I have never been one for 80s dance music, but lately SongPop is causing me to look at it again…

 

The 1980s were my decade to come of age.  I was a kid in the early 80s and a teenager in the late 80s.  Consequently, I was around for a lot of cheesy 80s music that the music snob in me hates but the nostalgia junkie in me loves.  I’ve been playing the Facebook game SongPop with a bunch of Germans and they seem to adore dance music.  I do alright against most of them, but there are a couple of guys I play with who are absolutely ruthless.  And they challenge me with dance, electronic, and house music… stuff I don’t really listen to and can’t identify easily.  I do better with 80s dance music, though.  That’s not because I like it, but because it was always playing when I was growing up.  Here’s a salute to a few 80s dance songs done by women back in the day.

 

Sometimes I get surprised by a song I haven’t heard in eons.  Last night, I was playing SongPop and a song by a band called Company B came on.

 

This song was popular at around the same time a band called Expose was a hit.  They both had songs about “the point of no return”.

 

I never knew the name of this band when “Fascinated” was a hit, but I do remember liking this song for some reason.  I don’t think the singer is that great, but I have to admit the melody is appealing and the rhythm is infectious.  If I were inclined to dance, I might be persuaded to if I were listening to this song and had been drinking heavily enough.  Of course, my kind of dancing is more of the “slam dancing” variety.  I can see why people liked it in the 80s and even now.

 

Of course, because I thought of “Fascinated” by Company B, I had to think of Expose, too.  They had a number of hits in the mid 1980s, which was kind of a cool time in my life.  I wasn’t necessarily a fan of their music– for instance, I downloaded “Fascinated”, but couldn’t bring myself to download any of Expose’s songs– but when I hear one of their hits, I am reminded of a good time.

 

 

Expose is still out there.  Here’s a clip from a 2007 performance of “Let Me Be The One”.

 

“Let Me Be The One” is probably my favorite of Expose’s songs.  I give them mad props, though, because they had a bunch of dance hits like “Seasons Change”, “Come Go With Me”, and “The Point of No Return”.  No doubt a lot of young folks grooved to this in clubs… and gymnastics floor exercise routines.

 

Adding to the “Point of No Return” confusion was the fact that Nu Shooz also had a song by that title.

 

I think I like this “Point of No Return” song the best.

 

NuShooz had an even bigger hit with their slyly sexy “I Can’t Wait”, which is still fun to listen to decades later.  Of course, every time I listen to it, I feel ancient.  Were the 80s really that long ago?

 

And then there were artists like Taylor Dayne, whose voice I always thought was  impressive.  I wasn’t a fan of her style of music, but she had some pipes.

 

This song always reminds me of ads for feminine hygiene products and cosmetics for teenagers.

 

Unfortunately for Taylor Dayne, this music is stamped by the 80s and probably doesn’t update too well.  Or maybe it does.  What the hell do I know, except that I apparently watched way too much Saturday TV and saw too many ads for tampons and cosmetics for teens.

 

Paula Abdul came along at the end of the 80s and her music was definitely dance worthy…

 

I actually own a copy of Forever Your Girl…  It doesn’t get much airplay, though.  

 

I like Paula Abdul alright.  I mean, she’s a great dancer and she was nice to people on American Idol.  She even had a reality show that showed her in all her whacked out glory.  Her music is not the stuff of legends, but it’s a guilty pleasure.  I might be persuaded to tap my toes to “Cold Hearted Snake”.  I’m sure I could think of more crazy 80s dance songs, but I’m waiting for some furniture to get to me.  Maybe I’ll dance while I wait.