1983

What makes up a musical decade’s defining traits is never defined by nice 10-year increments. “The Sixties” really didn’t become the sixties, at least in American pop culture, until 1964 and the arrival of the Beatles in America. Though Grunge bands certainly existed prior to the nineties, the style of grunge is often what we think of as the defining style of rock music of that decade. And 1991, due to the releases of Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, Pearl Jam’s “Ten” and to a lesser extent Soundgarden’s “Badmotorfinger” along others, is often thought of as the nineties flagship musical year. I would argue that 1983 defines when the eighties became “The eighties” musically. It’s a bit of a tough argument to make.

When people think of the eighties are go to an eighties night at a club or throw an eighties party, they are certainly listening to and enjoying songs that came out prior to ’83. But ’83 was the year when the post-punk and new-wave of the late 70’s and very early 80’s really gave way to the “New Romantics” and synth-pop. Though “Thriller” my Michael Jackson, was released very late in 1982, it did most of its commercial damage in ’83 and gave way to the blockbuster album. Albums that sold many millions and shot 4, 5 & 6 songs onto the pop charts. Most of these albums seemed to fall in 1983 and ’84, though you can certainly find more examples throughout the rest of the decade. It was the year of Def Leppard’s “Pyromania” & Motley Crue’s “Shout At The Devil”, which together helped launch the hair metal phenomenon. Though commercial rap music had existed since 1979’s “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, ’83 brought the first Run-DMC single- the double A side “It’s Like That/Sucker MC’s (Krush Groove 1)”. It was a line drawn in the sand between the old school and the new school. DMC changed rap musically, stylistically and aesthetically. Rather than feature battle-raps and live instrumentation, the sound was very minimal with beats primarily from the drum machine, sometimes featuring elements from rock music. The raps were done in an aggressive style with the subject matter varying between taunts and self-braggadocio to socio-polical commentary. Rap music would never be the same.

I was 11 years old in 1983- old enough to listen to a ton of music, but too young and lacking in older siblings to guide me toward more experimental music. ’83 is also sometimes checked as the beginning of college rock. Much of the New Wave preceding it actually made the pop charts, even some of the ultra weird stuff, and the even weirder and less accessible post-punk music mostly came out of the U.K. and only charted overseas. It was up to ambitious American music lovers to seek it out themselves. The first full album “Murmur” by a little band from the college town of Athens, Georgia named R.E.M. broke the mold with college radio in the U.S. R.E.M. received no airplay on pop & rock radio at the time, but they were plenty big in their college radio niche and also became beloved by rock journalists. Their success, although limited at the time, paved the way for other like-minded bands throughout the rest of the decade and college rock radio eventually begat alternative rock, which became its own full-blown cultural phenomenon by the early 90’s. “Murmur” to my ears still remains one of the best albums of the eighties. Perhaps the definitive 80’s college rock album though was the debut of The Violent Femmes. They were virtually unheard and un-promoted at the time of the album’s release, but the album was passed around from college age older sibling to high school age younger sibling and by the time I was mid-way through high school it was considered a classic by virtually every music-loving peer I knew. I love it when great music can’t be kept down.

Though less successful than R.E.M. in the States at first, U.K. band The Smiths released their first two singles “This Charming Man” and “Hand In Glove” in ’83. Their first album would come the following year and they achieved massive success for an indie-band in the U.K. They would take much longer to catch on in America but our generally thought of now as one of the best and most important bands of the decade. Ireland’s U2, initially started out in the late 70’s as a very earnest post-punk group, but was slowly adapting to a more, mainstream, anthemic rock sound. 1983 brought both the “War” album and the “Under A Blood Red Sky” live album, which was their first bit of commercial success in America. “War” is still one of their best albums and contains two of their signature songs “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year’s Day”. U2 would of course go on to become the biggest rock band in the world. Still several years away from their ascension to commercial dominance, English rock band The Cure released two great non-lp singles “The Lovecats” and “The Walk”. Their forthcoming singles comp “Staring At The Sea: The Singles” would become a must-have for every discerning high school age music lover.

Other great left of center, great U.K. bands would have trouble crossing over to America but had varying degrees of success in their native land. Aztec Camera released their excellent debut album “High Land, Hard Rain”. Echo & The Bunnymen’s “Porcupine”, The Fall’s “Perverted By Language” and Big Country’s “The Crossing” were other big U.K. albums released that year. Australia’s Go-Betweens released their great “Cattle & Cane” song- now an 80’s alternative classic which was pretty much unheard in the U.S. at the time. U.K. ska-pop band Madness did have huge crossover success in America with the great “Our House”.

A younger, brattier, more pissed off cousin to college radio was the early 80’s hardcore scene. Derived from punk rock and the very late 70’s L.A. hardcore scene featuring bands like Black Flag, X & the Germs, ’83 was one of American Hardcore’s most pivotal years featuring the only full length release by Washington D.C.’s incomparable Minor Threat with “Out Of Step”, and L.A. bands like the Circle Jerks “Golden Shower Of Hits” and Suicidal Tendencies’ anthem “Institutionalized”. I was not aware of this music at all until 1985- my first year as a metalhead, as it was the primary of choice of my metal-opposing skate-rat friends.

As mentioned above I was in full-on top 40 mode in 1983. I listened to more pop radio during ’83 and ’84 than I ever did before or ever have since. Luckily there was a plethora of great stuff to hear. U.K. synth-pop by the Human League, Eurythmics, Naked Eyes, Culture Club, Spandau Ballet and especially Duran Duran (my favorite group at the time) sounds as good to me today as it did then. Though I wouldn’t hear groups like New Order, Tears For Fears, Yaz or Depeche Mode until high school or later, all of them released notable music in ’83 as well. New Order especially came out with their first great album “Power, Corruption & Lies”, as well as the iconic “Blue Monday” single, still the greatest selling 12” record of all time. Some late new wave music that crossed over to the pop charts by the likes of Missing Persons, Australian band Men At Work, The Fixx, Modern English (the great “Melt With You”) & the underrated Billy Idol was really appealing as well. One hit wonder “99 Red Balloons” (99 Luft Balloons outside of the States) by German singer Nena perfectly captured the Reagan/Thatcher era nuclear paranoia and remains a favorite of mine to this day. Cheesy though it might be, the well-crafted cookie-cutter arena rock of Bryan Adam’s “Cuts Like a Knife” was another beloved radio staple from 1983. ’83 was also the year that Johnny Cougar took back his real name, John Mellencamp, and was finally seriously by at least some people. 1983’s “Uh Huh” contained huge rock hits like “Crumblin’ Down”, “The Authority Song” and the awesome “Pink Houses”.

As said before, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dominated the musical landscape in 1983, probably unlike any act since the Beatles or at least the Bee Gees in the 70’s disco era. But there were a handful of other blockbuster albums in 1983. The previously mentioned Duran Duran released the “Seven And the Ragged Tiger” album which boasted three hits. But Americans were still catching up to the Duranies and tracks from 1982’s Rio” and even their 1981 self-titled debut were charting simultaneously, which made “Tiger” feel like an even bigger record. The reggae and punk influenced British band the Police had been changing and refining their sound every year since their 1978 debut album. 1983’s “Synchronicity” was their most mature (not their best) and by far most commercially successful albums and featured omnipresent ’83 radio staples “Every Breath You Take”, “King Of Pain” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger”. Rock legend David Bowie released his most commercially successful album in years with Let’s Dance”- it’s three singles, the title cut “Modern Love” and “China Girl” and their corresponding videos secured his iconic status with the brand new eighties MTV generation. Texas boogie blues band ZZ Top had been playing their trade since the early 70’s. They completely reinvented their sound for 1983’s “Eliminator” to create an upbeat synth-blues sound. Radio hits “Legs”, “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Gimme All Your Lovin’” also featured stylish (for the time) and hilarious videos which garnered them massive MTV airplay. Spunky, freaky and talented native New York City girl Cyndi Lauper released her debut “She’s So Unusual”. Her signature hit “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”, beautiful ballad “Time After Time” & her feminist ode to masturbation “She Bop” were all massive hit singles as well and led the way to Lauper becoming another 80’s icon. Even bigger was Madonna, certainly one of the biggest stars of the decade. Though she wouldn’t reach true stardom until 1984’s “Like A Virgin”, her debut album “Madonna” paved the way and boasted three radio hits as well with “Holiday”, “Lucky Star” and “Borderline”. Cool club hits like “Everybody” and “Burning Up” are still fan favorites as well. I still think her debut is Madonna at her very best.

Madonna helped spark a new dance movement after the post disco crash in 1980. Dance music had gone very underground in ’81 & ’82. Groups like ESG & Liquid Liquid were popular in the New York City Lower East Side scene but were largely unknown outside of it, though they are now thought of as pioneers who married electro with post-punk & world music but form a new sound. The Talking Heads, the most famous of the mid 70’s CBGB punk bands had expanded their sound to include African polyrhythms as well. Though they had achieved radio hits already on past albums, 1983’s “Speaking In Tongues” was their greatest commercial success by far- containing “Burning Down The House”, their first top ten pop hits as well as another iconic tracks like “Girlfriend Is Better” and “This Must Be The Place”. Pioneering German Kraftwerk, one of the first groups to use all computerized music, delivered the “Tour De France” EP, perhaps their last release to really push the envelope musically. Juan Atkins, one of the founders of Detroit Techno music, released the track “Clear” under the moniker Cybotron. It is considered one of THE key tracks in the formation of techno and remains an electro classic. Other electro tracks actually crossed over the pop charts including “Let The Music Play” by singer Shannon, considered one of the first “Freestyle” tracks- Freestyle an offshoot of electro popular namely among Latina and Italian Americas, P-Funk founder and legend George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog”, Laid Back’s “White Horse” & jazz legend Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit”. The electro style only last several years but it dominated dance music, rap & R&B. Rapper Afrika Bambaattaa, whose signature track “Planet Rock” had come out the prior year, released his almost as great follow-up track “Looking For The Perfect Beat” in ’83. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five’s “New York New York” and “White Lines (Don’t Do It)” were done in the electro style as well. “White Lines” even sampled the Liquid Liquid track “Optimo”.

R&B music was undergoing changes in ’83 as well. Though much R&B fell under the electro style, much of it was indebted to the “Quiet Storm” style started by Smokey Robinson in the mid 70’s. “Quiet Storm” is slow jam music, great for pillow talk. Tracks like “Juicy Fruit” by Mtume” and “Between The Sheets” by The Isley Brothers were two great tracks done in that style and later sampled to perfection by The Notorious B.I.G. (Juicy) and Ice Cube (It Was A Good Day). Other great R&B hits of 1983 include “Ain’t Nobody” by Chaka Khan, “Just To Good To Me” by the S.O.S. Band and “All Night Long” by the Mary Jane Girls and produced by Rick James. The biggest new star in R&B was Prince who had big hits like “Little Red Corvette”, “1999” and “Delirious” in ’83 all off of the late ’82 album “1999”. With those tracks and the following 1984 blockbuster album “Purple Rain”, Prince was on his way to becoming one of the best and biggest music stars of the 1980’s.

 

 

DEF LEPPARD- PYROMANIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Pyromania Amazon

 

 

 

 

THE VIOLENT FEMMES- THE VIOLENT FEMMES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Violent Femmes: Deluxe EditionAmazon

 

 

 

 

 

NEW ORDER- POWER, CORRUPTION & LIES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Power, Corruption & Lies [Collector’s Edition] Amazon
 

 

 

 

U2- WAR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy War Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

METALLICA- KILL EM’ ALL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Kill ‘Em AllAmazon
 

 

 

 

ZZ TOP- ELIMINATOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Eliminator Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

PINK FLOYD- THE FINAL CUT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy The Final Cut [2011 – Remaster] (2011 – Remaster) Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOM WAITS- SWORDFISHTROMBONES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Swordfishtrombones Amazon
 

 

 

 

 

THE FALL- PERVERTED BY LANGUAGE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Perverted By Language Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

TALKING HEADS- SPEAKING IN TONGUES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Speaking In Tongues Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MADONNA- MADONNA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Madonna (Reissue) Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

CYNDI LAUPER- SHE’S SO UNUSUAL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy She’s So Unusual: A 30th Anniversary Celebration (Deluxe Edition) Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

YAZ- YOU AND ME BOTH

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy You And Me Both Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R.E.M.- MURMUR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Murmur – Deluxe Edition Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

ESG- COME AWAY WITH ESG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Come Away With Esg Amazon
 

 

 

 

 

X- MORE FUN IN THE NEW WORLD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy More Fun In the New World Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE POLICE- SYNCHRONICITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy SynchronicityAmazon
 

 

 

 

 

MINOR THREAT- OUT OF STEP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Out of Step Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP- UH HUH!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Uh-HUH!Amazon
 

 

 

 

 

BILLY IDOL- REBEL YELL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy Rebel Yell Amazon

Best of 1983 Volume 1 (7/29/02)

1.  Shannon- Let the Music Play

Buy Let The Music Play Amazon

 

2.  Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five- White Lines

Buy White Lines Amazon

 

3.  New Order- Blue Monday

Buy Blue Monday Amazon

 

4.  The Police- Synchronicity II

Buy Synchronicity II (2003 Stereo Remastered Version) Amazon

 

5.  U2- New Year’s Day

Buy New Year’s Day (Album version – Remastered) Amazon

 

6.  R.E.M.- Radio Free Europe

Buy Radio Free Europe Amazon

 

7.  Marshall Crenshaw- Whenever You’re On My Mind

Buy Whenever You’re On My Mind (Remastered LP Version) Amazon

 

8.  The Smiths- This Charming Man

Buy This Charming Man Amazon

 

9.  David Bowie- Modern Love

Buy Modern Love (Single Version; 2002 Digital Remaster) Amazon

 

10.  Tracey Ullman- They Don’t Know

Buy They Don’t Know Amazon

 

11. Madonna- Borderline

Buy Borderline Amazon

 

12.  The Pretenders- Middle Of the Road

Buy Middle Of The Road Amazon

 

13.  Talking Heads- Burning Down The House

Buy Burning Down The House Amazon

 

14.  Def Leppard- Photograph

*Track not available via Amazon

 

15.  Metallica- The Four Horsemen

*Track not available via Amazon

 

16.  The Violent Femmes- Blister In The Sun

Buy Blister In The Sun Amazon

 

17.  Suicidal Tendencies- Institutionalized

Buy Institutionalized Amazon

 

18.  Minor Threat- Cashing In

Buy Cashing In Amazon

Best of 1983 Volume 2 (7/31/02)

1.  U2- Sunday Bloody Sunday

Buy Sunday Bloody Sunday (Remastered) Amazon

 

2.  Echo & The Bunnymen- The Cutter

Buy The Cutter Amazon

 

3.  The Cure- The Lovecats

Buy The Lovecats Amazon

 

4.  The Eurythmics- Here Comes The Rain Again

Buy Here Comes The Rain Again (Remastered Version) Amazon

 

5.  The Human League- (Keep Feeling) Fascination

Buy (Keep Feeling) Fascination Amazon

 

6.  Chaka Khan- Ain’t Nobody

Buy Ain’t Nobody Amazon

 

7.  Afrika Bambaataa- Looking For The Perfect Beat

Buy Looking For The Perfect Beat (12″ Vocal Version) (Remastered) Amazon

 

8.  Run-DMC- It’s Like That

Buy It’s Like That Amazon

 

9.  Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five- New York, New York

Buy New York New York Amazon

 

10.  Minor Threat- Sob Story

Buy Sob Story Amazon

 

11.  The Violent Femmes- Add It Up

Buy Add It Up Amazon

 

12.  Missing Persons- Walking In L.A. 

Buy Walking In L.A. Amazon

 

13.  Tom Waits- Frank’s Wild Years

Buy Frank’s Wild Years Amazon

 

14.  Madonna- Holiday

Buy Holiday Amazon

 

15.  R.E.M.- Perfect Circle

Buy Perfect Circle Amazon

 

16.  Naked Eyes- Always Something There To Remind Me

Buy Always Something There To Remind Me Amazon

 

17.  Talking Heads- This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)

Buy This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) Amazon

 

18.  John Cougar Mellencamp- Pink Houses

Buy Pink Houses (Album Version) Amazon

Best of 1983 Volume 3 (5/21/05)

1.  Big Country In A Big Country

BuyIn A Big CountryAmazon

 

2.  New Order- Age Of Consent

Buy Age Of Consent Amazon

 

3.  The B-52’s- Legal Tender

Buy Legal Tender Amazon

 

4.  Tears For Fears-  Change

Buy Change Amazon

 

5.  Culture Club- Time (The Clock Of My Heart)

Buy Time (Clock Of The Heart) [2002 – Remaster]Amazon

 

6.  Elvis Costello & the Attractions- Everyday I Write The Book

Buy Every Day I Write The Book (Album Version)Amazon

 

7.  R.E.M.- Talk About The Passion

Buy Talk About The PassionAmazon

 

8.  Cyndi Lauper- Time After Time

Buy Time After TimeAmazon

 

9.  Aztec Camera- Oblivious

Buy Oblivious [Originally Performed By Aztec Camera] [Full Vocal Version]Amazon

 

10.  The Violent Femmes- Kiss Off

Buy Kiss OffAmazon

 

11.  Minor Threat- Out Of Step

Buy Out of Step Amazon

 

 

12.  Run-DMC- Sucker MC’s (Krush Groove 1)

Buy Sucker M.C.’s (Krush-Groove 1)Amazon

 

13.  George Clinton- Atomic Dog (Atomic Mix)

Buy Atomic Dog (Original Extended Version) [Explicit]Amazon

 

14.  Madonna- Burning Up

Buy Burning UpAmazon

 

15.  Nena- 99 Red Balloons

Buy 99 Red Balloons (Album Version)Amazon

 

16.  Men At Work- It’s A Mistake

Buy It’s a Mistake (Album Version)Amazon

 

17.  ZZ Top- Got Me Under Pressure

Buy Got Me Under PressureAmazon

 

18.  The Pretenders- Back On The Chain Gang

Buy Back On The Chain Gang (2009 Remastered)Amazon

 

19.  The Police- Every Breath You Take

Buy Every Breath You Take (2003 Stereo Remastered Version)Amazon

 

20.  U2- ’40’

Buy “40” (Remastered)Amazon

Best of 1983 Volume 4 (5/22/05)

1.  ZZ Top- Gimme All Your Loving

Buy Gimme All Your Lovin’ Amazon

 

2.  Madness- Our House

Buy Our House Amazon

 

3.  The Eurythmics- Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

Buy Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) (Remastered Version) Amazon

 

4.  Tears For Fears- Pale Shelter

Buy Pale Shelter (Original Version) Amazon

 

5.  Cybotron- Clear

Buy Clear Amazon

 

6.  Herbie Hancock- Rockit

Buy Rockit Amazon

 

7.  David Bowie- Let’s Dance

Buy Let’s Dance (Single Version; 2002 Digital Remaster) Amazon

 

8. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble- Texas Flood

Buy Texas Flood Amazon

 

9.  U2- Drowning Man

Buy Drowning Man (Remastered) Amazon

 

10.  The Smiths- Hand In Glove

Buy Hand In Glove (2011 Remastered Version) Amazon

 

11.  Talking Heads- Swamp

Buy Swamp Amazon

 

12.  R.E.M.- Pilgrimage

Buy Pilgrimage Amazon

 

13.  The Violent Femmes- Gone Daddy Gone

Buy Gone Daddy Gone Amazon

 

14.  The Pretenders- My City Was Gone

Buy My City Was Gone (2007 Remastered LP Version) Amazon

 

15.  The Rolling Stones- Under Cover Of The Night

Buy Undercover (Of The Night) (2009 Re-Mastered Digital Version) Amazon

 

16.  The Fall- Kicker Conspiracy

Buy Kicker Conspiracy Amazon

 

17.  The Replacement- Within Your Reach

Buy Within Your Reach Amazon

 

18.  Modern English- Melt With You

BuyI Melt With You Amazon

Best of 1983 Volume 6 (9/2/07)

1.  The Fall- The Man Whose Heads Expanded

Buy The Man Whose Head Expanded Amazon

 

2.  Duran Duran- The Reflex

Buy The Reflex Amazon

 

3.  Metallica- Whiplash

*Track not available via Amazon

 

4.  The Replacements- Color Me Impressed

Buy Color Me Impressed Amazon

 

5.  ESG- It’s Alright

Buy It’s Alright Amazon

 

6.  Depeche Mode- Everything Counts

Buy Everything Counts [Extended Version] Amazon

 

7.  Naked Eyes- Promises, Promises

Buy Promises, Promises Amazon

 

8.  Bob Dylan- Jokerman

Buy Jokerman Amazon

 

9.  Minor Threat- Betray

Buy Betray Amazon

 

10.  X- I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts

Buy I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts Amazon

 

11.  Culture Club- Church Of the Poison Mind

Buy Church Of The Poison Mind (2002 – Remaster) Amazon

 

12.  Richard Thompson- Tear-Stained Letter

Buy Tear-Stained Letter Amazon

 

13.  Rain Parade- I Look Around

Buy I Look Around Amazon

 

14.  Talking Heads- Girlfriend Is Better

Buy Girlfriend Is Better Amazon

 

15.  Madonna- Lucky Star

Buy Lucky Star Amazon

 

16. Cocteau Twins- Sugar Hiccup

Buy Sugar Hiccup Amazon

 

17.  The Pretenders- 2000 Miles

Buy 2000 Miles (2009 Remastered) Amazon

 

18. Echo & the Bunnymen- The Back Of Love

Buy Back Of Love Amazon

 

19.  Stevie Wonder- Stay Gold

Buy Stay Gold Amazon

Best of 1983 Volume 7 (3/16/14)

1.  Metallica- Hit The Lights

*Track not available via Amazon

 

2.  Iron Maiden- The Trooper

Buy The Trooper Amazon

 

3.  Big Country- Fields Of Fire

Buy Fields Of Fire Amazon

 

4.  U2- Like A Song…

Buy Like A Song… (Remastered) Amazon

 

5.  R.E.M.- Sitting Still

Buy Sitting Still Amazon

 

6.  The Cure- The Walk

Buy The Walk ( LP Version ) Amazon

 

7.  Depeche Mode- Get The Balance Right

Buy Get The Balance Right (Single Version) Amazon

 

8.  Kraftwerk- Tour De France

Buy Tour De France (2009 – Remaster) Amazon

 

9.  Laid Back- White Horse

Buy White Horse Amazon

 

10.  Alexander Robotnik- Problems D’Amour

Buy Problèmes D’Amour Amazon

 

11.  S.O.S. Band- Just Be Good To Me (Extended Version)

Buy Just Be Good To Me Amazon

 

12.  ESG- My Love For You

Buy My Love for You Amazon

 

13.  Liquid Liquid- Cavern

Buy Cavern Amazon

 

14.  New Order- The Village

Buy The Village Amazon

 

15.  Billy Idol- Eyes Without A Face

Buy Eyes Without A Face (1999 – Remaster) Amazon

 

16.  Minor Threat- Look Back And Laugh

Buy Look Back & Laugh Amazon

 

17.  Def Leppard- Foolin’

*Track not available via Amazon

 

18.  The Police- King Of Pain

Buy King Of Pain (2003 Stereo Remastered Version) Amazon

Best of 1983 Volume 8 (3/16/14)

1.  Def Leppard- Rock Of Ages

*Track not available via Amazon

 

2.  Billy Idol- Rebel Yell

Buy Rebel Yell (1999 – Remaster) Amazon

 

3.  Bryan Adams- Cuts Like A Knife

Buy Cuts Like A Knife Amazon

 

4.  Duran Duran- Union Of the Snake

Buy Union Of The Snake (2010 Digital Remaster) Amazon

 

5.  ESG- Dance

Buy Dance Amazon

 

6.  Madonna- Everybody

Buy Everybody (Original Version) Amazon

 

7.  Cyndi Lauper- She Bop

Buy She Bop Amazon

 

8.  The Fixx- One Thing Leads To Another

Buy One Thing Leads To Another (Album Version) Amazon

 

9.  Men At Work- Overkill

Buy Overkill (Album Version) Amazon

 

10.  The Police- Synchronicity I

Buy Synchronicity I (2003 Stereo Remastered Version) Amazon

 

11.  U2- Two Hearts Beat As One

Buy Two Hearts Beat As One (Remastered) Amazon

 

12.  The Wipers- Romeo

Buy Romeo Amazon

 

13.  Circle Jerks- When The Shit Hits The Fan

Buy When the Shit Hits the Fan [Explicit] Amazon

 

14.  Minor Threat- Think Again

Buy Think Again Amazon

 

15.  Billy Bragg- A New England

Buy A New England Amazon

 

16.  Pink Floyd- Your Possible Pasts

Buy Your Possible Pasts (2011 – Remaster) Amazon

 

17.  The Smiths- Jeane

Buy Jeane Amazon

 

18.  David Bowie- China Girl

Buy China Girl (1999 Digital Remaster) Amazon

 

19.  R.E.M.- Moral Kiosk

Buy Moral Kiosk Amazon

 

20.  Spandau Ballet- True (Single Version)

Buy True Amazon

1. Def Leppard- Rock Rock (Til You Drop)
2. Metallica- Jump In The Fire
3. Talking Heads- Moon Rocks
4. Liquid Liquid- Optimo
5. Rammelzee Vs. K-Rob- Beat Bop
6. John Holt- Police In Helicopter
7. Bob Marley & The Wailers- Buffalo Soldier
8. Donald Banks- Status Quo
9. New Order- Leave Me Alone
10. Depeche Mode- Love In Itself
11. The Kinks- Come Dancing
12. Cyndi Lauper- Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
13. ZZ Top- Sharp Dressed Man
14. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble- Pride & Joy
15. Adam Ant- Kick
16. Bauhaus- She’s In Parties (Edit)
17. R.E.M.- Shaking Through
18. Pink Floyd- Two Suns In The Sunset