The 80s-est

What is more 80s: a song and a movie so good that they became a part of us? Or a song so generic from a movie so formulaic that they blend with every other song and movie from the decade? It’s Say Anything’s 2-seed, “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel, against The Karate Kid Part II’s 15-seed, “Glory of Love” by Peter Cetera. No matter which song gets more votes, Peter wins!The famous Gas-n-Sip scene in Say Anything: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

Whether you’re a shit-sucking vampire or the little brother who loves him, you’ll find something great in today’s podcast, as we present two non-hits from The Lost Boys. It’s seven-seed “I Still Believe” by Tim Capello against ten-seed “Cry, Little Sister” by Gerald “The Mahon” McMann. Music so 80s, you won’t want to put a stake through its heart. Or some other vampiric metaphor.(The songs do not have official music videos, so enjoy these scenes, that feature the songs, instead.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

Crank up the estrogen AND the testosterone, and take off directly into a collision course with 80s melodrama as the soft, breathy ballad, 3-seed “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin squares off against the perfomatively-masculine rocker, 14-seed “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins. Both songs’ egos are assessed overdraft fees for writing checks that their bodies can’t cash. Feel free to buzz our tower with your comments and suggestions. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

For all of you listeners who loved both Jewel of the Nile and Short Circuit, this show is for you. It’s six-seed “Who’s Johnny?” by El DeBarge against eleven-seed “When the Going Gets Tough” by the legendary Billy Ocean. We can only mourn the fact that we never got the Steve Gutenberg/Kathleen Turner romcom we so richly deserved.Here are the two videos, as discussed in the episode:And of course, the Side B Movies Region list, at positions 9 & 10: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

It’s Episode 6! Keith nominates 4-seed “Send Me an Angel” from the movie Rad, and Joe nominates 13-seed “Iko Iko,” which he THOUGHT was from Satisfaction, but really isn’t. (But at least it IS in Rain Man.) Anyway, two songs enter, even if one shouldn’t really BE here, but only one song will emerge! VOTE!People, you have to watch this:To listen to these songs back-to-back yourself, check out this playlist at positions 7 & 8! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

It’s Episode 5 of Side B, and the dancing is SO. DIRTY. Get on board for this cinematic slugfest: two music legends, Medley and Warnes, swagger in with the 5 seed and their global smash hit, “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.” But you know who is completely unimpressed by this? Johnny Castle—I mean, Patrick Swayze—the coolest customer to ever hit the Catskills. He brings his incredible charisma and gorgeous hair to the fight, along with 12-seed “She’s Like the Wind.” Nobody puts this matchup in a corner!Listen to these songs back-to-back at positions 5 & 6 on the Movies Region Playlist: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

In the second matchup of the Movies Region, it’s two Joe-quality songs, which really, that says it all. Listen up to hear 8-seed “The Lady in Red” by Chris de Burgh (from Working Girl) desperately trying to be more 80s than the Family Ties gem, “At This Moment” by Billy Vera and The Beaters, who are sporting a 9 seed. Please hold your comments until you’ve heard Joe’s argument for including these songs in the tournament!In this poll, I added “Abstain” as kind of a joke—it’s discussed in the episode. BUT, please keep in mind that you CANNOT change your vote once you click it. So while the ABSTAIN option is funny, only click it if you truly do not want to vote for either of these. Now get busy leaving comments for Joe, please!Here’s the region playlist, so you can listen back-to-back for yourself: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

We’re going back to the Chicago suburbs for another go-round with Molly Ringwald! It’s top-seeded “If You Leave” by OMD versus the Psychedelic Furs with “Pretty in Pink” at the 16-seed spot. By the way, neither Keith nor Joe look pretty in pink.Go to our Spotify playlist to listen to the songs back to back: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

Hooray for Hollywood! It’s the preview of the Side B Movies Region! What films are represented? What songs are going up against each other? Did “Adagio for Strings” from Platoon make it in? These questions and many others will be answered in this episode. Give it a listen, folks!SPOILERS AHEAD in the form of the visualized bracket and the region playlist from Spotify. Read no further if you do not want to know which songs made it into the Movies Region!...... This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

A new day is dawning! A new dawn is daying! It’s Side B of The 80s-est! Will everything be completely different as we enter the latter half of the decade? I mean, no, of course not. But music did evolve as the years went on. And our show will evolve, too! Not a lot. Basically, we will metaphorically lose our vestigial tail. So that’s good. We hate vestigial stuff, right? Anyway, listen as we launch Side B! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com