The Ultimate 80's Music List - Songs 40 - 31

The Top 40 is about to be breached!!! I won't give you much to read here, because what I type on each song is just getting longer and longer. It's like reading War and Peace for each song ... Right? 

FYI: I'm not sure if anyone noticed ... but I created my own cheesy logo (Bill and TexCube's 101 Greatest Songs of the 80's) below that I've applied to all posts in this countdown. Gotta love the pink.

As I've said on every post. Drum roll please ... Here's 40 through 31.

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Without further adieu ... Here's my definitive list of 80's songs that shaped my decade. Enjoy.

The Ultimate 80's Music List - Songs 40 - 31

40 - Rock Me Amadeus (The Salieri Version) by Falco

Oh Hans Holzel (Falco) ... You were my favorite 80's Austrian rock singer! Of course you were the ONLY 80's Austrian rock singer I knew about. But that is beside the point. Sadly Falco is no longer with us. He passed away in the late 90's after being involved in a horrendous motor vehicle accident. I still remember being pretty upset about it when I heard that he had died. He truly was a big influence on 80's music. Check out another one of his many hits "Vienna Calling" for proof of how catchy his music could be. Now about this song ... You may not know this, but there were a few versions of Rock Me Amadeus. My favorite being this particular edit referred to (in a tongue and cheek manor) as The Salieri Version which has the addition of the timeline being spoken. I still get this silly feeling of chills when he gets to the part of the spoken words (At 1:52 of the video below) where he says "In 1985 Austrian rock singer Falco records ... ROCK ME AMADEUS!" On a rather personal note. One of my favorite memories about this version of the song is how much my mom actually loved it. That didn't mean much then, but looking back, now that my mom is no longer with us ... It's pretty special to think about.

39 - You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi

This song was added to my list at the last minute. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I have such great memories of us driving down the road singing this song. It was made for people to sing parts of it. I still remember all of us (but one) singing "Shot through the heart and you're to blame" then the one who didn't sing the first part would scream "YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME" with emphasis on BAD. Such memorable and fun times. Isn't that what a top 101 song should be? Memorable and fun. I wasn't the biggest hair band fan in the 80's ... but there were a few songs I loved and this happens to be one of them. Grab some friends, turn the volume up, and sing as loud as you can. No one will judge you for doing that on this song.

38 - I Go Crazy by Flesh For Lulu

When I hear this song I'm once again reminded of the 80's Teen Movie Grand Master ... John Hughes. This song made an appearance in Some Kind of Wonderful starring Eric Stoltz. It's playing during one of my favorite scenes from the movie when Elias Koteas busts in the front door of the ultimate movie jerk's (Craig Sheffer) house after he tells Lea Thompson she's going to have to beg for his forgiveness. Elias, with that scary looking bald head of his, tells Craig "Alright man let's just cut the BS ... alright ... please. I'm here to wipe the floor with your ass, and you know it, and everybody knows it, and you deserve it. I think it's safe to say that this party is about to become a historical fact." Elias is absolutely awesome when he delivers those lines. The song itself stands as another great 80's song, even outside the confines of this movie. Flesh for Lulu certainly didn't influence countless other bands. But as I've said many times ... It's songs like these that set the stage for the 90's alternative music explosion. This is a great song that deserves it's top 40 slot. Even if it was in "Some Kind of Pretty in Sixteen Wonderful Pink Breakfast Club Candles."

37 - Hold Me Now by Thompson Twins

Nobody in this band was named Thompson and they certainly weren't twins. But I don't care what they called themselves because they always sounded great. Just so you'll know, the band's name comes from the comic strip "The Adventures of Tintin." Lead singer Tom Bailey had such a unique (and great) voice. I often speak of the 80's as having a particular sound, and this band was without a doubt one of the groups that helped define it. In later years Tom married Alannah Currie from the band and together they left the Thompson Twins behind to go off and raise a couple of kids in New Zealand. Although they ended up divorcing a few years back. The Thompson Twins, who tasted great success in the USA, were never really accepted in their home country and that's a shame. I believe they are without a doubt one of the most influential bands of the 1980's. They had a special sound that told you exactly who they were the second you heard their music. To me, that will always be special. Hold Me Now has a fantastic intro of music, a middle part that showcases the unique voices singing the lyrics, and an ending that always made me want to start the song all over again. It's everything you could want in a good song.

36 - Sanctify Yourself by Simple Minds

Jim Kerr of Simple Minds has a great voice and I think it would be right at home on today's radio and satellite stations. That voice really shines on this song. As for choosing Sanctify Yourself, I will probably take some heat for this particular choice. Especially since I'm a huge John Hughes fan and most people would probably pick "Don't You Forget About Me" from the Breakfast Club movie. But for me, the song I've always connected with the most and loved, is this particular one. I won't post any lyrics for the song, but I will say that I absolutely love them. (FYI: Many people may not know this, but Jim was married to Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde for 6 years.) I wish I could have seen Simple Minds back in their heyday ... They seemed like they would have been a lot of fun to see. Hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it? Now "Open up your heart. Sanctify Yourself!" and in doing so "Set yourself free!!!"

35 - The Politics of Dancing by Re-Flex

I won't lie on this one. I don't know anything about Re-Flex. But I do know I absolutely enjoy this song. I guess that's obvious because it's on this list. Lyrics like "The politics of dancing. The politics of ewwww feelin' good!!!" make me love this song. Let's face the facts ... The politics of this song are AWESOME!

34 - Always Something There to Remind Me by Naked Eyes

I was threatened with a massive mutiny if this song did not make the list. Well no worries because here it sits at number 34. This band happens to come from the hometown of my favorite 80's band ... Tears for Fears (But they aren't at number 1). That town by the way is Bath. Here's something I bet you didn't know. This was a cover of a Burt Bacharach song. Burt only wishes early versions of this song were as good as this one. When you hear this song and Pete Byrne's fantastic vocals you are immediately thrown back to the 80's. For some that may be a good thing and for some it's a bad thing. Regardless of your position ... I can imagine driving my car to meet friends and hearing this song come on the radio. I don't want to go back there, but it's a happy thought. This song is a time machine of sorts, and I'm OK with that.

33 - In a Big Country by Big Country

Stuart Adamson, the lead singer for Big Country, is no longer with us. His tale was one that, sadly, ended too soon because of his addiction to alcohol. But for this song I do not wish to focus on the sadness. This song gives me every reason to be positive when speaking about it. There's a part I still anticipate today, some 31 years after its initial release. It happens at around the 2 minute and 40 second mark when the music leads into the lyric "So take a look out here..." It's simply perfect and that's how I know a song like In a Big Country stays with you. Adamson may have left this life too soon (But in regards to his musical legacy) he left behind such an amazing reminder that he once was here. That reminder is ... This song.

32 - She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby

She Blinded Me With Science came off Dolby's Golden Age of Wireless. In fact there's one other song, off that album, that I struggled with putting on this list instead of this one. That song is One of Our Submarines. I urge you to listen to it if you've never heard it (One of Our Submarines). She Blinded Me with Science is catchy, fun, and it's 100 percent 1980's. A few things of interest about this song. The old man in the song is famous British scientist and TV personality Magnus Pyke. Although the album was produced by Dolby himself, famed music producer Mutt Lange provided backing vocals on this song. Finally, many people have perpetuated a story that Thomas Dolby is part of the famous Dolby Laboratories family. This is simply not true, especially since Dolby isn't even his real last name. It's Robertson. So click that video below and join me in listening to Mr. Robertson's greatest hit.

31 - Secret Separation by The Fixx

Believe it or not this has been my hardest choice of the entire list. The Fixx had some great songs and I could not choose between a few of them. My 4 favorites that made the short list were ... Our We Ourselves, Deeper and Deeper, One Thing Leads to Another, and of course this song. They had other hits like Stand or Fall, Red Skies, and Saved By Zero just to name a few more, but the previous 4 are the favorites (Click all 6 links above to hear those songs if you wish). You may know this already, but Cy Curnin (The lead singer) became extremely successful after the 80's designing hats. When it became so demanding that he had to choose between his hats or his music ... He sold the hat business to focus on his first love (Music). Secret Separation is about reincarnation, with 2 intertwined souls continuously meeting in different lives. It's sad, it's happy, it's beautiful, and it's just that good. Curnin's fantastic and unique voice, coupled with a supporting band that can truly play their instruments, makes this song clearly stand out as their best work. At spot 31, as we close in on the top 30, is one of my favorite bands of all time. Phone the neighbors and wake the children for ... THE FIXX.

70 down and 30 left to go