The five hundred seventy-ninth song: Save a Prayer - Duran Duran
The new wave Duran Duran brings is always welcome and it sounds so good here - the well known chorus works so well mixed in with all of the sound, the remainder feeling like a journey that does work well to lead you there.
The five hundred eightieth song: Candy Girl - New Edition
It's hard to ignore the similarities of Candy Girl to the Jackson Five output, down to the young kid's vocals that feel like they match that exactly. As you'd expect from that, the song is uncomplicated and straight forward, a simple and sweet love song. It's an attractive, fun song and works well to just cheer you up.
The five hundred eighty-first song: Mad World - Tears for Fears
Mad World is another strong new wave track - effortlessly engaging while staying a bit surprising.
The five hundred eighty-second song: Black Metal - Venom
In opposition to the sweet new wave that's dominating this era, Venom's Black Metal brings in the darkness - Satan gets namedropped in the first few lines. It continues with the unpolished vocals and strong metal track, a pretty strong showing for what it's trying to do and a convincing counterpoint to the era.
The five hundred eighty-third song: Shipbuilding - Robert Wyatt
Shipbuilding makes for a nice folk rock track. Its lyrics reference a time and mood I'm not too close to myself, but it makes its point so beautifully that it doesn't matter.
The five hundred eighty-fourth song: Cattle and Cane - The Go-Betweens
This track sits in an interesting midpoint (and its Wikipedia-listed genre of alternative rock supports that). It has the production and sounds of new wave, but the rough vocals and lyrics that lean in a hard rock direction. The sound is darker than you'd expect, but it hits its beats incredibly well. For me, this hits just the right point.
The five hundred eighty-fifth song: Uncertain Smile - The The
Smooth, with some soft lyrics, Uncertain Smile feels that bit apprehensive sometimes, with the quieter lyrics that sometimes portray that uncertainty. The surrounding music is greater, with a really good piano solo that feels worth calling out, and it is the music where it all really shines, with a track that's just a delight.
The five hundred eighty-sixth song: Valley Girl - Frank Zappa
This is a bizarrely catchy song that seems to have had more of an influence than I would have expected - I know the stereotype for sure, but it wasn't as much of a thing before this track? It's Moon Zappa's valley girl lyrics that steal the show, setting up a character so well that it's clear so soon, while the surrounding music really manages to push that to the foreground while having a distinctly different view. It's a neat trick, pulled off really well, and it shows how you need the skills to make music properly for comedy like this to really work.