80:
Kayleigh – Marillion
Interesting fact! I have a friend named Kaylee who is named after this song, but her dad, upon arriving at… the baby naming place… couldn’t remember how to spell it! An 80s power ballad classic, Kayleigh is taken from the ’85 classic “Misplaced Childhood”, a concept album held in high regard to this day! (If you’ve never listened to it, it’s kinda about the time Fish got off his tits on acid). At this point we were late into the Fish era of Marillion, which is the best Marillion era in case you’re wondering. Kayleigh, surprisingly to me was never a number 1, despite, in my opinion having number 1 written all over it. Number 2, if you’re interested.
79:
Cold Little Heart – Michael Kiwanuka
It’s not acceptable to refer to this as “The theme from Big Little Lies”. It’s so much more than that, and worth your time. A whole 10 minutes of it to be precise. I didn’t even know it was used as the theme to that show until I accidentally caught an episode of it once. I like long songs that take their time to get where they are going. I especially like songs that change into something else part way through. The switch in this isn’t huge but it’s significant enough to mark a difference in the song. Michael Kiwanuka is worth your time. He’s a phenomenal guitar player and vocalist. ♥
78:
Welcome To The Jungle – Guns N Roses
Must resist the urge to go into a music video breakdown here. It starts with the stupidest visuals ever of Laser Ox getting off a bus with a piece of fucking straw in his mouth so you know that he’s arrived in the big city from the countryside and that’s pretty much where the story ends. Welcome to the fucking jungle, people. *sigh*
77:
Redbone – Childish Gambino
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76:
Jump (For My Love) – The Pointer Sisters
Jump Brackets For My Love Close Brackets is fucking classic. I used to listen to it a lot when I was younger, like 3, when it came out. I’ve been into music longer than I could walk! Now, the quality of Jump as a pop song is so fucking stellar that I’d forgive you for thinking it came from The Pointer Sisters first, second or third album. It didn’t. Fourth, fifth or sixth? No. Seventh or eighth?! Nope. NINTH?! NO! It comes from their 10th album, Break Out which was released in 1983. The Pointer Sisters were a fucking machine. From 1973 to 1983, with the exception of ’76, they churned out an album every year. Amusingly, they didn’t really break out until Break Out. It remains their only top 10 album in both the US and the UK. Prior success had been minimal with a couple of albums going gold. By comparison, the incredibly good Break Out went triple platinum! Contrary to popular belief, prior to their musical career they didn’t used to put mortar between bricks. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
75:
Hurt – Christina Aguilera
Not the only time Christreena… Christina will make an appearance on the list I don’t think. I should probably check these things before I go mouthing off, but hey, I don’t make the rules! (I do). Taken from classic Back To Basics… Hmm. Was it a classic? Ok, so I just listened to it. It’s a pretty solid album. Best song on it is obviously Ain’t No Other Man, which is still a banger, and one of those songs that by the time you’re two bars in, you know damn well Mark Ronson was in the room when it was made. Hurt is a more sombre affair and more out of the ordinary for what’s on the rest of the album. I’ve always really liked it, just because I love her voice. I’m not a fan of vocal gymnastics, but, for some reason I’m fine with Chrissy Ag doing it. Having said that, she doesn’t exhibit much of it in this song. Still a great pop song.
74:
Hook – Blues Traveler
From 1994, obviously, all the best songs are from 1994, Hook was a pretty huge fucking hit for Blues Traveller in the US. The song had little to no impact in the UK however, and my knowledge of it only came from seeing it on TV one time. Given what the song is about, I’ve often wondered if they were upset that it did so well. In case you haven’t heard it and don’t plan on listening to it properly, the song is essentially a satire about hit pop songs. Unlucky! It does have some very good lyrics to be fair, with the opening verse serving as a very nice deconstruction of pop. It doesn’t matter what I say, as long as I sing with inflection. It makes you feel I’ll convey some inner truth or vast reflection. But I’ve said nothing so far, and I can keep it up for as long as it takes. AND it doesn’t matter who you are, if I’m doing my job then it’s your resolve that breaks. Jesus. Sounds like my usual blog posts.
73:
Never Tear Us Apart – INXS
Lordy, what do I say about this song?! Actually, what HAVE I said about this song… “Just like to take this moment to point out how much I miss Michael Hutchence. I’d love to hear what music he’d be doing today. INXS were a superb band and I still listen to them often. This song in particular is a perfect example of how good they were as a band and how good he was as a vocalist. Perfection!” I mean. That pretty much sums it up. I also made it the best band/group single of 1988, so, yeah! It really is perfection. God damn, I wish he was still here.
72:
The King Of Wishful Thinking – Go West
See, sometimes stupid music videos can work really well. This is peak decade changing, cheesy fun! Yes, it came out in 1990. Yes, it really did. I want to say it was made more famous by the fact it was used in Pretty Woman, WHICH IS A BRILLIANT FILM AND I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE, but again, I could totally be wrong. Always loved this song, and clearly I still listen to it fairly fucking often. I really like Peter Cox’s voice, here’s the thing though, I’m not sure why. I think it almost feels comforting. I can’t really explain it!
71:
There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart) – Eurythmics FEATURING STEVIE FUCKING WONDER! HE RARELY GETS MENTIONED ON THIS BUT ITS HIM PLAYING THE FUCKING HARMONICA
Little known fact, and you probably already knew this, Stevie Wonder plays the Harmonica on this, also Annie Lenox has never sounded better or looked more hot. Also, and here is something that will genuinely blow your fucking mind. THIS is The Eurythmics ONLY number one in the UK. That’s right! BUT WHAT ABOUT SWEET DREAMS BRACKETS ARE MADE OF CHEESE OR WHATEVER CLOSE BRACKETS. Number 2! Yeah, wrap your tiny mind around that!