(1980 to Present) Favorite Upbeat, Pure Rock Songs?
 

What are your favorite upbeat, pure rock songs? "Pure" as in guitars, drums, vocals, and little else (not much horns, keyboards, and so on). From 1980 through the present day, please.

Try to limit favorites to songs that got some airplay and that the public might remember.

That is a hard one for me, picking from the 80s and so on. It seems like it might be easier choosing one from the 70s era, for me anyway. Maybe something more blues/rock orientated like Rebel, Rebel by David Bowie or something by the Rolling Stones. Defining Pure Rock is subjective to say the least. Maybe a three piece band, bass, guitar and drums only. I actually cant think of anyone from the 80s that fits that venue right off hand.

Damn Yankees, Bad Company (mostly with Brian Howe), The Scorpions, and Van Halen all fit that, although VH used keyboards on many songs with Hagar in 1986 and 1988. Also, that was a common arrangement for hair metal bands like Motley Crue, Poison, and Cinderalla.

How about some Tom Petty songs like "American Girl"? I checked a performance video and saw they were singing and playing drums, two guitars, bass, and keyboard...but I don't think the keyboard is prominent in the song (except in the little interlude). This is one of my favorite upbeat-sounding rock songs:


American Girl performed by Tom Petty - YouTube

The other group that comes to mind is The Pretenders, who I feel had some upbeat pure rock songs (although maybe they're a bit soft?), such as "Back on the Chain Gang".

"American Girl" is from the 70's :) Let's stick to original releases, not later non-single live versions.

I have no idea if the general public is familiar with it, but "Good Morning Aztlán" by Los Lobos is a personal favorite upbeat, pure rock song by a famous rock band from the tme period in question. There's something about this song that just always puts me in a fantastic mood.

1980 to present definitely blew for rock music, it doesn't even get Funhouse by the stooges. Since I can't go there,

Celebrated Summer by Husker Du.

It is hard to think of songs like that, which is why I started the thread.

(apparently on the anniversary of Led Zeppelin's break-up)
I choose "Hurting Kind (I've Got My Eyes on You)," by Robert Plant

Robert Plant - Hurting Kind - YouTube

The lyrics have a dark edge to them, a lot of cool things are done with basic instruments in that song, and I bet Robert Plant wishes he could still scream like that. There are at least two guitarists in the song (but not Plant himself); usually one of them played the keyboards. (Pet peeve - album credits that don't mention such details.) 1990 was a year rock began stripping down. "Coming of Age" by Damn Yankees and "Holy Water" by Bad Company are two of the few other basic, upbeat rock songs I'd rate highly, and they're from the same year.

Good point, but it still mostly blew.

I think Keep Your Hands to Yourself by the Georgia Satellites was pretty killer, though

I don't think I've ever listened to this song at anything other than full volume.

Fuckin Up, Neil Young, no doubt.

Darn it, you're right. The sad thing is, I thought I'd checked its release date, too. :o:

I'll try again.

The Pretenders - "Talk of the Town" (1981. ha!)
(except it's not that upbeat :/)


Pretenders Talk Of The Town - YouTube


The Primitives - "Crash" (Official Video) (1988)


The Primitives | Crash (Official Video) - YouTube


And for an excellent example of what song production must do, compare the fixed-up version of "Crash" above with this live performance below:

The Primitives - "Crash" (live)
I...I was disappointed by Tracy's singing. The vocals sounded so...so...wimpy and unenergetic. And not even quite in tune!


The Primitives - Crash (Live) - YouTube

^ On second thought, maybe these aren't rock. I don't know. Shoot. (Checking.) Ack! :( The Primitives are indie pop. Sorry!! E for Effort, Eh?

I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow

as far as i can tell there's no drum/guitar/bass/vocals violation, and i've recently realized that Bow Wow Wow were actually super flame

I never heard of The Primitives before. (I can't say I liked that song.) The Pretenders definitely are rock. I'd pick "Message of Love" as better, though.

To me, one of the best early-80's pure upbeat rock songs is "Gimme All Your Lovin'," by ZZ Top.

no before 1980 music sucked hippies were everywhere dude

How about this one? Upbeat pure rock, first released in 1980. Nice guitar work (I actually like the solo; usually I don't like guitar solos in rock music). Catchy lyrics. Nice rhyming, too. :)

I was amused reading this comment about the song on Song Meanings at Songfacts: "Johnson came up with the line 'She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean' when he realized that cars and women were very much alike - they go fast, let you down, but then make you happy again when you see the new model. AC/DC has never been known for deep, meaningful lyrics."

AC/DC - "You Shook Me All Night Long"

During this video, what mostly caught my attention was that...hey...there's a guy wearing shorts!! :p: He plays funny. And then I thought...wait, is that a woman?! Next I thought...maybe it *is* a woman! Maybe all this time AC/DC has had a female member and I just didn't know!!

Then I noticed...oh no...her guitar isn't plugged in. She's just a prop!!!!!! <--This was a disappointing moment. :(

Yet after watching the video again (and again), I decided that the person looks like a guy after all (because she didn't look very pretty). I wondered...is...is this a man dressed like a woman? Or a little school boy? I'm confused!

Finally, after looking at some photos of AC/DC, I realized that this is Angus Young and wearing shorts on stage is just his thing. I didn't expect AC/DC to have any quirky element, so this was a pleasant surprise. Now I like the song even more than before. :)


AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long - YouTube

Hrrm, speaking from under her rock again. Anyway, that reminds me of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck," which is similarly lyrically and in my opinion one of the best upbeat no-special-instruments rock tracks ever (and also from stripped-down 1990). The guitar and drums on it are terrific.

I think that may be a generalization.

Unfair generalizations? From HHBH? Shocking!