The Safety Dance - Men Without Hats

"We can dance if we want to

We can leave your friends behind

'Cause your friends don’t dance

And if they don’t dance

Well they’re are no friends of mine."

I have to say, this is just one of the coolest songs every written. And after discussing it last night at the bar with some friends, I just had to add it here for you to listen to.

"The Safety Dance" is a fantastic new wave song released by Men Without Hats in March of 1982. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and number 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart.

The song's writer has explained that "The Safety Dance" is a protest against bouncers stopping dancers pogoing to 1980s New Wave music in clubs when Disco was dying and New Wave was up and coming. New Wave dancing, especially pogoing, was different from Disco dancing, because it was done individually instead of with partners and involved holding the torso rigid and thrashing about. To uninformed bystanders this could look dangerous, especially if pogoers accidentally bounced into one another.

So, kids, it's safe to dance. Check out the medieval music video below, and enjoy the song!

Michael Jackson - The Anniversary

On the anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, I need to make my cousin aware of the most incredible, talented, controversial and influential artist of all time.

Through all the controversy and scandal, Michael Jackson's talent rose above it all to be the greatest artist of all time. So, Alyssa, in case you don't believe me, here is a list of his accomplishments:

• Thriller, Michael's 1982 album, is the best-selling album of all time. OF ALL TIME.
• Michael Jackson has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice
• Received multiple Guinness World Records
• Won 13 Grammy awards
• Won 26 American Music Awards, which is more than any other artist, ever
• Had 13 number one singles in the United States
• Sold over 800 million albums worldwide

If there was ever any doubt about his talent and awesomeness, it has been put to shame.

And just because I love this music video - one of the most played music videos EVER - here is Thriller :)

Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice

"Alright stop, collaborate and listen!"

Raise your hand if you still know all the lyrics to "Ice Ice Baby" Yeah.... thought so.

My poor cousin wasn't even a thought in her mom's head when Vanilla Ice debuted this song in 1990. "Ice Ice Baby" was the first hip-hop single to reach the top of the Billboard charts.

Sampling the well-known and popular bassline of Queen and David Bowie's song "Under Pressure", "Ice Ice Baby" helped diversify hip-hop by introducing it to the mainstream audience.

See Alyssa, hip-hop is good!

Faithfully - Journey

"Oh girl, you stand by me.

I'm forever yours, faithfully."

Raise your hand if you saw Glee perform this song on their finale last week - I did too!!!

"Faithfully" by Journey is one of my favorite songs ever written. It's one of those great power ballads that came out at the perfect time in music history, and will live on for, hopefully, much longer than it's been around so far.

Released in 1983, "Faithfully" reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and describes the relationship of a man on the road and how difficult it can be to maintain a family while traveling so much.

It's also one of Journey's (and the world's) most recognized songs, and will forever maintain its popularity.

Step By Step - New Kids On The Block

"Hey girl in your eyes
I see a picture of me all the time
And girl when you smile

You got to know that you drive me wild"

I'm not sure what inspired me to write this post on NKOTB, but darn it, I still love them, and following @DonnieWahlberg on Twitter just makes me ridiculously happy every day :)

I remember this song as being one of my favorites when I was about 6 or 7 - I was on the tail end of the New Kids On The Block bandwagon, but we listened to my friend's older sister's cassette tapes of the band, and it was spectacular.

Looking at their songs and lyrics, you'll be surprised by how often they refer to females as "Girl" but hey, I guess that is just how it was done in the early 1990's :)

"Step By Step" was released in 1990 on the album of the same name, and quickly shot up to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. It became their biggest selling single, and a song they still perform in concert to this day (as I saw them in concert last year on their reunion tour - be jealous)

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for NKOTB and especially this song, as I can still sing all the lyrics by heart.....