A decade is a horrible thing to waste.
Truth be told, I DON'T love the Eighties -- the decade, that is. Yet, I most emphatically do love The Eighties, the CNN series premiering tonight that, like The Sixties and The Seventies before it, is brought to you by Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman and Mark Herzog of Herzog & Company. I loved being in The Sixties which covered a decade of which I have only a few childhood memories, In a way, though, I couldn't wait until we got to do The Seventies that explored the the tune when I did grew up - to the extent that I have grown up at all.
From the start, I felt a little more ambivalent about being a talking head for The Eighties about a decade when, in some ways, our culture seemed to move toward the shallow end of the pool -- and when Donald Trump first got famous for building walls. And yet time and time again, as our group conversation began for The Eighties, the realization emerged that no time is quite so easily and neatly defined. All decades are the best of times and the worst of times, too.
The Eighties -- like The Sixties and The Seventies before it -- brings you a fresh look at our recent history as seen on TV. So it is only right that the series will debut with an episode entitled "Raised On Television." However, this means that you may have to wait a little a month or two to see me and other commentators trying to make some sense of the music of the Eighties in a later episode called "Video Killed The Radio Star."
So yesterday I tweeted at @Wildaboutmusic to find out what my digital friends and followers consider to be the Most Eighties Song of all. Unsurprisingly, many of the choices were songs featured prominently in videos seen on MTV in the Eighties. @karenidelson interestingly picked "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles, the very first video played on MTV. @MichaelLevitt_1 chose "Our House" by Madness. @Doodlemeirer selected "Take On Me" by A-ha, which I admit I have never stopped loving myself. @shaydmusic made a very classy choice - "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon from the timelessly brilliant Graceland album. My Aunt Linda @klassyo came up with "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson which was kind of a Thriller for me. @YesDeartheband offered "With Or Without You" by another pretty good band U2. @paafnan goes for "Like A Virgin" by Madonna. @Lisa_Puy picked my wife's favorite Eighties song, "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield. Finally, @VocalLizzy put forward the timelessly beloved "Don't Stop Believin" by Journey.
Over the next seven weeks, please take a journey called The Eighties on CNN. Because as it turns out, you can get here from there.