Tuesday, March 21, 2006

#25-21

and we're back for more glorious 80s fun with numbers 25-21 of our countdown of the top 100 singles of the 1980s!

#25. LIAR LIAR - Debbie Harry
(James Donna)
Reprise single #27792 US
Released: 1988 US
Chart Position: #14 Modern Rock US

The music world can be a complete injustice, this excellant modern pop cover of a 1960s Castaways song should've been HUGE! Laced with modern guitar, Debbie's awesome vocal inflections, and reuiniting her with producer Mike Chapman, why this song didn't take off I'll never know! It didn't even crack the regular pop charts, yet I recall seeing the video on MTV quite a bit. Featured in the equally brilliant and overlooked film Married To The Mob, "Liar Liar" is a new wave cut up with Debbie even screaming in the middle while the synthesizer is up front and Debbie croons, "Liar Liar pants on fire/your nose is longer than a telephone wire..." "Best be leaving while I'm sad/ Been out all night I know you've been bad..." The video featured Debbie in a room full of mob bosses conducting a meeting by intimidating them with what's in her gun case. As it turns out she whips out not a shot gun but a giant sausage while the mob guys look on completely in awe and dancing around. Did I mention one of the mobsters is Grandpa Munster reprising his role from the film? What could've been.... Watch the video here!

#24. FUNKYTOWN - Lipps Inc.
(Steven Greensberg)
Casablanca single #2233 (US)/ #533 (UK)
Chart Debut:April 16, 1980 (US)/ May 17, 1980
Chart Position:#1 US/ #2 UK

Not really disco, not really electronica, not really pop - "Funkytown" transcended most models of popular music, creating instead a hybrid of just about everything available at the time. One of the most recognizeable songs of the ages, and my own list, this song was and still remains a rather huge hit. The very best way to hear all the greatness that flows through this song is to strap on a pair of headphones and turn up the volume. You will be amazed at all the layers in the instrumentation, not to mention the great vocal performance. The album that spawned the single Mouth To Mouth, was actually released in late 1979 after the band scored a record contract with Casablanca, but the song that got them their deal fizzled on the charts so in early 1980, this song was released as the second single and took the airwaves and discos by storm. Incidentally, the town the group is so intent on getting out of is Minneapolis, and after spending a few winters there myself I can completely understand. Watch a rare video of the song here.

#23. JOHNNY ARE YOU QUEER? - Josie Cotton
(Bobby & Larson Paine)
Bomp single #12133 / Elektra single #42755 (re-release)
Released: August 1981
Chart Position: #38 Dance Club Play US

Josie Cotton is one of the most brilliant things to ever come out of the new wave movement in the early 1980s. Just one listen to this song and everybody should be convinced that the girl had her Hammond organ on the right key for the time. Every song Josie did during the 80s should be considered new wave classics. The first time I was introduced to her debut single "Johnny Are You Queer?" was when my cousin Paula recited it to me. I thought she made the whole thing up until a few a while later when I saw one of the BEST movies of all time - Valley Girl. There on the screen in all her new wave glory was Josie performing at the prom. From that movie, the new wave sounds, and the whole Valley Girl movement I knew I had to move to LA - it took a few years and a few musical landscape changes but I finally made it here. "Johnny Are You Queer?" itself was I'm sure quite controversial at the time of its release and its probably no coincidence that the place it got the most play was at the dance clubs. Originally a song the Go Gos did live, Josie got the writers to produce the track for her and what was originally an angry punkish number about a woman whose boyfriend liked the boys better than her, turned into a poppy punchy little new wave number. And luckily for all of us we can all enjoy this song and all of Josie's music which finally got a CD release when the double album of Convertible Music/From The Hip was released by Collectibles Records. If you can find it, you buy it - it'll be one of the smartest purchases you've ever made. Josie also gives a great account of the song on her My Space page. I couldn't find any performance clips but here you can enjoy the song set to a number of still pix of Johnny Knoxville - if you're into that kind of thing.


#22. JESSIE'S GIRL - Rick Springfield (Rick Springfield)
RCA Records #12201 (US)/ #76 (UK)
Chart Debut: May 9, 1981 US
Chart Position: #1 US

Well here he is, my very first celebrity crush. How I loved Rick and his wife beater, his smashing the mirror when he can't get the girl since she belongs to his friend Jessie. This was what the rock of 1980s was all about, melodic layers with lyrics about unrequited love where even the hot guy didn't get the girl. I have a friend who would to this day gladly step in for Jessie's girl if she didn't want Rick, and who could blame her? To this day, just hearing that opening guitar riff makes me long for the days of early MTV and the hot boys of 80s rock. Watch the hottie in action here!

#21. XANADU - Olivia Newton-John & Electric Light Orchestra
(Jeff Lynne)
MCA Records single #41285 (US) / Jet #185 (UK)
Chart Debut: August 30, 1980 (US)/ June 21, 1980 (UK)
Chart Position: #8 US / #1 UK

I've established repeatedly my love for the Livvie and you just had to realize I wasn't about ignore the Xanadu soundtrack in my list. But even I was surprised at how much I really do enjoy this song. From what I've read and heard many people found the film Xanadu to be lacking something - perhaps a storyline, I'm not quite sure. But to me the film was a staple of my early childhood television viewing. We had Cinemax when I was little and I swear the only three movies they played were 9 To 5, Coal Miner's Daughter and Xanadu. Everytime I turned around there it was. But I'm not in any way complaining because I loved it. In fact, I recently went to a special 25th anniversary screening and saw it on the big screen, which in itself was something to sing about. The whole movie is basically a way to mesh old and new musical trends together in a brilliant 1980 way. This song is provided by the two bands who provide most of the work on the soundtrack, Electric Light Orchestra and our Olivia. It's the big moment at the end of the movie and it's the best song on the entire soundtrack. If only the single had the roller skating kids stomping and the chants, "Xanadu" this song would probably be in the top 10. Incidentally, I am going to argue that Madonna is a fan of Xanadu as in her new video for "Sorry" she is rollerskating in a giant circle with a group of Xanadu throw outs. If it isn't a homage to Xanadu then I'm just plain crazy... please don't respond to that... See some hot Xanadu action here!



so now we are on the edge of entering the top 20 - things can only get stranger from here on out for all those big hits of the 80s are probably unlikely to show up on a list created by me, so you will all be on the verge of neon paranoia as we enter the top 20 singles of the 1980s!

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

posted by swivek @ 8:54 AM

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home