3 Pop Songs From the 1980s That Will Actually Make You Smarter

Sometimes you want a song to not only spark your interest but also your intellect. Sometimes you want a song to offer something more than just a catchy hook and a nice melody. You want it to challenge you.

Here below, we wanted to dive into three tracks that do just that. These are three songs that help us see the world differently and better. Indeed, these are three pop songs from the 1980s that will actually make you smarter.

“Like A Prayer” by Madonna from ‘Like A Prayer’ (1989)

It’s not every day that a pop star like Madonna writes a song like “Like A Prayer”. On the face of it, the tune is an exquisite pop song with a beat that gets you to dance around your living room. But when you dive into the lyrics, you realize Madonna is blending religious themes, romantic imagery, and ideas of death and rebirth all in one No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 pop song. That’s a high bar. It’s not easy to execute all that. But Madonna pulled it off at the end of the 1980s, and pop music was never the same afterward.

“Orinoco Flow” by Enya from ‘Watermark’ (1988)

This song from the Irish songwriter and performer Enya hit No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. And for good reason. It’s as catchy as anything produced during the decade. But it is also unlike anything that was made and released during the 1980s. This song seems both new and traditional. Old and one-of-a-kind all at once. Enya seemingly did the impossible, getting millions to dive into a chanting, choral offering that still challenges our ears today in the best of ways.

“Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper from ‘She’s So Unusual’ (1983)

While audiences everywhere thank Cyndi Lauper for the lesson and song about girls just wanting to have fun, we wanted to dive into this nostalgic track from the artist’s breakout 1983 LP, She’s So Unusual. As soon as this tune comes on, something in you is activated. You think about the past—about your past. You reflect; the images in your memory sharpen. Indeed, every story races in your brain. That can’t help but spark something new!

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