# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1980 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748 "2014-10-08T11:35:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/41 "2014-10-08T22:59:10Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The 80s rule, but the 80s really didn’t start being the 80s until 1982. I’d say they began “being the 80s” in August 1981, when MTV debuted. Split Enz were among the earliest videos they ran, and they’re certainly iconically (early) 80s. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/42 "2014-10-09T00:25:20Z")
Ah, a wide variety! What a respite! (And I cheated and looked forward into 1981 :eek: Og have mercy. Better savor 1980 as long as you can). And the people down the hall in my college dorm, where the haze hung heavy in the air, seem to have shown up to vote. > [@Eddie\_F](#): > > While I would’ve _loved_ to vote for John Lennon’s final appearance (for the nonce) at the top of the chart, especially in light of his assassination at the end of this year, I’ve always found “(Just Like) Starting Over” to be a charming, perfectly pleasant little song. And “perfectly pleasant” ain’t enough to win, at least in my book. Off a charming, perfectly pleasant album. Had it not been for tragic circumstance, a lot of critics would have been saying, "after years of deriding Paul, _this_ is your big comeback? " Which would have been unfair as well, as J&Y were going for what people call a “personal” album, not a blockbuster, to ease back in and leave the past behind. > [@Palooka](#): > > Even after 34 years, there are people who still have Funkytown stuck in their head. It’s in the DSM-V. That was exactly what it was supposed to do. > [@Smapti](#): > > I went with “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” on this one. Another Brick in the Wall is anthemic, but I don’t consider it to be a song in its own right - it’s just one verse of a suite which on the album includes “Another Brick in the Wall Part 1” and “The Happiest Days of Our Lives”. True. But then again it was Pink Floyd at the apex of Waters’ maniacal phase which had its own high though twisted merit. Meanwhile not one but TWO excellent turns from Queen, doing a display of range from the retroish Crazy Little Thing to the funk of Another One Bites the Dust. And let us summon undead Freddy Mercury to find the person or persons insisting on voting for Rupert Holmes and beat them with his almighty mic pole. > [@JKellyMap](#): > > I’d say they began “being the 80s” in August 1981, when MTV debuted. I’d say that’s a good milestone to measure it by. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/43 "2014-10-09T00:28:50Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Queen - Another One Bites the Dust. > I normally try to avoid slamming artists/songs that have a generally high level of respect that I don’t like, but man, Billy Joel’s “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” is just an awful fucking song. It sounds like someone’s dad is trying to show how hip they are, while wearing a polyester leisure suit. So fucking bad. I go back and forth and back and forth about Billy Joel. I’ve softened on him a bit in the last few years. It is a bit ironic, to me, that a song about rock and roll is so completely not “rock and roll,” though. Billy Joel has always sounded to me like a musical theatre composer trying to write “rock” music. Anyhow, I’ve actually liked the choices for the last couple of years, but this one is pretty threadbare. I went with “Another One Bites the Dust.” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/44 "2014-10-09T00:46:00Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > So far it looks like I am one of only two people cool enough to move to Funkytown. I was going with Queen, but “Another One Rides the Bus” took over my head and the bus took me to Funkytown. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/45 "2014-10-09T00:47:16Z")
> [@Palooka](#): > > Even after 34 years, there are people who still have Funkytown stuck in their head. It’s in the DSM-V. > [@whitetho](#): > > So far it looks like I am one of only two people cool enough to move to Funkytown. doop-doop-doop-doop doop doop-doop-doop-do-do-doop I read the _title_ of that song in the 1979 thread, and have had it stuck in my head since. I’m really pretty happy about it. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/46 "2014-10-09T01:10:24Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > And let us summon undead Freddy Mercury to find the person or persons insisting on voting for Rupert Holmes and beat them with his almighty mic pole. Does Undead Freddy Mercury take requests on who needs a Mic Pole Beating? I have a list. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/47 "2014-10-09T01:18:27Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > I like KC and the Sunshine Band’s last big single, it was a drastic change from their disco tunes, and it is cute and sad. In my book, they had one more big song after that – “Give It Up,” I think in 1983. Actually, it’s my favorite sing of theirs. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/48 "2014-10-09T01:37:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I go back and forth and back and forth about Billy Joel. I’ve softened on him a bit in the last few years. It is a bit ironic, to me, that a song about rock and roll is so completely not “rock and roll,” though. Billy Joel has always sounded to me like a musical theatre composer trying to write “rock” music. I think that song is what made me start hating Billy Joel instead of just being bored by him. He should have titled it “Get Off My Lawn”. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/49 "2014-10-09T01:50:59Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Billy Joel has always sounded to me like a musical theatre composer trying to write “rock” music. Very true. Thus, his best stuff is, for example, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” or “Movin’ Out.” His second-best stuff are theatrical love songs like “Vienna” or “Honesty.” His third-best songs are a couple of Ray Charles-esque anthems, notably “New York State of Mind.” The rest of his stuff isn’t all that great; even his not-bad rockers like “Big Shot” sound, like you say, more suitable for Broadway. Rather akin to Styx’s Denis DeYoung, come to think of it. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/50 "2014-10-09T02:46:33Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Very true. Thus, his best stuff is, for example, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” or “Movin’ Out.” His second-best stuff are theatrical love songs like “Vienna” or “Honesty.” His third-best songs are a couple of Ray Charles-esque anthems, notably “New York State of Mind.” > > The rest of his stuff isn’t all that great; even his not-bad rockers like “Big Shot” sound, like you say, more suitable for Broadway. Rather akin to Styx’s Denis DeYoung, come to think of it. I really dug his more rockin’ songs, like Matter of Trust and All About Soul. But Joel’s a very diverse artist, much moreso than the guy he’s often compared to, Elton John. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/51 "2014-10-09T02:53:44Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I really dug his more rockin’ songs, like Matter of Trust and All About Soul. But Joel’s a very diverse artist, much moreso than the guy he’s often compared to, Elton John. I would certainly agree that Billy Joel wrote in more diverse styles than Elton John. And I may also agree that he’s probably technically the better piano player. But, damn, if Elton didn’t just _rock_ in a way Billy didn’t (of course, completely subjective.) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/52 "2014-10-09T03:00:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Billy Joel has always sounded to me like a musical theatre composer trying to write “rock” music. That’s perhaps the most apt description I’ve read of Billy Joel’s music in my life. This year is hard - I like a lot of these songs, but none of them really stand out, except for the Pink Floyd track. The list also seems to have the fewest songs with 0 votes, with three songs (as of now) receiving zero votes. I want to vote for “Sailing”, partly because CC is from San Antonio, partly because I’ve liked the song from the moment I first heard it, partly because he was so big for about 2 years then completely dropped off the face of the planet ([I blame MTV for this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=618774)). The Queen songs are iconic, but I got so sick of “Another One Bites the Dust” being played at sporting events that I can’t vote for it… it would be a betrayal of my younger self. 😛 I even like “Lady” because it’s so sappy and because I’ve met Mr. Rogers a couple of times in Athens, GA, and he seemed like a regular enough guy. Also, his restaurants had GREAT chicken. “Funkytown” is also iconic and overplayed. Paul McCartney… eh, he got my vote in '76, and in a couple of years will aggressively compile negative points for his two Michael Jackson duets: “Say, Say, Say” and “The Girl is Mine.” Sorry, Paul. “Call Me” is the weakest of Blondie’s four #1 songs. “Upside Down”… I’ve heard worse Diana Ross songs, but it really can’t get my vote. I kind of want to vote for “Escape” merely because it’s one of the most morally repugnant songs ever to top the charts. Today it would be about a guy setting up an anonymous Craigslist hookup, only to open his hotel room door… with his wife standing there, with “fuck me” clothes on. 😃 How can you not love a messed-up song like that? “Starting Over”… it’s not the worst song (to be honest, I like it much more than the treacly, preachy “Imagine”, which gets my vote as one of the most over-rated songs in rock history), and given the history behind the song… well, it gets my vote. RIP, John. And fuck you, Mark David Chapman. What… you couldn’t go after Billy Joel? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/53 "2014-10-09T03:06:09Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I would certainly agree that Billy Joel wrote in more diverse styles than Elton John. And I may also agree that he’s probably technically the better piano player. But, damn, if Elton didn’t just _rock_ in a way Billy didn’t (of course, completely subjective.) No, it’s hard to argue that Crocodile Rock or Saturday Night’s ALl Right for Fightin aren’t more rockin’ songs than anything Joel ever did. Heck, I’d say that Made in England is more rockin’ than anything Joel did. I also think Elton does better ballads. The only area where I think Joel beats him is that his lyrics are more interesting. And I suspect that’s always been why Joel’s fans have loved him. For all his schmaltz he really does write compelling lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/54 "2014-10-09T09:15:54Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And I suspect that’s always been why Joel’s fans have loved him. For all his schmaltz he really does write compelling lyrics. True. That’s the “musical theater” composer in him, again. Case in point: “Honesty,” the last verse ends with the same syllable as the first syllable of the refrain, so he cleverly elides them: _“…you’re the one that I depend upo…nesty is such a lonely word…”_ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/55 "2014-10-09T10:08:52Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > . Billy Joel has always sounded to me like a musical theatre composer trying to write “rock” music. [Case in point.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXvki5MKPAI) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/56 "2014-10-09T10:15:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > [Case in point.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXvki5MKPAI) Fantastic, thanks for that! ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/57 "2014-10-09T10:48:18Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Ha! About the time you were phasing in I was phasing out… Phasing in very slowly. As a matter of fact, I was only becoming aware of the fact that there was a thing called “music” and that it was quite entertaining (I was 5 in 1980 and wouldn’t turn 6 until the very end of the year). But I quickly became a sponge, so to speak. A couple of years later, my grandmother would sit me in front of the tv on Saturday afternoons and I would spend hours watching documentaries, cartoons and music videos while parents were out shopping. 1980 is still a wee bit early for me to remember distinctly apart from some very memorable events (the eruption of Mount St. Helens and a wonderful Christmas show on French tv). Yet, I’m pretty sure that _Another Brick in the Wall_ made a strong impression on me at the time. Considering it as an adult, I still think it’s a very good song. Excellent guitar work by **Gilmour**. [QUOTE= **JKellyMap**] … “Honesty,” the last verse ends with the same syllable as the first syllable of the refrain, so he cleverly elides them: “…you’re the one that I depend upo…nesty is such a lonely word…” [/QUOTE] Yeah, I’ve always thought this was a nice bit of clever songwriting. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/58 "2014-10-09T10:50:04Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Fantastic, thanks for that! That scene, incidentally, was choreographed and directed by Stanley Donen - \*the \*Stanley Donen. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/59 "2014-10-09T13:34:54Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > [Case in point.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXvki5MKPAI) Can’t get to YouTubes from work. What’s the song? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748/60 "2014-10-09T14:06:20Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Can’t get to YouTubes from work. What’s the song? It’s a dance sequence from _Moonlighting_. I am not at all familiar with the show so I guess I can’t comment further. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1980/700748.md?page=4)