Jimmy’s Extraordinary '80s Playlist!

Join me as I create a themed musical playlist featuring songs by artists that not only reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 but were also recognized as the top-selling single of each year during the decade!

Let's remember the sensory thrill of flipping through the record racks, recall the scratch of a needle hitting the vinyl, and rewind to a time when synthesizers and saxophones filled the air—as we make a mixtape!

Side A: Call Me by Blondie, Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes, Physical by Olivia Newton-John, Every Breath You Take by The Police, and When Doves Cry by Prince and the Revolution

Side B: Careless Whisper by Wham! featuring George Michael, That's What Friends Are For by Dionne & Friends, Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles, Faith by George Michael, and Look Away by Chicago.

Join me as I create a themed musical playlist featuring songs by artists born in 1958 who helped shape the cultural shift that defined the 1980s!

Let's celebrate the artists who share the same birth year, consider how shared timing became cultural momentum, and cherish how a handful of voices, shaped by the same era, helped shape ours in return—as we make a mixtape!

Side A: Bad Reputation by Joan Jett, Kiss Me Deadly by Lita Ford, Off the Wall by Michael Jackson, Like a Virgin by Madonna, and Sign o' the Times by Prince

Side B: Sweet Love by Anita Baker, She Blinded Me with Science by Thomas Dolby, Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush, Two of Hearts by Stacey Q, and Heaven Is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle

Join me as I create a themed musical playlist featuring songs by artists often mislabeled and misremembered in the U.S. as one-hit wonders!

Let's reacquaint ourselves with artists who were anything but one-hit, revisit the tracks that both defined and confined their careers, and reframe memory over myth—as we make a mixtape!

Side A: I Ran by A Flock of Seagulls, You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by Dead or Alive, The Safety Dance by Men Without Hats, Your Love by The Outfield, and Take on Me by A-ha

Side B: What's on Your Mind by Information Society, 867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone, Obsession by Animotion, Our House by Madness, and Harden My Heart by Quarterflash

Join me as I create a themed musical playlist featuring songs by artists that both captured the public's ear and split opinion just as sharply!

Let's acknowledge the hits everyone knows but no one can agree on, address the songs that defined pop culture and divided listeners at every turn, and accept that popularity and unity rarely go hand in hand—as we make a mixtape!

Side A: We Built This City by Starship, Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison, The Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh, Kokomo by The Beach Boys, and Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves

Side B: I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder, Lean on Me by Club Nouveau, Mickey by Toni Basil, Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, and Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin

Join me as I create a themed musical playlist featuring songs by artists that entered the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart but never reached the Top 40 during their run!

Let's revisit the songs that missed the Top 40, rediscover the artists whose peak placements puzzled us, and relish the fact that while they left the chart too soon, they never left our hearts—as we make a mixtape!

Side A: I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow, I Melt With You by Modern English, What I Like About You by The Romantics, Hot Hot Hot by Buster Poindexter, and I Know What Boys Like by The Waitresses

Side B: Holiday Road by Lindsey Buckingham, It's Raining Men by The Weather Girls, Should I Stay or Should I Go by The Clash, It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine) by R.E.M., and Forever Young by Alphaville

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of LGBTQ+ history and contains reclaimed or historically used slurs.

Join me as I create a themed musical playlist featuring songs by artists whose work captured and chronicled the experience of growing up gay during the 1980s!

Let's remember the accomplishments of our courageous LGBTQ+ ancestors, recognize the allies who fearlessly fought for and alongside the gay community, and remind ourselves that we're here, we're queer, and history proves we've always been here—as we make a mixtape!

Side A: I'm Coming Out by Diana Ross, True Colors by Cyndi Lauper, Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat, Do You Really Want to Hurt Me by Culture Club, and Everybody by Madonna

Side B: Digging Your Scene by The Blow Monkeys, So Many Men, So Little Time by Miquel Brown, It's a Sin by Pet Shop Boys, Closer to Fine by Indigo Girls, and I'm Still Standing by Elton John

Join me as I create a themed musical playlist of songs that not only reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart but also outsold and outranked all others to become the top selling single for each year within the decade!

Let's remember the sensory overload involved in searching through the record racks, recall hearing the scratchy sounds as the needle hit the vinyl, and rewind to a time when synthesizers and saxophones filled the air as we travel back to the greatest decade to live in and live through, the 1980's!

Side A: Call Me by Blondie, Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes, Physical by Olivia Newton John, Every Breath You Take by The Police, and When Doves Cry by Prince.

Side B: Careless Whisper by Wham! Featuring George Michael, That's What Friends Are For by Dionne & Friends, Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles, Faith by George Michael, and Look Away by Chicago.