Beyond the Blockbusters, 7 Key Songs From 1984
The Pointer Sisters, Minutemen and more sounds from a landmark year in pop music.
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By Lindsay Zoladz
Dear listeners,
If you’re halfway decent at math, you know that it is currently the 40-year anniversary of 1984 — which is not only the name of a George Orwell novel and a Van Halen album, but a particularly pivotal moment in popular music. This week, we’re running a few articles that look back at the music of 1984, beginning with a sharp, well-reported piece by Ben Sisario about the way a number of ’70s rockers (ZZ Top, Don Henley and Yes among them) rebooted their sounds and images for the brave new world of the 1980s.
Most retrospectives of the year focus on the big names and the blockbuster albums: Prince’s “Purple Rain,” Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” to name a few. For today’s playlist, though, I wanted to spotlight some more under-the-radar releases from that year. It was also a watershed time in underground rock, moody new wave and synth-heavy dance music, and accordingly this collection features tracks from the Replacements, Echo & the Bunnymen and the Pointer Sisters, among others. While the A-listers are the shorthand for the year’s familiar sound and aesthetic, let this playlist remind you that 1984 was also a year with many different soundtracks. Here’s one of many.
I don’t wanna tame your animal style,
Lindsay
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1. The Replacements: “Favorite Thing”
Let’s kick things off with a propulsive track from one of my favorite 1984 releases, the Replacements’ “Let It Be.” While it’s difficult to pick just one song from such a great album, the raucous “Favorite Thing” contains what I consider one of its best moments: that bridge where the guitars drop out and the bassist Tommy Stinson briefly gets the spotlight — at least before Paul Westerberg ratchets the noise back up with a blisteringly howled, “Bar nothing!”
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2. Minutemen: “The Glory of Man”
Another of my favorite 1984 albums (and another from which it is very difficult to pick just one track, given that there are 45 of them on the original LP) is the San Pedro, Calif. punk band Minutemen’s sprawling double album “Double Nickels on the Dime.” I’ll go with this jaunty rocker — driven by the interplay between Mike Watt’s squiggly bass line and D. Boon’s blurts of guitar — because it contains one of my favorite Minutemen lyrics, “I live sweat, but I dream light-years.” Words to live by.
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3. Lindsey Buckingham: “I Want You”
This deliriously catchy opening tune from Lindsey Buckingham’s second solo album, “Go Insane,” is one of his strangest songs — and I definitely mean that as a compliment. As opposed to his 1981 debut solo album, “Law and Order,” “Go Insane” found Buckingham experimenting with drum machines and a Fairlight digital synthesizer, which allowed him to sample the riotous alarm bells that open the track. Also: The guitar solo rules.
â–¶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
4. The Pointer Sisters: “Automatic”
Though from an album released in 1983 — the Pointer Sisters’ hit-studded “Break Out” — this single was released in January 1984, so it just sneaks onto this playlist. The funky, synth-kissed “Automatic” is a rare Pointer Sisters track on which Ruth sings lead, and her husky contralto gives it a distinct sense of cool.
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5. Echo & the Bunnymen: “The Killing Moon”
In addition to being a banner year for commercial pop, 1984 was also a good year for moody, not-quite-goth-but-goth-adjacent English rock: The Smiths’ self-titled debut, Siouxsie and the Banshee’s “Hyæna,” and Echo & the Bunnymen’s “Ocean Rain” all came out then. It’s always an appropriate time to revisit “The Killing Moon.”
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â–¶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
6. Leonard Cohen: “Dance Me to the End of Love”
Leonard Cohen’s Casio era kicks off in grand style with “Dance Me to the End of Love,” the obliquely romantic opening track on his album “Various Positions” (a 1984 release in Canada, it didn’t come out in the States until the following year). Though it’s now best known as the album on which Cohen’s over-covered magnum opus “Hallelujah” appeared, “Various Positions” was far from an instant hit. In fact, his label didn’t want to release it at all in the U.S., thinking it didn’t have enough commercial appeal. Joke’s on them, I guess.
â–¶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
7. Scandal featuring Patty Smyth: “The Warrior”
I love this song. One of the all time great cheesy, fist-pumping ’80s anthems, in my humble opinion, “The Warrior” is a song I’ve been known to put on when I need a boost at the end of a hard workout, when I am missing the TV series “Glow” (a very good show!) or when I just need a break for some really epic lip-syncing. If you are one of the few people in the world who thinks this song is sung by Patti Smith instead of Patty Smyth, well — please carry on thinking that, because it’s hilarious.
â–¶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
The Amplifier Playlist
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“Beyond the Blockbusters, 7 Key Songs From 1984” track list
Track 1: The Replacements, “Favorite Thing”
Track 2: Minutemen, “The Glory of Man”
Track 3: Lindsey Buckingham, “I Want You”
Track 4: The Pointer Sisters, “Automatic”
Track 5: Echo & the Bunnymen, “The Killing Moon”
Track 6: Leonard Cohen, “Dance Me to the End of Love”
Track 7: Scandal featuring Patty Smyth, “The Warrior”
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Bonus Tracks
We’ve begun to roll out our lists of the year’s best music! Check out each critic’s picks for our favorite albums of 2024, and stay tuned next week for our songs lists — and a very special Amplifier compiling all of the best music of the year.
Also, Jon Pareles took the reigns on Playlist this week, highlighting new tracks from Rosé, Sky Ferreira, Bad Bunny and more. Listen here.
Lindsay Zoladz is a pop music critic for The Times and writes the subscriber-only music newsletter The Amplifier. More about Lindsay Zoladz
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