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Notes -
I bet you could get similar results for most any decade. I started to do so for a random 80s top 40, but it’s too messy to finish on my phone.
(Anybody want to write a script to automate this? Google the titles, grep for “tonight,” show a histogram?)
I’d say Maniac, Puttin on the Ritz, Rock of Ages, and Total Eclipse of the Heart have to count. China Girl and Human Nature are certainly more subdued even though they keep the phrasing. And Safety Dance captures the spirit even though it doesn’t specify “tonight.”
But this is the year that gave us 1999, which outdoes any recession-era apocalyptica.
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