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Best Rock/Pop Song of 1981...

petes'picks said:
I remember hearing Billy Thorpes- Children of Sun and being really impressed, but that was 1979.

Looked at the credits and was surprised to see Leland Sklar played bass on it, The number of hit songs he made better is astounding.
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I bought it as soon as it came out just to show off my system. It was impressive and is still is a cool piece for sound effects.
 
Lux Man said:
I bought it as soon as it came out just to show off my system. It was impressive and is still is a cool piece for sound effects.
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i did not hear that song until the first time in lived in florida , which was 1987. i was blown away.

that song never got airplay where i was from(central il.) it still doesn't. i own the vinyl so to hell with em anyway. ;)
 
We were too poor to have cable.

I only got MTV a few hours a month, if that.

It was definitely a different kind of music (for the most part) from mainstream "rock" radio.

The song above must have been an early crossover, despite being released in 1980.
 
I don't remember exactly where I first heard "Turning Japanese" but I rushed right out and bought the album when I did. Still have it.

Doug
 
With a formal apology to Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train"...

If I had to pick one song, actually released in 1981-


I remember cranking up the volume every time it came on, although it was extremely infrequent.

The guitar is all over the place, all the time. Every part is different, but upbeat.
...and it even has a "Scooby Doo" keyboard break.
I bet it's a workout to play. It was decades before I learned Steve Lukather from Toto did that as session work.

At that time I was unaware of "White Punks On Dope" or "What Do You Want From Life", although I heard the latter on "Dr. Demento" a while later but didn't realize it was the same band.
 
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YY1 said:
With a formal apology to Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train"...

If I had to pick one song, actually released in 1981-


I remember cranking up the volume every time it came on, although it was extremely infrequent.

The guitar is all over the place, all the time. Every part is different, but upbeat.
...and it even has a "Scooby Doo" keyboard break.
I bet it's a workout to play. It was decades before I learned Steve Lukather from Toto did that as session work.

At that time I was unaware of "White Punks On Dope" or "What Do You Want From Life", although I heard the latter on "Dr. Demento" a while later but didn't realize it was the same band.
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i love the line, "it's been 6 months, she hasn't shut up once."

:rflmao:
 
Best is pretty hard, but here’s a couple from that in-between era from Canada.


Another with Art Bergman and his band

 
krautmaster said:
While "Turning Japanese" has been a common meaning for "holding the sausage hostage", the band and /songwriter says the song actually has nothing to do with that at all...

Turning Japanese (Vapors) | Jon Kutner

www.jonkutner.com www.jonkutner.com
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I wasn't commenting on the song, just the master of battery theme the thread took.

It is something that should be done 3 times a day whether you need to or not :thumbsup:
 
YY1 said:
With a formal apology to Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train"...

If I had to pick one song, actually released in 1981-


I remember cranking up the volume every time it came on, although it was extremely infrequent.

The guitar is all over the place, all the time. Every part is different, but upbeat.
...and it even has a "Scooby Doo" keyboard break.
I bet it's a workout to play. It was decades before I learned Steve Lukather from Toto did that as session work.

At that time I was unaware of "White Punks On Dope" or "What Do You Want From Life", although I heard the latter on "Dr. Demento" a while later but didn't realize it was the same band.
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I head those big Tubes hits in the 80s, like just about everyone else did, b ut I was kind of unimpressed. Later when I heard "White Punks on Dope" though, I thought that it was one of the greatest songs ever! There are a few other of their older songs that I've heard that I like to, but not like WPOD!
titanstats said:
Best is pretty hard, but here’s a couple from that in-between era from Canada.

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I have to wonder if this band got their name from the Flamin' Groovies song? Great song BTW...

So much of my favorite music to come out in that year (as any other one) was kind of under the radar/left of the dial type stuff. Two albums that came out that year that I really dig and still listen to are X - Wild Gift and Robyn Hitchcock - Black Snake Diamond Role...
 
RunOutGroove said:
I head those big Tubes hits in the 80s, like just about everyone else did, b ut I was kind of unimpressed. Later when I heard "White Punks on Dope" though, I thought that it was one of the greatest songs ever! There are a few other of their older songs that I've heard that I like to, but not like WPOD!

I have to wonder if this band got their name from the Flamin' Groovies song? Great song BTW...

So much of my favorite music to come out in that year (as any other one) was kind of under the radar/left of the dial type stuff. Two albums that came out that year that I really dig and still listen to are X - Wild Gift and Robyn Hitchcock - Black Snake Diamond Role...
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That in-between punk & new wave sound always hooked me, and these guys did it well. Trivia, they had to change their name to Teenage Heads on their releases in the USA.. :biggrin:

Here’s one more.

 
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