5 Underrated 80's songs

Ever since I was a little girl, I was always fascinated with the songs my mom showed me. Anytime I went for a ride with her, she'd tell me about how Pat Benetar's father played the drums at her shows. Michael Jackson and his rise from the accidents he faced. I absorbed all that information as a child and continued to find anything else 80's related. Even though I was never born during that era as I was born in the mid nineties, I was always called an old soul because what I listened to. When I went on my search to scour and find other songs. I found that these weren't given the proper recognition, I even found a couple of songs that went under my mom's radar. Some of these barely even got the radio play it clearly deserved.

These songs are a mix of ones that didn't get enough attention, an unknown song from a popular singer, or ones that barely even get by as a one-hit-wonder.

1. Torture by The Jacksons

This is the song I found on a video detailing the rise of Michael Jackson's career. This song came up as an example at some of the affiliations with his brothers as well as his chance in style for music. It instantly caught my attention and I had to listen to the rest of it. Seeing the music video for the first time, it was pretty damn good for being 1985. It has the horror ambiance that I coin as Thriller 2.0. Most of the music video is a bit odd since Germain and Michael couldn't be present for the video, so wax figures were placed for the absence. The song is very catchy as it has a lyrical comparison to the turmoil of a relationship. There is an edge to this song that every member of the Jacksons give to the ambiance. It has a chill that we want to know why the woman in their life is under an eerie stress. Give it at listen and you'll be singing it all day.

2. Don't Need A Gun by Billy Idol

I got into a Billy Idol phase (and never stopped after four years). I discovered this song on a VH1 documentary about the singer of this song. It came on after an intermission and I had to finish listening to it. Most of Billy Idols songs have very confusing lyrics, but it all chocks up to the fact that it's mostly songs to get riled up. It's why this song is on my "Oh Shit Here We Go" playlist on my phone. It does feel like a fighting song to feel feisty and revved up for a good time. Not gonna lie every time I play this song, I start moving and grooving and feel like a bad bitch. It's an underrated song from Billy Idol that should have it's place up there with Rebel Yell and White Wedding.

3. Crossfire by Scorpions

When I was on a trip with my grandpa, I decided to put on the Scorpions so he could listen to them and I can see what else I missed out on. When I got to track 8, I heard the rhythm of drums in a military tune. It's a rare sound to hear when it has a military musical sound within the first seconds. It's a powerful song from the point of view of a young man explaining the horrors and treachery of war. Explaining to not be thrown into war to watch others die for leaders that stand behind while the die is cast on these poor soldiers to risk their life and leave their loves behind. Their lives shouldn't be the ones to fight others that also don't want to die.

4. Edge of Town by The Truth

I first heard this song on an episode of Miami Vice (Death and the Lady S4 E3) It's a slow burn of a song with a soft and steady beat in the background. It has a desolate and ominous feeling about the singer expressing his love for someone in a big city. The way the song is expressed through the singer, as if they are the only two people in a tough town with a promise that he'll be there for her. There are mentions of hardship, deception, and blue collar struggles to survive in a town of lies and deceit. There is a gradual build as the song continues which only adds to the power of this song. Anytime I listen to this song, I can't help but think of Don Johnson in his Ferrari as he drives into the night of Miami.

5. Midnight for You by Paul Hipp

This song comes from a very obscure movie called China Girl. It came out in 1987 and the singer of this song also participates as an actor in the movie. It has the same vibe as Edge of Town that I mentioned before. A man proclaiming his love for a woman in a seedy town. It does have a parallel to the starstruck lovers in the movie, but it does stand on it's own for a romantic love song. It has a soft, sexy, sound to the ambiance to the broken man who has found love again, to meet at midnight and have the time in the night with her. It's a cheesy song and a staple troupe of the romantic, but worth the listen.

If your have a taste for a nostalgic song of the 1980s that you would want to find to your playlist. This list should be a good start by listening to these underrated gems.