Infinite Shuffle

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me a brief email, letting me know that he’d recently gained an affinity for ’80s pop music and that he was officially taking back every disparaging word he’d ever said about the genre.

As a self-described ’80s music aficionado — at least for someone in my age range — I’ve had plenty of insults flung in my direction. But that just goes with the territory when you love a genre that is so easily derided.

Upon hearing of my friend’s interest in ’80s music, I sent him a link to an old post on some of my favorite songs from the era. I was taken aback when he said he’d never heard of the band Big Country. It was at that point that I decided I needed to school him on one of the most eclectic and fun eras in pop music.

So, from time to time — hopefully, at least once a month — I shall post a video playlist of various songs from the ’80s, with a few early ’90s tunes mixed in occasionally. These are by no means the absolute best of the best. Mostly, it’ll just be a hodgepodge of songs that pop into my head. And, as time goes on, I’ll look to include more obscure tracks.

Now, without further ado, here are 20 songs that you should hear on any ’80s station worth its salt.

The videos were thrown together in a stream-of-consciousness manner. Here’s the playlist in alphabetical order.

• Baltimora – “Tarzan Boy”
• Toni Basil – “Mickey”
• Blondie – “Dreaming”
• Depeche Mode – “Enjoy the Silence” *
• Dream Academy – “Life In a Northern Town”
• Frankie Goes To Hollywood – “Relax”
• Peter Gabriel – “In Your Eyes”
• George Harrison – “Got My Mind Set On You”
• Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – “The Message”
• The Hooters – “And We Danced”
• Bruce Hornsby & The Range – “The Way It Is”
• Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – “Bad Reputation”
• Limahl – “Neverending Story”
• Mr. Mister – “Kyrie”
• Men Without Hats – “The Safety Dance”
• Mike + The Mechanics – “All I Need Is a Miracle”
• Peter Murphy – “Cuts You Up”
• Paul Simon – “You Can Call Me Al”
• ‘Til Tuesday – “Voices Carry”
• Twisted Sister – “I Wanna Rock”

* This was recorded in 1989 and released in early 1990.