Mr. Plow's Top 100 Songs of the 80's

[?=#8]"(Just Like)Starting Over" - John Lennon 1980

This is a difficult one to write, so I'll try something different.

If you think this song has a 50's vibe, you're right. Lennon was trying to something similar to what Dylan did with Nashville Skyline, but since he had no history with Nashville, he used what he knew. The result was what he calle 'Elvis Orbison,' and was an homage to his childhood musical influences Elvis, Roy, Gene Vincent, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

In a Gaye-esque (not to be confused with Gay-assed) coincidence, Chapman bought the gun he would use to kill Lennon on the day this single was released, 10/27/80.

[yt=(Just Like)Starting Over is my #1 song of 1980]iAJ2AoEwDvY[/yt][/?]

Songs that just missed the cut in 1980:

Kool & The Gang - Ladies Night
Michael Jackson - Rock With You Last great disco song
Little River Band - Cool Change Underrated band
Fleetwood Mac - Sara
Led Zeppelin - Fool In The Rain RIP Bonzo
Dan Fogelberg - Longer
Pat Benatar - Heartbreaker
Toto - 99
Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)
Willie Nelson - My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Spinners - Working My Way Back To You/Forgive Me Girl (Medley)
Blondie - Call Me
Christopher Cross - Ride Like The Wind
Journey - Anyway You Want It So What? So Let's Dance!
Pretenders, The - Brass In Pocket (I'm Special)
Gary Numan - Cars First Synth hit
Bob Seger - Against The Wind
Robbie Dupree - Steal Away
Billy Joel - It's Still Rock And Roll To Me
Elton John - Little Jeannie
Spinners - Cupid/I've Loved You For A Long Time (Medley)
Rocky Burnette - Tired Of Toein' The Line
Pete Townsend - Let My Love Open The Door
Genesis - Misunderstanding
Diana Ross - Upside Down
Benny Mardones - Into The Night
Larry Graham - One In A Million You
George Benson - Give Me The Night
Queen - Another One Bites The Dust
Split Enz - I Got You
Kenny Loggins - I'm Alright
Pointer Sisters - He's So Shy
Boz Scaggs - Look What You've Done To Me
Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Rush - The Spirit Of Radio
Mac Davis - It's Hard To Be Humble

I'm guessing Silent Running, When The Going Gets Tough, Your Wildest Dreams, and Like A Rock.

[?=#7]"Don't Dream It's Over" - Crowded House 1987
I've tried for several days to find something interesting to say about this song, but I can't. There's no 'almost didn't happen' or 'doesn't mean what you think it does' story to put here. The only thing I can put here is that I don't know of anyone who doesn't like this song.

[yt=RIP Paul Hester 1/8/59-3/26/05]J9gKyRmic20&ob[/yt][/?]

[?=#6]"Sweet Child o' Mine" - Guns n' Roses 1988
This one's a lot easier. Ther's a lot of info about this song that I won't go into here. I will mention that there are 2 kinds of late 80's videos, those made before SCOM & those made after. You can look a the Poison videl history to see what I'm talking about: "Fallen Angel" - Pre-SCOM - has spandex, hot pink, teased hair & make-up; "Every Rose" - Post-SCOM - has greasy, straight hair, leather & ripped jeans. GNR saved late 80's metal by killing what it was - bloated glam-rock crap (only to kill it anyway in 1992 with their massive egos (2 simultaneous double album releases? Multi-million dollar videos?)).

"Sweet Child o' Mine" boasts one of the most iconic guitar openings ever, along with what is probably the 2nd greatest guitar solo of the 80's (after Gilmour's 2nd solo in "Comfortably Numb"). Not bad for a song that started (and ended) as a joke.

BTW, you have to wonder if the song would have been as successful if the original video concept had been approved by Geffen records ("an Asian woman carrying a baby into a foreign land, only to discover at the end that the child was dead and filled with heroin.").

[yt=SCOM is my #1 song of 1988]NmqK0aXkHho[/yt][/?]

Some that just missed the cut in 1988:

Cure, The - Just Like Heaven
George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You (aka "I Got My Dick Set On You")
Icehouse - Crazy
Bangles - Hazy Shade Of Winter (Great Cover)
Prince - I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
Roger - I Want To Be Your Man
Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again
Expose - Seasons Change
Pet Shop Boys - What Have I Done To Deserve This (Feat. the late, great Dusty Springfield)
Foreigner - Say You Will
R.E.M. - It's The End Of The World As We Know It
Gloria Estefan - Can't Stay Away From You
Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up (If only for the Rick-rolls)
David Lee Roth - Just Like Paradise (Steve Vai is a guitar god)
Sting - Be Still My Beating Heart
Def Leppard - Hysteria
LL Cool J - Going Back To Cali
INXS - Devil Inside
Aerosmith - Angel
Henry Lee Summer - I Wish I Had A Girl
Bryan Ferry - Kiss And Tell
Big Pig - Breakaway (Be Excellent to Each Other)
Gloria Estefan - Anything For You
Johnny Hates Jazz - Shattered Dreams
Icehouse - Electric Blue
White Lion - Wait
Brenda Russell - Piano In The Dark
Lita Ford - Kiss Me Deadly
Church, The - Under The Milky Way
Bruce Hornsby - The Valley Road
Brenda K. Starr - I Still Believe
Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning
Robert Plant - Tall Cool One
Cheap Trick - The Flame
Ziggy Marley - Tomorrow People
Al B. Sure! - Nite And Day
Icehouse - My Obsession
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Parents Just Don't Understand
Sade - Paradise
Steve Winwood - Roll With It
Jane Wiedlin - Rush Hour
Eric Carmen - Make Me Lose Control
Crowded House - Better Be Home Soon
Aerosmith - Rag Doll
George Michael - Monkey
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
Robert Plant - Ship Of Fools
Robert Palmer - Simply Irresistible
Rick Astley - It Would Take A Strong Strong Man
Peter Cetera - One Good Woman
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - I Hate Myself For Loving You
Def Leppard - Love Bites
Cheap Trick - Don't Be Cruel (Another Great Cover)
Tracy Chapman - Talkin' Bout A Revolution
Phil Collins - Groovy Kind Of Love
Information Society - What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) (Feat. Spock)
Beach Boys, The - Kokomo
Cinderella - Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)
Jon Astley - Put This Love To The Test
U2 - Desire
When In Rome - The Promise
Van Halen - Finish What Ya Started
Anita Baker - Giving You The Best That I Got
Boy Meets Girl - Waiting For A Star To Fall
Was Not Was - Spy In The House Of Love
Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle

[?=#5]"Endless Love" - Lionel Richie & Diana Ross 1981
Easily the greatest duet of the 80's, maybe of all time, "Endless Love" wasn't written as a duet. The record company (Motown) decided at the last moment to make the song a duet between Richie & Ross (owing to the fact that they had Ross under contract for 1 more song before she moved to MCA). Richie had to re-work the track to accommodate the additional lead vocal (Ross wanted to sing Richie's part).

Other trivia:
-The film Endless Love was nominated for 6 Golden Raspberries in 1982, but lost all 6.
-The film also marked the big screen debut of Tom Cruise
-Lionel isn't the birth father of D-list 'celebrity'(and media pariah) Nicole Richie, he and then-wife Brenda adopted her in 1983 (her father was in Richie's band at the time).
-Brenda is the same wife who later caught Richie with another woman and kicked his ass.
-Richie is still very popular in the Arab world. According to ABC news, "Grown Iraqi men get misty-eyed by the mere mention of his name."

[yt=Endless Love is my #1 song of 1981]xbeOaL8WJws[/yt][/?]

Here are the songs that just missed the cut in 1981:

Neil Diamond - Love On The Rocks
Police, The - De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Olivia Newton-John & Cliff Richard - Suddenly
Blondie - The Tide Is High
Steely Dan - Hey Nineteen
Queen - Flash's Theme
Dolly Parton - 9 To 5
Delbert McClinton - Giving It Up For Your Love
Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne
Eddie Rabbitt - I Love A Rainy Night
Ronnie Milsap - Smoky Mountain Rain
Lakeside - Fantastic Voyage
REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You
John Lennon - Woman
Styx - The Best Of Times
Daryl Hall and John Oates - Kiss On My List
Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
.38 Special - Hold On Loosely
Smokey Robinson - Being With You
Styx - Too Much Time On My Hands
John Lennon - Watching The Wheels
Phil Collins - I Missed Again
Gino Vannelli - Living Inside Myself
Franke and the Knockouts - Sweetheart
Neil Diamond - America
Climax Blues Band - I Love You
George Harrison - All Those Years Ago
Rosanne Cash - Seven Year Ache
Rick James - Give It To Me Baby
Oak Ridge Boys - Elvira
Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl
Moody Blues, The - Gemini Dream
Alan Parsons Project - Time
Stanley Clarke/George Duke - Sweet Baby
Rush - Tom Sawyer
Marty Balin - Hearts
Billy Squier - The Stroke
Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
Pointer Sisters - Slow Hand
Stevie Nicks - Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Squeeze - Tempted
Juice Newton - Queen Of Hearts
Journey - Who's Crying Now
Moody Blues, The - The Voice
Blue Oyster Cult - Burnin' For You
Sheena Easton - For Your Eyes Only
Rolling Stones, The - Start Me Up
Daryl Hall and John Oates - Private Eyes
Bob Seger - Tryin' To Live My Life Without You (Live)
Rick Springfield - I've Done Everything For You
Quincy Jones - Just Once
Foreigner - Waiting For A Girl Like You
Genesis - No Reply At All

Hope you enjoyed that sweet feeling, because the Top 4 is coming & we've got paranoia, obsession, and a double-dose of crippling heartbreak on the way.

[?=#4]"Eye In The Sky" - Alan Parsons Project 1982
Yes, it's another story of a great song that almost wasn't.
But first, some background:
Alan Parsons Project isn't a real band. In the early 70's, engineer/producer Alan Parsons had tired of those pesky singers/bands/artists interfering with the sound he wanted to create. He had already made a name for himself engineering albums like Abbey Road and Dark Side of the Moon, and producing such acts as Pilot, Al Stewart, and #13 act Ambrosia. He met laywer/lyricist/piano player Eric Woolfson in the Abbey Road studio canteen. Woolfson had an idea of having the music revolve around the producer (like a Hitchcock or Kubrick film was more about them than the actors), and the Alan Parsons Project was born. Woolfson wrote the music & Parsons engineered & produced. Woolfson sometimes sang when the material warranted his voice but there were no other members, only session players & guest singers.

As far as the song goes, Parsons hated the original demo Woolfson brought him when recording the album. It was only after tweaking the song did Parsons finally warm up to it.

Some people think that the lyrics are a reference to 1984. I disagree: there are no references to Orwellian Doublespeak in they lyrics and the title isn't found anywhere in the novel. What does it really mean? Woolfson was known to frequent casinos & was interested in their security systems (eyes in the sky). That probably sparked the title & the rest is probably just coke-fueled paranoia.

Now, behold the awesome lethality of the Alan Parsons Project (with Sirius - there's no way I'm playing that song without the kick-ass intro piece)!

[yt=Eye In The Sky is my #1 song of 1982]jyZsoZ7zRd8[/yt][/?]

Some that didn't make the 1982 cut:

Queen - Under Pressure
Lindsey Buckingham - Trouble
Stevie Nicks - Leather And Lace
Daryl Hall and John Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)
J. Geils Band - Centerfold
George Benson - Turn Your Love Around
Rolling Stones, The - Waiting On A Friend
Quarterflash - Harden My Heart
Cars, The - Shake It Up
Little River Band - Take It Easy On Me
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - I Love Rock N Roll
Stevie Wonder - That Girl
Buckner And Garcia - Pac-Man Fever
Bob and Doug McKenzie - Take Off
Foreigner - Juke Box Hero
Go-Go's - We Got The Beat
J. Geils Band - Freeze-Frame
Huey Lewis and the News - Do You Believe In Love
Stevie Nicks - Edge Of Seventeen (Just Like The White Winged Dove)
Van Halen - (Oh) Pretty Woman
Paul McCartney - Ebony And Ivory
Daryl Hall and John Oates - Did It In A Minute
Kool & The Gang - Get Down On It
Elton John - Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)
Aldo Nova - Fantasy
Willie Nelson - Always On My Mind
Asia - Heat Of The Moment
Human League, The - Don't You Want Me
.38 Special - Caught Up In You
Dazz Band - Let It Whip
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Scorpions - No One Like You
Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger
John Cougar - Hurts So Good
Kim Wilde - Kids In America
Go-Go's - Vacation
Crosby, Stills and Nash - Wasted On The Way
Paul McCartney - Take It Away
Jerry Reed - She Got The Goldmine (I Got The Shaft)
Kenny Rogers - Love Will Turn You Around
Steve Miller Band - Abracadabra
Asia - Only Time Will Tell
Huey Lewis and the News - Workin' For A Livin'
Gap Band, The - You Dropped A Bomb On Me
Jackson Browne - Somebody's Baby
America - You Can Do Magic
Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)
Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now?
Rush - New World Man
Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes - Up Where We Belong
Steel Breeze - You Don't Want Me Anymore
Crosby, Stills and Nash - Southern Cross
Billy Joel - Pressure
Lionel Richie - Truly
Laura Branigan - Gloria
Missing Persons - Destination Unknown
Judas Priest - You've Got Another Thing Comin'
Scandal - Goodbye To You
Toni Basil - Mickey
Stray Cats - Rock This Town
Daryl Hall and John Oates - Maneater
Billy Squier - Everybody Wants You

I consider "Eye" to be an 80's Anthem because of the Paranoia theme. And I like "Prime Time" better than "Don't Answer Me," but I like the DAM video much better
[yt=Don't Answer Me]ALC7kt6iUHY[/yt]

Lots of good stuff there.

Oh, and I'll take "Suddenly" over "Endless Love" every day of the week!

Leather and Lace too

and Stop Draggin' My Heart Around.

[?=#3]"Time After Time" - Cyndi Lauper 1984
Trek-related trivia note of this thread: The title of this song was cribbed from TWOK & TUC director Nicholas Meyer's 1979 film.

Putting a big dose of bitter in the bitter-sweet, this is probably Lauper's most enduring song (still getting A/C airplay today). The song came about when Lauper's producer wanted 'one more song'* for her debut album. She and co-writer Rob (Don't call me 'Buster') Hyman worked the parts out on the piano after her title epiphany and cut the song in one sitting.

Rob's band, The Hooters ("Day By Day", "And We Danced"), acted as Cyndi's house band for this album. It's success allowed them to get a record deal the following year.

[yt=Time After Time is my #1 song for 1984]VdQY7BusJNU[/yt]

[yt=The best cover of this song I've ever heard, from 1988]UZC8J5oX1pg[/yt][/?]

A few that missed the 1984 cut:

Robert Plant - In The Mood
Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart
Romantics, The - Talking In Your Sleep
Lionel Richie - Running With The Night
Genesis - That's All
John Cougar Mellencamp - Pink Houses
Pretenders, The - Middle Of The Road
Quiet Riot - Bang Your Head (Metal Health)
Shannon - Let The Music Play
Nena - 99 Luftballons
Michael Jackson - Thriller
John Lennon - Nobody Told Me
Police, The - Wrapped Around Your Finger
Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun
Eurythmics - Here Comes The Rain Again
Howard Jones - New Song
Pointer Sisters - Automatic
Tracey Ullman - They Don't Know
Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now
Tony Carey - A Fine Fine Day
Billy Joel - The Longest Time
Go-Go's - Head Over Heels
Scorpions - Rock You Like A Hurricane
Steve Perry - Oh Sherrie
Night Ranger - Sister Christian
Laura Branigan - Self Control
Alan Parsons Project - Prime Time
Prince - When Doves Cry
Pointer Sisters - Jump (For My Love)
Wang Chung - Dance Hall Days
Mike Reno & Ann Wilson - Almost Paradise
Rod Stewart - Infatuation
Kenny Loggins - I'm Free (Heaven Helps The Man)
Elton John - Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Peabo Bryson - If Ever You're In My Arms Again
Van Halen - Panama
Lionel Richie - Stuck On You
Ratt - Round And Round
Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It
Corey Hart - Sunglasses At Night
Billy Squier - Rock Me Tonite
Huey Lewis & The News - If This Is It
John Waite - Missing You
Scandal - The Warrior
Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It
Prince - Let's Go Crazy
Sheila E. - The Glamorous Life
Chicago - Hard Habit To Break
Fixx, The - Are We Ourselves?
Eddie and the Cruisers - On The Dark Side
Rod Stewart - Some Guys Have All The Luck
Billy Ocean - Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)
Dennis DeYoung - Desert Moon
Sammy Hagar - I Can't Drive 55
Corey Hart - It Ain't Enough
Daryl Hall & John Oates - Out Of Touch
Cyndi Lauper - All Through The Night
Survivor - I Can't Hold Back
Duran Duran - Wild Boys
U2 - (Pride) In The Name Of Love

[?=#2]"Every Breath You Take" - The Police 1983

1983's Song of the Year Grammy went to Sting, hopefully not still covered in piss, for this ode to "jealousy and surveillance and ownership." Sting wrote this while dealing with the breakup of his first marriage. While he was sure the song would be a hit, he never felt that the song was very original. It was influenced by the Gene Pitney song "Every Breath I Take" and based on the Classical Rondo (AABACABA - for those who know music). The chorus even borrows from the song "More Than I Can Say" covered most recently by Leo Sayer in 1980.

"Every Breath You Take" spent 8 weeks at #1 in 1983. the next time a song would spend that long at #1 would be 9 years later ("Jump Jump" in 1992). If you add in the 11 weeks Puff Daddy's "I'll Be Missing You" spent at #1 in 1997, some version of this song has spent 19 weeks at #1, the most by any song on the Billboard US Top 100.

Somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of Sting's publishing income comes from this one song. I'm in the wrong business

Geek Trivia Note: Sting wrote this song at the same desk in Jamaca that Ian Fleming wrote his 007 novels.

[yt=Every Breath You Take is my #1 song of 1983]OMOGaugKpzs[/yt][/?]

Others from 1983 that didn't make it:

Don Henley - Dirty Laundry Kick 'em when they're down
Men At Work - Down Under
The Clash - Rock The Casbah
Peter Gabriel - Shock The Monkey
Toto - Africa
Phil Collins - You Can't Hurry Love
Billy Joel - Allentown
Saga - On The Loose
Journey - Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
Joe Jackson - Breaking Us In Two
Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
Lionel Richie - You Are
Frida - I Know There's Something Going On
ABC - Poison Arrow
Daryl Hall & John Oates - One On One
Styx - Mr. Roboto Domo Arigato
Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
Michael Jackson - Beat It EVH Guitar
After The Fire - Der Kommissar
Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science SCIENCE!
Duran Duran - Rio
U2 - New Year's Day Didn't Make Top 40
David Bowie - Let's Dance
Prince - Little Red Corvette
INXS - The One Thing
Naked Eyes - Always Something There To Remind Me
Journey - Faithfully
Culture Club - Time (Clock Of The Heart)
Daryl Hall & John Oates - Family Man
Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue
Tubes, The - She's A Beauty
Billy Idol - White Wedding
Sergio Mendes - Never Gonna Let You Go
Elton John - I'm Still Standing
DeBarge - All This Love
Kinks, The - Come Dancing
Donna Summer - She Works Hard For The Money
Duran Duran - Is There Something I Should Know
Bryan Adams - Cuts Like A Knife
Def Leppard - Rock Of Ages
Fixx, The - Saved By Zero
Men At Work - It's A Mistake
Human League, The - (Keep Feeling) Fascination
David Bowie - China Girl
Men Without Hats - The Safety Dance
Michael Jackson - Human Nature
Police, The - King Of Pain
Spandau Ballet - True
Robert Plant - Big Log
Talking Heads - Burning Down The House
Fixx, The - One Thing Leads To Another
Lionel Richie - All Night Long (All Night)
Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel The Noize
Huey Lewis & The News - Heart And Soul
John Cougar Mellencamp - Crumblin' Down
Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield
Daryl Hall & John Oates - Say It Isn't So
Peter Schilling - Major Tom (Coming Home)
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pride & Joy Didn't Make Top 40

Only 1 left. Have you guessed it yet?

"A Fine Fine Day" and "The Warrior"?

While waiting patiently, here's an 80s gem that didn't make the cut.

[YT="If I Was"]ScrVNK4kiNE[/YT]

Before we get to the Top spot, I'd like to acknowledge a glaring omission. After completing my 1986 list, I realized that I left off a song that could have easily been the #2 or #1 song for that year. A song that, for me at least, sounds like pure, unadulterated joy. The first hit single by a jazzy, throwback ingenue who would go on to a very nice career (her next album would go on to hit #1).

Enjoy this Top 100 extra:

[yt=I feel no shame, I'm in love]FrFkxCGYxIU[/yt]

Here is a list of songs from 1987 that almost made the cut (#1 is from '87):

Duran Duran - Notorious
Gregory Abbott - Shake You Down
Robbie Nevil - C'est La Vie
Billy Vera - At This Moment (Live)
Glass Tiger - Someday
Madonna - Open Your Heart
Luther Vandross - Stop To Love
Benjamin Orr - Stay The Night
Georgia Satellites - Keep Your Hands To Yourself
Beastie Boys - (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)
Peter Gabriel - Big Time
Tina Turner - What You Get Is What You See
Aretha Franklin/George Michael - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
Lou Gramm - Midnight Blue
Steve Winwood - The Finer Things
Boston - 'Can'tcha Say (You Believe In Me)/Still In Love'
Robert Cray Band - Smoking Gun
Prince - Sign O' The Times
World Party - Ship Of Fools (Save Me From Tomorrow)
Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died In Your Arms
Jody Watley - Looking For A New Love
Gregg Allman Band - I'm No Angel
Lionel Richie - Se La
Frozen Ghost - Should I See
Chris Deburgh - The Lady In Red
David Bowie - Day-In Day-Out
Psychedelic Furs - Heartbreak Beat
Fleetwood Mac - Big Love
Breakfast Club - Right On Track
Restless Heart - I'll Still Be Loving You
Lisa-Lisa & Cult Jam - Head To Toe
Herb Alpert - Diamonds
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Jammin' Me
Genesis - In Too Deep
Level 42 - Lessons In Love
Billy Idol - Sweet Sixteen
Smokey Robinson - Just To See Her
Heart - Alone
System, The - Don't Disturb This Groove
Expose' - Point Of No Return
Pseudo Echo - Funkytown
Al Jarreau - Moonlighting (Theme)
Whitesnake - Still Of The Night
Crowded House - Something So Strong
Bob Seger - Shakedown
Nylons, The - Kiss Him Goodbye
Janet Jackson - The Pleasure Principle
INXS - Good Times
George Michael - I Want Your Sex
T'Pau - Heart And Soul
Cure, The - Why Can't I Be You?
Jon Astley - Jane's Getting Serious
Suzanne Vega - Luka
Richard Marx - Don't Mean Nothing
Whispers, The - Rock Steady
Danny Wilson - Mary's Prayer
ABC - When Smokey Sings
David Bowie - Never Let Me Down
Heart - Who Will You Run To
Europe - Carrie
Mr. Mister - Something Real (Inside Me/Inside You)
Hooters - Satellite
Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly
Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now
Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies
U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name
Swing Out Sister - Breakout
Pet Shop Boys - It's A Sin
Poison - I Won't Forget You
Sting - We'll Be Together
R.E.M. - The One I Love
Squeeze - Hourglass
Stevie Wonder - Skeletons
George Michael - Faith
Aerosmith - Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
Whitesnake - Is This Love
Pretty Poison - Catch Me (I'm Falling)
Steve Winwood - Valerie
Def Leppard - Animal
New Order - True Faith

Getting impatient, going to start throwing out guesses <swoon>

I'd post a copy here, but the file's too big to attach.

Big hair is involved with number one?

Good songs make you move; tap your fingers, nod your head, shake ya ass. Great songs make you feel. Whether you feel bubbling joy (like the bonus song above - Post 203) or soul-crippling sorrow is up to the song & your own personal circumstances that you associate with it.

The song below makes me feel ... empty, alone, like I've lost everything that matters. It's not just a state of mind, but a physical reaction. Like a punch in the gut. Like my stomach has fallen down into my shorts. Like everything is gone.

I don't have to think about the lyrics, I just need to hear the opening arpeggios and the mournful, wailing guitar and it all comes flooding back.

I'm not one to dwell on the past, always lamenting my mistakes. But this song is beautiful in its misery.

I guess I need my pain too.

[?=#1]"With Or Without You" - U2 1987
It seems fitting that our #1 song is another 'almost wasn't' song. The band couldn't make it work, no matter how much they tried. They started it out like a typical U2 song: Thumping drums & delayed guitars. But it just didn't work. Then they tried to "fuck it up," cranking the bass, killing the signature guitars, and adding a drum loop, but it still wasn't quite right.

Then, guitarist The Edge (David Howell Evans) received a gift from friend Michael Brook, a prototype Infinite Guitar. I say 'prototype' because the instrument wasn't finished. There were wires hanging out and it was prone to give random electrical shocks to whoever was holding it. The Edge made it work & the song had its hook.

Lyrically, the song was part of a 'trilogy' of songs of which this one was the only one to make the album (the other 2 - "Walk To The Water" and "Luminous Times" - are on the 2 disc Remastered version).

[yt=Give yourself Away]XmSdTa9kaiQ&ob[/yt][/?]

If they can use the electrical shock hazard guitar on a flooded stage at an outdoor show that would be EPIC!