Let the music play on
Let the music play on
MELODY FROM THE PAST: Exploring Timeless Tracks and Forgotten Songs"
Immerse yourself in a nostalgic journey through the captivating world of old tracks and songs. Explore the rich tapestry of musical history as we delve into forgotten gems and beloved classics from bygone eras. From vintage vinyl records to iconic melodies, join us in rediscovering the timeless beauty and enduring appeal of these treasured musical masterpieces. Step back in time and let the melodies of the past transport you to a world of unforgettable musical moments.
In retrospect, it's difficult to fully appreciate The Go-Go's influence—the first all-female rock band with studio backing that composed all of their own songs. That's because, from the moment the first DJ pressed play on this pop-fueled post-punk hymn, which transformed rock history, the Go-Go's were fully formed and ready to rock the industry.
You would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't have to fight the impulse to tap, hum, and sway in time to this opulent, sensual track, even though it was one of the latter singles from Fleetwood's era-defining album and only moderately successful on the charts when it was first released. What makes it so enticing—the heavenly backing choir, the tingling opening bells, or the incredibly smooth layers? Who knows? All we know is that this has to be among the decade's most satisfying tracks.
This fist-raising smash, an earnestly overdone piece of sad pop pleasure, has Jim Kerr's soulful yowl at its best. It's one of the key anthems of the era, regardless of whether you refer to it as "the song from The Breakfast Club" or "the song that made The Breakfast Club cool."
As much of a dance-floor killer as "Beat It" is, it's a genuinely heavy song, psychologically as much as sonically. We get so used to the sleek, funky side of Michael Jackson on the hit parade that was Thriller that it's easy to forget how hard "Beat It" actually legitimately rocks. And it's not just Eddie Van Halen's famous finger-busting solo; it's that perfectly formed sneer of a guitar riff – conceived by Jackson and played by session ace Steve Lukather. And it's not just those exaggerated downbeats that feel like medicine balls being slammed down on a concrete floor and the raw desperation in MJ's voice as he chronicles the harsh truths of the street-fighting life.
This career-defining single, one of Madge's final mega-hits from the 1980s, and the pinnacle of the Like a Prayer album, saw her spend the whole 1980s living out her words. It's a magnificent summation of a first act that had songs like "True Blue," "Papa Don't Preach," "Lucky Star," "Like a Virgin," "Material Girl," Borderline, and "Papa Don't Preach." Any of these songs might stand alone on this list. However, "Express Yourself" is a timeless hit for everyone searching for a song about embracing their own uniqueness. It's not just a stadium-ready hymn for the pop queen.
Without British synth-pop sensations the Pet Shop Boys, no list of the 1980s would be complete. Even though the two found their biggest success back home, they both recall in our interview that this 1985 tribute to London street life was written and recorded in New York and is rife with urban seediness (note: it's partially inspired by T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland). This is mostly due to Neil Tennant's calmly articulated delivery, which is a mesmerizing interpretation of the era's hip-hop flows.
Sade is simply unbelievably silky. If we weren't all being lulled into a wacky, two-stepping, inebriated state of love, jealousy could easily take over. This popular single from her multi-platinum-selling second album, Promise, features the fantastic vocalist-songwriter who was born in Nigeria and reared in the United Kingdom. All you can do is unwind and let yourself be carried away by the peaceful tempest when it starts.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a band named after an amphetamine, the UK trio pushes through tempo changes and builds momentum for the big conclusion, driving the juddering rhythms of their iconic 1982 single like a dynamo. The song's lyrics, which are about the singer Kevin Rowland's early years as a sexually restrained Catholic child, are sufficiently innocent for your office party karaoke session, but they also border on filthy.
In 1973, Gaye gave the world what is possibly the best song ever about sex: "Let's Get It On." However, nine years later, he almost surpassed himself with his first non-Motown single, "Sexual Healing," which was released just two years before his father shot and killed him. With a drum-machine propulsion, noisy guitars, and a nice synth foundation, the steamy track has a distinctively '80s vibe. 'Please don't postpone / It's not nice to masturbate' is possibly the most suitable line in a sex song to date.
With her rendition of Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper shot to fame in 1983. Although the song wasn't originally hers, few people still recall that it was a cover because it has become inextricably linked to her career. Lauper's career was begun with the song, which also became one of 1983's top tunes.
The songwriting talent of David Berman persisted and was significant. He and Pavement's Stephen Malkmus shared an apartment in his early years and worked together. Along with the most current Purple Mountains CD and the five Silver Jews LPs. The thing about him that people will remember the most are his lyrics and his wry delivery. He had the ability to convey several ideas at once with a seeming carelessness, a dry sense of humor, a burning brilliance, and a sensitivity that pains.
She unexpectedly debuted on the American singles charts with a number of glistening, goopy songs. With its syrupy synths and Robyn's sugar rush in the chorus, "Show Me Love" is a burst of Max Martin candy that encases the rising star in amber.
Throughout the 1980s, Bowie was constantly in the spotlight. He performed duets with Jagger, clambered into spandex for Labyrinth, got buried alive for Merry Christmas, appeared in Mr. Lawrence, and eventually went through a midlife crisis that led to the creation of Tin Machine and an unsettling beard. But before all of that, he recorded some of the best songs of the decade, such as this nihilistic 1983 soul boogie featuring Nile Rodgers. And as that cyclical, sardonic, enticing chant hurtles on, we defy your feet to stay on the floor.
Prince produced so much music in the 1980s that 90% of this list might have been written by him and still be accurate. If one were to choose just one Prince song, "Purple Rain" would be it. It's a soaring, expertly composed work of art that highlights all the qualities that make Prince Rogers Nelson a living legend. This song, which is still as influential now as it was almost 40 years ago, is Prince at his best.
Hopkins' addiction and mental instability, which took him to his death a few months after "Hey Jealousy" gained traction on the pop charts, are obscured by the lightheartedness of the song's arrangement—the jangling guitar arpeggios and the shivers of the tambourine. However, the lyrics reveal all, their fevered optimism and abysmal misery laid naked in the curl of a flawless hook.
Even the most ambitious spiritual lyrical miracle MC would struggle to keep up with Treach's quick tongue on "Feel Me Flow." However, the message from Naughty by Nature reads more like a challenge than a flex: Can you party as hard as they do? In this 1995 contender for song of the summer, which sits atop a glittering sample of the Meters' "Find Yourself," Treach stuffs lyrics into the bars while making fun of the geeks who can't keep up.
The Perfect Kiss, which appears on the album "Low Life" from 1985, is also a great song. It is a glittering, funky exhibition from one of the pioneering pop bands of the 1980s at the height of their powers. However, this rendition is the most magnificent. Peter Hook's low-slung, thumping bass, the ribbiting frog sounds, and the head-spinning synth hits are all amplified by an additional couple of minutes of outro on the 1987 collection track "Substance," which was also released as a single.
Britney's second hit, or her first upon her comeback. The "...Baby, One More Time" lady wasn't actually expected to last until the spring of 1999, but "Sometimes," the Total Request Live hit that proved she was here to stay and the model for a new breed of pop star, was the song that changed all of that.