For the month of October, I’m selecting a song each day from the decade that has the most meaning to me: the 80s. It was the decade that I grew up in. The period of time where I discovered my love for music — and explored many different genres. For the next 31 days, I’ll highlight a handful of songs that I truly loved and that were representative of the decade. #31DaysOf80sSongs
For a good 4-5 year stretch, INXS scratched a lot of musical itches for me. The decade was an era filled with hard rock, new wave, saxophone solos and frontman testosterone. And INXS seemed to check off all of those boxes. Early songs like “Original Sin”, “Don’t Change” and “This Time” were the stuff of alt rock radio. But by the time Listen Like Thieves came out, the band was knocking on mainstream pop radio’s door. Of course, Kick is where they blew the doors down a couple years later. But it all started with “What You Need”.
The first ten seconds of “What You Need” is one of the greatest song openings of the decade. The opening drum roll. A peculiar guitar pluck that feels like a sign of life from another planet. Another drum roll. And then the song’s signature guitar riff. It’s a song that wastes no time in getting started. A song full of hooks. And the hooks keep coming with Tim Farriss’ guitar interludes and Kirk Pengilly’s monstrous sax solos. Still, the star of “What You Need” is Hutchence, singing with a swagger reminiscent of Jim Morrison. Which isn’t a shabby comparison as far as frontmen go.
“Forget about the troubles in life. Don't you know, it's not easy. When you gotta walk upon that line.”