So, sitting here in the West End of London, listening to this I have to say I want to vote for both. Love Modern English and Kajagoogoo. Arguments valid for both moving forward. Gotta have a pint and think this through - tough match up for me.
Well, yes - Since I did bring it up, I do feel compelled to vote for it. And, consider it a vote for all the other Brit bands that missed the list (so far) that sounded more 80s than Night Ranger 😁, The English Beat, General Public, Go West, Eurythmics (OK, RR Hall of Fame - I'll let that go), OMD, Soft Cell, The Psychedelic Furs, and ABC.
I think I Melt With you was the only answer here. It is an iconic 80s song. Too Shy, despite it's much better chart performance, is forgettable drivel. I Melt With You takes you back, Too shy makes you say, "Oh right, this existed."
I am of course biased by what the 80s were to me as a teen dance club denizen (which is different than yours as a couple of guys growing up in MTV-less and Top-40-only radio world) and I danced to I Melt With You every weekend for probably 6 straight years in my teens.
It shows how what sticks around in our culture isn't always what was the biggest at the time. Play I Melt With You at a bar or club and watch the crowd of all ages either jump up and dance or all song along. Too Shy will in no way inspire the same response.
You guys like to point out all the synth sound in the 80s, but I think (and again, my bias as a club denizen) a hallmark of the 80s was all the great synth music that existed, not weak tinny shit like Kajagoogoo. You think of all the great synth playing of the era - Depeche Mode, New Order (by the way, where the fuck in Blue Monday? That should be here), OMD, Pet Shop Boys, ABC, Men Without Hats, Yaz, Erasure, Soft Cell, to name a few - and it was fantastic. Too Shy is not representative of it.
Also, with the first round of the Bands bracket now over... Did you guys never hear ska music? Where the hell is Madness or The Specials?
OMD, Pet Shop Boys, ABC, and MWH, Soft Cell, New Order...all those will very likely be in here or Side B.
I missed Blue Monday when it came out and only learned about it later.
I heard of ska music in the early 90s more than in the 80s, though I do know "Our House" by Madness. I do not know any songs by The Specials (or at least I don't know if I do.).
The entire idea of a dance club is so foreign to my teenage experience. I don't think I went to one until living in Boston in 1993, and even then, that was only a couple times and was more like slam dancing and moshing, which I was too slight to survive.
Yeah, "Our House" definitely should've at least been on my initial 64. Just one that fell through the cracks for me. I'd say "One Step Beyond" is more representative of the genre, but that was released in '79 and was absolutely not on my radar until my friend Cliff put it, I believe, on a Ska-centric mix tape he made me in the early 90s.
So, sitting here in the West End of London, listening to this I have to say I want to vote for both. Love Modern English and Kajagoogoo. Arguments valid for both moving forward. Gotta have a pint and think this through - tough match up for me.
Our first TWO comments today are from Jolly Old England, AND both songs are from there, too? 🤯
Dr. Janet, the question is: CAN YOU DRINK ENOUGH to vote for Kajagoogoo?
Thanks for including us in your vacation!
--Keith
Well, yes - Since I did bring it up, I do feel compelled to vote for it. And, consider it a vote for all the other Brit bands that missed the list (so far) that sounded more 80s than Night Ranger 😁, The English Beat, General Public, Go West, Eurythmics (OK, RR Hall of Fame - I'll let that go), OMD, Soft Cell, The Psychedelic Furs, and ABC.
A LOT of those acts should appear in Side B!
I think I Melt With you was the only answer here. It is an iconic 80s song. Too Shy, despite it's much better chart performance, is forgettable drivel. I Melt With You takes you back, Too shy makes you say, "Oh right, this existed."
I am of course biased by what the 80s were to me as a teen dance club denizen (which is different than yours as a couple of guys growing up in MTV-less and Top-40-only radio world) and I danced to I Melt With You every weekend for probably 6 straight years in my teens.
It shows how what sticks around in our culture isn't always what was the biggest at the time. Play I Melt With You at a bar or club and watch the crowd of all ages either jump up and dance or all song along. Too Shy will in no way inspire the same response.
You guys like to point out all the synth sound in the 80s, but I think (and again, my bias as a club denizen) a hallmark of the 80s was all the great synth music that existed, not weak tinny shit like Kajagoogoo. You think of all the great synth playing of the era - Depeche Mode, New Order (by the way, where the fuck in Blue Monday? That should be here), OMD, Pet Shop Boys, ABC, Men Without Hats, Yaz, Erasure, Soft Cell, to name a few - and it was fantastic. Too Shy is not representative of it.
Also, with the first round of the Bands bracket now over... Did you guys never hear ska music? Where the hell is Madness or The Specials?
We did get this one "right," though!
OMD, Pet Shop Boys, ABC, and MWH, Soft Cell, New Order...all those will very likely be in here or Side B.
I missed Blue Monday when it came out and only learned about it later.
I heard of ska music in the early 90s more than in the 80s, though I do know "Our House" by Madness. I do not know any songs by The Specials (or at least I don't know if I do.).
The entire idea of a dance club is so foreign to my teenage experience. I don't think I went to one until living in Boston in 1993, and even then, that was only a couple times and was more like slam dancing and moshing, which I was too slight to survive.
--Keith
Yeah, "Our House" definitely should've at least been on my initial 64. Just one that fell through the cracks for me. I'd say "One Step Beyond" is more representative of the genre, but that was released in '79 and was absolutely not on my radar until my friend Cliff put it, I believe, on a Ska-centric mix tape he made me in the early 90s.
This one was TOUGH I really do like them both but I went with the underdog, Kajagoogoo, because their name is 🔥!
I agree with Joe on this one. Just the right amount of garlic 👌