The 80s-est

Mid-80s drama goes up against late-80s pop-stravaganza as we move through the second half of our Bands region. It’s 3-seed “Life in a Northern Town” from non-supergroup The Dream Academy against 14-seed “She Drives Me Crazy” from our friend Rupert Guest* and Fine Young Cannibals. Which 80s is your 80s? Mid or late? Listen and vote! *We really mean Roland Gift. This is a public episode. If you woul...

What makes an 80s song? Is it over-production and copious amounts of synth? Is it a 49-piece band and a sound that propelled Latin music to new pop heights? The answer is up to the listener. But to help you consider that, we have 6-seed What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy) from Information Society and 11-seed Conga! from the venerable Miami Sound Machine. [WARNING: This episode contains badly-spoken...

So here’s two songs: “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister and “Here Comes Your Man” by Pixies. Which of those two tunes do we think Joe and Keith were more familiar with in the 80s? It’s not hard to guess, is it? Given that Mr. Mister is the 4th seed and Pixies are the 11th? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest....

It’s a clash of musical styles and trends of the 80s, as classic Britpop band Simple Minds brings their cool-sounding 5-seed “Alive and Kicking” against American funk band Cameo and the unique hip-pop sound of their smash, 12-seed “Word Up!” It’s another matchup of moderate versus extreme production values—where do YOU come out? Now all you sucker DJs, who think you’re fly…VOTE! This is a public e...

It’s a battle of two songs Joe doesn’t really remember at all, as I-Can’t-Believe-It’s-Not-Prince, 8-seed Ready for the World, breaks out their #1 smash “Oh, Sheila” against The System’s groovy love-fest, 9-seed “Don’t Disturb This Groove.” Relax and listen on a mountain by a fountain, because what’s good for the goose is (allegedly) always good for the gander. And if you know what any of that mea...

Okay, listen, we did not choose these songs just so we’d have an excuse to watch a video featuring Susanna Hoffs. We absolutely did not. But, through whatever happenstance led to this match-up, we are presented with The Bangles and their hit song “Walk Like an Egyptian,” the number one seed in our Bands Region going up against 16-seed “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” by Wang Chung. For what it’s worth...

Well, folks, we got a little bit derailed this week! Joe had to return to Ohio for a bit of a family emergency. And it was Joe’s birthday during that! On his way back to the airport, he stopped to see Keith(me), and after catching up a little, we decided to do an episode here in person. But then my second mic was all fritzy. ANYWAY, we have this Region Preview, but the sound isn’t the best, but it...

What is more 80s: a song and a movie so good that they became a part of us? Or a song so generic from a movie so formulaic that they blend with every other song and movie from the decade? It’s Say Anything ’s 2-seed, “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel, against The Karate Kid Part II ’s 15-seed, “Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera. No matter which song gets more votes, Peter wins! The famous Gas-n-Sip sce...

Whether you’re a shit-sucking vampire or the little brother who loves him, you’ll find something great in today’s podcast, as we present two non-hits from The Lost Boys . It’s seven-seed “I Still Believe” by Tim Capello against ten-seed “Cry, Little Sister” by Gerald “The Mahon” McMann. Music so 80s, you won’t want to put a stake through its heart. Or some other vampiric metaphor. (The songs do no...

Crank up the estrogen AND the testosterone, and take off directly into a collision course with 80s melodrama as the soft, breathy ballad, 3-seed “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin squares off against the perfomatively-masculine rocker, 14-seed “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins. Both songs’ egos are assessed overdraft fees for writing checks that their bodies can’t cash. Feel free to buzz our tower with...

For all of you listeners who loved both Jewel of the Nile and Short Circuit, this show is for you. It’s six-seed “Who’s Johnny?” by El DeBarge against eleven-seed “When the Going Gets Tough” by the legendary Billy Ocean. We can only mourn the fact that we never got the Steve Gutenberg/Kathleen Turner romcom we so richly deserved. Here are the two videos, as discussed in the episode: And of course,...

It’s Episode 6! Keith nominates 4-seed “Send Me an Angel” from the movie Rad , and Joe nominates 13-seed “Iko Iko,” which he THOUGHT was from Satisfaction , but really isn’t. (But at least it IS in Rain Man .) Anyway, two songs enter, even if one shouldn’t really BE here, but only one song will emerge! VOTE! People, you have to watch this: To listen to these songs back-to-back yourself, check out...

It’s Episode 5 of Side B, and the dancing is SO. DIRTY. Get on board for this cinematic slugfest: two music legends, Medley and Warnes, swagger in with the 5 seed and their global smash hit, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” But you know who is completely unimpressed by this? Johnny Castle—I mean, Patrick Swayze—the coolest customer to ever hit the Catskills. He brings his incredible charisma and...

In the second matchup of the Movies Region, it’s two Joe-quality songs, which really, that says it all. Listen up to hear 8-seed “The Lady in Red” by Chris de Burgh (from Working Girl ) desperately trying to be more 80s than the Family Ties gem, “At This Moment” by Billy Vera and The Beaters, who are sporting a 9 seed. Please hold your comments until you’ve heard Joe’s argument for including these...

We’re going back to the Chicago suburbs for another go-round with Molly Ringwald! It’s top-seeded “If You Leave” by OMD versus the Psychedelic Furs with “Pretty in Pink” at the 16-seed spot. By the way, neither Keith nor Joe look pretty in pink. Go to our Spotify playlist to listen to the songs back to back: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...

Hooray for Hollywood! It’s the preview of the Side B Movies Region! What films are represented? What songs are going up against each other? Did “Adagio for Strings” from Platoon make it in? These questions and many others will be answered in this episode. Give it a listen, folks! SPOILERS AHEAD in the form of the visualized bracket and the region playlist from Spotify. Read no further if you do no...

A new day is dawning! A new dawn is daying! It’s Side B of The 80s-est! Will everything be completely different as we enter the latter half of the decade? I mean, no, of course not. But music did evolve as the years went on. And our show will evolve, too! Not a lot. Basically, we will metaphorically lose our vestigial tail. So that’s good. We hate vestigial stuff, right? Anyway, listen as we launc...

 It’s time! It’s time to crown the ruler of all 80s songs! (1980-1985) Will it be A-ha with the classic “Take on Me”? Will it be the jangly goodness of Modern English’s “I Melt with You”? And what moments from our first season will we make you sit through before we reveal the goddamn winner? Listen, dear audience, and find out! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other...

It. All. Comes. Down. To. THIIIIIIS! It’s the penultimate episode of Season 1 of The 80s-est! This is it. It is time to vote for the The 80s-est song of 1980-1985! Who will it be? Or rather…who CAN it be now? (Sorry, it’s very late as I type this and my brain is mush.) Anyway: Listen! Vote! LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST WHILE YOU CAN! The songs have been voted on. The Final 2 are determined. Scroll no...

The second half of our Final Four is here! The penultimate round ends here. The winner of the Bands Region is pitted against the winner of the Singers Region.   Scroll no further if you don’t want spoilers. It’s the Gen-X romance and paranoia of Modern English’s “I Melt with You” against Corey Hart and his “Sunglasses at Night.” Two big hits. One big vote. Bands Region FINAL: Singers Region FINAL:...

Friends, it’s time. The Final Four is here. The champions of each region meet to go head to head. Four unbeatable Titans, but only one can emerge as…the 80s-est. The penultimate round begins here. The winner of the Movies region against the winner of the Foreigners [without Foreigner] region.  Scroll no further if you don’t want spoilers. Movies Bracket FINAL: Foreigners (Without Foreigner) FINAL:...

Roses are red. Violets are blue. This episode is filler because the voting’s not done on the last four episodes. But also, we wanted to talk with you about the upcoming Legends Bracket. So this filler…is legendary.   *RFC is “Request For Comment,” so let’s get to commenting! Who should be IN, who should be OUT? What are some good ideas for regions? This is a public episode. If you would like to di...

Ali vs Frazier. King Kong vs Godzilla. Santa Claus vs the Martians. Some fights are just epic. Today, top-seeded “Take on Me” by A-ha faces its greatest challenge yet in two-seed “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics. Two amazing songs, but one of them…has to go.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit th...

Angsty melodrama or buoyant pop? Which is 80s-er to you? It’s two-seed “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” from the great and good Cyndi Lauper against four-seed “Sunglasses at Night” from the okay and all-right Cory Hart. Listen! Vote! Live! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

Jason. Michael Myers. Freddy Krueger. Monsters of the 80s that Just. Will. Not. Die. To that list, we add The Jet’s monstrous “Crush on You.” Is Modern English the Laurie Strode of this situation; the Final Girl who will, at long last, send The Jets to the hell they so richly deserve? Your votes will determine our collective fate. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with ot...