Stuff I was listening to in 1987. Not an exhaustive list because not all of the things I liked aged well, or are things I’d still listen to today.
Don’t Dream It’s Over — Crowded House
The song that made me a Crowded House/Finn Brothers fan. Enough that I’ve seen both brothers AND Liam Finn live a few times now.
Kissing A Fool — George Michael
The song that made me a George Michael fan. I still love Faith (the album) but the nature of the sound production drives me nuts these days. Too much treble. But so many of the albums from that era suffered from an overdose of treble and not enough of the warmer notes it needed. I think it’s unique to those years when people thought crispness of sound meant tinny-ness of sound. That really underserved this particular song that screams out for a deeper bass and warmer sound texture. George’s voice has sufficient clarity and really didn’t need this.
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight — Genesis
I still think this song is pretty epic. Back in `87 I was all “Hey, Phil Collins has a band?” Haha. hahaha. (I knew him from Against All Odds — glued to music programmes for most of my childhood, from Top of the Pops in the UK to whatever iteration of British or American chart shows showed up on Malaysian tv programming. I think I watched more music shows and concerts than cartoons, truthfully).
Running In The Family — Level 42
Hip to be Square — Huey Lewis and the News
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For — U2
1987 also introduced me to U2.
Whenever You Need Somebody — Rick Astley
Yes, there were those of us unironically grooving to Rick Astley back in the day.