Super Freaky; Boy Cyndi?

From voice recording #133, Dec. 1.
Joe and Mystikal, "Stutter (Remix), 2001. It's probably the worst of the songs that include stuttering. 4,800.
Howie Day, "Clive"?, from '04. It has acoustic guitar and a do-do-do-do sound that might have been on "Dawson's Creek", and it's 4,600.
No Doubt, "It's My Life" from '03. It's not one of No Doubt's best. 4,350.
Lifehouse, "Whatever It Takes", don't know the year. 4,750.
John Mayer, "No Such Thing", 2002. 4,700.
Dr. Dre/Eminem, "Forgot About Dre" from 2000. 4,825.
Daughtry, "Over You", 2008. 4,575. Why is this ranked higher than "Forgot About Dre"? The instrumentation and beat are nothing special, but Daughtry at least was singing.
50 Cent, "In Da Club" from '03. 4,700.
DJ Sammy and Ya Knew?, "To Heaven". It's a remake, and not nearly as good. It has a "Night at the Roxbury" beat. 4,500.
I started out on Sirius XM Channel 10, and realized I had done this before Thanksgiving. I'm switching over to the '80s on Channel 8. And I think I was listening to voice recording #136 on Dec. 4.
Rick James, "Super Freak", '81. A couple of things: I remember meeting the late Rick James -- who lived in East Aurora, N.Y., where I was working at the time for "Buffalo Bills Weekly" -- at a Bills game. He was with Leon Spinks. This song also was in "Little Miss Sunshine". 3,400.
Chicago, "Look Away", 1988. This is a softer Chicago without a whole lot of horns or a lot of anything. 4,750.
Men Without Hats, "Safety Dance", 1983. 2,300.
The Go-Gos, "Vacation" from '82. 2,600.
Tears for Fears, "Mothers Talk", can't remember the year -- '83? '86? Tears for Fears was one of the '80s bands that was just kind of there, and it was a lucky circumstance for them because they probably would not have been able to gain a foothold in any other era of music. This isn't one of their better ones. 4,800, generously.
Culture Club, "Time (Clock of the Heart), '83. Not Culture Club's best, but it's better than one of Tears for Fears' not-best, so 4,750. The main thing Culture Club gave us was Boy George, who had some staying power as a solo artist. He probably wanted to be Cyndi Lauper when he grew up. I saw Cyndi Lauper in concert in Philadelphia, and Boy George is no Cyndi Lauper.
Gap Band, "Dropped a Bomb on Me", 1982. The bomb might have been this song. Its highlight was the sound effect of the bombs flying through the air, or whining or screaming through the air, or whatever bombs do while they're in the air. This band brought to mind Morris Day and the Time, only not as good. It's probably not even as good as some of the other crap I've been listening to, so 4,825.
UB-40, "Red Red Wine" from '88. I went back and forth on either side of 3,500 with this one. What finally decided it for me was the reggae, almost spoken-word, section near the end when they went into a "3-6-9, the goose drank wine" rap. 3,400.
Police, "Every Breath You Take, '83. 1,350.
Madonna, "Borderline", I think '86. It's not terrible, it's probably middle or higher on her list of songs. 4,100.
Roxette, "The Look" from '89. I didn't really recall much about this group, but going back to create the database, it seems as if they had songs on the charts through much of the '80s. This is probably the best. I like the line about making a brown-eyed girl turn blue, and I'm not sure whether it might be an homage to Crystal Gayle for her "Don't it make my brown eyes blue?" more than a decade earlier. "The Look" has something going for it. 2,400.
Toto, "Africa." I sometimes confuse this with "Tusk". I know I've reviewed this one before. I might be more generous today than I was then. 3,100.