#82. "Talking In Your Sleep" - The Romantics (1983)

"Talking In Your Sleep" by The Romantics is vintage 80s and pure ear candy. 

The tune is a fusion of classic rock and the British Invasion. It's both a classic with a slice or two of cheese. A summary of the salient highlights:

- A fantastic 30 second intro. 

- Jangle guitar interplay and catchy bass slide. 

- The echo/reverb effect vocals complement a strong chorus. 

Fun fact: the 2016 single "Secrets" by The Weeknd features samples vocals from "Talking in your Sleep". 

#83. "Back on the Chain Gang" - The Pretenders (1982)

Two words: jangling guitars! 

"Back on the Chain Gang" by The Pretenders is like good home-cooking.

The tune will always take me back to road trips with my parents in the family station wagon where I sat in the back seat behind Dad, enjoying tunes like this while counting license plates en route to PEI.

Chrissie Hynde's smooth and soulful vocals perfectly complement those magical guitars.  

How good is this song? Well, some chap named Morrissey has covered it:

#84. "One Step Ahead" - Split Enz (1980)

In the early 80s New Zealand's Split Enz created a lot of atmospheric and melodic pop with a dash of dark. 

"One Step Ahead" is downright hypnotic.

One of the first videos ever shown on MTV, "One Step Ahead" sounded several steps, even light years, ahead of its time. I especially enjoy the funky and at times sinister organ that runs in the background during the verses.

Fave lyric: "Love is a race won by two"

Fun fact: at 1:58 in the video you will see the keyboardist leave his instrument and perform the pantomime illusion walk, a sort of 'frontwards' moonwalk, and a move that would later inspire Michael Jackson to do the actual moonwalk and a parade of hit singles. 

#85. "Saved By Zero" - The Fixx (1983)

Maybe, someday...I'll get the meaning of "Saved By Zero" by The Fixx.

I'd always been intrigued by the lyrics (was it an homage to algebra?) when released back in 1983, however at the time could only appreciate the haunting yet soothing icy cool guitar/ bass and intricate arrangements. 

The theme seemed to be a desire for a life of less stress but as a 14 year-old I couldn't really get it other than having to wait another week to watch the video.

I finally found out what singer songwriter Cy Curnin had in mind upon reading this extract from an interview in 2008:

"It was about looking at your own life, not so much about amassing material things but about experiences that lend you to be blissful... The song was written from the point of view of the release you get when you have nothing left to lose. It’s sort of a meditation. It clears your head of all fears and panics and illusions and you get back to the basics, which is a Buddhist mantra, which I practiced back then, and which I still do. The idea of the song is how great it is to get back to zero."

Très cool...I knew it was always a great tune to chill to.

The Fixx had a quite few solid songs over the decade, including "One Thing Leads to Another" and "Are We Ourselves?". More recently on satellite radio stations I appreciate the underappreciated "Red Skies".

#86. "What’s On Your Mind" - Information Society (1988)

Sounds familiar, right. Kinda like The Human League...Duran Duran, perhaps. 

I had to Google a little information about the Information Society to discover I was not enjoying a British new wave dance hybrid, rather an outfit from Minnesota, that breadbasket of American music innovation.

This slickly-produced frenetic one-hit wonder ended up being pure energy reaching #1 on the dance charts. It still sounds fresh today, not as an easy feat for any song born in the 80s. 

Fun fact 1: the track included a vocal sample of Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) from Star Trek, saying "pure energy", hence the official song title "What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy)".

Fun fact 2: "What’s On Your Mind" was re-released in the US in 1998 and again in 2001!

The zany video always reminds me of the wacky hijinx in the 1987 summer hit "Right on Track" by the Breakfast Club. Still a smooth groove.