Not the brightest. Not the best. But the most-iconic examples of 80s sound, culture, and themes. Songs people immediately identify with the 80s and, perhaps, would never have been hits in any other decade.

Ok. Who didn’t see this one coming?

1. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” Simple Minds
2. “Don’t You Want Me” The Human League
3. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” Tears for Fears
4. “Take on Me” A-ha
5. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” Eurythmics
6. “Total Eclipse of the Heart” Bonnie Tyler
7. “Karma Chameleon” Culture Club
8. “Come on Eileen” Dexys Midnight Runners
9. “Down Under” Men At Work
10. “Time after Time” Cyndi Lauper
11. “Beat It” Michael Jackson
12. “When Doves Cry” Prince
13. “Careless Whisper” George Michael/Wham!
14. “The Reflex” Duran Duran
15. “Maneater” Hall and Oates
16. “Like a Virgin” Madonna
17. TBA
18. TBA
19. TBA
20. TBA

By 1985, the MTV formula was become stale. It was becoming harder and harder to stand out as, what was once a novelty, was now becoming de rigueur. To be a hit, a song had to have a presence on MTV, and to be on MTV, a song had to have a video. And by 1985, it seemed like every concept and cool idea had been tried, and copied, and tried, and copied, ad nauseum.

And then came A-ha.

“Take on Me’ had already been released twice in the US, and had failed to make an impression. Twice. Then, came the video. And what a video. History was made.

The live action/animated/rotoscope video which everyone will mention in these comments was a game changer. With over a billion views on YouTube, it still holds up today over 35 years later.

But claiming this song’s success is merely due to the video can be misleading. There’s the propulsive, instant ear-worm of the synth hook which immediately distinguishes the track from its tinny synth-pop neighbors. There’s Morten Harket’s spiraling, three-octave vocals. And then there’s the note. That note. How the hell does Harket hit that note? No, he’s not done. He does it again, and again . . . and again.

(Oh, and there’s also those cheek bones . . . )

I often imagine the pressure Harket is under, 35 years later, to still have to hit that note in concert. From what I hear, he is still able to manage it quite well.

As a result, “Take on Me” is essential to any 80’s playlist, and thus required reading for any student of the music of the 80s. It is still one of the most-played songs of the decade, and slides easily into the #4 spot on Barnable’s list of the 80-est Number One Song of the 80’s.

On any given day, I could easily make a justifiable argument for any of the Top-5 being the “80est Number One Song of the 80s.”

And now, we hit a dry spell. Our top-16 is now complete. What does that tell us about the 80’s? Is it over? There will only be four final entries on my list (which may be good since I started my new job this week), and those are admittedly a bit of a stretch. One from 1986 (barely), two from 1987, and one from 1988.

When do the 80s musically come to an end? Or, rather, become reduced to formulaic repetition and imitation?

oh hey

But seriously, I HATED Lady Gaga back 2009-2010 even when I was only 14-15 years old….and I HATE her even more now.

She is also irrelevant and this isn’t 2010 anymore.

I have tried to figure it out over the past 35 years and still I’m flabbergasted that I still love a-ha as much as I do. Their popularity only lasted for 2-3 albums here in the US. They had longer success in the UK and Germany (and South America believe it or not), but after their second album Scoundrel Days, they were never relevant here in the US. But, boy oh boy did 13-year-old Gobiv absolutely LOVE Take On Me from the get-go. The video was magical. The song was a synth masterpiece to my young ears. He was hooked.

I really don’t have any great story behind it except that I have always followed everything they have released, and I COMPLETELY don’t understand why. Is it Morten Harket’s ridiculous falsetto? Not really. His range IS impressive, and his voice is pleasant enough. The lyrics? Not that either, but I’ve always loved their funny way around the “English as a second language” thing. The music? Probably. Great melodies and arrangements, but they really went for that 80’s sound to their detriment (I do love a bunch of synths/keyboards), and then they tried to be U2-lite for a while, broke up, got back together and then decided to make pretty adult pop music for the last 20 years. Pal and Mags are underappreciated as a whole as songwriters but not criminally so. But the combination of the three of them is pure magic for me.

All I know is that after 10 a-ha studio albums, I still can listen to just about every one of them and find something I really enjoy. Take On Me is an obvious 10, so is TSASOTV and HH&L. I’ve Been Losing You, The Weight of the Wind, I Call Your Name, Dark Is The Night For All, Summer Moved On, Analogue, Forever Not Yours are all go-to songs that I never get tired of. Anywhoodles, I am forever happy and grateful that TOM has endured, is considered a classic and is maybe the most 80’s song from the decade. It will always be in my all-time Top 10.

Whew! Now that that’s over, I also want to sincerely say that the TNOCS is a truly amazing little music lover’s paradise on the interwebs. I always look forward to every MWF for Tom’s write up (Tom, you’ve got a knack for this shit!) and see everyone’s comments, stories and quips. Everyone here is so genuinely happy, supportive and entertaining. And it has REALLY helped in the past 7-8 months. For Reals! Love To All. Oh, and Backstabbers is a 10, every day, all day and twice on Sundays.