DCV Top 40 Bands of the 80's

Before we start the countdown, I'd like to thank all those responsible for global warming. It was a nice 72 deg here & while that was impressive, there were similar temperatures in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire. I got out my bike today & rode ~10 miles. I've been a little scared of riding since Carrie's accident, but as they say "if you're sister falls off a bike, you gotta get right back on it". Anyway, thank you anti-reasonable-environmental-regulation types.

The scoring system at play here is a combination of how much I liked them in the 80's (60%), how much I like them now (30%), & how popular they were w/ other folks (10%). The DCV will also be employing a liberal interpretation of "band", so Springsteen & Mellencamp are eligible. W/o further ado, here's 40 thru 36. Keep in mind, being in the DCV Top 40 is huge, even if you're toward the top of the list.

40: Paul Simon:
Included here principally for his Graceland album & the Concert in Central Park w/ Garfunkel. My biggest memories here are listening to the CiCP tape on the way to/from SLU and home & always either tearing up or singing vociferously at "Homeward Bound". I believe I was slow to the party on Graceland ... think one of the sisters pointed me in that direction, but it's a pretty exceptional album & truly innovative for American pop music at the time. Won a Grammy for Best Album of Year & is typically ranked between 50-100 in all-time best albums among professional music reviewers. Also, Ron & I did a mean cover of "I Am a Rock", even though the song was recorded earlier.

Best songs: Graceland, Mrs. Robinson (live), Boy in the Bubble
Worst song: You Can Call Me Al ('though the video was funny)

39: The Clash:
The Clash were huge among a very small subpopulation of Trinity HS students. I wasn't part of that, but I did admire their skinny ties, PIL buttons, and especially their nouveau hairstyles from a safe distance. London Calling was released in the US in Jan 1980 & that's typically regarded as one of the best albums of all time. The main album of influence on Dolberry was Combat Rock (which according to Wikipedia was supposed to be titled Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg) & the classic songs "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go". I defy anyone to listen to the beginning of "Rock the Casbah" and not be singing along by the time you get to the chorus. The song was prompted by Kholmeni's banning of rock in Iran upon his ascendence to power. Now that's worth protesting against! It was the first song to be played on Armed Forces Radio during Desert Storm. It's still in commercials today (rock the catbox). "SISoSIG" was a school dance staple; it's background lyrics were always rumored to be filthy but are actually an echo of the chorus in Spanish. Now you know.

Best Songs: Rock the Casbah, Should I Stay or Should I Go, & Train in Vain
Worst Song: probably one of the 36 songs on Sandinista!

38. The Call:
It seems as if the purpose of being a teenager is to transition from being a child to an adult. Rebellion is an embedded element of that process as one determines which things taught from childhood (by elders) are to be kept and which are to be discarded in favor of alternate elements (from self or peers or other elders). I don't look forward to this process w/ APD, because clearly Dolberry's way is better (meta-reference to first ever blog entry), but I'm sure we will make it through. Dolberry himself was a rebel, if but a minor one. Seems to me that most of my rebellion was expressed via music, either by playing it too long & too loud, or by listenting to tunes that allowed me to vicariously rebel along with the singer. The Call fit that bill w/ their brooding "The Walls Came Down". "I don't think there are any Russians. And there ain't no Yanks. Just corporate criminals. Playing with tanks." This was followed by about 90 seconds of well-intentioned "Yi Yi Yi Yi ... Yi Yi Yi's"). They closed the decade with two other pretty exceptional songs "Let the Day Begin" and "I Still Believe", both of which are extremely positive, Christian-themed tunes that could fit nicely into U2's portfolio.

Best songs: The Walls Came Down, I Still Believe, Let the Day Begin
Worst songs: Undercover

37. Queen
Queen's Greatest Hits album released in 1981 is the all-time best selling album in the U.K. (just ahead of Sgt. Peppers). I can distinctly remember joyously singing along w/ Sis 1 and Sis 2 in their bedroom when we had the singles for "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" & "Another One Bites the Dust". Obviously, Queen had some earlier, Kong-sized, gems prior to the 80's that were theme songs for any number of cultural groups ("We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions") in the 80's from THS football to other groups that were still mostly invisible to early-80's Midwesterners. Freddie Mercury was a genius artist that died way too soon, one of too many on this list.

Best songs: Another One Bites the Dust, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, One Vision
Worst song: Radio Ga-Ga

36. Billy Idol
After four straight bands that were generally more critically appreciated than commercially appreciated in the 1980's, comes the motorcycle-crashing, MTV-darling, William Michael Albert Broad. The story goes that he took his name from an high-school report card that shamed with the comment "William is idle." Anyway, I think Idol was one of the first to tread in the dangerous waters of pop-punk which is probably my favorite musical subgenre. The key is to maintain a punkish-enough attitude to appeal with music that doesn't intentionally antagonize the listener. Anyway, more of the DCV Top 40 leans toward the Idols of the world than the Calls, so I'm glad he was #36, so as not to give the wrong impression (i.e., that Dolberry was already a snob twenty years ago).

Best Songs: Rebel Yell, White Wedding, Dancing with Myself
Worst song: Mony Mony (& worst is insufficiently negative to describe the loathing I have for this one)