Category: Playlists

This is the first of my (hopefully) monthly playlists where I highlight some of the songs that have influenced my writing style of the decades.

Having lived through, what some might call, the greatest decade of music ever, (the 80’s in case it’s not obvious), it comes as no surprise that a large part of musical influences comes from 80’s songs.

So for this post I wanted to share some of my favourites. Every one of these songs taught me, or inspired me in some way. In some it might be just a single melody line, whereas others might be the whole song. I’ll go into detail below, but if you’re not interested in the reasons, just listen to the playlist – it’s rocking good.

Song by song:

Don’t Answer Me – The Alan Parsons Project
I can’t remember exactly, but I think the music video for this was animated and really quite beautiful – something to do with a moon. What I’ve always loved about this song is both the driving rhythm that gives the whole song motion, and the exquisite melodies and harmonies. The one that always stood out for me is the lower harmony on the line “Run away and hide from everyone. Can you change the things we’ve said and done?” It’s just perfect.

Commercial Breakup – Thomas Dolby
This one’s easy, it’s that insane synth solo – I fooking love it.
I’ve also loved Dolby’s penchant for changing a single word or two from one chorus to the next, while still keeping the rhyme and metre intact. In this song it’s the first line of 1st chorus;
“Oh man – they’re waving from the street again…” vs the first line of the second chorus,
“Something has dropped me in the heat again…”.
Dolby does this time and time again, and it’s great little quirk that I’ve taken on board in my own lyrics…

Twilight of a Champion – The The
The second-last track from The The’s 1986 album, Infected. This is a powerhouse of percussive 80’s breakbeats layered over some of the best lyrics of the decade. It’s basically a beat poem spoken under a driving drum and bass. Matt Johnson’s lyrics have always inspired me, they’re raw, they’re rude and they’re right on the money. When I lived in London in the early 2000’s, listening to Infected and the follow-up album, Mind Bomb, felt like he’d written those lyrics the day before instead of 15 years prior. Johnson always seems to have his pulse on the current state of affairs.

In The Name of Love – Thompson Twins
What can one say about this song. If you need a single song, single riff, single bar of music to epitomise the 80’s synth pop sound, then the opening riff of In The Name of Love would be it. It’s bouncy, it’s cool, it’s catchy as all hell. There are key changes, astounding harmonies and vocal arrangements, and one of the best choruses ever.

…to be continued…