MTV in the 80s Song of the Day

[KevShmev]

Time to get another song of the day thread going, this one about 80s songs, specifically ones that gained popularity by being played on MTV a lot. 

Plus, it will give many of us who are suckers for 80s music a chance to talk about those songs that maybe aren't worthy of their own threads, so to speak. 

Whitesnake - Is This Love

Earlier today, I was at Quiznos, this song was playing at the store, and all I could think was, "Is this song really 25 years old already?"  Hard to believe.  1987 was the year I graduated from 8th grade, and a bunch of us spent that whole summer hanging out before we all went to different high schools, and about a dozen or so songs from that time period remind me of that summer, including this Whitesnake tune.

[jingle.boy]

Personally, one of the worst songs on an otherwise flawless album.  Just inspired me to go and give it a spin. 

Following this thread, as I'm a full on junkie for glam/hair metal.

[KevShmev]

Sweet.  I will touch everything from Whitesnake to Debbie Gibson to Bon Jovi to Adam Ant to Madonna to Tears for Fears in this thread.  If it got played on MTV a lot in the 80s, it is fair game!

[lonestar]

I'm gonna be following.  That was the year I graduated HS, and was in my transition from metalhead to prognerd, had just discovered IQ and Marillion, and was instantly more cultured than everyone else.  I love going back to the hair metal and realizing how my snobbishness from both sides made me miss a shit ton of really good music.

[Lowdz]

1987 was a great year for hard rock music. I was 19 and had a decent income in my first job and most of it went on lps and I bought a cd player this year too. I had the Bon Jovi curly perm too. Luckily there is very little photographic evidence around from those days!

1987 was a great album, Coverdale a great singer, but that video was bad even then. Cost him a few quid too with the divorce.

Just been jamming on Bad Boys this afternoon too.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Excellent tune.  I love Syke's work on this album and this tune is no exception.  FANTASTIC clean tones and interesting chord voicings.  I love the feeling in it.  Also, a great lead that doesn't need to completely rip to get its point across.

Slight tangent:  For some reason, everytime I hear "Just Between Us" by Talisman (Jeff Scott Soto's band), the solo reminds me of "Is This Love".  Dunno why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X97eOsHrXXg  (solo at 1:55)

[KevShmev]

Yeah, we are gonna need you to dig up that picture, Lowdz.

And given how many 80s songs there are, even this is a Song of the Day, there are likely to be days where I do more than one. 

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Yeah, we are gonna need you to dig up that picture, Lowdz.

This.

[KevShmev]

Excellent tune.  I love Syke's work on this album and this tune is no exception.  FANTASTIC clean tones and interesting chord voicings.  I love the feeling in it.  Also, a great lead that doesn't need to completely rip to get its point across.
 

Agreed.  I really like the leads he plays after the first two choruses, and how the second one slightly varies from the one after the first before going into the solo.  It's almost like the first one is a tease before heading into the second verse, and then the second is hitting letting loose with the solo, but, like you said, never showing off or getting too crazy.  Good stuff.

[bosk1]

Are we allowed to post some, or only comment on your choices?

Good tune.  Not as good as a lot of others on the album, but still solid and brings back a lot of memories.  I actually sang this for my solo assigning in pop choir senior year in H.S.  The two rocker chicks in class were like:     The others were like, "oh, wow.  This is Whitesnake?  I thought they were like scary metal, but this is actually pretty good."

[KevShmev]

Are we allowed to post some, or only comment on your choices?

I would probably prefer to let me post them, for fear of 10 people posting different songs in the same day and it turning into a cluster, but I guess there could be a way of letting others post some, too.  Any ideas?  I just don't want it to be a free-for-all where anyone and everyone is throwing songs out left and right and some get lust in the shuffle and don't get their proper due in the way of discussion.

[bosk1]

No, that's fine.  I just wan't 100% sure what you intended.

[Jaq]

Is this song REALLY 25 years old? 

One of the lesser songs on this album, but given how high quality it was-I'd have no problem with someone calling Whitesnake's 1987 album the best hard rock album of the 80s-it means that its pretty good. Very solid rock tune, and yes, those damn videos didn't hurt the success of that album in the least. Great tune.

[KevShmev]

My intention is to have lots of talk about 80s cheese, aqua net, spandex and Robert Sweet's ginormous drum kit.

But really, even if multiple songs are being talked about, that is all good.  A new one being brought up for discussion doesn't mean anyone can't still talk about the previous ones.  Speaking of which...

Van Halen - Hot for Teacher

Okay, who didn't see this video back in 1984 and think it was the coolest video ever?  Certainly not I.  This video epitomizes the 80s, both the good and the bad.  And the bad worked at the time.  Plus, this was like DLR's dress rehearsal for when he went solo and really went crazy with the corny, fun videos.

[Cool Chris]

Following. Grew up watching MTV in the 80s. Was 11 in 1987. Never was a huge Whitesnake fan, but recall this video getting lots of play.

[Lowdz]

My intention is to have lots of talk about 80s cheese, aqua net, spandex and Robert Sweet's ginormous drum kit.

But really, even if multiple songs are being talked about, that is all good.  A new one being brought up for discussion doesn't mean anyone can't still talk about the previous ones.  Speaking of which...

Van Halen - Hot for Teacher

Okay, who didn't see this video back in 1984 and think it was the coolest video ever?  Certainly not I.  This video epitomizes the 80s, both the good and the bad.  And the bad worked at the time.  Plus, this was like DLR's dress rehearsal for when he went solo and really went crazy with the corny, fun videos.

Cool video- cracked up the first time I saw it when Waldo speaks.
And my teachers didn't look like that.

[wolfking]

I was also bummed that my teachers never looked like that either.  Good song, great video.

Love Is This Love too.  Great clean guitar, sweet vocals and brilliant Syke lead work.

[Dr. DTVT]

Sit down, Waldo 

I love that video, and "Just a Gigalo" even more.  I'll stick around as long as awesomeness is delivered.

[lonestar]

The best part about this type of nostalgia is remembering what "firsts" we attach to certain songs.




Hot for Teacher, first song I saw a stripper dance to.  Hot blonde named Madison at my brother's friend's bachelor party, she came out in a business suit, hair in a bunt, glasses, smacking a ruler against her palm.  When the song hit the opening DLR scream, the hair, glasses, and top went flying away, along with with my innocence. Needless to say, this song holds a special place in my heart.

Can't wait till you get to Ratt.

[jingle.boy]

I have no such memories tied to Hot For Teacher.  However, the mention of DLR's solo career does remind me of the fact that Eat 'em and Smile was the first CD I ever bought.  Hot For Teacher has to be one of the few double bass pounding drum beats that actually made it into pop radio.  Still head bang along with it to this day.  Speaking of which, gotta go hit play.

Oh, and killer guitar solo (walking down the library tables).

[bosk1]

Can't wait till you get to Ratt.

First time you danced as a stripper?

[lonestar]

Cute.  Very cute.  We're just gonna have to wait and see if he picks the song now, won't we.

[bosk1]

Cute.  Very cute.  We're just gonna have to wait and see if he picks the song now, won't we.

[lonestar]

Thanks to Edan, I have an endless series of avatars.  Still don't know what's behind the fucking door though.

[Orbert]

The Whitesnake video was bad, but turn down the sound and just watch Tawny Kitaen writhe around for four or five minutes and it's okay.

I always thought "Hot for Teacher" was ultra cheesy, even for Van Halen, and honestly, the "teachers" in the video did nothing for me.  If I'd been a teenaged boy in a classroom with teachers like that dancing in my face?  Hell yes!  But the video was stupid.  The guitar solo was good, though.

[KevShmev]

Cute.  Very cute.  We're just gonna have to wait and see if he picks the song now, won't we.

List the song.  Just make sure it's bolded, so it stands out.

[King Postwhore]

Is This Love was a good but not great song from that album.  As Orbert said, the video is spank worthy but to me, the song is ok.

Hot for Teacher is the one VH song I skip.  I think I heard it 5 million times my sophomore year in HS.

[KevShmev]

The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian

I actually didn't like this song that much when it was first out, which seems strange given that I liked much of the 80s cheese at the time back then, but over time, it grew on me.  Odd that a song like this would grow on you , but whenever it comes up when I play my 80s playlist, I enjoy it now.  And who didn't think Susanna Hoffs was the bomb-diggity back then?  Hell, she still looks pretty damn good for early 50s!

[bosk1]

Good call.  Although if I could pick one and only one Bangles song to listen to, it would easily be Hazy Shade Of Winter.

[KevShmev]

I was never that wild about that one.  I liked Manic Monday the best back then, and Eternal Flame was nice.

[TAC]

Good call.  Although if I could pick one and only one Bangles song to listen to, it would easily be Hazy Shade Of Winter.

Agreed.

Is This Love is OK. I was never crazy about the "super" lineup playing or acting the bits of the recorded band.

I still love Hot For Teacher. Videos by nature are cheesy, but that song still kicks complete ass to me.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Hot For Teacher - one of the quintessential Van Halen songs.  It is the 80's condensed into one ass kicking of a song.  Over the top video?  Check?  Lyrical content contains references to drinking, partying, or banging hot chicks?  Check.  Guitar solo badassery?  Check.  DLR being DLR?  Check.  Man, this song is unreal.  Just turning it on, grabbing a guitar, and playing along makes you feel better.  As Roth said, "'Old Van Halen, when I was in it-classic Van Halen-makes you wanna drink, dance and screw, right? And the new Van Halen encourages you to drink milk, drive a Nissan and have a relationship."  As much as I like Sammy, I can't deny that old VH has that effect. 

WLAE - Nice.  It's a pretty catchy tune and it didn't hurt that even the least hot Bangle was still hittable.  I hear it from time to time and am still shaken by that guitar tone at the end, the big brassy Danelectro-ish kinda sound.  Cool.  Still an earworm of a tune.  As for Susanna Hoffs, if you haven't seen it, look up her live cover of Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" and attempt to not be stirred by it. 

EDIT: Saw the additional comments and thought "I really liked Eternal Flame."  Then saw KS mentioned it. 

EDIT #2:  If interested (hint: you're interested), here's the aforementioned Susana Hoffs "FLML" performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol4MaEPayv0

[KevShmev]

The best thing about Hot for Teacher is that riff.  I defy anyone to tell me that that riff doesn't kick major ass.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

The best part about it is that it's such a simple riff, yet so effectively ass-kicking.

[Cool Chris]

I used to go to a club a lot that had a dance floor devoted to 80s music. This was one of 3 songs that during which I would take a bathroom break if it came on.

Eternal Flame was one of those quintessential middle school dance songs.

And who didn't think Susanna Hoffs was the bomb-diggity back then?

I sure as hell did! Haven't seen her lately, off to google, brb!