Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Party like it's 1984
Generally speaking, I'm not big on memes, but I really like this one. From Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, by way of Pop Culture Gadabout:
Go to Music Outfitters (a really nifty site all on its own), and enter your graduation year in the search bar. I used high school, since most of the songs from the year I graduated from college sucked even more than the ones from the year I graduated from high school. Then bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate, and leave alone the ones you either don't know, don't remember, or don't care about.
1. When Doves Cry, Prince (Is there anything stronger than the STRONG tag?)
2. What's Love Got To Do With It, Tina Turner
3. Say Say Say, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
4. Footloose, Kenny Loggins
5. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now), Phil Collins (Not a bad song, but reminds me of the time the accelerator stuck on my mother's 1982 Oldsmobile Omega and my entire life flashed before my eyes before I was able to wedge my foot under the pedal and unstick it)
6. Jump, Van Halen
7. Hello, Lionel Richie
8. Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Yes
9. Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr.
10. Karma Chameleon, Culture Club
11. Missing You, John Waite
12. All Night Long (All Night), Lionel Richie
13. Let's Hear It For The Boy, Deniece Williams
14. Dancing In The Dark, Bruce Springsteen
15. Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper
16. The Reflex, Duran Duran
17. Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper
18. Jump (For My Love), Pointer Sisters
19. Talking In Your Sleep, Romantics (Caravan Ballroom! Yeah!)
20. Self Control, Laura Branigan
21. Let's Go Crazy, Prince and The Revolution
22. Say It Isn't So, Daryl Hall and John Oates
23. Hold Me Now, Thompson Twins
24. Joanna, Kool and The Gang
25. I Just Called To Say I Love You, Stevie Wonder
26. Somebody's Watching Me, Rockwell
27. Break My Stride, Matthew Wilder
28. 99 Luftballons, Nena
29. I Can Dream About You, Dan Hartman
30. The Glamorous Life, Sheila E.
31. Oh Sherrie, Steve Perry
32. Stuck On You, Lionel Richie
33. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, Elton John
34. She Bop, Cyndi Lauper
35. Borderline, Madonna
36. Sunglasses At Night, Corey Hart
37. Eyes Without A Face, Billy Idol
38. Here Comes The Rain Again, Eurythmics
39. Uptown Girl, Billy Joel
40. Sister Christian, Night Ranger
41. Drive, Cars
42. Twist Of Fate, Olivia Newton-John
43. Union Of The Snake, Duran Duran
44. The Heart Of Rock 'N' Roll, Huey Lewis and The News
45. Hard Habit To Break, Chicago
46. The Warrior, Scandal
47. If Ever You're In My Arms Again, Peabo Bryson
48. Automatic, Pointer Sisters
49. Let The Music Play, Shannon
50. To All The Girls I've Loved Before, Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson (Argh. Ugh. Please make it go away.)
51. Caribbean Queen, Billy Ocean
52. That's All, Genesis
53. Running With The Night, Lionel Richie
54. Sad Songs (Say So Much), Elton John (RETIRE already, Elton. Otherwise, in 20 years or so you'll be remaking songs that really didn't need to be remade.)
55. I Want A New Drug, Huey Lewis and The News
56. Islands In The Stream, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
57. Love Is A Battlefield, Pat Benatar
58. Infatuation, Rod Stewart
59. Almost Paradise, Mike Reno and Ann Wilson (#1 prom song of 1984, though I'm pretty sure all my friends and I sat it out.)
60. Legs, ZZ Top
61. State Of Shock, Jacksons
62. Love Somebody, Rick Springfield
63. Miss Me Blind, Culture Club
64. If This Is It, Huey Lewis and The News
65. You Might Think, Cars
66. Lucky Star, Madonna
67. Cover Me, Bruce Springsteen
68. Cum On Feel The Noize, Quiet Riot
69. Breakdance, Irene Cara
70. Adult Education, Daryl Hall and John Oates
71. They Don't Know, Tracy Ullman
72. An Innocent Man, Billy Joel
73. Cruel Summer, Bananarama (Musically, I pretty much hate this song, but I like it because it reminds me of Bell's)
74. Dance Hall Days, Wang Chung
75. Give It Up, K.C.
76. I'm So Excited, Pointer Sisters
77. I Still Can't Get Over Loving You, Ray Parker Jr.
78. Thriller, Michael Jackson (Oh, come on: you have to like Thriller)
79. Holiday, Madonna
80. Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us, Ollie And Jerry
81. Nobody Told Me, John Lennon
82. Church Of The Poison Mind, Culture Club
83. Think Of Laura, Christopher Cross (A SONG about a SOAP OPERA CHARACTER? Give me a break!)
84. Time Will Reveal, Debarge
85. Wrapped Around Your Finger, Police
86. Pink Houses, John Cougar Mellencamp (Remember when MTV gave away a pink house?)
87. Round And Round, Ratt
88. Head Over Heels, Go-Go's
89. The Longest Time, Billy Joel
90. Tonight, Kool and The Gang
91. Got A Hold On Me, Christine McVie
92. Dancing In The Sheets, Shalamar
93. Undercover Of The Night, Rolling Stones
94. On The Dark Side, John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band
95. New Moon On Monday, Duran Duran
96. Major Tom (Coming Home), Peter Schilling
97. Magic, Cars
98. When You Close Your Eyes, Night Ranger
99. Rock Me Tonite, Billy Squier
100. Yah Mo B There, James Ingram and Michael McDonald
All in all, I really like the 1981 list at Thrilling Days better. 1981 was a much better year in music. But for most people, the year that spans the last year of high school and the first year of whatever came next has a lot of musical memories. I think that's what makes this so much fun: some of these remind me of high school, which I didn't hate (but didn't like all that much either), and others remind me of my freshman year of college. The high school musical memories are fairly angsty, because senior year was awfully strange, but the college ones are great: Dancing in the streets to the soundtracks from Flashdance and Footloose with my new friends, who were all music theater majors and could really dance (and sing). Ripping the hem out of my tulle skirt with my heel jumping to the Pointer Sisters, then spending a half hour trying to fix it in the ladies' lounge at the top of the Skirvin. Getting into bars at 17, drinking White Russians bought for me by gay boys, and thinking I was truly living a glamorous life at long last. Listening to Purple Rain incessantly. For about three years.
The 80s were really a perfect time to grow up if you had a strong appreciation of the past, because retro was HUGE... but not in an obnoxious way. Sure, there was a lot of cheesy 50s nostalgia around as the early Baby Boomers started to hit middle age, but you could still find Big Band radio shows on Saturday nights... classic cars for a couple thousand dollars... beautiful vintage clothes for a song... whole sets of Fiesta or Russel Wright dinnerware for under $100... pulp paperbacks with lurid covers for a dime...
Oh well. Enough nostalgia from a Gen-Xer about to hit middle age. :-) I'm toddling off to bed now, so that I can get up and trudge off to work tomorrow. Tempus fugit.
Go to Music Outfitters (a really nifty site all on its own), and enter your graduation year in the search bar. I used high school, since most of the songs from the year I graduated from college sucked even more than the ones from the year I graduated from high school. Then bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate, and leave alone the ones you either don't know, don't remember, or don't care about.
Top Songs of 1984
1. When Doves Cry, Prince (Is there anything stronger than the STRONG tag?)
2. What's Love Got To Do With It, Tina Turner
3. Say Say Say, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
4. Footloose, Kenny Loggins
5. Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now), Phil Collins (Not a bad song, but reminds me of the time the accelerator stuck on my mother's 1982 Oldsmobile Omega and my entire life flashed before my eyes before I was able to wedge my foot under the pedal and unstick it)
6. Jump, Van Halen
7. Hello, Lionel Richie
8. Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Yes
9. Ghostbusters, Ray Parker Jr.
10. Karma Chameleon, Culture Club
11. Missing You, John Waite
12. All Night Long (All Night), Lionel Richie
13. Let's Hear It For The Boy, Deniece Williams
14. Dancing In The Dark, Bruce Springsteen
15. Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper
16. The Reflex, Duran Duran
17. Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper
18. Jump (For My Love), Pointer Sisters
19. Talking In Your Sleep, Romantics (Caravan Ballroom! Yeah!)
20. Self Control, Laura Branigan
21. Let's Go Crazy, Prince and The Revolution
22. Say It Isn't So, Daryl Hall and John Oates
23. Hold Me Now, Thompson Twins
24. Joanna, Kool and The Gang
25. I Just Called To Say I Love You, Stevie Wonder
26. Somebody's Watching Me, Rockwell
27. Break My Stride, Matthew Wilder
28. 99 Luftballons, Nena
29. I Can Dream About You, Dan Hartman
30. The Glamorous Life, Sheila E.
31. Oh Sherrie, Steve Perry
32. Stuck On You, Lionel Richie
33. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues, Elton John
34. She Bop, Cyndi Lauper
35. Borderline, Madonna
36. Sunglasses At Night, Corey Hart
37. Eyes Without A Face, Billy Idol
38. Here Comes The Rain Again, Eurythmics
39. Uptown Girl, Billy Joel
40. Sister Christian, Night Ranger
41. Drive, Cars
42. Twist Of Fate, Olivia Newton-John
43. Union Of The Snake, Duran Duran
44. The Heart Of Rock 'N' Roll, Huey Lewis and The News
45. Hard Habit To Break, Chicago
46. The Warrior, Scandal
47. If Ever You're In My Arms Again, Peabo Bryson
48. Automatic, Pointer Sisters
49. Let The Music Play, Shannon
50. To All The Girls I've Loved Before, Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson (Argh. Ugh. Please make it go away.)
51. Caribbean Queen, Billy Ocean
52. That's All, Genesis
53. Running With The Night, Lionel Richie
54. Sad Songs (Say So Much), Elton John (RETIRE already, Elton. Otherwise, in 20 years or so you'll be remaking songs that really didn't need to be remade.)
55. I Want A New Drug, Huey Lewis and The News
56. Islands In The Stream, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
57. Love Is A Battlefield, Pat Benatar
58. Infatuation, Rod Stewart
59. Almost Paradise, Mike Reno and Ann Wilson (#1 prom song of 1984, though I'm pretty sure all my friends and I sat it out.)
60. Legs, ZZ Top
61. State Of Shock, Jacksons
62. Love Somebody, Rick Springfield
63. Miss Me Blind, Culture Club
64. If This Is It, Huey Lewis and The News
65. You Might Think, Cars
66. Lucky Star, Madonna
67. Cover Me, Bruce Springsteen
68. Cum On Feel The Noize, Quiet Riot
69. Breakdance, Irene Cara
70. Adult Education, Daryl Hall and John Oates
71. They Don't Know, Tracy Ullman
72. An Innocent Man, Billy Joel
73. Cruel Summer, Bananarama (Musically, I pretty much hate this song, but I like it because it reminds me of Bell's)
74. Dance Hall Days, Wang Chung
75. Give It Up, K.C.
76. I'm So Excited, Pointer Sisters
77. I Still Can't Get Over Loving You, Ray Parker Jr.
78. Thriller, Michael Jackson (Oh, come on: you have to like Thriller)
79. Holiday, Madonna
80. Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us, Ollie And Jerry
81. Nobody Told Me, John Lennon
82. Church Of The Poison Mind, Culture Club
83. Think Of Laura, Christopher Cross (A SONG about a SOAP OPERA CHARACTER? Give me a break!)
84. Time Will Reveal, Debarge
85. Wrapped Around Your Finger, Police
86. Pink Houses, John Cougar Mellencamp (Remember when MTV gave away a pink house?)
87. Round And Round, Ratt
88. Head Over Heels, Go-Go's
89. The Longest Time, Billy Joel
90. Tonight, Kool and The Gang
91. Got A Hold On Me, Christine McVie
92. Dancing In The Sheets, Shalamar
93. Undercover Of The Night, Rolling Stones
94. On The Dark Side, John Cafferty and The Beaver Brown Band
95. New Moon On Monday, Duran Duran
96. Major Tom (Coming Home), Peter Schilling
97. Magic, Cars
98. When You Close Your Eyes, Night Ranger
99. Rock Me Tonite, Billy Squier
100. Yah Mo B There, James Ingram and Michael McDonald
All in all, I really like the 1981 list at Thrilling Days better. 1981 was a much better year in music. But for most people, the year that spans the last year of high school and the first year of whatever came next has a lot of musical memories. I think that's what makes this so much fun: some of these remind me of high school, which I didn't hate (but didn't like all that much either), and others remind me of my freshman year of college. The high school musical memories are fairly angsty, because senior year was awfully strange, but the college ones are great: Dancing in the streets to the soundtracks from Flashdance and Footloose with my new friends, who were all music theater majors and could really dance (and sing). Ripping the hem out of my tulle skirt with my heel jumping to the Pointer Sisters, then spending a half hour trying to fix it in the ladies' lounge at the top of the Skirvin. Getting into bars at 17, drinking White Russians bought for me by gay boys, and thinking I was truly living a glamorous life at long last. Listening to Purple Rain incessantly. For about three years.
The 80s were really a perfect time to grow up if you had a strong appreciation of the past, because retro was HUGE... but not in an obnoxious way. Sure, there was a lot of cheesy 50s nostalgia around as the early Baby Boomers started to hit middle age, but you could still find Big Band radio shows on Saturday nights... classic cars for a couple thousand dollars... beautiful vintage clothes for a song... whole sets of Fiesta or Russel Wright dinnerware for under $100... pulp paperbacks with lurid covers for a dime...
Oh well. Enough nostalgia from a Gen-Xer about to hit middle age. :-) I'm toddling off to bed now, so that I can get up and trudge off to work tomorrow. Tempus fugit.
permalink posted by The Vintage Reader @ 9:34 PM 
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