More KROQ Roq of the 80’s Top 500 songs of the 80’s (per KROQ back in the 80’s) playlist. Here are the next 5 songs, with a little about the song, as well as a few flashes of the past that come to mind when I play them. Feel free to share your memories in the comments below.
KROQ Roq of the 80’s Flashback 500
Top 500 Songs
Songs 485-481
1. “Dog Eat Dog” by Adam and the Ants
from the album, Kings of the Wild Frontier (1980)
“We’re gonna move real good, yeah right.
We’re gonna dress so fine, okay.
It’s dog eat dog eat dog eat dog.
Leapfrog the dog.
And brush me daddy-O.”
Another Adam and the Ants song on the list.
I remember a friend of mine in 1985, or 1986, who had two posters of Adam on her ceiling. She had the coolest room I’d ever been in, at the time. It was over the garage, and the ceiling was arched. Her bed was in the middle of the arch in this raised end of the room. On each arch was a poster of Adam Ant. She would give him a kiss (on both) before going to bed and say “I’m going to marry him someday.”
2. “New Moon On Monday” by Duran Duran
from the album, Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983)
“I said it again,
but could I please rephrase it?
Maybe I can catch a ride.
I couldn’t really put it much plainer,
but I’ll wait ’til you decide.
Send me your warning siren,
as if I could ever hide.
Last time La Luna.”
Duran Duran was my 80’s teenage everything. I loved them so much that I’m not sure I could measure it. They were my first loves, my first band, my first fandom, my first musical obsession. Their music saved me many times, and I mean that in all seriousness. They also led me to so many musical discoveries – The Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop, Roxy Music, David Bowie…just to name a few.
I loved this song. I loved this video. I loved this album. I loved them (especially Nick Rhodes).
3. “Jukebox (Don’t Put Another Dime)” by The Flirts
from the album, 10 Cents for a Dance (1982)
“Don’t put another dime in the jukebox,
I don’t want to hear that song no more.
Don’t put another dime in the jukebox,
I don’t want to hear that song no more.”
In 8th grade, I had a crush on a boy in a band. He was in my grade, my classes, and went to the church I went to (which the school was part of). He had a Stray Cats cover band. He dressed rockabilly. He was the preacher’s son. He was different than anyone I’d met before. And, he was obsessed with music, like me.
I talked about him all the time.
One of my friends would change the lyrics to this song anytime we heard it to “don’t put another dime in Laura, I don’t want to hear about Matt no more.”
(side note: the only unfortunate thing about this boy was that he had the same name as my brother. Oh, and he never liked me back).
4. “The Dead Heart” by Midnight Oil
from the album, Diesel and Dust (1987)
“We carry in our hearts the true country,
and that cannot be stolen.
We follow in the steps of our ancestry,
and that cannot be broken.”
For some reason, I could never get into Midnight Oil or their music. I respected their message and who they were. I still do. But I just never connected with the songs or their music. I still don’t. But they definitely deserve to be on this list.
5. “Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll” by Ian Dury and the Blockheads
from the album, New Boots and Panties (1977)
“Sex and drugs and rock and roll,
is all my brain and body need.
Sex and drugs and rock and roll,
are very good indeed.”
1977 is not the 80’s, but as with some of the other late 70’s songs that have made this list, I’m sure they got airplay on KROQ in the 80’s.
I never heard this song back then, though I did hear it through the years, every now and then. It wasn’t until I started collecting 8-Tracks with my ex-boyfriend that I ever really listened to Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
For a few months, I was obsessed with the album, New Boots and Panties. This was never my favorite song on it, though it has its charm. But, there are so many better tracks on the album. Ian is witty and incorrigible, punk and charming and fun. If you’ve not delved into his music or this album, you really should.
KROQ Roq of the 80’s Flashback 500
Top 500 Songs
