That's Life: Child of the 80s

Dear That's Life,

Just today, someone on the radio wished the front man of a particular band a happy birthday as he turned 35. “I think that’s considered middle age, right?” The DJ asked, as he laughed like a hyena at his own witty remark. Ouch, I said to myself. That’s harsh. If that’s middle age, then I guess my AARP membership card should be arriving any day now.

Radio stations have changed over the years. When I was in high school, I listened religiously to 92.7 FM, WDRE, which was an alternative rock station. Alphaville, Depeche Mode, The Cure and Erasure were all part of my repertoire. Then I came home after vacation one year to find that the station had gone Latino. As I adjusted the knob in the car a couple more times (yes, you heard right — adjusted the knob), I realized that it was not a bad dream: as if without warning, my station was gone.

The 80s were good — maybe not for fashion, but they were for music. Listening to 80s music now seems like a guilty pleasure. It’s okay to admit you like it — the Broadway musical “Rock of Ages” is such a success because you and I are not alone. There are plenty of others like us. I took my daughter to a Journey concert last year and I told my brother-in-law about it. Knowing my monogamous relationship with classic rock, he was shocked. “YOU took her to a Journeys concert?” He asked. Um, no, I said. “Journey — not Journeys.” He was relieved. That made much more sense. The world would once again return to spinning on its axis.

As a kid, 101.1 WCBS-FM represented in my mind very old fashioned music with which I could never identify. I would not be caught dead even surfing through that channel. Now I find myself checking it out all the time — and knowing all of the music they play. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was being played one day last week and I quickly had to text my friend who was at work that it was on the radio. “Billy Jean” had even been on earlier in the day. I even got to “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” before the day had been over. That was a great day to sing out loud in my car at the top of my lungs.