My December Challenge: Story 10
8 Exemplary Songs of The 80s
A Christmas gift for those who don’t do Christmas.
Travel anywhere in the world, and you're likely to hear an English song if you turn on the radio to a rock station.
I live in rural France, and our local station, CFM CORDES 94.7 FM, is a great choice for all the ex-pats that live in the area since they play a great mix of French and English language music. On the way home today, they were playing one of the great tunes of the 1980s, “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes, which inspired this article. Songs from our past that we loved, but haven’t listened to for a while, here are 8 of mine. Thanks, CFM Radio!
Fancy a momentary pause from your favourite Christmas playlist, or perhaps you don’t do Christmas? Grab a coffee and put on your earphones.
Oh, by the way, if you have been following my writing you know I like Cover Songs… These are Cover Versions. Let me know in the comments if you like any of them, better.
- “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes (1981) — Betsie Gøld
The song that inspired this article and a cool cover version I just discovered.
2. “Kids In America” by Kim Wilde (1981) — Samarah
Take an 80s New Wave / Pop song, make it a “little bit harder now,” and you get to shout about Samarah.
3. “The Whole of The Moon” by The Waterboys (1985) — Fiona Apple
Did you watch it to the end? The serious and seriously committed Fiona Apple shows us her fun side.
In a few hours, they produced this beautiful rendition of a classic written by Mike Scott. After Mr. Scott (The Waterboys) heard the performance he tweeted — “Prepare ye to receive goosebumps.” (YouTube video info).
4. “Bizarre Love Triangle” by New Order (1986) — Frente!
From 80s synth to Acoustic, and still just as good. Proving, like a fine wine, that a great song gets better as it ages.
5. “Holding Back The Years” by Simply Red (1986) — Daynea Deacon
From the windblown Highlands of Scotland to the cool tropical breezes of Jamaica, you will find people “Holding Back the Years.”
6. “With Or Without You” by U2 (1987)— Boyce Avenue feat. Kina Grannis
Kina Grannis was detained in Jakarta for 100 days due to visa problems. I expect she could well relate to being… “With or Without You.”
7. “ Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman (1988) — Julien Mueller
Considering I live in Southern France and this article was inspired by my local Radio Station CFM CORDES 94.7 FM playing “Bette Davis Eyes” this morning, it seems appropriate to make my penultimate song a cover by the talented musician Julien Mueller, who recorded this video in La Rochelle back in 2014.
8. “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins (1981) — Joseph William Morgan Ft. Shadow Royale
This article was supposed to be based on songs that I hadn’t heard for a while but really enjoy, so this song shouldn’t really qualify.
I have heard it and written about it quite extensively in my short Medium career. However, to write this article and leave out, possibly, my favourite song of the eighties…
a close tie with “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinéad O’Connor
…would be like Paul Combs writing about music in general and not mentioning some cool Bruce Springsteen trivia, or Alex Markham not sharing an interesting anecdote about the “Fab Four” with the Mersey Beat.
In other words, a crying game… I mean a crying shame.
I thought this just-discovered cover version has; an amazing singer/s, Joseph William Morgan (a composing duo), an incredibly beautiful dance and a stunning dancer Shadow Royale(?), great direction, great videography, and a really interesting cinematic take on the song.
The Playlist:
I hope you enjoyed this…
If you did…Tag Your turn, Pierce McIntyre, Kevin Alexander, Lark Morrigan, Charlie Cole, Charlotte Ella King, and my other kind readers I have left off this tag.
(If you're following my series of 29 stories in 31 days, you might have noticed that stories 8 & 9 are absent, and you’d be right. [My Bond rankings parts 2 & 3 are in their final edits]. I just wanted a musical interlude today).
