Songs for the 20th High School Reunion
Some friends started a CD of the month club–each month, one family makes a mix CD and sends it to the other members. My 20th year high school reunion is this summer, so for our mix I decided I wanted songs from 1982 to 1986. I soon realized we didn’t have our favorite 80s albums on CD. We had them on vinyl or cassette; or we had a greatest hits CD, which often didn’t include the less popular tracks.
I began to doubt. Was there a need for an 80s mix CD? Between VH1 and radio, the 80s have been flogged to death. Can there be nostalgia for music that’s played all the time? How should I limit the songs? Did I want stuff I listened to then, or stuff I learned to like later?
I obsessed as nerdishly as I could with a new baby, but as our month wore on (and on, and ended) decisions had to be made. I used CDs we owned or could borrow quickly, started with songs I listened to then that I’m not ashamed to listen to now, and picked tracks not in heavy rotation now. G. Grod decided to forgo (or at least delay) a CD of songs I learned to like later. Here was the final tracklist. My sister Sydney helped with some of the track selections; I also took some inspiration from my friend Rock Hack’s birthday list.
1. 1999 - Prince [1999] (1983)
2. Would I Lie to You? - Eurythmics [Be Yourself Tonight] (1985)
3. Stay Up Late - Talking Heads. [Little Creatures] (1983)
4. Black Coffee in Bed - Squeeze [Sweets from a Stranger] (1982)
5. Twisting by the Pool - Dire Straits [ExtendedancEP] (1982)
6. Driver 8 - R.E.M. [Fables of the Reconstruction] (1985)
7. Kiss Off - Violent Femmes [Violent Femmes] (1982)
8. Borderline - Madonna [Madonna] (1983)
9. King of Pain - The Police [Synchronicity] (1983)
10. Foolin’ - Def Leppard [Pyromania] (1983)
11. Don’t Change - INXS [Shabooh Shoobah] (1982)
12. More Than This - Roxy Music [Avalon] (1982)
13. Slave to Love - Bryan Ferry [Boys and Girls] (1985)
14. Blue Jean - David Bowie [Tonight] (1984)
15. Love My Way - The Psychedelic Furs [Forever Now] (1982)
16. Save it for Later - English Beat [Special Beat Service] (1983)
17. Bad - U2 [The Unforgettable Fire] (1984)
18. The Chauffeur - Duran Duran [Rio] (1982)
June 10th, 2006 at 5:03 pm
That’s a perfect cd for you.