Hey Hey,
I’ve known for many years that the period 1978-1990 is and probably will always be my all time favourite musical era. I love the synthesisers, the electric drums, the passing notes, the suspension chords and the obscure lyrics that made New Wave what it was. But recently I believe I’ve decided that I can place an apex on what has until now been more of a musical preference plateau.
1983. If this is it? Please let me know. Well Huey, it is. In my opinion 1983 is ’80s New Wave at its peak. Sure, there were great ’80s songs before and after, but I think 1983 had something special about it. Here are my favourite albums from 1983 (and remember, some of these were recorded in 1982, and released in ’83, and others recorded in ’83, released in ’84. As long as one of those dates (ie. recording date, release date) has a ‘3’ in it, for the purposes of this blog entry, it’s from 1983:
1. Huey Lewis & The News – Sports
2. Tears for Fears – The Hurting
3. Depeche Mode – Construction Time Again
4. Alphaville – Forever Young
5. Howard Jones – Human’s Lib
6. New Order – Power, Corruption and Lies
7. Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues
8. Eurthymics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
9. Styx – Kilroy Was Here
10. The B-52’s – Whammy
All fantastic albums. I whole-heartedly recommend them. Unless you don’t like ’80s music, in which case I don’t even know why you’re on this website. An interesting note: 1983 occurred 4 years before I was born and I’ve only listened to these albums in their entirety within the last 5 years (actually, half of them within the last 1 year). So it’s not like they were passively the soundtrack to my life. I’ve gone quite out of my way to obtain and listen to these albums. Hypothetical question: Had I been born 10 or 15 years earlier, would I still claim that 1983 is my favourite year for music? Or would it be 1968 (which is also a good year, now that you mention it, well… now that I mention it, as I’m the one writing this)? I’m afraid the only way to find out involves a time machine and a lot of DNA, and I neither have the time nor the blood for such a crusade. I’d much rather sit at home and listen to a record, preferably something from the ’80s.
By the way, this week I’ve learnt that Tears for Fears, Spandau Ballet and Huey Lewis & The News are all coming to Australia! I’m very quickly getting through my list of ’80s bands to see live, having seen The B-52’s just last month and Howard Jones about a year ago. I’ll probably see them in Melbourne, as my mid-February moving date is rapidly approaching. I’m actually going to Melbourne tomorrow to check out some potential places to live. Very exciting!
Kind regards,
David M. Green
We all miss The News Meg, but Huey Lewis needs time to create and we all have to learn to be patient.
