In Praise of Moody Midtempo AOR

those Hall & Oates songs are interesting examples as well I think. I don't think I would call them sophistipop, though they share some DNA.

"I'm Not In Love" strikes me as the epitome of this thread description, which reminds me:

Godley & Creme - "Cry"

And yeah, I am considering the presence of guitars with moody synths, nothing you would necessarily dance to, but not necessarily ballads either. Rock, but mushy. Blue eyed soul, but more robotic.

another good rule of thumb could indeed be that famous in the air tonight sequence from Miami vice. What other songs might fit that scene.

I'm chuckling about the idea of replacing "In the Air Tonight" with "The Living Years."

Not so much for the Miami Vice scene but for the scene in Risky Business where they fuck on a train.

Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms (the song)

lol Tangerine Dream's scores are a good rule of thumb too!

hmm, maybe stuff like the momentary lapse of reason era of Pink Floyd fits too.

Mike & the Mechanics - Taken In
Michael Franks - Nightmoves
Michael McDonald - I keep forgettin’
Gerry Rafferty - right down the line
Emmett Kai - juicy
Sopwith Camel - Fazon

There's a lot of moody verses combined with bombastic choruses and codas in this quasi-genre.

right down the line is another good example, was that from the seventies?

Same LP as Baker Street, I think. 77?

That book "Rock and the Pop Narcotic"? I think we're looking for the Pop Narcotic here.

Al Stewart - "Time Passages", possibly "Year of the Cat"

"Song on the Radio" by Al Stewart too.

This compilation is what I keep returning to

https://www.allmusic.com/album/open-all-night-in-the-city-mw0000001216

It has the Freedy Johnston mentioned earlier plus "Under the Milky Way," which is surely on target

There are some good songs on that compilation, but not one artist (except maybe Smithereens) that I would call AOR. I guess my judgement on this is determined by my growing up in this era, and thinking about which radio stations would play which songs and artists.

Xpost right down the line is 1978. A couple of the others I posted might not be from the 70s tho

SENTIMENTAL LADY, a poll

another perhaps outlier that still might fit this mode is Bowie's ashes to ashes.

Echo & The Bunnymen “The Killing Moon”
Rod Stewart “Infatuation”

That's hilarious, I don't like rod Stewart but one of my earliest thoughts was of some of his '80s stuff too, like Love touch. but then I listen to it again and thought, nah.

someone mentioned under the Milky Way before but the church song that better nails this aesthetic IMO is blood money - no coincidence that it also appeared in Miami Vice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L9ORyLQTKU

feel like nosing around the music mentioned in the dedicated Miami Vice wiki (!) could be a productive resource for this thread

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dKUfX9xcw0

Lovelock - Burning Feeling

Does this fit? Affectionate pastiche by Steve Moore from 2011. I admit to being amused by the very juvenile indeed double entendre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFhSnlR1Bo0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRnQbXApBqc

Eden - Free

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym7H0Lvo9mQ

Fleetwood Mac - Over and Over

perhaps the chorus gets a bit strident but I feel I must post this Australian FM staple with it's deeply uncomfortable video clip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu1GLEh3wO4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAK7B1bGIRM

Someone mentioned the Cars' "Drive," but maybe a better example is "Moving in Stereo," come to think of it.

Speaking of Aussies, something like "Send Me an Angel" kind of fits the bill at times. For sure everyone but the singer looks like they could have been on the set of Miami Vice, procuring drugs for everyone else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R6WIbx8ysE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqUa_G1h3pw

good thread

^ xpost Great pick!

I made a Spotify playlist that has this kind of stuff in it towards the end kinda: Nightmoves

"midnight rider" is my jam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCRS4DRmf_w

Yeah, talk about proto, that song does kind of capture a bit of the spirit/vibe.

Chromatics, Kill For Love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0mxXrHowHQ

Funny, I was just thinking about that Italians Do It Better crew, and whatever people were calling it. Chillwave? Synthwave? That kind of draws from this nebulous, yeah, quasi-genre.

Berlin - Take My Breath Away ... or is this too slow?

I think it's the right neighborhood, but yeah, like "Drive" probably too slow. It's got the Giorgio connection, though, which helps!

I think there's a lot of Genesis/Phil Collins that fits. Like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H2IvoYdGd0

And:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E86cxhOTfFo

The best Moroder example has gotta be this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDSHDiprQas

Bad Company – Bad Company

does Journey – Who's Crying Now qualify?

Running With the Night by Lionel Ritchie?

Does U2 - "Bad" fit? I think I get the connection here

Eagles, "I Can't Tell You Why"

The only Eagles song I outright love.

I'm still not 100% sure I understand but I think another prototype version of this niche is Classics IV "Spooky"

on the back of the Phil Collins prompt
for me the purest evocation of this is - could I imagine myself listening while driving through the LA twilight on the way to a) a drug deal that will go catastrophically wrong, or b) a romantic liaison that will go catastrophically wrong
ie minor key, lots of build-up and tension, foreboding - def. "Michael Mann rock"
but there's such a broad range of responses ITT that it appears there are a bunch of different feels within the "genre"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnpwuRlXbhk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmslaEudR3M