Thursday, May 20, 2010

I ♥ the '80s (music, that is)

For some reason (probably glee, which I also majorly ♥) 1980s music seems to be everywhere right now -- on TV, on the radio, at my gym.

Last week, I couldn't get "Jessie's Girl" out of my head after seeing it on glee.



(I forgot how cute Rick Springfield was back in the day. Remember when he was on General Hospital? The first time? Sigh.)

Then yesterday morning I heard a take on Toni Basil's "Hey Mickey," and now can't get that out of my head...



And then at the gym I heard Steve Miller's "Abracadabra," which I also love.



Good times, good times.

So what are (or were) some of your favorite 1980s songs? Let me know via the Comments.

UPDATED: Commenter "Edward" just reminded me how much I loved the Go-Gos back in the day, and "Vacation" was one of my favorite songs/videos of theirs.

7 comments:

Edward P. Schwartz said...

Jennifer,
Were you really that big a dork? (And I mean that in the most affectionate way) What was the hubby listening to? I was a Punk and New Wave man myself. I have 15 GB of Elvis Costello music on my iPod. I owned several Peter Gabriel type shirts that buttoned up all the way. I do admit to occasionally doing the pogo with the GoGos. I also listened to Talking Heads, The Clash and U2.

J. said...

@Edward, DORK?! I have four letters for you, WLIR. For those of you who did not grow up in the NYC Metro area during the 1980s, WLIR 92.7 was the go-to station for new wave, techno-pop, punk, and alternative music. All (or most) of my high school classmates listened to it, and I have fond memories of us singing the Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" (even though that was from the late 1970s) and making mix tapes in my bedroom late at night. Was also a HUGE GoGos fan and couldn't get enough of MTV when it finally came to Manhattan. (I used to hold MTV parties at my father's apartment, so we could watch on his giant projection TV.) So dork? I think not, sir.

Edward P. Schwartz said...

That is all well and good, young lady. But hardly dork disqualifying. As we in the biz say, "The jury is still out."

Lizzy said...

Great songs, love them all! Thanks for sharing!

Loving Rick, the Go-Go's and other "chick" rock in the 80's did not preclude us from also loving The Clash, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel, U2 (and Roxy Music, The Ramones, AC/DC, David Bowie, the Stones and The Cars!)

Much to your chagrin, J., I also love(d) all Journey songs as well as the song "Sister Christian." Hey, there is a reason the play, "Rock of Ages" is so popular!

No matter what our personal faves, our teenage music transports us back to a time and place that was relatively free and a wide-open future.

The song, "Jack and Diane" came out when we were 16years old. Everytime I hear the line, "hold onto 16 as long as you can," I feel 16 again!

Thanks for reminding us!

Sugar Daze said...

Well, I certainly couldn't let a post about the 80's pass
me by without commenting. I mean just take a look at my blog and you know I grew up with the tunes of this decade. I alas wanted to be Madonna and date every member of Duran Duran. Billy Idol was one of my idols as was (hang head in shame) Jon Bon Jovi. One of the best concerts I ever saw was Bruce Springsteen on his Born in the USA tour circa 1985. And if you look at the current playlist of my iPod you'll find lots of Prince, the Police, Diamond David Lee Roth (Just a Gigolo) who did hit on me one night at the Palladium and invite me to a "private party," not to mention,"Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard, "Everybody's Working for the Weekend" by Loverboy, and "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds. Oh which just reminded me of a few more heartthrobs -- Bryan Ferry, Martin something or other from ABC and the leade singer of Spandau Ballet. Where are they now? :)

J. said...

@LMC: I, too, love me some Prince and The Police and ABC and Thomas Dolby... the Psychodelic Furs... Roxy Music... the B-52s... the Thompson Twins... Bananarama... Culture Club... New Order... the English Beat... Bronski Beat... the list goes on and on.

Kendor said...

The Hubby was and remains a fan of music with soul and let me just say like the political climate of the time, 80's music was not high on the soul factor in my book (go ahead and throw sh*t at me for saying that, but not sure that "Soft Cell," has stood the test of time).

Hey I was listening to David Grisman and Tony Rice, also Suzanne Vega, Pat Metheny, and a very much revived Paul Simon.