Todd's Pop Song Reviews2009

Todd in the Shadows:
1987 - what the f*** is going on? Well, I'll tell you, not a whole lot. This was not a good year for the pop charts if this list is any indication. Sure, there were a few classic 80's hits in there, but for the most part, this list is just crap. Anyone who thinks the 80s is nothing but DayGlo fashions and new wave hairdos, all I can tell you is expect a lot less Flock of Seagulls and a lot more Richard Marx. It was hard for me to find ten songs distinct enough to be even worth hating. Whatever shock and energy that'd been provided by MTV at the beginning of the decade, is at this point beginning to devolve into a big goopy mess of synth cheese. And that's a trend that's going to continue as we move into the utter horror that is the early 90s. How bad is this list? Here's all you need to know - the Cutting Crew have two songs in the Top 100. And meanwhile I wasn't expecting to see any like Sonic Youth or anything, but I don't think it's that far out of line for me to ask to see a little something from contemporaneous bands like R.E.M., the Cure, New Order, or freaking Aerosmith. Seriously, Sting is too left of the dial for 1987. That's how bad it was.