Do you ever wish you could go back to the 1980s and ask everyone around, “What the heck is going on here?” From the clothing styles to the haircuts to the music, the decade was odd. Almost intentionally odd. Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Odd can be magnificent!
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That’s just what we wanted to dive into here below. We wanted to highlight three odd songs from the 1980s that we think are totally fabulous. Three songs that are very, well, 80s. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders from the 1980s that we wish we wrote! These one-hit wonders from the 1980s really are something special, and even younger generations will recognize them.
“Funkytown” by Lipps Inc. from ‘Mouth To Mouth’ (1980)
We start at the very beginning of the 1980s, when the decade still felt a little like the 70s. Disco wasn’t dead, and Lipps Inc. brought the heat with this song about a fictional place that, well, we’d rather go to even more so than Guy Fieri’s mythical Flavortown. This song simply rocks, and “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc. will probably never go out of style.
“We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister from ‘Stay Hungry’ (1984)
Speaking of songs that rock, this buzzy offering will last forever. And while the rebellious tune isn’t all that odd in and of itself, the band that produced it prides themselves on being weirder than your average performer. Makeup, long hair, costume get-ups. Isn’t it all just so lovely? “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister is still a banger today.
“Toy Soldiers” by Martika from ‘Martika’ (1989)
Any mind that can combine the idea of toys with a deep sense of sadness and remorse is okay by us. While it might be weird for some to equate death with a child’s set of toy figures, Martika didn’t care and created a hit song with one of the most piercing choruses of the decade. It’s beautiful, sad, and we wish we had the talent to write something like this!
Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images









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