Top 5 Shameful Guilty Pleasure Pop Hits of the 80's

I generally don't like pop music, and of all the pop music I've been subjected to, I consider the pop music of the 80's to be some of the worst ever created (only because I stopped listening to and being regularly subjected to such music in the mid 90's - I'm sure there are songs just as bad, if not worse, being produced every year this decade and last).

That being said, there are certain songs that did manage to creep into my consciousness during the 80's and grab hold. Many of these I liked at first listen but never admitted because my friends would have questioned my sanity, my gender, whatever they felt would justify such awful, awful taste. Of course, they were listening to Judas Priest, AC/DC, Triumph, etc. -what the heck did they know?!?

Now, I don't claim to think these songs are good or better than any other pop songs created during the 80's, on the contrary, I think they're just awful, but I like them none the less. When I hear them they take me back in time when having a friend who could drive, getting a girl to notice me for a positive reason, and rolling up a sweet AD&D character were my goals - they are my shameful, guilty pleasure pop hits of the 80's, and if you say you don't have any, I'll bet you're lying.

Corey "toorah loorah toorah loo rye aye" Edwards'
Top 5 Shameful Guilty Pleasure Pop Hits of the 80's"

1. Cars - Gary Numan & Tubeway Army
2. Der Komissar - After The Fire
3. Our House - Madness
4. Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
5. Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds

All You Need Is Love

After shuddering at the thought of Rod Stewart covering "Fooled Around And Fell In Love" - which I promptly, in all my infinite wisdom declared "The worst song ever recorded with the word 'love' in the title"* - we decided to make our own lists of both the worst and best songs with "Love" in the title. As we started down that path we discovered that there were, much to our collective consternation, a number of songs which hung out in a fourth dimension of sorts - songs which could be considered in both categories simultaneously - sort of "quantum love songs" if you will. And so we added a third category (well some of us did, anyway).

Since there are thousands and thousands of songs fitting in one (or more - see above) of these categories, we welcome you to submit your own picks in the comments...

*Later I determined that this was, in fact only the fourth worst song with the word 'love' in the title - clearly I was being a bit rash and unfair...

Steve "Pull Your Love" Wilmart:

Top 5 -Best-
5. Love Cry - Albert Ayler
4. Love & Happiness - Al Green
3. Love For Sale - Abbey Lincoln (several good ones to choose from)
2. I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) - Stevie Wonder
1. A Love Supreme - John Coltrane

Top 5 -Worst-
5. Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain & Tennille
4. Fooled Around And Fell In Love - Elvin Bishop
3. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) - Edison Lighthouse
2. Don't Pull Your Love - Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds
1. Muskrat Love - Captain & Tennille

Top -Could go either way-
5. Love Stinks - J. Geils Band
4. True Love - Tiny Tim
3. Radar Love - Golden Earring
2. Love Machine - The Miracles
1. Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players
0. Lick My Love Pump - Spinal Tap
-1. Love/Hate - Betty Blowtorch

Michael "Faded Love" Townsend:

BEST:
Soldier of Love - Arthur Alexander
Love Like This - Faith Evans
Lagan Love - Irish trad.
Love In Outer Space - Sun Ra
Faded Love - Bob Wills

WORST:
To Sir With Love - Lulu
I Just Called To Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder
Tell Laura I Love Her - Ray Peterson
Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Frankie Lymon
Love Me Tender - Elvis Presley

GUILTIEST PLEASURES:
Somebody To Love - Jefferson Airplane
Look Of Love - Burt Bacharach
Addicted To Love - Robert Palmer
Everybody Loves Somebody - Dean Martin

Tom "Love In My Tummy" Ruttenbeck

AGIN’
1 - Let’s weep along with Torn Between Two Lovers & I Honestly Love You,
2 - Anything rendered by Phil Collins, e.g., You Can't Hurry Love & A Groovy Kind Of Love.
3 - A Paul McCartney medley: My Love, Silly Love Songs & Beware My Love. (Any more?)
4 - The Partridge Family’s I Think I Love You.
5 - And everybody knows that Yummy Yummy Yummy ain't the whole title.
5a - ARS’s “spooky” Imaginary Lover can’t beat (!) Richard Thompson’s Read About Love.

FER
1 - Have You Every Loved A Woman - Eric Clapton
2 - I Do It For Your Love - Paul Simon
3 – I Love’s You, Porgy - Fitzgerald/Simone/Davis, etc.
4 - Love Struck Baby - Stevie Ray Vaughan
5 - Zepplin’s Whole Lotta Love (come on, it moved you)
5a - Robert Palmer’s Addicted To Love has that momentary clash of scimitars

Corey "Medical Love" Edwards:

bad

Creatures of Love - Talking Heads
Get Down, Make Love - Queen
Looking For Love - The Cars
City Of Love - Yes
Love Me Do - Beatles

good

True Love - Fred Frith
Impossible Love - Daniel Johnston
She's In Love - Brenda Kahn
Love You - Syd Barrett
Medical Love Song - Monty Python

both

I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You - Tom Waits
I Love You, You Big Dummy - Captain Beefheart
Satellite of Love - Lou Reed

Chris "I Need Love" Gunn:

top 5 best. . .

1. "All You Need Is Love" Beatles
2. "One Love" Bob Marley
3. "Love & Happiness" Al Green
4. "Make You Feel My Love" Bob Dylan
5. "Love Supreme" John Coltrane

and 5 worst. . .

1. "Can't Buy Me Love" Beatles
2. "Love Me Two Times" Doors
3. "Greatest Love Of All" Whitney Houston
4. "Love Is A Rose" Linda Ronstadt
5. "I Need Love" LL Cool J

Let your comments - like your love - flow...