MY 80'S ROCK PLAYLIST

I ALSO have a playlist of some of the best rock and new wave singles of the 80's. Hit shuffle and groove. Special thanks go to Google and Spotify. Let's geritonnn!...

• "Africa" (1982)/Toto. Dizzying keyboards and startling vocal calisthenics. 
• "Bizarre Love Triangle" (1986)/New Order. Discofied indie; the extended version is muy bien.  
• "8675309/Jenny" (1981)/Tommy Tutone. Overlooked and was later released locally after twenty or so years.
• "This Charming Man" (1985)/The Smiths. Poet Morrissey with consummate guitarist Johnny Marr. 
• "Jump" (1984)/Van Halen. Need I say more? We all know this one. 
• "Waiting for a Star to Fall" (1988)/Boy Meets Girl. Studio wizardry of George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam in full regalia. 
• "Just Like Heaven" (1987)/The Cure. Icon Robert Smith is also a guitarist.
• "Rosanna" (1982)/Toto. Epochal.
• "Jack and Diane" (1982)/John Cougar Mellencamp. American heartland music. 
• "Higher Love" (1986)/Steve Winwood. Another inspiring vocalist; with Chaka Khan on backing vocals. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• "Should I Stay or Should I Go" (1982)/The Clash. Joe Strummer with his post-punk posturings.
• "Foolish Heart" (1984)/Steve Perry. Call it a cheesy choice but singles are supposed to have catchy hooks.
• "White Wedding" (1982)/Billy Idol. Spilling-his-guts-out singing.
• "Duel/Jewel" (1985)/Propaganda. Check out the swirling electronic ad lib.
• "Let's Dance" (1983)/David Bowie(+). Another synth-fueled cut, as in most of the 80's outputs; distinctive dance grooves.
• "The Safety Dance" (1982)/Men Without Hats. Canadian group with lead singer Ivan Doroschuk.
• "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (1983)/The Police. From the trio's authoritative Synchronicity album.
• "Come on Eileen" (1982)/Dexys Midnight Runners. English pop/soul band.
• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (1985)/Tears for Fears. Roland Orzabal's hymn for domination; incessant guitar solo, too.
• "I Ran" (1982)/A Flock of Seagulls. Could be a conspicuous throwback promo for the latest sneakers; one of the earliest new wave (mod, electronic, dance) entries.
  
  
  
  
  
• "Kyrie" (1985)/Mr. Mister. Ecclesial community rock music.
• "Rock the Casbah" (1982)/The Clash. The North African fortress didn't shake one bit.
• "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (1984)/U2. The Edge still remains indomitable.
• "99 Luftballons" (1983)/Nena. It's time to party -- German style.
• "Beat It" (1982)/Michael Jackson. Eddie Van Halen's luscious guitar licks sum it all up.
• ''Fast Car" (1988)/Tracy Chapman. A rare folk number from a surprising black act; I play this one on my guitar.
• "Tenderness" (1984)/General Public. Alt/Indie dance track.
• "Don't Dream It's Over" (1986)/Crowded House. The staccato guitar intro is reason enough to incorporate this one.
• "When Doves Cry" (1984)/Prince(+). Listen to his shortness' orgasmic fowl howl.                                                                                                                                                                          
  
  
• "Fight for Your Right" (1986)/The Beastie Boys. "Your mom threw away your best porno mag.''
• "It's My Life" (1984)/Talk Talk. New wave's superlative entry; check out the extended version.
• "Time After Time" (1983)/Cyndi Lauper. With her around...who needs Madonna?
• "Original Sin" (1984)/INXS. Australian dance-rock band led by vocalist Michael Hutchence(+).
• "More to Lose" (1983)/Seona Dancing.  Another one of those infinite hits.
• "Walk of Life" (1985)/Dire Straits. An uplifting organ-based country song care of guitar god Mark Knopfler. 
• "Simply Irresistible" (1988)/Robert Palmer(+). The entrancing video featured supermodels cavorting with Robert. 
• "Golden Boy" (1989)/Ethnic Faces. Lead singer Jack Sikat's claim to fame (thanks to 80's indie radio station XB): "Native suns arising/Concrete walls are fallin' "; can't forget the nail on the coffin's direct hit: "Ang tatay mong kalbo." (Your bald father.) 
• "Slave to Love" (1985)/Bryan Ferry. Alt/Indie entry from the dapper-dresser and leader of Roxy Music. 
  
• "True Colors" (1986)/Cyndi Lauper. For the depressed and down-trodden: "If this world makes you crazy/And you've taken all you can bear/You call me up/Because you know I'll be there"; a song that reaches out to everyone through time. 
• "Hearts" (1981)/Marty Balin. Jefferson Starship alumnus; perfect for the love month. 
• "Woman in Chains" (1989)/Tears for Fears. With Oleta Adams on vocals and Phil Collins on drums. 
• "Salamat" (1989)/The Dawn. The new wave group kept the barely breathing rock OPM alive (except for the flourishing punk scene) in the 80's; originally written for the SMB ad -- "Salamat, tayo'y nagkasamang muli..." 
• "Centerfold" (1981)/The J. Geils Band. From their breakthrough Freeze Frame LP; might have influenced Ely Buendia's "Magasin." Don't you agree? 
• "Tainted Love" (1981)/Soft Cell. Synth-pop techno from the English duo's Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret LP; one of the earliest new wave songs. 
• "Be My Number Two" (1984)/Joe Jackson. The riveting sax and violin duet on the extro is transfixing, to say the least. 
• "Everytime You Go Away" (1985)/Paul Young. Nominated for Grammy Song of the Year; written by Daryl Hall and Ovation Spanish acoustic guitar by John Turnbull; one-hit wonder guy. 
• "The Way It Is" (1986)/Bruce Hornsby & the Range. Perfect mixture of soul, jazz, country and folk rock for road tripping; about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting racial discrimination. 
• "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" (1988)/The Proclaimers. A Celtic rock upbeat dirge from the Scottish duo. 
• "Golden Brown" (1981)/The Stranglers. A Baroque pop song used as the main theme from the Aussie film He Died with a Falafel in His Hand. A falafel is a pancake filled with fried peas, onions and spices. Hmm...tipong masarap (it seems tasty). 
• "Two Solitudes" (1987)/Level 42. Exemplary bassist Mark King on vocals; "I saw the longing in your eyes/But I failed to see the anguish you so cleverly disguised."  
• "Our House" (1982)/Madness. From the highly-skilled English ska specialists; "Father wears his Sunday best." 
• "My Ever Changing Moods" (1984)/The Style Council. Soulman Paul Weller croons a low murmuring sound: "The cool before the warm/The calm after the storm." Soothing vocals. 
• "Free Fallin' " (1989)/Tom Petty(+). Nominated for Grammy Best Male Rock Vocal Performance; supergroup Traveling Wilburys member.     
  
  
  
• "Turning Japanese" (1980)/The Vapors. What the frock? East meets West; the ubiquitous Oriental sequence of notes is hard to be ignored.
• "Under the Milky Way" (1988)/The Church. Alt/Indie track from the Australian band released in both 7- and 12-inch vinyl formats by Arista. 
• "While You See a Chance" (1980)/Steve Winwood. An adult contemporary entry from my fave veteran English rocker off the LP Arc of a Diver. 
• "In a Big Country" (1983)/Big Country. The distinctive riff reminds us of Scottish bagpipes; a recent heartbreaking news: 43-year-old leader Stuart Adamson(+) (guitarist/singer) was found dead in a Hawaii hotel room. 
• "Turn Back the Clock" (1987)/Johnny Hates Jazz. Sophisti-pop from the group's vocalist/keyboardist/guitarist Clark Datchler; may be another cheesy number but I still adore it. 
• "Only the Lonely" (1982)/The Motels. Written and sang by Martha Davis; "We walked the loneliest mile/We smiled without any style"; notice should be given to the freaking drum entrance; my wife 😍 loves this. 
• "Dancing with Myself" (1982)/Billy Idol. This is not about self-gratification. Billy explains: "The song really is about people being in a disenfranchised world where they're left bereft, dancing with their own reflections." Whatever that means... 
• "Drive" (1984)/The Cars. The group's biggest new wave/post-punk, new romantic hit; perfect for...you guessed it...driving! Another 80's synth-propelled single.
• "Human" (1986)/Human League. Tackles infidelity (obvious ba?) and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis -- noted songwriters/producers of Janet Jackson and other big-name acts. 
• "Middle of the Road" (1983)/The Pretenders. Punk rocker Chrissie Hynde explains the divergence between wealth and poverty through this one; the angsty guitar ad lib is simply mind-boggling; Chrissie plays harmonica here.
   

  
• "Luka" (1987)/Suzanne Vega. Her highest-charting single about child abuse; the multi-layered guitar overdubs provide a thick (just like my face) wall of sound ala Boston's "More Than a Feeling." 
• "The Ghost in You" (1984)/The Psychedelic Furs. Lead singer Richard Butler opens with "A man in my shoes run a light/And all the papers lied tonight." 
• "Master Blaster (Jammin')" (1980)/Stevie Wonder. Bob Marley-inspired song from the king: "Peace has come to Zimbabwe." 
• "Purple Rain" (1984)/Prince & the Revolution. He died in 2016 from accidental drug overdose; from his biopic of the same title. 
• "Orinoco Flow" (1988)/Enya. The 1,300 miles long Orinoco River flows across South America and spanning some parts of Venezuela, Colombia and Brazil; a new age/jazzy entry from the Irish lady. 
• "Money for Nothing" (1985)/Dire Straits. Nominated for Grammy Record of the Year that features Sting on back-up vocals; about incongruous bands raking lots of moolah for nothing. Mother rockers! 
• "King of Pain" (1983)/The Police. From the multi-platinum Synchronicity LP...arguably their finest; "There's a little black spot on the sun today." 
• "Tempted" (1981)/Squeeze. Featuring experienced English vocalist Paul Carrack (of Ace and Mike & the Mechanics) and co-produced by Elvis Costello. 
• "Appetite" (1985)/Prefab Sprout. Can also be classified as an adult contemporary cut; just like what Mr. C. likes.
• "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" (1984)/The Smiths. Refers to Caligula, the Roman emperor known for his tempestuous relationships with his sisters; the most important band to emerge from the 80's indie scene, the critics intoned; Johnny Marr remains as the most underrated guitarist of all-time.
  

   
• "Whip It" (1980)/Devo. Early new wave/synth-pop cut about whipping (as the title suggests) and sado-masochism. 
• "Mandolin Rain" (1986)/Bruce Hornsby & the Range. Used in the 2009 movie World's Greatest Dad starring Robin Williams(+); prairie music. 
• "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" (1986)/Iggy Pop. Better known as James Newell Osterberg Jr., Iggy is also called the "Godfather of Punk." 
• "Under Pressure" (1981)/Queen feat. David Bowie. "It's the terror of knowing what the world is about"; the thumping bass line says it all. 
• "Fragile" (1987)/Sting. Predominantly ballad-heavy music from the former school teacher; "If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one/Drying in the color of the evening sun." Prose from the literary man. 
• "Life in a Northern Town" (1985)/The Dream Academy. Baroque pop produced by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. "He said in winter 1963/It felt like the world would freeze/With John F. Kennedy and the Beatles"; instantly appealing chorus. 
• "Sledgehammer" (1986)/Peter Gabriel. Check out the hilarious video that parades animated dancing dressed chickens for this funky number; Peter was a former member of Genesis where Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford (Mike & the Mechanics) started.
• "Burning Down the House" (1983)/Talking Heads. "The song started from a jam," says bassist Tina Weymouth.
• "Relax" (1984)/Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Members Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford's open homosexuality prompted media to keenly look at this song about orgasm. Sons of leeches! 
• "Jessie's Girl" (1981)/Rick Springfield. Australian actor/singer/guitarist won a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for this; he could have had a sterling career in rock music had he persisted. 
• "When Love Breaks Down" (1985)/Prefab Sprout. An apt ode to close this playlist from the English seminal rock band off their Steve McQueen LP.