Articles & Features
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From Joe Jackson to the Bangles: Here are More of the ’80’s Best Songs
Continuing the countdown of the greatest songs of the 1980s, here’s numbers 11-20. We’ve got some Men At Work, A-Ha, Mr. Phil Collins, and more.
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Henley’s Heartbreak: How Devastating Ache Wins the ’80s
“The Boys of Summer” captures the mournful tone of growing up and growing old. It tops the list of the 10 best pop songs of the decade.
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Blonde Moments: A Tale of Two (sort of) Icons and One Awful Movie
Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams, and … Kevin Costner? Looking back at our MTV prime and why Robin Hood ruined everything.
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Classic Rock Casualties: How to Sour on Queen and the Eagles
Overexposure is not their fault. But a closer look shows these two behemoths from the seventies still inspire potent memories – and not much else.
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Shimmer and Shove: Shania Shot New Life into Country
Our favorite country-pop songstress redefined the age and helped the ’90s feel like our last good decade.
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Images: David Byrne’s Massive Head Floats Down the Road
Talking Heads were a key part of MTV’s early days, and “Burning Down the House” and “Once in a Lifetime” still pack a punch.
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Steve Winwood: Higher Love on Sundays
The ex-Traffic and Spencer Davis Group singer reinvented himself as a pop-keyboard hitmaker in the ’80s.
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How ‘The One Thing’ Defined Early MTV Imagery, Mystery
‘The One Thing’ personifies personal discoveries that Gen X kids had to make and interpret on their own.
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Slow & Steady: How Tom Petty Triumphs in the ’80s
A look at a couple of key Tom Petty videos from the prime MTV era: “You Got Lucky” and “Don’t Come Around Here No More.”
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ZZ Top: How This Texas Trio Found New Life in the ’80s
A 70s rock dinosaur reinvents themselves with the help of technology, a classic car, and iconic videos.
But why?
As the 65 million members of Generation X get older – and our world seems to make less sense – I find it more important than ever to examine our romanticized latchkey lives and explore the songs (and movies, toys, etc.) that inspire unparalleled devotion.
We all want to rediscover a place of escape now more than ever. We almost had it figured out, and we want to capture that feeling again if only for a few minutes in these terrible times. Our music matters, our memories matter, and we just want people to know us before it’s too late.
I’m Brian. I’m a journalist, marketing expert, and musician. Follow along as we tackle discographies, seminal moments, forgotten gems, and melodies that still haunt us.