SelenaSchaffnerI'm an absolute sucker for 80s "teen" movies. I put the 'teen' in quotes because although that is who they were marketed to when they were released, they aren't just for teens.
You name it, I've seen it, and I'm not just talking about the mainstream ones.
There are a lot of people who will quickly say that the 80s was one of the worst decades for music. I would gladly disagree with that claim. Those people were clearly not listening to the right kind of music.
I only got to experience 7 months in the 80s personally, but it is my favourite decade for movies and music.
I remember two years ago, when I heard that John Hughes passed away. His movies had such an influence on me that I felt the urge to have a movie marathon in his honor. I watched everything from Breakfast Club to Weird Science (and everything in between). It was a good weekend.
One of my favourite things about watching these kinds of movies is listening to the soundtracks. John Hughes and Cameron Crowe come to mind when I think of directors who put a lot of thought into their soundtracks. They would only put songs into their movies if they personally liked the songs. John Hughes would often feature indie bands that had rarely been heard of prior to the movie. And of course, Cameron Crowe had mad music connections!
So which movie soundtracks stand out in my mind? It's hard to just narrow it down to one or two movies. I'll probably create a playlist taking only one song from each of the 80s teen movies that I own, but right now I will mention that my top three songs that I think of are:
1.
Eyes of a Stranger - Payolas from Valley Girl
2.If You Leave - OMD from Pretty in Pink
3. Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne from Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Those were just the first three that popped into my head (and were from different movies).
Nowadays movie soundtracks are just songs thrown into the movie, but back then, the music was part of the story. Just throwing in any old song wouldn't produce the same emotions in the scene as the ones that were meticulously chosen for by people like Hughes and Crowe.
Aaaaaaaand now I want to do another marathon ;)
You name it, I've seen it, and I'm not just talking about the mainstream ones.
There are a lot of people who will quickly say that the 80s was one of the worst decades for music. I would gladly disagree with that claim. Those people were clearly not listening to the right kind of music.
I only got to experience 7 months in the 80s personally, but it is my favourite decade for movies and music.
I remember two years ago, when I heard that John Hughes passed away. His movies had such an influence on me that I felt the urge to have a movie marathon in his honor. I watched everything from Breakfast Club to Weird Science (and everything in between). It was a good weekend.
One of my favourite things about watching these kinds of movies is listening to the soundtracks. John Hughes and Cameron Crowe come to mind when I think of directors who put a lot of thought into their soundtracks. They would only put songs into their movies if they personally liked the songs. John Hughes would often feature indie bands that had rarely been heard of prior to the movie. And of course, Cameron Crowe had mad music connections!
So which movie soundtracks stand out in my mind? It's hard to just narrow it down to one or two movies. I'll probably create a playlist taking only one song from each of the 80s teen movies that I own, but right now I will mention that my top three songs that I think of are:
1.
Eyes of a Stranger - Payolas from Valley Girl2.
If You Leave - OMD from Pretty in Pink3. Somebody's Baby - Jackson Browne from Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Those were just the first three that popped into my head (and were from different movies).
Nowadays movie soundtracks are just songs thrown into the movie, but back then, the music was part of the story. Just throwing in any old song wouldn't produce the same emotions in the scene as the ones that were meticulously chosen for by people like Hughes and Crowe.
Aaaaaaaand now I want to do another marathon ;)
