About this Playlist
The musicto community remembers Mr. Fusion
8 tracks from the 80’s – starting all energetic as if fueled by “something” only to finish in that super relaxed state that 80’s parties generally ended up in.
8 Songs for The 80’s:
Precious – The Pretenders
1980: Undeniably one of the greatest years in music. While “Precious” was recorded in 1979, Americans identified with The Pretenders’ debut the following year. The track is a collision of punk, rock, pop and attitude, which summed up the persona of many teens and young adults during that era.
Ride On Time – Black Box
Ride On Time is one of those timeless classics. I’ve been DJing a bit recently and every time I play this, no matter who’s in the crowd, everybody has the best time. I love songs that unite people across age groups, it really speaks to the universal power of music. Finding common ground through a shared love of sound is such a great feeling. The world feels more divided than ever, we forget that we’re way more similar than we are different. The more we can do to remember that, the less time we’ll spend feeling angry and upset – and who doesn’t want to feel less angry and upset?
Radio Silence – Blue Peter
Every time I remember a song by some unsung hero of 80s Canadian rock, I pop into Spotify and learn that these songs and heroes are from the early 90s. Either this is a testament to Canadian rock artists being ahead of their times, or an indication that one decade bleeds into another as I get older. I’d love to say, “It’s probably the latter.” Sadly, I know it is (it’ll happen to you one day too). In any case, one Canadian band from the 1980s that doesn’t get as much attention in the 21st century as many others — but should — is Blue Peter. Their biggest hit was “Don’t Walk Past,” from their 1983 album Falling but I’m partial to this earlier track: “Radio Silence,” from 1980.
Life’s What You Make It – Talk Talk
This was a tough one to choose. Musically speaking, I always wished I was a teenager in the 80s but I was just a little boy. However, having 2 older teenage brothers in my house marked my existence with those sounds. To me, Life’s What You Make It represents a good crossroad track of the period. Falls right in the middle between the all-fun fucsia/cyan coloured pop hits (and Talk Talk had some influential ones) and the darker motives of many of the other sounds from the era. On top, the unique melancholic traits of Mark Hollis’ voice
A Taste of Love – Original 12 Inch Version – Den Harrow
The 80s for me was the discovering of music. I could point out so many different tracks, artists and genres, from new romantics, to punk, hard rock, pop, house etc. But if I recall something from those years, it was my passion for “Italo Disco”. I would go as a 14 year old to the clubs (opened in the afternoon in Spain; no alcohol) and would be dancing like crazy to all these amazing “Italo Disco” tracks. One of my favourites is “A Taste of Love” by Den Harrow. An amazing song to dance and forget about everything. Here the extended version.
I Can Only Bliss Out (F’Days) – Laraaji
sometimes I want to be 7 again on the trampoline with the December sun writing her story on my back
i want to be swimming in the emerald river
walking on the spine of the mountain
being a fairy in the gully spring that only appears with winter rain
the story of the guarded one has gone on for far too long
but I still want to read this story to the child in my heart
to give her the acceptance that she seems to live for
to tell her she is and has been and always will be love
so why is she still asking what life is all about
child within, speak gently to your heart
listen with all of you
maybe you’ll find out
but I hope you will not so that every moment has the potential to lift you up
Sad Old Red – Simply Red
1985 – I’m 16 – weird environment – nothing makes sense – I’m neither one thing or another – a little bit of this – a little bit of that and consequently not terribly engaged. I did love this album though – Mick Hucknell’s voice – and not just the hit but the groove of tracks like Open up the Red Box and the glorious piano driven Heaven – but while 80’s music started getting interesting – the middle of the road pop of Simply Red seemed to lose its luster.
But there is one track from this album that has consistently made sense to me over the years.
Nightporter – Japan
The Eighties was an age of day-glo legwarmers and hi-NRG Europop and I don’t want to spoil the fun, because I have a fondness for that stuff, but there was another side to the decade, even more extravagantly stylish but more musically sophisticated – yet still unmistakeably Eighties. So my selection is Japan’s ‘Nightporter’, one of the first wave of New Romantic records, elegant and knowingly enigmatic.
David Sylvian’s yearning, languorous voice laments over Richard Barbieri’s Satie-influenced simple piano melody, channeling post-war Vienna by way of Liliana Cavani’s controversial psychosexual drama The Night Porter (Il portiere di notte) with the words “we shy from the rain / Longing to touch all the places we know we can hide / The width of a room that can hold so much pleasure inside”.
It’s not the same vibe as ‘Like a Virgin’ or ‘White Wedding’, but when this song was released as a single in 1982, Japan were one of the most commercially successful bands across Europe and Asia. Maybe even the biggest Eighties band you’ve never heard of?
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