Hello, dear readers! Wow, it’s been a long time since I wrote a post. The past couple of months have been a whirlwind, as I did a little traveling, accepted a new job in San Francisco, moved, and started the job. With so much transition happening, I am feeling both energized and uprooted. Everything is new and strange. I am having to “redo” just about every part of my life: commuting via mass transit, putting my home together, altering my social life, finding my new dance community, dealing with city parking, learning new procedures and routines at work … With all this change, I find myself reflecting on the past.

So, you get yet another “soundtrack” post! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now: I am not sure anyone but myself enjoys my musical musings, but it brings me joy and comfort to reminisce, so humor me. This post covers favorite songs and bands from my mid-30s to now, which takes us from the mid-2000s to the present.

In the mid-2000s, I was starting another big life transition: I had decided to change careers and apply to graduate school in psychology. I felt that starting grad school presented the opportunity to move to the West Coast, something I thought would be a fun adventure. When I moved to California in 2005 to attend grad school in San Francisco, I figured I’d live in California a few years and then move back East once I had graduated. Well, 14 years later, I am still in California! Go figure.

The mid-2000s were a time of diverse trends in music, and my tastes were also diverse. One genre I continued to like was “lounge,” electronica, and DJ music, particularly RJD2, DJ Krush, Gorillaz, and DJ Shadow. Some of it was good for actual lounging, and some for dancing.

I was still into indie rock and Britpop, post-punk, and garage rock. Being in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid- to late 2000s gave me access to a lot of great live shows and exposure to some more obscure garage rock bands a grad school friend was into. I discovered two bands during that time that are still favorites: Brian Jonestown Massacre and King Khan (real name, Arish Ahmad Khan). BJM was formed in San Francisco in 1990. I saw them perform several times in the 2000s; although I love their music, their live shows are spotty and unpredictable, sometimes marred by fist fights or verbal altercations between band founder Anton Newcombe and other band or audience members. The last show I saw, just last year in 2018, was not good–Anton seemed high (he’s struggled off and on with addiction) and was pretty out of it, barely able to perform. The band only played 6 songs before throwing in the towel.

King Khan is a high-energy performer whose music combines funk, garage rock, and other genres. He’s had several bands/projects, including King Khan and BBQ Show, King Khan and the Shrines, and Almighty Defenders. I’ve seen him perform a few times, and it’s always fun and a bit raunchy.

Lots of indie and garage rock, some of which I started listening to in the ’90s, was still on my playlist through the 2000s (e.g., Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The White Stripes, The Hives, The Vines, Holly Golightly, The Black Keys, The Raveonettes). I also continued to love Radiohead. I still listen to a lot of this music today. Some other favorite bands/artists that recorded in the 2000s (or that I discovered at that time) were Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire, The Shins, Belle and Sebastian, The Raconteurs, and The Beta Band. My memory of exactly when I got into which bands is a little rusty now!

An artist I always associate with my grad school years (2005 to 2010) is José González. I love his beautiful, moody guitar-heavy music and really got into it during that period. I also started listening more to some country and alt-country, such as Dolly Parton’s bluegrass album “Little Sparrow,” as well as Lucinda Williams, Neko Case, and “Van Lear Rose,” Loretta Lynn’s album produced by Jack White. I also added bands such as Bon Iver, Wolf Parade, Broken Bells, Iron and Wine, and British Sea Power to my library.

In the late ’00s and early 2010s, my musical tastes stayed pretty similar, heavy on garage and post-punk rock, with a bunch of other random stuff thrown in. I also had fun exploring older music, such as classic country and rockabilly (Patsy Cline, Kitty Wells, Roger Miller, Lefty Frizzell, Carl Smith, Ersel Hickey, Johnny Horton) and funk and R&B (The Bar-Kays, Taj Mahal, James Brown, The Mighty Dogcatchers, Robert Jay, The Stovall Sisters, Wilson Pickett, Detroit Sex Machines).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXcIX39J81s

That brings us up to just a few years ago. What I have been listening to in the mid- to late 2010s has been pretty random: A large sampling of stuff old and new from my iTunes library. Artists I have discovered in the recent past (some of them new, some just new to me) include Ray LaMontagne (yeah, he’s been around a while, but I didn’t really like him all that much until his 2014 album “Supernova,” which I love), Rayland Baxter, Amen Dunes, The Allah-Las, Baby Woodrose, Black Mountain, The Black Angels, Beats Antique, Dan Auerbach, Leon Bridges, The Limiñanas, Stephen Marley, Toro y Moi, and a whole bunch of bellydance and bellydance-friendly music (due to my dance habit!). A few fave artists/bands for bellydance are Solace, Issam Houshan, and Raquy & The Cavemen.

There’s much more I could share, but I’m getting tired, so I will end here for now. I hope you have enjoyed the music!

Hello, readers! It’s another “soundtrack” post. As I’ve said before, I am not sure how many of you, if any, enjoy these posts, but I love putting them together, so indulge me once again as I delve into the music that I liked in my post-college days. I’m focusing on my early 20s to mid-30s, so the time period is the early 1990s to the mid-2000s.

Right after college, when I was in my early 20s, I was living with my boyfriend/soon-to-be-fiancé. We were both influenced by hip hop, R&B/soul, grunge, singer-songwriter, and “college rock” (with closely related genres “modern rock,” “alternative rock,” and “indie rock”).

My love of dance music in college continued, morphing into a love for hip hop and R&B/soul. A few of my faves in the early to mid-90s were Deee-Lite, Arrested Development, Digable Planets, Jamiroquai, Soul II Soul, and De La Soul. And, living in Philadelphia, it was impossible not to like Will Smith’s “Summertime.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzoEK545j64

Although Jamiroquai’s hit “Virtual Insanity” was mid-’90s, not early ’90s, I add it here because the style kinda fits, and the video is cool.

Another mid-’90s R&B dance favorite is “Scream” by Michael and Janet Jackson. Love the song, but love the video even more!

A very different genre, which I also loved in my 20s, was grunge. The music, and the culture and aesthetic of grunge, were big influences. The biggies, of course, were Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, and Alice in Chains. Nirvana was by far my favorite, and I was devastated by Kurt Cobain’s suicide in 1994.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS91knuzoOA

I was equally into alternative rock. The Pennsylvania band Live was a fave. I was very into “Lightening Crashes,” although later that song got kind of ruined for me by some bad personal experiences I won’t go into here. Thus, I include a different Live video, “I Alone,” which I also loved. I pretty much wore out my copy of the band’s Throwing Copper CD. Can’t say the dance moves and hairstyles in the video hold up too well today!

In my 30s, after my divorce, I started to get more into hip hop and electronic music. A Tribe Called Quest and Q-Tip’s early solo stuff were hip hop favorites, along with Public Enemy, Black Sheep, and The Pharcyde. My top electronic loves were The Chemical Brothers, Portishead, Fatboy Slim, The Prodigy, and The Wiseguys. I also liked all of Del tha Funky Homosapien’s projects: his solo stuff, Deltron 3030, and Gorillaz (he was a guest performer).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXWQQYZ8vck

Whether you want it or not, dear readers, I’ll post some more “soundtrack” columns to bring us from the ’90s to the present. I hope you enjoyed some of these videos!

OK, readers, my “Soundtrack” series continues. I attended college from 1986 to 1990, and this post highlights some of my favorite songs from that time, as well as some songs that were influential to me during college.

New Musical Influences

In the fall of 1986, I left my small town in northeast Pennsylvania to attend college in the big city of Philadelphia. Surprisingly, although I was a fairly sheltered teen, I adapted to urban life pretty quickly. One exciting thing about starting school at the University of Pennsylvania and being in a city was that I met people from all over the country (and world), who were more ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse than I’d been used to. That said, a large number of the fellow frosh I met at Penn were from the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic: Many were from Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. Although I liked a lot of the same music as my peers, those from urban and suburban locales who were able to see live music in city clubs often had a wider range of tastes than me.

One of my frosh dorm-mates who grew up in the New York City area was into some bands I didn’t know too well. He introduced me to bands like The Specials, The English Beat, and General Public. I also remember that he was in love with Spandau Ballet’s “True,” which had come out in 1983 but was still well-loved in 1986 when we started college.

Like many of my peers, I was in love with General Public’s song “Tenderness,” which had come out in 1984, a couple years before my freshman year. (R.I.P. Ranking Roger.) I had probably heard the song before college, but I remember listening to it a lot during my early Penn days. I got a copy of The English Beat’s 1983 greatest hits album What Is Beat? around that time and must have worn it out playing it so often. All their hits were amazing, but “Mirror in the Bathroom” was a top fave.

Rock Influences

My freshman roommate had very different musical tastes than I did. To be honest, at the time, I didn’t really like much of the vinyl she spinned in our little dorm room. But, some of it did grow on me. One of her all-time favorite bands was The Allman Brothers. At the time, the Allmans seemed old-fashioned and not cool enough to me–I wasn’t much into classic rock. I can now appreciate great songs like “Layla” (released in 1970). I can also appreciate how my roommate stayed true to herself and her music loves. I was a lot more easily influenced by what my friends were listening to.

My sophomore year in college, I started dating the man I’d later marry (and even later, divorce). He also loved music that didn’t really do it for me. His fave band was Steely Dan (as well as Donald Fagen’s solo work). I tolerated listening to this music because I loved my boyfriend and wanted to be open minded about music I hadn’t listened to before, but I can’t say I ever really got into Steely Dan. I did love the fact that my ex was a musician himself. He played keyboards in several bands during college and sometimes sang. He had a surprisingly deep voice for a not-very-tall strawberry-blonde German. One of my ex’s best-loved Steely Dan songs was “Josie.” The music is pretty good if you like mellow rock, but I always thought the lyrics were rather silly. You can judge for yourself.

Major Faves

Freshman year, I got really into U2’s album The Unforgettable Fire. Although this album had come out in 1984, I hadn’t listened to it all the way through before. (I’d heard the singles, “Pride” and “The Unforgettable Fire” on MTV.) I hadn’t yet developed my obsession with U2. One of my freshman hallmates got me into this album: I’d hang out in his room chatting or studying, and he’d play the The Unforgettable Fire cassette on auto-repeat. Oh, Bono, you were so cool and also so full of yourself (see 2:34, for example).

In March of my freshman year, U2 released The Joshua Tree album, which was critically acclaimed and also massively popular. “With or Without You” was one of my all-time favorite songs from college. I was quite pleased with Bono’s ponytail and leather vest in the video as well. Watching the video now makes me realize that Bono was never a great dancer. But, the musical crescendo at 3:04 may be one of the best of all times! Admit it, you belted this out in the shower, car, and alone in your room. U2 remained one of my favorite bands through the ’80s and ’90s. I still like a lot of their music, although I have to admit I don’t play it too often.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmSdTa9kaiQ

Early in college, I also started to get really into The Cure and Depeche Mode. One of my all-time favorite songs by The Cure was “Just Like Heaven” from the 1987 Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me album. Lisa, one of my college best friends, and I would listen to that song over and over again.

I can’t remember now if Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me or The Head on the Door was my first Cure album. It was probably one or the other, since both came out in the mid-’80s, and that’s when I remember really getting into The Cure’s music. I collected many of their other albums my first few years at Penn. “In Between Days” from The Head on the Door was another favorite song of theirs.

Another fave song that always got me and Lisa dancing was Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough.” (Although the song came out in 1981, we were super into it in 1985 and 1986, probably because we had another D.M. album, Black Celebration, which had just come out, on heavy rotation.) “Just Can’t Get Enough” and Taylor Dayne’s “Tell It to My Heart” were our top dance songs. Every time “Tell It to My Heart” came on the radio, we started squealing and dancing.

Lisa and I had so much fun dancing together at frat parties freshman year (“Blister in the Sun” by Violent Femmes, released in 1983, was always a crowd-pleaser) and at Korean Cultural Club parties frosh and sophomore years (Lisa, a Korean-American, was a member; at these parties, we always loved “Happy Song” by Baby’s Gang, from 1984, the appeal of which was that the lyrics and laughing child were so dumb). We also danced a lot in our room when we lived together sophomore and junior years. Depeche Mode’s name (which means “fashion update” in French) was fitting–they were a stylish band! But, Taylor Dayne, what the f is going on with your hair in that video?!?

Lisa and I were also both obsessed with New Order. We had so many faves. One was “Bizarre Love Triangle.” Another was “Blue Monday.” I loved all their songs and probably had all their albums. It was so disappointing to see them live on campus at U Penn’s Irvine Auditorium: They barely spoke to the audience and seemed surly and pissed off. Not sure if this was typical for them–I don’t remember seeing them perform any other time.

Short-Lived Faves

Another album that was very popular with me and many of my college friends freshman year was Singles–45’s and Under by Squeeze. Although that “greatest hits” album had come out in 1982, the reformation of the band in 1985 and release of a new album, Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti, also in 1985 had brought them a resurgence in popularity in the mid-’80s. I had the Singles album and played it over and over. I loved many tracks by Squeeze (such as “Tempted,” “Annie, Get Your Gun,” and “Pulling Muscles”), but “Black Coffee in Bed” (released in 1982) was one fave. However, unlike U2, Squeeze was a passing fancy.

Another band I briefly loved was Crowded House. Their hits “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Something So Strong” (both from 1986) were faves. You can hear some of the same influences in their songs as in Squeeze (organs, soul, new wave).

Although it had come out 6 months to a year before I started college, I got Mike + the Mechanics’ cassette Mike + The Mechanics my freshman year at Penn, and this was also on heavy rotation in my boombox. The song All I Need Is a Miracle, unlike U2’s hits, doesn’t really hold up for me today.

Around the same time I listened to Mike + the Mechanics, I got the album Play Deep by The Outfield, another heavy-rotation cassette that was a transient fave. Can’t really remember now which song I liked the best, but it may have been “Say It Isn’t So.” Geez, this album kinda sucked, now that I listen to some of these songs again.

Late College Faves

I continued liking New Wave and alternative music later in college, but I also got more into R&B, dance music, rock, and pop. Some of my favorite artists and bands in the late ’80s to early 1990 were fairly musically respectable, such as David Bowie, Sting, Janet Jackson, Prince, the B-52’s, Tracy Chapman, and U2. Others now make me cringe (e.g., Milli Vanilli). I also got into the Grateful Dead and The Sugarcubes, two bands I learned about from one of my close friends. A few favorite songs from this era were “Desire” by U2 (1988), “Nasty” and “Control” by Janet Jackson, “Love Shack” by the B-52’s, “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman, and “Tomorrow People” by Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers. “Birthday” may or may not have been one of my favorite Sugarcubes songs, but I do enjoy the video. Sadly, I did indeed have Milli Vanilli’s album Girl You Know It’s True and was a big fan of both their music and their model-handsome looks (they were models and dancers, not singers, after all). It wasn’t just me: M.V. was extremely popular until the whole lip-syncing scandal occurred.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zoA0L2u-JQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edmDN11BxCY

Throughout college, I continued to like dancing and dance music. Neneh Cherry’s “Buffalo Stance,” Technotronic’s “Pump Up the Jam,” De La Soul’s “Me Myself and I,” Madonna’s “Vogue,” and Prince’s “Alphabet Street” were some fave dance grooves.

Live Shows

College was also a time I started to be able to see more live bands. Living in a major city for the first time, I got to go to concerts around Philadelphia (at venues such as The Spectrum, JFK Stadium, The Mann Music Center, and The Chestnut Cabaret), as well as a few on campus. Favorite live shows from that era included U2, Big Audio Dynamite, New Order (despite their afore-mentioned bad attitude), Sting, Ziggy Marley, David Bowie, The Cure, and Depeche Mode.

I could go on, but that’s enough for today! You all may be tired of these “Soundtrack” posts, but, like an amateur guitar soloist, I enjoy this navel-gazing and metaphoric noodling, so I may continue with a post-college music post (or two). Stay tuned.

As promised, I am writing a post on favorite songs from my high school years. I’m not sure anyone was really waiting with bated breath for more “soundtrack” posts from me, but I enjoy the reminiscing. So, here goes!

The Birth of MTV

In my early teens, I was into a mishmash of musical genres. As I said in my most recent blog entry about my childhood music favorites, I had started getting into some classic rock (thanks to my older brother) and power pop (Pat Benetar) and a little New Wave (The Go-Go’s) by my pre-teens. MTV started in August 1981, the year I turned 13. This was a super-exciting event, as it meant that I was exposed to a broader range of music than was previously available in my small town. At that time, the local radio stations played a lot of soft rock and pop and some rock but not much (if any) alternative, punk, New Wave, or electronic music.

MTV opened up a whole new world. I can’t remember now if my family already had cable at the time MTV started (I think we did) or whether I watched that original MTV broadcast (I probably didn’t), but MTV soon became a big part of my early teenage life. See below for MTV’s debut (and sorry for the poor video quality).

Through MTV, I discovered “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles (the first video ever aired on MTV!), got more into Pat Benetar, and first heard music by The Pretenders, Split Enz, Elvis Costello, and many others. It’s hard to remember which of those early music videos had the biggest impact, but I do recall being very into “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls my freshman year in high school. Even though FOS was pretty much a one-hit wonder, “I Ran” and that FOS hairstyle (not featured in the “I Ran” video but seen in “Space Age Love Song,” which I also liked) had a big impact on teens in 1982! “I Ran” was also a very popular song at our high school Friday night dances in the early ’80s.

Another early-’80s fave was “Rock the Casbah” by The Clash. Like “I Ran,” “Rock the Casbah” got heavy play at the high school dances my freshman year and was probably a song I first heard on MTV. Wikipedia tells me that the song lyrics were inspired by the ban on Western music in Iran after the Islamic Revolution. I don’t think the lyrics seem too politically correct today, but as a fairly clueless 14-year-old in rural Pennsylvania, I thought they were great. (And I still do love The Clash.)

One of my all-time favorite songs, then and now, is “Melt With You” by Modern English. This song, which came out in 1982, still makes me happy. Oh, how I love it!

A memorable event was the 1982 release of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, an extended version directed by John Landis. I recently went to see an MJ tribute band called Foreverland, and I was telling the friends I went with how exciting it was when the “Thriller” video came out. One of my high school pals had a “Thriller” viewing party. The 14-minute short film revolutionized the music video genre. Hailed as the greatest music video of all time by MTV, VH1, Rolling Stone, and others, it is the only music video included in the Library of Congress’ prestigious National Film Registry.

While MJ is a controversial figure today, I still love his music. He was so talented and driven as an artist, and of course, his songs from the ’80s have a lot of nostalgia value for me now.

Boom Boxes and Stereos

I had an old stereo that I inherited from my dad when he got a new one, but around 1981 or 1982, I also got a boom box, which I loved. It was easier to play cassette tapes on the boombox than vinyl on my turntable. Of course, the sound wasn’t as good and you had to fast forward or rewind to find a particular track. I can remember waiting breathlessly, finger on the “record” button to try and tape my favorite songs as they played on the radio. It took skill to hit “record” at the right moment and then to turn off the recording before the DJ started talking over the end of the song or a new song started playing. If you were lucky, the DJ was quiet and you got (almost) the whole song on tape.

Making “mixtapes” was fun for me and many teens in the ’80s. Whether it was recording a cassette of your own favorites to play in the car or making a special tape for a friend or love interest, mixtapes were awesome! I don’t think I made too many in high school, just because the technology I had wasn’t super, but I did make a ton of them in college.

At some point in my teens, I got my own brand-new stereo system. How exciting! It was huge. It included a receiver, turntable, and tape deck. All this was held in a massive fake wood cabinet (probably 4 feet high), and two large speakers took up floor space in my bedroom. Who could have imagined then how tiny music technology would become in the future?

Friday Night Videos

MTV was not the only source of cool music videos in the 1980s: The TV show Friday Night Videos started in 1983 to capitalize on MTV’s popularity (and to allow those without cable TV to see videos, too). I often had a friend sleep over on Friday nights, and we would stay up late watching videos, playing Atari (“Frogger,” “Pitfall!,” “Haunted House,” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” were my favorite games), and being silly teens. I was pretty wholesome at that age, so we didn’t get into much trouble.

While MTV stuck more to “Top 40” songs, Friday Night Videos played a wider variety of genres. In the beginning, the show ran 90 minutes long and aired music videos introduced by an off-camera announcer. Classic artists of the 1960s and 1970s occasionally appeared in “Hall of Fame Videos,” major stars were profiled in “Private Reels,” and new music videos made their network debuts as “World Premiere Videos.” The most popular feature was “Video Vote,” in which viewers could call in and vote (for a small fee) for one of two videos that were played back to back. I can’t remember me or my friend calling in, but maybe we did?

I may have watched Friday Night Videos all through high school, but I mainly remember it from my sophomore year, 1983 to 1984. This was the era of Madonna, and I was a fan. “Burning Up” was one of my faves, partly because of the hot ’80s fashion and dance moves. These videos seem very low-tech today, but at the time, they seemed pretty amazing and creative.

In 1983 or 1984, I got into Bananarama. They were a fun pop/New Wave band that I probably liked because of their similarity to The Go-Go’s and cool fashions and hairstyles. The first song of theirs that I remember was “Cruel Summer.”

As a pretty mainstream girl at the time, I wasn’t quite sure what to think of Billy Idol’s sneer and punk aesthetic, but everyone loved “Dancing With Myself,” and I was no exception. The video is actually pretty elaborate and cinematic for 1983.

More Favorites

There were a few bands and albums I got into in the early and mid-’80s not solely because of watching music videos. One was Cheap Trick. Although this live version of “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick came out in the United States in 1979, I didn’t get into the band until the mid-’80s (influenced by my high-school boyfriend). I became a huge fan and had all the Cheap Trick albums (on cassette). I actually preferred the studio version of “I Want You to Want Me,” but this live version from the live album Cheap Trick at Budokan, recorded at their 1978 concert at Nippon Budokan (in Tokyo), has remained a classic.

I must have worn out my copy of Genesis by Genesis, which came out in 1983. One of my favorite tracks was “Mama.” I think it was Phil Collins’ passionate singing that got me, as well as the strange laughing and groaning in the middle of the song. I still like a lot of music from my teen years, but not Genesis. Sorry, Phil Collins.

Another Phil Collins song I loved as a teen was “In the Air Tonight” after seeing the movie Risky Business. I also developed a major crush on Tom Cruise.

I became a big fan of The Police, mainly due to the influence of some cooler kids in high school who had better musical taste than me. My first Police album was Synchronicity–another album I must have worn out. I loved all the songs, so it’s hard to choose a fave, but “King of Pain” and “Every Breath You Take” were up there. I’ll share the video for “King of Pain,” since it’s much more interesting and avant garde than the one for “Every Breath You Take.” Actually, I’ll share “Every Breath You Take” as well, since both the song and the video are classics. The video is quite lovely. (I also had a big crush on Sting.)

A group I got very into in my teens was INXS. I am pretty sure I must have heard their 1982 hit “Don’t Change” and their 1983 single “Original Sin” around the time they were released, but I didn’t fall in love with the band until 1985, when they released “What You Need.” That song became one of my top faves, and I bought all of their albums (again, on cassette, although I may have had one or two on vinyl).

Poor Michael Hutchence (INXS’s lead singer). Not only did he die young (at age 37, in 1997), but there were widespread rumors that he died by either suicide or autoerotic asphyxiation. As a mental health professional, I don’t want to add to the stigma of either reason for his death, but I do remember that the media had a field day with the story that he died performing a sex act. Rest in peace, Michael, and thanks for the music.

Who can forget the clever and classic video for “Take on Me” by a-ha, released in 1985? I also had a crush on the lead singer, although I didn’t know his name. In fact, I probably never knew his name until I Googled it just now–it was Morten Harket, from Norway. I had so many celebrity crushes in my teens.

At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, the video for “Take on Me” won six awards—Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept Video, Most Experimental Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, and Viewer’s Choice—and was nominated for two others, Best Group Video and Video of the Year. The video was also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Video at the 13th American Music Awards in 1986. It’s still fun to watch.

Another 1985 fave was “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds. I can’t remember if I liked the song first or got into the song because it was in the movie The Breakfast Club. This film came out during my junior year in high school and was a big influence on me (and most teens at the time). Unlike some other John Hughes films, The Breakfast Club still mostly holds up to the test of time. But, I digress. This post is about music, not movies.

Late High School

My junior and senior years in high school (1984 to 1985 and 1985 to 1986), I continued to like lots of pop, New Wave, and rock artists. There were also some soft rock and R&B songs in my heavy rotation as well, including those by Peter Cetera, Billy Ocean, and Lionel Ritchie. There were so many blockbuster artists at the time: Michael Jackson and Madonna continued to dominate, plus Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Peter Gabriel, Van Halen, Tina Turner, Wham!, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, Sade, Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, and Sting. Aretha Franklin was making new hits.

The music video for Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” came out in 1986. It caused quite a stir. The video ranked at number 3 on VH1’s Top 20 Videos of the 1980s. It was much loved and also much mocked. Classic ’80s!

I have a clear memory that someone held a microphone up to a boom box at my high school graduation ceremony to play Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All.” (I guess our school didn’t have a better way to play music at an event?) I can’t remember now if I liked the song that much, but the memory of graduation does stick, despite my not having a single photo from that night! (Our planned outdoor ceremony got rained out and was held in the high school auditorium, although I am not sure why that resulted in no photos?)

The summer after my senior year in high school was when Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” came out. I didn’t actually like the song as much as I’d liked his earlier hit “Shock the Monkey,” but the video was so creative. It’s worth a re-watch now.

Last Thoughts

There are so many other songs, artists, and albums from the 1980s that I loved–too many to post about here. I’ll post again to list my college faves, and maybe even beyond.

We all have favorite songs. Some of them remain magical for all our lives, or at least for many years, but some are more short-lived and situational. I want to share a few of the faves from my childhood and early teen years. I’ll probably post another time to share high school and college faves and beyond.

Early Childhood

I’m not sure why, but as a kid, I really loved B.J. Thomas’ “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.” I can’t remember any particular memory related to it, and as a kid I did not see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which featured the song, so that’s not the reason. I think I just heard it on the radio and liked it. The song came out in 1969 when I was only 1 year old, but I feel like I was probably 4 or 5 when I listened to it. I didn’t know this until now, but the song was written for the movie and won an Oscar (Best Song From a Motion Picture at the 1970 awards).

I also liked Sly and the Family Stone around that time. My parents had a couple of their albums, and I liked playing them on the hi-fi. “Everyday People” was one of my favorites. I also remember loving the parts of “Dance to the Music” when Cynthia Robinson talked or sang. And, I recall that my parents had a double album of Sly, and one time when I was looking at the album cover, one of the records fell out and landed on my toe, making the toenail turn black. Funny what you remember!

Another childhood favorite band was The Jackson Five. I loved all their songs, but “The Love You Save” stood out. Ah, back when little Michael Jackson was innocent and cute. I have to admit my memories of the Jacksons are a bit tainted now with all the allegations of abuse against Michael. Still, the Jackson Five music takes me back to happy memories of childhood. Here they are lip-syncing on The Ed Sullivan show in 1970. Look at those bell-bottoms and dance moves! I was only 2 at this time, but I got into the Jackson Five when I was a little older. I watched their cartoon, which ran from 1971 to ’72, when I was 3 and 4 years old.

Middle Childhood

In my mid-childhood, I got really into Donny and Marie Osmond. They had a TV show from 1976 to 1979, and I was a big fan! I was 8 to 11 when the show aired. I had one of their albums on 8-track. I was obsessed with “Deep Purple,” which Donny and Marie covered in 1975. I didn’t know until now that the song was originally written in the ’30s as a piano tune, then performed as a big band number. The lyrics were written in 1938, and several artists covered it before the Osmonds. Oh, how I loved it when Marie spoke those lyrics. So romantic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROOFYmpvHYM

I also remember being very into Olivia Newton-John. I loved her music and of course did a lot of lip-syncing with a hairbrush to her tunes. I think that one of her albums was my first vinyl. Her super-romantic ballad “I Honestly Love You” was a favorite. I must have really been into sappy ballads as a kid, because I also recall having little performances with my friends where we sang Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life.” The drama! The pathos! “NEVER AGAIN TO BE ALL ALONE!!!!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac24COCKTVM

Next, I started getting into the “teen idols.” Shaun Cassidy was my top fave. Even now, listening to “That’s Rock ‘N’ Roll” gives me a little thrill. I was 9 and still very innocent, but my hormones were about to explode. Shaun gave me a preview. I didn’t know or care that the song was written just a year earlier by Eric Carmen. Shaun’s 1977 version was all I needed to hear.

The Pre-Teen Years

When I was 10, 11, and 12, I inherited some albums from my older brother, so my musical tastes expanded a bit beyond soft rock and kid stuff. I ended up with some albums by Kansas, Styx, Bad Company, Queen, and Boston. Don’t get me wrong–I was probably still listening to Shaun Cassidy and Olivia Newton-John. But I was also getting into rock that was slightly more grown up. Who can forget stomping and clapping to Queen’s “We Will Rock You?”

Styx’s “Come Sail Away” was another fave.

(As an adult, Cartman’s version was pretty entertaining, too. Maybe even better than the original.)

Pat Benetar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” from 1980 was a classic pop rock song and one that my friends and I tried (pretty unsuccessfully) to belt out like Pat. I did have one friend, Staci, who came pretty close. Staci had an awesome voice!

Early Teens

Words can’t really express the love I had for Journey’s “Open Arms.” This song, released in 1981 when I was 13, was an opus to all the feels that were happening at that age, as well as my first insane crush. That opening piano riff brings it all back, even now. I sang that song and cried so many times.

Fortunately, my early teen favorite songs were not all wrapped up in heartbreak. I was obsessed with “Beauty and the Beat,” the first full album by the Go-Go’s, which also came out in 1981. It’s hard to choose which song I liked more, “Our Lips Are Sealed,” or “We Got the Beat.” (I still love the Go-Go’s!) So, I am sharing the original, punkier version of “We Got the Beat” from 1980. And, no, at 13 I wasn’t cool enough to know any of the Go-Go’s music from before “Beauty and the Beat” came out.

The year 1981 also brought Joan Jett into my world. I got the Joan Jett & the Blackhearts album “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” and fell in love with the title song. I can still rock out to Joan.

That’s all for now. As I said, I may post another time with later favorite songs. I hope you enjoy the videos I shared here. It was fun to think back on some of the music that had an impact on my youth.