A simple YES or no question, should I go see YES? I'm undecided, so I found their most recent setlist. I'll add videos for all songs mentioned and as I do that I'll make my decision.
"Cinema":
"Perpetual Change":
"Hold On":
"I've Seen All Good People":
Drum Solo/ "Lift Me Up"/ "And You and I":
"Rhythm of Love"/ "Heart of the Sunrise":
I hope the sound at the concert is like this video as opposed to the ARW videos. "Changes":
When I revise and release my updated 80's bands list when this series of blogs is done, Aerosmith will definitely be on the countdown. They'll be somewhere between the 40s to 60s I would guess. The so-called "Bad Boys From Boston" have released 15 albums of original music. Again they have a lot of great songs, in other words I can't pick one of their CDs that is a classic. They have a few good CDs, but they don't have a next echelon "Ziggy Stardust" type of CD. Although I do like their 3 CDs that make up the foundation of this blog, I'm especially a big fan of "Permanent Vacation".
If I had one wish is that I wish I could be as cool as Steven Tyler thinks he is, he seems like a complete and utter d bag to me. I could be wrong, it's happened before.
The core of the band has been pretty solid since 1970:
Steven Tyler – lead vocals, harmonica, keyboards, percussion (1970–present)
Joe Perry – guitar, backing vocals (1970–1979, 1984–present)
Other than when Perry and Whitford left the band in the early 80's, Aerosmith has had the same lineup pretty much since 1970
It took me longer to post Aerosmith's Top Ten 80's era songs, hopefully I'll have what it takes. I don't want to be cryin' or going to a hangman jury. I hate livin on the edge.
Honestly I'm not a huge fan of Aerosmith, I think Steven Tyler is a bit of an idiot. I saw Aerosmith in concert back in the day and I wasn't impressed. So I didn't even consider them for my Top 106 Greatest 80's bands of all-time.That being said I've always have been a big fan of their two late 80's CDs "Permanent Vacation" and "Pump". Through those two CDs and 1993's "Get A Grip" they have quite a few good songs. And also they have a lot of great songs on those three CDs. I've included their acoustic cover of "Love Me Two Times" from the "Air America" soundtrack.
Their cover of the Beatles 30) "I'm Down":
29) "Eat The Rich":
28) "Rag Doll":
27) "Monkey On My Back":
26) "Young Lust":
25) "Gotta Love It":
24) "Girl Keeps Coming Apart":
23) "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)":
22) "Love Me Two Times";
"Run away, run away from the pain." 21) "Janie's Got A Gun":
I have 53 ELO songs in my iTunes library, ELO is probably properly rated on this countdown. They do have a lot of good/decent songs. However they have sixteen outstanding songs. Up next is the #40 musician, Depeche Mode. When this project is done and I do my re rankings, ELO will move ahead of Depeche Mode at least. Depeche Mode first few CD's are pretty tepid. As for ELO I'll write their biographical background on the third and final ELO countdown blogs.
When I do the revised 80's musicians countdown of these bands, the Pet Shop Boys are probably a bit high now. But they are probably pretty close to where they'll be on the revised countdown. Next band on my countdown list, at #41, is Electric Light Orchestra, aka ELO.
10) "Left To My Own Devices":
9) "Always On My Mind":
8) "One More Chance":
7) "What Have I Done To Deserve This":
6) "Heart":
5) "Go West":
4) "Suburbia":
3) "It's A Sin":
2) "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)":
Well what other song is it going to be. This is the song that brought the world's attention to this band. Although they have many great songs, this is their best songs. "You got a heart of glass, a heart of stone just you wait until I get you home." 1) "West End Girls":
Along with a lot of monetary songs, they also like to ask a lot of questions, like the next two songs. Overall five of their songs are musical questions. 19) "Was It Worth It":
18) "Can You Forgive Her":
17) "Hit Music":
It seems this song was only released in Italy. Although I had never heard of this song before working on these blogs, I really like this song. It was released in 1986. 16) "Paninaro":
The Pet Shop Boys are made up of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, who formed in London in 1981. They first came to attention in America with "West End Girls", which is on their first CD 1986's "Please". That's one of the two best Pet Shop Boys CDs, the other best CD being 1987's "Actually". Sixteen of the twenty-eight songs on these blogs come from those two CDs. According to Guinness Book of Records they are the most successful duo in UK history and have sold 50 million records worldwide. They're still together and have recorded 13 CDs, their most recent CD is 2016's "Super". That CD was a bit of a return to their classic sound. It features "The Pop Kids", which is their best song since the 90s.
The CDs being considered for this blog are 1986's "Please" to 1993's "Very". I have 42 Pet Shop Boys songs on my iTunes.
Before I get to the countdown for The Pet Shop Boys I would like to share five of the best songs from "Super".
"The Pop Kids":
"Groovy":
"Pazzo":
"Say It To Me":
"Into Thin Air":
Now on to the best 28 80s era songs of The Pet Shop Boys:
28) "I Want To Wake Up":
27) "It's Alright":
26) "Jealousy":
25) "One In A Million":
24) "Yesterday When I Was Mad":
23) "How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously":
The Pet Shop Boys seem to spend a lot of time thinking about the bottom line with songs about shopping, rent and making lots of money. 22) "Shopping":
The best of the Scorpions, the Germans rockers. The Scorpions are such a great band. I hadn't even realized how much so until I started working on the blogs about them. Likely when I finish this countdown and write an updated countdown The Scorpions will move up at least a few notches. Up next at #42 The Pet Shop Boys.
11) "Believe In Love":
10) "Rhythm of Love":
This is a great great song, however it's ranking was hurt by being played way too many times. 9) "Rock You Like A Hurricane":
Here's the rest of the Top 10 songs in America on October 5th, 1985:
One of the greatest and most talented musicians of all time, coming soon on the Top 106 Greatest 80's musicians. 10) Stevie Wonder "Part Time Lover" (heading up):
The song is less than the sum of it's parts. 9) Mick Jagger and David Bowie "Dancing In The Street" (heading up):
On my Top 106 Greatest 80's musicians Mellencamp is my # 78 greatest 80's musician. 8) John Mellencamp "Lonely Ol' Night" (heading up):
George Michael went on to super stardom, whatever happened to Andrew Ridgley? 7) Wham "Freedom" (heading down):
The next two musicians are both in the top ten of themusicaddict's 106 Greatest 80's musicians of all-time. Listen to that voice! Truly one of the greatest voices of all-time. Too bad she lost the battle to drugs and sanity. Whitney Houston "Saving All My Love For You" (heading up):
I can't wait until I write about her again when I get to her on my Top 106 countdown. I've always loved Madonna, I still haven't quite forgiven her for marrying Sean Penn. 5) Madonna "Dress You Up" (heading up):
Perhaps the greatest video ever. 4) a-ha "Take On Me" (going up):
Yet another one of the funky/black music/ soul artist of the 80s who had one big hit and then seemed to completely disappear forever. 3) Ready For The World "Oh Sheila" (going up):
This isn't my favorite Kool and the Gang song. I prefer "Too Hot", "Ladies Night", "Celebration", "Get Down On It" and "Fresh". "Cherish" is a bit too sappy for me. 2) Kool and The Gang "Cherish" (same):
Featuring Sting on back up vocals!! 1) Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" (same):
This is part 2 of of October 5th, 1985's Billboard Top 100, the legends and one hit wonders. I started off Part 1 of these blogs with a novelty song. I'm starting off part 2 with another novelty song. I wish I could say I did that on purpose, but if I did I'd be lying. We already have enough lying in the world, looking at you Donald Trump.
This song is extremely topical with the advent of the Trump Presidency. 54) Cheech "Born In East L.A." (heading up):
Another one of the greatest ballads of all time, Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin's "Separate Lives" (Debut):
44) OMD "So In Love" (heading up):
36) Freddie Jackson "You Are My Lady" (heading up):
32) Glenn Frey "You Belong To The City" (heading up):
Is this the greatest summer song ever? 26) Huey Lewis and the News "The Power of Love" (heading down):
23) Night Ranger "Four In The Morning (I Can't Take It Anymore)" (heading up):
Coming up in a few musicians on the Top 106 Greatest 80's musicians. 19) Loverboy "Lovin' Every Minute of It" (heading up):
Of all the great Pointer Sisters songs, this is a song that gets forgotten a bit. But it's just as good as "I'm So Excited". The Pointer Sisters are my # 102 Greatest 80's musicians. 17) The Pointer Sisters "Dare Me" (heading down):
Just as good solo as he was with The Police. 12) Sting "Fortress Around Your Heart" (heading up):
Thanks to Entertainment Weekly magazine, via Billboard, here's a top ten singles from October 1985. I always love doing these blogs. It reminds me once again how great the music of the 80s was, the best decade for music ever. 1985 was a big year for me, I graduated from high school and went away to school for the first time.
I love these specific week countdowns, it features some of the greatest legends of the music business and some one hit wonders. This time I decided to break out of just the Top Ten, thankfully Billboard allows people to see the actual Top 100 songs for each week. So in addition to the Top Ten I picked 17 other songs that captures the 80's so well. Some of these are great songs, novelty songs and some songs I had completely forgotten. In parenthesis I listed where the song is going up, down or is a debut.
What, you didn't know Billy Crystal had a hit song? I remember this song, but I wasn't aware it had actually appeared on the Billboard Singles chart. This song captures a very specific moment in time. It was during a moment of purple rain as there are references to Apolonia and Vanity. 91) Billy Crystal "You Look Marvelous" (heading down):
This was one Ocean's biggest and last hit songs. 87) Billy Ocean "Mystery Lady" (heading down):
Young also had the #27 song on this chart, the forgettable "I'm Gonna Tear Your House Down". I love this song so much!! Essentially Young was a one hit wonder. 84) Paul Young "Every Time You Go Away" (heading down):
Officially I think Jones only had two hits, however he had a bunch of great songs. However he didn't have enough songs to make my Top 106 Greatest 80's musicians. 74) Howard Jones, or Ho Jo, "Life In One Day":
I don't remember this song at all., but I like it. 73) Jennifer Holiday "Hard Time For Lovers" (heading up):
Another song I didn't remember initially, that is until I heard it. There were so many soul/funk/black musicians that only had one hit in the 80s. Few black musicians broke out in the 80s, I wonder why that was? "Object" is a very good song, why didn't they have any more hits? "Till The End of Time" isn't a good song. 69) Starpoint "Object of My Desire" (heading up):
Starpoint's "He Wants My Body" is a pretty decent song, but this song didn't even cross my radar until tonight.
Here's a funk band that had a few big hits, but they could only keep up the magic for a couple of CDs. Like too many of these seemingly great bands, they faded away too quickly. Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam are one of my favorite of the more obscure 80's bands. This is 67) "I Wonder If I Take You Home" (heading down):
Another Billy having one of his last hits, although Joel continues to draw huge crowds when he performs now. Joel has always been a great performer, but even the greatest song can eventually lose it's luster. Joel also had the 27 song on this week's chart "You're Only Human (Second Wind)". 65) Billy Joel "The Night Is Still Young" (Debut) :
Another funk/soul band with a limited career. This is one of my all-time favorite ballads. 56) Klymaxx "I Miss You" (heading up):
I saw "Kong: Skull Island" today. It's not the greatest movie ever, the visuals and cinematography are absolutely amazing though. This is one of the most gorgeous movies that you'll ever see. Anyway the movie is set in 1973 and as the USA was in the midst of "abandoning" the Vietnam War, as said by Samuel L Jackson's character. That meant this film features some of the greatest songs of all-time. I've written this blog before, but the film inspired me to write about this topic again. But this time I want to post some more obscure Vietnam War era songs. This blog won't have probably the most iconic Vietnam War song ever, "Fortunate Son". Also my apologies to "Ohio", "For What It's Worth" and "Give Peace A Chance". All those songs are just too popular for this blog. I found some songs that people claim are about the Vietnam War. I don't necessarily agree with some of those selections, but I've added a few below.
Jefferson Airplane "White Rabbit":
The Hollies "Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)":
I never considered this a Vietnam War song, but it fit in perfectly in the scene it's in in "Skull Island". Black Sabbath "Paranoid":
Here's a CCR song for ya, "Run Through The Jungle":
The Doors "Unknown Soldier":
"The End":
Pink Floyd "Us & Them":
SSGT Barry Sadler "The Ballad of The Green Berets":
"One Tin Soldier":
Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction":
Edwin Starr "War":
The Animals "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place":
The Animals "House of The Rising Sun":
Freda Payne "Bring The Boys Home":
The Kingston Trio "Where Have All The Flowers Gone":
It's been a busy few days so this is a preview for before I start counting down the best 80's era songs from The Scorpions. These songs are likely to be in the 20's and 30's on my countdown. Not every song can be "Rock You Like A Hurricane". Some of the songs that I thought would make it for the Scorpions didn't make it once I finalized the rankings.
Once I get done with this entire countdown I think I'm going to go through and update this countdown. That's based on the songs I've discovered and rediscovered as I've worked on this series of blogs. In the re rankings The Scorpions will move up my rankings.
35) "Is There Anybody There":
34) "Walking On The Edge":
33) "To Be With You In Heaven":
32) "Love On The Run":
31) "Arizona":
How good is a band when a song this good is at number 30? 30) "Holiday":
The best of the best, the creme de la creme in this specific subset of songs. Although these are all one hit wonders, those hits are some very memorable songs.
10) Deee-lite "Groove Is In The Heart":
9) L.A. Guns "Ballad of Jayne:
8) Siouxsie and The Banshees "Kiss Them For Me":
Obviously there are one hit wonders and there are one hit wonders that have a lot of great songs. Queensryche is in the second category, they have several great songs. The fact that those songs weren't "hits" is no reflection on the quality of those songs. Queensryche is my 95th greatest 80's band of all-time. 7) Queensryche "Silent Lucidity":
6) Faith No More "Epic":
5) Lighting Seeds "Pure":
4) Steelheart "I'll Never Let You Go (Angel Eyes):
3) Calloway "I Wanna Be Rich":
2) Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch (featuring Loleatta Holloway) "Good Vibrations":
Like Queensryche, she only has one hit. However she has dozens of great songs. Her first CD "The Lion and the Cobra" is one of the best, yet most unappreciated CD's of the 80s. It's such a solid collection of great songs. I'll be posting all her great 80's era songs when I write about her 80's era output. She'll be coming up in the next couple of months on my Top 80's Musicians of all-time countdown. And by the way a man by the name of Prince wrote this song, Prince is also coming up as a greatest 80's musician of all-time. 1) Sinead O' Connor "Nothing Compares To U":
Part 2 of this series of blogs on some of the best one hit wonders of the 80's era.
22) Biz Markie "Just A Friend":
21) Big Audio Dynamite "Rush":
20) Jive Bunny and the MasterMixers "Swing The Mood":
19) Kane Roberts "Does Anyone Really Fall In Love Anymore":
18) Corina "Temptation":
17) Marc Cohn "Walking In Memphis":
16) Curtis Stigers "I Wonder Why":
These final fifteen songs I rated as five star songs, on a scale from one to five stars. Only the best of the best from here on it. This song was originally released in 1987. The British group DNA remixed it and released it in 1990. 15) Suzanne Vega (featuring DNA) "Tom's Diner":
This is the original, not very good, version of "Tom's Diner":
Discovered by members of Tears For Fears 14) Oleta Adams "Get Here":
One of the sexiest songs and videos ever. 13) Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game":
Possibly my last blog for now of the best one hit wonders from 1980 to 1990:
M A R R S "Pump Up The Volume":
Poor Patrick, after having a big hit with this song he was never heard from again. Poor guy never had a ghost of a chance, I wonder if he ended up working at a road house somewhere? Patrick Swayze (featuring Wendy Fraser ) "She's Like The Wind":
"The time has come to say fair's fair" Midnight Oil "Beds Are Burning":
Officially Midnight Oil only had one hit, however they did have a few good songs. Here's are a couple of others. "Blue Sky Mine":
"The Forgotten Years":
Rob Base and DJ Easy Rock "It Takes Two":
When In Rome "The Promise":
The future Mrs Paul Simon, Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians "What I Am":
From the soundtrack to "Rainman", what an amazing movie!! The Belle Star "Iko Iko":
