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The Soundtrack to The '80s

I was part of the historically low population to watch the Oscars this past Sunday, and while I liked all the nominees for Best Song, I'm not sure that this year had that singular tune to transcended filmic beginnings and stamp the popular culture with sonic awesomeness. In my youth, I remember a time when soundtracks were absolute hitmakers, putting multiple songs into the highest reaches of the charts. (Maybe that's the problem, as there are no such thing as "charts" anymore.)

As a confirmation of my memory, I went back to a 2011 copy of the magazine Film Comment to find a list of 50 such songs from the films of the 1980s (with a few cheats from 1980 itself). Here's what Film Comment called the Most Indelible Songs From '80s Films:

1. Eye of the Tiger - Survivor, Rocky III, 1982
2. Call Me - Blondie, American Gigolo, 1980
3. Don’t You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds, The Breakfast Club, 1985
4. (Flashdance) What a Feeling - Irene Cara, Flashdance, 1983
5. Cat People (Putting Out Fire) - David Bowie, Cat People, 1982
6. Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) - Christopher Cross, Arthur, 1981
7. Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr., Ghostbusters, 1984
8. (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes, Dirty Dancing, 1987
9. Purple Rain - Prince, Purple Rain, 1984
10. Into the Groove - Madonna, Desperately Seeking Susan, 1985
11. The Power of Love - Huey Lewis and the News, Back to the Future, 1985
12. Take My Breath Away - Berlin, Top Gun, 1986
13. 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton, 9 to 5, 1980
14. A View to a Kill - Duran Duran, A View to a Kill, 1985
15. Holiday Road - Lindsey Buckingham, National Lampoon’s Vacation, 1983
16. Up Where We Belong - Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes, An Officer and a Gentleman, 1982
17. We Don’t Need Another Hero - Tina Turner, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, 1985
18. Flash - Queen, Flash Gordon, 1980
19. When Doves Cry - Prince, Purple Rain, 1984
20. St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion) - John Parr, St. Elmo’s Fire, 1985
21. I Just Called to Say I Love You - Stevie Wonder, The Woman in Red, 1984
22. Xanadu - Olivia Newton-John & ELO, Xanadu, 1980
23. Oh Yeah - Yello, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986
24. Maniac - Michael Sembello, Flashdance, 1983
25. Crazy for You - Madonna, Vision Quest, 1985
26. To Live and Die in L.A. - Wang Chung, To Live and Die in L.A., 1985
27. Live to Tell - Madonna, At Close Range, 1986
28. Weird Science - Oingo Boingo, Weird Science, 1985
29. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler, Beaches, 1988
30. Let the River Run - Carly Simon, Working Girl, 1988
31. Fame (I Want to Live Forever) - Irene Cara, Fame, 1980
32. Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship, Mannequin, 1987
33. For Your Eyes Only - Sheena Easton, For Your Eyes Only, 1981
34. Footloose - Kenny Loggins, Footloose, 1984
35. Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer, Beverly Hills Cops, 1984
36. Fight the Power - Public Enemy, Do the Right Thing, 1989
37. I’m Alright - Kenny Loggins, Caddyshack, 1980
38. Let’s Hear It for the Boy - Deniece Williams, Footloose, 1984
39. Titles - Vangelis, Chariots of Fire, 1981
40. Absolute Beginners - David Bowie, Absolute Beginners, 1986
41. She’s Like the Wind - Patrick Swayze, Dirty Dancing, 1987
42. It’s So Easy - Willy DeVille, Cruising, 1980
43. Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough - Cyndi Lauper, The Goonies, 1985
44. Who’s That Girl - Madonna, Who’s That Girl, 1987
45. The Neverending Story - Limahl, The Neverending Story, 1984
46. This Is Not America - David Bowie & The Pat Metheny Group, The Falcon and The Snowman, 1985
47. If You Were Here - Thompson Twins, Sixteen Candles, 1984
48. Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins, Top Gun, 1986
49. Together in Electric Dreams - Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder, Electric Dreams, 1984
50. Magic - Olivia Newton-John, Xanadu, 1980

All in all, a pretty sweet collection of radio red meat...although I would argue that Bowie is a bit too high at #5. Of course, a list like this is all about arguments, right? In fact, I believe they left off six obvious killers:

If You Leave - OMD, Pretty In Pink, 1986
Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) - Phil Collins, Against All Odds, 1984
Shakedown - Bob Seger, Beverly Hills Cop II, 1987
Sweet Freedom - Michael McDonald, Running Scared, 1987
Repo Man - Iggy Pop, Repo Man, 1984
Sometimes It Snows In April - Prince & The Revolution, Under The Cherry Moon, 1986

And even then, I'm sure I'm missing something. I'm not sure if any other decade of soundtracks kicked as much ass, but I'm pretty sure another decade never will. Million-selling soundtracks are sadly a thing of the past, like party lines and VCR's...and, potentially, Oscar telecasts.

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