Every Top Song, by month, from 1980-2022
Mates,
Someone sent me this link last week which gives short (10-15 seconds?) music videos for the top song of each month, starting in 1980. The link is about 50 minutes long so I took it a few minutes at a time, fitting it in as time allowed, but it was fun to stroll down memory lane.
I realize some (many) of you weren't even alive in 1980 when it starts, my freshman year at our favorite school. There is rock, punk, rap, boy bands, big hair bands, girl bands, you name it they are all represented.
Enjoy the trip down memory lane or, maybe for a few of you, some new songs. Brought back times and places of when those songs were current. Hopefully a smile or two for you if you listen.
Link: https://biggeekdad.com/2023/04/most-popular-songs-since-1980/
Happy Monday,
XM
I've asked friends what song topped the charts the day they were born. It's easy to look up and most people seem to get a kick out of it!
I found two #1's for my birthday. The first was "Save the Last Dance for Me" by The Drifters. Pretty fair song, and I can certainly live with it.
The second was some novelty song called "Mr. Custer" by somebody named Larry Verne. I found a 3+ minute clip on Youtube, but I could only listen to about a 1:40 of the godawful thing before I quickly shut it off.
I then Googled "How to Stop Bleeding Eardrums." Dear Jeebus, that was bad.
"Please Mr. Custer, I don't wanna go."
There is a Russian version called, "Please Mr. Putin, I don't wanna go."
"Lady" by Kenny Rogers...
IDK. I will say, the man makes a pretty strong bird
Fun drinking trivia is to Google billboard top songs for the year a person graduated high school. Trivia is to see how many they can name from the top 10 or top 40. It's usually harder than you would think.
The top song on my birthday was called The Happy Organ.
Um, sounds legit.
Sheila by Tommy Roe
This is very cool, thanks for sharing.
I've been slowly going through Rolling Stone's 2020 version of their top 500 albums of all time.
Can't say I agree with a lot of them, but I've made it a point to listen to every album in its entirety (with the exception of those which don't appear on streaming services, like de la soul's 3 feet high and rising).
I've just finished #121 (Elvis Costello & The Attractions' "This Year's Model")
Next up is NIN's "The Downward Spiral"
Rolling Stone's list was once an actual attempt to try to come up with the Top 500 albums of all time. The subsequent revisions to the list have been a ham-fisted attempt to 1) be click-bait or conversation starter controversy stuff, 2) attempt to skew young which ultimately makes them look like Steve Buscemi holding a skateboard, and 3) attempt to far too heavily weigh social significance of music quality. It is impossible to untangle historical events from the contemporary music that soundtracks them, but I'm not sure that the historical event or time, lends more musical merit to an album for a list like this.
In the end what you get is this silly franken-list of self-congratulatory nonsense that ends up with Joni Mitchell's Blue as #3 a full 22 spots ahead of something like Sgt Pepper. But thats a single anecdotal note, there are evidences from top to bottom with that thing.
That said, it's good for people who may want to listen to contemporary music over the past 70 years, but not know exactly what to pick out.
I like what you're doing with the list too Andrew. I did something similar last year with TCM's 31 Days of Oscar and movie watching.
You said this much more eloquently than I could, but I agree. So I’ll add my two likely unpopular opinions.
1. I just don’t get the Beetles love. I like a good number of their songs, but to me they are like the first k-pop/boy band, which drives their continued popularity. Again, I know I’m in the minority here.
2. I don’t get all the hip hop love on these lists. I grew up in the run dmc/LL Cool Jay era so again personal taste. I love some hip hop, but very few albums are end to end exceptional or ground breaking.
I agree with your assessment of me, so I think it's important that we find common ground there. :)
That said, your Beatles take would be accurate if most every rock/pop band and musician who came after the unlisted boy band/kpop then subsequently listed that boy band/kpop group as having heavily influenced how music is produced, performed, recorded, and so on. But, as we know, they don't.
It's okay to not like the Beatles music I suppose. I don't really agree there, but I can't fix your ears. That said this isn't the first time I've heard someone say this type of thing. This type of opinion/statement usually comes as a response to people who feel like they've heard Beatles Beatles Beatles over and over again and don't "get it." So, their response is to over minimalize their position within the music spectrum. That's where you get off your tracks.
Like it, don't like it. I suppose that's just a personal choice. But you shouldn't really ignore the entire musical landscape's opinion in the process. They're the single most influential band in the history of contemporary music and it's not even close. By that rationale alone, they're not "just boy band/k pop."
As for your latter point about contemporary music and hip hop finding it's way into this list. I have a much longer music theory opinion about the "shelf life" of hip hop and contemporary pop culture references that shorten the lifespan of the genre. But, overall, I do agree with the general sentiment that it's just hard to figure out how it all fits together.
I think what Rolling Stone did here was try to nod heavily to the "youth" and overcompensate with how it ranked some contemporary hip hop choices that are good, but clearly have not stood the test of time.
Beatles are the band that you'll hear people say, "not a fan, don't get it, overrated" etc. And I'm not saying you have to love em but you need to understand they have sold more music than any band/musician ever and they have 50 songs that you know! They did something right!
The Low End Theory
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Illmatic
The Chronic
Ready to Die
There are probably others, but... Those top 2 for me belong on any list. I disagree on the Beatles, but no point arguing about that. Arguing about the Beatles is like arguing about pizza. Everyone feels emotionally connected to their answer and it'll never change.. and you end up insulting the person you're arguing with..
EDIT: I think that Eminem probably belongs on the list somewhere - Marshall Mathers LP
I'm less versed on hip hop these days - it sounds generally awful to me - but I'll assume that's because I'm old and don't like new things.
eminem is on it, i think twice.
Right - just saying I disagree with the take that Hip Hop doesnt belong... there were a few albums that would make my all time top 50-100... and ATCQ and Lauryn Hill would easily fall in the top 25.
to your beetles comment: i understand they were pretty ground-breaking, new, from england, etc. and i do like a number of their songs, but even as a much younger person i never understood the hysteria that followed them. my favorite song of theirs, twist and shout, they didn't even write. shrug emoji here
Yeah, and being a shake or two younger than you, I'm not super equipped to tell my slightly olderish Uncle what the sixties were like. lol I've certainly read my fair share of books, seen my fair share of docs, but I don't know what it was like to actually live during Beatle-mania.
That said, I have much less of an issue with not liking the music. You're allowed to be wrong about things. (lol i kid) But Beatle-mania was this crazy emotional response by some toward this band. I think where people get sideways, is seeing that response, and then attempting to have a counter-weighted emotional response in the opposite direction.
I guess I'm not sure what it's like to not particularly care for something that the monoculture almost entirely agrees is objectively great. I like the Beatles. The Godfather is a classic. Big fan of Van Gogh. Whatever.
So, I don't know what it's like to feel on the outside of everyone else. I think some want to rationalize it. Others want to wear it like a bit shiny badge. And others I think want to try to make the argument that "I'm not crazy, you're crazy."
Absolutely agree with #1 and have said the same thing. Come Together is a great tune, but the rest of their stuff I don't need to hear again.
Regarding the Beatles: I don't listen to them much, I was never a huge fan, though I do have many of their albums. But if you think about how short of a time they were together and the journey their music took in that short time (and how groundbreaking it was back then, while it was happening), there are precious few bands who accomplished what they did. No one evolved like they did, making great music in every phase of their careers, with the first music being radically different from the last music. They were great at melodies and hooks and also great at reflecting the times. They had hit singles and then albums that were complete narratives (Sgt Pepper's). They had pop-y music and then music that struck at deeper themes, some of it just plain druggie weird but still musically gorgeous. I think the breadth of what they did was extraordinary.
They were putting out albums seemingly every 9 months for a decade. Incredibly prolific. And a lot were real toe tappers.
As for kpop or whatever maybe their first 2 years but they went in so many directions and "experimental" in the latter 60s. 1966 Beatles was almost a completely different band than 1961 Beatles.
The Beatles are fine musicians and all, and they did some groundbreaking stuff, but their early stuff is dull as dishwater and I never really feel the desire to listen to them. Meanwhile, there's a Stones song for every situation and mood.
I love The Stones and their longevity has been amazing though I would say their music went downhill after Some Girls. But it’s still Mick singing the Blues in some capacity in pretty much every song. I’m also a big Who fan, started listening to them in 1978, but I don’t think their music holds up as well as either the stones or the Beatles. Who’s Next and Quadrophenia are the only albums imo that have stood the test of time.
The answer to the age-old question "Beatles or Stones?" has always been: The Kinks.
What do you like. Give us your top five bands.
If the number 1 song isn't "Who let the Dogs Out" by the Baja Men...well put it in the trash.
De La Soul is on Spotify now. I just picked up their 3 albums on vinyl.
Nice! They weren't when I got to them. Will have to go back and listen now!
Enjoy! So good.
Trugoy the Dove, RIP.
Thanks for sharing! This is fantastic!
I forgot how much MJ and Madonna pretty much owned the 80's.
In 1979 (my birth year), missing your cutoff by a year, there was an interesting list of top songs, including a lot of disco still topping the charts (Tragedy - BeeGees, I Will Survive - GG, Ring my Bell, Anita Ward) mixed with a little funk/R&B (Good Times - Chic, Reunited)...
But the new rock craze had begun.. with My Sharona coming out by The Knack, Rod Stewart etc...
Interesting time in music as things transitioned heavily in the next few years.
MAMAMAMAMAMAMA MYYYYYYYYYYYY Sharona!
Unpopular opinion time. I'm going to just say it - Beyonce is overrated. She shows up a ton here, and I just don't get it. Rihanna I get. Beyonce, nope.
Also, Olivia Newton-John is underrated for how hot she was. And Belinda Carlisle... yep.
PS: Most of the 90's were terrible.
Agree on Beyonce. Just don't get it. She's a good performer but the music is very mediocre.
Rihanna you get, but beyonce you dont? i dont care about beyonce but... you lost me at "Rihanna I get".. Rihanna is awful pop music at its worst. Catchy and irritating and about nothing. But, as with all things, that's just my opinion.
ella ella ella A A A under my ...go ahead, try to get it out of your head.
This just reinforces the fact that music was better "back then". Now... get off my lawn.
I’ve only listened from ‘80 to ‘86 so far (I will catch the rest later) but I have to say, before I forget, how bad Abra Cadabra by Steve Miller is. And I love Steve Miller, but it’s so bad, it’s funny.
After the run of albums he made he pretty much pooped the tub after Book of Dreams.
Abra cadabra is abysmal. Everybody hated it back then except people that bought records, apparently.
I had a hookup in West Quad while that song was playing.
So, all is forgiven.
So many of the older guys were terrible when they tried to stay relevant 15 - 20 years after they were popular, especially when they dabbled in disco (Ahem, Mick and Keith). Or bands that tried to reinvent themselves like Jefferson Airplane/Starship.
Funny enough I just found this video on YouTube maybe a month ago. I thought I would watch it for 5 mins but ended up watching the whole thing. Very cool.
“Upside Down” by Diana Ross. Absolute banger.
Where is “Mr. Penguin” by Lunar Funk?!
Thanks for sharing.
I was a wee little kid (born in 1980) but I will always think 80s music was an incredible period for its development. So many different sounds and styles and I love just about every one of them. Swore I never would, but I have indeed turned into the “they sure don’t make music like they used to” guy.
NOOOOOOO!...
It's that horrendous Dancing in the Street rendition from Jagger and Bowie.
I'm going to go with my actual week and St Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) from John Parr.
That's certainly an MTV flashback inducing video, back to when music videos were a thing. It's fun that Queen/Bowie made it twice, first for Under Pressure and the Ice Ice Baby ;-)
I'm a fan of the YouTube channel "Wings of Pegasus." The host, Fil, has a video analyzing a live performance by Bo Didley. In addition to looking at technical aspects he also comments on the mostly young, white, and female audience rebelling against their parents' notion of proper dress and behavior.
Fil also dislikes the overuse of autotune and does a good job of explaining it. One of his best on that subject is when he analyzes Disturbed's performance of ""Sound of Silence" on the Conan O'Brian show.