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
It’s not lost on me that So still holds up as one of the greatest albums of the decade. It was a weird space. Here, Peter Gabriel, one of prog rock’s pioneers showed a more accessible side. He crossed over fully here. Yet, there isn’t anything watered down on the album. “Sledgehammer” and “Big Time” may have gotten all the airplay. “In Your Eyes” benefitted from one of the most iconic movie scenes of the 80’s. And “Don’t Give Up” is as powerful a duet as it gets. But back then, and even today, my favorite song on the album is still “Mercy Street”.
Every song on So makes you feel something. An emotion that you can easily identify in a lineup of other emotions. Every song was like that, except “Mercy Street”. It lived in ambiguity. There was this mysterious quality about it. I knew it was making me feel something, but I didn’t know what. All I knew is I couldn’t stop listening to it, even as I grew tired of the other tracks. Gabriel’s ominous vocals are joined along by several different instruments in “Mercy Street”. But the one element that carried the most weight was the unsuspecting and haunting triangle, with its steady, insistent clang.
“All of the buildings, all of the cars were once just a dream in somebody's head.”