MTV in the 80s Song of the Day

[DebraKadabra]

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More

This song wasn't really on my radar when it first came out, and I didn't really remember seeing the video that much, but years later, when I got into him a little bit after borrowing his greatest hits from a friend, this song was an immediate favorite.  In retrospect, the video was pretty neat!  I have never been more than a moderate Petty fan at best, but this is one of a handful of songs of his I would call great.

Love the video so much that I put it in my top 10 80's videos for that thread bosk made a while back.  SUCH cool imagery, and nice cameo by Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) as The Catepillar
 
It's not my favorite Tom Petty song, but it's up there.

[Jaq]

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More

This song wasn't really on my radar when it first came out, and I didn't really remember seeing the video that much, but years later, when I got into him a little bit after borrowing his greatest hits from a friend, this song was an immediate favorite.  In retrospect, the video was pretty neat!  I have never been more than a moderate Petty fan at best, but this is one of a handful of songs of his I would call great.

Never really was a fan of the song, but man, I loved the video. Yeah, it was just an Alice in Wonderland riff, but it was masterfully done. Great video.

[T-ski]

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Don't Come Around Here No More

This song wasn't really on my radar when it first came out, and I didn't really remember seeing the video that much, but years later, when I got into him a little bit after borrowing his greatest hits from a friend, this song was an immediate favorite.  In retrospect, the video was pretty neat!  I have never been more than a moderate Petty fan at best, but this is one of a handful of songs of his I would call great.

I'm a firm believer that the video made this song a hit, rather than the music.  Another MTV success story.

[KevShmev]

Michael Jackson - Beat It

Like Billie Jean, this song was impossible to avoid if you watched MTV at all back in '82/'83, and that was not a bad thing, as this song and video are both fantastic.  I remember it was always exciting every time the opening shot of this video came on screen.  And as corny as it might look to some now, especially those who have never seen it before, the dance sequence at the end was positively awesome back then; a great way to end a classic song and video!

[bosk1]

Good song.  Good video.  Been debating whether or not to try to include this in our band's set. 

Regarding Tom Petty, which was the song with the basically Mad Max video?  Can't remember it for the life of me, other than the synth intro and the melancholy whammy bar guitar "solo."  Or maybe you're planning to throw that one out there soon...

[KevShmev]

 

Regarding Tom Petty, which was the song with the basically Mad Max video?  Can't remember it for the life of me, other than the synth intro and the melancholy whammy bar guitar "solo."  Or maybe you're planning to throw that one out there soon...

You Got Lucky.  That's still on the long list.

[bosk1]

Ah, yes.  That's the one. 

[BlobVanDam]

Was just listening to this album yesterday. I love Beat It, probably partially thanks to Back to the Future II .
MJ blended the rock influence into his style really well here, and his voice really suited it. A lot of his songs are built on a strong bass riff anyway, so it was a pretty natural progression.

[DebraKadabra]

Michael Jackson - Beat It

Like Billie Jean, this song was impossible to avoid if you watched MTV at all back in '82/'83, and that was not a bad thing, as this song and video are both fantastic.  I remember it was always exciting every time the opening shot of this video came on screen.  And as corny as it might look to some now, especially those who have never seen it before, the dance sequence at the end was positively awesome back then; a great way to end a classic song and video!

Like bosk said - great song, great video.  Thriller was SO huge back in that time frame, and the majority of the songs have really held up over the years.

[jjrock88]

Check out Yngwie Malmesteen's version of Beat it.  Ripper kills on it!

[DebraKadabra]

YNGWIE did a version of Beat It?!  Wow... crazy.

[Jaq]

He did. It's on a compilation of largely instrumentals called High Impact. It's equal parts awesome and hilarious. 

[KevShmev]

Damn you all for stinking up this thread with talk of Yngwie. *vomits*

Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel the Noize

A wildly popular song and video, it was never one I called a favorite.  I liked it, but that was probably because it was played every hour on MTV for what seemed like forever.   IIRC, MTV never edited the spelling of the first word of the title, but I could be misremembering.  Anyone remember for sure? 

[Jaq]

Near as I remember, they never changed it. Hell, in the earliest days of MTV they played a Rod Stewart video with the lyric "why the fuck is she ignoring me?" left intact. 

I saw Quiet Riot open for Iron Maiden around the time this song broke big, they were an awesome live band at the time. They damn near blew MAIDEN off the stage, which is no mean feat. This is one of my favorite songs of the 80s off a very good commercial metal album.

[jjrock88]

First metal album to go to number 1!

[DebraKadabra]

Quiet Riot - Cum On Feel the Noize

A wildly popular song and video, it was never one I called a favorite.  I liked it, but that was probably because it was played every hour on MTV for what seemed like forever.   IIRC, MTV never edited the spelling of the first word of the title, but I could be misremembering.  Anyone remember for sure?

I liked Bang Your Head and Slick Black Cadillac better, but you can't deny the impact this song/video had back in the day.

[KevShmev]

A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran

Another 80s classic, this is one of those videos that was a staple of MTV's earliest days.  I always thought the constant spinning in the video every time it showed a band member playing, while the screen stood still for everything else, was a cool effect. 

[T-ski]

all of the Flock of Seagulls hits were very good songs.  If you've ever heard any of their other stuff you'd cringe.

Little known fact, FOS won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental in 1983 for this song...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF2lX0ZrccQ

[Orbert]

The hair

The way he plays his one note on the synth with such authority

The demented look in his eyes

The hair

The guitar solo at the end of the song

The way it ends on that weird, unresolved chord

The hair!

[Jaq]

The hair

The way he plays his one note on the synth with such authority

The demented look in his eyes

The hair

The guitar solo at the end of the song

The way it ends on that weird, unresolved chord

The hair!

This post says it all.  I always loved the way the singer played that one note as if having to hold on to the keyboard for his life.

[King Postwhore]

The hair

The way he plays his one note on the synth with such authority

The demented look in his eyes

The hair

The guitar solo at the end of the song

The way it ends on that weird, unresolved chord

The hair!

Post of the year.

[DebraKadabra]

The hair

The way he plays his one note on the synth with such authority

The demented look in his eyes

The hair

The guitar solo at the end of the song

The way it ends on that weird, unresolved chord

The hair!

Spot on, dude.

[KevShmev]

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax

This is one of those songs I should have liked a lot at the time back then, but never really did; it just never did anything for me.  In fact, the best thing about this song is the "Frankie Says Relax" shirt that Ross had on Friends.

[bosk1]

There were a few girls in my H.S. that had that shirt, too.  Not sure whether they understood it...

[Cool Chris]

Great song then, and still holds up well for me know. Featured song on the 80s section of my dance music compilation. And I remember that shirt on Friends too.

[DebraKadabra]

Blech.

[King Postwhore]

There were a few girls in my H.S. that had that shirt, too.  Not sure whether they understood it...
[/quot

Thought the same thing too!

[Jaq]

One of the things that, in hindsight given several members of the band's now known sexual preferences (was it known then? I have no idea), is now kind of funny is the SECOND version of the video for Relax, which was a live version of the song with the band being mobbed by girls, Beatlemania style.  I actually didn't mind Frankie Goes To Hollywood's other single, Two Tribes, but I didn't have much time for Relax.

[jingle.boy]

Pleasure Dome was always my fav.  Like this song plenty.

Flock of Seagulls... best thing about that (hair) was Jules' line in Pulp Fiction.  The song ... meh.

[KevShmev]

Hall & Oates - Out of Touch

One of their best 80s hits, IMO, and much better with the Dance On Your Knees intro (which is in the video, albeit a bit abbreviated).  Fun little video, too.  Maybe it's the mustache, but it always seemed like John Oates was the heart and soul of their videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIQ1TLvQViY&feature=fvwrel

[DebraKadabra]

Cool enough song, cool video.  Nothing spectacular or anything.

[jingle.boy]

Never liked H&O, even when pop was my preferred genre.

[T-ski]

Hall & Oates - Out of Touch

One of their best 80s hits, IMO, and much better with the Dance On Your Knees intro (which is in the video, albeit a bit abbreviated).  Fun little video, too.  Maybe it's the mustache, but it always seemed like John Oates was the heart and soul of their videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIQ1TLvQViY&feature=fvwrel

 

Hall and Oates are a top 5 80's act IMO.  Don't think I've ever heard a bad song by them.

[KevShmev]

I meant to start this the other day, but I'll start it today...time for 80s tunes that were featured in 80s movies. This can apply to songs that were written for the movie and/or soundtrack or merely songs that were prominently featured in the movies.

Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone

From Top Gun, this song was heavily featured in the movie, and how fitting that it was by Kenny Loggins, who was like the king of the 80s soundtrack hits!  As for the song, it doesn't do a lot for me, but always seem to fit well in the movie.

[Cool Chris]

Great song for the movie, which as you said, no one did better than Kenny Loggins.

Was thinking about this soundtrack album the other day. I remember my parents had the record, and I used to listen to it all the time. Every song was great, and the guitar in the last song (the instrumental) could have been the first real shreddy solo I ever heard. At least it was shreddy for me at the time, and I remember it to this day as being cool for a pre-pubescent Cool Chris.