A little earlier this month, a friend of mine was planning a birthday party for his wife with “an `80s theme,” and he asked if I could help him out with a playlist. “But” he qualified, “please -- nothing TOO obscure or esoteric, y’know?” Knowing my bug-eyed zeal for the era in question, he didn’t want me to deliver a playlist choked with arcanely unwieldy chestnuts from bands like Belfegore, Naked Raygun, Theatre of Hate, Clock DVA and the Virgin Prunes. He was looking for something a bit more accessible. Of course, I said “Sure,” and got to work on it immediately.
I pretty much banged out a stately collection of suitable songs right away but kept periodically adding titles as they occurred to me over the course of the following few days. After a while, I felt sufficiently satisfied that I’d checked all the requisite boxes, I emailed my playlist to my friend. As I did so, I happened to spot the running time. At 225 songs, it clocked in at a ridiculous 15 hours and 53 minutes.
In my defense, I would assert that one person’s `80s is all Prince, George Michael, Madonna and Michael Jackson, while another’s might be Loverboy, Huey Lewis, Journey and Pat Benatar. My own would inarguably be Killing Joke, the Circle Jerks, Motorhead and The Sisters of Mercy, but another’s might very well be LL Cool, Salt N Pepa, Run-DMC and Public Enemy. The era is many different things to many different people.
To compile a playlist that felt even remotely comprehensive was no small task.
Anyway, the party in question was this past weekend. Held on his back lawn, my friend had one amplified source playing a mix his daughter had made at one end, and my epic-length opus playing at the other. As one drifted drinkily between these two poles, I believe the intended atmosphere of the event was well-achieved.
In retrospect, I suppose I could be credibly accused of maybe giving this assignment a little too much thought, but who am I to turn down a playlist request? I was all too happy to do it.
And unlike the painstaking mixtapes I used to agonize over for hours in bygone decades, I still have a laboriously unwieldy playlist to share with you now, days after the event.
Now, once again, don’t come in hot, expecting this to be filled with Einsturzende Neubauten, GBH, Coil, Black Flag, the Butthole Surfers and Gaye Bykers on Acid. Sure, there are a few curve balls in there, but by and large, this playlist was designed for the broadest of possible audiences. I even slipped several tracks in there by artists I legitimately cannot stand.
Anyway, if so inclined, put on your parachute pants and have at it. Oh, be sure to play it on "shuffle," too.
What did I miss?
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