My Top 522 Singles of the 1980s

Tuesday, September 01, 2026

 



I have previously made lists of my 522 favorite singles of the 1990s, the 2000s, and the 2010s. My rationale is that there are roughly 522 weeks in a decade, and I love the idea that a great song, a great popular single on the charts that will stand the test of time, comes out at least once a week, all year every year, and has continuously throughout our lifetimes. A lot of people subscribe to the mentality that a great pop song comes out every once in a while and it's this shining exception to a lot of bullshit that nobody needs to hear, but I don't feel that way at all. 

There are 520 songs in my mammoth 38-hour Spotify playlist. Salt-N-Pepa's "I'll Take Your Man" and Vanity 6's "Nasty Girl" are the two songs that aren't on Spotify. Salt-N-Pepa are in a legal battle for control of their master recordings and I wish them luck. Vanity 6 somehow slipped between the cracks when a lot of the albums by Prince's proteges went on streaming services after he died. I put the whole thing on shuffle yesterday and had such a ball dancing around my house, I highly recommend it. 

I wrote in detail about many of these songs in my lists of the best pop, R&B, hip-hop, country, mainstream rock, alternative rock, and hard/rock metal singles of the 1980s. 

1. Queen and David Bowie - "Under Pressure" (1981)
2. Frankie Beverly & Maze - "Before I Let Go" (1981) 
3. Prince - "Little Red Corvette" (1983) 
4. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five – “The Message” (1982)
5. Cyndi Lauper - "Time After Time" (1984)
6. AC/DC - "Back In Black" (1980)
7. Violent Femmes - "Blister In The Sun" (1983)
8. Katrina And The Waves - "Walking On Sunshine" (1985)
9. The Cure - "Just Like Heaven" (1987)
10. Madonna - "Like A Prayer" (1989)
11. George Jones - "He Stopped Loving Her Today" (1980)
12. Luther Vandross - "Never Too Much" (1981) 
13. Talking Heads - "Once In A Lifetime" (1981) 
14. Slick Rick – “Children’s Story” (1989)
15. Wham! - "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" (1984)
16. Iron Maiden - "Run To The Hills" (1982)
17. Van Halen - "Panama" (1984)
18. Tom Petty - "I Won't Back Down" (1989)
19. Public Enemy – “Rebel Without a Pause” (1987)
20. Guns N' Roses - "Welcome To The Jungle" (1988)
21. R.E.M. - "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" (1987)
22. Kate Bush - "Running Up That Hill" (1985)
23. Michael McDonald - "I Keep Forgettin'" (1982)
24. Daryl Hall & John Oates - "You Make My Dreams" (1981)
25. The Isley Brothers - "Between The Sheets" (1983)    
26. Debbie Gibson - "Only In My Dreams" (1987)
27. Tracy Chapman - "Fast Car" (1988)
28. Paul Simon - "You Can Call Me Al" (1986)
29. Michael Jackson - "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (1983) 
30. Whitney Houston - "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (1987) 
31. Stevie Nicks - "Edge Of Seventeen" (1982)
32. Phil Collins - "In The Air Tonight" (1981)
33. Eric B. & Rakim – “Paid in Full” (1987)
34. New Edition - "If It Isn't Love" (1988)  
35. Journey - "Any Way You Want It" (1980)
36. Randy Travis - "Forever And Ever, Amen" (1987)
37. Pat Benatar - "Heartbreaker" (1980)
38. Big Daddy Kane – “Ain’t No Half-Steppin'” (1988)
39. LL Cool J – “Rock the Bells” (1985)
40. Motorhead - "Ace Of Spades" (1980)
41. N.W.A. – “Straight Outta Compton” (1988)
42. Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson - "Pancho and Lefty" (1983)
43. Rush - "Tom Sawyer" (1981)
44. Marvin Gaye - "Sexual Healing" (1982)
45. Robbie Nevil - "C'est La Vie" (1986)  
46. Jane's Addiction - "Mountain Song" (1988)
47. Run-DMC – “King of Rock” (1985)
48. Motley Crue - "Kickstart My Heart" (1989)
49. Devo - "Whip It" (1980)
50. The Human League - "Don't You Want Me" (1982)
51. Modern English - "I Melt With You" (1983)
52. Tom Browne - "Funkin' For Jamaica (N.Y.)" (1980)    
53. Billy Joel - "The Longest Time" (1984) 
54. Sade - "The Sweetest Taboo" (1985)   
55. Soul II Soul - "Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)" (1989)
56. The Gap Band – “Outstanding” (1982) 
57. Prince - "When Doves Cry" (1984)  
58. Living Colour - "Cult Of Personality" (1988)
59. U2 - "New Year's Day" (1983)
60. Metallica - "One" (1989)
61. Neil Young - "Rockin' In The Free World" (1989)
62. Dwight Yoakam - "Guitars, Cadillacs" (1986)
63. They Might Be Giants – “Don’t Let’s Start” (1987)
64. Elton John - "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" (1983)
65. Salt-N-Pepa – “I’ll Take Your Man” (1986)
66. Audio Two – “Top Billin'” (1987)
67. Bruce Springsteen - "I'm On Fire" (1985)
68. INXS - "Don't Change" (1982)
69. ZZ Top - "Gimme All Your Lovin'" (1983) 
70. Soft Cell - "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go?" (1981)
71. Madonna - "Borderline" (1984)
72. The B-52s - "Love Shack" (1989)
73. Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train" (1980)
74. Tanya Tucker - "Love Me Like You Used To" (1987)
75. Pet Shop Boys - "West End Girls" (1986)
76. Sonic Youth - "Teen Age Riot" (1988)
77. Dio - "Rainbow In The Dark" (1983)
78. Tears For Fears - "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" (1985)
79. Starship - "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" (1987)
80. Bon Jovi - "Wanted Dead Or Alive" (1987)
81. John Mellencamp - "Cherry Bomb" (1987)
82. George Strait - "Amarillo By Morning" (1983)
83. George Michael - "Faith" (1987)
84. Christopher Cross - "Ride Like The Wind" (1980)
85. Eurythmics - "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" (1983)
86. The Clash - "Rock The Casbah"  (1982)
87. Billy Idol - "Dancing With Myself" (1981)
88. Def Leppard - "Photograph" (1983)
89. The Who - "Eminence Front" (1982)
90. Dexys Midnight Runners - "Come On Eileen" (1983)
91. Judas Priest - "Breaking The Law" (1980)
92. Ice-T – “6 ‘N the Mornin’” (1986)
93. Schoolly D – “P.S.K. What Does It Mean?” (1985)
94. Suicidal Tendencies - "Institutionalized" (1984)
95. Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock – “It Takes Two” (1988)
96. The Pointer Sisters - "Neutron Dance" (1985) 
97. Donna Summer - "She Works Hard For The Money" (1983)
98. Rick Springfield - "Jessie's Girl" (1981)
99. Rick Astley - "Never Gonna Give You Up" (1988)
100. Lipps Inc. - "Funkytown" (1980)  
101. Cyndi Lauper - "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (1983)
102. Janet Jackson - "When I Think Of You" (1986)   
103. Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force – “Planet Rock” (1982)
104. The Dead Milkmen - "Punk Rock Girl" (1989)
105. Funky 4 + 1 – “That’s the Joint” (1980)
106. Stevie Wonder - "Do I Do" (1982)  
107. Daryl Hall & John Oates - "Private Eyes" (1981)
108. Boogie Down Productions – “South Bronx” (1986)
109. Teena Marie - "Square Biz" (1982)
110. Keith Whitley - "I'm No Stranger To The Rain" (1989)
111. The Cult - "She Sells Sanctuary" (1985)
112. Squeeze - "Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)" (1980)
113. Wang Chung - "Dance Hall Days" (1984)
114. Chaka Khan – “What 'Cha Gonna Do For Me” (1981)
115. Steve Winwood - "Roll With It" (1988) 
116. Michael Jackson - "Rock With You" (1980) 
117. Billy Squier - "Lonely Is The Night" (1981)
118. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris - "Wildflowers" (1988)
119. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "Refugee" (1980)
120. Genesis - "No Reply At All" (1981) 
121. Bruce Hornsby and the Range - "The Way It Is" (1986)
122. Toto - "Rosanna" (1982) 
123. Bonnie Tyler - "Total Eclipse of the Heart" (1983)
124. Tina Turner - "The Best" (1989)  
125. Queen - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (1980)
126. Madonna - "Express Yourself" (1989) 
127. Whitesnake - "Here I Go Again" (1987)
128. Heart - "Alone" (1987)
129. Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher" (1984)
130. Guns N' Roses - "Sweet Child O' Mine" (1988)  
131. The Replacements - "Alex Chilton" (1987)
132. A-ha - "Take On Me" (1985)
133. The Romantics - "What I Like About You" (1980)
134. Eddie Money - "Shakin'" (1982)
135. MC Shan – “The Bridge” (1985)
136. The Police - "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" (1981)
137. Roxanne Shante – “Roxanne’s Revenge” (1984)
138. UTFO – “Roxanne, Roxanne” (1984)
139. Big Country - "In A Big Country" (1983)
140. Bruce Springsteen - "Hungry Heart" (1980)
141. The D.O.C. – “It’s Funky Enough” (1989)
142. The Pretenders - "Back On The Chain Gang" (1983)
143. Journey – “Stone In Love” (1982)
144. The Greg Kihn Band - "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)" (1981)
145. Wall Of Voodoo - "Mexican Radio"  (1983)
146. Pete Townshend - "Let My Love Open The Door" (1980)
147. Crowded House - "Don't Dream It's Over" (1987)
148. Don Henley - "The Boys Of Summer" (1984)  
149. Depeche Mode – “People Are People” (1984)
150. General Public - "Tenderness" (1984)
151. Fleetwood Mac - "Gypsy" (1982)  
152. De La Soul featuring the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Monie Love, and Queen Latifah – “Buddy (Native Tongue Decision)” (1989)
153. Traveling Wilburys - "Handle With Care" (1988)
154. Fabulous Thunderbirds - "Tuff Enuff" (1986) 
155. Anita Baker - "Same Ole Love (365 Days A Year)" (1987)  
156. The Pixies - "Here Comes Your Man" (1989)
157. The Ramones - "We Want The Airwaves" (1981)
158. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - "Bad Reputation" (1981)
159. Cameo - "Word Up!" (1986) 
160. Poison - "Talk Dirty To Me" (1987) 
161. Beastie Boys – “Paul Revere” (1986)
162. Public Enemy – “Fight the Power” (1989)
163. E.U. - "Da Butt" (1988)  
164. Melle Mel – “White Lines (Don’t Do It)” (1983)
165. The Smiths - "How Soon Is Now?" (1985)
166. Buster Poindexter And His Banshees of Blue - "Hot Hot Hot" (1987) 
167. DeBarge - "I Like It" (1982)    
168. Prince and the Revolution - "I Would Die 4 U" (1985)  
169. Herbie Hancock – “Rockit” (1983)
170. Huey Lewis and the News - "If This Is It" (1984)   
171. .38 Special - "Hold On Loosely" (1981)
172. Alabama - "Mountain Music" (1982)
173. Stetsasonic – “Talkin’ All That Jazz” (1988)
174. Bob Marley and the Wailers – “Could You Be Loved” (1980) 
175. John Mellencamp - "Jack & Diane" (1982)
176. Cheryl Lynn - "Encore" (1984)
177. Oingo Boingo - "Dead Man's Party" (1986)
178. The Waterboys - "The Whole Of The Moon" (1986)
179. Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew – “The Show” (1985)

































180. Fine Young Cannibals - "Good Thing" (1989)
181. Kenny Loggins - "This Is It" (1980)
182. Janet Jackson - "The Pleasure Principle" (1987)  
183. Teddy Pendergrass - "Love T.K.O." (1980)
184. Madness - "Our House" (1983)
185. Tom Tom Club - "Genius Of Love" (1982) 
186. The Waitresses - "Christmas Wrapping" (1981)
187. Wham! - "Last Christmas" (1984) 
188. Sinead O'Connor - "Mandinka" (1987)
189. David Bowie - "Ashes To Ashes" (1980)
190. Peter Gabriel - "Games Without Frontiers" (1980)
191. Genesis - "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" (1987)
192. Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine - "1-2-3" (1988)
193. Rod Stewart - "Young Turks" (1981) 
194. Styx - "Too Much Time On My Hands" (1981)
195. The Hooters - "And We Danced" (1985)
196. The Outfield - "Your Love" (1986) 
197. Murray Head - "One Night In Bangkok" (1985)
198. Nu Shooz - "I Can't Wait" (1986)
199. New Order - "Bizarre Love Triangle" (1986)
200. Michael Jackson - "Beat It" (1983)   
201. Kim Carnes - "Bette Davis Eyes" (1981) 
202. Donnie Iris - "Ah! Leah!" (1980) 
203. The Dazz Band - "Let It Whip" (1982) 
204. George Clinton - "Atomic Dog" (1983)  
205. Bryan Adams - "Somebody" (1985)
206. Simple Minds - "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985)
207. Peter Gabriel - "In Your Eyes" (1986)
208. INXS - "New Sensation" (1988)
209. Queen - "Another One Bites The Dust" (1980)
210. David Bowie - "Let's Dance" (1983)
211. The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues" (1988)
212. Nena - "99 Luftballoons" (1984)
213. The Clash - "Train In Vain" (1980)
214. Indigo Girls - "Closer To Fine" (1989)
215. R.E.M. - "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" (1984)
216. The Police - "Every Breath You Take" (1983) 
217. U2 - "With Or Without You" (1987)
218. Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" (1981)
219. The Cure - "Close To Me" (1985)
220. Patrice Rushen - "Forget Me Nots" (1982)   
221. Frida - "I Know There's Something Going On" (1983)
222. Rick James - "Super Freak" (1981) 
223. Prince - "Controversy" (1981)  
224. Olivia Newton-John - "Physical" (1981)
225. INXS - "What You Need" (1985)
226. Squeeze - "Tempted" (1981)
227. Starpoint - "Object Of My Desire" (1985)
228. Lionel Richie - "All Night Long (All Night)" (1983)  
229. Janet Jackson - "Rhythm Nation" (1989)
230. U2 - "All I Want Is You" (1989)
231. Madonna - "Material Girl" (1985)
232. Bonnie Raitt - "Thing Called Love" (1989)
233. Zapp - "Computer Love" (1985)
234. Little Feat - "Let It Roll" (1988)
235. Journey - "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (1983)
236. Naked Eyes – “Always Something There To Remind Me" (1983)
237. Cowboy Junkies - "Sweet Jane" (1989)
238. Bananarama - "Cruel Summer" (1984)
239. Talking Heads - "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)" (1983)
240. Aretha Franklin f/ George Michael - "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" (1987) 
241. Blondie - "Rapture" (1981)
242. Daryl Hall & John Oates - "Kiss On My List" (1981)
243. Surface - "Happy" (1987)  
244. Foreigner - "Juke Box Hero" (1981)
245. The Jacksons - "This Place Hotel" (1981) 
246. Bobby Brown - "Don't Be Cruel" (1988) 
247. Laurie Anderson - "O Superman" (1981)
248. George Thorogood & The Destroyers - "I Drink Alone" (1985) 
249. Jennifer Holliday - "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (1982)  
250. Diana Ross - "Upside Down" (1980) 
251. Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force - "I Wonder If I Take You Home" (1985)
252. The Weather Girls - "It's Raining Men" (1982)     
253. Milli Vanilli - "Girl You Know It's True" (1989)
254. The Time – “777-9311” (1982)
255. Robert Plant - "In The Mood" (1983)
256. Loverboy - "Working For the Weekend" (1982) 
257. Pink Floyd - "Learning To Fly" (1987)
258. Keni Burke - "Risin' To The Top" (1982) 
259. Prince and the Revolution - "Kiss" (1986)               
260. Eddy Grant - "Electric Avenue" (1983)
261. Bobby Brown - "On Our Own" (1989)
262. Reba McEntire - "Little Rock" (1986)
263. Janet Jackson - "Miss You Much" (1989)
264. Pretenders - "Don't Get Me Wrong" (1986)
265. Taana Gardner – “Heartbeat” (1981)
266. Rufus & Chaka Khan - "Ain't Nobody" (1983)
267. Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean" (1983)
268. Tears For Fears - "Head Over Heels" (1985)
269. Rick James – “Give It To Me Baby” (1981)
270. Kool & The Gang – “Get Down On It” (1981)
271. Neneh Cherry - "Buffalo Stance" (1989)
272. Karla Bonoff - "Personally" (1982)
273. Prince - "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" (1987)
274. Newcleus – “Jam on It” (1984)
275. Rosanne Cash - "Seven Year Ache" (1981)
276. Scorpions - "Rock You Like A Hurricane" (1984)
277. The Gap Band – “Yearning For Your Love” (1981)
278. Tone Loc – “Wild Thing” (1988)
279. George Jones - "Tennessee Whiskey" (1983)
280. George Michael - "Father Figure" (1988)
281. Lita Ford - "Kiss Me Deadly" (1988)
282. Tears For Fears f/ Oleta Adams - "Woman In Chains" (1989)
283. Kate Bush - "This Woman's Work" (1989)
284. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - "Fishin' In The Dark" (1987)
285. Dead Or Alive - "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" (1985) 
286. Autograph - "Turn Up The Radio" (1984)
287. Luther Vandross - "A House Is Not A Home" (1981)
288. Willie Nelson - "On The Road Again" (1980)
289. Jermaine Stewart - "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" (1986) 
290. Cyndi Lauper - "Money Changes Everything" (1985)
291. Was (Not Was) - "Walk The Dinosaur" (1989)
292. Bobby McFerrin - "Don't Worry, Be Happy" (1988)  
293. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – “Parents Just Don’t Understand” (1988)
294. Prince - "1999" (1982)
295. Michael Jackson - "Thriller" (1984)
296. Madonna - "Open Your Heart" (1987) 
297. Motley Crue - "Home Sweet Home" (1985)
298. AC/DC - "You Shook Me All Night Long" (1980)
299. Jackson Browne - "In The Shape Of A Heart" (1986)
300. Bruce Springsteen - "Dancing In The Dark" (1984)
301. Metallica - "For Whom The Bell Tolls" (1985)
302. Slayer - "Reign In Blood" (1986)
303. Megadeth - "Peace Sells" (1986)
304. Kathy Mattea - "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses" (1988)
305. Prince - "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" (1980)
306. R.E.M. – “The One I Love” (1987)
307. Michael Jackson - "Smooth Criminal" (1988)
308. Change f/ Luther Vandross - "The Glow Of Love" (1980)
309. INXS - "Need You Tonight" (1987)
310. Frankie Beverly & Maze - "Joy And Pain" (1980)
311. The Rolling Stones - "Start Me Up" (1981) 
312. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "Don't Come Around Here No More" (1985) 
313. Peter Gabriel - "Sledgehammer" (1986)
314. Phil Collins - "Sussudio" (1985)
315. Duran Duran - "Hungry Like The Wolf" (1982)
316. The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl - "Fairytale Of New York" (1987)
317. Bryan Adams – “Cuts Like A Knife” (1983)
318. Pat Benatar - "Love Is A Battlefield" (1983)
319. Prince - "Uptown" (1980)
320. Queen Latifah – “Dance for Me” (1989)
321. Michael Jackson - "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (1983)
322. The Judds - "Had A Dream (For The Heart)" (1983)
323. Van Halen - "Everybody Wants Some!!" (1980)
324. New Kids On The Block - "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" (1989) 
325. Harold Faltermeyer - "Axel F" (1985) 
326. Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra - "Xanadu" (1980)
327. Steely Dan - "Hey Nineteen" (1980)
328. Ray Parker, Jr. - "Ghostbusters" (1984)
329. Shannon - "Let The Music Play" (1984)
330. U2 - "Where The Streets Have No Name" (1987)
331. Talking Heads - "And She Was" (1985)
332. R.E.M. - "Radio Free Europe" (1983)
333. Vanity 6 - "Nasty Girl" (1982)
334. Alicia Myers – “I Want To Thank You” (1982)
335. Shalamar – “A Night To Remember” (1982)
336. The Psychedelic Furs - "Pretty In Pink" (1986)
337. Michael Jackson - "The Way You Make Me Feel" (1987)
338. “Weird Al” Yankovic – “Eat It” (1984)
339. Bruce Springsteen - "Born In The U.S.A." (1984)
340. Phil Collins - "I Don't Care Anymore" (1983)
341. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - "If You Leave" (1986)
342. Spandau Ballet - "True" (1983)
343. Kix - "Blow My Fuse" (1988)
344. The Deele - "Two Occasions" (1988)
345. Tears For Fears - "Mad World" (1982)
346. Thomas Dolby - "She Blinded Me With Science" (1983)
347. The Ramones - "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" (1980)































348. Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson - "Say Say Say" (1983)
349. David Bowie - "Modern Love" (1983)
350. MC Lyte – “Cha Cha Cha” (1989)
351. J.J. Fad – “Supersonic” (1988)
352. The Cure - "Lovesong" (1989)
353. Billy Squier - "The Stroke" (1981)
354. Marley Marl featuring Masta Ace, Craig G, Kool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane – “The Symphony” (1988)
355. Red Rider - "Lunatic Fringe" (1981)
356. 3rd Bass f/ Zev Love X – “The Gas Face” (1989)
357. Special Ed – “I Got It Made” (1989)
358. LL Cool J – “I’m Bad” (1987)
359. Michael Jackson - "Human Nature"  (1983)
360. Aerosmith - "Love In An Elevator" (1989)
361. Prince and the Revolution - "Pop Life" (1985)
362. Bruce Springsteen - "Atlantic City" (1982)
363. Culture Club - "Karma Chameleon" (1984)
364. Poison - "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (1988)
365. "Weird Al" Yankovic - "Dare To Be Stupid" (1986)
366. Bon Jovi - "Livin' On A Prayer" (1987)
367. Jody Watley - "Real Love" (1989)
368. Men At Work - "Overkill" (1982)
369. Tones On Tail - "Go!" (1984)
370. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" (1982)
371. Michael Jackson featuring Siedah Garrett - "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (1987)
372. Face To Face - "10-9-8" (1984)
373. T La Rock & Jazzy Jay – “It’s Yours” (1984)
374. Def Leppard - "Animal" (1987)
375. The Treacherous Three – “Body Rock” (1980)
376. Rush - "Freewill" (1980)
377. Prince featuring Sheena Easton - "U Got The Look" (1987)
378. The English Beat - "Save It For Later" (1982)
379. The Sequence featuring Spoonie Gee – “Monster Jam” (1980)
380. Blue Oyster Cult - "Burnin' For You" (1981)
381. The Showboys – “Drag Rap” (1986)
382. 2 Live Crew – “Me So Horny” (1989)
383. Guns N' Roses - "Paradise City" (1989)
384. Sir Mix-A-Lot – “Posse on Broadway” (1988)
385. Van Halen - "Unchained" (1981)
386. Too $hort – “Life Is … Too Short” (1988)
387. Billy Idol – “Rebel Yell” (1984)
388. Journey – “Don’t Stop Believin’” (1981)
389. Pebbles - "Girlfriend" (1988)
390. Madonna – “Into The Groove” (1985)
391. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Everyday I Write The Book” (1983)
392. Twisted Sister - "We're Not Gonna Take It" (1984)
393. Biz Markie – “Nobody Beats the Biz” (1987)
394. Ozzy Osbourne - "Over The Mountain" (1981)
395. Eazy-E – “Boyz-n-the-hood” (1987)
396. Billy Joel - "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me" (1980)
397. Great White - "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" (1989)
398. Whodini – “Freaks Come Out at Night” (1984)
399. Quiet Riot - "Cum On Feel The Noize" (1983)
400. Run-DMC – “It’s Like That” (1983)
401. Dire Straits – “Walk of Life” (1985)
402. Ratt - "Round and Round" (1984)
403. Kurtis Blow – “The Breaks” (1980)
404. Bon Jovi - "Runaway" (1984)
405. The Sugarhill Gang – “Apache” (1981)
406. Kiss - "Lick It Up" (1983)
407. LL Cool J – “Going Back To Cali” (1988)
408. Bruce Springsteen - "Glory Days" (1985)
409. Madonna – “Cherish” (1989)
410. Def Leppard - "Foolin'" (1983)
411. Billy Joel – “Pressure” (1982)
412. Billy Idol – “White Wedding” (1982)
413. Survivor - "Eye of the Tiger" (1982)
414. Europe - "The Final Countdown" (1986)
415. Pat Benatar – “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” (1980)
416. Rush - "The Spirit Of Radio" (1980)
417. Bob Seger - "Her Strut" (1980)
416. EPMD - "You Gots To Chill" (1988)
418. Rakim - "Follow The Leader" (1988)
420. The Go-Go's - "Head Over Heels" (1984)
421. Howard Jones - "Things Can Only Get Better" (1985)
422. John Mellencamp - "Pink Houses" (1983)
423. Pink Floyd - "Comfortably Numb" (1980)
424. Run-DMC - "It's Tricky" (1987)
425. Tom Petty – “Runnin' Down A Dream” (1989)
426. Van Halen - "And The Cradle Will Rock..." (1980)
426. Genesis - "Misunderstanding" (1980)
427. The Replacements - "I Will Dare" (1984)
428. Frankie Goes To Hollywood - "Relax" (1985)
429. Billy Idol – “Eyes Without A Face” (1984)
430. The Vapors - "Turning Japanese" (1980)
431. LL Cool J – “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” (1985)
432. Diana Ross - "I'm Coming Out" (1980)
433. Paul McCartney - "Coming Up" (1980)
434. Def Leppard – “Hysteria” (1988)
435. ZZ Top - "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" (1980)
436. Billy Joel – “Uptown Girl” (1983)
437. Erasure - "A Little Respect" (1989)
438. Anita Baker - "Sweet Love" (1986)
439. Elvis Costello – “Veronica” (1989)
440. Bob Seger - "Against the Wind" (1986)
441. Run-DMC - "My Adidas" (1986)
442. The Fixx - "One Thing Leads To Another" (1983)
443. Madonna – “Like A Virgin” (1984)
444. The Dead Milkmen - "Bitchin' Camaro" (1985)
445. Aerosmith – “Rag Doll” (1988)
446. The Cars - "Drive" (1984)
447. Bruce Springsteen - "Brilliant Disguise" (1987)
448. R.E.M. - "Orange Crush" (1988)
449. Oran "Juice" Jones - "The Rain" (1986)
450. Cameo - "Candy" (1986)             
451. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Here Comes My Girl” (1980)
452. Judas Priest - "Living After Midnight" (1980)
453. The Police - "Wrapped Around Your Finger" (1984)
454. LL Cool J – “Big Ole Butt” (1989)
455. Camper Van Beethoven - "Take The Skinheads Bowling" (1985)
456. Talking Heads - "Wild Wild Life" (1986)
457. Culture Club - "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?" (1983) 
458. Eugene Wilde - "Gotta Get You Home Tonight" (1984)
459. The Cars – “You Might Think” (1984)
460. Def Leppard – “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (1988)
461. Madonna – “Holiday” (1983)
462. Dennis Edwards f/ Siedah Garrett – “Don’t Look Any Further” (1984)
463. Violent Femmes - "Gone Daddy Gone" (1983)
464. Aerosmith – “Janie’s Got A Gun” (1989)
465. U2 - "Bad (live)" (1985)
466. The Nails - "88 Lines About 44 Women" (1985)
467. R.E.M. - "Fall On Me" (1986)
468. Bob Seger – “Against The Wind” (1980)
469. Billy Joel - "You May Be Right" (1980)
470. The Police - "Don't Stand So Close To Me" (1980)
471. Don Dixon - "Praying Mantis" (1985)
472. Yello - "Oh Yeah" (1987)
473. Jocelyn Brown – “Somebody Else’s Guy” (1984)
474. The Go-Go's - "We Got The Beat" (1981)
475. Blondie - "Call Me"  (1980)
476. U2 - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (1987)
477. Run-DMC and Aerosmith - "Walk This Way" (1986)
478. Janet Jackson - "Nasty" (1986)
479. R.E.M. - "Pop Song 89" (1989)
480. Madness - "It Must Be Love" (1981)
481. Depeche Mode - "Just Can't Get Enough" (1981)
482. Madonna – “Lucky Star” (1983)
483. Billy Joel – “A Matter of Trust” (1986)
484. Ashford & Simpson - "Solid" (1984)
485. Prince - "Purple Rain" (1984)
486. Duran Duran - "Notorious" (1986)
487. The The - "This Is The Day" (1983)
488. INXS - "Devil Inside" (1988)
489. Jane's Addiction - "Jane Says" (1988) 
490. Talking Heads - "Burning Down The House" (1983) 
491. U2 - "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" (1984)
492. R.E.M. - "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" (1984)
493. Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush - "Don't Give Up" (1986) 
494. Split Enz - "I Got You" (1980)
495. Information Society - "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" (1988)
496. Squeeze - "Black Coffee In Bed" (1982)
497. Deniece Williams - "Let's Hear It For The Boy" (1984)
498. Madonna – “Dress You Up” (1985)
499. The Police - "Synchronicity II" (1983)
500. Fishbone - "Party At Ground Zero" (1985)
501. Joe Jackson - "Steppin' Out" (1982)
502. Janet Jackson - "What Have You Done For Me Lately" (1986)
503. The Replacements - "Bastards Of Young" (1985) 
504. Prince and the Revolution - "Raspberry Beret" (1985)
505. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "The Waiting" (1981)
506. The B-52's - "Private Idaho" (1981)
507. Sade - "Smooth Operator" (1984)
508. New Order - "Blue Monday" (1983)
509. Talking Heads - "Road To Nowhere" (1985)
510. The Waitresses - "I Know What Boys Like"  (1982)
511. Ronnie Milsap - "Smoky Mountain Rain" (1980)
512. The Cure - "In Between Days" (1985)
513. George Strait - "The Chair" (1985)
514. The Replacements - "I'll Be You" (1989)
515. U2 - "I Will Follow" (1981)
516. Hank Williams Jr. - "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" (1984)
517. Jim Carroll Band - "People Who Died" (1980)
518. Dolly Parton - "9 To 5" (1980)
519. Peter Gabriel - "Shock The Monkey" (1982)
520. Emmylou Harris - "Born To Run" (1982)
521. Bruce Springsteen – “Tunnel of Love” (1987)
522. The B-52's - "Song For A Future Generation" (1983)

4:00 AM

Friday, August 28, 2026

 




I wrote about Dolly Parton's "Down From Dover" for my Spin column Deep Cut Friday. We love you, Dolly. 

3:19 PM

Reading Diary

Thursday, August 27, 2026





























a) Chronicles of DOOM: Unraveling Rap's Masked Iconoclast, by S.H. Fernando Jr. 
I don't know Baltimore musician/music critic S.H. Fernando Jr. aka Skiz, but I did cite his 2005 Spin article about Baltimore club music in my own book, and lately I've been really enjoying his 2024 biography of MF DOOM. I remember in the early 2000s when MF DOOM was the talk of the underground rap world and my friend Josh mailed me like 4 burned CD's of different DOOM projects. But I didn't dig into the lore at the time and was surprised to learn that DOOM had been around a decade earlier, guesting on 3rd Bass's "Gas Face" under his previous rap name, Zev Love X of KMD. Chronicles of DOOM digs deep into that metamorphosis, how the tragedy of DOOM's brother and groupmate Subroc's death changed everything and led to his reinvention. This book has me really going back into DOOM's catalog more than even when DOOM died in 2020, really well researched and full of detail and emotion and context. 

b) The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music, by Dave Grohl
There's a used bookstore near our house that my wife has become a regular at, and the first time she took me to it, I of course scoured the shelf of music books, and found a very cheap copy of Dave Grohl's 2021 book and snapped it up. Grohl's always been so personable and passionate in interviews and seems to have a good memory, so I knew this would be a good read, although I was a little disappointed that I don't really get as much of his 'voice' or personality on the page as I hoped. It just feels like he (or an editor or co-writer or whoever) cleaned up the prose a little too much, to the point where it doesn't feel like you're just sitting there listening to Grohl sitting on a tour bus telling stories about the Scream and Nirvana days, which is what this book should be. Some of those stories are great, though, surprisingly quite a few that I hadn't heard before, and a bit of insight into how he thinks of himself as a drummer and what made him a better drummer and so determined to devote his life to music. 

c) Brothers, by Alex Van Halen
There were actually two books by drummers the day I went into that bookstore, and I decided to take the Grohl book and leave Alex Van Halen's 2024 memoir. I'd already read a couple very entertaining accounts of the rise of Van Halen, in David Lee Roth's book and producer Ted Templeman's book, and didn't think I really needed another. Alex often sat next to Eddie in interviews, Eddie often sounding pissed off and bitter, and Alex just silent or agreeing, so I wasn't sure I needed his perspective. But Brothers was still there the next time I went to that store, and I'm glad I picked it up. It's a pretty compelling account of their entire lives together, being born in Holland and coming to America, playing different instruments with their musician father and eventually finding guitar and drums, building Van Halen brick by brick, it's really a very touching story of a sibling bond. And because so many other people have told this story already, Alex Van Halen gets to quote his brother's interviews and Dave and Ted's books and rebut them or expand on their insights. 

3:18 PM

My Top 50 Movies of 2010

Tuesday, August 25, 2026






























1. Inception (Christopher Nolan)
2. The Social Network (David Fincher)
3. Easy A (Will Gluck)
4. Black Swan (Darren Aronofsky)
5. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (Mat Whitecross)
6. True Grit (Ethan Coen and Joel Coen)
7. MacGruber (Jorma Taccone)
8. The Other Guys (Adam McKay)
9. Ceremony (Max Winkler)
10. Wrecked (Michael Greenspan)
11. 127 Hours (Danny Boyle)
12. Meek’s Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt)
13. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Scott Pilgrim)
14. Rubber (Quentin Dupieux)
15. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (Zack Snyder)
16. Despicable Me (Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud)
17. How To Train Your Dragon (Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders)
18. The American (Anton Corbijn)
19. Devil (John Erick Dowdle)
20. The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko)
21. Rabbit Hole (John Cameron Mitchell)
22. The Disappearance of Alice Creed (J Blakeson)
23. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)
24. The Book of Eli (Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes)
25. Somewhere (Sofia Coppola)
26. Machete (Ethan Maniquis and Robert Rodriguez)
27. The Town (Ben Affleck)
28. Wild Target (Jonathan Lynn)
29. Paranormal Activity 2 (Tod Williams)
30. The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper)
31. Love & Other Drugs (Edward Zwick)
32. Hereafter (Clint Eastwood)
33. Legion (Scott Stewart)
34. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (Troy Nixey)
35. Secretariat (Randall Wallace)
36. Hot Tub Time Machine (Steve Pink)
37. Knight and Day (James Mangold)
38. The Fighter (David O. Russell)
39. Let Me In (Matt Reeves)
40. Please Give (Nicole Holofcener)
41. Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau)
42. My Soul to Take (Wes Craven)
43. It’s Kind of a Funny Story (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck)
44. How Do You Know (James L. Brooks)
45. Insidious (James Wan)
46. Red (Robert Schwentke)
47. The Expendables (Sylvester Stallone)
48. Death at a Funeral (Neil LaBute)
49. Unstoppable (Tony Scott)
50. Going the Distance (Nanette Burstein)

It might be that 15 years ago is right in that spot where things start to feel really dated but you don't quite feel nostalgic, but I genuinely think the early 2010s was a low point for film and I think I felt that way at the time too. Obviously some bangers in this list but these last couple posts were harder to come up with lists I can live with, even as I was watching and discovering some good stuff I hadn't seen before. 

Previously: 
My Top 50 Movies of 2011
My Top 50 Movies of 2012
My Top 50 Movies of 2013
My Top 50 Movies of 2014
My Top 50 Movies of 2015
My Top 50 Movies of 2016
My Top 50 Movies of 2017
My Top 50 Movies of 2018
My Top 50 Movies of 2019
My Top 50 Movies of 2020
My Top 50 Movies of 2021
My Top 50 Movies of 2022
My Top 50 Movies of 2023
My Top 50 Movies of 2024

4:01 AM

My Top 50 Movies of 2011

Monday, August 24, 2026
































1. Take Shelter (Jeff Nichols)
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher)
3. Moneyball (Bennett Miller)
4. Our Idiot Brother (Jesse Peretz)
5. Take This Waltz (Sarah Polley)
6. The Adjustment Bureau (George Nolfi)
7. Contagion (Steven Soderbergh)
8. The Descendants (Alexander Payne)
9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Rupert Wyatt)
10. A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg)
11. Killer Joe (William Friedkin)
12. Bridesmaids (Paul Feig)
13. Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn)
14. The Lincoln Lawyer (Brad Furman)
15. Attack The Block (Joe Cornish)
16. Sucker Punch (Zack Snyder)
17. 50/50 (Jonathan Levine)
18. One Day (Lone Scherfig)
19. Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan)
20. Haywire (Steven Soderbergh)
21. Weekend (Andrew Haigh)
22. Hanna (Joe Wright)
23. We Need To Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay)
24. Damsels In Distress (Whit Stillman)
25. The Muppets (James Bobin)
26. Bad Teacher (Jake Kasdan)
27. The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius)
28. Captain America: The First Avenger (Joe Johnston)
29. Friends With Kids (Jennifer Westfeldt)
30. Friends With Benefits (Will Gluck)
31. No Strings Attached (Ivan Reitman)
32. The Mechanic (Simon West)
33. Drive Angry (Patrick Lussier)
34. We Bought A Zoo (Cameron Crowe)
35. The Adventures of Tintin (Steven Spielberg)
36. Hugo (Martin Scorsese)
37. Musical Chairs (Susan Seidelman)
38. Something Borrowed (Luke Greenfield)
39. Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks)
40. Crazy, Stupid, Love (Glenn Ficarra and John Requa)
41. Immortals (Tarsem Singh)
42. The Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard)
43. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Stephen Daldry)
44. Warrior (Gavin O’Connor)
45. Paranormal Activity 3 (Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman)
46. Carnage (Roman Polanski)
47. Midnight In Paris (Woody Allen)
48. The Help (Tate Taylor)
49. Your Highness (David Gordon Green)
50. Thor (Kenneth Branagh)

I still can't believe they bought that friggin' zoo. 

Previously: 
My Top 50 Movies of 2012
My Top 50 Movies of 2013
My Top 50 Movies of 2014
My Top 50 Movies of 2015
My Top 50 Movies of 2016
My Top 50 Movies of 2017
My Top 50 Movies of 2018
My Top 50 Movies of 2019
My Top 50 Movies of 2020
My Top 50 Movies of 2021
My Top 50 Movies of 2022
My Top 50 Movies of 2023
My Top 50 Movies of 2024

4:00 AM

Saturday, August 22, 2026

 




The 4th episode of Total Ship Show is out now wherever you listen to podcasts. We talk about karaoke, lyric teleprompters, my family's collection of card games with weird names, daughters, dogs, y'know, no big whoop. 

1:00 PM

Friday, August 21, 2026

 




This week on Spin, I wrote a Deep Cut Friday column about "SenSurround" by They Might Be Giants, and recommended acts to check out at Bourbon & Beyond. 

12:00 PM

Deep Album Cuts Vol. 412: En Vogue

Thursday, August 20, 2026

 







En Vogue are my 21st favorite singles act of the 1990s, and the only artist in the top 40 of that list that I hadn't done a deep cuts playlist for yet, so I thought I'd take a look at their catalog. 
 
En Vogue deep album cuts (Spotify playlist):

1. Luv Lines
2. Waitin' On You
3. Time Goes On
4. Just Can't Stay Away
5. Desire
6. This Is Your Life
7. Hip Hop Lover
8. It Ain't Over Till The Fat Lady Sings
9. Hooked On Your Love
10. Right Direction
11. Damn I Wanna Be Your Lover
12. You're All I Need
13. Does Anybody Hear Me
14. Number One Man
15. Beat of Love
16. Snowy Nights
17. Oceans Deep
18. Blue Skies

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from Born to Sing (1990)
Tracks 6, 7, 8, and 9 from Funky Divas (1992)
Tracks 10, 11, 12, and 13 from EV3 (1997)
Tracks 14 and 15 from Masterpiece Theatre (2000)
Track 16 from The Gift of Christmas (2002)
Tracks 17 and 18 from Electric Cafe (2018)

My family got a cable package with MTV around the time Funky Divas came out, so I started becoming a pop music obsessive in an era when Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, and Dawn Robinson were four of the most beautiful and talented women in heavy rotation on the channel, and they made an enormous impression on me as a 10 or 11-year-old boy. 

En Vogue didn't really get to enjoy their run at the top as much as they should have. By the time they finally followed up Funky Divas five years later, Robinson had gone solo, signing to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records. Her vocals are still on the group's third album, but the title EV3 and the cover photo of the three remaining members made it clear she was no longer a member. Robinson had the biggest and most distinctive voice in En Vogue, and she went on to make one successful album with the supergroup Lucy Pearl. But she was one of too many acts that languished on the Aftermath roster for years and eventually released an album on another label. Robinson reunited with En Vogue a handful of times between 2005 and 2019 without appearing on the group's later albums (although she was on the Stevie Wonder/Prince/En Vogue joint "So What The Fuss"). And last year Robinson went viral for sharing that she's been living out of her car, which is a pretty sad state of affairs, I hope she's doing better now. 

Maxine Jones has also left En Vogue a couple times, Amanda Cole is on The Gift of Christmas and Rhona Bennett is on Electric Cafe (the title track of which is not, I must point out, a Kraftwerk cover). But honestly, all the past and present members of En Vogue are great singers and their catalog is pretty consistent despite the linup changes, they've had the same songwriting/production core team of Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy for their whole run. I could only cover 6 of En Vogue's 7 albums because 2004's Soul Flower isn't on streaming services, unfortunately. 

11:45 AM

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

 




Tough Breaks: The Story of Baltimore Club Music was published one year ago today by Repeater Books. I have enormous gratitude to everybody who helped me turn my idea into an actual book, everybody from this incredible music scene that was a part of the story I wanted to tell, and everybody who bought the book, came to an event, or helped get the word out. Every bit of support is so appreciated. I'm going to continue to put this book in people's hands whenever possible for the years to come and keep documenting this culture, I'll be back at the Baltimore Book Festival next month on another panel, stay tuned. 

9:57 AM

Monthly Report: August 2026 Singles

Monday, August 17, 2026

 







1. Slayyyter - "Dance..." 
Pop singers aren't really expected to 'pay their dues' like a lot of other musicians, but you're seeing more and more that artists like Charli XCX or Zara Larsson can lay the foundation for eventual mainstream ubiquity with a series of smaller albums, even if they had some chart success earlier in their careers. Slayyyter is an example of someone who really built her career brick by brick, though, self-releasing a mixtape in 2019 (where she declared "I'm a celebrity, they play me on the radio" long before it was true), putting out a couple of albums on Fader's label, and then finally hitting the big time this year with her major label debut, Wor$t Girl in America. I'm not fully convinced that it's a great album, or even her best, but I really like "Dance..." as her Top 40 radio breakthrough. Here's the 2026 singles Spotify playlist that I update every month. 

2. Niall Horan - "Tastes So Good" 
My favorite single from my favorite ex-One Direction solo act since 2017's "Slow Hands," which is an all-timer in my personal canon. He always makes great stuff with Julian Bunetta and John Ryan, and this has awesome loud drums and some Britpop swagger to it, it's still rising on the Top 40 playlists so I hope it breaks through bigger. 

3. Olivia Rodrigo - "Stupid Song"
Olivia Rodrigo has written a lot of great bridges and "Stupid Song" is one of her best, it kind of stops the whole song in its tracks and then builds huge momentum for the last minute of the track. 

4. Megan Moroney - "Medicine"  
Moroney's fastest, funniest, most old-fashioned country shitkicker single to date is, unsurprisingly, not doing great on country radio, but I'm glad it's at least doing okay. Really I'm just happy it was released as a single at all, it was my favorite song on Cloud 9 from the first listen. 

5. Jackson Dean - "Make A Liar"
Jackson Dean has had 3 pretty sizable country radio hits in his career so far, and none of them was really a romantic or relationship-centered lyric. So I was really rooting for "Make A Liar" to get to that level, because it really shows him in that light well, just a really charming, flirtatious song that highlights his voice well. 

6. The Beaches - "Edge of the Earth"
I became a fan of the Canadian quarter The Beaches after catching them at a festival in 2022, and their 2023 album Blame My Ex was a modest breakthrough, with "Blame Brett" getting airplay on American alt-rock radio. Last year's No Hard Feelings didn't really build on that success, but this year the Blame My Ex album track "Edge of the Earth" unexpectedly blew up after being prominently featured in the Amazon Prime YA drama "Off Campus." And I don't really remember having any opinion either way about this song when the album came out, but it's pretty cool to hear it on Top 40 radio now. Also kind of cool that it's one of the songs where Jordan Miller is pretty explicitly singing about a same-sex relationship. 

7. Drake - "2 Hard 4 The Radio"
I don't know if it's ironic or kind of a deliberate troll that one of the biggest hits on Iceman is an homage to west coast rap, paying homage to Mac Dre much like "The Motto" did over a decade ago. The beat on the later part of "2 Hard 4 The Radio" even sounds almost like it could've been on GNX. Maybe in Drake's mind he's Biggie on "Going Back To Cali." Fun song, in any event. 

8. Quavo - "Haavin" 
I guess T.I.'s "Let Em Know" has given Pharrell Williams some renewed currency in the southern rap world, where he's got plenty of classics but also has kind of drifted away from the zeitgeist over the years. He's produced Lil Baby's latest single and a couple of Quavo tracks, and I really like this one, "Stir Fry" is kind of an underrated Migos classic to me so I'm glad they're working together again. "Haavin" has an A-B-A structure that's a little different than you're average modern rap song with a beat switch, the middle of the song switches gears into a slower tempo, and then ends on the faster tempo that it started with. 

9. Raye f/ Hans Zimmer - "Click Clack Symphony"
This song really encapsulates how odd and unique but moving This Music May Contain Hope can be, it's knowingly silly on some levels but there's so much craft and emotion in it. 

10. Ashley McBryde - "What If We Don't" 
Ashley McBryde is really one of the best songwriters we've got right now, even when she does a pretty straightforward power ballad, and a great guitar solo from John Osborne of Brothers Osborne. 

The Worst Single of the Month: Alyssa Grace - "Bloodstream" 
We've got a lot of guitar-strumming young female singer-songwriters on the charts these days, which I love to see, I'm generally rooting for everybody. I'm not necessarily listening to everybody, though, because some of the vocal styles in that scene are kind of tortured, and 19-year-old California singer Alyssa Grace does the same thing where her voice 'cracks' with emotion about 50 times in her first Hot 100 hit, I can't stand it. And I'm really not exaggerating, something that would've been fine happening once or twice at a cathartic moment in the song happens every few seconds and she sounds ridiculous. 

4:01 AM

Friday, August 14, 2026

 




My Spin column Deep Cut Friday is about Santana's "Everything's Coming Our Way" this week. 

12:40 PM

TV Diary

Thursday, August 13, 2026

 





a) "Furious"
After giving us one of the best sitcoms of the 2010s, "New Girl," Liz Meriwether made a few more comedies, and then made an interesting pivot into progressively darker dramas: "The Dropout," "Dying For Sex," and now "Furious," loosely based on a movie about a semi-forgotten '80s movie about a female serial killer, Black Widow. And in a modern context, a victim of sex trafficking going on a revenge campaign against abusive men probably plays a little differently than it did 40 years ago. But the whole thing, parallel stories of the killer and the FBI agent looking for her, with some of the most disturbing stuff happening in the law enforcement narrative, is pretty compelling. Emmy Rossum doing some of the best work of her career, Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Rob Yang and Steve Way stealing scenes, Jake Lacy playing a totally detestable motherfucker really well, great work all around. Ariel Marx's score also sounds really fucking cool and has elevated some of the show's most intense scenes, and this week's episode ended with a great song I recently wrote about. 

b) "The Shards"
"The Shards" is also a serial killer show, but a much flimsier one. It's a Ryan Murphy adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis book, which is just a cursed combination of two people who've done some good stuff and a lot of terrible stuff. The Shards was I guess one of those trendy 'autofiction' things, based on Ellis's own early '80s youth aside from the fabricated serial killer stuff, and Ellis is the main character. It's remarkable sometimes how boring Ryan Murphy can make ostensibly exciting things like sex and murder and a car chase set to one of my favorite Pretenders deep cuts. 

c) "Sterling Point"
I've pointed out many times that Amazon Prime's bread-and-butter is adaptations of Young Adult novels, but the other day someone called them "the new CW," which is so spot-on that I wish I'd thought of it. "Sterling Point" isn't based on a YA book, and I also enjoyed creator Megan Park's debut feature The Fallout, I think she really has a knack for writing teen characters with interiority, this feels more The Breakfast Club than "Gossip Girl." That being said, it is about a bunch of cute teenagers on a little island in Canada falling in love with each other and uncovering family secrets, but the dialogue is sharp and I found it very engrossing and got through the whole season in under a week. 

d) "The Bombing of Pan Am 103"
This famous airline bombing over Scotland happened in 1988 when I was 6 years old, a little too young to have been aware of it at the time. But somehow I just had zero awareness for decades until there's suddenly been a ton of TV projects about it, and I'm not sure why now, because there hasn't been a major anniversary or anything. In the space of two years we've gotten the Peacock/Sky Atlantic miniseries "Lockerbie: A Search for Truth," a CNN docuseries, and now this Netflix/BBC miniseries. This new one is I think a little more compelling than the Peacock one, and Mogwai did the soundtrack. 

e) "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe"
Listen, "The Big Bang Theory" was a cash cow, and CBS doing a spinoff about Sheldon makes sense, that's smart business. But a high concept HBO Max spinoff about a supporting character who was in like a third of the episodes and was never particularly funny or popular? One that feels more like a live action "Rick & Morty" knockoff than anything like "The Big Bang Theory"? This is very strange, I felt a lot of secondhand embarrassment watching the first episode. 

Speaking of spinoffs and speaking of "Rick & Morty," I do understand the impulse to do a spinoff centered on a very funny supporting character voiced by Keith David. For one thing, you can play around in this universe without any of the characters that used to be voiced by Justin Roiland (although Rick and Morty, with their awkward new voices, do briefly show up, naturally). I watched an episode and enjoyed it, but I don't know, the whole business of spinoffs, I find it a little depressing. 

I increasingly hate most 'adult cartoons,' and this is an anti-woke one created by Ricky Gervais, so I don't even have to tell you it's garbage. 

Not too into animated Star Wars stuff but this seemed decent, I like the animation style. 

I enjoyed the first season of this, and I don't know if the second season is any different or I just wasn't in the mood for it, but it just felt slower, clunkier, less engaging voice acting performances. 

My wife has gotten really heavy into anime this summer, watching a few entire series and then reading the manga source material to get more of the story, getting a Crunchy Roll account, the whole nine yards. A lot of that stuff she's been watching on her tablet and I haven't seen at all, but I watched a bit of this one with her on TV, it's pretty cute. 

Another Netflix anime that I watched recently, and it has some very abrupt tonal shifts between being this very horny show about a busty feline woman and being kind of a harrowing look at addiction. This stuff is a little too weird for me. 

l) "Johnny Test"
I'm amused that my son's been watching reruns of this 2000s/2010s parody of "Johnny Quest" while having no idea what "Johnny Quest" is, because I kind of did the same thing, I've seen every episode of "The Venture Bros." and zero episodes of "Johnny Quest." 

m) "The Who Was? Show"
Another cute show my kid found on Netflix that has teenagers doing sketches about historical figures, but has comedy people I know and love like Andy Daly hosting and H. Jon Benjamin narrating. 

n) "Ted Lasso" 
Bill Lawrence used to do 26-episode-a-year network sitcoms, but apparently he's now very precious about his cable/streaming shows having 3-season arcs. "Shrinking" just completed its 3-season arc and they're going to start a new arc with its next season, while "Ted Lasso" ended entirely after its third season three years ago and is just now coming back to restart a new one. I thought maybe Jason Sudeikis was going to go off and do a Marvel movie or some other big franchise after "Lasso" made him way more famous, but he seemed to just hem and haw and then come back to this. Season 4 of "Ted Lasso" is a situation where they probably should've released the first two episodes of the season simultaneously, because the first one was really underwhelming, didn't feel like the same show until they got back to England in the next one. And even then, I can't help but miss a lot of the original ensemble that's not in the show anymore. But Tanya Reynolds, who was recently great on "The Other Bennet Sister" and "The Decameron," is already a really good foil for Lasso. 

o) "Ransom Canyon"
I like this silly Netflix cowboy soap opera, there are even more attractive brunettes in the second season than there were in the first. 

p) "Nirvanna The Band The Show"
As someone who loves "SCTV" and "Kids in the Hall" and "Letterkenny," I'm always down to check out another Canadian cult comedy. And after the success of Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie, the two seasons of the web series from a decade ago are now on Hulu, so I thought I'd check out the show before seeing the movie. I'm not really sold after four episodes, I don't know if I actually laughed once, but it might grow on me, I'm gonna keep watching. Matt Johnson on this show is basically Patrick on "Spongebob" or Heifer on "Rocko's Modern Life," like I've just never enjoyed shows that are just one wacky character who's dumber than dirt creating problems for the straight man character, it's annoying and exhausting. 

q) "You Can't Expense This!" 
I only had a 9-to-5 office job once for about three years of my life, but when I did, one of my duties was compiling expense reports for people who went on work trips out of town. So I went into this Japanese series on Netflix hoping to find it at least relatable, but it's just visually one of the worst-looking scripted shows I've ever seen and I could not sit through more than one episode of it, didn't find anything humorous or interesting about the story or the dialogue, maybe there's just too much of a cultural barrier there, I don't know. 

r) "Human Vapor" 
I guess The Human Vapor was a Japanese sci-fi movie in the '60s and this is a newer reboot, very weird and creepy with cool visual effects, I love the premise. 

The first two minutes of this Spanish series on Netflix were like the first ten minutes of Up on steroids, just an immediately heartbreaking little backstory that got tears welling up in my eyes. The show that follows is also pretty good, best little teen drama I've seen lately besides "Sterling Point." 

A Korean show about an ancient dynasty haunted by ghosts, kind of reminded me of some other Netflix imports I've seen and didn't feel very distinctive, but decent. 

 A Korean comedy about a gangster who has to run for residents' association president of an apartment building in a scheme to find some hidden money, pretty entertaining premise, I love this kind of thing.  

This Netflix period piece takes place in Mexico in the '80s during the World Cup, kind of an intense story, impressive performances from the child actors. 

I mostly know Portuguese football manager Jose Mourinho from "If I speak, I am in big trouble" and other memorable interview moments that have been memed to death. And it's interesting to learn about how impressive his career has been in this Netflix docuseries, but mostly I really do just enjoy hearing him talk, he's a very entertaining, charismatic guy. 

A pretty fascinating HBO docuseries about the exotic reptile black market, as you can imagine that's a world full of colorful characters and absurd stories. 

Leslie Jones is always hilarious and her talent could probably be put to better use than an HGTV renovation show, but this works pretty good as a vehicle for her to just be funny off the cuff. 

Netflix has a bunch of America's Test Kitchen content now, I don't know if this was just a YouTube thing already, but I like watching these quick little episodes and getting some ideas for mixed drinks. I'm pretty lazy about making cocktails but it's fun to decide you really want a particular one and get the ingredients now and then. 

12:39 PM