Matt's Books and Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.]

Introduction

If 1980 still mostly felt like the ‘70s, ‘81 was more of a trans

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.]

Introduction

I wrote that 1980 felt like the ‘70s and ‘81 felt like a transitional year. Here finally in 1982, it feels like the ‘80s through and through. Post-punk had morphed into the new wave, which was itself starting to lean towards pop. And with huge albums from Michael Jackson, Prince, John Mellencamp, and Phil Collins, you really can’t get more ‘80s than that.

Top 10 Albums

1. Mirage (Fleetwood Mac): The way I do my rankings privileges albums that are both deep and have high peaks, so a band like Fleetwood Mac that features four great songwriters is always going to do well. This album is a great case in point: four songs made it to my playlist, with “Gypsy” deservedly taking the number one spot.
2. Upstairs at Eric’s (Yazoo (aka Yaz)): This duo made up of Vince Clarke (of early Depeche Mode and, later, Erasure) and Alison Moyet only lasted two albums, but the brilliance of both members shines in this stellar debut.
3. Thriller (Michael Jackson): It is blasphemous not to have this album at number one, but again my methodology punishes short albums, and this suffers a bit from that. But no album has the peaks as high as this one. “Billie Jean,” “Thriller,” “Human Nature”? Come on!
4. Hello, I Must Be Going (Phil Collins): Whereas Thriller is about the peaks, this album is about depth. It lacks huge hits, but most songs on it are a great time, bumping it up in the aggregate.
5. The Lexicon of Love (ABC): I often talk about ‘lightning in a bottle’ albums—albums on which everything just worked for a band in a way that proved unrepeatable—and this is one of the best example of this. This album is brilliant, and while ABC stuck around through the rest of the decade, they never came close to its success.
6. Avalon (Roxy Music): It really is a shame Roxy Music only lasted for two albums; they were on the vanguard of what we all think of as the ‘80s sound, and I’d have loved to see where they went after this.
7. The Dollar Album (Dollar): Another great album from a group that didn’t last.
8. 1999 (Prince): I don’t love Prince the way a lot music people love Prince, but “1999” and “Little Red Corvette” are irrefutably great songs.
9. Pelican West (Haircut 100): Pure 80s pop confection. (Fun fact: The group released their first album in four decades in 2026 and it’s really fun. You should check it out!)
10. New Gold Dream (Simple Minds): This isn’t quite the Simple Minds that would dominate the middle of the decade, but all the pieces are there.

Other Albums of Note

• American Fool (John Cougar Mellancamp): A classic of small-town rock.
• Combat Rock (The Clash): The early ‘80s wouldn’t be the same without The Clash
• The Scandal EP (Scandal): A great Patty Smyth delivery system.

Top 10 Songs

1. “Gypsy” (Fleetwood Mac): The combination of instrumentation, arrangement, lyrics, and vocals on this song never ceases to amaze me. (Favourite lyric: “Lightning strikes maybe once, maybe twice / Oh and it lights up the night”)
2. “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson): This song is all about the vibe, the groove, the cool. (Favourite lyric: “Billie Jean is not my lover (hoo!)”)
3. “Only You” (Yazoo): Another song where the lyrics and production and vocals come together to elevate all of the material. (Favourite lyric: “All I needed was the love you gave / All I needed for another day / And all I ever knew / Only you”)

4. “Thriller” (Michael Jackson): This is a spectacularly weird song, but spectacularly good too. (Favourite lyric: “Night creatures call / and the dead start to walk in their masquerade”)
5. “The Look of Love, pt 1” (ABC): Sometimes a song just makes you want to dance and that’s enough. (Favourite lyric: “You know you’re missing out on something / Well that something depends on you.”)
6. “Waves” (Blancmange): What sets this song apart from a lot of the new wave trend in 1982 is its spectacular use of strings in the production. (Favourite lyric: “I live in a wafer-thin dream”)
7. “More Than This” (Roxy Music): I don’t have much to say about this song other than I love it. (Favourite lyric: “Fallen leaves in the night / Who can say where they’re blowing”)
8. “Heartache Avenue” (The Maisonettes): This is the perfect meeting of ‘80s production and the retro ‘50s sound the decade loved so much. (Favourite lyric: “On Heartache Avenue / I live alone rent free”)
9. “I Ran” (A Flock of Seagulls): I don’t think of early new wave music being particularly lyric-heavy, but this is a surprisingly rich song about running away from big feelings. (Favourite lyric: “You hypnotize me through / And I ran, I ran so far away”)
10. “Love’s Got a Line on You” (Scandal): As pure of a rock song as you’ll find. (Favourite lyric: “Love is gonna getcha / Love is gonna find ya / Love is right behind ya / Love has got a line on you.”)

Other Songs of Note

• “Mickey” (Toni Basil): A super-fun, oft-cited one-hit-wonder.
• “White Wedding” (Billy Idol): Billy Idol’s surly delivery turns nice sentiments into scathing reads
• “Come on Eileen” (Dexy’s Midnight Runners): One of the least likely smash hits ever.

Most Surprising Inclusion

• “He” (F.R. David): F.R. David is known as a one-hit wonder for “Words,” but this was the song from his album that struck a chord with me.

Notable Song that Missed the Cut

• “Hungry Like the Wolf” (Duran Duran): Duran Duran is one of those bands that just isn’t for me.

[Note: It’s of course impossible to listen to everything, so while I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, omissions are inevitable. For consistency’s sake, I’ve gone with the year music was released, rather than when it became popular. Any ratings or rankings are my own and entirely subjective. This has nothing to do with objective quality but is simply reflective of my personal taste.]