Seriously, "Down Under" is brilliant!

Here I go, commenting on a commentary...maybe in a couple of months I'll revisit this and write a commentary on a commentary on a commentary...and a few months after that I could write a commentary on a commentary con a commentary on a commentary....

Today I will look at the lower fifth VH1's list of the "Greatest Songs of the '80s". I will state the title and artist, the show's collective opinion on the song, my opinion on the song, my ranking if I were writing the list, or where it applies, a comment on the cover. I apologize for the long post but until someone tells me how to but it behind a cut, you'll have to bear with me. I also apologize if I get titles/artists/important facts wrong; remember, I was not there the first time around.

100. Loverboy - "Working For the Weekend"
Their Take: "leather pants"
My Take: The most memorable appearance of this song for me was in the movie Zoolander. Ah, that was a great movie.

99. Wang Chung - "Everybody Have Fun Tonight"
Their Take: "I think you have to be a guy to wang chung"
My Take: I kind of like this song. According to the announcer the video was banned in England for giving kids seizures. Like Pokemon.

98. Bobby Brown - "My Prerogative"
Their Take: "the king of R&B badassery", "inspired air humping"
My Take On The Cover: Maybe in 10 years we can look forward to Bravo airing "Being Britney Spears" even if it would mean that Kevin Federline would be in the Whitney role (and, ugh, have a music career).

The Romantics - "What I Like About You"
My Take: Oh, I hate this song! I only know it from commercials, but commercials have a way of ruining songs.
My Ranking: Off the list.

96. Men At Work - "Down Under"
Their Take: "He just smiled and gave me a vegemite sandwich" Okay, that's from the song and not the commentary, but it deserves a mention.
My Take: One of many BEST SONG(s) EVER! for me. The lyrics are genius. A man from Brussels? Six foot four and full of muscles? That's just gold!
My Ranking: Top 20

95. Debbie Gibson - "Only In My Dreams"
Their Take: "set the standard for teen pop"
My Take: Don't really know the song, but I do know that she goes by Deborah now, which is pointless. It's okay to have a nickname when you are a grown-up. And I don't think she set the standard for teen pop because arguably it was around before she came around.

94. The Rolling Stones - "Start Me Up"
Their Take: "okay, here they are again. The bad boys of rock'n'roll"
My Take: I am not a fan of the Stones, and I am not a fan of the video. I'd rather not see Mick Jagger make faces at the camera at any age. I guess you have to give them a hand for their longevity.

93. Gary Numan - "Cars"
Their Take: "freaky and futuristic"
My Take: Unlike "What I Like About You", I'm sure I heard this in a commercial but I'm sure I didn't hate it. I'm really kind of indifferent. I agree with the futuristic comment, but I've heard much freakier futuristic-sounding songs.

92. New Kids on the Block - "You Got It (The Right Stuff)"
Their Take: "oh, oh, oh oh oh"
My Take: Boy bands can only be accurately judged in their time period. How can I make an unbiased comment on a late-80's boy band when I grew up with late-90's boy bands? I mean, my first exposure to Jordan Knight was his return to pop music with "Give It To You" in '99!

91. Katrina & The Waves - "Walking on Sunshine"
Their Take: "you hear it on the radio, you sing with it off key"
My Take: Not really a fan of it, and not really a fan of their other song either.

90. Tone-Loc - "Wild Thing"
Their Take: "make girls act like wild things"
My Take: Not a big fan of the song, but it's not bad.

89. Prentenders - "Brass In Pocket"
Their Take: "really sharp tune"
My Take: I like the singer's voice, but not really this song.

88. Rufus + Chaka Khan - "Ain't Nobody"
Their Take: "she had it all"
My Take: This is the first song I hadn't heard before, but it seems like a good song.

87. Falco - "Rock Me Amadeus"
Their Take: "classically trained, heavily pomaded Austrian"
My Take: Another BEST SONG EVER! It's a theatrical song about a composer, and though in German it was big in the U.S. People who dislike this song probably also dislike having fun.

86. Bow Wow Wow - "I Want Candy"
Their Take: "instant pop song"
My Take On The Cover: I think it's best that we forget Aaron Carter's music career, this song included.

85. Robert Palmer - "Addicted To Love"
Their Take: "slick soul song and gaggle of lovely ladies"
My Take: Not a big fan of this song, but I like the part in Weird Al's video for "UHF" where he parodies the memorable video.

84. Lionel Richie - "All Night Long"
Their Take: "the laid back life of the party"
My Take: This song is one of those songs that they play on adult contemporary (or is it Jack?) radio that is tolerable but I wouldn't listen to it on my own. I think it's hilarious that his old music is big in Iraq. If there's one thing that the US military did not have to force on the Iraqi people, it is nostalgia for the '80s, because they already got it!

83. Prince - "Kiss"
Their Take: "he just got the groove on"
My Take: I never really got Prince, and thus don't really like the song.

82. Squeeze - "Tempted"
Their Take: "made infidelity sound downright delighful"
My Take:I'm pretty sure I've heard this song, but I can't recall when or in what context. If I heard the entire thing I might like it.

81. Cameo - "Word Up"
Their Take: "gave the eighties a much needed funk injection"
My Take: No, just no. It's the funk, it's the "word aaaaaaaahp!" that makes me hate it.
My Ranking: 1000


So what have we learned? A)I love novelty songs, B)I'm not a big fan of rap & R&B, and C)Zoolander is a great movie! Expect songs 80-61 by tomorrow evening.