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I Love (Some Of) The '80s

I have an odd affinity for pop music that came out from 1982 through 1984. I'm not completely sure why that is. Those were the only years I listened to a lot of top 40 radio. I'm not sure if I like the music from that period better because I was an impressionable kid with immature tastes, or if I'd still like that music if I heard it for the first time today. Moreover, do I like the music from those years because I just happened to be listening to pop music on the radio then, or did I stop listening starting around 1985 because the music got worse? I'd be interested in hearing from somebody who knows anything about popular music, which is one of the vast fields about which I know nothing.

I bring this up because last weekend, while driving home from another family trip, I caught a radio station replaying the top 40 billboard countdown from June 25, 1983. That was smack dab in the middle of the period of my pop music sweet spot, and it was a sublime experience. I tuned in starting at song #19, "Our House" by Madness, and listened through #8, "Never Gonna Let You Go" by Sergio Mendes. If you want to check out the lineup I caught, I'm posting the videos below the break. Am I crazy, or is this a really good lineup of pop songs?

Madness - Our House

Champaign - Try Again

Men at Work - Overkill

The Kinks - Come Dancing

Naked Eyes - There's Always Something There To Remind Me

Elton John - I'm Still Standing

Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Starting Something

David Bowie - Let's Dance

Journey - Faithfully

The Tubes - She's A Beauty

Kajagoogoo - Too Shy

Sergio Mendes - Never Gonna Let You Go