# 80's songs that make you happy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927 "2015-05-27T01:09:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/41 "2015-05-28T01:20:04Z")
[Watusi Rodeo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut6yOjKoEUQ)– Guadalcanal Diary Most of their stuff, really. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/42 "2015-05-28T02:30:02Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > [Roam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNwC0sp-uA4) Outstanding choice. [Deadbeat Club](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KyhesAa-DA&list=PLDA0756534DCB55D0) may as well have been the anthem of my circle of friends. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/43 "2015-05-28T02:51:53Z")
Thompson Twins - [Hold Me Now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9694K85Xc8) ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/44 "2015-05-28T03:09:01Z")
[Gloria, by Laura Branigan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ17LTYOrto) [Fame, by Irene Cara](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1xO7RwTV4k) [What a Feeling, by Irene Cara](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILWSp0m9G2U) [The Final Countdown, by Europe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw) [url-[- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIIW7nxBgc)]La Isla Bonita, by Madonna ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/45 "2015-05-28T03:30:06Z")
Pamela - Toto its not entirely a happy song but its a very upbeat presentation that I find myself singing along with whenever I hear it. Tell Her about it - Billy joel [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/p0pM5dm--yQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Billy Joel - Tell Her About It (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0pM5dm--yQ) Something about you - level 42 [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/E-zP66eSLto/hqdefault.jpg "Level 42 - Something About You") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-zP66eSLto) Things can only get better - Howard Jones [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-OO9LloDSJo/hqdefault.jpg "Howard Jones - Things Can Only Get Better") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OO9LloDSJo) Hold on - Santana Strut - Sheena Easton For Tonight - Nancy Martinez I can go on for quite a while ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/46 "2015-05-28T05:44:32Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > [Roam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNwC0sp-uA4) _Cough_1990_Cough!_ ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/47 "2015-05-28T10:49:33Z")
Wake me Up Before You Go Go is the best pop song I’ve ever heard. Closely followed by Mayor of Simpleton by XTC. I first heard it in Spillers Records in Cardiff (world’s oldest record shop) and thought - ‘They’ve done it! Finally XTC will get the number one worldwide smash they deserve!’ Link to uk video MiM ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/48 "2015-05-28T11:51:33Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Tarzan Boy reminds me that > > [Jane’s Getting Serious](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2mAQPwYf7A) makes me smile. Coincidentally, both were swiped for use in commercials. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKx5uT8px8U ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/49 "2015-05-28T12:02:11Z")
My iPhone is crammed pack with 80s songs, so I have most of the ones mentioned here so far. I’m surprised we’ve made it this far without any mentioning [**“Oh Yeah”** by Yello](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYGngLcS0u4). ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/50 "2015-05-28T12:05:34Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > That’s a good one but for me it’s not quite ‘80’s’. And by that I mean quinticentially (sp) 80’s. It kind of falls in with the Motels stuff for me. Speaking of which I would add “Suddenly Last Summer” to my list. Yeah, some 80’s stuff was more Tuff Girls than Feel Good Pop. The Motels’ “Total Control” worked well in _Something Wild_. Loved Romeo Void–“I Might Like You Better if We Slept Together” has harsh lyrics but you can dance to it! But I like the light stuff, too. Might not have the albums, but the tunes make me smile when I hear them. I’m a card carrying Boomer & truly love lots of that 60’s stuff. But anybody who stopped listening to new pop music in 1970 sure missed a lot… ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/51 "2015-05-28T12:55:53Z")
Matthew Wilder - [Break My Stride](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLE_emfAd74) Kurtis Blow - [Throughout Your Years](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8KQnJEz2-E) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/52 "2015-05-28T13:12:58Z")
[Pure](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6myNbk15sMs) - The Lightning Seeds - _near_ perfect dream pop, this song is. Only superceded by one band [Perfect](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txapREGWHp0) - Fairground Attraction - bouncy fun [Dream Kitchen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eviIapiznbA) - Frazier Chorus (Actually, _anything_ by the band led by Martin Freeman’s more-talented brother. _This_ is the perfect dream pop) [Hot, Hot, Hot](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8Q3ywwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dp0E9urVs-2o&ei=rQ9nVbjZHI_7sATh2YO4DQ&usg=AFQjCNGEMFP8uJlQW5HUxnalDs8DUKNOjQ&sig2=2UGC-hf6KdsXuGnTtFy4zg) by The Cure - silly fun, up to the kneel-on-your-shoes highlight. That whole album makes me happy, even the downbeat songs like _Catch_. [Loaded](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsjDnLII1Go) by Deacon Blue (OK, _not_ the happiest of songs, but the young Lorraine McIntosh always makes _me_ happy, anyway) [Breakout](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqcNXXCIs3w) by Swing Out Sister - fun and anthemic at the same time. Also, Corinne Drewery, yum… ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/53 "2015-05-28T13:24:20Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > All of them, even the really bad ones with ridiculously big hair and shoulder pads in the videos. Exactly. Any list that I could compile would probably include everything that’s been mentioned here plus about a gazillion more. My favorite and most happiness inducing is pretty much anything by Oingo Boingo, with the peppiest being [Little Girls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8VZS61fAYM), a catchy little ditty sung from the point of view of a pedophile 😛 Then there’s this [great little tune by the Suburban Lawns](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RBRJVUsI48) called _Janitor_. As you can tell I was a new wave girl, but there was plenty of other great songs from other genres as well. ---
**Author:** ![baileygrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@baileygrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baileygrrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/54 "2015-05-28T17:13:11Z")
Closer Together - The Box ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/55 "2015-05-28T21:17:53Z")
> [@Moonchild](#): > > _Cough_1990_Cough!_ 1990 is the 10th year of the eighties. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/56 "2015-05-28T22:41:46Z")
Nothing makes me more happy than songs I can dance to: “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey. Of course. “Little Red Corvette,” “1999,” and “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” by Michael Jackson “One” by the Bee Gees “Living on a Thin Line” by the Kinks “Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles “Venus” by Bananarama “Dancin’ in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen I’m sure there’s more but I gotta run. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/57 "2015-05-28T22:55:33Z")
[Mexican Radio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUjbOcO_hT0) by Wall of Voodoo. Stan Ridgway was a bloody legend. [Gone Daddy Gone](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=violent+femmes+gone+daddy+gone) by the Violent Femmes. Because we need more lead xylophones. [See Me Go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB3NrJQtYCA), the Screaming MeeMees. Toss-up between this and Walking In Light, but that was '79. [Rain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM7RcgZ1pLE), Dragon. Best singalong chorus ever. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/58 "2015-05-29T00:58:41Z")
Back in Black, by AC/DC! ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/59 "2015-05-29T01:46:48Z")
[And We Danced, by The Hooters](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB1Q-PfUvN0) [What I like About You, by The Romantics](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqnw5IfbZOU) ---
**Author:** ![turner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@turner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turner)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927/60 "2015-05-29T02:03:41Z")
Centerfield What I like about you The Warrior Love is a battlefield Walk like an Egyptian [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-songs-that-make-you-happy/720927.md?page=4)