What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

The 100 Greatest Songs of 1981 #1 Super Freak (2 Viewers)

Funny - I’ve always thought of them as very underrated for their talent (notably John Taylor) and their hooks. I like GOF, but agree that there are better songs of theirs.
I think it's because the middle school girls loved them that they went underrated. A very good synth pop band, in my estimation. And The Power Station rocked with the Taylor brothers (I believe) on guitar and bass.

 
It's good shtick to name-check your own band in a lyric. 

Great song. I believe it is the last single to chart for The Who. It is one of Roger's favorites, he says he loves singing it live. 
:lmao: That is great shtick. I'm going to play the song just to hear it, because I'd never noticed that before. 

He did name check T. Rex first - very humble of them.
To the sound of old T. Rex.

 
40. The Rolling Stones “Waiting on a Friend” (from Tattoo You)

https://youtu.be/MKLVmBOOqVU
So this is one of my favorite “newer” Stones song. Love the melody, and this is a sax I really like (played by legendary jazz great Sonny Rollins). Keyboards are by Nicky Hopkins. 
Fun fact: the building that Mick and Keith are a standing in the doorway of the video, at 96 St Marks in New Year City, is the same building used for the cover of Physical Graffiti. 

 
40. The Rolling Stones “Waiting on a Friend” (from Tattoo You)

https://youtu.be/MKLVmBOOqVU
So this is one of my favorite “newer” Stones song. Love the melody, and this is a sax I really like (played by legendary jazz great Sonny Rollins). Keyboards are by Nicky Hopkins. 
Fun fact: the building that Mick and Keith are a standing in the doorway of the video, at 96 St Marks in New Year City, is the same building used for the cover of Physical Graffiti. 
I knew that the building looked familiarly Lower East Side. The video always reminded me of "I'm Waiting For The Man," the song by the Velvet Underground. Keith and Mick, just meeting on the stoop for some chicanery and shenanigans.

 
40. The Rolling Stones “Waiting on a Friend” (from Tattoo You)

https://youtu.be/MKLVmBOOqVU
So this is one of my favorite “newer” Stones song. Love the melody, and this is a sax I really like (played by legendary jazz great Sonny Rollins). Keyboards are by Nicky Hopkins. 
Fun fact: the building that Mick and Keith are a standing in the doorway of the video, at 96 St Marks in New Year City, is the same building used for the cover of Physical Graffiti. 
When I was younger, this was one of my least favorite songs on the album (slow and boring!). Now that I'm older, it's my favorite song from the album.

 
40. The Rolling Stones “Waiting on a Friend” (from Tattoo You)

https://youtu.be/MKLVmBOOqVU
So this is one of my favorite “newer” Stones song. Love the melody, and this is a sax I really like (played by legendary jazz great Sonny Rollins). Keyboards are by Nicky Hopkins. 
Fun fact: the building that Mick and Keith are a standing in the doorway of the video, at 96 St Marks in New Year City, is the same building used for the cover of Physical Graffiti. 
Another fun fact about the building/video. That’s Peter Tosh at the beginning in the white T-shirt sitting right next to Mick. 

 
40. The Rolling Stones “Waiting on a Friend” (from Tattoo You)

https://youtu.be/MKLVmBOOqVU
So this is one of my favorite “newer” Stones song. Love the melody, and this is a sax I really like (played by legendary jazz great Sonny Rollins). Keyboards are by Nicky Hopkins. 
Fun fact: the building that Mick and Keith are a standing in the doorway of the video, at 96 St Marks in New Year City, is the same building used for the cover of Physical Graffiti. 
Original demo from the Exile days: https://youtu.be/xFCJHVv636M 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I knew that the building looked familiarly Lower East Side. The video always reminded me of "I'm Waiting For The Man," the song by the Velvet Underground. Keith and Mick, just meeting on the stoop for some chicanery and shenanigans.
Of course, “I’m Waiting for My Man” is about buying heroin, and Lou Reed was in decidedly worse shape than Mick (“feel sick and dirty, more dead than alive”)- amazing lyrics for 1965. 

 
Of course, “I’m Waiting for My Man” is about buying heroin, and Lou Reed was in decidedly worse shape than Mick (“feel sick and dirty, more dead than alive”)- amazing lyrics for 1965. 
Indeed. No matter what the title is -- and it's often written as both, though I think mine is the original -- it's a burner about a burner.

 
Another fun fact about the building/video. That’s Peter Tosh at the beginning in the white T-shirt sitting right next to Mick. 
I have a memory of them doing something live together on SNL, maybe around this time. Then again, it might have been Jimmy Cliff years earlier (I think the latter is right).

 
41. The Who “You Better You Bet” (from Face Dances)

https://youtu.be/vXMWNhCmLUg

Following the death of Keith Moon, The Who didn’t seem to have the same energy. Who Are You, produced when Moon was still around, was their last really good album IMO; Face Dances and everything that would follow was mediocre at best. Like The Rolling Stones, they had pretty much reached the end of the line around this time. 
But that didn’t mean that either band couldn’t still release a great song from time to time. “You Better You Bet” is a throwback, filled with the old greatness. One of the last gasps, but a terrific way to go out. 
Face Dances isn't bad, it just doesn't really sound like The Who for the most part. It's actually more consistent than Who Are You, though it has lower peaks. It's Hard is mostly terrible and the few studio recordings after that aren't really worth discussing. 

 
There was a lot of animosity between Daltrey and Townshend at the time because Roger accused Pete of saving his best songs for his solo projects. I've seen interviews where Daltrey said "Empty Glass" should have been a Who album.
He was right. Empty Glass was Townshend's best material since Quadrophenia and All the Best Cowboys... wasn't far behind. 

The best stuff from Empty Glass and Face Dances combined together would have been an absolutely killer album, regardless of who was playing drums. 

 
I have a memory of them doing something live together on SNL, maybe around this time. Then again, it might have been Jimmy Cliff years earlier (I think the latter is right).
1978. Tosh was the musical guest and Jagger ran onstage to sing their current duet "You Gotta Walk (and Don't Look Back)". 

 
Slit Skirts (great song) from that album is basically the same subject matter as You Better You Bet but with Pete's vocals. 
Yep.

I REALLY identified with this album when I was in my mid-30s -- many of its songs, including Slit Skirts, deal with people around that age evaluating and reassessing their lives. 

 
I have a memory of them doing something live together on SNL, maybe around this time. Then again, it might have been Jimmy Cliff years earlier (I think the latter is right).
1978. Tosh was the musical guest and Jagger ran onstage to sing their current duet "You Gotta Walk (and Don't Look Back)". 
Keith and Tosh must have had a lot of late night discussions about legalizing it.

 
"All the Best Cowboys... wasn't far behind. 
You didn't finish the title of the album.

All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes.

Townshend explained the album title as referring to the "average American hero – somebody like a Clint Eastwood or a John Wayne. Somebody with eyes like slits..."

On the Listening Time promotional LP, Townshend said he should have won a "Stupid Title of the Year" award.

In addition to Pete putting out solo albums the band was dealing with the death of drummer Keith Moon. 

It's good shtick to name-check your own band in a lyric. 

Great song. I believe it is the last single to chart for The Who. It is one of Roger's favorites, he says he loves singing it live. 
For those who don't want to look it up or missed it.

To the sound of old T-Rex, who's next?

 
39. Adam & the Ants “Stand and Deliver” (from Prince Charming

https://youtu.be/4B2a6l6wM2k

Time for more cheese, this time of the dandy highwayman variety. 1981 has a ton of awesome cheesy songs, this list is full of them, amd I won’t apologize for any of it because I adore them all. Actually this tune has a great percussion sound to it. 
My favorite part of A&A and their offshoot band is the percussion.

 
39. Adam & the Ants “Stand and Deliver” (from Prince Charming

https://youtu.be/4B2a6l6wM2k

Time for more cheese, this time of the dandy highwayman variety. 1981 has a ton of awesome cheesy songs, this list is full of them, amd I won’t apologize for any of it because I adore them all. Actually this tune has a great percussion sound to it. The video is outstanding and terrible. 
this whole list is CD fondue

 
39. Adam & the Ants “Stand and Deliver” (from Prince Charming

https://youtu.be/4B2a6l6wM2k

Time for more cheese, this time of the dandy highwayman variety. 1981 has a ton of awesome cheesy songs, this list is full of them, amd I won’t apologize for any of it because I adore them all. Actually this tune has a great percussion sound to it. The video is outstanding and terrible. 
My favorite Adam Ant (with ants or without) tune.

Da Diddly Qua Qua

In the video, Adam jumps through glass - according to him, though it was safety glass, he still got cut up. The man suffered greatly for his art.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
39. Adam & the Ants “Stand and Deliver” (from Prince Charming

https://youtu.be/4B2a6l6wM2k

Time for more cheese, this time of the dandy highwayman variety. 1981 has a ton of awesome cheesy songs, this list is full of them, amd I won’t apologize for any of it because I adore them all. Actually this tune has a great percussion sound to it. The video is outstanding and terrible. 
I'm not sure what was happening in the studio, but I remember seeing the band play live with two drummers.

 
38. Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes” (from Mistaken Identity

https://youtu.be/2Wdu5FYGTRs

For several months I only heard snippets of this song on the radio and I was sure it was Rod Stewart. Same raspy voice. I was astonished to learn it was a woman. 
I don't know if anybody remembers Eddie Murphy's Buckwheat send-up of the song, but for me it was never the same again once you heard him have Buckwheat take the absolute piss out of it.

 
37. Dan Fogelberg “Leader of the Band” (from The Innocent Age)

https://youtu.be/lDByv7HoAyg

The sort of acoustic singer-songwriter ballad that you’d expect to hear in the early 70s rather than 1981. But it’s Fogelberg’s best song, a tribute to his bandleader father. And simply a beautiful tune. 
This made me look up Lady (LRB), but that was 1978.  Tween me had a thing for these cheesy, nostalgic, overproduced, beauts.

 
There were three "Dan's" in this period--Fogelberg/Hill/Hartman--who seemed to occupy a similar space in the musical world, and I always struggled to distinguish between them. 

 
I didn't think I knew Leader of the Band, but it sorta sounds familiar. I must have heard it way back in the day and simply forgotten about it. Nice little tune. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
37. Dan Fogelberg “Leader of the Band” (from The Innocent Age)

https://youtu.be/lDByv7HoAyg

The sort of acoustic singer-songwriter ballad that you’d expect to hear in the early 70s rather than 1981. But it’s Fogelberg’s best song, a tribute to his bandleader father. And simply a beautiful tune. 
Love this song, and love The Innocent Age album.  Always brings back special memories with a very close female friend as we'd listen to this album and others and share deep conversations (but just talk :kicksrock:  )

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top