Songs 263-265

Twisted Sister - We're Not Going to Take It (1984)

Ramones - Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio (1980)

Dinosaur Jr. - Freak Show (1988)

Songs 260-262

Suzanne Vega - Luka (1987)

Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians - Chinese Bones (1988)

Loverboy - Notorious (1987)

Songs 257-259

Today is my birthday and to celebrate I'm treating myself to some favorite songs of my youth.
Back in the day we had these things called cassette recorders. Before we even knew of such things as the interweb and piracy, we would make our own tapes of songs by recording them off of the radio. Even then the record companies felt threatened and for a brief time radio stations would play a brief ad in the middle of the song to discourage people making tapes of it. Never mind it irritated the bejeezus out of everyone listening.
But anyway, I had a cassette of songs I really enjoyed and there was a three song stretch that I particularly enjoyed and would play over and over and over and over and over. Those three songs are today's songs.
First was Eddy Grant's Electric Avenue (1982)

Next was Robert Hazard's Escalator of Life (1982). This song never got airplay where I lived so I was thrilled to have it on tape (keep in mind I was 11 and couldn't exactly run out and go shopping at the human mall and buy it).

Lastly is the greatest song of the 1980's, if not all time, Come on Eileen by Dexy's Midnight Runners:

Songs 254-256

Seduction - Two to Make It Right (1989)

Rob Base and D.J. E-Z Rock - It Takes Two (1988)

Art of Noise - Peter Gunn (1986)

Songs 251-253

Naked Eyes - Always Something There to Remind Me (1982)

Technotronic - Pump Up the Jam (1989)

The Jam - Town Called Malice (1982)

Songs 248-250

With this post, we're a quarter of the way through the thousand songs. Seems like a long way to go.
Commodores - Night Shift (1985)

Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing (1982)

Buddy Miles doing Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through the Grapevine with the California Raisins (1986)

Songs 245-247

Taking today's songs from groups mentioned in this clip of the great film High Fidelity:

Jesus and Mary Chain - Just Like Honey (1985). I don't care what Jack Black says. There is not picking up from Echo and the Bunnymen.

Stiff Little Fingers - Bits of Kids (1982)

Clash - Rock the Casbah (1982)

Songs 242-244

Fiction Factory - (Feels Like) Heaven (1984)

Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen (1981)

Fleetwood Mac - Gypsy (1982)

Songs 239-241

Animotion - Obsession (1984)

Kylie Minogue - Locomotion (1987)

Ric Ocasek - Emotion in Motion (1986)

Songs 236-238

No, I will not be joining the rest of the country in playing Prince songs today. Instead, in memory of Prince, we will have three artists connected with him.
Appolonia 6 - Sex Shooter (1984)

Shelia E - The Glamorous Life (1985)

Sheena Easton - Strut (1984)

Songs 233-235

So yesterday Casey Neistat posted this video:

where he mentions the 80's metal band Anvil so I decided to include Anvil today. Here's Straight Between the Eyes (1987)

I figured you can't have an anvil without a hammer so here is MC Hammer with Pump It Up (1988)

Then if you have a hammer you should have Nine Inch Nails. Head Like A Hole (1989)

Songs 230-232

Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy (1982)

Elvis Costello - Veronica (1989)

Sade - Smooth Operator (1984)

Songs 227-229

Cinderella - Not Your Fool (1986)

Modern English - I Melt With You (1982)

English Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom (1980)

Songs 224-226

Yello - Oh Yeah (1985)

Herbie Hancock - Rockit (1983)

Harold Faltermeyer - Axel F (1984)

Songs 221-223

It's that time of year...baseball season! So some baseball tunes from the eighties.
Steve Goodman - A Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request (1983)

Terry Cashman - Talkin' Baseball (Willie, Mickey and the Duke)(1981)

The Naturals with Mel Allen - Baseball Dreams (1985)

Songs 218-220

Toni Basil - Mickey (1981)

Tony! Toni! Tone! - Little Walter (1988)

Talking Heads - Burning Down the House (1983)

Songs 215-217

Re-Flex - The Politics of Dancing (1983)

Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy (1988)

Alison Moyet - Invisible (1984)

Songs 212-214

Murray Head - One Night in Bangkok (1984)

I actually listen to Murray's brother Anthony a lot more than I do Murray. You might recognize Anthony as Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Bonus Anthony Stewart Head song even though he isn't eighties.

Back to the eighties. How about some Pet Shop Boys? Always on My Mind (1988)

Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (1984)

Songs 209-211

Breaking out songs I love today. Thomas Dolby - Blinded Me with Science (1982)

I actually bought this album on it's release date. The first time I ever did such a thing. Richard Marx - Don't Mean Nothing (1987)

Erasure - Piano Song (1989)

Songs 206-208

One of my faves, Leave It (1983) by Yes

Then two I don't care for.
Poison - Every Rose Has It's Thorn (1988)

Bon Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer (1986)

Songs 203-205

Taking a break from the popular tunes today and shifting to some classical music. I had hesitated to do so because much of classical music recordings are performances of older songs. Can we really call them tunes of the (19) eighties if they were written in the 19th century? I'm doing so because these particular recordings were notable for the era, at least for me. Beginning with the Marsalis brothers. As a sax player, listening to Branford was very important to my growth as a player. He demonstrated that the sax could be played in any setting. This is Arabesque No. 1 by Claude DeBussy off of Branford's Romances for the Saxophone album (1986)

I also enjoyed listening to Wynton because of how awesome he was. There is no shame in working hard and aspiring to have technical and musical chops like Wynton demonstrated on Carnival of Venice (also 1986)

Finish up with someone who was a very straightforward traditional classical performer in the eighties but has since done anything and everything. Yo-Yo Ma first broke out of the normal classical recordings with an album of Cole Porter jazz tunes in 1989. Here's Anything Goes (1989)

Songs 200-202

Eurythmics - Here Comes the Rain Again (1983)

Paul Carrack - Don't Shed a Tear (1987)

Hall and Oates - Private Eyes (1981)

Songs 197-199

The Call - I Still Believe (Great Design (1986))

Spandau Ballet - True (1983)

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax (1983)

Songs 194-196

Pebbles - Girlfriend (1987)

Stray Cats - Rock This Town (1981)

The Church - Under the Milky Way (1988)

Songs 191-193

Husker Du - Something I Learned Today (1984)

Stacey Q - Two of Hearts (1986)

Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot (1988)

Songs 188-190

The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary (1985)

Luther Vandross - Here and Now (1989)

Kool and the Gang - Tonight (1983)

Songs 185-187

Falco - Rock Me Amadeus (1985)

Taco - Puttin' on the Ritz (1982)

Bad Company (or, for the purposes of today's "theme" Bad Co.) - No Smoke without a Fire (1988)

Songs 182-184

Pseudo Echo - Funky Town (1985)

Bell Biv DeVoe - Poison (1989 (by three days!))

DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Parents Just Don't Understand (1988)

Songs 179-181

Jesus Jones - Info Freako (1989)

John Hiatt - Thank You Girl (1987)

Alannah Myles - Black Velvet (1989)

Songs 176-178

ZZ Top - Legs (1983)

Eddie Murphy - Party All the Time (1985)

Beach Boys - Kokomo (1989)