80’s Music
I love 80’s music. It brings back all sorts of memories. I spent all of my high school in the 80’s so I associate lots of fun times in my life to it.
I know every generation says it, but they just don’t make music like they used to (oh my God I sound like my Dad).
I’ve been listening to a bit of it since I started running. My iPod holds a playlist that’s seven hours long and it’s the most erratic thing you’ve ever seen. Lots of dance music to keep me pumped but with heaps of tragic 80’s classics thrown in.
To this day, my absolute favourite running song is Queen “Don’t Stop Me Now”. Closely followed by early Bon Jovi. You can’t get more 80’s than that.
So one minute I’m running along to Daft Punk and next Sheena Easton is belting out Morning Train. I never change the songs on my playlist. Haven’t added anything for about a year and the one time I did, I came home from my run and removed them all. You know the saying, if it ain’t broke …?
So now that we have a really cool portable speaker at home hooked up to Spotify, I have 80’s music on tap. Spotify organises the songs for me and I can carry it around the house.
Which obviously thrills my kids.
We had friends over for lunch yesterday so while I was washing up I had it on and was singing along to ‘Fame’ and then ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’, I mean has there EVER been a song as good as that?
Whenever I hear it I’m taken back to about fourth grade. My Mum used to have this shitty old car that never ever started. It was canary yellow and had strange door handles. I have many memories of standing next to it and waiting for the NRMA.
I mean look at it. If I were a car that looked like that I wouldn’t want to drive anywhere either, all the other cars must have laughed at it when it drove past (not that it drove anywhere very often).
Anyway Bonnie Tyler takes me back to that car, being in the back and listening to whatever Mum had on the radio.
So yesterday while I was belting out a mean rendition of Eclipse I noticed Holly staring at me so I turned it down and asked her what was wrong and she said “can we turn this off, it’s horrible”.
WHAT? How dare she.
“No you absolutely can not. Holly this is quality music, doesn’t it make you want to give someone a cuddle?”.
“No, I want to turn it off. Can we put Katy Perry on?”.
So I moved on to Luca. “Luca, what do you think of Mummy’s music?”
“It sounds like Grandpa’s music. Can we listen to Gangnam Style?”
Me “No way, didn’t you know they’ve banned that song from Earth now. Nobody is ever allowed to play it again apparently?”
Now I really object to calling my music Grandpa’s. My Dad really does have terrible taste in music.
My entire childhood I don’t remember him listening to anything except 20s music. Odd given he was born during the second world war. That and this weird creepy Chinese man who played some strange ancient oriental instrument. He and my Mum bought the CD from someone by the side of the road somewhere overseas.
As I finished the washing up, a few more awesome songs were played – ‘Mony Mony’ by Billy Idol, Rick Astley .. (ok so the 80’s did have some doozies), Starship’s ‘We Built This City’ .. oh my word I love that song. I run to it all the time .. I was having such a great time while my kids were scowling at me with their fingers stuck in their ears.
I tried to explain to Holly that this was my childhood, that these songs were meaningful to me and that maybe she should try listening to them, she might like them.
She looked at me lovingly and I thought I’d gotten through to her, but instead she said. ..
“Goodnight Mumma, if you aren’t going to turn it off I think I might go to bed and do a practice Naplan test”.
Alrighty then, maybe not. My ten year old would rather practice her maths exams than hang out with me and Steve Nicks. Pfft, her loss.