As far as MJ knockoffs go, there’s not much here to be mad at. It'd be like rebuilding Stonehenge, or the Great Sphinx of Giza.

"Hearbreak Beat" - By the Psychadelic Furs.

But that all returns when you pay attention to the lyrics, particularly the “see you on a dark night” refrain, and learn that the song is about her sexual assault. Hey Mickey!" No, it is not a good song. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is the best song about sex that no parent or authority figure gets too mad about because it sounds like a song about British people enjoying their afternoon tea. Like so many songs of the ‘80s, it masks the song’s lyrics about political unrest (she wrote it about the 2011 London riots) with a danceable groove, so it keeps light on its feet like you would be, too, if you heard this in the club. © 2020 Galvanized Media.

When you've already got one of these Wonders of the World, why does it need to be done again? —DL, 36. Log in or link your magazine subscription, Photo-Illustration: Maya Robinson/Vulture, The 50 Best Modern Songs That Evoke the 1980s, Shonda Rhimes Left ABC for Netflix After a Disneyland Ticket Snub, Dolly Parton Made Stephen Colbert Cry With a Folk Song, Ice Cube Puts Eric Trump on Thin Ice Over Fake Trump-Hat Photo With 50 Cent, The Rudy Giuliani Moment Going Viral Is Good for, Matthew McConaughey Reveals He Was Blackmailed and Sexually Abused As a Teen, Lenny Kravitz on That Big Scarf: ‘It Was Cold’, This Week in Comedy Podcasts: Music Talk With Judd Apatow and Mike Myers.

You can argue all you want that the only reason this song holds up is because of that wildly inventive video featuring rotoscoping (or pencil-sketch animation). © 2020 Vox Media, LLC. —DL, 1. You must be an '80s kid. To (sort of) borrow from this album’s long-winded title, the song is so beautiful yet only a little self-aware of it.

Letisser’s an artist whose songs tackle gender fluidity and feelings of being an outsider, and “Science Fiction” uses seductive finger snaps and an upbeat tempo to sneak in lyrics about feeling alienated while out in public with her partner: “In this sea of eyes, every move’s a coup.” Think of it as throwback bilingual pop made for our gender-neutral future. For Jepsen, the trip back in time works. Bleachers, “I Wanna Get Better”Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode, Yaz, and Erasure helped Jack Antonoff produce Strange Desire, the 2014 debut album of his band Bleachers, so it’s no wonder the songs have, in the front man’s own words, “an ‘80s John Hughes movie feel,” with “I Wanna Get Better” being the flagship track of Antonoff’s jubilant, neon-soaked manifesto. —SR, 21.

The Weeknd didn’t start out wanting to look to the past, but when he shifted to 2015’s Beauty Behind the Madness, he did so with the expressed intent of making himself a pop star. Danny Brown, “Fields”In many ways, Detroit has been a place where the ‘80s never ended. “New Romantics” is one of the faster-paced tracks on the record, featuring her sharp-tongued lyrics about romantic outcasts, à la The Breakfast Club. And of course everyone remembers the part where you shout out "Leonard Bernstein!" Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon.

It’s a nostalgia-baiting synth-rock oasis. "Should I stay or should I go?" —Samantha Rollins, 45. Then, just when you think you’ve heard it all, in comes the saxophone solo from James King of Fitz and the Tantrums that transports you 25 years back in time. STANDS4 LLC, 2020. And then that's followed by as much of the rest of the song as they can remember. All week on Vulture, we’re examining ‘80s pop culture, and how it lives on today. —CJ, 23. Her whole aesthetic is throwback, even when it feels ahead of its time. About Feels Like Love "Feels Like Love" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Vince Gill. —DR, 15. The War on Drugs, “Red Eyes”Front man Adam Granduciel echoes the likes of Mark Knopfler and Born in the U.S.A.–era Springsteen on this washed-out highlight from the Philly band’s 2014 LP, Lost in the Dream. You have to sing it with maximum emotive gravitas, which involves clenching your fist and looking off meaningfully into the middle distance. —DR, 38.

A cozy pair of sweatpants? Charli XCX, “London Queen”Charli XCX was making records for years before screaming into America on the hook of Icona Pop’s “I Love It,” and on her ensuing smash hit Sucker, she was at her absolute pop-punk best. It was released in May 2000 as the second single from the album Let's Make Sure We Kiss Goodbye. This is more like Win Butler channeling Morrissey going through a disco phase. Live smarter, look better,​ and live your life to the absolute fullest. But if it was playing on the radio or MTV at the right time in your life, it's like a tattoo on your soul.

(1987), "Sweet Child O' Mine" — Guns N' Roses (1988), "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" — Whitney Houston (1987), "You Shook Me All Night Long" — AC/DC (1980), "We Didn't Start The Fire" — Billy Joel (1989). Wait, never mind, we don't want to know. "Feels Like I'm in Love" on YouTube Written by Ray Dorset [4] of Mungo Jerry , the song was originally intended for Elvis Presley but he died before it could be pitched to him. The quintessential earworm by the duo responsible for some of the most inescapable earworms of the '80s, "Kiss on My List" is one of those songs you only need to hear a few times before it becomes a permanent fixture in your subconscious.

Kendrick Lamar, “King Kunta”“King Kunta” screams neo-soul and funk right out of the gate, while paying homage to ‘90s hip-hop stalwarts like Dr. Dre, Tupac, and Ice Cube.

“Priscilla,” off her last album Platinum, wraps her vocals in acoustic guitars and drums that dance around the classic Bo Diddley beat, sounding for all the world like George Michael’s “Faith” until the chords change midway through each verse.

“Call Your Girlfriend” is glossy and unpredictable (that glitchy electro breakdown toward the end just kills), a massive pop anthem that’ll make you wonder how different things might’ve turned out had Cyndi Lauper also hailed from Sweden.   But a kiss ain't enough. He became an great individual who comes around as quickly as in a life-time. Many Chance songs feel and sound like unbridled joy, and this one’s a blast from start to finish. (Vocoders have come a long way, trust.)

—DR, 46. To enjoy Prime Music, go to Your Music Library and transfer your account to Amazon.com (US).