Embracing the ‘80s Modern pop loses the vibe that 1980s music provides By Naomi Ambrose joday’s pop music leaves me dazed and confused. The songs I hear on today’s radio airwaves are cheesy and lame, lacking soul and superb musical arrangement. For me, the best decade of music is the 1980s because there’s nothing like the 80s for music with soul, passion, emotion and rhythm. If you’ ve forgotten about the musical power of the 80s, then you’re in luck, because here are my top 10 songs of the 1980’s. This week, we'll start the countdown with numbers 10-6. I'll keep you in suspense just a teeny bit longer by presenting 5—1 next week. 10. Tonight, tonight, tonight By Genesis Release date: March 23, 1982 US Hot 100 Billboard number: 3 Phil Collins sings lead vocals with such intensity and soul, especially on the chorus. Tony Banks also gives a great performance on keyboards for a solid five minutes. At the end of Banks’ performance, Collins explodes back into the song with his powerful vocals. This song was also featured almost at length in the Magnum PI. episode “Laura.” 9. In The Air Tonight By Phil Collins Release date: January 5, 1981 US Hot 100 Billboard Number: 19 “In The Air Tonight” features one of the greatest moments in music history when Collins plays the drums towards the end. Case in point? Even Mike Tyson feels the long-lasting effects of Phil’s beats: during his cameo appearance in The Hangover, Tyson insists on silence while he listens to Phil’s drumming. 8. Everything She Wants By WHAM Release date: December 27, 1984 US Hot 100 Billboard Number: 1 Written and arranged by George Michael, this song has a fantastic introduction whereby the intensity of the music slowly builds up, giving you enough time to get your dance juices flowing. Andrew Ridgely gives a great performance with the electric guitar while Michael sings on lead vocals with rhythm, funk, and fun. With a simple chorus of “Uh huh huh...Oh... oh...Uh huh huh...Doo doo doo...La la la la,” the song is also infectiously catchy. 7.1 Want to Break Free By Queen Release Date: April 2, 1984 (UK) US Hot 100 Billboard Number: 45 Freddy Mercury gives his usual soulful performance on lead vocals while Brian May gives an unforgettable electrifying performance with a Fender Stratocaster guitar. The song’s arrangement is also great: starting with a synthesizer solo that mimics the sound of brass instruments, it is then assisted by a guitar, and then the last verse Starts in the second minute (also featuring a synthesizer and a Fender Stratocaster guitar). The song pauses at the final line “T’ve got to break free,” followed by the fade out. 6. When The Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going By Billy Ocean Release date: November 15, 1985 US Hot 100 billboard number: 2 Billy Ocean sings with such passion. This song has a fantastic introduction, as the rhythm and beat slowly intensify to get you ready to dance. The musicians use the saxophone and the electric guitar to produce spectacular notes. You can also hear the excellent sound quality and vocals towards the end with the line, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going,” which sounds like an echo. Ocean’s song was also featured prominently in the Michael Douglas film, The Jewel of the Nile. So, what-do you think? Stay tuned next week for my top five ‘80s song picks! VIFF followups Another festival comes to a close Angela Espinoza Arts Editor The Jewel (Il gioiellino) | (France, Italy, 2011, 110 mins, Dir. Andrea Molaioli) The second feature by the Italian director, Molaioli’s The Jewel takes a fictionalized look into the corruption behind Italy’s capitalist system. Carried by a spectacular ensemble cast including Toni Servillo, Remo Girone and Sarah Felberbaum, The Jewel is a tale of how one stubborn Italian CEO refused to let his company die, and the consequences that came with it. Girone stars as Amanzio Rastelli, the inheritor of a cheese and sausage plant. Rastelli is the type of man who gets what he wants, and the last thing he wants is to run a little meat shop. He chooses instead to turn the plant into Leda, an attempt at a multinational food corporation. At the encouragement of his chief financial officer Ernesto Botta (Servillo), Rastelli takes Leda across the map, playing the market with milk and snacks. Over the course of twenty years, Leda falls into bankruptcy, and Rastelli’s only option is to perform what soon becomes a very public case of financial fraud. The Jewel. features beautiful cinematography from multi-award winner Luca Bigazzi, and a fantastic soundtrack to go with it. Despite a very evident effort on everyone’s part though, The Jewel doesn’t add anything particularly new to the genre, especially following Italian smash hits // Divo (2008) and Gomorrah (2008). It’s an exquisitely made, albeit basic, tale of morality that tries to teach its audience a life lesson. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da) | (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, 2011, 157 mins, Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan) Co-winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes and, in this writer’s opinion, soon-to-be contestant for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia tells the story of a group of men who go searching for a body late one night. Among these men are authoritative figures such as a policeman, a doctor, and a district attorney —all of which are accompanied by the killer. The group travel around the Anatolian steppe for one long summer night, slowly moving from one identical landmark to the next. Over the course of this time, various characters interact with each other about topics Once Upon a Time in Anatolia covering everything from yogourt to death to women. These interactions each reveal truths and lies about everyone involved, and it soon becomes clear that each of these respectable men has dark secrets of their own. The film is one part murder mystery and one part character study. None of these men can be considered truly bad for the things they’ve done, but that’s largely based on their naivety towards the impact they’ ve caused in someone else’s lives. At times the conversations become tense, but there’s always a strange topic or a powerfully natural joke that comes along to remind the audience that no matter how dark the subject, it’s okay to laugh.