high note, back on the charts and in the public eye in a big way both on his own and with the Travelling Wilburys. On Dec. 6, 1988, he passed away all too soon. However, he left behind a wonderful last album that included supporting contributions from many of the other Wilburys. Here he is, with "Anything You Want", the first single off the album "Mystery Girl" 

 Mendalla

Here's one of my all time favorite videos. Talk Talk: Life's What You Make It.

(sorry, no embed code)

Elanorgold wrote:

Here's one of my all time favorite videos. Talk Talk: Life's What You Make It.

(sorry, no embed code)

 

Wow. I really liked that one back in the day but haven't seen or heard it in years.

Mendalla

Elanorgold wrote:

Here's one of my all time favorite videos. Talk Talk: Life's What You Make It.

(sorry, no embed code)

 

And their "It's my Life" is pretty good too.

I'll add myself to the list of having an asian wife along with Mendella and Jae, mine's filipino! 

I'd rather dig back in my nostalgia to the 70's, better talent! real talent! that put thought and lyrics together brilliantly! air supply was ok, the same for april wine etc. 

I hated the Big boofy hair days of the 80's or that big swirl of blonde hair that came down over half of the guys face with his extra large depeche mode black T-shirt on.

Raw talent of rock was what I remembered like Hendricks, jim Morrison, even bands like Stones and Guess Who of course, problem was they were always stoned or drunk too much but damn they could play! 

I listen to the new Vinyl 95.3 in the background, and hear most of the songs mentioned almost every  day. Except ac/dc but I was never a fan of them. Its the oldies that sound better to me! they speak more to me. But they make you reminesque in the past.

Earth, wind and fire still some cool beats! America, stampeders(wild eyes) Boston, and love hearing that Sugarloaf tune Green eyed lady! unbelievable cool. 

Nowadays Im starting to like my sons classical music ABC video.

Favourite songs are-  Carry on Wayward son- Kansas (wicked tune by Kerry Lifken, who became a christian BTW)

Don't fear the reaper- Blue oyster

Let it ride- BTO

Thanks Jae, Yeah that's their other best song. I'd not seen that video or heard that remix before. Love the flying band!

 I love "Don't Fear the Reaper".  Due to the nature of the song, I don't admit it to fellow Christians a whole lot.  I also really like "Burning for You".

I just saw Lady Gaga's latest video "Alejandro" last night (it was the subject of a thread on my other regular board). I won't post a link here since it's pretty racy but you can go to Youtube and search for it. However, her singing in it is just so Madonna, not to mention the video itself is very reminiscent of the Material Girl. Funny that Madonna who was the bleeding edge in the eighties is now something of grande dame influencing up and comers like Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. Never been  a huge Madonna fan, even back in the day, but do admire the way she's stage-managed her career over the years.

Mendalla

I wish I had a link but one of the best Saturday Night Live skits was a "behind the music" making of "Don't feat the Reaper". It's hilarious.

"I need more cow bell !"

I love Don't Fear the Reaper too.

Yeah Madonna's quite the businesswoman. I've checked out Lady Gaga before and don't care to again. My favorite Madonna songs are Live to Tell, Oh Father, and La Isla Bonnita. Papa Don't Preach is a great one too. I have one Madonna tape I play somewhat rarely, but do love those songs. I don't care for the racey stuff. I like it when she's being honest with herself. She's got guts. And yeah, Rita Hayworth is glamorous and gorgeous, she did indeed give good face. Yeah I can get into the groove.

 In my  clubbing days, "Vogue" was the big Madonna tune.  I still get flashbacks of clubbing when I hear that song.  Good times....

I can only imagine. My clubbing days started with Pet Shop Boys and New Order and finished with techno and trance.

 My clubbing days were relatively brief.  The summer of '91 was the pinnnacle and it was all downhill from there.  

My first taste of it was in '89 when I was 15 in Germany, Berlin to be precise. And we were staying at a hostel, my school friends, host kids and I, and we were allowed to hit the town, chapperoned. We were given get in free tickets to the Discoteques cause we were girls. Had my first tequila, and danced to those pre techno dance tunes. Great memory. While others were getting down to house in Chicago and Manchester, little me was having her first taste of the lights and beats in a fairly safe environment.

Skip a few years... I didn't club again til I was 19, and my friend decided we should go. I then clubbed for 1 1/2 years or so... I ate, slept and breathed techno. It wasn't very healthy! It's a good thing I was clean and sober by then though or it could have been a real mess! Really glad I did it though. Glad I was a part of that. Great memories.

 If one can remain clean and sober it's great exercise.

That it was! Meditative, and calorie burning.

BUMP

I'm bumping the eighties music thread I started last year in celebration of Footloose. My son just saw a local production of the stage musical adapted from the original movie and the remake is due out in two weeks and his class is going to see it as well (part of their drama and dance program).

Here are four eighties hits that all originated on the soundtrack of the original 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, Dianne Wiest, and John Lithgow.

Mendalla