When I posted my 1985 mix, I indicated the following year was more in line with what we think of as “Peak Eighties”, i.e. state-of-the-art, ultra-synthetic, BIG sounds that evoke bright neon colors, huge hair and millions spent. Roughly half the tracks below conform, often blatantly (Bananarama’s S/A/W-produced Shocking Blue cover, Siouxsie and the Banshees at last embracing the sparkly pop in their goth, Talk Talk bridging the gap between their new-pop past and near-ambient future) but occasionally accidentally as well. Given their timeless melodies, one can easily imagine what songs from The Bangles, Peter Gabriel (with crucial help from Kate Bush) and Eurythmics would’ve sounded like if recorded in another era.
Still, not everything in ’86 was spandex and synths (to quote another blog.) British-inspired jangle guitar pop was at a shimmering peak, whether crafted by Americans (The Feelies, R.E.M.), Australians (The Go-Betweens, Crowded House) or actual Brits (XTC, The Smiths, The Housemartins.) Meanwhile, ‘Til Tuesday’s “Coming Up Close”, an underrated, pastoral, anomaly-within-the-artist’s-catalog ballad not only transcends 1986, it anticipates Aimee Mann’s subsequent and unlikely (at the time) solo career.
As always, I love the year’s true oddities, from an ingeniously cheeky track off of They Might Be Giants’ debut album to the rise of innovative producers Jam/Lewis via Janet Jackson and The Human League to more sophisti-pop including The Blow Monkeys and Everything But The Girl’s brief but compelling departure into orchestrated Burt Bacharach splendor. Also, actual one hit wonders like Timbuk 3’s goofy/caustic rave-up and the immortal “I Can’t Wait” by the terribly-named Nu Shooz, which both reeks of 1986 and could’ve come out yesterday.
In addition to “Venus” and “Human”, we also had a treasure trove of all-timers topping the Billboard Hot 100. I couldn’t even make room for such undeniable bangers as Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know”, Heart’s unexpectedly enduring “These Dreams” and Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls” (opting instead for their brilliant flop follow-up single.) However, I couldn’t leave off “Live To Tell” (daringly liminal and moody for the time), “Holding Back The Years” (a revelation when it appeared in the TV series Pose a few years back) and of course, “Kiss”—it took a talent as monumentally original as Prince to score a chart-topper so bizarre yet catchy, concise and deliriously out-of-time.
1986: I’m Gonna Show You What It’s All About
- The Feelies, “Let’s Go”
- Nu Shooz, “I Can’t Wait”
- They Might Be Giants, “Number Three”
- The B-52’s, “Ain’t It A Shame”
- Stan Ridgway, “Drive, She Said”
- The Go-Betweens, “Spring Rain”
- The Housemartins, “Think For A Minute”
- Erasure, “Oh L’Amour”
- Bananarama, “Venus”
- Pretenders, “Don’t Get Me Wrong”
- R.E.M., “Fall On Me”
- The Smiths, “Half A Person”
- Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Cities In Dust”
- The Blow Monkeys, “Digging Your Scene”
- Crowded House, “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
- The Human League, “Human”
- Janet Jackson, “What Have You Done For Me Lately”
- Husker Du, “Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely”
- Pet Shop Boys, “Love Comes Quickly”
- ‘Til Tuesday, “Coming Up Close”
- Talk Talk, “Life’s What You Make It”
- Peter Gabriel, “Don’t Give Up”
- Madonna, “Live To Tell”
- Everything But The Girl, “Cross My Heart”
- Simply Red, “Holding Back The Years”
- New Order, “All Day Long”
- Prince and the Revolution, “Kiss”
- The Bangles, “Manic Monday”
- Timbuk 3, “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”
- Cameo, “Word Up”
- Paul Simon, “The Boy In The Bubble”
- XTC, “Earn Enough For Us”
- Eurythmics, “Thorn In My Side”
- Hunters & Collectors, “Throw Your Arms Around Me”
- Concrete Blonde, “True”
Haunted Jukebox 