20 Years Later

This entry consists of my three favorite 80’s pop hits according to three different categories. First up is simply the greatest hit of the decade all in all, material that media almost guaranteed has spoonfed you with at least some time. Then I’ll mention a forgotten hit, which despite having been big in it’s time for one reason or another (double-digit hit, more regionally oriented etc) you just don’t hear anymore. Lastly I’ll focus on electronic dance, just because it’s a fraction of that decade’s mainstream music I really like. The reason to make categories like this is that when it comes to 80’s pop heading for mainstream popularity it usually really was the most famous songs which were the best, and overplayed to this day.

What’s maybe a bit hard to understand now was that early 80’s pop in general was both very rebellious and reactionary music at the same time, trying to distance itself as far away from the hippies as possible both musically with manufactured, slicked and (at the time) high production electronic music not seen before, aesthetically with excessive yuppyish-decadence, and even ideologically with most artists ignoring social issues entirely and often focusing on the excesses of capitalism in a more positive light.

Enjoy.


THE REMEMBERED
Kim Wilde - Kids In America
(03:29)

Who haven’t heard this rocking 1981 new wave track yet, in one form or another. The tense buildup and unforgettable anthemic chorus together with the lyrical content does not only scream of commercial perfection*, but the very beginning of a new era.

*A claim that can be easily supported by the endless stream of consistently popping up covers by everything from alternative rock bands to cartoon shows.

THE FORGOTTEN
Moon Ray - Comanchero
(03:58)

Stomping Italo-pop which was a hit in the summer of 1985, or perhaps 1984, the sources are a bit conflicting; maybe it reached different countries at different time periods. Very kitschy track both intentionally with the spaghetti western-ish chants and unintentionally with it’s extremely 80’s music video, which has led to the song getting a minor non-commercial comeback on the internet.

THE.. ONE TO DANCE TO.
Trans X - Living On Video
(5:54)

Light beams, purple skies, computer fantasies… On video. Behold what the future sounded like in 1981, though the world just didn’t understand the quintessentially early techno until two years later when it became a huge international hit. The backbone of the song is its dark synth line repeated over and over again for the entirety of the song and rightfully so.