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: Less Than Zero
Full disclosure: I’ve never seen the movie. And I heard I didn’t miss much. But I did read the book, and Brett Easton Ellis hooked me with a story that was closely tied to the times, just like many of his other books, including American Psycho and The Rules of Attraction. The soundtrack to Less Than Zero, however, seemed like a mixed bag that didn’t quite capture the eighties in a truly coherent and consistent way. But there is a bright spot on the album that truly shines: The Bangles’ cover of “Hazy Shade of Winter”.
The Simon & Garfunkel original hails from the Bookends album. It was a well-known track, but it was completely overshadowed by “Mrs. Robinson” and “America”. The Bangles gave “Hazy Shade of Winter” a second life by injecting in it a good boost of adrenaline. The intro was completely reimagined. The guitar riff was electro-charged. And the harmonies sported a new third dimension. It sounded nothing like Simon & Garfunkel, yet it was an exceptional tribute to the folk duo. The result: one of the band’s greatest recordings and one of the most memorable soundtrack songs of the decade.
“It's the springtime of my life.”