1. General Public, “Tenderness” The Beat had just had their biggest hit in the U.K. when the breakup happened. A cover of the pop standard “Can’t Get Used to Losing You,” a song first elevated to hit status by Andy Williams, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 1
2. R.E.M., “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” At the time R.E.M. released their fifth studio album, Document, in 1987, the little ol’ band from Athens, Georgia was still adamantly against a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 2
3. Love and Rockets, “No New Tale to Tell” “This was our ‘getting it together in the countryside’ acoustic album,” David J wrote on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Earth, Sun, Moon, the 1987 release from Love and … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 3
4. Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House” The highest-charting single of the Talking Heads’ career came about because drummer Chris Frantz attended a Parliament-Funkadelic show at Madison Square Garden. Energized by the propulsive sound he heard coming from the stage … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 4
5. The Smiths, “How Soon is Now?” “What is Johnny doing? That’s just noise.” Geoff Travis, the founder and chief of Rough Trade Records, wasn’t pleased with “How Soon Is Now?” when he first heard it. As lead singer Morrissey … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 5
6. The Clash, “Rock the Casbah” In many respects, “Rock the Casbah” was the beginning of the end for the Clash. The third single off the of the album Combat Rock, which was released in 1982, “Rock the Casbah” first … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 6
7. Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Peek-A-Boo” One of the biggest hits ever crafted by Siouxsie and the Banshees began as a mistake. Following a string of splendid studio efforts through the the late-nineteen-seventies and the first half of the eighties, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 7
8. Thomas Dolby, “She Blinded Me with Science” Ray Milton Dolby was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1933. A sound engineer by training and by trade, Dolby spent the early nineteen-sixties working as a technical advisor for the United Nations, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 8
9. R.E.M., “Driver 8” According to guitarist Peter Buck, no song better epitomizes the early era of R.E.M. than “Driver 8.” Released, in 1985, as the second single from Fables of the Reconstruction, the band’s third album, “Driver 8” was … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 9
10. Midnight Oil, “Beds are Burning” Diesel and Dust, the sixth album from the Australian band Midnight Oil, had in origins in a tour they had undertaken the year before. In 1985, a group called the Warumpi Band released a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 10
