3 Overplayed Songs From the 80s You Want To Forget but Can’t

We now listen to music on demand, which means what others listen to can’t be forced upon the rest of us. It does affect the algorithms, but if you’re disciplined enough, you can bypass those. But in the 1980s, in a so-called monoculture and its fusing combination of MTV and radio, you couldn’t escape overplayed songs. Even if you loved a tune, the VJs and DJs did their best to ruin a great track with endless spins.

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Try as you might, you may want to, but you can’t forget these overplayed hits from the 80s.

“Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey

It’s hard to argue that this may be the most consequential 80s power ballad. It has everything one needs for a hit song to endure and reach peak overplayed status. Nostalgia, hopeful vibes, soaring guitar licks, and perhaps, the most important component: the vocal pipes of Steve Perry. “Don’t Stop Believin’” and Van Halen’s “Jump” gave Jon Bon Jovi a blueprint for his own keyboard-driven rock hit “Runaway”. And after decades of radio saturation, the internet proved people hadn’t tired of Journey’s ballad. It currently has more than 2.5 billion streams on Spotify.

“Jump” by Van Halen

I don’t think any rock guitarist in the 1980s had more impact than Eddie Van Halen. He not only changed how people played the guitar, but also how guitar builders made his homemade Frankenstrat an industry norm. However, his biggest hit is a keyboard song. Synthesizers became the dominant instrument of the decade, and Van Halen was no stranger to the keyboard. He developed his signature two-hand tapping technique from the piano skills he learned as a child studying classical music. (He did name his son Wolfgang after all.) Finally, perhaps Van Halen’s synth rock contained David Lee Roth’s goofiness just enough for a wider pop audience to tolerate.

“Every Breath You Take” by The Police

Admittedly, the stalker vibe in this one makes me itchy. But as a tune, this track is undeniable. I’m more partial to Reggatta De Blanc, but “Every Breath You Take” was everywhere in the 80s. I recently wrote about great bridges, and here, Sting delivers a massive bridge. With Synchronicity, The Police became the world’s biggest rock band, but the trio couldn’t survive its internal chaos. Following a gig at Shea Stadium, Sting thought there was nowhere else his band could go. So he went solo. Still, “Every Breath You Take” was overplayed to the point where you started to look over your shoulder each time Sting sang, “I’ll be watching you.”

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