Phil Collins and PHILIP BAILEY - Easy Lover

[\m/Johnny\m/]

This song IS 1984.

This is a thread for discussion of this song, and this song only.

[BUNGVOX]

so goddamned good.

[\m/Johnny\m/]

I know, right.

The FUCKING harmonies.

[Geeheeb]

autotuned bullshit

[\m/Johnny\m/]

This is no joke.

I'm not joking.

[fallbacktostone]

air drumming like a crazed ape.

[\m/Johnny\m/]

I played this on the internet jukebox at the bar last night and was a fucking hero.

[Introvert]

Before you know it, you'll be on you KNEES!!

[a world of no]

This song IS 1984.

i think any of the other top 100 of 1984 are more 1984 than this song though.

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

Code: Select all

1 	Prince 	When Doves Cry
2 	Tina Turner 	What's Love Got To Do With It
3 	Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson 	Say Say Say
4 	Kenny Loggins 	Footloose
5 	Phil Collins 	Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)
6 	Van Halen 	Jump
7 	Lionel Richie 	Hello
8 	Yes 	Owner Of A Lonely Heart
9 	Ray Parker Jr. 	Ghostbusters
10 	Culture Club 	Karma Chameleon
11 	John Waite 	Missing You
12 	Lionel Richie 	All Night Long (All Night)
13 	Deniece Williams 	Let's Hear It For The Boy
14 	Bruce Springsteen 	Dancing In The Dark
15 	Cyndi Lauper 	Girls Just Want To Have Fun
16 	Duran Duran 	The Reflex
17 	Cyndi Lauper 	Time After Time
18 	Pointer Sisters 	Jump (For My Love)
19 	Romantics 	Talking In Your Sleep
20 	Laura Branigan 	Self Control
21 	Prince and The Revolution 	Let's Go Crazy
22 	Daryl Hall and John Oates 	Say It Isn't So
23 	Thompson Twins 	Hold Me Now
24 	Kool and The Gang 	Joanna
25 	Stevie Wonder 	I Just Called To Say I Love You
26 	Rockwell 	Somebody's Watching Me
27 	Matthew Wilder 	Break My Stride
28 	Nena 	99 Luftballons
29 	Dan Hartman 	I Can Dream About You
30 	Sheila E. 	The Glamorous Life
31 	Steve Perry 	Oh Sherrie
32 	Lionel Richie 	Stuck On You
33 	Elton John 	I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
34 	Cyndi Lauper 	She Bop
35 	Madonna 	Borderline
36 	Corey Hart 	Sunglasses At Night
37 	Billy Idol 	Eyes Without A Face
38 	Eurythmics 	Here Comes The Rain Again
39 	Billy Joel 	Uptown Girl
40 	Night Ranger 	Sister Christian
41 	Cars 	Drive
42 	Olivia Newton-John 	Twist Of Fate
43 	Duran Duran 	Union Of The Snake
44 	Huey Lewis and The News 	The Heart Of Rock 'N' Roll
45 	Chicago 	Hard Habit To Break
46 	Scandal 	The Warrior
47 	Peabo Bryson 	If Ever You're In My Arms Again
48 	Pointer Sisters 	Automatic
49 	Shannon 	Let The Music Play
50 	Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson 	To All The Girls I've Loved Before
51 	Billy Ocean 	Caribbean Queen
52 	Genesis 	That's All
53 	Lionel Richie 	Running With The Night
54 	Elton John 	Sad Songs (Say So Much)
55 	Huey Lewis and The News 	I Want A New Drug
56 	Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton 	Islands In The Stream
57 	Pat Benatar 	Love Is A Battlefield
58 	Rod Stewart 	Infatuation
59 	Mike Reno and Ann Wilson 	Almost Paradise
60 	ZZ Top 	Legs
61 	Jacksons 	State Of Shock
62 	Rick Springfield 	Love Somebody
63 	Culture Club 	Miss Me Blind
64 	Huey Lewis and The News 	If This Is It
65 	Cars 	You Might Think
66 	Madonna 	Lucky Star
67 	Bruce Springsteen 	Cover Me
68 	Quiet Riot 	Cum On Feel The Noize
69 	Irene Cara 	Breakdance
70 	Daryl Hall and John Oates 	Adult Education
71 	Tracy Ullman 	They Don't Know
72 	Billy Joel 	An Innocent Man
73 	Bananarama 	Cruel Summer
74 	Wang Chung 	Dance Hall Days
75 	K.C. 	Give It Up
76 	Pointer Sisters 	I'm So Excited
77 	Ray Parker Jr. 	I Still Can't Get Over Loving You
78 	Michael Jackson 	Thriller
79 	Madonna 	Holiday
80 	Ollie And Jerry 	Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us
81 	John Lennon 	Nobody Told Me
82 	Culture Club 	Church Of The Poison Mind
83 	Christopher Cross 	Think Of Laura
84 	Debarge 	Time Will Reveal
85 	Police 	Wrapped Around Your Finger
86 	John Cougar Mellencamp 	Pink Houses
87 	Ratt 	Round And Round
88 	Go-Go's 	Head Over Heels
89 	Billy Joel 	The Longest Time
90 	Kool and The Gang 	Tonight
91 	Christine McVie 	Got A Hold On Me
92 	Shalamar 	Dancing In The Sheets
93 	Rolling Stones 	Undercover Of The Night
94 	John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band 	On The Dark Side
95 	Duran Duran 	New Moon On Monday
96 	Peter Schilling 	Major Tom (Coming Home)
97 	Cars 	Magic
98 	Night Ranger 	When You Close Your Eyes
99 	Billy Squier 	Rock Me Tonite
100 	James Ingram and Michael McDonald 	Yah Mo B There

[\m/Johnny\m/]

You take your negative ass somewhere else, you asshole.

[\m/Johnny\m/]

shut up.

[a world of no]

how the fuck was my post negative? didn't say i disliked the song. i followed your thread rules; stated a simple opinion, and i get shit on. thanks.

[BUNGVOX]

air drumming like a crazed ape.

total air drumming classic to be sure.

[\m/Johnny\m/]

how the fuck was my post negative? didn't say i disliked the song. i followed your thread rules; stated a simple opinion, and i get shit on. thanks.

I'm sorry Streven...

What makes this song so 1984 over the rest of that list is the fact that I don't think I've heard it 3 times since the year of it's release. You can't go to a gathering of the juggalos of douchebags without hearing When Doves Cry at least once. When I heard Easy Lover yesterday, I was immediately brought back to a simpler time. I must've seen that video 100 times in the early days of MTV. SHit rules.

[Zerohero]

This song IS 1984.

i think any of the other top 100 of 1984 are more 1984 than this song though.

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

Code: Select all

1 	Prince 	When Doves Cry
2 	Tina Turner 	What's Love Got To Do With It
3 	Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson 	Say Say Say
4 	Kenny Loggins 	Footloose
5 	Phil Collins 	Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)
6 	Van Halen 	Jump
7 	Lionel Richie 	Hello
8 	Yes 	Owner Of A Lonely Heart
9 	Ray Parker Jr. 	Ghostbusters
10 	Culture Club 	Karma Chameleon
11 	John Waite 	Missing You
12 	Lionel Richie 	All Night Long (All Night)
13 	Deniece Williams 	Let's Hear It For The Boy
14 	Bruce Springsteen 	Dancing In The Dark
15 	Cyndi Lauper 	Girls Just Want To Have Fun
16 	Duran Duran 	The Reflex
17 	Cyndi Lauper 	Time After Time
18 	Pointer Sisters 	Jump (For My Love)
19 	Romantics 	Talking In Your Sleep
20 	Laura Branigan 	Self Control
21 	Prince and The Revolution 	Let's Go Crazy
22 	Daryl Hall and John Oates 	Say It Isn't So
23 	Thompson Twins 	Hold Me Now
24 	Kool and The Gang 	Joanna
25 	Stevie Wonder 	I Just Called To Say I Love You
26 	Rockwell 	Somebody's Watching Me
27 	Matthew Wilder 	Break My Stride
28 	Nena 	99 Luftballons
29 	Dan Hartman 	I Can Dream About You
30 	Sheila E. 	The Glamorous Life
31 	Steve Perry 	Oh Sherrie
32 	Lionel Richie 	Stuck On You
33 	Elton John 	I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
34 	Cyndi Lauper 	She Bop
35 	Madonna 	Borderline
36 	Corey Hart 	Sunglasses At Night
37 	Billy Idol 	Eyes Without A Face
38 	Eurythmics 	Here Comes The Rain Again
39 	Billy Joel 	Uptown Girl
40 	Night Ranger 	Sister Christian
41 	Cars 	Drive
42 	Olivia Newton-John 	Twist Of Fate
43 	Duran Duran 	Union Of The Snake
44 	Huey Lewis and The News 	The Heart Of Rock 'N' Roll
45 	Chicago 	Hard Habit To Break
46 	Scandal 	The Warrior
47 	Peabo Bryson 	If Ever You're In My Arms Again
48 	Pointer Sisters 	Automatic
49 	Shannon 	Let The Music Play
50 	Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson 	To All The Girls I've Loved Before
51 	Billy Ocean 	Caribbean Queen
52 	Genesis 	That's All
53 	Lionel Richie 	Running With The Night
54 	Elton John 	Sad Songs (Say So Much)
55 	Huey Lewis and The News 	I Want A New Drug
56 	Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton 	Islands In The Stream
57 	Pat Benatar 	Love Is A Battlefield
58 	Rod Stewart 	Infatuation
59 	Mike Reno and Ann Wilson 	Almost Paradise
60 	ZZ Top 	Legs
61 	Jacksons 	State Of Shock
62 	Rick Springfield 	Love Somebody
63 	Culture Club 	Miss Me Blind
64 	Huey Lewis and The News 	If This Is It
65 	Cars 	You Might Think
66 	Madonna 	Lucky Star
67 	Bruce Springsteen 	Cover Me
68 	Quiet Riot 	Cum On Feel The Noize
69 	Irene Cara 	Breakdance
70 	Daryl Hall and John Oates 	Adult Education
71 	Tracy Ullman 	They Don't Know
72 	Billy Joel 	An Innocent Man
73 	Bananarama 	Cruel Summer
74 	Wang Chung 	Dance Hall Days
75 	K.C. 	Give It Up
76 	Pointer Sisters 	I'm So Excited
77 	Ray Parker Jr. 	I Still Can't Get Over Loving You
78 	Michael Jackson 	Thriller
79 	Madonna 	Holiday
80 	Ollie And Jerry 	Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us
81 	John Lennon 	Nobody Told Me
82 	Culture Club 	Church Of The Poison Mind
83 	Christopher Cross 	Think Of Laura
84 	Debarge 	Time Will Reveal
85 	Police 	Wrapped Around Your Finger
86 	John Cougar Mellencamp 	Pink Houses
87 	Ratt 	Round And Round
88 	Go-Go's 	Head Over Heels
89 	Billy Joel 	The Longest Time
90 	Kool and The Gang 	Tonight
91 	Christine McVie 	Got A Hold On Me
92 	Shalamar 	Dancing In The Sheets
93 	Rolling Stones 	Undercover Of The Night
94 	John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band 	On The Dark Side
95 	Duran Duran 	New Moon On Monday
96 	Peter Schilling 	Major Tom (Coming Home)
97 	Cars 	Magic
98 	Night Ranger 	When You Close Your Eyes
99 	Billy Squier 	Rock Me Tonite
100 	James Ingram and Michael McDonald 	Yah Mo B There

lotsa stuff I have heard in ages from that list... oddly have desire to hear stuff I didn't even care for... i'm for JC and teh Beaver Brown Band later

and ah... that Peter Schilling version of Major Tom.. Good times.

[BUNGVOX]

popular music nowadays just doesn't have the same zing as the stuff from the 80s.

but then again maybe it does and i just think all of it sucks.

the radio means nothing to me now.

[worsethanuseless]

This list really brings into focus how big radio was back then. I can hum almost all 100 of those songs, even the ones I don't remember actively liking. I don't know if I was just more receptive to things then, but I don't feel like today's popular music is on EVERYWHERE the way I feel like most of these songs were. Arcades, malls, cars, etc-- I feel like I couldn't walk 3 steps without hearing many of these 100 songs.

I also find myself appreciating pop music from this era now even though I actively despised that music when I was a kid in the 80s. When I hear pop music from when I was in high school, I'm always surprised at how well crafted a lot of that shit really was as opposed to anything of that ilk I seem to hear now which just seems to be a hook repeated ad nauseum.

edit: oops I guess I just repeated Bunger's statement.

[\m/Johnny\m/]

Breaking my own rules...

She Bop is a fucking JAM.

[BUNGVOX]

Breaking my own rules...

She Bop is a fucking JAM.

you can have lauper.

still does not top the collins / bailey tandem.

[Introvert]

After just a quick glance, I could swear a bunch of those songs are older than '84.

[DR. THRAXX]

MUSTARD TIGER

[Kurt Russell's Beard]

Glad to see this thread, this song is one of my 80s favorites...catchy and propulsive as FUCK, massive harmonies, big ol' drums, ripping guitar solo bridge, sweet ass pre-chorus key change, this is music to conquer life by.

[fallbacktostone]

songs crushes all falses with mystical nocturnal power

[Zerohero]

This song IS 1984.

i think any of the other top 100 of 1984 are more 1984 than this song though.

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

Code: Select all

1 	Prince 	When Doves Cry
2 	Tina Turner 	What's Love Got To Do With It
3 	Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson 	Say Say Say
4 	Kenny Loggins 	Footloose
5 	Phil Collins 	Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)
6 	Van Halen 	Jump
7 	Lionel Richie 	Hello
8 	Yes 	Owner Of A Lonely Heart
9 	Ray Parker Jr. 	Ghostbusters
10 	Culture Club 	Karma Chameleon
11 	John Waite 	Missing You
12 	Lionel Richie 	All Night Long (All Night)
13 	Deniece Williams 	Let's Hear It For The Boy
14 	Bruce Springsteen 	Dancing In The Dark
15 	Cyndi Lauper 	Girls Just Want To Have Fun
16 	Duran Duran 	The Reflex
17 	Cyndi Lauper 	Time After Time
18 	Pointer Sisters 	Jump (For My Love)
19 	Romantics 	Talking In Your Sleep
20 	Laura Branigan 	Self Control
21 	Prince and The Revolution 	Let's Go Crazy
22 	Daryl Hall and John Oates 	Say It Isn't So
23 	Thompson Twins 	Hold Me Now
24 	Kool and The Gang 	Joanna
25 	Stevie Wonder 	I Just Called To Say I Love You
26 	Rockwell 	Somebody's Watching Me
27 	Matthew Wilder 	Break My Stride
28 	Nena 	99 Luftballons
29 	Dan Hartman 	I Can Dream About You
30 	Sheila E. 	The Glamorous Life
31 	Steve Perry 	Oh Sherrie
32 	Lionel Richie 	Stuck On You
33 	Elton John 	I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
34 	Cyndi Lauper 	She Bop
35 	Madonna 	Borderline
36 	Corey Hart 	Sunglasses At Night
37 	Billy Idol 	Eyes Without A Face
38 	Eurythmics 	Here Comes The Rain Again
39 	Billy Joel 	Uptown Girl
40 	Night Ranger 	Sister Christian
41 	Cars 	Drive
42 	Olivia Newton-John 	Twist Of Fate
43 	Duran Duran 	Union Of The Snake
44 	Huey Lewis and The News 	The Heart Of Rock 'N' Roll
45 	Chicago 	Hard Habit To Break
46 	Scandal 	The Warrior
47 	Peabo Bryson 	If Ever You're In My Arms Again
48 	Pointer Sisters 	Automatic
49 	Shannon 	Let The Music Play
50 	Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson 	To All The Girls I've Loved Before
51 	Billy Ocean 	Caribbean Queen
52 	Genesis 	That's All
53 	Lionel Richie 	Running With The Night
54 	Elton John 	Sad Songs (Say So Much)
55 	Huey Lewis and The News 	I Want A New Drug
56 	Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton 	Islands In The Stream
57 	Pat Benatar 	Love Is A Battlefield
58 	Rod Stewart 	Infatuation
59 	Mike Reno and Ann Wilson 	Almost Paradise
60 	ZZ Top 	Legs
61 	Jacksons 	State Of Shock
62 	Rick Springfield 	Love Somebody
63 	Culture Club 	Miss Me Blind
64 	Huey Lewis and The News 	If This Is It
65 	Cars 	You Might Think
66 	Madonna 	Lucky Star
67 	Bruce Springsteen 	Cover Me
68 	Quiet Riot 	Cum On Feel The Noize
69 	Irene Cara 	Breakdance
70 	Daryl Hall and John Oates 	Adult Education
71 	Tracy Ullman 	They Don't Know
72 	Billy Joel 	An Innocent Man
73 	Bananarama 	Cruel Summer
74 	Wang Chung 	Dance Hall Days
75 	K.C. 	Give It Up
76 	Pointer Sisters 	I'm So Excited
77 	Ray Parker Jr. 	I Still Can't Get Over Loving You
78 	Michael Jackson 	Thriller
79 	Madonna 	Holiday
80 	Ollie And Jerry 	Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us
81 	John Lennon 	Nobody Told Me
82 	Culture Club 	Church Of The Poison Mind
83 	Christopher Cross 	Think Of Laura
84 	Debarge 	Time Will Reveal
85 	Police 	Wrapped Around Your Finger
86 	John Cougar Mellencamp 	Pink Houses
87 	Ratt 	Round And Round
88 	Go-Go's 	Head Over Heels
89 	Billy Joel 	The Longest Time
90 	Kool and The Gang 	Tonight
91 	Christine McVie 	Got A Hold On Me
92 	Shalamar 	Dancing In The Sheets
93 	Rolling Stones 	Undercover Of The Night
94 	John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band 	On The Dark Side
95 	Duran Duran 	New Moon On Monday
96 	Peter Schilling 	Major Tom (Coming Home)
97 	Cars 	Magic
98 	Night Ranger 	When You Close Your Eyes
99 	Billy Squier 	Rock Me Tonite
100 	James Ingram and Michael McDonald 	Yah Mo B There

This list really brings into focus how big radio was back then. I can hum almost all 100 of those songs, even the ones I don't remember actively liking. I don't know if I was just more receptive to things then, but I don't feel like today's popular music is on EVERYWHERE the way I feel like most of these songs were. Arcades, malls, cars, etc-- I feel like I couldn't walk 3 steps without hearing many of these 100 songs.

I don't think today's top 40 bands will have any careers at ribfests in 15 to 20 years. They may as well hang themselves when their bullet on the top 40 fades.


I can't say I even recognize the NAME of any one of these songs from 2012, much less "hum" it in 25 years.
http://www.top40charts.net/index.php?pa ... sic-charts

[Kurt Russell's Beard]

I don't know how familiar you guys are with songwriting craft, but there's a noticeable difference between '80s pop and contemporary pop. Over time, harmonic complexity has diminished and homogenized. Our songs today use 1/3rd the amount of chord variety we did back then. Much worse, we don't change keys very often, and we barely modulate anymore. It used to be that songs would use secondary dominants to shift into the target I chord of new keys, we used pivot chord modulations, extensions and alterations, modes, etc. Now most pop music remains in a single key. Overall, we're moving away from harmonic content and more towards rhythmic content. Variation is accomplished through little frequency dynamic tricks and production. We are production-focused now. This means that you can pick up an acoustic guitar at a party and play some '80s tunes, and because the unique fingerprint of the song is there in the harmonic content, people recognize it—try to play a newer song and you're just playing standard C, E, G, A type chords, and all the fingerprint content is gone, since it's contained in the production tricks.