Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Totally 80s!

How trippin, last night I ended up watching VH-1 “Top 100 Songs of the 80s.” I’m 45 years old, so that means the 80s are “My Decade.” I spent my twenties then, which meant college, Friday night playing video games at the bar with a huge group of friends. It meant carefree dancing, voice and body strong enough to belt out a tune or to play hard and bounce back just fine the next day.

In my mind I’m still there. Elderly people say over and over, “In my mind I’m 25.” Where does the time go?

It was weird to see how the musicians have aged!! I haven’t of course. Hard livin’ has caught up with some. Dee Snider (one of the ones looking good) of the famous heavy metal rebellious song “I’m Not Gonna Take It” is a father of four and comfortably living in a mansion with a model wife and running a radio show and living on hefty royalties. He said, “I’m sorry, I just cannot muster the indignation against the world I felt when I wrote that song. I’m pretty fucken happy.” And then he looked around at his mansion and laughed riotously.

Songs bring back such memories! Instantly I went back where I was or what I was doing when I heard this or that song. Our aerobics group used to do stomach crunches to “Sweet Dreams are Made of This.” Ouch. I still like the song, anyway. Or taking away my fifth grade student’s Walkman during science class. She was listening to Janet Jackson’s “Nasty.” Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry,” about the broadcast news business, I was setting up ditto papers on my student’s desks during recess and I’d put the radio on low. Little did I know I’d end up in the news business! Seems so long ago.

Where were you when you heard “Billie Jean” for the first time? “99 Luftballoons?” “Cruel Summer”?...

I lasted until 11 pm, they left off at number 40. Can’t wait to hear the rest.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aerosmith, Kiss, Ozzy, Sabbath, Rush, the Police, the Cars, Pink Floyd, Van Halen, Foreigner, David Bowie... ah yes... good stuff.

Anonymous said...

You asked .... Where were you when you heard “Billie Jean” for the first time?

My best recollection was that it was Spring 1985 and my younger 10 year old son Matthew and I were driving from Oklahoma City to the White River area of northern Arkansas for some trout fishing. I'll bet I had to listen to that song 100+ times round trip while learning from Matt about the great Michael Jackson, Matt's considering piercing his ears for earings and other things joyous to a 42 year old father. Well, Matt did alot of talking, I did alot of listening and we caught alot of trout. Matt went on without Michael to graduate from the U. S. Naval Achademy at Annapolis.

Elizabeth Prata said...

great description of a memory! I enjoyed reading that, thanks!

Christie said...

"Cruel Summer" - watching Karate Kid with my friends in the living room of my parent's house. It's playing when Ralph Macchio rides his bike to school and he crosses in front of the school bus. Ah, the memories...