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The 100 Greatest Songs of 1981 #1 Super Freak (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter timschochet
- Start date
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
Do it.
Girl from work went nutz over Only A Lad and Dead Man's Party. I originally hated Oingo, they grew on me but I hadn't heard Only A Lad in decades. Now after a second listen my original take wasn't 'that far' off.
Yeah, I'm putting together a Next-100 for 81 but other years are open AFIK.
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
81 was a big year musically for me. Graduated HS, moved out west, all sorts of musical influences and big changes tend to hard-wire music.I was thinking that I know nothing about country...would be interesting to hear what was in trend that year, if anybody knows about country.
I confess that I have a 'few' cross-over country tunes in my list and maybe one or two very pop tunes that would go with my taste as an 18 year old. Should be eclectic enough, lol.
FairWarning
Footballguy
Graduated in 82 but 81 was much better musically. MTV started in 81, so that really changed the music landscape.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
And I'll be doing a third 100 from 1971 but maybe not until after my fantasy baseball draft is over.
timschochet
Footballguy
10. Men At Work “Down Under” (from Business As Usual)
https://youtu.be/XfR9iY5y94s
Our top ten begins with the song that made many people, including me, wonder what the heck a vegemite sandwich was.
Years later Colin Hay recorded an acoustic version of the song with a Latin edge to it. It’s terrific:
https://youtu.be/p2S7mqhDBg0
https://youtu.be/XfR9iY5y94s
Our top ten begins with the song that made many people, including me, wonder what the heck a vegemite sandwich was.
Years later Colin Hay recorded an acoustic version of the song with a Latin edge to it. It’s terrific:
https://youtu.be/p2S7mqhDBg0
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
10-year-old me had definitely never heard of vegemite until this song came out.
northern exposure
Footballguy
My first sales job was with Kraft Foods in the late 80s. They are the makers of Vegemite (and Marmite the British version). I had the chance to try both and was told it was "an acquired taste". That's one way of putting it.
northern exposure
Footballguy
I have never been a fan of this song. Having to play it constantly while working as a DJ at weddings,etc. didn't make me enjoy it any more.
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
Hadn't a clue what it meant when it came out. A few years later a gf from NZ not only explained it to me. Somehow she got some marmite which it 'similar' to vegemite.Pip's Invitation said:
Wasn't that bad as I recall.
wikkidpissah
Footballguy
which is more a conundrum - what bands were crowded out to allow for three Men & Work (as well as nine April Wine) songs or how the song which made "Down Under" possible is 38 spots behind it in Mr Timmy's Chunder Line?
Apple Jack
Footballguy
Hated this song then and have only grown to hate it more.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
A roomate in Marin County announced that his cousin was coming to visit from Capetown SA many years ago. Turns out his cousin was a hot af young woman. He couldn't get off work so I took a day off and we went up the coast to Bolinas (shout out to @El Floppo). About five minutes after leaving the house she pulls a bottle of red wine out of her bag and a couple plastic cups. Okay, gameday player. Fast forward an hour or so and she whips a jar of vegimite out of her bag. Mind blown.
Gr00vus
Footballguy
timschochet
Footballguy
9. Soft Cell “Tainted Love” (from Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret)
https://youtu.be/XZVpR3Pk-r8
A throwaway cover of an obscure 60s song by an even more obscure New Wave group became one of the biggest selling hits of all time, thanks to its timeless pop sound. A longer version also included a snippet of “Where Did Our Love Go?”
https://youtu.be/XZVpR3Pk-r8
A throwaway cover of an obscure 60s song by an even more obscure New Wave group became one of the biggest selling hits of all time, thanks to its timeless pop sound. A longer version also included a snippet of “Where Did Our Love Go?”
zamboni
Footballguy
This is one of those songs that I have a lot of respect for, but can't stand listening to.
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
Its an insidious song that burrows into your soul till you toss and turn and can't sleep at night.
Now I know I've got to. . . run away,
I've got to. . . get away.
zamboni
Footballguy
Radio stations have tried the hard sell as well as the soft cell - never worked.
timschochet
Footballguy
I like it but it’s kind of the opposite of Rush. Every person I’ve ever known who absolutely loved this tune was either a woman or a gay man.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
And there's an eight+ minute extended dance version.
I had this as the #3 song in the '82 list as I'm going by the US release date.
I use the synthesizer sound as my notification sound on my phone.
Andy Dufresne
Footballguy
Sure I'm in touch with my feminine side and sometimes dress flamboyantly but...
Edit: And let me pro-actively apologize for the stereotyping.
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wikkidpissah
Footballguy
Zegras11
Footballguy
bryhamm
Footballguy
FairWarning
Footballguy
Back then, no - today, highly likely.
I can't remember the first time I heard Soft Cell on the radio. I'm guessing when alternative became mainstream (Nirvana era). Chicago never played this or other any other alt like early Cure, New Order, etc. A lot of these bands got their big break on MTV (REM, U2, Depeche Mode etc), even though they had huge college radio followings.
timschochet
Footballguy
8. The Psychedelic Furs “Pretty In Pink” (from Talk Talk Talk)
https://youtu.be/RuWmsg-ihLg
This is the original version of the song and it was a video hit for the band and got a lot of play during the early days of MTV- I clearly remember watching it and liking it very much. Then a few years later the John Hughes movie came out and the band released a newer version, adding an overlaying guitar sound which I didn’t like nearly as much. Anyhow, the link here is to the original.
https://youtu.be/RuWmsg-ihLg
This is the original version of the song and it was a video hit for the band and got a lot of play during the early days of MTV- I clearly remember watching it and liking it very much. Then a few years later the John Hughes movie came out and the band released a newer version, adding an overlaying guitar sound which I didn’t like nearly as much. Anyhow, the link here is to the original.
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
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timschochet
Footballguy
7. Queen & David Bowie “Under Pressure” (released as a single)
https://youtu.be/a01QQZyl-_I
Another song that I have trouble accepting is 40 years old. And both the singers are gone.
I remember thinking at the time that it was an odd match- Bowie was, for me, part of the New Wave movement (I was not aware of his history in 1981), and Queen was classic rock. I didn’t get the glam connection. Even the way they sang the song was so different. That of course was part of the appeal.
https://youtu.be/a01QQZyl-_I
Another song that I have trouble accepting is 40 years old. And both the singers are gone.
I remember thinking at the time that it was an odd match- Bowie was, for me, part of the New Wave movement (I was not aware of his history in 1981), and Queen was classic rock. I didn’t get the glam connection. Even the way they sang the song was so different. That of course was part of the appeal.
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Osaurus
Footballguy
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El Floppo
Footballguy
massraider
Footballguy
There's a great story somewhere about the conception of Under Pressure, which involved everyone involved all gakked up in the studio, and a coked up Bowie pushing his ideas on everyone.
zamboni
Footballguy
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Ghost Rider
Footballguy
We Got the Beat is a fun little tune. Always makes me think of Fast Times.
Down Under is still a killer tune. Loved it the first time I heard, and still love it.
Tainted Love was never much to my liking.
The greatness of Under Pressure goes without saying.
Down Under is still a killer tune. Loved it the first time I heard, and still love it.
Tainted Love was never much to my liking.
The greatness of Under Pressure goes without saying.
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Bracie Smathers
Footballguy
Their was no such thing as 'classic rock' back in 81. Labels like that weren't used till the late 80s and were applied to heavy guitar 70s bands.
Early 80s music drifted from the heavy guitar sound to a synthetic sound with that awful electric drum sound that some love but I truly hated and still do with some groups of that era.
Took me years to come around on that sound like THIS classic 80s tune that came out a year later in 82. Ohh how I hated that tune when it came out. Love it now but at the time... ugh.
zamboni
Footballguy
Yes, it was just called "rock" considering much of the music from that genre was not even a decade old.
timschochet
Footballguy
6. Rush “Tom Sawyer” (from Moving Pictures)
https://youtu.be/auLBLk4ibAk
I actually attended a Rush concert once: at the Pacific Amphitheater. The year must have been 1986, because it was the “Big Money” tour. This is not a band I would have gone to see because I was only familiar with the radio hits (this remains generally the case) but a friend of mine from work, huge fan, had an extra ticket so he invited me.
So I stood through (we were on the grass part and you generally stand) a lot of music I didn’t know, waiting for the “hits” and especially “Tom Sawyer” which I really loved (still do!) Eventually they played it rather late in the evening and I was a little shocked by the tepid response. The crowd cheered mildly, but not in the way they had for other tunes I had never heard before. Years later I mentioned this to another friend of mine, a diehard Rush fan, and here’s what he said: “Oh, REAL Rush fans don’t even like Tom Sawyer. When they play it, that’s when we go to the john or get a beer.” This always makes me laugh.
Anyhow I think this a great great song, one of the true “classics” of what is NOW known as classic rock (thanks for the correction @Bracie Smathers!)
https://youtu.be/auLBLk4ibAk
I actually attended a Rush concert once: at the Pacific Amphitheater. The year must have been 1986, because it was the “Big Money” tour. This is not a band I would have gone to see because I was only familiar with the radio hits (this remains generally the case) but a friend of mine from work, huge fan, had an extra ticket so he invited me.
So I stood through (we were on the grass part and you generally stand) a lot of music I didn’t know, waiting for the “hits” and especially “Tom Sawyer” which I really loved (still do!) Eventually they played it rather late in the evening and I was a little shocked by the tepid response. The crowd cheered mildly, but not in the way they had for other tunes I had never heard before. Years later I mentioned this to another friend of mine, a diehard Rush fan, and here’s what he said: “Oh, REAL Rush fans don’t even like Tom Sawyer. When they play it, that’s when we go to the john or get a beer.” This always makes me laugh.
Anyhow I think this a great great song, one of the true “classics” of what is NOW known as classic rock (thanks for the correction @Bracie Smathers!)
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Your friend was dumb to say that. Plenty of Rush fans love Tom Sawyer. It’s their most popular song for a reason. It’s awesome.
timschochet
Footballguy
I was startled to read that quote from Lifeson on the Wiki page, that he winged the guitar solo, basically in 2 takes. That’s pretty amazing.
zamboni
Footballguy
Another one of their videos filmed (and recorded) at the picturesque Le Studio in Quebec.
Many diehard fans don't like "Tom Sawyer" because they don't view it as "their" song, but rather a popular tune that everyone knows. Much like "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)" or "Bohemian Rhapsody". It's disingenuous, however, because they're still great tunes that have gotten overplayed - but as Ghost says, for good reason.
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