The Best Plays Are Made At The End Of A Dark Season

While snooping around my new office PC’s disk drives, I chanced upon its old owner’s mp3 collection of Billboard 100 top hits from 1981 to 1995. So now I can check out a few history bits while I’m bummed out from programming work.

Forgive me if this is a long entry (aside from the usual politics and anime banter like last entry) but I’m pretty free in work and I have nothing to do than diss the classics.

Let’s see what we can check out:

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1981 :: Mostly pop songs and a few country interspersed here and there.

001 – Kim Carnes – Bette Davis Eyes (Carnes who?)

004 – John Lennon – (Just Like) Starting Over (oh god, he’s still in 1981)

011 – Joey Scarbury – Greatest American Hero (who is he referring to?)

022 – Taste of Honey – Sukiyaki (??? the hell is this?)

040 – Don Mclean – Crying (isn’t this the same guy who sang “American Pie”?)

044 – Kenny Rogers – I Don’t Need You (a perfect break-up song)

056 – Journey – Who’s Crying Now (currently the band’s new vocalist is a Filipino, and he is a good fit)

057 – Police – De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da (aka “The Sound Of A 2-Year-Old Kid On A Crib”)

069 – Stevie Wonder – Master Blaster (Jammin’) (finally, a Stevie song that isn’t related to “sight”)

086 – John Lennon – Watching the Wheels (can’t he just be content with watching hamsters on a cage?)

100 – Andy Gibb – Time Is Time (apparently the Bee Gees are still on hiatus)

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1982 :: This is weird. The top song for this year belongs to a song for gym exercise enthusiasts. Is America getting fat?

001 – Olivia Newton-john – Physical (see?)

002 – Survivor – Eye of the Tiger (the only song fit for Western kung-fu movies)

003 – Joan Jett – I Love Rock & Roll (finally… this song is one of my faves from the old ones)

018 – Melissa Manchester – You Should Hear How She Talks (… Like A Bitch)

019 – Foreigner – Waiting For a Girl Like You (ironically, 18 and 19 are related somehow by a gender)

046 – Roberta Flack – Making Love (this is a stupid song)

047 – Juice Newton – Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard (yep, try your little love handle)

054 – Diana Ross – Why Do Fools Fall In Love (good question)

055 – Alabama – Love In the First Degree (how about on the second degree?)

057 – Crosby, Stills & Nash – Wasted On the Way (isn’t this supposed to be sung by drunkards staggering out of winebars and beerhouses?)

067 – Flock of Seagulls – I Ran (i remember this from Pulp Fiction as Jule’s reference to a couch guy’s hairdo)

079 – Police – Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (could be an inspiration for “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”)

090 – Billy Idol – Hot In the City (try Mexico)

100 – Stevie Nicks – Edge of Seventeen

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1983 :: I kinda noticed the existence of the predecessors of the “Dave Matthews Band” type. And they all plain suck.

001 – Police – Every Breath You Take (good song)

002 – Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (he should be black because he sucks being white)

004 – Men At Work – Down Under (aha… they’re working on the sewerage systems now)

005 – Michael Jackson – Beat It (…To Your Nearest Plastic Surgeon For Instant Caucasian Skin)

006 – Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart (good song too)

007 – Hall and Oates – Maneater (isn’t this the same title as a Nelly Furtado song?)

010 – Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (another good song)

011 – Culture Club – Do You Really Want To Hurt Me (in desribing sadists and masochists)

030 – After the Fire – Der Kommissar (try singing in German… like Rammstein)

032 – Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing (just like 1982’s #46, another stupid song. And his surname is “Gaye”.)

046 – Naked Eyes – Always Something There To Remind Me (desribe a Post-It)

049 – Michael Jackson & Paul Mccartney – the Girl Is Mine (Ironically, two men are singing this)

054 – Men At Work – Overkill (apparently being “Down Under” sucks)

059 – Laura Branigan – Solitaire (can’t you just play the friggin’ card game?)

084 – Stray Cats – (she’s) Sexy + 17 (this is a vague song)

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1984 :: I actually think that Prince’s conversion to a symbol was a good marketing ploy, but executed at the wrong era.

001 – Prince – When Doves Cry (and Pigs Bark and Dogs Meow …)

005 – Phil Collins – Against All Odds (ohh. good song.)

010 – Culture Club – Karma Chameleon (I remember this was Boy George’s, right? Sounds like a fart)

015 – Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun (ushering the era of the “boppy” girl fashion)

019 – Romantics – Talking In Your Sleep

020 – Laura Branigan – Self Control (ironically, 20 answers 19)

026 – Rockwell – Somebody’s Watching Me (the song for paranoids)

036 – Corey Hart – Sunglasses At Night (Is A Fashion Disaster)

039 – Billy Joel – Uptown Girl (inspiring a godawful rendition by Westlife)

050 – Julio Iglesias & Willie Nelson – To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before (players)

056 – Huey Lewis & the News – I Want a New Drug (try playing this song at the local pharmacy)

068 – Quiet Riot – Cum On Feel the Noise (I’m not pointing out the “sic” part)

078 – Michael Jackson – Thriller (oh… that scary song… as if his nose ain’t scary enough)

086 – John Cougar Mellencamp – Pink Houses (if MMDA were housing contractors…)

100 – James Ingram & Michael Mcdonald – Yah Mo Be There (???)

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1985 :: Still no signs of the invasion of black rap.

001 – Wham – Careless Whisper (I remember Hyde covered this song)

002 – Madonna – Like a Virgin (that iconic song from Madonna)

007 – Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants To Rule the World (how true)

010 – A-ha – Take On Me (the one-hit-wonder)

014 – Starship – We Built This City (good song)

023 – Whitney Houston – Saving All My Love For You (good song too)

035 – Duran Duran – A View To a Kill (that good Bond intro music of the same movie title)

038 – Pointer Sisters – Neutron Dance (science overload)

050 – Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin – Separate Lives (another good break-up song)

058 – Madonna – Material Girl (this is where Madonna got her infamous nickname)

062 – Sade – Smooth Operator (another good song)

077 – Julian Lennon – Too Late For Goodbyes (yep, true for you)

079 – Power Station – Some Like It Hot

082 – Bruce Springsteen – I’m On Fire (try 79)

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1986 :: Oh lord. Eddie Murphy on the charts?

001 – Dionne Warwick & Friends – That’s What Friends Are For

005 – Mr. Mister – Broken Wings (wonder if there really is a surname going by the name of “Mister”)

007 – Eddie Murphy – Party All the Time (see?)

023 – Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer (Triple H’s favorite hardcore weapon of choice)

026 – Nu Shooz – I Can’t Wait (To Remoove Yur Stoopid Sung Frum Thiz Chart)

029 – Madonna – Papa Don’t Preach (I remember Kelly Osbourne disparaging this song)

030 – Bon Jovi – You Give Love a Bad Name (and this one was converted to disco by Blake Lewis)

043 – Janet Jackson – What Have You Done For Me… (…when I had that wardrobe malfunction)

055 – Inxs – What You Need (I only remember this band from that reality show)

078 – Dream Academy – Life In a Northern Town (?)

089 – Run-dmc – Walk This Way (Okay… the song that re-catapulted Aerosmith back)

100 – Stevie Wonder – Go Home (the best song for barhouses and wine bars)

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1987 :: Okay, so now the influences of rap are coming.

001 – Bangles – Walk Like an Egyptian (racists)

006 – Robbie Nevil – C’est La Vie (the joys of using French)

011 – Los Lobos – La Bamba (probably inspired that stupid “Macarena” song)

024 – George Michael – I Want Your Sex (another stupid song… are these artists depraved or what?)

038 – Prince – U Got the Look (that use of “U” is ominuous)

044 – Samantha Fox – Touch Me (I Want Your Body) (another depraved artist… and her surname’s “Fox”)

046 – Madonna – Causing a Commotion (hey, this woman caused enough commotion back then)

059 – Michael Jackson – Bad (prelude)

066 – Swing Out Sister – Breakout (good song)

098 – Beastie Boys – Fight For Your Right (To Party) (another good song from Eminem’s predecessors)

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1988 :: Another bland year… I wished RATM was formed in the late 80s.

001 – George Michael – Faith (see? bland enough)

021 – Michael Jackson – Man In the Mirror (Is A Negro Caucasian-Wannabe)

(too many friggy love songs)

034 – Aerosmith – Angel (good song)

041 – Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine (a perfect pharmacy radio song)

061 – Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana (the perfect antithesis for Elton John’s Candle In The Wind)

066 – Pretty Poison – Catch Me (I’m Falling) (damn)

071 – Elton John – Candle In the Wind (eventually remixed to fit Princess Diana)

081 – Brenda Russell – Piano In the Dark (try being in Stevie Wonder’s shoes)

089 – Whitney Houston – One Moment In Time (that godawful Olympic tune)

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1989 :: The advent of the boyband craze. Remember The New Kids On The Block?

001 – Chicago – Look Away (sorry, I’m still looking)

004 – Paula Abdul – Straight Up (before 1990 she was hot)

006 – Paula Abdul – Cold Hearted (wish she was in American Idol instead of Cowell)

007 – Bette Midler – Wind Beneath My Wings (in RP “Wings” means a Whispers sanitary napkin)

012 – Boy Meets Girl – Waiting For a Star To Fall (that would be Armageddon)

024 – Simply Red – If You Don’t Know Me By Now (we don’t remember you now until we crack the history books open)

026 – New Kids On The Block – I’ll Be Loving You (Forever) (and we’ll be damned)

035 – Cher – If I Could Turn Back Time (you can remove the iceberg before it hit the Titanic)

049 – New Kids On The Block – Hangin’ Tough (another BS from NKOTB)

052 – New Kids On The Block – You Got It (The Right Stuff) (and another bad stuff)

062 – Duran Duran – I Don’t Want Your Love (another perfect break-up song)

073 – New Kids On The Block – Cover Girl (at least Playboy magazine adds were an inch hotter than NKOTB’s chart status)

081 – Aerosmith – Love In an Elevator (the last time that happened in RP a porn scandal broke out)

087 – Samantha Fox – I Wanna Have Some Fun (apparently Cyndi Lauper forgot to take Samantha Fox into account)

093 – Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal (that’s how he eluded his court conviction)

095 – Bobby Brown – Rock Wit’cha (sorry, we don’t git’cha song’s meaning except you blew Whitney up in weed smoke)

100 – Soul II Soul – Keep On Movin’ (at least the brothers out there know their soul and RNB)

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1990 :: Oh wow. America’s quite fixated on female lead vocalists and female… ah, just female. Except the #1 rank.

001 – Wilson Phillips – Hold On (see?)

002 – Roxette – It Must Have Been Love (good song, BTW)

003 – Sinead O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U (if she titled it “N0+41n c0mp@r35 2 U” it would be complete)

005 – Madonna – Vogue (another song from Madonna… although the iconic songs are in the 80’s now)

006 – Mariah Carey – Vision Of Love (the year Mariah Carey cracks the charts)

010 – Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze Of Glory (the third iconic song from Bon Jovi… mostly used in victory parades)

014 – Paula Abdul – Opposites Attract (marry Simon and prove your song is right)

016 – Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You (another depraved artist)

025 – Glenn Medeiros Featuring Bobby Brown – She Ain’t Worth It (are they pertaining to Whitney?)

034 – New Kids On The Block – Step By Step (thank God they’re slowly getting ditched in the charts)

040 – Tommy Page – I’ll Be Your Everything (try being my morning coffee brewer)

043 – Soul II Soul – Back To Life (good song)

046 – Vanilla Ice – Ice Ice Baby (oh, Eminem’s non-biological grandfather)

048 – M.C Hammer – Have You Seen Her (yep, she was running out of your concert after you sang “U Can’t Touch This”)

050 – Janet Jackson – Come Back To Me (who, Justin Timberlake? He’s now with Madonna’s entourage)

056 – MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This (your what?)

062 – Aerosmith – Janie’s Got A Gun (basically a “Beretta-brandishing Bitch”)

067 – Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence (yep, the song was loud enough for a middle finger salute)

076 – Mariah Carey – Love Takes Time (true, took you 18 years from 1990)

090 – New Kids On The Block – This One’s For The Children (sorry, rated-18. go away)

092 – Kiss – Forever (oh wow. Gene Simmons and the band are still in. talk about “undead”)

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1991 :: A decade later, America still entertains sexually-depraved artists.

001 – Bryan Adams – (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (oh, that Robin Hood theme song)

002 – Color Me Badd – I Wanna Sex You Up (very Badd song)

004 – Paula Abdul – Rush Rush (that wonder hit from Paula)

011 – Boyz II Men – Motownphilly (another group who knows their soul music)

015 – Bette Midler – From A Distance (good song)

029 – Ralph Tresvant – Sensitivity (the only interest he generates is when people hear his surname)

033 – REM – Losing My Religion (that iconic REM song… and so far none)

057 – Vanilla Ice – Play That Funky Music (and again?)

069 – Mariah Carey – Love Takes Time (spanning two years, this song is good)

075 – Seal – Crazy (didn’t this guy marry that German supermodel Heidi Klum?)

090 – INXS – Disappear (and that’s what they did the next decade and a half)

099 – Rod Stewart And The Temptations – The Motown Song (apparently Detroit is a bad place considering this song’s quality)

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1992 :: Now America’s in power balladeers and duets.

001 – Boyz II Men – End Of The Road (good song)

006 – Eric Clapton – Tears In Heaven (the only Clapton song that made me listen twice)

014 – Michael Jackson – Black Or White (2008 Democrat Presidential Nomination OST)

015 – Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart (that one-hit wonder)

019 – Michael Jackson – Remember The Time (When You First Saw Me In A Ghost-White Skin)

026 – George Michael & Elton John – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (good song)

032 – Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (the only Nirvana hit)

036 – TLC – Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg (2 ambiguous 2 tell)

039 – Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (oh, that one song from hell… and I thought only the Bee Gees had that trademark falsetto)

046 – MC Hammer – 2 Legit 2 Quit (another song that’s 2 stupid 2 comprehend)

054 – Michael Bolton – When A Man Loves A Woman (try singing that in Elton John’s wedding)

064 – Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson – Beauty And The Beast (when Disney breaks in the charts)

073 – Paula Abdul – Blowing Kisses In The Wind (she does that to every hot male contestant in Idol)

084 – Boyz II Men – Uhh Ahh (uhh… I think that’s not a good title)

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1993 :: Apparently the more weirder and ambiguous the singer’s name, the better for Americans.

001 – Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You (okay, the only good song from Whitney)

009 – Wreckx N Effect – Rump Shaker (see? that’s one)

011 – Dr. Dre & Snoop Doggy Dogg – Ain’t Nothin But A G-Thang (apparently they even created their own nigger language)

016 – Duice – Dazzey Dukes (and another)

028 – Spin Doctors – Two Princes (okay, another one)

030 – Whitney Houston – I Have Nothing (Left After 12 Years)

031 – Arrested Development – Mr. Wendal (and another one)

035 – Tony Toni Tone – If I Had No Loot (ah, damn)

036 – Meat Loaf – I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) (WARNING: “No Pun Intended” tag spotted)

039 – Whitney Houston – I’m Every Woman (sorry, no woman wants to be you anymore)

045 – Naughty By Nature – Hip Hop Hooray (candy-sucking kids)

050 – 4 Non-Blondes – What’s Up (pretty watered song)

054 – Brian McKnight – One Last Cry (good song)

055 – Xscape – Just Kickin’ It (dang it, these keep on coming)

057 – Bon Jovi – Bed Of Roses (the second iconic song from Bon Jovi… the iconic song is “It’s My Life”)

061 – Ugly Kid Joe – Cat’s In The Cradle (what an ugly name)

063 – Positive K – I Got A Man (and that man’s in for his death ride)

067 – Madonna – Rain (this is one of Madonna’s songs I liked)

070 – Boy Krazy – That’s What Love Can Do (nope, naming yourself “Krazy” doesn’t help)

079 – Captain Hollywood Project – More And More (now the name sounds more stupid than… “stupid”)

080 – The Heights – How Do You Talk To An Angel (try inserting a P.S. after your usual prayer to God)

081 – Digable Planets – Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat) (digable… ???)

084 – EnVogue – Give It Up, Turn It Loose (sometimes creativity outlives its purpose)

092 – Joey Lawrence – Nothin’ My Love Can’t Fix (try fixin’ my house plumbing)

097 – Tony Toni Tone – Anniversary (how do i spell “tony”? let me count the ways)

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1994 :: Still the same as 1993, except “weirdness” has more than whetted the US music appetite

001 – Ace of Base – The Sign (well ok, suit yourselves)

003 – Boyz II Men – I’ll Make Love To You (and again, another one bites the dust)

005 – Mariah Carey – Hero (still the same Mariah)

007 – Toni Braxton – Breathe Again (another good song from toni braxton)

014 – Salt-N-Pepa And EnVogue – Whatta Man (when weird worlds collide)

018 – Elton John – Can You Feel The Love Tonight (sorry, nope. sing that to your partner instead)

024 – Aaliyah – Back And Forth (Remix) (oh, aaliyah. that one)

029 – Salt-N-Pepa – Shoop (damn)

032 – Michael Bolton – Said I Loved You . . . But I Lied (another perfect break-up song)

035 – Crash Test Dummies – Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm (aka “The Sound Of A Person With Duct Tape Covering His Mouth”)

037 – Da Brat – Funkdafied (damn)

040 – 10,000 Maniacs – Because The Night (that’s a wholotta maniacs)

046 – Crystal Waters – 100% Pure Love (i thought it read “Pure Loves – 100% Crystal Water”)

050 – Beck – Loser (that’s you)

052 – Snoop Doggy Dogg – Gin And Juice (Remix) (actually, that tastes good depending on the juice)

053 – Immature – Never Lie (thanks for being honest)

056 – Luther Vandross And Mariah Carey – Endless Love (Mariah really loves black guys, yeah?)

061 – 2Pac – Keep Ya Head Up (another one of Akon’s ancestors)

062 – Snoop Doggy Dogg – Whats My Name (yep, a legit question, because for sure your legal name isn’t “Snoop Dogg” either)

063 – Real McCoy – Another Night (and now we have to find the “Fake McCoy”)

066 – Jimmy Cliff – I Can See Clearly Now (perfect song for lasik treatment centers)

074 – Zhane – Groove Thang (can’t they even run Spellcheck on their word processors?)

081 – Craig Mack – Flava In Ya Ear (oh, so you’re Craig David’s ancestor)

082 – Queen Latifah – U.N.I.T.Y. (yeah, and we can S.P.E.L.L. too)

085 – Ini Kamoze – Here Comes The Hotstepper (damn)

099 – Heavy D And The Boyz – Bop Gun (I won’t even trust these people with a potato gun)

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1995 :: And the number 1 song is… “Gangsta’s Paradise”? Well, 1995. The year that rap comes in hood first.

001 – Coolio & LV – Gangsta’s Paradise

002 – TLC – Waterfalls (the only good TLC song)

004 – Seal – Kiss From A Rose (good song)

008 – Madonna – Take A Bow (another one good song… I remember the music video of this one involved a matador)

010 – Montell Jordan – This Is How We Do It (no, only you do it)

013 – Adina Howard – Freak Like Me (freak out, bitch)

016 – Bryan Adams – Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman (yep)

018 – Shaggy – Boombastic (actually, this song fits “Arabic-sounding voice” to a T)

021 – Michael Jackson – You Are Not Alone (yep, and if you’re gonna retire this world would be)

031 – Vanessa Williams – Colors Of The Wind (try car smoke emissions)

047 – The Notorious B.I.G. – Big Poppa (and maybe this inspired Scott Steiner)

048 – 4 PM – Sukiyaki (hey, remember 1981’s #22?)

051 – 2Pac – Dear Mama (… your big boy 2PAC is making millions out of convincing people his shit is worth their auditory time)

056 – Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson – Scream Childhood (I didn’t watch Free Willy 2 because the two Jacksons are in the promotional bandwagon)

057 – Jodeci – Freakin’ You (try freakin’ Adina Howard)

079 – Faith Evans – You Used To Love Me (another post-breakup song)

081 – U2 – Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me (yep, describe a total Hollywood marriage)

096 – N II U – I Miss You (talk about being lazy)

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So, just a footnote. Let me post a top 10 list here, just for the sake of me getting out from the 3-headed dog called boredom.

Top 10 SONG TITLES THAT WERE INFLUENCED BY MAMAJUANA (including JBL’s little romantic Gatorade)

10 – 1986 #046 – Robert Palmer – I Didin’t Mean To Turn You On
09 – 1981 #063 – John Mellencamp – Ain’t Even Done With the Night
08 – 1983 #032 – Marvin Gaye – Sexual Healing
07 – 1983 #066 – Air Supply – Making Love Out of Nothing At All
06 – 1990 #016 – Heart – All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You
05 – 1987 #024 – George Michael – I Want Your Sex
04 – 1991 #002 – Color Me Badd – I Wanna Sex You Up
03 – 1994 #003 – Boyz II Men – I’ll Make Love To You
02 – 1987 #044 – Samantha Fox – Touch Me (I Want Your Body)
01 – 1992 #084 – Boyz II Men – Uhh Ahh

Top 10 MOST “I Don’t Know How I Was Inspired To Name This Song As This” SONG TITLES

10 – 1992 #036 – TLC – Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg
   – 1992 #046 – MC Hammer – 2 Legit 2 Quit
09 – 1984 #100 – James Ingram & Michael Mcdonald – Yah Mo Be There
08 – 1985 #038 – Pointer Sisters – Neutron Dance
07 – 1982 #042 – Buckner & Garcia – Pac-man Fever
06 – 1988 #042 – Beach Boys – Kokomo
05 – 1993 #093 – Green Jelly – Three Little Pigs
04 – 1995 #076 – 20 Fingers – Short Dick Man
03 – 1982 #016 – Tommy Tutone – 867-5309
02 – 1981 #057 – Police – De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
01 – 1994 #035 – Crash Test Dummies – Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm


So ciao for now.

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