Even though I wasn’t old enough to appreciate the 80’s as it was happening (or the 60’s, or the 50’s for that matter…), I have a great love of all the oldies. One of the things that I noticed that I enjoy about 80’s music is the cheeriness. I remember when I first discovered the 80’s: the Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Belinda Carlisle’s Heaven is a Place on Earth made me feel carefree: something in me was set free. There was just something about the spirit of the 80’s that felt expressive and boundless. To me, the 80’s represents a time that was fun and freewheeling. Or at least that’s the romanticized version that I envision. And I suppose I’m not the only one: the funny folks over at TV show How I Met Your Mother made the video above, entitled ‘Let’s Go to the Mall’ by Robin Sparkles. The song embodies that cheeriness.
The funny thing is that it’s often the parodies that capture the 80’s stereotype so well. Pop! Goes My Heart in the movie Music and Lyrics is not a real song from the 80’s, but it puts a huge grin on my face: listening to it, you get the very essence of 80’s. It’s instantly recognizable as music from that era.
I love the 80’s. I love the music and the movies, and really, that’s as close as I’ll ever get to that era. Guess I’ll just have to stay tuned to Stuck in the 80’s. I think nostalgia is a disease.
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