MTV in the 80s Song of the Day

[lonestar]

I loved Berlin, actually this song wasn't a big one for me, but Metro and No More Words are killer songs, and Terri Nunn, um, yes please.

[DebraKadabra]

Not a bad song, but I honestly like "Sex (I'm A...)" better.

[Orbert]

I like pretty much everything about the movie Top Gun, but I can't watch it because of that damned song.  Yes, the song pretty much ruins the movie for me.  "Metro" is awesome, though, and so is "Sex (I'm A...)".  Also, yeah, Terri was a real cutie in her time.  Today, not so much.

[King Postwhore]

I like pretty much everything about the movie Top Gun, but I can't watch it because of that damned song.  Yes, the song pretty much ruins the movie for me.  "Metro" is awesome, though, and so is "Sex (I'm A...)".  Also, yeah, Terri was a real cutie in her time.  Today, not so much.

Bob are you sure?  I saw a picture of her from a few years ago and she still looks good?

[Orbert]

Wow, a quick Google Images search shows that I'm quite wrong, which is actually good news.

But I know I remember seeing a relatively recent picture of her and being pretty shocked.  It might have been one of those "Then and Now" things, in which case I'm sure they used the worst recent picture of her that they could find.

[KevShmev]

a-ha - Take On Me

An insanely catchy song, featuring a vocal hook AND a keyboard hook, and the video was one of the best ever made.  This is an 80s classic personified.

[Jaq]

a-ha - Take On Me

An insanely catchy song, featuring a vocal hook AND a keyboard hook, and the video was one of the best ever made.  This is an 80s classic personified the 80s personified.

Well that's what I think anyway. 

[jingle.boy]

a-ha - Take On Me

An insanely catchy song, featuring a vocal hook AND a keyboard hook, and the video was one of the best ever made.  This is an 80s classic personified.

And BINGO was his name, oh! 

you're right on with the comments kev.  One of the most unique videos of the 80s, if not ever.

[KevShmev]

Also, I should mention how I like the ending to the song better in the video rather than regular version.  The regular version is a simple fadeout with the chorus being sang again, while the video version climaxes with that big drum thing, echoed in the video by the guy crashing to the floor, and then the fadeout is simply a soft-sounding keyboard that sounds just lovely.  Minor difference, but enough to make the video version better.

[King Postwhore]

I never knew until a few years ago that they were still huge in Europe.

[Cool Chris]

Top Gun had a great soundtrack. My dad had the LP and I cranked that all the time. Includes a great song by Cheap Trick that is in the film for about 1.5 seconds.

Big fan of Take On Me back then, but I honestly wonder if I ever heard it on the radio, or in any other context outside of along with the video.

[DebraKadabra]

Also, I should mention how I like the ending to the song better in the video rather than regular version.  The regular version is a simple fadeout with the chorus being sang again, while the video version climaxes with that big drum thing, echoed in the video by the guy crashing to the floor, and then the fadeout is simply a soft-sounding keyboard that sounds just lovely.  Minor difference, but enough to make the video version better.

I like the video version of the song more for that exact same reason.

[Orbert]

Yeah, same here.  Whenever I hear it on the radio, it's just a little disappointing because most people my age knew the video version first.

[T-ski]

as good as a-ha's "take on me" is, their second single was even better, yet no one ever speaks of it.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3ir9HC9vYg

[Kwyjibo]

a-ha "Take On Me" is one of the 80s classic pop songs. Cool Song, great video. Normally not my kind of music but I think they had some other good songs. Hunting High And Low is one of my favorites.

[dbrooks22]

a-ha - Take On Me

An insanely catchy song, featuring a vocal hook AND a keyboard hook, and the video was one of the best ever made.  This is an 80s classic personified.

Totally.  That was an awesome video.  I think the chick in it is the same chick from Ernest Goes to Jail.

[bundy]

Great song from a superb album. Hunting High and Low is easily in my top 5 albums of the 80s. The Sun Always Shines on TV is the highlight, but  Living A Boys Adventue Tale and the title track are killer as well. This is one of those albums like Supertamp's Crime of the Century where every single track is top shelf and the production is sublime. 


 

[KevShmev]

Bruce Hornsby & The Range - The Way It Is

Cool song, and I always found it amazing how unique and easily identifiable Hornsby's piano sound was.  It was like, when you heard the piano start playing, you knew it was him.  Same applied to when Don Henley's The End of the Innocence tune came out.  The first time I heard that song, I thought, "That has to be Bruce Hornsby playing piano in that song."  And sure enough, it was. 

[lonestar]

Great song, and Bruce Hornsby was a great keyboardist, good enough to travel with the Dead for many years in the early nineties.

[dbrooks22]

Bruce Hornsby & The Range - The Way It Is

Cool song, and I always found it amazing how unique and easily identifiable Hornsby's piano sound was.  It was like, when you heard the piano start playing, you knew it was him.  Same applied to when Don Henley's The End of the Innocence tune came out.  The first time I heard that song, I thought, "That has to be Bruce Hornsby playing piano in that song."  And sure enough, it was.

So true.  It's funny - I was only 7-8yrs old when these songs came out, but when i first heard the Way It Is, i thought it was Don Henley.  Little did i know that it was actually Bruce who wrote End of the Innocence for Don.

[jingle.boy]

One of the few great piano led songs I loved in the 80s.  Mandolin Rain was also pretty hot.

[T-ski]

Great song, and Bruce Hornsby was a great keyboardist, good enough to travel with the Dead for many years in the early nineties.

I'm sure Bruce still is a great keyboardist, considering he isn't dead. 

[jingle.boy]

Touche

[lonestar]

[DebraKadabra]

The whole album The Way It Is is awesome.  Was introduced to Bruce by my uncle - good stuff.

[Orbert]

One of the few great piano led songs I loved in the 80s.  Mandolin Rain was also pretty hot.

Yeah, both of those songs.  Bruce came on the scene and was so different, so cool, with the piano and the laid-back acoustic sound.  Who would've thought he'd become so popular?

[KevShmev]

Mandolin Rain is really good, too, but Every Little Kiss is my favorite of the three big hits from that record.

[DebraKadabra]

Mandolin Rain is really good, too, but Every Little Kiss is my favorite of the three big hits from that record.

Yeah, I've always thought Every Little Kiss was the best of the three too.

[KevShmev]

Aerosmith - Rag Doll

Being someone who wasn't familiar with any of Aerosmith's older stuff when their videos for Permanent Vacation all came out, I thought this song and video were both totally awesome, to use an 80s phrase.   Years later, I still dig the song, but wouldn't call it an 80s favorite of mine.  The video is still entertaining as heck, though.

[DebraKadabra]

Rag Doll is good, but St. John is my favorite song on Permanent Vacation.

[T-ski]

Aerosmith - Rag Doll

Being someone who wasn't familiar with any of Aerosmith's older stuff when their videos for Permanent Vacation all came out, I thought this song and video were both totally awesome, to use an 80s phrase.   Years later, I still dig the song, but wouldn't call it an 80s favorite of mine.  The video is still entertaining as heck, though.

there are no words that can tell you how much I dislike this song.

[KevShmev]

I always wondered what longtime Aerosmith fans thought of that late 80s stuff when it first came out.  I mean, it didn't smack of cheesy 80s, and still rocked pretty good (Angel notwithstanding).

[Cool Chris]

When I was introduced to Aerosmith in the 80s, I was surprised later to hear they were a big act in the 70s. That's how clueless I was.

Rag Doll was another song I loved on MTV, but not sure if I would have stopped turning the dial for if I heard it on the radio (damn, I am old enough to remember actually turning a radio dial...). Probably the type of material I loved back then, but if I heard now, I would think "Man, I used to listen to this stuff??"

[Orbert]

I always wondered what longtime Aerosmith fans thought of that late 80s stuff when it first came out.  I mean, it didn't smack of cheesy 80s, and still rocked pretty good (Angel notwithstanding).

I thought "Rag Doll" and Permanent Vacation in general did a good job of capturing what made Aerosmith great in the 70's.  They weren't a straight-up Rock 'n' Roll band; they came from R & B, and "Rag Doll" was R & B.

They went through some tough times in the early 80's, and as far as I can tell, none of the stuff they did without Joe Perry was worth a shit, but they came back strong.  My buddies and I, who used to listen to Get Your Wings and Toys in the Attic in junior high, were pretty good with Permanent Vacation.  Aerosmith were back, as far as we were concerned, and I think Pump is actually a little better.  Sure, the guys sound older, and I'm sure the years of living like they do has taken its toll, but it was overall an impressive comeback.

[dbrooks22]

When I was introduced to Aerosmith in the 80s, I was surprised later to hear they were a big act in the 70s. That's how clueless I was.

same here.  But by the time Pump came out, i had Toys in the Attic also.

Rag Doll is great fun - i read on wikipedia that it was originally titled "Rag Time," and the music definitely smacks of it.  Amazing that Steven Tyler's style hasn't changed since Permanent Waves.