Probably my favorite mix of the 80s, 1982 had some classic, classic records, and the inclusion of nearly everything on here is self-explanatory. Here is "Billie Jean" my pick for the best of Thriller, "Planet Rock" and "The Message," maybe the two most important hip hop songs of the first wave, "Come On Eileen" and "I Melt With You," fantastic songs by underrated groups.

Two of the greatest appear on the timeline for the first time: The Clash had their biggest hit with "Rock the Casbah" and the record it came from, and even if it doesn't measure up to their other work, it's a great pop song. Then there's the last big single from Marvin Gaye, who would be killed just two years later. Both artists were integral to their respective genres, and there will be a lot more of both of them in this project.

Two artists I wish I could have fit in more are XTC and Frank Zappa, both included here with huge songs that aren't quite typical of their sound. Though both have strong cult followings, neither made much of an impact in the mainstream, and while Zappa was extremely influential as a musician, his particular songs didn't have the same impact, so his music is, currently anyway, underrepresented.

Elsewhere on the mix, "Temptation" is my favorite New Order song, and closing out the mix are three of the biggest 80s singles from the essential 80s groups Culture Club, Duran Duran, and Flock of Seagulls, who are playing in Los Angeles soon. I'll probably miss the show, unfortunately.

Enjoy 1982, and comment below. I used ysi again, so we'll see if it gets cancelled. Hopefully it wont, but let me know if it maxes out before next monday.

Download the mix here.

EDIT: Well, it happened again. I'll be using sendspace from now on, because someone doesn't like me. Oh well.

The new link.

1. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
2. Planet Rock - Afrika Bambata
3. The Metro - Berlin
4. Come on Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
5. Senses Working Overtime - XTC
6. Rock The Casbah - The Clash
7. I Love Rock and Roll - Joan Jett
8. Valley Girl - Frank Zappa
9. Town Called Malice - The Jam
10. Save It For Later - The English Beat
11. The Message - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
12. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
13. I Melt With You - Modern English
14. Only You - Yazoo
15. Temptation - New Order
16. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me - Culture Club
17. Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
18. I Ran - Flock of Seagulls

1983 is one of those transition years, where things are kind of in a holding pattern. "White Lines" and "Lesson 1" are huge songs for hip hop, but "The Message" and "Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" had already trailblazed in those areas. Run DMC's first big single came in 1983, but their success didn't really start until the next year.

As for rock, most of my choices are major groups having major singles, but not really pushing anything forward. "Burning Down the House" and "Our House" go great together, and "Always Something There to Remind Me" is another one of those classic 80s jams. But the stand-outs are probably "Blister in the Sun," which is still a hit at the teenage parties, and "Sweet Dreams are Made of These," easily the best single from the Eurythmics. Bowie also had his last big hit with "Let's Dance," just before plunging into self-parody.

Maybe the only really really major song here is New Order's "Blue Monday," still one of the best selling singles ever, I believe. Most of the rave scene and British dance music in general can be traced back to this song by the former members of Joy Division. Indeep's "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" is a notable track as well, not just for it's sparse bubblings, but for the simple statement that titles it, a saying that would become essential to the movement, and would also title an excellent book about the history of DJ's.

Enjoy, and comment below.

Download the mix here.

EDIT:Someone must have blocked the file, because I'd be really surprised if it maxed out this quickly. Anyway, here is the re-up. It can't be blocked.

1983

1. Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
2. Lesson 1 (The Payoff Mix) - Double Dee & Steinski
3. Let's Dance - David Bowie
4. The Safety Dance - Men Without Hats
5. Blue Monday - New Order
6. Last Night a DJ Saved My Life - Indeep
7. Atomic Dog - George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic
8. White Lines - Grandmaster Melle Mel
9. Sweet Dreams Are Made of These - Eurythmics
10. Burning Down the House - Talking Heads
11. Our House - Madness
12. Always Something There To Remind Me - Naked Eyes
13. Rockit - Herbie Hancock
14. It's Like That - Run DMC
15. Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
16. Little Red Corvette - Prince
17. Every Breath You Take - The Police

The titular Orwellian year provides us with some enjoyable developments on many fronts. Perhaps you know a few Straight Edge people, perhaps you don't. Either way, they got their start with this Minor Threat track, a 45 second tour de force that couldn't segue better into "You Might Think," the best Cars single not on their self-titled record.

Tina Turner made her big comeback in 84, and Chaka Khan had her biggest hit with a Prince cover. But there are some other huge female-sung hits on here: Sheila E's "Glamorous Life," Sade's excellent "Smooth Operator," and Nena's "99 Luft Ballons." The Nena song was recorded in both German and, once it became a hit, English. I've included the original German version here.

There are three straightforward rock songs on here, the arena-ready "Jump," the blue collar "Born in the USA," and the sexy cool "Back on the Chain Gang," while The Replacements (one of the more underrated bands of the decade) gives a more contemporary, indie-style take on the genre, and Echo and the Bunnymen give the lone moody 80s contribution in the absence of New Order or Depeche Mode.

But through it all, Prince prevails. "Purple Rain." You know you love it.

Enjoy, and comment below.

Download the mix here.

1. Straight Edge - Minor Threat
2. You Might Think - The Cars
3. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
4. 99 Luft Balloons - Nena
5. La Di Da Di - Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick
6. Jump - Van Halen
7. Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen
8. Back On The Chain Gang - The Pretenders
9. Smooth Operator - Sade
10. What's Love Got To Do With It - Tina Turner
11. I Feel For You - Chaka Khan
12. Glamorous Life - Sheila E
13. You Spin Me Round - Dead Or Alive
14. The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen
15. Unsatisfied - The Replacements
16. Freaks Come Out At Night - Whodini
17. Rock Box - Run-D.M.C.
18. Purple Rain - Prince

1985

85 is really where the 80s we know and love from Time Life compilations advertised on late night tv comes out to shine. Tears For Fears had two big singles with "Shout" and "Everybody Wants to Rule The World," I picked the one I like better. "Take On Me" is, of course, one of the great one hit wonders of the 80s, if not of all time, and "Don't You Forget About Me" is one of the most important songs of the 80s, most notably for its inclusion in the 80s Teen archetype The Breakfast Club. Also note the inclusion of Oingo Boingo's best song, "Dead Man's Party." I left out "Weird Science," which may have been a bigger hit, but the band in general is most notable for being Danny Elfman's launch pad into film scoring, where he created the original Batman score and the Simpsons theme.

Still, some great seminal artists can be found making great music in 1985. I included Prince, Talking Heads, Husker Du, Tom Waits, and The Pogues. Jesus and Mary Chain put out their classic, Psychocandy, and my favorite Smiths song was released.

I managed to also include "No UFOs" by Model 500 aka Juan Atkins, the godfather of Detroit Techno. It's a dance classic, and one of the most important Techno tracks ever. As hip hop recedes further, only two songs make the cut, with Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick's classic "The Show," and LL Cool J's "Rock The Bells," off his best record, the definitively old school Radio. It wouldn't be hard to argue that LL is the most consistent star in rap history. Though he has fallen out of fashion at times (and his more recent music is certainly not respected) the fact that he was in on hip hop from its commercial infancy is most impressive. Similar contemporaries like Run DMC toil in relative obscurity now.

Mostly, though, the mid 80s were a holding pattern, with little changing or evolving. It's odd to see the beginning of Mtv, which has been so often criticized for short attention spans and constantly changing trends and fads, create music that, year after year, didn't alter very much. With the exception of "Model 500," there are no real music developments here. Everyone was simply looking for the next synth splash, while people who avoided that stuff had to "settle" for the gritty punk.

Enjoy, and comment below.

Download the mix here.

EDIT: Here is the new link.

1. Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears - 4:11
2. And She Was - Talking Heads - 3:39
3. Take On Me - Ah-Ha - 3:50
4. Raspberry Beret - Prince - 3:32
5. Material Girl - Madonna - 3:53
6. Would I Lie To You - Eurythmics - 4:26
7. Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo - 6:22
8. No UFOs - Model 500 - 3:24
9. The Perfect Kiss - New Order - 4:49
10. Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds - 4:21
11. Downtown Train - Tom Waits - 3:53
12. Cruisers Creek - The Fall - 4:15
13. Makes No Sense at All - Husker Du - 2:42
14. A Pair Of Brown Eyes - The Pogues - 3:42
15. The Show - Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick - 6:38
16. Rock The Bells - LL Cool J - 4:00
17. How Soon Is Now - The Smiths - 6:41
18. Just Like Honey - The Jesus and Mary Chain - 3:03