#61. "Hungry Like the Wolf" - Duran Duran (1982)

I howl and I whine... about why these guys don't get the credit they deserve. 

Duran Duran are kinda like the Stones in a way; they both don't often get a lot of respect in the industry. Mislabeled as a 'boy band' in the mid-80s, some people forget band members actually played their instruments. And wrote their songs. 

Looking back, I think the critics were jealous because they were good looking guys who could play. Oh, snap. 

"Hungry like the Wolf" was the gateway to the band, and to the new wave genre for many of us a little too young to notice the music trends unfolding in the late 70s. 

The video came out in junior high, wooing North American teenage girls and boys alike, with their exotic and adventurous videos and irresistible new wave sound. 

Besides the grandiose chorus, "Hungry Like the Wolf" features the iconic "Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo" and an intriguing instrumental bridge. 

How good were these guys in the early 80s? 

Between gallivanting halfway around the world to create the classic trio "Hungry like the Wolf", "Rio", and "Save A Prayer" just before their Mad Max phase ("New Moon on Monday", "Union of the Snake", "Wild Boys"), they were asked by their record label to come up with a single to keep up a presence on the charts. Well, they winged it with what looked like a fifty dollar budget for "Is There Something I Should Know" (inspired by the video game Q*bert?), just because they could.

#62. "Everything She Wants" - Wham! (1985)

Although Wham! is often perceived as a sort of throwback 60s / teeny bopper band, George Michael was bang on when he said that "Everything She Wants" was the group's most "80s sounding" song. I also agree with him that it's Wham!'s finest.

The track has a killer groove thanks to its synth foundation and a very catchy bass line.

But it's much more than another throwaway hit: the lyrics describing disillusionment with his partner's material demands are surprisingly moving. 

Despite later bemoaning much of Wham!'s earlier material, George Michael continued to play "Everything She Wants" live when he became a solo artist.

Watch this performance from 1996's MTV Unplugged (above) and you'll hear and feel a totally different vibe from one of pop's most talented vocalists.

For comparison, check out the six-and-a-half minute original video, a version with two bridges:

#63. "Secret" - OMD (1985)

OMD had been around the block a few times before their smash hit "If You Leave" from Pretty in Pink made them household names in North America.

In fact, OMD (short for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) experimented with samplers and synthesizers since the mid-70s, one of the early pioneers of electronic music in the UK. I only 'discovered' them in 1985 when their singles "Secret" and "So In Love" cracked the charts in Canada on Video Hits.

"Secret" is light and fluffy slice of dreamy synth: a heartfelt tale of a secret youthful crush. 

But it's the soaring bridge that pushes "Secret" in front of the other superb single from OMD's Crush album.

From the same album, "So In Love" is another great track with a catchy bass line and some timely sax. 

#64. "Fascination Street" - The Cure (1989)

The Cure are one of the most misunderstood bands of all time. 

First of all, they are not "goth". I'd argue they are unclassifiable (is that even a word?). And man, I like to make me some categories...

Kings of versatility, The Cure can play any style they dang well please.

Pick up any album since 1982 and you'll discover a diverse range of moods and sounds (rock, pop, bitter and the sweet, the three minute orchestral openings, the painfully sad and slow dirges to the insanely happy, loonie-tunes and everything in between).

"Fascination Street" is a masterpiece of texture. 

Epic may be an overused adjective these days but the word defines this track perfectly. The sweeping layered intro lasts 1:20 before Robert Smith's first vocal kicks in. 

Everyone brings it on this intense groove: from Simon Gallup's throbbing even menacing bass line, the hypnotic rhythm guitar, and just enough (but not too much) synth. 

The song is apparently a tribute to the band's escapades on New Orlean's Bourbon Street. Or it could be about a disintegrating relationship? That's the beauty musical lyrics, the multiple interpretations.

#65. "Fascination" - The Human League (1983)

Caution: Guilty pleasure alert! 

By 1983 The Human League was already 5 years old. Formed in Sheffield, England's industrial heartland, they were one of the first synth bands to make it big, scoring hits on both sides of the Atlantic with "Don't You Want Me" in 1981 and "Mirror Man" in 1982. 

"Fascination" hit the charts in 1983 as the synths stormed the airwaves, even getting lost in the shuffle. But I'll still choose to play this one more then most Duran classics. Gotta love the democracy at play on this track, with the vocals shared by four band members.

About that cheesy keyboard melody: you'll either love it or it'll drive you bonkers. Add in that ear worm of a bass line and I can't get enough of it! 

If anything, "Fascination" is ample proof that synth music isn't all 'cold' and 'detached' as its detractors like to share.  

The video is reflective of shoestring budgets back in the day:

- Secure a small white-walled room in a low-rent part of town. Check.

- Play or airplay your instruments with reckless abandon. Check.

- Strategically-timed hand clapping to match the percussion. Check.

- Synchronized dance moves by the cute back-up singers. Check.

- Film in one take. Check.