Music – Perspectives from an 80’s child

On By Swarn GillIn Humor, Philosophy, Pop Culture
From http://hooniverse.com

I love 80’s music.  It’s almost an obsession. It’s the decade I was first aware of music.  As I was driving in to work this morning I had my 80’s play list on.  The song Waiting for a Star to Fall by Boy Meets Girl came on and I was reminded about how much I listened to that song to build up my courage in asking a girl out that I was for.  That and I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore by REO Speedwagon.   The fact that I never ended up asking any girl out and that it was all shattered dreams isn’t the point, but what I do think is neat is how music is so trans-formative in bringing back memories; sometimes long stretches of memory and in great detail.

I remember long nights in our house, sitting alone, listening to the radio, waiting for songs I liked to come on so I could record them on cassettes.  Wading through endless radio ga-ga, yelling “Let the music play!” sometimes not even knowing who I was listening to, because they wouldn’t announce the name of the band.  I remember the waiting, getting cramped legs because I’m so excited about a new band or album that I’m almost in hysteria in anticipation. And, after what feels like the longest time, when it finally plays, you go insane.  Thinking to yourself that if somebody’s watching me, they’ll think I’ve gone crazy in the night.  You might think that my description here is superfluous or overkill, but I am sure all of you can remember being in your room, spinning round and round and shakin’.

And that’s the other great things about music, is the way that it can make us move.  Sometimes the desire to move with music is simply irresistible.  You lose your self-control and your legs just start dancing like it was reflex, and having it feel like the most natural way to express yourself.  Maybe you remember waiting for that catchy song to play at prom so you can strut across the floor to the girl you like and say “Let’s dance”. Or waiting for that super romantic song so you can experience the sensation of human touch, and wondering if with every breath you take she will notice how sweaty your palms are getting.  Worried that you’ll step on her feet and not get a second chance.  Hoping it’s all not too good to be true being so close to someone you like and lovin’ every minute of it. Then you might nervously slide your hands down to her waist hoping she doesn’t tell you to keep your hands to yourself and that the look in her eyes isn’t an angry one.  And if she smiles…well…one thing leads to another.

Music is this great binding force that connects us to other people in both space and time.  As seasons change, no matter where we roam, music has people dancing in the street from Europe, to Africa, to China to middle eastern countries like Iran. So, far away places love music too, whether you live in Buenos Aires or live your life in a northern town.   People are people and all around the world music is touching their heart and soul and wouldn’t it be good if we could let our love of music bring people together everywhere.

I believe that the promise of tomorrow is in celebrating the things that we share.  The world isn’t going to get better by holding out for a hero, so go over to your neighbor and say “Hello” and see if you like the same music.  The great thing about music is that falling in love with it is not a once in a lifetime experience.  People who aren’t music lovers, well they don’t know what they are missing.  It ain’t enough to just have music on in the background.   You have to sing it loud, and lose yourself. Music can make you laugh or cry and it will always feel good.  Having music in your life can improve it beyond your wildest dreams.  Would I lie to you? Don’t answer me.  I make mistakes; I’m only human.  Just put in some of your favorite songs and don’t stop believin’.  It’s the only way I know to stay forever young.

14 thoughts on “Music – Perspectives from an 80’s child”

    1. Thanks…I’m a huge classic rock fan actually and that is actually truly where my musical heart lies…but the 80s was like my first love and typed to so many childhood memories. 🙂

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      1. ryan59479

        Phone hiccup!

        Trying to say I just bought tickets to see Fleetwood Mac in November, and I’m pretty stoked about it because Christine McVie is touring with them again

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  3. Richard D

    Thanks, Swarn. This was just what I needed.

    (I know the link may not work in comments. I also know this song is not strictly an 80’s song, having come out in 1978. Still one of the first songs I “discovered” for myself in school.)

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  5. OMG, the universe really does hate me lately. When I venture out on a 💥 ‘?Random Raid!‘ 💥 I usually hit posts that have a couple of images and a link or two… but yesterday I was on Esme’s cloud and found a post with bunches of links, and it took me AGES to check them all. And today I find I’m here, but I can’t stop myself. Put it down to CDO‡ if you must, but, here we go:

    First off, the image at the top of the post is broken. ‘We cannot complete this request, remote data could not be fetched’.

    … and now on to the YouTube video links.

    Link on:
    ‘radio ga-ga’ – ‘Video unavailable This video is private’
    ‘go insane’ – ‘This video isn’t available any more’
    ‘shakin” – ‘This video isn’t available any more’
    ‘simply irresistible’ – ‘Video unavailable This video contains content from WMG, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.’
    ‘self-control’ – ‘Video unavailable This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Laura Branigan’
    ‘reflex’ – ‘Video unavailable This video is private’
    ‘strut’ – ‘Video unavailable This video is private’
    ‘”Let’s dance”‘ – ‘Video unavailable This video is private’
    ‘seasons change’ – ‘This video isn’t available any more’
    ‘dancing in the street’ – ‘Video unavailable This video is private’
    ‘wouldn’t it be good’ – ‘This video isn’t available any more’
    ‘everywhere’ – ‘This video isn’t available any more’
    ‘Hello’ – ‘Video unavailable This video is not available’
    ‘they don’t know’ – ‘Video unavailable This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been closed.’
    ‘cry’ – ‘Video unavailable This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been closed.’

    Not available (to me in the UK, at least):
    ‘Waiting for a Star to Fall’ – ‘This video contains content from SME, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds’
    ‘holding out for a hero’ – ‘This video contains content from SME, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds’
    ‘once in a lifetime’ – ‘This video contains content from WMG, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds’

    There, I’m done. And exhausted! 🙂 Here’s hoping you find some value in this report.

    PS good post 😀

    ‡ Some folk insist that those letters shouldn’t be in alphabetical order, but it’s all a matter of perspective…

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    1. Sorry about the links not working. Many of the work for me except the ones that are simply not available anymore. I would sad the video for Cry is gone, because it’s really a well done video. I’ll try to see if I can fix some of the links, I just don’t know what to do about videos that aren’t available in other areas.

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      1. Woah, no need to apologise! Link rot is, sadly, inevitable. The point about ‘?Random Raiders!’ is about helping in the curation of old content; I only provided the information in case you might find it useful. At the end of the day, though, there’s only so much one can do, and, arguably, since older posts get less traffic, why worry about it? 🙂

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