1. “Ace of Spades,” Motörhead. Lemmy and the boys formed in 1975, but struggled in their native U.K. until the Overkilland Bomber albums dented the album charts in 1979. The band released their signature punk meets metal anthem “Ace of Spades” in 1980 and it even went to #15 on the U.K. pop charts. Kilmister’s work as a rock ‘n’ roll icon and independent lawn killer is a never ending mission.
2. “Ah! Leah!,” Donnie Iris. Iris was a three-time revenge of the nerd junk rock winner – writing “The Rapper” for the Jaggerz, performing on “Play That Funky Music” with Wild Cherry, and scoring a solo hit with the punctuation happy “Ah! Leah!” in 1980. Iris continues his wanton Leah lust to this day while performing regular gigs with his band The (Eddie-less) Cruisers in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
3. “Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On),” Talking Heads. “Once in a Lifetime” was the major hit from the 1980 Remain in Light album, but the group threw in the psycho groove kitchen sink for “Born Under Punches” – electronic sound effects, funk bass, and polyrhythmic percussion support Byrne’s typically paranoid, non sequitur lyrics. Funky, unrelenting, undeniable. As for me, I’m a government man. I’m not too thin.
4. “Call Me,” Blondie. Famed disco producer Giorgio Moroder collaborated with Deborah Harry and the Blondie boys on this dynamic dance floor rocker that was the biggest hit of 1980, topping the pop charts for six weeks. Cooing in French and inviting the audience for a roll in designer sheets is never a bad idea for an attractive female singer.
5. “Crazy Train,”Ozzy Osbourne. You never want to peak early as a band or with a porn star, but Black Sabbath did their best work in the early ‘70s and were slogging through sludge in the late ‘70s. Ozzy was sacked in ’79 (from Sabbath, I have no info concerning porn stars) and had the smarts to team up with Randy Rhoads, a classically trained master of catchy metal riffs. “Crazy Train” and Ozzy’s bat brained antics quickly put him back on the pop culture map.
6. “Games Without Frontiers,” Peter Gabriel. Gabriel released four albums titled Peter Gabriel, so it was somewhat disappointing that he didn’t title all of his singles “Solsbury Hill.” “Games” sounds like a heavy geopolitical statement, but was actually based on a ‘60s European lightweight entertainment show. It’s always nice to go back to the days when we could enjoy Gabriel without a creepy stalker boombox interjection from John Cusack.
7. “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” George Jones. Due to his struggles with the bottle, Jones wasn’t hitting the top of the country charts consistently in the late ‘70s and he absolutely hated “He Stopped Loving Her,” which he thought was too morbid to be a hit. After recording for over three decades, it became his signature song and ushered in a new era of commercial viability in the early ‘80s. George’s phenomenal, imbued with heartbreak voice was one of country music’s greatest gifts to the world.
8. “I Stand Accused,” Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Elvis and the Attractions took a rather unremarkable British soul song and gave it a frantic edge of desperation in this land speed record performance. The Get Happy!! album received mixed reviews when it was released, but is now considered one of the best records of the decade. I’m still hoping for a reassessment on my tenth grade English essay on why the Beatles were more relevant than Shakespeare. (Iman calls me “Mr. B-“ for a reason).
9. “I Will Follow,” U2. From the U2 album Songs from a Pubescent God.
10. “(Just Like) Starting Over,” John Lennon. It’s still hard to write about this one. Lennon had been on the sidelines for five years and released the excellent Double Fantasy album with Yoko in November of 1980. This “Elvis/Orbison track,” as Lennon called it, was both the lead song on the album and the first single released. The snarkiest Beatle was projecting a sense of maturity and happiness that seemed to be welcoming in a new era of creativity. And in December he was taken away from us all.
11. “London Calling,”The Clash. The Clash had displayed that they were more than a one dimensional punk band before the release of the London Calling album, but the double LP by the “only band that matters” was a huge artistic leap and equally successful. The title track about surviving in a post nuclear disaster London is as powerful as music ever gets.
12. “Mirror in the Bathroom,” The English Beat. The Beat, as they were known in the U.K., had a string of hits in their native Limey land, but never had mainstream success in the States. Similar to “Tempted” by Squeeze or “I Melt With You” by Modern English, this is an 80s non-hit that is now a recognized standard. Of the three, this is the only one about cocaine addiction.
13. “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell),” Squeeze. Pulling mussels is an English term for what Kurt Vonnegut once described as “becoming the beast with two backs.” Luckily for you, listening to the wondrous melodies of this song will make you forget the boorishness of my introductory sentence.
14. “Redemption Song,” Bob Marley. Marley walks away from his reggae groove and puts on his 1960s Dylan protest dreadlocks with the acuity and emotional impact of Bob’s best work. Not bad for a dopehead.
15. “Refugee,” Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I can never figure out if Petty is a major artist that releases boring albums or a minor artist that writes great singles. Maybe the truth falls somewhere in between those options. “Refugee” reflects the spirit of victimization that is such a vital part of both rock ‘n’ roll and the American Christian right – although they have blessedly little to do with each other.
16. “Right Side of My Mind,” Angry Samoans. I’m typing this entry on the same day I learned of P.J. (Pat) Galligan’s death. P.J. was the lead Angry guitarist during the Samoan glory years from 1979 to 1984. However, it was probably former rock critic “Metal” Mike Saunders or former rock critic Gregg Turner that penned the line, “Strychnine space race to the stars/It’s our new direction, child.”
17. “Stomp!,” The Brothers Johnson. The Brothers Johnson were able to bring a Sly & the Family Stone/Graham Central Station groove into the disco era and producer Quincy Jones added a few Chic like touches to this Top Ten pop hit. The delightful nickname of slap bass guitar player Louis Johnson – “Thunder Thumbs.”
18. “Talk of the Town,” The Pretenders. Chrissie Hynde croons about her romantic yearning like a punk rock Dusty Springfield while guitarist James Honeyman-Scott’s tuneful guitar playing is a textbook lesson in “less is more” restraint.
19. “Whip It,” Devo. This band of Ohio art school nerds tossed out a string of first rate singles in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, but this was their only Top 40 hit. The lyrics work as either a self help motivational theme or a cruel to be kind ode to sadomasochism. In the 1980s, I thought that de-evolution was a rather silly concept, but I’m but I’m buying it lock, stock, and barrel in 2014.
20. “You Shook Me All Night Long,” AC/DC. You didn’t need to understand the evolution of bumblebee colon microbiota to get the gist of AC/DC. They kept it simple with songs about sex, alcohol, and going to hell. It’s been estimated that the Back in Black album has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. I enjoy thinking about women all over the globe with different languages and accents singing along to “Given the Dog a Bone.”
