My Life Of Music Obsession: 1985

...1985 is definitely a year that I'm very fond of. In my opinion it was the best year in the 1980's for music, but I will allow you, the reader to make that judgment for yourself.


It's no secret that all I wanted to watch at age 5 was MTV. I spent hours before Kindergarten and hours after school glued to the TV indulging myself in music videos.




This is the year I discovered my favorite song of all time.




This is the year I entered Kindergarten, started socializing with other kids my age, got to trade cassette tapes and discover other music.

Check out the companion playlist: Spotify, YouTube, iTunes.



...On to the playlist:



1. The Cars - Tonight She Comes. - This is a song The Cars recorded for a greatest hits album which led me to discover a lot of their earlier work. I've always liked their synth and guitar driven rock sound. They are as responsible for creating that New Wave/Post Punk sound as Joy Division or anyone else.



2.Motley Crue - Smokin' In The Boys Room. - This served as my first introduction to the Motley Crue when I saw this video on MTV. The Video features veteran horror actor Michael Berryman playing the role of the high school principal. "Everybody knows that smoking ain't allowed in school."


3. Motley Crue - Home Sweet Home. - This is the first ever power ballad. After Motley Cure hit it big with this song the record labels pushed all the hair metal bands to include a power ballad on their albums, follow the formula of making the first single a rocker, and the second single a power ballad. It's a formula that worked until the early 90's. More on that when I get to 1991.


4. Dire Straits - Money For Nothing. - "I want my MTV." This song launched Dire Straits into super stardom with it's cool animation in the music video and catchy chorus. Mark Knopfler is a guitar God. Did you know that Sting is a guest vocalist on this song and sings the famous "I want my MTV" line?


5. Dire Straits - Walk Of Life. - This song has a very cool synth sound to it and a cool chugging guitar riff that sounds like a banjo.


6. Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World. - Everything changed when I heard Tears for Fears for the first time. The album that this song came from, "Songs from the big chair" is easily one of my favorite albums of all time.


7. Tears For Fears - Shout. - When I was 5 years of age I thought the words to the chorus were "beans, all the beans I can do without" instead of the actual "these are the things I can do without."


8. Tears For Fears - Head Over Heals. - This is my favorite song of all time. It's so haunting and I've never heard anything that sounds this amazing. After listening to this song several times over the past 30 years I've never grown tired of it. "Funny how time flies..."


9. Twisted Sister - Leader Of The Pack. - My First Exposure to Twisted Sister came about when a friend from my kindergarten class came over to my house and brought this album along with their album "Stay Hungry." I became an SMF for life after that.


10. Twisted Sister - We're  Not Gonna Take It. - This song is so iconic. So many politicians have used this as their running song.

11. Twisted Sister - Burn In Hell.

12. Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry.

13. Twisted Sister - I Wanna Rock.

14. Survivor - Burning Heart. - This song came from a great soundtrack and great movie known as "Rocky IV."


15. Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger. - This song was originally recorded for the "Rocky III" soundtrack, and re-recorded for the "Rocky IV" soundtrack. The latter version is much better.


16. James Brown - Living In America. - Great tune from The Godfather Of Soul.


17. Robert Tepper - No Easy Way Out. - This is another great song from the "Rocky IV" soundtrack. It still holds up well today and still sounds great.

18. John Cafferty - Hearts On Fire.

19. Madonna - Material Girl. - Madonna's second album "Like a Virgin" launched her into icon status. I've always liked Madonna and I'm not afraid to tell anyone that. She had so many great tunes. This song fits so well with "The Decade Of Greed."

20. Madonna - Like A Virgin.

21. Madonna - Dress You Up.


22. Madonna - Crazy For You. - One of the greatest love songs ever written. Every time I fall in love this song is always the first one that pops into my head. If that doesn't speak to how iconic Madonna is, I don't know what does.


23. Starship - We Built This City. - This always gets ranked among the worst songs of all time and I've never understood why. I still love it. The harmonies are great, and the production is on point. I got this album for Christmas in 1985 and I wore down the cassette tape from playing this song so much.


24. Starship - Sara.

25. a-Ha - Take On Me. - The animation in this music video is one of the coolest things I've ever seen. I don't feel this song holds up well in today's court but nevertheless it's a song that people associate with the 1980's when they think of the music from the decade. a-Ha is still very big in Europe. It's a shame they only had one hit in the United States.


26. Reo Speedwagon - Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore.

27. Cyndi Lauper - The Goonies 'R' Good Enough. - Great theme song for a great movie and a great music video to go along with it that featured wrestling greats like Andre The Giant.

28. Huey Lewis And The News - The Power Of Love. - From the incredible movie "Back To The Future." Did you know that Huey Lewis has a Cameo in the movie? "I'm afraid you're just too darn loud."

29. Simple Minds - Don't You (Forget About Me). - "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Eww whew Eww! Whoa!" This song was written for a movie about spending a Saturday in detention. This song is as iconic as "The Breakfast Club" itself.

30. U.S.A. For Africa - We Are The World. - This song gathered a lot of the big names in music for one song in hopes of solving world hunger. This song has a very positive message that change in the world starts from within us, and that we must love and take care of each other.

31. Glenn Frey - The Heat Is On.

32. Harold Faltermeyer - Axel F. - The first purely instrumental song I loved. I can't listen to this song without thinking of Eddie Murphy's "Beverly Hills Cop" character, Axel Foley stuffing bananas up the tailpipes of cars. This is one of those songs that will always be associated with the 1980's.


33. Katrina and The Waves - Walking On Sunshine. - I love this song as cheesy as it may be. It's a happy song and always puts me in a fantastic mood. Happy songs are amazing.

34. Thompson Twins - Lay Your Hands On Me.

35. Heart - What About Love? - The Wilson Sisters had great success in the 1980's, and they rocked just as hard as they did in the 70's.


36. Heart - Never.

37. Heart - These Dreams.

38. David Lee Roth - California Girls. - This is when David Lee Roth left Van Halen and went solo. This cover of the Beach Boys classic is very good. He recorded a few songs and released them in advance of his 1986 album "Eat Em' and Smile."

39. David Lee Roth - Just A Gigolo/ I Ain't Got Nobody.

40. Phil Collins - Sussudio. - I still don't know what this song is about, but it sure is catchy.

41. Phil Collins - One More Night.

42. Phil Collins - Don't Lose My Number.

43. Phil Collins - Take Me Home. - The rhythm section in this song is fantastic. Phil Collins is a phenomenal drummer.

44. Whitney Houston - Saving All My Love For You.

45. Whitney Houston - How Will I Know? - I remember breaking my arm which meant more time at home watching MTV. At this point I saw the video for this song. Whitney Houston was my first ever celebrity crush. As a gift for doing so well through the broken arm ordeal, a family member bought me her first album.

46. Whitney Houston - Greatest Love Of All.

47. Dionne Warwick And Friends - That's What Friends Are For. - "In good times and bad times. I'll be on your side forever more." The lyrics describe how I feel about every single one of my friends. Even after a falling out, or period of not talking my loyalty never fades towards friends, family, ex-girlfriends, ect. I wish there were more people like me in the world. I'm the friend everybody is very lucky to have. I remember our kindergarten class had to sing this at our graduation.

48. John Mellencamp - Small Town.

49. John Mellencamp - R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. ( A Salute To 60's Rock).

50. Chicago - You're The Inspiration.

51. Mr. Mister - Broken Wings. - The message in this song is great. We all have things in life that break us down, and we need to mend our broken wings and learn to fly again.

52. Mr. Mister - Kyrie. - This song has some religious connotations. Lord have mercy, Christ Have Mercy down the road that I must travel.

53. Mr. Mister - Is It Love? - Every time I hear this I imagine a bunch of teenagers in the 1980's entering a high school dance with this song blaring from the DJ.

54. Billy Idol - White Wedding. - Billy Idol took punk rock to the next level by throwing some synthesizers in. MTV launched him into super stardom.

55. Billy Idol - Rebel Yell. - I still love this song to this day. The intro is very cool and the song never lets up in excitement.

56. ZZ Top - Sleeping Bag. - The MTV generation loved ZZ Top with their sleazy imagery. They incorporated a more pop sound on this album while still maintaining that blues rock swagger. Everyone I knew had their "Afterburner" album.  The video featured "A Nightmare On Elm Street" and "Just The Ten Of Us" star, Heather Langenkamp. I had watched the former earlier in the year and fell in love with that movie. I like my horror films.

57. ZZ Top - Rough Boy.

58. ZZ Top - Can't Stop Rockin'.

59. ZZ Top - Just Got Paid. - Along with getting me the "Afterburner" album my parents also got me "The Very Best Of ZZ Top." I discovered their 70's work which I like a lot better than anything else in their career.

60. ZZ Top - La Grange.

61. ZZ Top - Waitin' For The Bus.

62. ZZ Top - Jesus Just Left Chicago.

63. ZZ Top - Beer Drinkers And Hell Raisers.

64. ZZ Top - Tush.

65. Don Henley - The Boys Of Summer.

66. Sammy Hagar - I Can't Drive 55. - Probably "The Red Rocker's" most iconic song. After 1985 he went on to be David Lee Roth's replacement in Van Halen.

67. The Cars - Just What I Needed.

68. Peter Cetera - The Glory Of Love.

69. Limahl - The Never Ending Story Theme. - Never Ending Story is the very first movie I viewed in a movie theater. This song definitely holds some memories for me. I don't think it's a good song, but it definitely helps me remember that time in my life.

Coming Soon: My Life Of Music Obsession: 1986

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