Total Eclipse of the Heart

Season 1. Episode 3. Total Eclipse of the Heart. Was an over the top power ballad performed by a Welsh bar singer really the greatest Pop song in the greatest year in the history of Pop music? Spoiler alert — the answer is “yes.” We revisit nine iconic hits from 1983 and listen in as Bonnie Tyler eviscerates Michael Jackson, Prince, The Police, Toto and more. We then double click into the singer, the writer and video director of “Total Eclipse.” Kevin guesses each’s celebrity net worth as a palette cleanser before we hurt our brains trying to understand the bat-shit awesome, epic video for the incredible power ballad.

1983 was completely stacked with Pop hits that defined the decade. In the year of "Thriller" there are dozens of songs that are still mainstays of radio and movie soundtracks. There is no other year that even approaches 1983 in terms of enduring Pop hits. And, in that mountain of music, a weird, inscrutable power ballad rose to the top. With the benefit of hindsight, we try to separate the music from the moment through a bracket-style tournament of the top songs of the year. The fact that at least two of our esteemed panelists were personally offended by the late, great Prince, helped us with the elimination process. 

Once we crown the winner, we then try to understand a video that won the Billboard Music award for the "Best Use of Symbolism" in a video. And by "best," we mean "most." And by "most," we mean, "it makes no sense." 

Join us as we unpack the song that everyone knows and loves but nobody understands.