The Great eighties countdown begins!

Yes, I am finally happy enough with the list and motivated enough to start this.  This is going to be a bit different than the last two lists.  For one thing, of this week's 20 songs, only thirteen charted on the hot 100; 2 were on the country chart, one made the adult contemporary chart, and three were charted on the Mainstream Rock chart.  In time, you'll also see entrants from contemporary Christian music and other genres.  Also, I'm going to try to give you the number of songs by each act.  You'll see from the comments that the "emotional connections" often aren't there or as strong; this was end of high school and after, and the "angst" of childhood and high school was being replaced, sad to say, with alcohol and recreational drugs.  Hopefully, though, I've plucked enough gems from the bunch to make this a lot of fun.  So, without further ado:

300- Turning Japanese, the Vapors, #36, 1980.  This English band claims the song wasn't about masturbation, but let's be real.  A #1 song down under.  (Should that be capitalized?  Down Under, then.)

299- Don't Know What You've Got (Till It's Gone), Cinderella, #12, 1988.  Didn't realize I even liked these guys, but Nobody's Fool just missed.  A Philly group, Bobby, but no Stylistics, eh?

298- Rainbow In The Dark, Dio, #14 mainstream rock tracks, 1983.  I found out that Ronnie James Dio actually thought this was "too pop".  Really?  First of two times for Dio on the list.

297- Dirty Laundry, Don Henley, #3, 1983.  Despite the left-leaning politics of Henley, a cool tune.  First of two for Henley on the list.

296- I Ran (So Far Away), A Flock Of Seagulls, #9, 1983.  Damn, a lot of 1983s here.  An English band with a unique sound- so unique that they were nearly a one-hit wonder.  Another #1 from Australia.

295- Subdivisions, Rush, #105, 1982.  Rush hit #8 mainstream and #3 on the album track chart.  A great look at being cool- or being cast out.  The Canadian band will be back a couple more times on our list.

294- Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung, #2, 1986.  "On the edge of oblivion/All the world is Babylon/And all the love and everyone/A ship of fools sailing on".  Truer words...

293- Where Have All The Good Times Gone, Van Halen, #17, 1982.  The second of their Kinks covers (You Really Got Me) and one of three of theirs on the list.

292- Seasons Change, Expose, #1, 1988.  Our first #1 on the list is probably as big a surprise to you as it is to me.

291- That's My Job, Conway Twitty, #6 country, 1988.  Around 1986-88 was my country period.  And this one was a big tear-jerker for me.

290- At This Moment, Billy Vera and the Beaters, #79 (1981) and #1 (1987).  Like everyone else watching Family Ties- as well as at least one guy ON the show- I fell in love with Tracy Pollan.  This was her and Michael J. Fox's theme song.

289- Old And Wise, Alan Parsons Project, #21 adult contemporary, 1982.  One of six by APP on this chart.  Colin Blunstone, late of the Zombies, sang lead on this.

288- Cult Of Personality, Living Color, #13, 1988.  A song to challenge how you look at political figures.  It was written over the course of just one rehearsal.

287- The Devil Made Me Do It, Golden Earring, #79, 1983.  The 50th anniversary of this Dutch band was celebrated last year.  One of a pair of GE tunes on the list.  The Continuing Story Of Radar Love was a very good greatest hits album.

286- Black Velvet, Alanna Myles, #1, 1989-90.  Actually, I was deceived into thinking this was a 1989, but it was released on December 17th, so I left it in.  This Canuck had #1 in Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden, and top 5 in 8 others.  A great tribute to Elvis.

285- Hello Mary Lou, the Statler Brothers, #3 country, 1985.   I couldn't let the countdown pass without the Statlers.  We used to have great fun with our typing teacher, who was a big fan.  Especially when they did a radio spot for McDonalds.

284- Shooting Shark, Blue Oyster Cult, #83/ #16 mainstream, 1983.  One of two songs I saw a lot the week my dad was in hospice before he died.  "It's a hard road to love you..."

283- Stone In Love, Journey, #13 mainstream, 1981. I was really surprised to see that this didn't chart on the hot 100, with how big Journey was becoming at this point.  One of three on the chart for the boys from Frisco.

282- Sunday Bloody Sunday, U2, #7 mainstream, 1983.  I like the way U2 got to the point of political battles.  "The real battle is people dying, that's the real battle."  A story of 1972's bloody Sunday massacre in Derry.  One of three spots for U2.

281- Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg, #9, 1981.  A true story that happened to Dan on Christmas Eve, 1976.

That's the first round, gang.  Let me know whatcha think... and maybe come back next week for more?