The History Of Jop Part 5 aka The Kid Is Not My Son

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

A delay in the poll caused by my having some work, but finally the ship of retrospective metapop criticism sails into the waters of 1983 - Jackson the winner, Culture Club getting some serious vote-splitting, and this year the P&J poll included a BEST VIDEO section for the first time, which we might well discuss in a separate YouTube-enabled poll later (I can't get YouTube at work).

Procedural Note: I've excised "Back On The Chain Gang" by the Pretenders as it featured last time.

You only get EIGHT votes this time - use them wisely.


[Poll #819820]


The Joptimists Poll Remix for 1982:

1. Don't You Want Me (49 votes)
2. 1999 (46 votes)
3. The Message (43 votes)
4. Temptation (37 votes)
5. The Look Of Love (36 votes)
6=. Mickey (31 votes)
6=. Sexual Healing (31 votes)
8. Planet Rock (28 votes)
9. Rock The Casbah (26 votes)
10. Pass The Dutchie (24 votes)

Comments

Toto, Pretenders, Nelly Furtado rule! Critics don't care!

[koganbot]

Billboard Top 26 Singles of 1983 - * Song went #1

*1... EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE, The Police (A&M) (#1, July)
*2... BILLIE JEAN, Michael Jackson (Epic) (#1, March)
*3... FLASHDANCE...WHAT A FEELING, Irene Cara (Casablanca) (#1, May)
*4... DOWN UNDER, Men At Work (Columbia) (#1, Jan)
*5... BEAT IT, Michael Jackson (Epic) (#1, April)
*6... TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART, Bonnie Tyler (Colimbia) (#1, Oct)
*7... MANEATER, Daryl Hall and John Oates (RCA) (#1, Dec 1982)
*8... BABY COME TO ME, Patti Austin and James Ingram (Qwest) (#1, Feb)
*9... MANIAC, Michael Sembello (Casablanca) (#1, Sept)
*10.. SWEET DREAMS (Are Made Of This), The Eurythmics (RCA) (#1, Sept)
11.. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO HURT ME, Culture Club (Virgin) (#2, March)
12.. YOU AND I, Eddie Rabbitt with Crystal Gayle (Elektra) (#7, Feb)
*13.. COME ON EILEEN, Dexy's Midnight Runner's (Mercury) (#1, April)
14.. SHAME ON THE MOON, Bob Segar and the Silver Bullet Band (Capitol) (#2, Feb)
15.. SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY, Donna Summer (Mercury) (#3, Aug)
16.. NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO, Sergio Mendes (A&M) (#4, July)
17.. HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF, Duran Duran (Capitol) (#3, March)
*18.. LET'S DANCE, David Bowie (EMI-America) (#1, May)
19.. TWILIGHT ZONE, Golden Earring (21 Records) (#10, March)
20.. I KNOW THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON, .... Frida (Atlantic) (#13, March)
21.. JEOPARDY, The Greg Kihn Band (Beserkley) (#2, May)
22.. ELECTRIC AVENUE, Eddy Grant (Portrait/Ice) (#2, July)
23.. SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE, Thomas Dolby (Capitol) (#5, May)
*24.. AFRICA, Toto (Columbia) (#1, Feb)
25.. LITTLE RED CORVETTE, Prince (Warner Brothers) (#6, May)
26.. BACK ON THE CHAIN GANG, The Pretenders (Sire) (#5, March)

This is a pretty great list itself; among the nonjopped, I love "Africa" and "Eclipse" and "Flashdance" and "Down Under."

If it puts the whole Lex & David Bryne thing in perspective, I had no name recognition on "Frida," though a quick look at Allmusic tells me that she's far far far more influential than Byrne, albeit not under her own name. (And I had heard the song a few times, it turns out.)