#14 - One More Night

Artist: Phil Collins

Album: No Jacket Required
Video: From YouTube.

It is appropriate that "One More Night" follows "Sussudio" immediately on this countdown, because these two songs are forever linked.  Not only are they from the same album, but both songs also soared to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985.

"One More Night" is a beautiful slow song, a plaintive plea for another chance with a lover.  It is the soft, understated yin to the bold, dominant yang of "Sussudio".  I was surprised to learn that it was actually the first single released from the "No Jacket Required" album.  To go with a ballad right out of the gate, it shows there must have been a really strong feeling about it.

Phil Collins is the most prolific artist on the MTV Top 100 Music Video Countdown, with five videos.  Three solo efforts and two duets.  In that aspect he stands alone.  He was truly a hit machine in 1985.

I distinctly remember this song played during a montage of college basketball highlights around NCAA tournament time.  The idea was that any team losing a game would be eliminated from further competition, so they just wanted to play again, "one more night".  It was odd to hear a slow song as the backdrop to sports highlights.

The video represents yet another linkage with "Sussudio", as both videos appear to take place in the same bar.  He appears to be wearing the same suit and tie, only now it is after closing time.  The scene is dimly lit, encouraging quiet reflection.

And yeah, I used practically the same picture for both songs.  You try finding different pictures representing those two.

#15 - Sussudio

Artist: Phil Collins

Album: No Jacket Required
Video: From YouTube.

This is "Sussudio".  A great, great song.  A personal favorite.  4 out of 5 serial killers agree.

The opening and most memorable hit from the "No Jacket Required" album, this song established Phil Collins as a one of the pre-eminent solo artists of his generation.  It was the second of his three #1 hits in 1985.

Many have wondered who or what Sussudio was (or "Su-su-ssudio", as the actual lyric is sung).  It's just a nonsense word Collins made up that fit the music of the song.  The lyrics are about a schoolboy crush.  The music is positive and uplifting, characterized by crisp drumbeats and enthusiastic horns.

In the video, Collins is performing in a bar before a small crowd where no one is paying any attention to him.  But as the song progresses, the audience slowly starts to become more interested, until the end when everyone is totally into it.

And so, here we have the fourth Phil Collins video in the 1985 MTV Top 100 Video Countdown.  No individual has more songs in the countdown than this man.  You might think we've seen the last of Phil Collins in this countdown.  But oh, you would be oh so wrong.

#36 - Don't Lose My Number

Artist: Phil Collins

Album: No Jacket Required
Video: From YouTube.

Out of the truckload of hit songs by Phil Collins in 1985, I believe that "Don’t Lose My Number" was the weakest.  Sure it’s energetic with a good beat, and it reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100.  But the song is beset by a deep confusion at its core.

First of all, who is this "Billy"?  And why is it so important that he hold on to Phil's number?  Clearly this is a critical matter, for it comprises the title of the song.  We learn that it's because "you're not anywhere that I can't find you".  Well, if Billy can be found so easily, then what possible difference could it make if he lost Phil's number?  Phil can find Billy anytime he wants!

Actually, upon further review, the lyric is "you're not anywhere that I CAN find you".  So never mind about any of that.

The video is a parody of other videos, with several directors pitching ideas to the performer.  In between pitches, we see many ideas acted out.  My favorite is when he’s in an all-white suit with a top hat and cane, walking by models on the beach, a la David Lee Roth in California Girls.

Finally, I can’t get Blogger’s poll widget to work.  So unfortunately we might not have any more polls.  The people’s favorite song of 1985 may have to remain a mystery.

#38 - Summer Of '69

Artist: Bryan Adams

Album: Reckless
Video: From YouTube.

This is the second time an artist has had back-to-back videos in the countdown.  It will happen twice more before we're all done.

"Summer of '69" is a song that always gets me pumped, right from the driving guitar riff that starts it off.  It conjures up the feeling of the best summer ever, the last one before you're forced to confront the responsibilities of adulthood.  It peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The debate has raged as to whether the song is about the summer of 1969, or the act of 69.  Adams has asserted the latter, but co-writer and longtime Adams collaborator Jim Vallance offers a straightforward interpretation.  The Vallance link includes insights on many other songs the two wrote together, including "Somebody".  I wish I had discovered it early enough to reference in the last post.

The video captures the camaraderie and good times of adolescence.  Hanging out with friends, falling in love, eluding the cops.  Great scenes throughout.  It was nominated for a 1985 MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video.

Finally, you will notice there is no poll to vote on right now.  I've been having trouble creating a new one, Blogger keeps giving me an unhelpful error message.  I will keep trying though.

Also, I am hopeful that I will be able to post more regularly from now on.

#39 - Somebody

Artist: Bryan Adams

Album: Reckless
Video: From YouTube.

Here's a fun game: get some friends together and watch this video.  Every time Bryan Adams pumps his fist, take a drink.  Have a designated driver and paramedics standing by.

“Somebody” is the second of three Bryan Adams’ videos in the countdown.  One of several hits on the “Reckless” album, it peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It’s a pretty straightforward good-time rocker: simple repetitive chorus, infectious guitar hook, easy to sing along.

There is also a classic Depeche Mode song with the same title, released right around the same time.  Which “Somebody” is better?  You decide.

The video for the Bryan Adams song is a live concert performance.  Just Bryan in jeans and a white t-shirt rockin’ out with the band.  And the crowd is going CRAZY.  They are relentless in their lust and adoration.

Finally, note that the new poll is a bit unusual.  All of the choices for favorite song have already survived a cut.  It will get tougher as we narrow down to a single greatest song of 1985.  You can hardly contain your excitement, can you?

#43 - Glory Days

Artist: Bruce Springsteen

Album: Born In The U.S.A.
Video: From YouTube.

This song is special for me because it features one of my all-time favorite performers, singing about baseball, my favorite sport.

In “Glory Days”, Springsteen lionizes characters from his youth, reminiscing about their heroic adventures back in the day.  The mood of the song is upbeat and joyous, even celebratory.  It was the fifth of seven top 10 singles from the classic “Born In The U.S.A.” album, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In the video, Bruce portrays a baseball player.  He seems to be assuming the persona of the character in the opening verse, the one who “could throw that speedball by you”.  He throws from a bucket of balls at a backstop, and while he talks to his son in the closing scene, it is revealed that he is pitching an imaginary baseball game.  He was pretending to pitch against the San Diego Padres and was beaten by Graig Nettles in the bottom of the ninth.

It is interesting because when I think of Graig Nettles, it is almost exclusively as the Yankees third baseman on the 1977 and 1978 World Series winning teams.  But Nettles was shipped to San Diego by George Steinbrenner after writing a tell-all book bashing the cantankerous owner.  In 1984, his first year with the Padres, he had a productive season and returned to the World Series.  A slugger and an excellent fielder, he played well into his forties.

Springsteen performed “Glory Days” at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.  Unfortunately, he bastardized the lyrics, turning the hero into a football player who knew how to throw that "Hail Mary".  But still, a great song by one of 1985's music heroes.

#49 - I'm On Fire

Artist: Bruce Springsteen

Album: Born In The U.S.A.
Video: From YouTube.

This song was featured on the very first album I ever bought (actually a cassette tape).  Bruce Springsteen was, and remains, an all-time favorite of mine.  I've been lucky to see him perform live three times.  Nobody is better in concert than Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band.

New Jersey’s working class hero initially burst into the public consciousness with the 1975 masterpiece “Born To Run”.  Ten years later, his popularity peaked again on a much larger scale with the “Born In The U.S.A.” album.  Baseball, apple pie, Bruce Springsteen and all that.

The album produced a record-tying seven top 10 singles, including “I’m On Fire”, the fourth single released.  A spare, haunting track featuring little more than Bruce’s vocals and a synthesizer, it peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.  The song has been covered by dozens of artists, ranging from Johnny Cash to John Mayer to Tori Amos.

Clearly, “I’m On Fire” is about a man wrestling with his prurient urges.  But the dark and suggestive lyrics leave the song’s deeper meaning up for debate.  Taken literally, it can be inferred that the protagonist is a pedophile.  I disagree.  I happen to believe the song is multi-layered.

The video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video in 1985.  The Boss gets to demonstrate some acting chops, portraying an auto mechanic tormented by his desire for a leggy female customer in a white Ford Thunderbird. 

Returning her car, he drives through the city and arrives at her mansion in the hills.  He walks up the stairs to her door and gazes into her open window.  He begins to ring the doorbell, but instead just smiles and shakes his head, placing the keys in her mailbox and walking away.  It’s an interesting look at Bruce’s shy and uncertain side.

#51 - Heaven

Artist: Bryan Adams

Album: Reckless
Video: From YouTube.

Bryan Adams is one of many great rock stars from Canada.  I was always a big fan.  "Reckless" was one of the first albums I ever bought.  When I was 14 I went to Target and bought my first six music cassette tapes for $40.  They were: 


"Born In The U.S.A." - Bruce Springsteen
"Vital Signs" - Survivor
"Standing On The Edge" - Cheap Trick
"No Jacket Required" - Phil Collins
"Like A Virgin" - Madonna
"Reckless" - Bryan Adams

So how about a "first albums" tag for this blog?  Great idea.  Done.

"Heaven" made it all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It’s kind of like a soft rock song with lyrics about a man unable to believe how lucky he is to be with his woman.  But it also has elements of a power ballad, with a stellar drum riff leading into the chorus, an understated but excellent lead guitar, and Adams’ gravelly voice completing the package.  It’s a hybrid soft rock power ballad.  Totally awesome.

The video features Adams alone on stage, singing to an auditorium with seats filled with televisions.  Adoring fans fill the screens.  In the end, we see him sleeping in front of the TV, the picture having turned to snow.   Was it all a dream?  Is he actually in Heaven?
 
And with that, this blog is halfway finished.  Tomorrow, I have a surprise for you.

#54 - Material Girl

Artist: Madonna

Album: Like A Virgin
Video: From YouTube.

“Material Girl”, of course, is a nickname that has stuck with Madonna for decades.  For this reason she has expressed regret over recording the song, but I’m certainly glad she did.  It’s top shelf.

This is the third of four Madonna videos in the 1985 MTV Top 100 countdown.  She also had a fifth smash hit in 1985 that is not included, “Into The Groove”.  That might be my favorite Madonna song of all.

However, she’s not the artist with the most videos in this countdown.  Someone else has five.  Can you guess who it is? 

"Material Girl" peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.  The song has a lasting legacy, both as a celebration of 80’s excess and an assault on mindless consumerism.  Academic stuffed shirts can continue to debate its meaning.  I just think it’s playful and catchy.  Not to mention the effect that the 1985 Madonna had on a 15-year-old boy.  Yipe!

The video pays homage to Marilyn Monroe's performance of "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"  in the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes".  Clad in hot pink dress, fancy jewelry and furs, she coyly rebuffs the advances of a legion of tuxedo-clad men who shower her with gifts.  Although the video is basically a remake, Madonna puts her unique stamp on it.

In the end of the video, the twist is revealed.  Madonna is not a material girl after all.  She is won over by Keith Carradine and his simple flowers and pick-up truck.

#84 - Dress You Up

Artist: Madonna

Album: Like A Virgin
Video: Fast forward to about the 1 minute mark, to see where the version from the MTV countdown starts.

With this entry, Madonna becomes the first artist to appear twice in the countdown. She also had the #91 video.

"Dress You Up" was the fourth top 5 single released from the "Like A Virgin" album.  One of her more underrated hits from this time period, it's strong work.  Catchy beat, easy to dance to, Madonna doing what she does.

The video is a live performance from The Virgin Tour. Based on the entrance, it appears this video is also the opening song of this particular concert.  I will also note, Madonna sporting quite the colorful jacket.

Here's some blog trivia: This is the second consecutive video to come from a Michigan native.  Madonna and Stevie Wonder are both from the Wolverine State.

Also, I added a "#1 hit" label.  I thought it would be fun to see which songs made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100.  It's interesting that we've had three #1 hits already in this countdown, and we're only at #84.

#86 - The Search Is Over

Artist: Survivor

Album: Vital Signs
Video: From YouTube.

Is Survivor the greatest band of all-time?  Growing up in the 80’s, I had no doubt of that.  Survivor’s music has always struck a chord with me on a visceral level.

Of course, the band is most famous for their biggest hit “Eye of the Tiger”, the theme from Rocky III.  That was the first song that made me want to have entrance music.  It’s still my go-to song for anything requiring adrenaline or inspiration.

I was about 12 or 13 when HBO started playing Rocky III every day for a while, and I became a Rocky nut.  And Survivor is the band most closely associated with the Rocky series.  I must have watched Rocky III at least 50 times as a kid.  If my life depended on it, I believe I could recite every single line of dialogue.  I know I could at the time.  When Rocky V was released, I watched it opening night at Mann’s (now Grauman’s) Chinese Theatre in Hollywood at midnight…..after watching a special screening of the first four movies consecutively.

So when Survivor released “Vital Signs” in 1984, you can imagine that I was giddy.  The album is a personal favorite.  Nine tracks, not a slacker in the bunch.  “High On You” is an amazing song.  But basically, there is every other song on this album, and then there is “The Search Is Over”.

I can say, completely without bias, that this is one of the greatest ballads of all time.  It’s a moving tale of a man’s discovery that his true love was right under his nose, only he didn’t know it.  Beautiful keyboards.  Jimi Jamison’s golden throat.  Awesome lyrics, especially the bridge.  And the video fits the song perfectly….lots of soul searching walks through the streets at night, hanging out with the boys in the band playing pool, and finally Jamison returns to his beloved.

So I guess what I’m trying to say about “The Search Is Over” is, I liked it.

And now, this blog post is over.  “Yo, Adrian!  I did it!”

#91 - Like A Virgin

Artist: Madonna
Album: Like A Virgin
Video: One of the all-time classics.

This song was, um, slightly influential.

Madonna is the top selling female recording artist of all-time. "Like A Virgin" was her first #1 single, and it spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Yet, MTV would like us to believe that in 1985 alone, there were 90 videos better than this one. Okaaaayyyyyyy. I guess they didn't factor in the live performance at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, which is still one of the most famous in MTV history.

In 1985, Madonna was everywhere. She started her first North American concert tour, broke into feature films, and generally acted as the object of young boys' fantasies everywhere. What else can be said about her? It's hard to think of a female entertainer who had a more significant impact on pop culture.

The video is classic. Venice. The gondolas. That LION. The way she gazes into the camera, the way she MOVES. So sensual and seductive.

This was one of the first albums I ever bought, on a cassette tape. I've always been a big fan of female musicians. In 1985? Me likey very much.

Today's Birthday: Martha Quinn is 53 years old today. Now that, my friends, makes me feel very old.