After spending an entire month looking back at the 80’s, I realized one thing. I need more. Luckily, a couple of fellow music fans on Twitter came up with the brilliant idea to highlight #30DaysOf80sMovieSongs during the month of April. I couldn’t resist at the opportunity to keep going, to keep listening, and to keep celebrating the decade that has meant more to me than any other from a musical standpoint. Each day I’m playing a different soundtrack favorite on the Mental Jukebox.
Movie: Top Gun
Those who grew up in the 80’s often wonder why their minds are filled with such useless song lyrics and movie lines. They have taken up permanent residence in our heads. Sometimes I wonder why I remember these seemingly unimportant cultural moments. But then I remember, they actually were important. They helped us get through the Cold War, Middle Eastern conflict, and puberty. The decade had numerous expressions of synth pop. It had countless ballads. And it had Top Gun. At the intersection of all of these was Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away”.
This was a song that made hearts race in the lovemaking scene far more than the fighter jet scenes. You fell for it whether you had reached puberty or not. Maybe only bested by The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” or U2’s “With or Without You”, “Take My Breath Away” is one of the 80’s greatest and most memorable ballads. The synth sounds were era-defining. The bass lines were ominous. The key change delivered the gravitas. And the melody still stands as an icon of the decade.
“Haunted by the notion somewhere there's a love in flames.”