Friday, August 28, 2015

Egregious Omissions from Pitchfork's '200 Greatest Songs of the 1980s' List


Lists such as Pitchfork's 200 Greatest Songs of the 1980s are inherently problematic but the following seem to me to be 15 very egregious omissions:
  1.  The Winner Takes It All (Abba)
  2.  Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House - or Better Be Home Soon or Into Temptation)
  3.  Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (Paul Simon - or any of the other big Graceland hits really)
  4. Tinsel Town In The Rain (The Blue Nile - or Walk Across The Rooftops or Stay)
  5. Song From Under the Floorboards (Magazine - hipster city, seriously, how did Pitchfork miss this one?)
  6.  Two Tribes (Frankie Goes To Hollywood - or Relax)
  7.  Just Be Good To Me (SOS Band)
  8.  Come On Eileen (Dexys)
  9.  Ashes to Ashes (Bowie)
  10.  Luka (Suzanne Vega)
  11.  Going Underground (The Jam - or That's Entertainment)
  12.  Greetings for the New Brunette (Billy Bragg - or Levi Stubbs' Tears or God Save The Youth)
  13.  Cattle & Cane (The Go-Betweens - or Bye Bye Pride or Rock and Roll Friend)
  14.  Some epic power ballad cheesefest like Keep on Loving You, Living on A Prayer, Alone, Don't Stop Believing, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Photograph, Here I Go Again (some people would say all should be on any top 200 list but sure as hell at least one of them should be!)
  15.  Some more synthpop: Love Action, Fade To Grey, Vienna, To Cut A Long Story Short, I Travel, Only You, Enola Gay, Freedom of Choice, Tainted Love, Say Hello Wave Goodbye, Love Plus One, Mabuse, All of My Heart, Time (Clock of the Heart), Victims, XOYO, Love My Way, Ghosts, Visions of China, Planet Earth, Fascist Groove Thang, Get The Balance Right, October Love Song, Perfect Way, The Flat Earth, Take On Me are obvious standouts; surely one or more of them should have made it?