# Song that epitomizes the 80s
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 8, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465 "2013-11-08T22:14:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/1 "2013-11-08T22:14:03Z")
Mine would be Golden brown by The stranglers.
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### Author:  [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/2 "2013-11-08T23:04:18Z")
Do They Know It’s Christmas.
or, Like a Virgin.
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### Author:  [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/3 "2013-11-08T23:11:03Z")
[“Don’t You Forget About Me”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A).
Thread over.
We could have a whole genre of “Most Xish song of the X’s”.
Obviously for the 90s it is “Smells like Teen Spirit”. So don’t bother with anything else.
My nomination for the 70s is “Heart of Glass” by Blondie.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/4 "2013-11-08T23:22:54Z")
For me, it would be “[The Warrior](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5y7TB1I3D8)” by Scandal (featuring Patty Smyth).
Bang bang!
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### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/5 "2013-11-08T23:26:31Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> [“Don’t You Forget About Me”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A).
>
> Thread over.
Agreed. This is it. No other songs may be considered. Cast your votes, it’s ballot of one.
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### Author:  [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/6 "2013-11-08T23:27:11Z")
Wake Me Up Before You Go Go (Wham)
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### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/7 "2013-11-08T23:28:03Z")
Or maybe [Day Bow Bow](http://youtu.be/xLb9jPuDS9Y).
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### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/8 "2013-11-08T23:28:23Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> [“Don’t You Forget About Me”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A).
>
> Thread over.
Pretty much, but I’ll still throw in Missing Persons’ “Walking in LA” as my nominee.
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### Author:  [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/9 "2013-11-08T23:30:05Z")
Girls Girls Girls by Motley Crue or just about anything by Van Halen (with David Lee Roth).
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### Author:  [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/10 "2013-11-08T23:39:08Z")
Mickey by Toni Basil.
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### Author:  [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/11 "2013-11-08T23:42:30Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> [“Don’t You Forget About Me”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A).
>
> Thread over.
I can’t really fault your suggestion, but the first thing that popped into my head was [Take On Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914).
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### Author:  [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/12 "2013-11-08T23:48:24Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> [“Don’t You Forget About Me”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A).
>
> Thread over.
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#):
>
> Agreed. This is it. No other songs may be considered. Cast your votes, it’s ballot of one.
Yeah, no. There are any number of 80’s songs that would epitomize the decade for any number of people. Hell, I have a playlist of over 200 songs from 1980-1989, and that’s only in a relatively narrow range of rock and pop.
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#):
>
> Or maybe [Day Bow Bow](http://youtu.be/xLb9jPuDS9Y).
(Sidetrack: I don’t watch _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_, so I don’t know if the reference is idiocy on the part of the writers or intended to make the characters look stupid, but there ain’t any part of that song that sounds like “Day Bow Bow”.)
Anyway. Some other candidates:[ul][_]Pat Benatar: “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”[_]Queen & David Bowie: “Under Pressure”[_]The Fixx: “One Thing Leads to Another”[_]Foreigner: “Urgent”[_]Journey: “Don’t Stop Believin’”[_]Eddie Money (with Ronnie Spector): “Take Me Home Tonight”[_]The Police: “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”[_]Bruce Springsteen: “Born in the U.S.A.”[_]Squeeze: “Tempted”[_]Til Tuesday: “Voices Carry”[\*]ZZ Top: “Gimme All Your Lovin’”[/ul]
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### Author:  [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2013, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/13 "2013-11-08T23:58:13Z")
I always think of New Wave when I think of prototypical 80s music–I might pick “Whip It” by Devo, “She Blinded Me with Science” by Thomas Dolby, or “The Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats. Not that it’s my favorite genre, but it definitely sounds like early 80s.
How about other decades?
I would say for the 90s, it’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. In the 70s, it would be “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees. The 60s were Jimi Hendrix’s version of “All Along the Watchtower.” The 50s would be “[Sleep Walk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogxTQXAgY3Q).” “[In the Mood](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPXwkWVEIIw)” by the Glenn Miller Orchestra epitomizes the 1940s (even though it’s from 1939).
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### Author:  [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/14 "2013-11-09T00:01:50Z")
_Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go_.
_Walking On Sunshine_.
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### Author:  [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/15 "2013-11-09T00:04:49Z")
“Walking on Sunshine”-Katrina and The Waves
“99 Red Ballons”-Nena
“Rock Me Amadeus”-Falco
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/16 "2013-11-09T00:09:07Z")
> [@Just\_Ed](#):
>
> For me, it would be “[The Warrior](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5y7TB1I3D8)” by Scandal (featuring Patty Smyth).
>
> Bang bang!
She was briefly married to punk rocker Richard Hell; he’s the father of her oldest child. They met at a music industry function and married a few months later, and here’s the kicker: At the time that they met, neither of them had ever heard of the other one. 😕 She had never followed the punk scene, and he did not watch MTV or listen to Top 40 radio.
As for me, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam’s “Head To Toe” just drips 1980s, along with neon clothing and poofy hair. 🆒
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2013, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/17 "2013-11-09T00:15:18Z")
No one remembers [Thriller](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA)? Even with 155 million views.
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### Author:  [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/18 "2013-11-09T00:16:05Z")
“Your Love” by The Outfield, of course.
“Boys of Summer” by Don Henley might count too.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/19 "2013-11-09T00:18:16Z")
**Everybody Wants To Rule The World** , Tears for Fears
**True** , Spandau Ballet
**Kyrie** , Mr. Mister
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-that-epitomizes-the-80s/673465/20 "2013-11-09T00:19:33Z")
> [@Lemur866](#):
>
> [“Don’t You Forget About Me”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqoNKCCt7A).
>
> Thread over. \
Yup. 🙂
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