1984's Cringe-Inducing Tunes

There are some years that have been truly great for music, and I think 1984 stands tall among them. That Jackson guy was still riding high with Thriller, Bruce and E Street were Born in the USA, U2 had The Unforgettable Fire, and what else? Oh yeah, a little ol' band out of the San Francisco area had a rather large, awesome record called Sports.

They say the band's name was Huey Lewis and the News. Never heard of them.

I digress.

What, then, were the songs in 1984 that made you sick? The dreadful, painful, Haysooz-Cristo-I'm-going-to-put-my-fist-through-the-freaking-radio tunes?

The peeps at Stuck in the 80's are building their list.

Some of the comments would indicate they disagree with my assessment of Huey Lewis' greatness, but that would also indicate they lack taste.

So there. Nanny nanny billy goats.

Wow - I looked at the list of the Top 100 hits and, oh merciful musical god there is a lot of dribble.

- When Doves Cry, Prince (repetitive, just like I heard it over and over on the radio)
- Let's Hear It For The Boy, Deniece Williams (yikes)
- Dancing In The Dark, Bruce Springsteen (I know, it's shocking. Probably my least favorite Bruce song. By far)
- Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper (Ugh. Pure ugh)
- Joanna, Kool and The Gang (from "Jungle Boogie" to this?)
- I Just Called To Say I Love You, Stevie Wonder (Officially the point that Stevie jumped the shark)
- I Can Dream About You, Dan Hartman (yawn)
- The Warrior, Scandal (25 years later, I still hate this freaking song, except for one...little...thing. Paul O'Neill.)
- To All The Girls I've Loved Before, Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson (vomit-inducing)
- Islands In The Stream, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (purely god-awful)
- Breakdance, Irene Cara ("Fame?" "Flashdance?" I don't even remember this song, but it's Irene Cara. That's enough.)
- Think Of Laura, Christopher Cross (Oh...myGod)
- Yah Mo B There, James Ingram and Michael McDonald (Make...it...stop!)
- Anything on the list by Lionel Richie (and you know the next time I do a breakfast and baseball trip, Tim Parry and Jason Intrieri will make sure that they play all Lionel, all the time. Oh I'll never live this down.)

Seems like I picked a lot (and there are more), but 1984 is probably my single favorite year in music. It's the year in which I think I came of age in terms of my own taste.