Welcome to part 2 of the best albums and songs of the '80s poll. This month we will take 1981 at face value (did you see that clever subliminal message there?). 1981 was the year we traded in Bob Marley, Bill Haley, Georges Brassens and Mike Bloomfield for Britney Spears, Beyoncé Knowles, Josh Groban and Natasha Beddingfield. Somehow I think we got the raw end of that deal. It was also the year MTV launched with "Video Killed The Radio Star", appropriately, as their first video played. And lets not forget it was the year the longest titled song ever charted in Billboard ("Medley: Intro 'Venus' / Sugar Sugar / No Reply / I'll Be Back / Drive My Car / Do You Want to Know a Secret / We Can Work It Out / I Should Have Known Better / Nowhere Man / You're Going to Lose That Girl / Stars on 45"). Oh yeah, besides these epic events there was also some pretty decent music being made.

Please submit at least 5 songs and/or albums, preferably but not necessarily with ranking, lists without ranking will get an average score of 10 points per album. The deadline is midnight on the 31st of January. For the scoring, rules and other details check here.

Please have a look at the 1981 album and song lists before voting, as albums and songs listed under 1981 at Acclaimed Music will only be counted in the forum poll if they are included in this month's ballots.

Damn 1981's a bit of a dry year for me - oh well,I'll see if I can scrape something up...

Damn, I'm already a month late to participate in this poll. Guess I'll wait until 1982. jk.

OFF DUTY!!!

1981

01. God. Rip Rig + Panic
02. Playing With A Different Sex. Au Pairs
03. Crumbling The Antiseptic Beauty. Felt
04. Deceit. This Heat
05. Odyshape. The Raincoats
06. Memory Serves. Material
07. Prayers On Fire. The Birthday Party
08. Thirst. Clock DVA
09. Normalette Surprise. Der Plan
10. Tin Drum. Japan
11. Technodelic. Yellow Magic Orchestra
12. Desire. Tuxedomoon
13. Pirates. Rickie Lee Jones
14. Free Lancing. James Blood Ulmer
15. Fresh Fruit In Foreign Places. Kid Creole & The Coconuts
16. The Only Fun In Town. Josef K
17. The Electric Spanking Of War Babies. Funkadelic
18. Sex. Telex
19. Dome 3. Dome
20. In Our Lifetime. Marvin Gaye


1982

01. Imperial Bedroom. Elvis Costello And The Attractions
02. Songs To Remember. Scritti Politti
03. The Dreaming. Kate Bush
04. Sax Maniac. James White And The Blacks
05. Learning To Cope With Cowardice. Mark Stewart + Maffia
06. You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever. Orange Juice
07. Sense And Sensuality. Au Pairs
08. Pedigree Charm. Lora Logic
09. I Am Cold. Rip Rig + Panic
10. Liliput. Liliput
11. The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain). Blue Orchids
12. Words From The Front. Tom Verlaine
13. The Days Of Wine And Roses. The Dream Syndicate
14. Repercussion. The dB’s
15. A Taste Of Pink!. Prisoners
16. 13.13. Lydia Lunch
17. Honesty. Curtis Mayfield
18. Dr. Heckle And Mr. Jive. Pigbag
19. Rip It Up. Orange Juice
20. Pal Judy. Judy Nylon & Crucial


1983

01. The Naked Shakespeare. Peter Blegvad
02. All Styles. Family Fodder
03. Swordfishtrombones. Tom Waits
04. The Golden Palominos. The Golden Palominos
05. Emergency Third Rail Power Trip. The Rain Parade
06. Dealing With The Dead. Plan 9
07. What Makes A Man Start Fires?. Minutemen
08. Porcupine. Echo And The Bunnymen
09. The Bible Belt. Nikki Sudden
10. Meat Puppets II. Meat Puppets
11. Variations On A Theme. David Thomas And The Pedestrians w/Richard Thompson
12. A Walk Across The Rooftops. The Blue Nile
13. Filth. Swans
14. Come Away With. ESG
15. Speaking In Tongues. Talking Heads
16. Jonathan Sings!. Jonathan Richman
17. Hexbreaker!. The Fleshtones
18. Treeless Plain. The Triffids
19. Waiting. Fun Boy Three
20. Everywhere At Once. The Plimsouls


1984

01. Climate Of Hunter. Scott Walker
02. Psychic… Powerless… Another Man’s Sac. Butthole Surfers
03. Pacific Street. The Pale Fountains
04. Color Appreciation. Plasticland
05. Double Nickels On The Dime. Minutemen
06. Run-DMC. Run-DMC
07. Fried. Julian Cope
08. Envy. Ambitious Lovers
09. Purple Rain. Prince And The Revolution
10. Tales Of The Turquoise Umbrella. The Eyes Of Mind
11. Our Solar System. Half Japanese
12. Zen Arcade. Hüsker Dü
13. A Scandal In Bohemia. The Jazz Butcher
14. I Often Dream Of Trains. Robyn Hitchcock
15. Atom Drum Bop. The Three Johns
16. Mister Heartbreak. Laurie Anderson
17. Sing No Evil. Half Japanese
18. Pagan Day. Psychic TV
19. Spring Hill Fair. The Go-Betweens
20. New Sensations. Lou Reed


1985

01. Rain Dogs. Tom Waits
02. 25 O’Clock . The Dukes Of Stratosphear
03. Old Rottenhat. Robert Wyatt
04. I Have No Feelings. Annette Peacock
05. Nail. Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel
06. This Nation’s Saving Grace. The Fall
07. Psychocandy. The Jesus And Mary Chain
08. Robespierre’s Velvet Basement. Jacobites
09. Don’t Stand Me Down. Dexys Midnight Runners
10. A Cappella. Todd Rundgren
11. Around The World In A Day. Prince And The Revolution
12. The Firstborn Is Dead. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
13. The Sylvie And Babs Hi-Fi Companion. Nurse With Wound
14. Back In The D.H.S.S.. Half Man Half Biscuit
15. There Are Eight Million Stories…. The June Brides
16. Here Comes Everybody. The Wake
17. Telephone Free Landslide Victory. Camper Van Beethoven
18. Bad News From The Underworld. Kim Fowley
19. Seventh Dream Of Teenage Heaven. Love And Rockets
20. Prayer For The Halcyon Fear. Tiny Lights


1986

01. Sound Of Confusion. Spacemen 3
02. Evol. Sonic Youth
03. The Big Gundown. John Zorn
04. Last Exit. Last Exit
05. Back To The Old School. Just-Ice
06. Ragin’, Full-On. fIREHOSE
07. Candy Apple Grey. Hüsker Dü
08. The Colour Of Spring. Talk Talk
09. Neither Washington Nor Moscow…. Redskins
10. They Might Be Giants. They Might Be Giants
11. Atomizer. Big Black
12. Forever Breathes The Lonely Word. Felt
13. Giant. The Woodentops
14. On Fire. Stetsasonic
15. Brotherhood. New Order
16. Force. A Certain Ratio
17. Just Keep Eating. Scratch Acid
18. Stop Pretending. Pandoras
19. Tolerance. The Blue Aeroplanes
20. Pretty Little Baka Boy. Shonen Knife


1987

01. Locust Abortion Technician. Butthole Surfers
02. Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun. Dead Can Dance
03. The Perfect Prescription. Spacemen 3
04. Secrets Of The Beehive. David Sylvian
05. Children Of God. Swans
06. Yo! Bum Rush The Show. Public Enemy
07. Oh My Gawd!!!. The Flaming Lips
08. The Ideal Copy. Wire
09. Mark Stewart. Mark Stewart
10. Come On Pilgrim. Pixies
11. Franks Wild Years. Tom Waits
12. Strangeways Here We Come. The Smiths
13. Up For A Bit With The Pastels. The Pastels
14. The Poison Boyfriend. Momus
15. The Guitar And Other Machines. The Durutti Column
16. Happy Nightmare Baby. Opal
17. Brave Words. The Chills
18. Right Now. Pussy Galore
19. Neurotica. Redd Kross
20. Fastbacks… And His Orchestra. Fastbacks


1988

01. Spirit Of Eden. Talk Talk
02. It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. Public Enemy
03. Tender Pervert. Momus
04. Greed. Ambitious Lovers
05. God In Three Persons. The Residents
06. A Fierce Pancake. Stump
07. Double Bummer. Bongwater
08. The Beatnigs. The Beatnigs
09. Royal Trux. Royal Trux
10. Prosperous And Qualified. Universal Congress Of
11. Isn’t Anything. My Bloody Valentine
12. Follow The Leader. Eric B & Rakim
13. From Langley Park To Memphis. Prefab Sprout
14. Brian Wilson. Brian Wilson
15. Today. Galaxie 500
16. The Trinity Session. Cowboy Junkies
17. Goin’ Off. Biz Markie
18. Stay Awake: Various Interpretations Of Music From Vintage Disney Films. Various Artists
19. Swastikas For Noddy. Current 93
20. Miss America. Mary Margaret O’Hara


1989

01. 3 Feet High And Rising. De La Soul
02. Doolittle. Pixies
03. i. A.R. Kane
04. Oranges & Lemons. XTC
05. Torture Garden. Naked City
06. Soul Discharge. Boredoms
07. Done By The Forces Of Nature. Jungle Brothers
08. Mind Bomb. The The
09. Moss Side Story. Barry Adamson
10. Friendly As A Hand Grenade. Tackhead
11. Tokyo Rose. Van Dyke Parks
12. Floating Into The Night. Julee Cruise
13. No More Mr. Nice Guy. Gang Starr
14. Words For The Dying. John Cale
15. Love Agenda. Band Of Susans
16. Spike. Elvis Costello
17. Jad Fair And Daniel Johnston. Jad Fair And Daniel Johnston
18. All Hail The Queen. Queen Latifah
19. Tweez. Slint
20. Grrr. The Defoliants


... well, almost. what's song lists anyway?

You wouldn't mind reposting that in every future topic would you? Or just the one for that year.

Sure. I'm feeling.. tired... now.

crummy year for music, no?

1. Elvis Costello - Trust
2. X - Wild Gift
3. Rolling Stones - Tattoo You (2 great songs)
4. Elvis Costello - Almost Blue
5. Squeeze - Eastside Story

This is a pretty bad year indeed.. songs will take a little while longer but I got the album list pretty much down.

1) Kim Carnes - Mistaken Identity
2) The Human League - Dare!
3) Men At Work - Business As Usual
4) Phil Collins - Face Value
5) Rod Stewart - Tonight I'm Yours
6) Brian Eno - David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
7) Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Almost Blue
8) U2 - October
9) Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
10) The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You

Whoa.. just whoa.

The only one I've even heard that I would consider 'Best 100 of decade material' is Wild Gift. And even that I wouldn't put that close to the top.

I just bought Dare, and I'm probably going to get five or six from the AM top ten and maybe other random ones you guys mention. But still, yeah, especially compared to the next few years after it. Tom Waits, Prince, Springsteen, a certain popular band I dislike that is led by a self consciously philanthropist megalomaniac...

agreed, a bad year all around...the worst of the decade, i'd say...a few fantastic albums, though - the results for this year are gonna be weird

Albums

1. The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You
2. Rick James - Street Songs
3. Daryl Hall & John Oates - Private Eyes
4. Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk
5. The Human League - Dare!
6. X - Wild Gift
7. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Trust
8. Prince - Controversy
9. The Replacements - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
10. Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
11. Rickie Lee Jones - Pirates
12. Scientist - Rids the World of the Curse of the Evil Vampires
13. Ultravox - Rage in Eden
14. Todd Rundgren - Healing
15. Kraftwerk - Computer World
16. Black Flag - Damaged
17. Genesis - Abacab
18. Split Enz - Waiata
19. Rush - Moving Pictures
20. Tom Verlaine - Dreamtime

Songs

1. Todd Rundgren - Healing Part I
2. Scientist - The Mummy's Shroud
3. OMD - Souvenir
4. Rick James - Make Love to Me
5. Kraftwerk - Computer Love
6. Luther Vandross - You Stopped Loving Me
7. Psychedelic Furs - She is Mine
8. The Human League - Don't You Want Me
9. Mission of Burma - That's When I Reach for My Revolver
10. Ultravox - Stranger Within
11. The Rolling Stones - Waiting on a Friend
12. Rickie Lee Jones - Living It Up
13. Prince - Private Joy
14. Hall & Oates - Did It in a Minute
15. Genesis - Keep it Dark
16. Black Flag - Depression
17. The Replacements - I'm in Trouble
18. X - Universal Corner
19. The Blasters - No Other Girl
20. Tom Verlaine - Always

Flicks

1. Heaven's Gate (Cimino)
2. Escape from New York (Carpenter)
3. The Road Warrior (Miller)
4. Lola (Fassbinder)
5. The Decline of Western Civilization (Spheeris)
6. Diva (Beineix)
7. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Spielberg)
8. Body Heat (Kasdan)
9. Vernon, Florida (Morris)
10. Wolfen (Wadleigh)

shit...forgot to look at the AM lists to sync up albums/year...sorry, Stephan...this is my final list

Albums

1. The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You
2. Rick James - Street Songs
3. Daryl Hall & John Oates - Private Eyes
4. Flipper - Generic
5. Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
6. Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk
7. The Human League - Dare!
8. X - Wild Gift
9. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Trust
10. Prince - Controversy
11. The Replacements - Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
12. Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
13. Rickie Lee Jones - Pirates
14. Scientist - Rids the World of the Curse of the Evil Vampires
15. Ultravox - Rage in Eden
16. Todd Rundgren - Healing
17. Kraftwerk - Computer World
18. Black Flag - Damaged
19. Genesis - Abacab
20. Split Enz - Waiata

Songs

1. Todd Rundgren - Healing Part I
2. Scientist - The Mummy's Shroud
3. OMD - Souvenir
4. Rick James - Make Love to Me
5. Kraftwerk - Computer Love
6. Luther Vandross - You Stopped Loving Me
7. Psychedelic Furs - She is Mine
8. The Human League - Don't You Want Me
9. Flipper - The Way of the World
10. Mission of Burma - That's When I Reach for My Revolver
11. Ultravox - Stranger Within
12. The Rolling Stones - Waiting on a Friend
13. Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
14. Rickie Lee Jones - Living It Up
15. Prince - Private Joy
16. Hall & Oates - Did It in a Minute
17. Genesis - Keep it Dark
18. Black Flag - Depression
19. The Replacements - I'm in Trouble
20. X - Universal Corner

you guys must be kidding... 1981 was a hell of a ride of live and let die decisions.

If you need any more proof of how bad 1981 was, check out the album currently residing at No. 18 on the AM chart.

really? i'm generally not a big fan of post-punk/art/experimental/no wave, but i'd be interested to know what you think those decisions were

I don't spot no Black Flag, Agent Orange, Soft Cell, Heaven 17, dB's, DNA, Gun Club, Martha And The Muffins, Comsat Angels, Tom Verlaine, Squeeze, Gang Of Four, DAF, Flipper, Cramps, Sound, Teardrop Explodes or Costello albums in my top 20, do you? (and that's merely the cream part of the pie)

"I don't spot no" - nice.

i don't mean to generalize your taste, netjade, if that's what you're suggesting...i would consider most of the albums on your list to fall into those admittedly reductive categories...like i said, it's not really my area of interest, so you probably have better, more specific designations for them, and i'm happy to be corrected/informed...also, i'm not familiar w/ material, der plan, telex or dome...it was a genuine question though, what important stuff went down in '81 in your opinion?

If you compare the last 40 years on AM, 1981 has the lowest number of albums in the top 1000, 13 in total; and the highest ranked album for that year occupies the lowest position of any top ranked album.

basically the remnants AND the parting cast embodied by either the surviving state of the post-crumb art utopians AND the outright virtual pre-reagonoxical 1984 scholars (spiritually scripted...). if any year since 1965 may claim a genuine sound for itself, it's definitely 81. and no journey pun needed so far..

i think you've trumped lacan in obscurantism

some folks here might require a translation. i mean, i know exactly what you mean, but i'm afraid that won't be the case for everyone else here. i could be wrong...

1981 probably isn't a great year for music and I've only got 2 albums from that year (so I can't play the poll) but these 2 albums are awesome pop records from 1981 :
Electric Light Orchestra - "Time" (one of their best album)
Squeeze - "East side story" ('80s pop at his best)
If you still don't them, you should give them a listen.

1) Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
2) The Human League - Don't You Want Me
3) Rod Stewart - Young Turks
4) Men At Work - Down Under
5) Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
6) Kim Carnes - Miss You Tonight
7) R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe
8) Rick James - Super Freak
9) Men At Work - Touching The Untouchables
10) Elvis Costello & The Attractions - A Good Year For The Roses
11) The Specials - Ghost Town
12) Kim Wilde - Kids In America
13) Soft Cell - Tainted Love
14) Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now
15) Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough

Seems to be the year of guilty pleasures.

I only have 3 records from 1981 I guess
So as usual I'll post at the end of the month
maybe it's a good year to look outside of rock
A great Fela album for instance ...

I've said it before, but this is one lousy year, at least upon first inspection. Thank goodness for Mr. Zappa, because until at most a year ago he authored the sole representative album in my collection for a handful of years in this decade. Presently he represents 1981 alone for me, as far as albums go, but I did pick up Damaged at the library. Ever since I started reading Our Band Could Be Your Life, I've wanted to listen to more artists in those book's chapters, and once I do I think my eighties album collection will be top notch. Steve Albini and Big Black (who are also covered in the book) aren't going to help me out very much unless I get a vinyl player, I read up on him and he's very anti-CD. Can anyone vouch for the CD re-issues of Big Black albums?

Prince is giving me some help, too, of course.

But songs are ready to go.

1. Our Daughter's Wedding - Lawnchairs
2. The Human League - Don't You Want Me
3. R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe
4. Frank Zappa - Doreen
5. Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough
6. Frank Zappa - Teen-age Wind
7. Frank Zappa - You Are What You Is
8. Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight
9. Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
10. Soft Cell - Tainted Love
11. Squeeze - Tempted
12. Frank Zappa - The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
13. Frank Zappa - Harder Than Your Husband
14. Tom Petty - The Waiting
15. Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
16. Rick James - Superfreak
17. Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen
18. The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
19. Black Flag - TV Party
20. Rush - Tom Sawyer

You guys are nuts! 1981 was a great year for music, in my opinion! My lists will come soon...

1 The Human League Dare!
2 Soft Cell Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
3 Rickie Lee Jones Pirates
4 Elvis Costello and The Attractions Trust
5 Kraftwerk Computer Welt


1 The Human League Don't You Want Me
2 The Specials Ghost Town
3 Bob Dylan Every Grain of Sand
4 Scritti Politti The Sweetest Girl
5 Haircut 100 Favourite Shirts

I can't believe I forgot Every Grain Of Sand, it should be 8th.

For those who didn't post yet, a strong recommendation : Fela Kuti.
Fela's discography is very difficult to establish, because of the different releases
His works consist of long playing tracks that ran over a whole LP side, and compilations were made out of these.
For instance, "Black President", the one in the AM 3000, is a Uk release with tracks that were issued before on various albums in Nigeria.
ANd to complicate things even more, it is avalable on Cd under another name ("Original Sufferhead")
But there you'll find a well-documented discography. Not less than 3 Fela records were issued in 1981 !
Those 3 "real" albums are : Coffin for Head of State,Original Sufferhead and Black president.
I guess I'll grab a few Cd reissues and re-assemble the original albums.

1 C81 Rough Trade / NME
2 The Human League Dare!
3 Echo and the Bunnymen Heaven Up Here
4 Brian Eno - David Byrne My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
5 The Fall Slates
6 The Raincoats Odyshape
7 Prince Controversy
8 PIL Flowers of romance
9 Japan Tin Drum
10 New Order Movement
11 Grace Jones Nightclubbing
12 Kraftwerk Computer Welt
13 The Police Ghost in the Machine
14 Mission of Burma Signals, Calls and Marches
15 The Cure Faith

Those 3 "real" albums are : Coffin for Head of State,Original Sufferhead and Black president.

For whatever reason, I always thought "Coffin" was 1979. Guess my list has a new No. 2!

Albums

01 This Heat | Deceit
02 Fela Kuti | Coffin for Head of State
03 Glenn Branca | The Ascension
04 The Raincoats | Odyshape
05 Van Halen | Fair Warning
06 ABBA | The Visitors
07 Rip Rig + Panic | God
08 Flipper | Album - Generic Flipper
09 Rush | Moving Pictures
10 The Wipers | Youth of America
11 The Gun Club | Fire of Love
12 The Lounge Lizards | The Lounge Lizards
13 King Crimson | Discipline
14 Gal Costa | Fantasia
15 The Au Pairs | Playing With a Different Sex
16 Elvis Costello and The Attractions | Trust
17 Brian Eno & David Byrne | My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
18 Kraftwerk | Computer World
19 The Police | Ghost in the Machine
20 Gang of Four | Solid Gold
21 Penguin Café Orchestra | Penguin Café Orchestra
22 Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark | Architecture and Morality
23 The Human League | Dare!
24 The Birthday Party | Prayers On Fire
25 Genesis | Abacab

Songs to come...

Y'know, 1981 was a surprisingly good songs year. This is a wacky mix of old favorites, guilty pleasures, and new discoveries. It probably makes no sense in any kind of context, but my attention span appears to be getting worse with time rather than better...

01. This Heat - Paper Hats
02. Rip, Rig + Panic - Bob Hope Takes Risks
03. Glenn Branca - Light Field (In Consonance)
04. Laurie Anderson - O Superman
05. Fela Kuti - Coffin for Head of State
06. The Raincoats - Only Loved at Night
07. Flipper - Sex Bomb
08. The Wipers - Youth of America
09. ABBA - Like an Angel Passing Through My Room
10. Elvis Costello and The Attractions - Clubland
11. This Heat - S.P.Q.R.
12. R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe
13. The Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed
14. The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
15. Glenn Branca - The Ascension
16. Archie Shepp - Mama Rose
17. The Gun Club - Sex Beat
18. Gal Costa - Acai
19. The Human League - Don't You Want Me
20. Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five - The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on The Wheels of Steel
21. Van Halen - Mean Street
22. Mission of Burma - Academy Fight Song
23. Rip, Rig + Panic - Knee Deep in Shit
24. Squeeze - Is That Love?
25. Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure
26. The Au Pairs - It's Obvious
27. The Lounge Lizards - Incident on South Street
28. Rush - Tom Sawyer
29. Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
30. New Order – Ceremony
31. Orchestra Baobab - La Rebellion
32. Hall and Oates - I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)
33. Siouxsie and The Banshees - Fireworks
34. The Specials - Ghost Town
35. The Birthday Party - Release The Bats
36. Bob Dylan - Every Grain of Sand
37. Gang of Four - What We All Want
38. Yoko Ono - Walking on Thin Ice
39. The Who - You Better, You Bet
40. Brian Eno & David Byrne - The Jezebel Spirit
41. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Souvenir
42. LiLiPuT - Eisiger Wind
43. Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen
44. Funky Four Plus One - That's The Joint
45. King Crimson - Thela Hun Ginjeet
46. Black Flag - Rise Above
47. Scritti Politti - The Sweetest Girl
48. Rick James - Super Freak
49. The Teardrop Explodes - Reward
50. Christopher Cross - Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)
51. Kraftwerk - Pocket Calculator
52. Prince - Do Me, Baby
53. U2 - Gloria
54. Ozzy Osbourne - Flying High Again
55. Genesis - Abacab
56. Japan - Ghosts
57. Risk Springfield - Jessie's Girl
58. Tommy Tutone - Jenny (867-5309)
59. Rosanne Cash - Seven Year Ache
60. AC/DC - For Those About To Rock - We Salute You

Sonofsamian, your lists are always a pleasure
And a great deal of ideas too

Sonofsamian, your lists are always a pleasure

Thank you! And thanks for not ripping me for including both Christopher Cross and Ozzy Osbourne in the same list.

I notice a few people have listed 'Radio Free Europe' - is this really a 1981 song?

Radio Free Europe was released as a single in 1981. The better-known version on the Murmur LP from 1983 was re-recorded at a slower tempo.

I wonder what the ruling is on this because,similarly,The La's - There She Goes was released as a single in 1988 but was included in Henrik's best of the 90s poll as the LP came out in 1990.

Maybe you should be able to vote for Radio Free Europe in both 1981 and 1983, since the re-recorded version is different (although not a lot different).

It was the 1981 version that got REM into the Hall of Fame (eligibility wise).

There She Goes is an AM error. Should be 1988. Radio Free Europe is 1981.

Albums:

1. Signals, Calls and Marches- Misson of Burma
2. Dare!- Human League
3. Black Flag- Damaged
4. Computer World- Kraftwerk
5. Beauty and the Beat- Go-Gos
6. Tattoo You- Rolling Stones
7. Stands For Decibels- Db's
8. Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash- Replacements
9. Gang of Four- Solid Gold
10. X- Wild Gift

Songs-

1. Don't you Want Me- Human League
2. Our Lips Our Sealed- Go-Gos
3. That's When I Reach For My Revolver- Mission of Burma
4. Academy Fight Song- Mission of Burma
5. Waiting on a Friend- Rolling Stones
6. Rise Above- Black Flag
7. Kids in America- Kim Wilde
8. Pocket Calculator- Kraftwerk
9. Wordy Rappinghood- Tom Tom Club
10. Shiftless When Idle- Replacements

By the way, I have to disagree. This was not a down year, I had to leave off Eastside Story and my top 3 would probably be top 10 of the decade.

Thank you! And thanks for not ripping me for including both Christopher Cross and Ozzy Osbourne in the same list

I'm not the one who will do that. Born in 1970, I grew up in the eighties too, at an age where you make no distinctions between Cross and Osbourne.
Hungry as I was, I took it all.

Back from down under, with a slight jet lag, I bring you my votes for 1981, an interesting year indeed!

Albums:

1) The Sound - From The Lion's Mouth
2) Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
3) The Fixx - Shuttered Room
4) U2 - October
5) Japan - Tin Drum
6) The Police - Ghost In The Machine
7) The Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk
8) The Comsat Angels - Sleep No More
9) Kraftwerk - Computerwelt
10) Cabaret Voltaire - Red Mecca

Songs:

1) Men At Work - Down Under
2) The Sound - Winning
3) The Sound - Skeletons
4) The Fixx - Stand Or Fall
5) Soft Cell - Tainted Love
6) R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe
7) Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
8) The Specials - Ghost Town
9) Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
10) Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - Der Mussolini
11) Japan - Visions Of China
12) TC Matic - O La La La
13) The Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed
14) Human League - Don't You Want Me
16) The Psychedelic Furs - Pretty In Pink
17) Siouxsie & The Banshees - Arabian Knights
18) The Rolling Stones - Waiting On A Friend
19) Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
20) Haircut 100 - Favourite Shirts

Albums:

1) The Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk
2) The Stranglers - La Folie
3) Echo and the Bunnymen - Heaven up Here
4) Van Halen - Fair Warning
5) Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
6) Marquis de Sade - Rue de Siam
7) Fischer-Z - Red Skies Over Paradise
8) Urban Verbs - Early Damage
9) Tuxedomoon - Desire
10) The Durutti Column - LC
11) UFO - The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent
12) Charlélie Couture - Poèmes Rock
13) The Cure - Faith
14) Bauhaus - Mask
15) The Police - Ghost in the Machine
16) The Gun Club - Fire of Love
17) Hubert Félix Thiéfaine - Dernieres balises (avant mutation)
18) Taxi Girl - Seppuku
19) U2 - October
20) Penguin Café Orchestra - Penguin Café Orchestra

Hi Andre !

How was your trip ?

Stephan and Andre : i really think Men At Work album and single is from 1982 (according to AMG and Amazon)

It was released in Australia in 1981, in the rest of the world in 1982. I think it should count for 1981, but if others agree with you nicolas I can change my list.

Hi nicolas, the trip was unforgettable.

Although I have to admit that I only saw small parts of this big world (mainly in Europe and North America), New Zealand has instantaneously become my favourite country. Beautiful nature and wildlife, friendly and relaxed people. Learned quite a bit about New Zealand's history and (Maori) culture.

Regarding Men at Work, I just noticed that AM lists 'Down Under' under 1982 as well. Hmm, and I guess we follow AM, right? If necessary, I'm happy to update my 1981 list and repost it ... as long as the song gets to the top 100, I'm happy.

Ah, yes. I didn't think it was on AM at all. I'm gonna remake my list then.

Resubmitting my songs, because Donw Under moves to 1982, and because I only listed 19 (forgot #15).

Songs:

1) The Sound - Winning
2) The Sound - Skeletons
3) The Fixx - Stand Or Fall
4) Soft Cell - Tainted Love
5) R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe
6) Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
7) The Specials - Ghost Town
8) Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
9) Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - Der Mussolini
10) Japan - Visions Of China
11) TC Matic - O La La La
12) The Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed
13) Human League - Don't You Want Me
14) The Psychedelic Furs - Pretty In Pink
15) Siouxsie & The Banshees - Arabian Knights
16) The Rolling Stones - Waiting On A Friend
17) Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
18) Haircut 100 - Favourite Shirts
19) Heaven 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang
20) The Fixx - Red Skies

It's a shame, 1982 is a much better year than 1983.

Err... than 1981.

Do you miss me? There is a reason for that. 1981 suck SO BAD I have to discover some new music to make it an even 20 songs. I just wanted to tell you that. Over and out. I am not evil. I do feel guilt. But it sucks, 1981. At 13 songs or so, I got ape happy noticing "Dead Souls" by Joy Division didn't officially se the light of day until 1981. Do we have to go back to 1962 to witness something like that? What about 2004...I am even going to include Kim Wilde on my list...

What do you mean "Dead Souls" isn't officially a 1981 song?? :)

PS. Even my codeword below has BJ as the last two letters...you see...

My vote for DAF's 'Der Mussolini' is pure youth sentiment. The last years at high school, this song was played all the time and you can surely work your sweat out on this classic.

Another song from those days, that is absolutely gorgeous and that I hadn't heard for a long time, is this one, available via songza: 2 Belgen - Lena .

So, if you haven't got a clue what to vote for in July, when we're doing 1985, this is your #1 to vote!

It's hard for me to even make a solid list of albums to buy for 1981 because nobody is listing the same things!

I've decided to leave out albums by artists who released better albums around the same time to trim down the list, but that still leaves me with a list that costs more than I think I want to spend on the year. Here's the list of what I've heard and what I'm considering so far:

Have:
X - Wild Gift
The Human League - Dare
Rolling Stones - Tattoo You
Elvis Costello - Trust
Elvis Costello - Almost Blue

Probably will get:
Psychadelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk
Brian Eno, David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
Black Flag - Damaged

Considering:
Motorhead, Grace Jones, Soft Cell, Rick James, Squeeze, The Go-Gos, Japan, The Gun Club, Rush

Out of the ones I'm considering, which would you say are most *unique*? That is, albums that offer something you can't get from any other album.

Bill, I'd definitely recommend Nightclubbing. It sees Grace Jones at her peak, and her 80-82 material is all really solid. It fuses many genre boundaries (punk, R&B, soul, reggae) and is creepily nocturnal and instantly memorable.

Soft Cell is also worth investigating.

The Rush album is unique in being the only one where the singer sounds like he's just had his nuts squeezed by Hulk Hogan whilst wearing a hessian jockstrap.

That is true. If you're just looking for "unique" rather than "good," Geddy Lee's voice is unique in a freakishly Nightmarish way.

Street Songs is an absolute treasure

Just look at the bitch boots he's wearing on the cover

Sorry to come back with a subject that won't interest many people, but after another research I found out that the Fela album "Black President" as listed in AM is a compilation.
It is made of recordings that had been released in Nigeria in 1977 and 1979.
So that leaves two Fela albums for 1981 : "Coffin For Head Of State" and "Original Sufferhead"
here you'll find a definitive discography (in French)

Nicolas, that Black President album has confused me a long time, so I'm not surprised about this error.

BUT, aren't there two 'Black President' albums, one released in 1981 and one released in 1999? The page you link to only refers to the 1999 CD, but then there's also this 1981 LP with a different song listing.

The image at AM is wrong, but maybe the AM entry is correct? Or are both 'Black President' albums compilations?

Henrik, you are right.
I took another look at this and realized that the Japanese discography is more precise (ah these Japanese..)

here it is


There are indeed two Fela albums with the name "Black President".

- The first was released in 1981 in the UK by Arista records You can find the reference in the Japanese discography as follows :

1981
Black-President
(LP UK, Arista SPART 1167)
Sorrow Tears and Blood / Colonial Mentality
I.T.T. (International Thief Thief)

Side was released before in Nigeria in 1977 as one LP
(see japanese)
1977
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and The Africa 70
Sorrow, Tears and Blood (LP Nigeria, Kalakuta KK001-A)
Sorrow, Tears, and Blood
Colonial Mentality

Side was released before in Nigeria in 1979 as one LP

1979
Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and The Africa 70
I.T.T.-International Thief Thief (LP Nigeria, Kalakuta no suffix)
I.T.T. (Instrumental)
I.T.T. (Vocal)

So this "Black President" is not technically an "album" but the first European release of tracks that originally were on different Nigerian LPs.

2) There is a 1999 CD compilation called "Black President" with various songs from his entire career.

Fela's discography is indeed very confusing.
A lot of critics picked the "Black President" LP because that was genuinely new music for them as it was a first Western edition.
At the same moment (early 80's) Capitol did the same in the US, releasing LPs with the same names as African originals but with a different content.

So it is a border case...

oops
didn't disable smilies
Sorry for these awful A's and B's

The 1977 LP "Sorrow, Tears and Blood" includes "Sorrow, Tears and Blood" and "Colonial Mentality".

The 1981 LP "Black President" includes "Sorrow, Tears and Blood", "Colonial Mentality" and "I.T.T.".

Also in 1981, the single "Sorrow, Tears and Blood b/w Colonial Mentality" was released with edited versions of both songs.


My guess is that the "Black President" LP includes the 7'' versions of "Sorrow, Tears and Blood" and "Colonial Mentality".

I see three ways to treat the "Black President" LP.
1. Combine "Sorrow, Tears and Blood" and "Black President" in one AM entry.
2. Keep the 1981 AM entry for "Black President", as two out of three songs were new versions in 1981.
3. Treat the "Black President" LP as a compilation and remove it from AM.

Since there are two "Black President" albums, it's difficult to judge from some critics lists which one that has been included. Hence, alternative 3 is the easiest and perhaps also the most correct alternative. However, if possible I try not to make artists from non-US/UK suffer because they weren't discovered until a compilation came out.

nicolas, I didn't see your posts before I posted mine. But it's good to see we have found almost the same info. What's your suggestion on how to handle this?

I think you should make an exception for Fela and keep yhe "Black President" album in the list because
it was a first release in Europe and the US in 1981. I think a lot of critics picked this album because it was the only available album on the Western market back then.
that would be too bad to exclude Fela even if "Black President" is not technically a standard album.

a sort of "cultural" exception ...
African music is too rare on this list and Fela is one of its giants

I can't believe Zombie hasn't appeared on enough lists to make the 3000 yet.

Yeah, I can't believe that either...
The best of Fela is definitely in the 70's

Are you talking about the song? The album Zombie currently sits at place 1266.

aaaah (relief)

Being such a strong advocate for Fela, nicolas, I'm surprised you didn't put any of his songs on your all-time list. Especially because most of his albums consist of album-length songs. One more vote for Zombie would have brough it up to the top 200 for sure and got everybody's attention.

He is still an artist who I want to hear a lot more of, but for now Zombie (the song) offers a nearly complete musical experience. I was completely surprised that this artist I never heard off had two albums on Pitchfork's top albums of the 70s list (Zombine and Expensive Shit). When I finally heard Zombie it was totally unique. His albums are hard to find and collect at a cheap price, though. All I have is Zombie, what's the next purchase I should make?

Are you talking about the song? The album Zombie currently sits at place 1266.

That'll teach me for next checking first!

It's gotta get in the Top 1000 one of these days, though.

As far as next places to go, there are so many with Fela. I personally recommend the reissues from about 8 years back, especially these 2-fers:

- Coffin for Head of State/Unknown Soldier (the logical next step from Zombie, as these tracks explain the military raid on Fela's compound and the murder of his mother at the hands of Nigerian police, all resulting from the furor of "Zombie")
- Expensive Shit/He Miss Road

you're right Jonah, i should have included him on my lists.
Truth is that I don't know him that well. he's among these artists that I know I love but whose work I haven't explored yet (great to know you still have many wonders to discover).
I have Original Sufferhead/ITT (that I listened to for the 1981 poll), and Confusion/Gentleman (they go by pairs on CD reissues).
i have to get hold of Zombie and Coffin
every musician or music lover I know loves Fela.

Well, I assume most of them are good. But if it just sounds like some other album I already have, then I'm it's not as essential to me. Of course 'good' is a necessary condition.

Wow! I was very surprised to learn that I've only heard U2's October from 1981. I've got some catching up to do on the music that came out the year I turned 4. Or, judging by the comments and the AM rankings, maybe I don't!

I'm a bit surprised nobody listed the Stranglers' "Golden Brown"
The album La Folie was released in november 81 and the single in late 81.
It charted in 1982 so I hope nobody kept that excellent song for 1982.

I did think it was 1982 in fact.. it says 1982 on wikipedia.

I musta been asleep in 81 ... I can't believe it's really as bad a year as my list makes it look. The best I have time for right now is a list of the eight 1981 albums I own and like, and then I hope to learn from the lists you guys produce

1) Gun Club, Fire of Love
2) John Cale, Honi Soit
3) Marianne Faithfull, Dangerous Acquaintances
4) Lee Clayton, The Dream Goes On
5) Bob dylan, Shot of Love
6) Motorhead, No Sleep till Hammersmith
7) Bruce Cockburn, Inner City Front
8) Rolling stones, Tattoo You

It’s funny that so many of you see 1981 as a weak year for music while at the time it was perceived as an exciting time, with a brand new trend emerging every 3 or 4 months. Styles like synth-pop or goth-rock achieved its zenith then, and the sophisti-pop (soul revival) was beginning then. But, of course, all of them were British styles. Maybe it was a weak year, yes, but for US music.

ALBUMS:

1. JAPAN “Tin Drum” (#36 in my all-time list)
2. THE CURE “Faith”
3. BRIAN ENO - DAVID BYRNE “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts”
4. KING CRIMSON “Discipline”
5. KRAFTWERK “Computerwelt”
6. THE HUMAN LEAGUE “Dare!”
7. JOE JACKSON “Jumpin’ Jive”
8. ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS “Almost Blue”
9. ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN “Heaven Up Here”
10. SIOUXIE AND THE BANSHEES “Juju”
11. RAMONES “Pleasant Dreams”
12. SOFT CELL “Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret”
13. DEPECHE MODE “Speak & Spell”
14. HEAVEN 17 “Penthouse and Pavement”
15. JAVIER KRAHE/JOAQUÍN SABINA/ALBERTO PÉREZ “La Mandrágora”
16. SQUEEZE “East Side Story”
17. RICKIE LEE JONES “Pirates”
18. PENGUIN CAFE ORCHESTRA “Penguin Cafe Orchestra”
19. THE CRAMPS “Psychedelic Jungle”
20. THE ROLLING STONES “Tattoo You”
21. BLACK FLAG “Damaged”
22. CAMARÓN con PACO DE LUCÍA y TOMATITO “Como el agua”
23. THE NEVILLE BROTHERS “Fiyo on the Bayou”
24. GRUPPO SPORTIVO “Pop! Goes the Brain”
25. YMO “Technodelic”


SONGS:

1. RAMONES “The KKK Took My Baby Away” (#127 in my all-time list)
2. SOFT CELL “Tainted Love” (#181)
3. JAPAN “Visions of China” (#187)
4. BRIAN ENO - DAVID BYRNE “Regiment” (#237)
5. THE SPECIALS “Ghost Town”
6. PARÁLISIS PERMANENTE “Autosuficiencia”
7. NEW ORDER “Ceremony”
8. THE CURE “All Cats Are Grey”
9. JAPAN “Ghosts”
10. JOHN FOXX “Europe After the Rain”
11. MADNESS “Shut Up”
12. THE HUMAN LEAGUE “Don’t You Want Me”
13. BOW WOW WOW “Chihuahua”
14. SPANDAU BALLET “Chant No.1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On)”
15. HAIRCUT 100 “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)”
16. JOE JACKSON “Jumpin’ Jive”
17. THE STRAY CATS “Rock This Town”
18. THE ROLLING STONES “Waiting on a Friend”
19. CAMARÓN “Como el agua”
20. ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS “Good Year for the Roses”
21. BOB DYLAN “Every Grain of Sand”
22. PENGUIN CAFE ORCHESTRA “The Ecstasy of Dancing Fleas”
23. IAN DURY “Spasticus (Autisticus)”
24. KING CRIMSON “Elephant Talk”
25. LAURIE ANDERSON “O Superman”
26. KRAFTWERK “Computerliebe”
27. THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS “Pretty in Pink”
28. THE POLICE “Invisible Sun”
29. ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN “All My Colours”
30. SIOUXIE AND THE BANSHEES “Spellbound”
31. THE CURE “The Drowning Man”
32. SQUEEZE “Vanity Fair”
33. THE STRANGLERS “Golden Brown”
34. MADNESS “It Must be Love”
35. PATA NEGRA “Los managers”
36. THE BIRTHDAY PARTY “Release the Bats”
37. THE CRAMPS “Goo Goo Muck”
38. DEAD KENNEDYS “Too Drunk to Fuck”
39. RAMONES “We Want the Airwaves”
40. R.E.M. “Radio Free Europe”
41. SCRITTI POLITTI “The Sweetest Girl”
42. DEPECHE MODE “Just Can’t Get Enough”
43. HEAVEN 17 “Play to Win”
44. DURAN DURAN “Girls on a Film”
45. ADAM & THE ANTS “Picasso Visita el Planeta de los Simios”
46. ALASKA Y LOS PEGAMOIDES “Otra dimensión”
47. SIMPLE MINDS “The American”
48. JAPAN “The Art of Parties”
49. KING CRIMSON “Frame by Frame”
50. VAINICA DOBLE “El tigre del Guadarrama”

FAVOURITE COMPILATION: SIOUXIE & THE BANSHEES “Once Upon a Time: The Singles”


Some comments about my #1 one song that reveals some advantages of music nerdery (a theme that showed up in a previous post). “The KKK Took My Baby Away” has always been my favourite Ramones tune (believe me, just see the 2005 poll), with the typical “stupid” but charming typical lyrics from Joey Ramone. But when last year I saw the excellent documentary about Ramones “End of the Century: The Story of The Ramones” I could see the story behind. Let’s see. Joey was a weird kid with an obsessive-compulsive disorder and, despite being a rock ‘n’ roll star, he got many problems to find a girlfriend. When at last he found Linda he transformed himself in a happy and gentle man. But after a time together Linda cheated Joey and began a relationship with Johnny Ramone (that ended in marriage). The first verse of the song alludes directly to this cheat:
“She went away for the holidays
Said she’s going to L.A.
But she never got there”
This fact created a confrontation between Joey and Johnny that lasted till the singer’s death. Despite they continued playing in the band, they stopped talking each other. And, due to the well-known political differences (Joey showed sympathy for the left while Johnny was overtly conservative), Joey referred to him is his song as “The KKK”.
“The KKK took my baby away
They took her away, away from me”
So you all know, the KKK was no other than Johnny Ramone. And that’s the advantage of music nerdery: I already liked the song before, but now I like it even more.

Gothic rock was a capital part of the early 80s sound. Or, as we called in Spain at the time, “rock siniestro” or sinister rock (never understood why is called gothic, the only connection with gothic art I can find is maybe the typography). Parálisis Permanente (“Permanent Paralysis”), the main band from this style in Spain along with the early Gabinete Caligari and Décima Víctima, was a side project of two members of the most important Spanish band of the early 80s, Alaska y Los Pegamoides. While the latter was the pop vehicle of a sophisticated Carlos Berlanga (son of a famous Spanish film-maker), the drummer Eduardo Benavente and bass player Nacho Canut formed Parálisis Permanente to give free rein to harder sounds and a twisted imagery of death and lust. After two groundbreaking singles (in Spanish terms), “Autosuficiencia” (“Self-Sufficiency”) and “Quiero ser santa” (“I Wanna Be Saint”), the main band dissolved and Nacho Canut went with Carlos Berlanga and Alaska in a new project, Dinarama. So Parálisis became the main vehicle for Eduardo Benavente, that along with Ana Curra, girlfriend and ex-member of the Pegamoides too, recorded the only album from the band, “El acto” (“The Act”) in 1982. Eduardo’s death in 1983 in a car crash when he was 20-years old ended abruptly the project, entering him directly into the legend.
My favourite song was “Autosuficiencia”, from his very first EP, a disturbing song about isolation. Jam Albarracín for Vermouthsport: “A song that simply gives you goose bumps. Because of its perturbing atmosphere, because of its squizoid subject matter –self-injuries, misanthropy, sick narcissism, injectable self-destruction-, because of its forcefulness and disdain in its narrative attitude, because of the fact that we have never listened to something like this in Spanish music before”. Marta Hurtado de Mendoza for Rolling Stone: “If you add the mortuary recreational activities of the verses to the divine vital apathy of the chorus you obtain the leitmotiv that many teenagers were looking during the eighties”. I would only add that, although maybe Eduardo Benavente could take this attitude seriously, knowing the posterior trajectory of Nacho Canut (the writer of the lyrics) at the head of Dinarama and later Fangoria, probably the best way of seeing the lyrics is as a parody.


AUTOSUFICIENCIA
Composers: Eduardo Benavente / Nacho Canut
Performer: PARÁLISIS PERMANENTE
First release: 1981 (“Autosuficiencia” split EP with Gabinete Caligari)
Length: 2’08”


Me miro en el espejo y soy feliz,
y no pienso nunca en nadie más que en mí,
y no pienso nunca en nadie más que en mí.
Leo libros que no entiendo más que yo,
oigo cintas que he grabado con mi voz,
oigo cintas que he grabado con mi voz.

Encerrado en mi casa
todo me da igual.
Ya no necesito a nadie,
no saldré jamás.

Y me baño en agua fría sin parar,
y me corto con cuchillas de afeitar,
y me corto con cuchillas de afeitar.
Me tumbo en el suelo de mi habitación
y veo mi cuerpo en descomposición,
y veo mi cuerpo en descomposición.

Encerrado en mi casa
todo me da igual.
Ya no necesito a nadie,
no saldré jamás.

Ahora soy independiente,
ya no necesito gente,
ya soy autosuficiente
al fin.

Me miro en el espejo y soy feliz,
y no pienso nunca en nadie más que en mí,
y no pienso nunca en nadie más que en mí.
Leo libros que no entiendo más que yo,
oigo cintas que he grabado con mi voz,
oigo cintas que he grabado con mi voz.

Encerrado en mi casa
todo me da igual.
Ya no necesito a nadie,
no saldré jamás.

Ahora soy independiente,
ya no necesito verte,
ya soy autosuficiente
al fin.

Me miro en el espejo y soy feliz.


SELF-SUFFICIENCY

I look at myself in the mirror and I’m happy,
and I never think of no one but me,
and I never think of no one but me.
I read books that no one understands but me,
I hear tapes that I recorded with my voice,
I hear tapes that I recorded with my voice.

Locked in my house
it’s all the same to me.
I don’t need nobody,
I won’t go out anymore.

And I’m bathing non-stop in cold water,
and cut myself with razor blades,
and cut myself with razor blades,
I lay down myself in my bedroom floor
and I see my body in decomposition,
and I see my body in decomposition.

Locked in my house
it’s all the same to me.
I don’t need nobody,
I won’t go out anymore.

Now I’m independent,
I don’t need people,
I’m self-sufficient
at last.

I look at myself in the mirror and I’m happy,
and I never think of no one but me,
and I never think of no one but me.
I read books that no one understands but me,
I hear tapes that I recorded with my voice,
I hear tapes that I recorded with my voice.

Locked in my house
it’s all the same to me.
I don’t need nobody,
I won’t go out anymore.

Now I’m independent,
I don’t need to see you,
I’m self-sufficient
at last.

I look at myself in the mirror and I’m happy.

01 - Motörhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith
02 - Venom - Welcome to Hell
03 - Iron Maiden - Killers
04 - Samson - Shock Tactics
05 - Accept - Breaker
06 - Saxon - Denim and Leather
07 - Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
08 - Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
09 - Judas Priest - Point of Entry
10 - Riot - Fire Down Under

Albums:

1. Elvis Costello – Trust
2. Gun Club – Fire Of Love
3. dB’s – Stands For Decibels
4. Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Mambo Nassau
5. Kim Wilde – Kids In America


Songs:

1. Joy Division – Dead Souls
2. Stranglers - Waltzinblack
3. Dexys Midnight Runners – Show Me
4. The Fall – Slates, Slags, etc.
5. Gang Of Four – To Hell With Poverty
6. Soft Cell – Tainted Love
7. Bob Dylan – Every Grain Of Sand
8. Elvis Costello – Different Finger
9. Psychedelic Furs – Dumb Waiters
10. Au Pairs – It’s Obvious
11. Frank Zappa – Heavenly Bank Account
12. Gun Club – For The Love Of Ivy
13. Frank Zappa – Doreen
14. Ebba Grön – Mamma Pappa Barn
15. Frank Zappa – The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing
16. Kim Wilde – Tuning In Tuning Out
17. Elvis Costello – Fish’n Chip Paper
18. Kim Wilde – Water On Glass
19. Elvis Costello – New Lace Sleeves
20. Specials – Ghost Town

So, just to clarify, is 'Black President' eligible for this month's poll? And if so, is that the best place for me to start my discovery (considering ideally I'd like to hear a 1981 album first so I have the option of including it)?

ALBUMS
01 GLENN BRANCA The Ascension
02 KRAFTWERK Computer World
03 THIS HEAT Deceit
04 THE FALL Slates
05 DEREK BAILEY Aida
06 THE DURUTTI COLUMN LC
07 RICKIE LEE JONES Pirates
08 THE dBs Stands for Decibels
09 PUBLIC IMAGE LTD Flowers of Romance
10 FELA KUTI Black President
11 DANIEL JOHNSTON Songs of Pain
12 EINTURZENDE NEUBATEN Kollaps
13 THE HUMAN LEAGUE Dare!
14 THE GUN CLUB Fire of Love
15 JAPAN Tin Drum
16 LOS JAIVAS Alturas de Machu Pichu
17 TELEVISION PERSONALITIES ...And Don't the Kids Just Love It
18 BRIAN ENO & DAVID BYRNE My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
19 ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN Heaven Up Here
20 TOM TOM CLUB Tom Tom Club


SONGS
01 LAURIE ANDERSON O Superman
02 THIS HEAT Paper Hats
03 JAPAN The Art of Parties
04 NEW ORDER Ceremony
05 KRAFTWERK Pocket Calculator
06 THE CLASH This Is Radio Clash
07 GLENN BRANCA Structure
08 THE FALL Slates, Slags, Etc.
09 THE HUMAN LEAGUE Don't You Want Me
10 MISSION OF BURMA That's When I Reach for My Revolver
11 TELEVISION PERSONALITIES This Angry Silence
12 THE SPECIALS Ghost Town
13 DEAD KENNEDYS Too Drunk to Fuck
14 THE DURUTTI COLUMN The Missing Boy
15 LOS JAIVAS Sube a Nacer Conmigo Hermano
16 TOM TOM CLUB Genius of Love
17 R.E.M. Radio Free Europe
18 ESG You're No Good
19 YOKO ONO Walking on Thin Ice
20 THE POLICE Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

When going through my record collection today I realized I forgot that Squeeze put out an album in 81 and it just happens to be pretty good with one song #19 in my 200. So can I change my ballot please? Here is the update. Sorry.

Albums:

1. Signals, Calls and Marches- Misson of Burma
2. Dare!- Human League
3. Black Flag- Damaged
4. Computer World- Kraftwerk
5. Beauty and the Beat- Go-Gos
6. Squeeze- Eastside Story
7. Tattoo You- Rolling Stones
8. Stands For Decibels- Db's
9. Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash- Replacements
10. Gang of Four- Solid Gold
11. X- Wild Gift

Songs-

1. Tempted- Squeeze
2. Don't you Want Me- Human League
3. Our Lips Our Sealed- Go-Gos
4. That's When I Reach For My Revolver- Mission of Burma
5. Academy Fight Song- Mission of Burma
6. Waiting on a Friend- Rolling Stones
7. Rise Above- Black Flag
8. Kids in America- Kim Wilde
9. Pocket Calculator- Kraftwerk
10. Wordy Rappinghood- Tom Tom Club
11. Shiftless When Idle- Replacements

5 Albums
1. Soft Cell - Non Stop Erotic Cabaret
2. Motorhead - No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith
3. Kraftwerk - Computer World
4. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Juju
5. The Human League - Dare!

5 songs
1. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
2. Laurie Anderson - O Superman
3. The Specials - Ghost Town
4. Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - Der Mussolini
5. Japan - Ghosts

Looking at these lists, I think in 1981 I was on the verge of discovering the experimental music I love to this day.

Max: Yes.

Max,

Yes, "Black President" is eligible, but not the CD version from 1999 which is a compilation.

"Coffin For Head Of State" and "original Sufferhead" are good too, and I would recommend them to you, because if you chose "Black President" the Fela votes will be spread and that would be too bad. It would be great if Fela could make it.
So the best would be for you to get hold of "Coffin.." because Sonofsamian picked it and I'll try to get it too.
If you have difficulties to find it (I may have too) tell us and maybe we can share the files through sendspace (only 2 files per album)
we should arrange that with Sonofsamian if he's ok

Nicolas, yes, in that case I will search out 'Coffin...' and get back to you. Thanks for the recommendation!

Re: Black President

All you need to do is to listen to "Sorrow, Tears and Blood", "Colonial Mentality" and "I.T.T.", which are the album's only songs.

Does anybody wants to list The Stranglers' "Golden Brown" ?

It is not ranked in the AM list, but it was released on the album in 1981 but as a single in january 1982.
So technically it is from 1981, and I hope nobody saved it for 1982.

I won't make any list for the '80s poll but "golden brown" is an amazing song. I don't remember if I've ranked in my top 100 singles of all-time but whatever it's near from that.

ALBUMS
1. X, Wild Gift
2. Black Flag, Damaged
3. The Judy’s, Washarama
4. The dB’s, Stands for Decibels
5. Squeeze, East Side Story

SONGS
1. R.E.M., “Radio Free Europe”
2. Laurie Anderson, “O Superman”
3. The Judy’s, “Guyana Punch”
4. X, “We’re Desperate”
5. The Go-Go’s, “Our Lips Are Sealed”
6. The Dead Kennedys, “Too Drunk to Fuck”
7. Black Flag, “TV Party”
8. The Human League, “Don’t You Want Me”
9. R.E.M., “Sitting Still”
10. Men at Work, “Down Under”
11. Rick James, “Super Freak”
12. Adam and the Ants, “Stand and Deliver”
13. Tom Tom Club, “Genius of Love”
14. The Cramps, “Goo Goo Muck”
15. The Pointer Sisters, “Slow Hand”

In the tradition of the recent reunions of the Pixies, the Police, and Led Zeppelin, I’m pleased to note that the Judy’s are apparently reuniting at SXSW this year.

Don't have any songs or album from that year in my tops...
So I can't even make a top 10 songs (guess I should dig a little further in the AM list but I ain't got much town this month)!

1) Queen & David Bowie - Under Pressure
2) The Stranglers - Golden Brown
3) The Human League - The Things That Dreams are Made Of
4) Depeche Mode - Just Can't get Enough
5) The Specials - Ghost Town
6) The Human League - Don't You Want Me ?
7) Phil Collins - In the air tonight (trully more than a guilty pleasure I think)

Dare ! has almost everything I usually hate in the 80's, but I like it anyway, don't really know why

Anyway I only have a 2 albums list :
1) The Human League - Dare !
2) Gun Club - Fire of Love

"Golden Brown" : a song that only the French love (because the singer's name is Jean-Jacques Burnel ?)

Have the results for 1980 been posted yet? Because I can't find them. I imagine the reason for that is my cluelessness about how this works.

The results are at the bottom of the thread somewhere. It probably would be a good idea to start a page like the 90's thread with all the results.

Nicolas, along with "Golden Brown" I was wondering about the lack of support for one of the great power pop songs of the '80s, "A Million Miles Away". It could be having the same problem "Radio Free Europe" had at the top of the thread as it was released as a single in 1981 but not on an album until 1983. But seeing as neither it nor "Golden Brown" is on the acclaimed list maybe nobody here likes them that much.

In retrospect '81 was probably the weakest year for albums of the '80s, but at the time it seemed like a really excitng time in music as I saw many of these bands live at the time. It just seemed to be a transitional period between punk and the college/alternative explosion in 83/84. For me though it was a pretty strong song year.

Albums
1. And Don't the Kids Just Love It - Television Personalities
2. A Minute to Pray, A Second To Die - Flesh Eaters, The
3. Fire Of Love - Gun Club, The
4. Mission Of Burma - Signals, Calls and Marches
5. Generic Flipper - Flipper
6. Roman Gods - Fleshtones, The
7. Deceit - This Heat
8. Sleep No More - Comsat Angels, The
9. Solid Gold - Gang Of Four
10. From The Lions Mouth - Sound, The
11. Youth Of America - Wipers
12. Dance - Gary Numan
13. Computer World -Kraftwerk
14. Blasters, The - Blasters, The
15. Stands For Decibels - db's, The
16. Plimsouls - Plimsouls
17. Playing With a Different Sex - Au Pairs
18. Prayers on Fire - Birthday Party, The
19. Wild Gift - X
20. Livng Eyes - Radio Birdman
21. Odyshape - Raincoats, The
22. Pirates - Rickie Lee Jones
23. Black President - Fela Kuti
24. Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash - Replacements, The
25. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts - Brian Eno and David Byrne
26. Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires - Scientist
27. Slates - Fall, The
28. East Side Story - Squeeze
29. Black Snake Diamond Role - Robyn Hitchcock
30. Blood On The Bricks - Iron City Houserockers

Songs
1. Radio Free Europe - REM
2. That's When I Reach For My Revolver - Mission Of Burma
3. A Million Miles Away - Plimsouls, The
4. Academy Fight Song - Mission Of Burma
5. Sex Bomb - Flipper
6. New Kind Of Kick - Cramps, The
7. Marie Marie - Blasters
8. Elizabeth Montgomery's Eyes - Embarrassment, The
9. I Know Where Syd Barret Lives - Television Personalities
10. Papa's Got A Brand New Pigbag - Pigbag
11. Europa And The Pirate Twins - Thomas Dolby
12. Golden Brown - Stranglers
13. Sex Beat - Gun Club, The
14. Tainted Love - Soft Cell
15. Pictures of Dorian Gray - Television Personalities
16. Pretty In Pink - Psychedelic Furs
17. Brenda's Iron Sledge - Robyn Hitchcock
18. Tempted - Squeeze
19. Big Brown Eyes - db's
20. See You In The Boneyard - Flesh Eaters
21. White Girl - X
22. Eye Of The Lens - Comsat Angels
23. Ghost Town - Specials
24. Goo Goo Muck - Cramps
25. Winning - Sound, The
26. S.P.Q.R. - This Heat
27. Dear John - Au Pairs
28. Nick The Stripper - Birthday Party, The
29. To Hell With Poverty! - Gang Of Four
30. Too Drunk To Fuck - Dead Kennedys
31. It's Obvious - Au Pairs
32. Don't You Want Me - Human League
33. Never Say Never - Romeo Void
34. Digging My Grave - Flesh Eaters
35. She Said - Cramps
36. Pocket Calculator - Kraftwerk
37. Bedsitter - Soft Cell
38. Look Back In Anger - Television Personalities
39. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - Police
40. Say Hello, Wave Goodbye - Soft Cell
41. Johnny's Gonna Die - Replacements, The
42. TV Party - Black Flag
43. Tally Ho - Clean, The
44. Beautiful World - Devo
45. Shiftless When Idle - Replacements, The
46. You Better You Bet - Who, The
47. Cyrano De Berger's Back - Flesh Eaters
48. We're Cool - Au Pairs
49. This Is Not A Photograph - Mission Of Burma
50. The Jezebel Spirit - Brian Eno and David Byrne
51. Passion of Lovers - Bauhaus
52. Release The Bats - Birthday Party, The
53. This Is A Radio Clash - Clash, The
54. She's Got Claws - Gar Numan

Keith, go to the bottom of the 1980 page then click "Next"
This thread has more than 100 posts, so it is a 2-page thread that's why

Albums list (songs to come later)
Although I could have come up with a few more albums to round out the list, I just didn't think the other 1981 albums I'm familiar with deserved mention. So my lists stands a lucky number 13. Nothing from 1981 made my top 100 list, and only the top two would likely make my top 200 list. And many thanks to Stammer for providing the Flipper album, which obviously did deserve to make the list.

1. Black Uhuru - Red
2. X - Wild Gift
3. Black Flag - Damaged
4. Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk
5. The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You
6. Squeeze - East Side Story
7. Go-Go's - Beauty and the Beat
8. Flipper - Album (Generic Flipper)
9. Prince - Controversy
10. Elvis Costello - Trust
11. The Neville Brothers - Fiyo on the Bayo
12. The Police - Ghost in the Machine
13. Mission of Burma - Signals, Calls and Marches