#28. "Echo Beach" - Martha & the Muffins (1980)

Coming in at an economical 3 minutes and 23 seconds, "Echo Beach" is over far too soon.

Toronto's Martha & the Muffins not only created one of Canada's best new wave songs, it was among the best made period. 

It was also the first 45 single I ever bought, inspired to purchase with my allowance after wearing out the track from the classic K-tel High Voltage album (see the bottom of this post for a complete tracklist of songs).

The song starts with a catchy guitar riff before the synths kick in. 

And does it get any better than that sax bridge? 

The fun, energetic vibe, especially visible in the final chorus between the two Marthas reminds me a bit of the B52s's dynamic between Kate and Cindy. As a pre-teen, I had a crush on the Martha dressed in red playing the keys and backup vocals. 

A nostalgic song about nostalgia, turns out that the mythical Echo Beach that beckoned ‘far away in time’ became my future: I couldn't help but hum the tune from the first moment I saw Mavillette Beach the day of my interview for Clare tourism, 20 years ago this April. 

It's been on my playlist ever since. Because I can't help it, I'm a romantic fool...

Tracklist

A1 –Martha And The Muffins - Echo Beach

A2 –Split Enz - I Got You

A3 –The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me

A4 –Babys - Turn And Walk Away

A5 –XTC - Making Plans For Nigel

A6 –Outlaws - (Ghost) Riders In The Sky

A7 –Michael Stanley Band - He Can't Love You

A8 –Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot

B1 –Blondie - The Tide Is High

B2 –Cliff Richard - Dreaming

B3 –Anne Murray - Could I Have This Dance

B4 –Kim Carnes - Cry Like A Baby

B5 –Prism - Cover Girl

B6 –Nielsen Pearson Band - If You Should Sail

B7 –The Alan Parsons Project - Games People Play

B8 –Air Supply - All Out Of Love

#29. "Moonlight Desires" - Gowan (1987)

"A Criminal Mind" showed off Gowan's uniqueness. "Strange Animal" proof he could rock. "Cosmetics" was groovy. 

But "Moonlight Desires" is...spiritual.

Mayans. Mullets. Battlestar Galactica.

Full disclosure: I lifted that last bit from the You Tube comments but it's a fitting summary. 

"Moonlight Desires" may as well been created on another planet, a verse from another universe: it touches the soul and makes the goosebumps. 

The arrangement impeccable, the lyrics magical, the vocals haunting, the setting majestic. It's everything I love about the 80s, a reminder how fortunate to have grown up during this era.

The collaboration with Jon Anderson (YES) is a perfect harmony, a sort of Obi-Wan Kenobi character dropping in from another dimension to connect with Luke (Gowan).

#30. "Into The Groove" - Madonna (1985)

Madonna became an 80s pop icon through sheer will and charisma. 

In 1985 she summoned us to join her on the dance floor with the irresistible "Into The Groove", demanding your attention in what may just be her greatest song, pure pop that's both fluffy and forceful. 

The stuttering synth and staccato bass drive the proceedings while Madonna's coming out party articulates the power of the groove' as 'music' is a 'revelation' and a 'sweet sensation'.

"Only when I’m dancing can I feel this free" reveals Madonna is in charge of her life.

"Tonight I wanna dance with someone else" is another powerful moment and a saucy invitation. 

"Into The Groove" will also be remembered as the pivot when the underground dance music scene moved to the mainstream. 

#31. "Head Over Heels" - Tears For Fears (1985)

Timeless may be an overused word to describe music, however that descriptor totally fits here. 

The third single from the deep Tears For Fear's Songs From the Big Chair album sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Only peaking at #7 on the Peach chart in Sept. 1985 (see below), I seem to enjoy the warm & fuzzy "Head Over Heels" more every year.

Perhaps it's the full-on nostalgia of watching a video set in a library devoid of computers and mobile devices. Or maybe it's the memories of hearing this played on the radio in PEI with my parents in search of a cabin? (should have called ahead, right Dad?).

I dig the high production and passionate vocals, and the balance of the cerebral lyrics with a playful video. The arrangements are stellar, starring a divine synth riff around 01:30, well-placed harmonies, the "4-leaf clover" bridge and "la-la-la, funny-how-time-flies finale".

Pure Magic.

#32. "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" - The Smiths (1987)

The video for "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" may only show vocalist Morrissey but much of the magic is crafted by guitar wizard Johnny Marr. 

From start to finish, the guitars shimmer on arguably the most gorgeously polished production of their five-year career. The Smiths broke up just weeks before the single had been released. The Smiths legacy was quality over quantity (72 songs over 6 years), as well as being the indie UK rock band of the 80s, soon to influence a brand new British invasion to come in the 90s.

Back to the single, a song about lies, obsession, drinking, fisticuffs and a bicycle accident: leave it to Moz to come up a creative way to describe a crossbar hitting his junk as "The pain was enough to make a shy, bald buddhist reflect and plan a mass-murder." Incidently, the song was banned from daytime airplay on the BBC due to a recent massacre.

The unique video features Morrissey and a gang of bespectacled clones wearing Smiths shirts riding bicycles around Manchester on Coronation Street and past iconic venues like the Salford Boys Club and the Strangeways prison. In fact, the 'cycle with Morrissey' theme resulted from a call out to fans. Read the cool story from a New Zealand participant here.

The carefree cycling reminds me of my own childhood biking adventures on my trusty 10-speed, riding helmet-free from the trailer court in Dartmouth across town, over the bridge and throughout Halifax, unbeknownst to my parents. Back when we just had to show up for supper.