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Pitchfork 200 Best Songs of the 1980s


HolidayGuy

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So... Pitchfork will unveil its latest list next week. Now, Madonna didn't have a single entry on its Albums of the 1980s or Albums and Songs of the 1990s- but, surely she will have at least one entry on here... right? :)

Both "Holiday": and "Like a Prayer" featured in its 500 Greatest Songs list (that covered 1977-2006). But, we know how fickle some of these outlets can be.

Place your bets...

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Oh I was waiting for them to get around to the 80s, no surprise she didn't make the albums list.

Surely she'll make the singles, but they're so ridiculously snobby, especially about her. :manson: I bet Thriller made the albums.

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This is not an attack on you for posting this thread, but these lists are just so meaningless to me. It feels like every year we get a new list from some sort of music authority, compiled by a new group of unknown white males eager to glorify their opinions.

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Critics lists are very popular- and, as Madonna usually fares well on them (especially for a female), there's merit to them.

And, believe it or not, it's more than just white males contributing to them. :) It's a man's world, though, like it or not, and music criticism is just one example of that.

loom- I've also been waiting for it- just like the Rolling Stone Madonna issue (which best be coming to fruition, with a RS editors/writers list of the best Madonna songs).

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The list is up- pleasantly surprised by the presence of 1980s pop "divas." Madonna has three entries:

http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9700-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1980s/1/

17. Madonna, “Into the Groove” (1985)
With two hit albums, Like a Virgin rising in the charts, and one wild MTV wedding cake performance behind her, Madonna’s career was in a very sweet spot in 1985. So it’s no wonder the It Girl would make moves in Hollywood, starring in Susan Seidelman’s Desperately Seeking Susan. It’s there, in the closing credits of the movie, that a demo version of "Into the Groove" was not just heard, but also essentially released.

"Music can be such a revelation," preaches Madonna on "Into the Groove", yet again making the dance floor a place for physical and emotional freedom. Playing shy, she bounces between earnestly begging for company and aggressively making her partner dance right to win her affection. While songs like "Borderline" and "Dress You Up" were successful dance-pop tracks, nothing Madonna had put out was as club-appropriate as "Into the Groove". Penned by Madonna and songwriter Steve Bray, "Into the Groove" was initially intended for producer Mark Kamins. But Madonna thought it would suit her new movie well, much to the chagrin of Kamins.

The fact that Madonna would give the song such an unconventional debut shows how strong her popularity was at the time and how big of a hit the song really is. With filming finishing right before Like a Virgin was out, Desperately Seeking Susan swiftly became a Madonna vehicle before its release. Ratings were lowered specifically to accommodate the star’s teen fanbase and lead Rosanna Arquette was seen as a supporting actress in Madge’s shadow. The unpolished demo didn’t even land on the film’s soundtrack and was only available as the B-side to "Angel" in the U.S., but it’s still regarded as one of Madonna’s best dance tracks. —Hazel Cills

50. Madonna, “Like a Prayer” (1989)
Madonna filed for divorce from Sean Penn two months before she released "Like a Prayer", the title track to the 1989 album that would cement her as a serious songwriter and an unstoppable cultural force as she entered her thirties. In anticipation of her fourth album, Madonna would grace the covers of Interview, Rolling Stone, and Spin. Like a Prayer was her most visible album to date, and also her darkest.

"This is reality, and reality sucks," Madonna said in her Interview cover story. She was describing her initial vision for the "Like a Prayer" video, which was apparently even more brutal than the one that scandalized the Vatican, but the statement undercuts the whole song, too. Written toward the end of an abusive marriage, "Like a Prayer" sees Madonna assume a pose of surrender. Its gospel triumph comes only from its embrace of absolute darkness—"everyone must stand alone," she sings into the emptiness. Then she’s falling from the sky, calling to God, or really just any power that will listen. She’s singing from her own rock bottom, waiting for someone—anyone—to carry her back up to the top. —Sasha Geffen

106. Madonna, “Borderline” (1984)
Released in 1983, "Borderline" is one of the first laid bricks in the cathedral of Madonna’s mythology, four minutes of emotional helium that became her first Top 10 hit on the heels of an iconic music video. In the clip, Madonna closes the gap between the club kid she was and the glamorous star she’d become as she plays her two beaux—a Latino tough boy and a snobby British photographer—off each other. Ironically, while lyrics refer to the gnawing desolation one might feel while navigating a relationship in which they don’t have any power, Madonna has total control in the video. She makes the tough boy miss his shot at the pool table by simply standing in the doorway; she spray paints the photographer’s car, causing him to flip out. She takes the energy from the song—a bubblegum instrumental given weight by her legible vocal performance—and uses it to dispel all the lingering demons from that bad relationship. There’s so much charisma, it’s easy to see why this was the song that catapulted her toward being the biggest pop star in the world. —Jeremy Gordon

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Again, take into account Pitchfork's lack of Madonna on its Best Albums of the 80s, as well as Best Albums and Songs of the 1990s. So, three entries is pretty decent, regardless of the choices and rankings.

In overall acclaim, ITG is right up there with LAP. And 'borderline" also has gotten some good notices.

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Well that was interesting. Typical Pitchfork, it starts out all pretentious, full of songs no one has ever heard of but it soon reaches all the known 80s classics. This has to be their most representative list cuz it's chock full of all the songs that made the 80s the golden age of pop and has all the big pop icons.

If Madonna didn't figure in this list, it's clear that Pitchfork would never give her anhthing. Borderline, Prayer and Groove are the exact 3 I'd choose as well.

The Beast does well, I will never understand the popularity of Love Will Never Do; When I Think of You is her best giggly song. A few surprises like Wanna Be Startin Something.

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Well that was interesting. Typical Pitchfork, it starts out all pretentious, full of songs no one has ever heard of but it soon reaches all the known 80s classics. This has to be their most representative list cuz it's chock full of all the songs that made the 80s the golden age of pop and has all the big pop icons.

If Madonna didn't figure in this list, it's clear that Pitchfork would never give her anhthing. Borderline, Prayer and Groove are the exact 3 I'd choose as well.

The Beast does well, I will never understand the popularity of Love Will Never Do; When I Think of You is her best giggly song. A few surprises like Wanna Be Startin Something.

This is spot on.

Madonna had EIGHTEEN top ten hits in the 80s. There will always be debate as to what song was the most iconic, impactful, or her "best". I think the three that were chosen were pretty on point. I would've probably traded out Borderline with Papa Don't Preach in terms of cultural impact. But that's just me.

As for the rankings? Well, clearly she should've ranked higher with LAP. It's insulting to not have it at MINIMUM in the top 20s. It's one of the most recognized pop songs of all time.

It is nice to see GITG get some well deserved recognition though. I wish she'd perform this more on tour. I think it's her biggest hit that she doesn't enjoy performing.

Edited by KalamazooJay
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Madonna should have more than 3 songs. Putting aside our fandom here for a minute, her songs truly hold up with people knowing and loving them still today. I agree with the 3 songs picked but would also add Holiday, Like a virgin, Material Girl, Crazy for you, Live to tell, Express yourself, Cherish, Open your heart and La Isla Bonita. Yes, I know that is a huge amount of songs but Madonna is the biggest and most timeless star to emerge from the 80s and her body of work with legendary songs reflects that.

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I didnt see the album list. But are you saying not one of her albums made the list? What a crime Madonna or Like a Prayer should be on those lists.

Im happy ITG was so high it is probably in my top 5 songs of hers i think it is a pop masterpiece and the bridge is the best bridge in a pop song of all time!

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loom- "Love Will Never Do..." usually gets overlooked, being a seventh single and all.

jazzyj- I haven't gone and counted to see if any act had more than three songs on this particular list. Oftentimes, there is a restriction as to how many entries per act the compilers allow.

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loom- "Love Will Never Do..." usually gets overlooked, being a seventh single and all.

jazzyj- I haven't gone and counted to see if any act had more than three songs on this particular list. Oftentimes, there is a restriction as to how many entries per act the compilers allow.

Thanks HolidayGuy, I did not know that about the restrictions of entries.

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^No problem. I don't know if this list had such restrictions, but some do have those- because if they didn't, one act or more would dominate.

On a Pitchfork note, it did have "Don't Tell Me" on its top 500 of the 2000s- albeit at No. 434, but it's still somethin'. :laugh:

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