HS music meme
From collisionwork comes a meme that allows me opportunities at personal nostalgia and dissection of 80s pop music. Pinch me!
The rules:
Go to this convenient compilation site right here http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php and find the five years you were in high school. For each year, admit to the song that was your favorite at the time, then decide which one you now generally consider to be the best song on the list. Lastly, pick the year's worst song, snarking optional. collisionwork gave a personal context for each year, and I will do the same. He also often listed more than one favorite in each category: I too will do the same.
1985:
Transferred to Yorktown High School. I didn't know anyone and, being a pissy 14-year-old, was not interested in making friends. Oddly, despite my sullen punkish demeanor I was still listening to top-40 radio at this time. Punk would come later.
FAVORITE (at time): Fortress Around Your Heart » Sting (my first honest-to-goodness rock show); Be Near Me » ABC (Martin Fry makes everyone swoon); Strut » Sheena Easton (to my teenaged ears, this song sounded like sex); The Boys Of Summer » Don Henley (it haunted me then...)
FAVORITE (now): Some Like It Hot » Power Station (loved it then, but Palmer's voice, Thompson's drumming, and Edwards' production still punch even now); Nightshift » Commodores (I was too young to appreciate its considerable mood); The Boys Of Summer » Don Henley (...and it haunts me now)
WORST (from current perspective): Oh Sheila » Ready For The World (consensus of my 14- and 36- year old selves)
1986:
Started loosening up, busting out of my shell
FAVORITE (at time): Sledgehammer » Peter Gabriel (broke down all my walls); Let's Go All The Way » Sly Fox (CHOM-CHOM-ZINGI-ZINGI); Perfect Way » Scritti Politti (fuck, yes - Green's avant pop crooning and arrangements brought to the earth and the street by Gamson and Maher - this paved the way to New York, in some ways); Election Day » Arcadia (also pointed to my musical future, giving me a bridge to the darker music out there and introducing me to David van Tieghem).
FAVORITE (now): Live To Tell » Madonna (it has aged beautifully); Broken Wings » Mr. Mister (a beautiful track, simply)
WORST (from current perspective): Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) » Glass Tiger (when people dismiss the pop music of the 1980s as crap, this is the kind of shit they're referring to)
1987:
I remain cheerful, continue writing, keeping more tabs on the art world. My attention to music is growing absorbed by King Crimson, Laurie Anderson, Eno, Talking Heads (John Zorn's SPILLANE gets shelved after its first listen - I'm not ready for it yet). But an ear remains on the radio - my fucking around with my first drum machines and synths enables certain songs to keep my attention.
FAVORITE (at time): Everybody Have Fun Tonight » Wang Chung (I make no apologies); Looking For A New Love » Jody Watley (everything a horny synth-loving teen male could ask for in a song, really); I Want Your Sex » George Michael (were I female but going through everything I was going through at that moment, this would still be a favorite); Tonight, Tonight, Tonight » Genesis (how to get young Robson's respect? Release a pop single mired in unremitting darkness, make it about nine minutes long, and make an amazing [if shortened] video for it as a beer commercial)
FAVORITE (now): Don't Get Me Wrong » Pretenders (if this had been the last 80s pop song ever recorded, the decade would have ended on a high note); Wanted Dead Or Alive » Bon Jovi (to someone ignorant of the band's oeuvre, this feels like a finest hour)
WORST (from current perspective): Right On Track » Breakfast Club (a lot more shit to choose from this year)
1988:
The first gigs of the Laughing Fish. MTV's pretty much my main source of pop music; I'm ignoring the radio at this point in favor of the sounds from clubs, be they DC punk stuff or European synth-pop. I finally start getting John Zorn.
FAVORITE (at time): New Sensation » INXS (Jon Farriss counts to four better than most rock drummers, and the harmonies are stunning); Wishing Well » Terence Trent d'Arby (the sound of so many sunsets); Wild, Wild West » Escape Club (it bounces well enough - it was the favorite song of a girl I was crushed out on at the time. I noted with interest that the band were headlining the old 9:30 Club [capacity, maybe 300] when the song hit the top of the charts)
FAVORITE (now): Pour Some Sugar On Me » Def Leppard (perfectly crafted raunch - the arc from verse to chorus is just godly); Simply Irresistible » Robert Palmer (when everything drops out in the last verse except his voice and Thompson's drums, I still lose my shit); Never Gonna Give You Up » Rick Astley (the whole rickrolling phenomenon still amuses); Desire » U2 (there're whole worlds covered by the song in less than three minutes)
WORST (from current perspective): Don't Worry, Be Happy » Bobby McFerrin (McFerrin deserved every dollar and every inch of fame this song earned him, but it's criminal that such a great and expressive artist will be most remembered for his most useless, most painfully misappropriated, and finally most innocuous piece of shit song)
1989:
The Laughing Fish continue work. I ultimately graduate high school, taking with me the music that I'll soon spin as a college DJ. Just about none of it is on the radio this year, and yet I still keep an eye on MTV (though REMOTE CONTROL and STEVIE WASHINGTON: THE ANGRY YOUTH are more interesting than the videos).
FAVORITE (at time): So Alive » Love & Rockets (I'm very pleasantly surprised that this charted so high - I don't think I ever turned this song down or off)
FAVORITE (now): That's the only song I liked then and still like now. The Fine Young Cannibals tracks are all right, but got overplayed.
WORST (from current perspective): Even without the ascendancy of Milli Vanilli, there are too many crap songs on 1989's chart to choose from - I swear, the 12" remix of Wire's "Eardrum Buzz" is a better pop song than anything that charted.
The rules:
Go to this convenient compilation site right here http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php and find the five years you were in high school. For each year, admit to the song that was your favorite at the time, then decide which one you now generally consider to be the best song on the list. Lastly, pick the year's worst song, snarking optional. collisionwork gave a personal context for each year, and I will do the same. He also often listed more than one favorite in each category: I too will do the same.
1985:
Transferred to Yorktown High School. I didn't know anyone and, being a pissy 14-year-old, was not interested in making friends. Oddly, despite my sullen punkish demeanor I was still listening to top-40 radio at this time. Punk would come later.
FAVORITE (at time): Fortress Around Your Heart » Sting (my first honest-to-goodness rock show); Be Near Me » ABC (Martin Fry makes everyone swoon); Strut » Sheena Easton (to my teenaged ears, this song sounded like sex); The Boys Of Summer » Don Henley (it haunted me then...)
FAVORITE (now): Some Like It Hot » Power Station (loved it then, but Palmer's voice, Thompson's drumming, and Edwards' production still punch even now); Nightshift » Commodores (I was too young to appreciate its considerable mood); The Boys Of Summer » Don Henley (...and it haunts me now)
WORST (from current perspective): Oh Sheila » Ready For The World (consensus of my 14- and 36- year old selves)
1986:
Started loosening up, busting out of my shell
FAVORITE (at time): Sledgehammer » Peter Gabriel (broke down all my walls); Let's Go All The Way » Sly Fox (CHOM-CHOM-ZINGI-ZINGI); Perfect Way » Scritti Politti (fuck, yes - Green's avant pop crooning and arrangements brought to the earth and the street by Gamson and Maher - this paved the way to New York, in some ways); Election Day » Arcadia (also pointed to my musical future, giving me a bridge to the darker music out there and introducing me to David van Tieghem).
FAVORITE (now): Live To Tell » Madonna (it has aged beautifully); Broken Wings » Mr. Mister (a beautiful track, simply)
WORST (from current perspective): Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) » Glass Tiger (when people dismiss the pop music of the 1980s as crap, this is the kind of shit they're referring to)
1987:
I remain cheerful, continue writing, keeping more tabs on the art world. My attention to music is growing absorbed by King Crimson, Laurie Anderson, Eno, Talking Heads (John Zorn's SPILLANE gets shelved after its first listen - I'm not ready for it yet). But an ear remains on the radio - my fucking around with my first drum machines and synths enables certain songs to keep my attention.
FAVORITE (at time): Everybody Have Fun Tonight » Wang Chung (I make no apologies); Looking For A New Love » Jody Watley (everything a horny synth-loving teen male could ask for in a song, really); I Want Your Sex » George Michael (were I female but going through everything I was going through at that moment, this would still be a favorite); Tonight, Tonight, Tonight » Genesis (how to get young Robson's respect? Release a pop single mired in unremitting darkness, make it about nine minutes long, and make an amazing [if shortened] video for it as a beer commercial)
FAVORITE (now): Don't Get Me Wrong » Pretenders (if this had been the last 80s pop song ever recorded, the decade would have ended on a high note); Wanted Dead Or Alive » Bon Jovi (to someone ignorant of the band's oeuvre, this feels like a finest hour)
WORST (from current perspective): Right On Track » Breakfast Club (a lot more shit to choose from this year)
1988:
The first gigs of the Laughing Fish. MTV's pretty much my main source of pop music; I'm ignoring the radio at this point in favor of the sounds from clubs, be they DC punk stuff or European synth-pop. I finally start getting John Zorn.
FAVORITE (at time): New Sensation » INXS (Jon Farriss counts to four better than most rock drummers, and the harmonies are stunning); Wishing Well » Terence Trent d'Arby (the sound of so many sunsets); Wild, Wild West » Escape Club (it bounces well enough - it was the favorite song of a girl I was crushed out on at the time. I noted with interest that the band were headlining the old 9:30 Club [capacity, maybe 300] when the song hit the top of the charts)
FAVORITE (now): Pour Some Sugar On Me » Def Leppard (perfectly crafted raunch - the arc from verse to chorus is just godly); Simply Irresistible » Robert Palmer (when everything drops out in the last verse except his voice and Thompson's drums, I still lose my shit); Never Gonna Give You Up » Rick Astley (the whole rickrolling phenomenon still amuses); Desire » U2 (there're whole worlds covered by the song in less than three minutes)
WORST (from current perspective): Don't Worry, Be Happy » Bobby McFerrin (McFerrin deserved every dollar and every inch of fame this song earned him, but it's criminal that such a great and expressive artist will be most remembered for his most useless, most painfully misappropriated, and finally most innocuous piece of shit song)
1989:
The Laughing Fish continue work. I ultimately graduate high school, taking with me the music that I'll soon spin as a college DJ. Just about none of it is on the radio this year, and yet I still keep an eye on MTV (though REMOTE CONTROL and STEVIE WASHINGTON: THE ANGRY YOUTH are more interesting than the videos).
FAVORITE (at time): So Alive » Love & Rockets (I'm very pleasantly surprised that this charted so high - I don't think I ever turned this song down or off)
FAVORITE (now): That's the only song I liked then and still like now. The Fine Young Cannibals tracks are all right, but got overplayed.
WORST (from current perspective): Even without the ascendancy of Milli Vanilli, there are too many crap songs on 1989's chart to choose from - I swear, the 12" remix of Wire's "Eardrum Buzz" is a better pop song than anything that charted.