10 quintessential synth pop songs from the 80s

1) Soft Cell - 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye' (1981)

This is my favorite song off one of my favorite synth pop albums from the 80s: Soft Cell's debut album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. It is also, by far, the most beautiful of all the songs on the album. Everyone has heard 'Tainted Love', but far too few have heard this one. The synth strings on this track are simply gorgeous. Easily one of the best songs ever made, IMO. Yes, the video is rather, ahem, g'hay, but Soft Cell were not exactly ZZ Top, either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHTbWtacquk"]Soft Cell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye - YouTube

2) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - 'The Beginning and the End' (1981)

Off the outstanding synth pop classic Architecture and Morality, this is the album's closing track, and definitely one of the most breathtaking pieces of synth pop minimalism to come from the 80s. The song is so simple yet effective with its repeating three-note choral synth melody.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsr0feRRlTg"]OMD The Beginning and the End - YouTube

3) Solid Space - '10th Planet' (1982)

This song and the album it's on is somewhat of an obscurity, self-released on cassette in 1982 by a little known British band. The DIY aesthetic of the music, with its stark production, coupled with its otherworldly minimalism, makes it a particularly evocative song that has somewhat of a 60s sci-fi feel to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Amcuyzd54s"]Solid Space - 10th Planet - YouTube

4) The Human League - 'The Sound of the Crowd'(1981)

Songs like this by The Human League make up the more dance-oriented side of 80's synth pop. The group's album Dare was one of the defining moments for synth pop because it so perfectly fused danceable beats with some outstanding synth hooks that sound as fresh today as they did the day they were first heard. No better example can be found than this song below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_AAz8s3BSE"]The Human League - The Sound Of The Crowd 1981 - YouTube

5) Nine Circles - 'What's There Left' (1982)

Another obscure gem in European synth pop this time comes from a little known male-female duo out of the Netherlands called Nine Circles. Some of my favorite synth-generated sounds are heard on this track, which also features some excellent lyrics warning about the downside of technology and computers. The track has such a hazy feel that triggers feelings of intense nostalgia in me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8vgnMfCaLw"]Nine Circles - What's There Left (1982) - YouTube

6) Kraftwerk - 'Computer World (1981)

Kraftwerk were certainly masters of their kraft, and of all the synth pop ever made, this is not only technically some of the best produced of its genre, it is also incredibly fresh sounding even today. When I listen to this album, with its intricate layers of interweaving synth, it blows my mind that it was released not even a month after I was born. This sounds incredibly nice with a good pair of headphones or speakers, heard LOUD!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQi78vlKKBs"]Kraftwerk Computer World (2009 Remastered Version) - YouTube

7) New Order - 'Your Silent Face' (1983)

Gorgeous washes of layered synth over half-spoken/half sung lyrics about the late Ian Curtis of Joy Division. This is probably my favorite of all of New Order's songs, and definitely one of the more "pretty" examples of 80's synth pop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so-L12LFRR8"]New Order - Your Silent Face - YouTube

8) David Bowie- 'Ashes to Ashes' (1980)

After working with Brian Eno on his "Berlin trilogy" albums, David Bowie became more focused on creating synth dominated music, as can be heard on this track from 1980's Scary Monsters album. While the synth is used somewhat minimally here, it is some of the most effective and ingenious use of the instrument I have heard. I especially love the eerie synth that comes in near the song's ending to close things out. Such an outstandingly bleak post-punk feel comes with that sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-IkC3isMoc"]David Bowie Ashes to Ashes - YouTube

9) Q Lazzarus - 'Goodbye Horses' (1988)

This song would have likely never received the attention it deserves hadn't it been featured in the movie Silence of the Lambs, during one of the most memorable (and funny) scenes of the movie. While Silence of the Lambs came out in 1991, this song actually dates back to 1988, and was released by a person that nobody knows much about at all (I have heard she was a taxi driver in NYC), who simply went by the name Q Lazzarus, releasing this beautiful track and then pretty much disappearing from sight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_DVS_303kQ"]Goodbye Horses - Q Lazzarus - YouTube

10) Moev - 'Cracked Mirror' (1982)

When I hear this song, it kind of amazes me how little-known this Vancouver-based band is. Not only the song below, but the entire album it's on, which features some extremely well made dark synth pop that sounds like a more synthy, EBM version of Siouxie Sioux.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U2uH-sFs10"]Moev - Cracked Mirror - YouTube

 

Nice, exactly the kind of music education I've been looking for.