Unsung Videos Of The 80's - My Turn!
OK, so I've gone through their list...and critiqued it accordingly, now it's my turn! I'm also gonna add links to the videos so you can judge for yourself, or walk down memory lane, take your pick. Oh, and I'm only doing 10 instead of 20 simply for size constraints.
1) My number one all time favorite video/song, not only from the 80's, but of all time (excluding Duran) is the Cure's "Just Like Heaven". Yes, I know it can't be unsung, but in my last post I explained, I live in bum-fudge Arkansas..."Just Like Heaven" may have been The Cure's first American hit, but trust me, no one in my high school cared less. The year was 1987 and without further ado, I give you the hottest man in rock (and trust me, under that make-up and hair, the man IS a total hottie)...Robert Smith and The Cure:
2) Still swooning, but moving on to #2 and it's a close second (and also on the other list...Depeche Mode - "But Not Tonight". How could anyone not like this song? Dave looks so young and innocent! And if you find a VHS copy of the Modern Girls somewhere (because it's never been released on DVD), or catch it on cable, watch it, you will enjoy it!
3) Here's another one of those "not really, but are" unsungs, New Order's "True Faith". Everyone knows this song, but not too many people know who New Order is (pity really, one of my favorite bands). This song resonates for the following reason: "When I was a very small boy, very small boys talked to me, now that we've grown up together, they're afraid of what they see. That's the price that we all pay, our valued destiny comes to nothing. I can't tell you where we're going, I guess there's just no way of knowing". Those lyrics (changing boy to girl obviously) sum up my entire childhood.
4) Ok...so you might be seeing a trend here, but, next up is Pet Shop Boys "It's A Sin". Trust me, around here, PSB were a one hit wonder with West End Girls. "It's A Sin" is my theme song! "Everything I've ever done, everything I ever do, every place I've ever been, everywhere I'm going to, it's a sin"...just ask my Mother!
5) Here's another Depeche, and this one is a true unsung. I still love this song. Most people don't get it...I do. I was a suicidal teenager. This is what bound me to Depeche for life. There is no way to explain it. Just listen...Depeche Mode "Blasphemous Rumours".
6) This next gem is an actual unsung song...and IMO the best song from the Pretty In Pink Soundtrack. Suzanne Vega was another so-called "one-hit wonder" because of "Luka" (which is a song I can't stand BTW), but "Left Of Center" could also be called my theme song. I can so identify with it even today, because that is what I am, left of center. Judge for yourself and see if when you're finished, you don't agree! (there might be a commercial before the vid BTW)
7) XTC - "Dear God": This song and video was banned everywhere, not just in my little redneck corner of the woods, so it's unsung just for the fact that barely anybody got to see it, but at the time it came out, I was questioning everything, so it struck so many cords with me it was ridiculous! Now, everyone loves it, but at the time, sheesh, the stink it caused! It was based on an actual letter than a child wrote to "God". I chose a version that had lyrics just to get the point across.
8) No self-respecting non-self-respecting teenager could have NOT been a fan of The Smiths! It was required! So I give you "How Soon Is Now". The most powerful lyricist in the world that is Morrissey..."You shut your mouth, how can you say, I go about things the wrong way, I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does". Sit and spin you fru-fru cheerleader bitches!
9) Spandau Ballet - "Only When You Leave": Why this one you ask? Because, here again, people think of Spandau as a one hit wonder ("True" anyone?) and that couldn't be further from the truth and, at the time, this was one of my last favorite happy songs before my melancholy stage hit and I sunk into darkness. (might be another commercial)
10) Last, but not least, comes the second, and final comparison to the other list - A-ha's "The Sun Always Shines On TV". This was a tough call to make because I'm about to make a major Duranie faux pas..."A View To A Kill" is NOT my favorite James Bond theme song..."The Living Daylights" by A-ha is. Duran turned me into a James Bond freak for a little while (long enough to read every book done up to that point and a couple of years beyond and trust me, the book Bond is SO much better than the movie Bond). And here's a major Bond faux pas...Timothy Dalton is my favorite Bond! Yep, death threats are probably eminent! I still own all the VHS movies (I never upgraded them to DVD - maybe someday but not a priority). So anyway, #10 was a choice between the two videos, not because they were A-ha, but because they both had such a strong pull on me. "The Sun Always Shines On TV" is another one of those depressive darkening songs o'mine that I was so fond of back in the day, although it may have different meanings for different people. In the end, I chose it because it still affects me more and stirs old feelings more than "The Living Daylights" does (although I still love it too).
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So, I hope you enjoyed my choices and feel free to send me your lists!
1) My number one all time favorite video/song, not only from the 80's, but of all time (excluding Duran) is the Cure's "Just Like Heaven". Yes, I know it can't be unsung, but in my last post I explained, I live in bum-fudge Arkansas..."Just Like Heaven" may have been The Cure's first American hit, but trust me, no one in my high school cared less. The year was 1987 and without further ado, I give you the hottest man in rock (and trust me, under that make-up and hair, the man IS a total hottie)...Robert Smith and The Cure:
2) Still swooning, but moving on to #2 and it's a close second (and also on the other list...Depeche Mode - "But Not Tonight". How could anyone not like this song? Dave looks so young and innocent! And if you find a VHS copy of the Modern Girls somewhere (because it's never been released on DVD), or catch it on cable, watch it, you will enjoy it!
3) Here's another one of those "not really, but are" unsungs, New Order's "True Faith". Everyone knows this song, but not too many people know who New Order is (pity really, one of my favorite bands). This song resonates for the following reason: "When I was a very small boy, very small boys talked to me, now that we've grown up together, they're afraid of what they see. That's the price that we all pay, our valued destiny comes to nothing. I can't tell you where we're going, I guess there's just no way of knowing". Those lyrics (changing boy to girl obviously) sum up my entire childhood.
4) Ok...so you might be seeing a trend here, but, next up is Pet Shop Boys "It's A Sin". Trust me, around here, PSB were a one hit wonder with West End Girls. "It's A Sin" is my theme song! "Everything I've ever done, everything I ever do, every place I've ever been, everywhere I'm going to, it's a sin"...just ask my Mother!
5) Here's another Depeche, and this one is a true unsung. I still love this song. Most people don't get it...I do. I was a suicidal teenager. This is what bound me to Depeche for life. There is no way to explain it. Just listen...Depeche Mode "Blasphemous Rumours".
6) This next gem is an actual unsung song...and IMO the best song from the Pretty In Pink Soundtrack. Suzanne Vega was another so-called "one-hit wonder" because of "Luka" (which is a song I can't stand BTW), but "Left Of Center" could also be called my theme song. I can so identify with it even today, because that is what I am, left of center. Judge for yourself and see if when you're finished, you don't agree! (there might be a commercial before the vid BTW)
7) XTC - "Dear God": This song and video was banned everywhere, not just in my little redneck corner of the woods, so it's unsung just for the fact that barely anybody got to see it, but at the time it came out, I was questioning everything, so it struck so many cords with me it was ridiculous! Now, everyone loves it, but at the time, sheesh, the stink it caused! It was based on an actual letter than a child wrote to "God". I chose a version that had lyrics just to get the point across.
8) No self-respecting non-self-respecting teenager could have NOT been a fan of The Smiths! It was required! So I give you "How Soon Is Now". The most powerful lyricist in the world that is Morrissey..."You shut your mouth, how can you say, I go about things the wrong way, I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does". Sit and spin you fru-fru cheerleader bitches!
9) Spandau Ballet - "Only When You Leave": Why this one you ask? Because, here again, people think of Spandau as a one hit wonder ("True" anyone?) and that couldn't be further from the truth and, at the time, this was one of my last favorite happy songs before my melancholy stage hit and I sunk into darkness. (might be another commercial)
10) Last, but not least, comes the second, and final comparison to the other list - A-ha's "The Sun Always Shines On TV". This was a tough call to make because I'm about to make a major Duranie faux pas..."A View To A Kill" is NOT my favorite James Bond theme song..."The Living Daylights" by A-ha is. Duran turned me into a James Bond freak for a little while (long enough to read every book done up to that point and a couple of years beyond and trust me, the book Bond is SO much better than the movie Bond). And here's a major Bond faux pas...Timothy Dalton is my favorite Bond! Yep, death threats are probably eminent! I still own all the VHS movies (I never upgraded them to DVD - maybe someday but not a priority). So anyway, #10 was a choice between the two videos, not because they were A-ha, but because they both had such a strong pull on me. "The Sun Always Shines On TV" is another one of those depressive darkening songs o'mine that I was so fond of back in the day, although it may have different meanings for different people. In the end, I chose it because it still affects me more and stirs old feelings more than "The Living Daylights" does (although I still love it too).
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So, I hope you enjoyed my choices and feel free to send me your lists!
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