It Was 40 Years Ago Today...
Yeah, I'm that old.
Of course, like every event in my life, it's mostly just an excuse to make a mix. So I threw together a quick playlist of about 130 songs that came out during my time in high school (fall 1980 through spring 1984). It's available below for enjoyment by my contemporaries (or the 80s-curious).
As they're going to be playing it at the reunion, I had to go beyond the usual set of songs I actually like and be a little broader. So I pulled in a lot of songs that were popular at the time--on the radio, played at parties, seen on the then-brand-new MTV--that I'd never choose to listen to on my own, but it makes for a more representative list of what was going on during my formative teenage years.
So, no, I never need to hear Van Halen's "Jump" again, but the mix would hardly capture that era without it. Ditto "Africa" (ugh), "Karma Chameleon," "Hey Mickey," etc. Oh, and freakin' Journey--the band I hate more than almost any other band on the planet, but wouldn't be an accurate list without it.
Of course, other tracks here are so inextricably tied up with that era in my brain that I can never hear them without being transported to my younger (more obnoxious and often deeply confused) self. Songs like the Go-Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed," INXS' "Don't Change," pretty much everything from Synchronicity and Thriller and 1999, etc.
Though, if I'm being honest, I'll admit that in some cases I'm not sure if the song reminds me of high school itself, or of movies I saw at or around that time--Modern English's "I Melt With You," the Psychedelic Furs' "Love My Way," the Plimsouls' "A Million Miles Away" (all from Valley Girl); other tracks that I'm pretty certain I discovered through a John Hughes movie or something like that (i.e. China Crisis' "Working With Fire And Steel"); a lot of bands I found through the late-night Urrgh live music documentary and late-night video shows (Devo, XTC, OMD).
I also cheated a little, including some of the music I was oblivious to in high school but discovered once I got to college (R.E.M., the Cure, New Order, the Smiths). Hearing those transports me back to college parties, not high school, but I blame that on the relatively closed bubble of our Midwestern radio stations.
Anyway, here you go. Enjoy.
Enjoying your posts, and was inspired to comment on this post. What a great collection of songs - some all time greats (Our Lips Are Sealed, I Want Candy, Holiday Road) and some that I've heard enough and never, ever need to hear again (I Want A New Drug, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, In The Air Tonight). I grew up nearby - in Buffalo Grove - and am a few years younger. But, holy cow, are we aligned in musical tastes. Thanks for all the effort on this.
ReplyDeleteFunny, those are among the songs I dreaded adding as well, along with Journey, Van Halen, and a few others. But they ended up using this as the playlist at the actual reunion and I think everyone felt included, so mission accomplished. Always nice to be back in the Chicago 'burbs for some decent weather.
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