Matt & Sheryl's GenExcellent Playlist

Send us Fan MailMatt and Sheryl return to 1984 with two of the biggest singles of the year from Ratt and Thompson Twins and the last top 20 hit from Alan Parsons Project

Send us Fan MailMike joins Matt & Sheryl as they quickly add two songs from artists who have previously been added to the playlist and go over their favorite albums and songs from 2025

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl continue into 1984 with two of the biggest stars of the era at the beginning of their careers adding Madonna "Borderline" and Bon Jovi "Runaway" to the playlist.

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl start a new year with one of the first releases of the year, Van Halen's 1984 and Matt's song pick "Panama" and a second Echo & The Bunnymen song for Sheryl, "The Killing Moon" from their 1984 album Ocean Rain. 

Send us Fan MailMatt and Sheryl reach the end of 1983, bringing Mike along to add his song of the year, Violent Femmes "Blister in the Sun" and album, Talking Heads Speaking in Tongues. Matt adds his last two songs to the playlist, Kenny & Dolly's "Islands in the Stream" and REM "Talk About the Passion" from his album of the year REM Murmur and they all discuss their near misses from 1983. 

Send us Fan MailIn this special episode, Matt & Sheryl each choose two artists who's careers skyrocketed in 1983 from exposure on MTV. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl discuss progressive rock in the early 80s adding the only US #1 single from Yes, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" to the play list and revisit the Genesis self-titled album from '83, other 70s prog bands that moved ahead with the times in the 80s and the new neo prog movement bubbling up.

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl get closer to completing their song choices for 1983 with Bonnie Tyler's larger than life rock ballad "Total Eclipse of the Heart", Journey's ode to the difficulties of maintaining relationships at home while on the road, "Faithfully" and The Fixx and their impeccably produced 80s classic "One Thing Leads to Another". 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl move on with 1983 adding three songs to the playlist, Big Country "In a Big Country", Duran Duran "Is There Something I Should Know" and The Tubes "She's a Beauty" along with Sheryl's album of the year, Big Country The Crossing. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl continue their musical journey through 1983 with Matt's global pick for the year, Irene Cara's "Flashdance...What a Feeling" from the iconic movie Flashdance and Sheryl's playlist selection, Spandau Ballet's "True", another song that hit big from the New Romantic movement that included their British rivals, Duran Duran. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl do a deep dive into the Neue Deutsche Welle (German New Wave) scene from 1980 - '83 choosing two songs for the playlist from 1983, Nena "99 Luftballons" & Peter Schlling "Major Tom (Coming Home)". 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl open their minds to the glam metal movement that started gaining ground in '83 with the huge success of Def Leppard Pyromania as Matt chooses  "Photograph" for the playlist and Sheryl's playlist pick stays in the new wave vein with Men At Work's "Overkill" from their great second album Cargo.

Send us Fan MailMatt and Sheryl continue with 1983 adding Matt's picks, the Eurythmics breakthrough hit single "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and the Bacharach/David classic "Always Something There to Remind" me covered by synth pop duo Naked Eyes & Sheryl's pick, the highly influential and biggest selling 12" single of all time, New Order's "Blue Monday".

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl add U2 "New Year's Day" and Echo & the Bunnymen "The Cutter" as their first playlist picks for 1983

Send us Fan MailMike joins Matt & Sheryl to discuss their favorite albums and songs released in 2024

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl start a new year with 2 albums released in late 1982 that found their popularity in 1983 and beyond, Michael Jackson's Thriller and Prince's 1999

Send us Fan MailMatt, Sheryl & Mike wrap up 1982 with Mike's song pick, Elvis Costello "Beyond Belief" and album XTC English Settlement, Matt's final song, John Cougar "Jack & Diane", Sheryl's final song, Modern English "I Melt With You" and all the many near miss songs and albums for the year. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl near the end of 1982 with their penultimate episode bringing back a song they previously discussed featuring the Toto guys backing Donna Summer with Quincy Jones producing and the last great Who single "Eminence Front" along with the album it came from It's Hard and Pete's solo album All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl divert from 1982 and discuss one hit wonders with deeper catalogs that fall within the playlist years of '72 - '99 as well as Sheryl's 1982 playlist song pick, Thomas Dolby "She Blinded Me With Science" and Matt chooses his album for 1982, The English Beat Special Beat Service.

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl push through 1982 with one of the last yacht rock songs to chart in the US top 10, America's "You Can Do Magic" and Sheryl's album pick for '82, an album that shook the music world throughout the year and into '83 warranting comparisons to Beatlemania, Duran Duran Rio.

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl make their way further into 1982 with songs that were considered one hit wonders in the US but had more success in the UK as the second British Invasion starts to take over America. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl continue adding to the playlist with The English Beat's beloved "Save it for Later" and Van Halen's cover of Martha and the Vandella's "Dancing in the Street" from one of their most overlooked albums, Diver Down. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl focus on Toto in 1982, adding their hit single "Rosanna" to the playlist and Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry", featuring the Toto guys as session musicians, and discuss other albums they contributed to that year. 

Send us Fan MailMatt and Sheryl move a little deeper into '82 with Matt's picks, supergroup Asia's "Heat of the Moment", The Go-Go's "We Got the Beat" and Sheryl's choice XTC's melodic masterpiece "Senses Working Overtime".

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl move into a new year with Sheryl's first 1982 choice "Don't You Want Me" and Matt's pick "Down Under",  both songs that were released in 1981 but became huge hits in '82.

Send us Fan MailMike joins Matt & Sheryl as they wrap up another year with Mike's song pick and Mike and Matt's album choices, along with near misses for the playlist from 1981. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl choose their last two songs for the playlist for 1981, an iconic 80s hit single by the most popular duo in music history and a throwback one hit (or two hit) wonder in the US from a west coast Canadian band.

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl continue their deep dive into 1981 with Matt's pick from The Go-Go's debut album "Our Lips Are Sealed" and Sheryl's pick from synth pop pioneers Soft Cell and their cover of "Tainted Love"

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl work through more 1981 albums looking for their favorite of the year and discuss the huge AOR albums from 1981 Journey Escape, Foreigner 4, Loverboy Get Lucky and Billy Squier Don't Say No.

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl discuss the start of Phil Collin's solo career with his 1981 release Face Value along with Sheryl's song pick from Genesis, "No Reply At All" and Matt discovers a new found love for Split Enz and chooses their song "History Never Repeats" for the playlist.

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl add three songs to the playlist from bands who all built a following from relentless touring in the 70s and into the 80s, Styx with their synth driven hit "Too Much Time on My Hands", REO's huge hit "Take it on the Run" from their massive 1980 album Hi Infidelity, and Climax Blues Band's second hit "I Love You" along with Sheryl's close second choice as her album of 1981, Rush's Moving Pictures. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl continue their journey into 1981, adding two songs to the playlist from veteran artists who had hits into the 80s, The Who's "You Better You Bet" and Steve Winwood's first solo hit "While You See a Chance" and discuss a near miss for the playlist, Rick Springfield's 80s classic "Jessie's Girl"

Send us Fan MailDJ Avelanche and DeVon Pouncey join Matt & Sheryl and share their riveting accounts of the early days of rap in the 80s and 90s and it's effect on their youth and their lives today as Matt adds his introduction into the genre, Blondie's "Rapture", to the playlist and Sheryl adds Queen & David Bowie's "Under Pressure", a song that would be a hit in 1981 and sampled to great success in the early 90s. 

Send us Fan MailMatt and Sheryl begin 1981 by adding Sheryl's pick for the playlist "Watching the Wheels", the third hit single from John Lennon & Yoko Ono's Double Fantasy album, Matt's pick "Stars on 45", a medley of Beatles songs that was recorded in 1980, but became a global hit in '81 after John's death, and discuss the tributes to John by the remaining Beatles. 

Send us Fan MailMike joins Matt and Sheryl as they each run through their favorite releases from 2023

Send us Fan MailMike joins Matt & Sheryl for the final episode of 1980 featuring Matt's final song pick, Frank Sinatra's "Theme From New York, New York", Sheryl's final song pick Squeeze "Pulling Mussels From a Shell", Mike's song pick Talking Heads "Once in a Lifetime" and album The Pretenders self-titled debut along with all of their near album and song misses for 1980 as they wrap up the year

Send us Fan MailMatt and Sheryl each pick a song from two very different music movements happening simultaneously, ska and the 2Tone label in the UK and country crossover hits and the Urban Cowboy movie in the US.

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl continue to sail through 1980 as they work to narrow down the definition of  Yacht Rock and add two Yacht Rock classics, Ambrosia's "Biggest Part of Me" and Robbie Dupree's "Steal Away" to the playlist.

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl continue adding to the playlist with Matt's pick, ONJ's "Magic" from the box office flop turned cult classic movie Xanadu and Sheryl's second ex-Beatle pick from 1980, John Lennon's last statement before his untimely death "(Just Like) Starting Over. 

Send us Fan MailMatt and Sheryl continue their journey through 1980 focusing on producer Steve Lillywhite and his work on four groundbreaking albums in 1980: Peter Gabriel 3 (Melt), The Psychedelic Furs debut album, U2 Boy and Matt's album pick for the year, XTC Black Sea.

Send us Fan Mail1980 continues with Sheryl's obvious album pick for the year, Pete Townshend's Empty Glass and Matt's song pick, REO Speedwagon's "Keep On Loving You".

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl finally introduce hard rock to the playlist in the third installment of 1980 as they take a ride on Ozzy's "Crazy Train" and appreciate the sonic perfection of AC/DC's hard rock anthem "You Shook Me All Night Long". They also discuss the ushering in of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) led by Judas Priest's classic British Steel album. 

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl continue into the 80s with Sheryl's pick, a radio staple that has endured decades from Pittsburgh's hometown hero Donnie Iris and Matt's pick, a song from an underground band led by the prolific and talented Robyn Hitchcock. 

Send us Fan MailBring on the 80s!! Matt & Sheryl start season 2 in 1980 with a hit single from Paul McCartney's second DIY solo effort McCartney 2, "Coming Up" and a seminal late disco hit that is still a dance staple to this day Lipps, Inc. "Funkytown".

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl do a deep dive into the catalog of one of the top artists of the '70s, Elton John, and discuss his songwriting partnership with Bernie Taupin and their run of hit singles and albums. 

Send us Fan MailMike joins Matt & Sheryl this week as he offers his song and album for 1979 and we all recap the music that didn't quite make the playlist, but are worth mentioning (and there's a lot!!)

Send us Fan MailMatt and Sheryl continue in 1979 with their last song picks and Sheryl's album of the year, Gang of Four's influential debut Entertainment. 00:02:35 M "Pop Muzik"00:13:11 Michael Jackson "Don't Stop "Til You Get Enough"00:27:18 Disco Demolition00:46:01 Gang of Four Entertainment

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl forge on with 1979 picking two songs for the playlist, Supertramp "Goodbye Stranger" from their blockbuster album Breakfast in America and The Police's first UK #1 single "Message in a Bottle". 00:00:00 Supertramp "Goodbye Stranger"00:31:43 The Police "Message in a Bottle"

Send us Fan MailMatt and Sheryl return to the playlist in 1979 with British artist Kirsty MacColl, who's first single became a US hit in the early 80s for another British singer, Led Zeppelin's final single and an example of what made John Bonham one of the greatest drummers of all time, and Matt's reveals his album pick for '79, The Clash's London Calling.3:19 "Fool in the Rain" and the half-time shuffle21:38 Kirsty MacColl "They Don't Know"42:04 The Clash London Calling

Send us Fan MailMatt & Sheryl pay tribute to the recently passed session drummer Jim Gordon and his legacy of amazing music he left behind. 00:00:00 Everly Brothers https://youtu.be/T2eZsRDB4-800:07:27 The Wrecking Crew https://youtu.be/-ZgBexrZvM000:23:00 Late 60s - 70s recordings featuring Jim Gordon on drumshttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/2Oha93PfRKu1yqSQOXZmI8?si=72da9b9edd1a42f2