"Don't Give Up" by Peter and Kate

On his 1986 release "So," Peter Gabriel sang a delicate, touching ballad with Kate Bush called "Don't Give Up." Kate just finished her triumphant 22-night run at the Hammersmith Odeon in London (read my review of the show here) and Gabriel just announced a European and UK leg of his tour in which he is performing "So" in its entirety. I wonder if Kate will join him for this beautiful, trembling song about compassion and love... the sun enters and leaves a full eclipse during the performance in the video, but they never break their consuming embrace. The staging for this piece and the performances by Peter and Kate are emotive, intimate, and poignant. So beautiful, it almost hurts.

http://petergabriel.com/
http://www.katebush.com/

"Election Day" by Arcadia

Warning: 80s flashback.

I loved this side project from Duran Duran bandmates Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, and Roger Taylor in 1986. The song "Election Day" (which I played to death back in the day) still sounds unique even now with its Eastern European samples and hypnotizing, throbbing bass line. (And Nick's make-up is fantastic in this video!)

Their only album "So Red The Rose" was a fairly artistic affair by pop music standards, with guest appearances by guitarists David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd) and Carlos Alomar (who was Bowie's guitarist), Herbie Hancock, Sting (who sang backing vocals on "The Promise"), Grace Jones (who performed the spoken-word portion on "Election Day"), bass player Mark Egan (of the Pat Metheny Group), and percussionist David Van Tieghem (who has played extensively with Laurie Anderson).

http://www.duranduran.com/