The Soul Saving Music of 1981

A song is like oxygen for me. With that in mind, this is a reflection on the days and weeks where breathing was difficult. Difficult, because I lost my hope. But somehow, 1981 saved my soul. Specifically, through music.

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New Wave '80s

Pure Post-Punk and New Wave

If I possess any super power, it is only this. I can ALWAYS find one song that swoops down to save the day. Though, nothing could pull me out of the despair that December 1980 delivered. December 8th was the ‘day the music died’ for my generation.

In my head and heart and ears, peace didn’t have a chance anymore. Not without John Lennon. We needed a ‘new’ year in a bad way. 1981 had to save us. (insert skepticism). When the ball dropped in Times Square, I had low expectations.

Well, heroes come in unexpected packages. How could a solo debut album from Genesis’ Phil Collins have been of any consequence? But in February of ‘81, I dropped the needle on “In The Air Tonight” and there was a drum break so massively spectacular I couldn’t get the amp loud enough.

During 1981’s spring, Diana Ross bailed on Motown to set a whole new bar for women in music with a $20 million record deal. Which in turn, saw the birth of The Go Go’s as they signed their first contract with I.R.S. Records. No lips were sealed on the the potency of what they did in the studio that year.

The summer was scorched by the launch of MTV on August 1st. Music videos were an obsession that could not be satiated. My best friends in the world were J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn.

The fall of 1981 was a tale of two sonic cities: Modern Rock & Modern Funk. The Pretenders discovered The Violent Femmes busking outside the club they were playing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They did more than exchange numbers, they invited ‘The Femmes’ to play a 10-minute acoustic set as their second opening act. Just 337 miles northwest on Interstate 94, Prince put a lock on redefining funk when records stores were stocked with his “Controversy” LP.

Meanwhile, there was this thing called Synthpop that was plugged into the mainstream by OMD, The Human League, and Depeche Mode.

So as it turns out. A year IS the sum of its parts. And for me, songs, flawed and otherwise are the only parts that matter.

In the end it was John, himself, who saved 1981 with a song that he left for the year he wouldn’t see.

“It’ll be just like starting over.”

A Flock of '80s

Pop, Rock and New Wave from the early MTV era