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Pitchfork: The 200 Best Songs of the 1980's (1 Viewer)

D

Daywalker

Footballguy
http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9700-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1980s/

Here is a list of all 200 tracks:

  • 200) Egyptian Lover - “I Cry (Night After Night)”
  • 199) Tom Zé - “Nave Maria”
  • 198) A Certain Rati - “Shack Up”
  • 197) Donald Byrd / 125th Street, N.Y.C. - “Love Has Come Around”
  • 196) Dinosaur L - “Go Bang! #5 (Francois K Mix)”
  • 195) Jungle Brothers - “Straight Out the Jungle”
  • 194) Too $hort - “Freaky Tales”
  • 193) Kano - “I'm Ready”
  • 192) William Onyeabor - “Good Name”
  • 191) Alice Coltrane - “Jagadishwar”
  • 190) Gregory Isaacs - “Night Nurse”
  • 189) EPMD - “You Gots to Chill”
  • 188) Carly Simon - “Why”
  • 187) Mtume - “Juicy Fruit”
  • 186) The Clash - “Rock the Casbah”
  • 185) Class Action - “Weekend”
  • 184) Wayne Smith - “Under Me Sleng Teng”
  • 183) Loose Joints - “Is It All Over My Face”
  • 182) Strafe - “Set It Off”
  • 181) Womack & Womack - “Teardrops”
  • 180) Patrice Rushen - “Forget Me Nots”
  • 179) The Joubert Singers - “Stand on the Word”
  • 178) Nina Simone - “Fodder in Her Wings
  • 177) The Pretenders - “Brass in Pocket”
  • 176) Schoolly D - “P.S.K. What Does It Mean?"
  • 175) K-Rob / Rammellzee - “Beat Bop”
  • 174) Suicidal Tendencies - “Institutionalized”
  • 173) Wipers - “Youth of America”
  • 172) The Sugarcubes - “Birthday”
  • 171) King Sunny Ade and His African Beats - “Ja Funmi”
  • 170) Cybotron - “Clear”
  • 169) The Chills - “Pink Frost”
  • 168) LL Cool J - “I Can't Live Without My Radio”
  • 167) Yoko Ono - “Walking on Thin Ice”
  • 166) George Benson - “Give Me the Night”
  • 165) Inner City - “Good Life”
  • 164) Hüsker Dü - “Pink Turns to Blue”
  • 163) Peter Gabriel - “In Your Eyes”
  • 162) Orchestra Baobab - “Mouhamadou Bamba”
  • 161) U2 - “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
  • 160) Sheila E. - “The Glamorous Life”
  • 159) George Clinton - “Atomic Dog”
  • 158) 808 State - “Pacific State”
  • 157) Orange Juice - “Rip It Up”
  • 156) Siouxsie and the Banshees - “Cities in Dust”
  • 155) A Guy Called Gerald - “Voodoo Ray”
  • 154) Tangerine Dream - “Love on a Real Train”
  • 153) Joe Jackson - “Steppin' Out”
  • 152) Galaxie 500 - “Tugboat”
  • 151) Dead Kennedys - “Holiday in Cambodia”
  • 150) Beastie Boys - “Paul Revere”
  • 149) Shannon - “Let the Music Play”
  • 148) Al B. Sure! - “Nite and Day”
  • 147) Michael McDonald - “I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)”
  • 146) David Bowie - “Modern Love”
  • 145) Liquid Liquid - “Optimo”
  • 144) Big Daddy Kane - “Ain't No Half-Steppin'”
  • 143) Anthony Red Rose - “Tempo”
  • 142) Tears for Fears - “Head Over Heels”
  • 141) Beat Happening - “Indian Summer”
  • 140) Bronski Beat - “Smalltown Boy”
  • 139) Spacemen 3 - “Walkin' With Jesus”
  • 138) Rob Base / DJ E-Z Rock - “It Takes Two”
  • 137) Mission of Burma - “That's When I Reach for My Revolver”
  • 136) Motörhead - “Ace of Spades”
  • 135) Pixies - “Gigantic”
  • 134) Queen & David Bowie - “Under Pressure”
  • 133) Fleetwood Mac - “Everywhere”
  • 132) Godley & Creme - “Cry”
  • 131) Yellowman - “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt”
  • 130) Phil Collins - “In the Air Tonight”
  • 129) This Mortal Coil - “Song to the Siren”
  • 128) R.E.M. - “Radio Free Europe”
  • 127) Cyndi Lauper - “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
  • 126) Janet Jackson - “Control”
  • 125) The Replacements - “Bastards of Young”
  • 124) De La Soul - “Eye Know”
  • 123) Run-D.M.C. - “It's Like That”
  • 122) Grandmaster & Melle Mel - “White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)”
  • 121) Slick Rick / Doug E. Fresh - “La Di Da Di”
  • 120) Rick James - “Give It to Me Baby”
  • 119) Soul II Soul - “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)”
  • 118) Minutemen - “History Lesson – Part II”
  • 117) Rhythim Is Rhythim - “Strings of Life”
  • 116) Sade - “Is It a Crime”
  • 115) INXS - “Never Tear Us Apart”
  • 114) Talk Talk - “Life's What You Make It”
  • 113) The Isley Brothers - “Between the Sheets”
  • 112) Nirvana - “About a Girl”
  • 111) The Clash - “The Magnificent Seven” / ”The Magnificent Dance”
  • 110) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - “The Mercy Seat”
  • 109) The Smiths - “This Charming Man”
  • 108) Frankie Knuckles - “Baby Wants to Ride”
  • 107) Alan Parsons Project - “Eye in the Sky”
  • 106) Madonna - “Borderline”
  • 105) The Cure - “Pictures of You”
  • 104) AC/DC - “Back in Black”
  • 103) Whitney Houston - “How Will I Know”
  • 102) Michael Jackson - “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”
  • 101) Eazy-E - “Boyz-n-the-Hood”
  • 100) The Church - “Under the Milky Way”
  • 99) Sister Nancy - “Bam Bam”
  • 98) Violent Femmes - “Blister in the Sun”
  • 97) Chaka Khan / Rufus - “Ain't Nobody”
  • 96) Cherrelle / Alexander O'Neal - “Saturday Love”
  • 95) Grace Jones - “Pull Up to the Bumper”
  • 94) Change - “The Glow of Love”
  • 93) U2 - “With or Without You”
  • 92) Fleetwood Mac - “Gypsy”
  • 91) Bill Withers / Grover Washington, Jr. - “Just the Two of Us”
  • 90) Blondie - “Call Me”
  • 89) Fela Kuti - “Coffin for Head of State”
  • 88) Evelyn "Champagne" King - “Love Come Down”
  • 87) Tenor Saw - “Ring the Alarm”
  • 86) Tracy Chapman - “Fast Car”
  • 85) Luther Vandross - “Never Too Much”
  • 84) Slayer - “Angel of Death”
  • 83) My Bloody Valentine - “You Made Me Realise”
  • 82) Tears for Fears - “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
  • 81) Diana Ross - “Upside Down”
  • 80) Zapp - “Computer Love”
  • 79) Boogie Down Productions - “South Bronx”
  • 78) The Specials - “Ghost Town”
  • 77) Metallica - “Master of Puppets”
  • 76) Fingers Inc. - “Can You Feel It?”
  • 75) Black Flag - “Rise Above”
  • 74) Dinosaur Jr. - “Freak Scene”
  • 73) Pixies - “Debaser”
  • 72) Bad Brains - “Pay to Cum”
  • 71) Bruce Springsteen - “Atlantic City”
  • 70) Pet Shop Boys - “West End Girls”
  • 69) Prince - “When You Were Mine”
  • 68) Biz Markie - “Just a Friend”
  • 67) Guns N' Roses - “Sweet Child o' Mine”
  • 66) The Replacements - “Alex Chilton”
  • 65) Echo & the Bunnymen - “The Killing Moon”
  • 64) David Bowie - “Let's Dance”
  • 63) Stevie Nicks - “Edge of Seventeen”
  • 62) Art of Noise - “Moments in Love”
  • 61) Gang Starr - “DJ Premier in Deep Concentration”
  • 60) ESG - “Moody”
  • 59) Depeche Mode - “Never Let Me Down Again”
  • 58) Daryl Hall & John Oates - “I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)”
  • 57) Eric B. & Rakim - “Follow the Leader”
  • 56) Bob Marley & the Wailers - “Could You Be Loved”
  • 55) New Order - “Ceremony”
  • 54) Roxy Music - “More Than This”
  • 53) Kraftwerk - “Computer Love”
  • 52) The Stone Roses - “I Wanna Be Adored”
  • 51) Bruce Springsteen - “I'm on Fire”
  • 50) Madonna - “Like a Prayer”
  • 49) Neneh Cherry - “Buffalo Stance”
  • 48) Janet Jackson - “When I Think of You”
  • 47) Joy Division - “Atmosphere”
  • 46) The Jesus and Mary Chain - “Just Like Honey”
  • 45) De La Soul - “Me, Myself and I”
  • 44) Laurie Anderson - “O Superman (For Massenet)”
  • 43) New Order - “Bizarre Love Triangle”
  • 42) Eurythmics - “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”
  • 41) Guns N' Roses - “Welcome to the Jungle”
  • 40) The Cure - “Close to Me”
  • 39) Cocteau Twins - “Lorelei”
  • 38) Salt-n-Pepa - “Push It”
  • 37) Tom Tom Club - “Genius of Love”
  • 36) Michael Jackson - “Human Nature”
  • 35) Sade - “The Sweetest Taboo”
  • 34) Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force - “Planet Rock”
  • 33) Prince and the Revolution - “I Would Die 4 U”
  • 32) N.W.A - “#### tha Police”
  • 31) Frankie Knuckles / Jamie Principle - “Your Love”
  • 30) Beastie Boys - “Shake Your Rump”
  • 29) Diana Ross - “I'm Coming Out”
  • 28) Kate Bush - “Hounds of Love”
  • 27) Janet Jackson - “Love Will Never Do (Without You)”
  • 26) Public Enemy - “Bring the Noise”
  • 25) New Order - “Temptation”
  • 24) Pixies - “Where Is My Mind?”
  • 23) Slick Rick - “Children's Story”
  • 22) Talking Heads - “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”
  • 21) Prince and the Revolution - “Kiss”
  • 20) Whitney Houston - “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”
  • 19) Eric B. & Rakim - “Paid in Full” / ”Paid in Full (Seven Minutes of Madness Mix)”
  • 18) Marvin Gaye - “Sexual Healing”
  • 17) Madonna - “Into the Groove”
  • 16) Fugazi - “Waiting Room”
  • 15) Sonic Youth - “Teen Age Riot”
  • 14) The Smiths - “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”
  • 13) Michael Jackson - “Billie Jean”
  • 12) The Cure - “Just Like Heaven”
  • 11) Prince and the Revolution - “When Doves Cry”
  • 10) The Smiths - “How Soon Is Now?”
  • 9) Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - “The Message”
  • 8) Talking Heads - “Once in a Lifetime”
  • 7) Joy Division - “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
  • 6) Kate Bush “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)”
  • 5) Public Enemy - “Fight the Power”
  • 4) New Order - “Blue Monday”
  • 3) N.W.A - “Straight Outta Compton”
  • 2) Michael Jackson - “Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'”
  • 1) Prince and the Revolution - “Purple Rain”
 
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Disagree with alot of the list, and am shocked at some of the comparison rankings? Welcome to the Jungle at 41? Bah. It might be because I was born in '85, and I don't have a grudge with rock and metal like this dude.

 
Id wager that most people wouldnt list “Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'” in Michael Jackson's top 5, let alone the best song of the 80s.

 
DocHolliday said:
This is just a terrible list. It is almost like rock did not exist.
Click to expand...
I've seen worse lists. This list is trying like heck to include "that which had been previously underrated", which is admirable. But the story of '80s music had long chapters on hard rock and metal ... those should have at least been thrown a few more bones besides G'n'R and AC/DC. Saw "Ace of Spades" on there, too.

Also, the author(s) of the list seem to have the attitude that "popular = bad". I can see going in for a handful of smart deep-cut album tracks ... but they seemed to be going deep-cut for deep-cut's sake. Leaving "Beat It" off the list entirely was a calculated decision -- or maybe EVH's solo offends?

...

Did they completely exclude "Blister in the Sun"? No Duran Duran at all? Howard Jones? I think Yoko Ono could've been bumped for one of them. List does have a lot of worthy unsung gems on it, so I have to give them credit for that much.

Is there an argument that country music should've been represented? Sometimes, C&W gets ghettoized on lists like this, all being shoved aside as essentially "not applicable".

.

 
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Look at the diversity of those songs...pop radio today is all the same nonsense.

I can't imagine what will be the classic hits of today in about 20 years.

 
This is the prototypical list which begs the comment, I could crap a better list than that. It's terrible.

 
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Pitchfork is written by and caters to a particular type of music nerd. Their list is going to reflect that. Not sure why that bothers anyone. If you saw a list of the top 100 songs of the decade as compiled by Vibe Magazine would you complain about the absence of George Strait?

 
TobiasFunke said:
Pitchfork is written by and caters to a particular type of music nerd. Their list is going to reflect that. Not sure why that bothers anyone. If you saw a list of the top 100 songs of the decade as compiled by Vibe Magazine would you complain about the absence of George Strait?
Click to expand...
Yoko Ono. Nuff said.

 
So Yoko has a song on the list, but Woman or Beautiful Boy or Just Like Starting Over aren't on the list? Yeah, OK. Both of JULIAN Lennon's hits from his first album are better than the Yoko song, by a lot....

Wanna Be Starting Something isn't a top 3 song on Thriller, much less the #2 song of the 80s.

I know these kind of lists are to elicit a response, but this is one of the worst of these lists I've ever seen.

 
NCCommish said:
TobiasFunke said:
Pitchfork is written by and caters to a particular type of music nerd. Their list is going to reflect that. Not sure why that bothers anyone. If you saw a list of the top 100 songs of the decade as compiled by Vibe Magazine would you complain about the absence of George Strait?
Click to expand...
Yoko Ono. Nuff said.
Click to expand...
True. Although I confess I've never heard that song. If I'd never heard "In the Air Tonight" I'd probably have the same thought about Phil Collins appearing on any sort of "best of" list.

 
Daywalker said:
http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9700-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1980s/

Here is a list of all 200 tracks:

  • 196) Dinosaur L - “Go Bang! #5 (Francois K Mix)”
  • 186) The Clash - “Rock the Casbah”
  • 177) The Pretenders - “Brass in Pocket”
  • 174) Suicidal Tendencies - “Institutionalized”
  • 172) The Sugarcubes - “Birthday”
  • 164) Hüsker Dü - “Pink Turns to Blue”
  • 161) U2 - “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
  • 160) Sheila E. - “The Glamorous Life”
  • 159) George Clinton - “Atomic Dog”
  • 158) 808 State - “Pacific State”
  • 156) Siouxsie and the Banshees - “Cities in Dust”
  • 153) Joe Jackson - “Steppin' Out”
  • 150) Beastie Boys - “Paul Revere”
  • 146) David Bowie - “Modern Love”
  • 144) Big Daddy Kane - “Ain't No Half-Steppin'”
  • 142) Tears for Fears - “Head Over Heels”
  • 139) Spacemen 3 - “Walkin' With Jesus”
  • 138) Rob Base / DJ E-Z Rock - “It Takes Two”
  • 135) Pixies - “Gigantic”
  • 128) R.E.M. - “Radio Free Europe”
  • 125) The Replacements - “Bastards of Young”
  • 124) De La Soul - “Eye Know”
  • 123) Run-D.M.C. - “It's Like That”
  • 121) Slick Rick / Doug E. Fresh - “La Di Da Di”
  • 118) Minutemen - “History Lesson – Part II”
  • 111) The Clash - “The Magnificent Seven” / ”The Magnificent Dance”
  • 109) The Smiths - “This Charming Man”
  • 105) The Cure - “Pictures of You”
  • 101) Eazy-E - “Boyz-n-the-Hood”
  • 100) The Church - “Under the Milky Way”
  • 98) Violent Femmes - “Blister in the Sun”
  • 93) U2 - “With or Without You”
  • 90) Blondie - “Call Me”
  • 82) Tears for Fears - “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
  • 78) The Specials - “Ghost Town”
  • 75) Black Flag - “Rise Above”
  • 74) Dinosaur Jr. - “Freak Scene”
  • 73) Pixies - “Debaser”
  • 72) Bad Brains - “Pay to Cum”
  • 70) Pet Shop Boys - “West End Girls”
  • 66) The Replacements - “Alex Chilton”
  • 65) Echo & the Bunnymen - “The Killing Moon”
  • 64) David Bowie - “Let's Dance”
  • 58) Daryl Hall & John Oates - “I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)”
  • 56) Bob Marley & the Wailers - “Could You Be Loved”
  • 55) New Order - “Ceremony”
  • 54) Roxy Music - “More Than This”
  • 52) The Stone Roses - “I Wanna Be Adored”
  • 51) Bruce Springsteen - “I'm on Fire”
  • 49) Neneh Cherry - “Buffalo Stance”
  • 46) The Jesus and Mary Chain - “Just Like Honey”
  • 45) De La Soul - “Me, Myself and I”
  • 42) Eurythmics - “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”
  • 40) The Cure - “Close to Me”
  • 37) Tom Tom Club - “Genius of Love”
  • 35) Sade - “The Sweetest Taboo”
  • 34) Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force - “Planet Rock”
  • 32) N.W.A - “#### tha Police”
  • 30) Beastie Boys - “Shake Your Rump”
  • 26) Public Enemy - “Bring the Noise”
  • 25) New Order - “Temptation”
  • 24) Pixies - “Where Is My Mind?”
  • 18) Marvin Gaye - “Sexual Healing”
  • 16) Fugazi - “Waiting Room”
  • 15) Sonic Youth - “Teen Age Riot”
  • 12) The Cure - “Just Like Heaven”
  • 10) The Smiths - “How Soon Is Now?”
  • 8) Talking Heads - “Once in a Lifetime”
  • 7) Joy Division - “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
  • 5) Public Enemy - “Fight the Power”
  • 4) New Order - “Blue Monday”
  • 3) N.W.A - “Straight Outta Compton”
Click to expand...
I can dig these but not in that order.

 
As with all things Pitchfork, one can only wonder who the hell they're trying to impress, and of course the answer to that is themselves

 
shuke said:
JZilla said:
Daywalker said:
  • 132) Godley & Creme - “Cry”
Click to expand...
This song has never been anything but ####### terrible
Click to expand...
Plus two Kate Bush songs in the top 30.

I usually get annoyed by people complaining about lists in here, but this one flat out sucks.
Click to expand...
Same. I dig making a list that isn't entirely radio hits but this one is wildly inconsistent and incoherent. It's like a playlist of one dude's personal favorites instead of following an established criteria.

 
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