jettywalker58.bsky.social
@jettywalker58.bsky.social
A brief daily refuge from the extreme darkness of the current moment. Counting down the 365 Best Songs of the 80s, one day at a time.
BEST 80s #35 “Kiss” by Prince & the Revolution
“Act your age, mama, not your shoe size. Maybe we could do the twirl?” “Kiss” is Prince at his most playful: riding a tight, undeniable funk groove, flirting in falsetto, shrieking and making kissy noises. Instantly iconic & number 1 all over the world.
Prince and the Revolution - Kiss (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by Prince
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November 27, 2025 at 12:32 PM
BEST 80s #36 “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure
The Cure’s first US Top 40 is delirious pop magic, with a nervously excited drum beat, starry synth line, and dancing keyboards. Robert Smith sheds goth for glee, recalling the early days of an exhilarating love affair. “I promise I’ll run away with you.”
The Cure - Just Like Heaven
YouTube video by TheCureVEVO
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November 26, 2025 at 11:37 AM
BEST 80s #37 “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen
Lean and intense, “USA” employs a ringing, heart-pounding E-Street Band performance & a rousing, passionate Springsteen vocal. The song’s triumphant chorus is made hollow by the stark tale of its verses - where war is hell and home is no better.
Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. (Official Video)
YouTube video by BruceSpringsteenVEVO
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November 25, 2025 at 12:03 PM
BEST 80s #38 “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II” by Pink Floyd
“Brick” never would have happened without producer Bob Ezrin, who mixed three separate Floyd tracks into one cinematic record, adding a disco beat & a children’s choir. If you were in middle school when it hit #1, you won the timeline.
Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall, Part Two (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by Pink Floyd
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November 24, 2025 at 11:44 AM
BEST 80s #39 “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush
The biggest hit of Kate Bush’s career is an eerie and heartfelt petition set atop a trotting drum beat and sliding, discordant cello notes. Her vocals balance strength & desperation as she pleads for “a deal with God,” to trade fates with a loved one.
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill - Official Music Video
YouTube video by KateBushMusic
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November 23, 2025 at 12:47 PM
BEST 80s #40 “Super Freak” by Rick James
Rick James (with Temptations on backup) celebrates a “very kinky girl – the kind you don’t take home to mother.” The giddy elastic bass riff, bouncing drumbeat, & spouting sax compels everyone listening to the #1 dance floor smash to get “super freaky…yow!”
Rick James - Super Freak (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by RickJamesVEVO
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November 22, 2025 at 12:14 PM
BEST 80s #41 “True Faith” by New Order
New Order’s first US Top 40 hit is a New Wave dance floor stomper churning with anxious anticipation. The synths carry Bernard Sumner’s journey into the unknown: “I can’t tell you where we’re going.” Still, he feels “so extraordinary…a sudden sense of liberty.”
New Order - True Faith (1987) (Official Music Video) [HD REMASTERED]
YouTube video by New Order
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November 21, 2025 at 11:45 AM
BEST 80s #42 “(Don’t You) Forget About Me” by Simple Minds
Written for “The Breakfast Club,” Billy Idol passed on it. So did Simple Minds, until Chrissie Hynde swayed husband Jim Kerr: Kerr & the band then turned the tune into a chiming guitar rock smash with iconic new “hey heys” & “la la la las.”
Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me)
YouTube video by SimpleMindsVEVO
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November 20, 2025 at 11:39 AM
BEST 80s #43 “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy
Inspired by the Isley Brothers & written for Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” Public Enemy’s epic has timeless, fist-pumping relevance. The track loops samples into a tight, frenzied backdrop for Chuck’s righteous roar & Flavor Flav’s raucous response.
Public Enemy - Fight The Power (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by PublicEnemyVEVO
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November 19, 2025 at 11:43 AM
BEST 80s #44 “Celebration” by Kool & the Gang
This is a good time — no drama, no subtext, just suave James “JT” Taylor inviting “everyone around the world” to celebrate. Kool (& the Gang) second the emotion, offering emphatic “Yahoo”s over a scratchy guitar riff, rumbling bass, and triumphant horns.
Kool & The Gang - Celebration
YouTube video by KoolAndTheGangVEVO
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November 18, 2025 at 11:47 AM
BEST 80s #45 “Borderline” by Madonna
Written and produced by Reggie Lucas, “Borderline” gave Madonna a record worthy of her talents: sparkling and girlish but with a substantial drum beat demonstrating the spine beneath. The song — a final warning to an unsatisfying lover — was her first Top 10 hit.
Madonna - Borderline (Official Video) [HD]
YouTube video by Madonna
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November 17, 2025 at 11:44 AM
BEST 80s #46 “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads
Experimenting with funk & world music produced a track that Tina Weymouth fondly called a ‘cacophony,’ further finesse gave it a one-of-a-kind staging, the perfect platform for David Byrne’s stream-of-consciousness summary of life’s crazy journey.
Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime (Official Video)
YouTube video by Talking Heads
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November 16, 2025 at 12:30 PM
BEST 80s #47 “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes
Originally written by South African musician Trevor Rabin who later worked with Yes, “Owner” became a boisterous collage of sounds & samples in the hands of producer Trevor Horn. Jon Anderson’s vocal is parkour with a microphone, landing every hurdle.
YES - Owner of a Lonely Heart (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by yesofficial
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November 15, 2025 at 11:23 AM
BEST 80s #48 “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang
In September ‘79, Big Bank Hank, Wonder Mike & Master Gee went to a Blondie/Chic/Clash concert (!) and hopped on stage to rap during Chic’s “Good Times.” By January 1980, they’d turned that moment into a landmark record – the first US Top 40 rap hit.
The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight (Official Video)
YouTube video by Sugarhill Records
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November 14, 2025 at 11:42 AM
BEST 80s #49 “Thriller” by Michael Jackson
A tight bass squiggle snakes under the sheen of Jackson’s high-energy disco alert of terror run amok, written by Rod Temperton to satisfy MJ’s love of horror films. Vincent Price raps the sinister coda: “No mere mortal can resist the evil of the thriller!”
Michael Jackson - Thriller (Official 4K Video)
YouTube video by michaeljacksonVEVO
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November 13, 2025 at 11:44 AM
BEST 80s #50 “How Soon is Now?” by The Smiths
Angst with a trip beat, “How Soon” is a peak achievement in the art of depression. Hobbled by crippling shyness, Morrissey mopes in a lonely fog over a guitar riff inspired by Bo Diddley. “I am human & I need to be loved, just like everybody else does.”
The Smiths - How Soon Is Now? (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by The Smiths
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November 12, 2025 at 11:35 AM
BEST 80s #51 “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life” by Indeep
Over a steely and spellbinding groove, “DJ” pays tribute to the radio pros spinning tracks for lonely hearts in the dark. Singers Rejane Magloire & RoseMarie Ramsey sell the desperation; the unknown DJ delivers suave and self-assured guidance.
Indeep - Last Night A DJ Saved My Life (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by UnidiscMusic
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November 11, 2025 at 1:06 PM
BEST 80s #52 “I Melt with You” by Modern English
One of the greatest of the 80s nuclear terror numbers in which Modern English celebrates making love in the face of looming Armageddon. The song is a galloping new wave gothic dance classic where “the future’s open wide” and humming right along.
Modern English - I Melt With You (Official Video)
YouTube video by 4AD
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November 10, 2025 at 11:47 AM
BEST 80s #53 “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins
Simmering tension with a cathartic & iconic drum breakdown. Phil says he wrote the song in the wake of a traumatic divorce, but 80s teens came up with their own origin stories: a drowning, and Phil saw someone who refused to help. Or maybe a murder?
Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by Phil Collins
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November 9, 2025 at 1:59 PM
BEST 80s #54 “Refugee” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
Petty compels a lost soul toward grace on this desperate rocker co-written with Mike Campbell. The tightly coiled track repeatedly bursts wide open, erupting with pleading vocals & ringing guitars. Campbell says it took 100 takes to get right.
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Refugee
YouTube video by TomPettyVEVO
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November 8, 2025 at 12:25 PM
BEST 80s #55 “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel
Big dippers, bumper cars, fruit cages and sledgehammers: these are the elements of seduction on Peter Gabriel’s biggest hit – a soulful and horny horn-filled strut inspired by the Stax Records catalog. Gabriel convincingly riffs with steamy Memphis fever.
Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer (HD version)
YouTube video by Peter Gabriel
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November 7, 2025 at 11:49 AM
BEST 80s #56 “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister
Channeling Alice Cooper’s spirit & love of makeup, head Sister Dee Snider crafted a standing-up-shoulders-back anthem for saying no and shutting sh*t down. Delivered in a hilariously snide tone, with rousing guitars and slam-banging drums.
Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by Twisted Sister
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November 6, 2025 at 11:43 AM
BEST 80s #57 “You Spin Me ‘Round (Like a Record)” by Dead or Alive
Party music with the dial turned to twenty. Dead or Alive conquered the world with a frantic, intense disco beat & a lion’s roar vocal from dance floor hunter Pete Burns, whose prey doesn’t have a prayer. “Watch out, here I come!”
Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (Official Video)
YouTube video by DeadOrAliveVEVO
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November 5, 2025 at 11:42 AM
BEST 80s #58 “Rapture” by Blondie
Shimmering & surprising, “Rapture” is an action-packed night in NYC’s coolest underground clubs, circa 1981. The song arrives with chimes & a swaying, confident disco beat, then weaves in guitar riffs, wailing sax, police whistles & Debbie Harry’s nutty sci-fi raps.
Blondie - Rapture (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by BlondieVEVO
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November 4, 2025 at 11:35 AM
BEST 80s #59 “Brilliant Disguise” by Bruce Springsteen
A seemingly autobiographical look at a love affair: Is it real, or are the lovers playing roles? A shuffling beat supports one of Bruce’s best vocals – tender, open & uncertain. A top 10 smash just months before he & Julianne Phillips separated.
Bruce Springsteen - Brilliant Disguise (Official Video)
YouTube video by BruceSpringsteenVEVO
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November 3, 2025 at 11:46 AM