A Writer’s Life

Are You a Child of the 80s?

I had a post planned for today but I haven’t been able to finish it yet, so I thought I’d post a quick quiz instead. This one caught my eye. I’m definitely a child of the 80s; I love the cheesy movies and the bad fashion, U2, INXS and the power ballads, and I’m just old enough to remember Full House when it started (unfortunately).

My result surprised me a bit, though; I knew I’d do well but I know more about the 80s than I actually remember. But I’ve got pictures of my mother with shoulder pads, watching Top Gun always makes me want to be a fighter pilot, I loved ET, we had one of the early VCRs in Aus, and Thriller was cool! Not to mention I know all the words to Sweet Child O’Mine, and there’s a little film called The Empire Strikes Back I like.

I think I’m out of my time. I’m trying to bring the mullet back, but it’s not working… what about you? Are you an 80s tragic or was your experience totally bogus?

I’ve been wanting to do an easy post after a couple of heavy ones, so here’s one which has been a lot of fun to think about. It’s the soundtrack to my life - my ultimate playlist. It features two songs from every year since I’ve been born, one pop song and one rock/group song; my kind of music.

I knew there’d be a lot of songs to choose from, so this isn’t really a list of my favourite songs; instead it’s a list of the songs I can remember playing for significant moments in my life, or I’m told were around for ones I can’t remember (apparently I was walking to Into the Groove).

The list’s below and I put them all together over at Project Playlist as well; there are a few Australian singers some people might not have heard before - I definitely recommend Pete Murray and Missy Higgins. And if you’re wondering, I treat Project Playlist as a radio-library; I go there if I want to hear a new song, but once I’ve heard it I’ll buy it from iTunes. So that’s my way around any legalities.

1984
Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springstein
Here Comes the Rain Again - Eurythmics

1985
Into the Groove - Madonna
Don’t You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds

1986
True Colors - Cyndi Lauper
Livin on a Prayer - Bon Jovi

1987
I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
Don’t Dream It’s Over - Crowded House

1988
Heaven Is A Place On Earth - Belinda Carlisle
Never Tear Us Apart - INXS

1989
Like A Prayer - Madonna
Sweet Child o’ Mine - Guns N’ Roses

1990
Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O’Connor
Janie’s Got a Gun - Aerosmith

1991
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You - Bryan Adams
Fall at Your Feet - Crowded House

1992
Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton
Even Better Than The Real Thing - U2

1993
I’d Do Anything for Love (but I Won’t Do That) - Meat Loaf
Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.

1994
Chains - Tina Arena
Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden

1995
Hand in My Pocket - Alanis Morissette
Where the Wild Roses Grow - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds feat. Kylie Minogue

1996
Always Be My Baby - Mariah Carey
Wonderwall - Oasis

1997
Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve

1998
Crush - Jennifer Paige
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing - Aerosmith

1999
I Try - Macy Gray
Ana’s Song (Open Fire) - Silverchair

2000
Graduation (Friends Forever) - Vitamin C
Beautiful Day - U2

2001
Thank You - Dido
Yellow - Coldplay

2002
A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton
The Greatest View - Silverchair

2003
Crazy In Love - Beyonce & Jay-Z
Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

2004
So Beautiful - Pete Murray
Somewhere Only We Know - Keane

2005
The Sound of White - Missy Higgins
Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day

2006
SexyBack - Justin Timberlake
When You Were Young - The Killers

2007
Rehab - Amy Winehouse
How Far We’ve Come - Matchbox Twenty

I’m unashamedly a child of the 80s; I’m too young to remember much before 88, but I’m fascinated by the clothing, the big hair and mullets, the songs. I love U2, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, but for a guilty pleasure you can’t go past the power ballads. These are some of the ones I still love… so come on, get out your iPod and have a listen; no-one needs to know.

5) The Flame
Cheap Trick
I’ve never been quite sure what the lyrics to The Flame really mean, if the song is about loss or it it’s a statement between lovers. If it is actually the former, then it’s quite like The Police’s Every Breath You Take - a song about obsession and not really a ballad at all.

4) I Want To Know What Love Is
Foreigner
One of my favourite angst songs, I always loved the This mountain I must climb/Feels like a world upon my shoulders line. It went to #1 in Aus, the US and the UK, so I guess I’m not the only one.

3) Sweet Child O’ Mine
Guns N’ Roses
It would be hard not to include Axl Rose and Guns ‘N Roses in a list like this, but Sweet Child O’ Mine is one of my favourite songs anyway; I love the vulnerability of the song and the guitar solos (of course). Just don’t listen to the cut version; if you’ve only ever heard the edit, you’ve never heard Sweet Child O’ Mine.

2) Home Sweet Home
Mötley Crüe
Home Sweet Home was probably one of the first hit songs of the MTV generation; its first release never got past #89 in the US, but it was MTV’s most requested song for four months straight. I must admit, I know it more from the ‘91 re-release, but it’s a great song.

1) Holding Out for a Hero/Total Eclipse of the Heart
Bonnie Tyler
Okay, so I’m cheating a bit here with two songs, but I can’t separate them so I’m going for the artist instead; if I had to think of one artist to represent the 80s, Bonnie Tyler would get my vote - huge songs, way overdone, but fun as hell. I love Bonnie Tyler as well because of Cate Blanchett in Bandits; if you haven’t seen the scene where she dances to Holding Out for a Hero while chopping vegetables, you don’t know what you’re missing.