Music Review: Bowling For Soup "1985"
Bowling For Soup
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1985
Album: A Hangover You Don’t Deserve
Year: 2004
In 2004, SR-71 recorded the song "1985" and put it on their album.
In the prickly "1985", Mitch Allan tells of a story of a disillusioned housewife.
Bitter guitars open the single, setting a glaring tone. In the first verse, he says Debbie has officially lost it. It has led her to take anti-depressants in order to get through each passing moment. She's married to an accountant, the first and only man she ever slept with. At twenty-four, she became an adult with responsiibilites to handle. At 18, she had planned on going to Hollywood and landing auditions. Eventually, she would be in Whitesnake music videos and be famous. She resents that she can only afford a SUV and has to live vicariously through entertainment shows.
In the chorus, she wishes she could back to her senior year of high school (1985). She had such so fun watching U2, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna music videos on MTV. Her kids laugh at her for being obsessed with her youth and say she's not hip anymore. Two major errors exist: 1) Blondie broke up in 1982. None of their videos would've premeriered, 2) the single dates itself as circa 1997 with the Nirvana reference.
In the second verse, Debbie only watches 80s teen movies and is still a rabid Wham/George Michael fan. Like most young girls (myself included) thought Michael was handsome and they would have pretty babies. She wanted the life she was sold: as prom queen, she should have married the high school quarterback. She was the envy of every girl and the desired conquest of every guy. But then, she cheated on her the quarterback, got pregnant by an everyday guy, and had to own up to her jock boyfriend.
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, she doesn't like being middle-aged and out of the loop. All her favorite music is now played on the classic rock station. If she could, she would rewind time and make herself cool again forever.
The chorus is sung again to close the song.
Debbie can't deal with not being 18 and youthful anymore. During the stomach/butt cleavage fad in the late 90s, she bought pair after pair of low-rise, no waist jeans and belly-baring crop tops. It didn't matter she looked ridiculous, she wanted to be cool again. 1985 was the highlight of her life. Reality has hit her: she's really a snob and everyone else is better than her and she's nothing special. She's an average person and it kills her inside. Even her kids know she's pathetic
Allan's self-satsified vocals chide her. He's so glad he's not her.
The ornery guitar arrangement fumes with rancor at growing old.
The demeaning "1985" is yet another post-punk song that stereotypes woman as vain, selfish, and dumb.
In 2004, Bowling For Soup recorded it (after asking permission, according to SR-71's website) and it became one of their biggest hits.
In the bleary Bowling for Soup cover, Debbie is obsessed with the 80s pop culture.
Flippant guitars open the single, setting a mindless tone. The first verse is intact, which alludes to Debbie's inability to handle being 40.
The chorus is also remains the same.
The second verse has been changed. In it, "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" is replaced by "St. Elmo's Fire" (which does make sense, given the other two were Brat Pack movies). Also, she's become a casual Wham! fan and a Duran Duran fangirl. The entire last half about her pregnancy is edited out. Instead, she doesn't get the newer fads of now. She grew up watching "Who’s The Boss?", not people who sat around in a house all day, fighting about who wants to be boss. But, there's a factual error: game shows also became popular during the late 90s. In my opinion, the reference is inaccurate.
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, she thinks pop culture has devolved into empty entertainment. 80s music is considered old and irrelevant. Also, her favorite pop singers are degrading themselves on a reality show to hopefully be popular again.
The chorus is sung twice to close the song.
Oh. My. God. Debbie is me! Like Debbie, 80s movies are some of my favorites. Pretty In Pink ('One of these you're going to overdose on nostalgia" is a line that almost made the blog's tagline, albeit slightly modified. For example, overdosing on nostalgia since….), Breakfast Club (if it's on television, I have to see it) and St. Elmos' Fire is on my must-see list. Yes, I prefer Wham! to Limp Bizkit. I *heart* Duran Duran. I was a bit saddened when Jane Wiedlin was on the Surreal Life. Unlike Debbie, I don't loathe today’s pop culture. I may nitpick at it, but I still embrace it.
However, with the first verse still intact, it leaves some confusion as to what Debbie is really upset about. It doesn'treally fit anymore.
The rosy arrangement is kind of silly and blank as it tries to be trendy and stylish.
Jarit Reddick's nasal vocals imitate Allan's phrasing. The only difference is he's lighthearted about it.
"1985" is superior to the original cover, given that Debbie has become out of touch yet lovable. On the whole, though, the single points out how much better music and movies were in the 80s. It's also right. Music like Duran Duran, U2, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Blondie, and even Wham! had substance in their songs. "1985," unfortunately, amounts to a list.
Album: A Hangover You Don’t Deserve
Year: 2004
In 2004, SR-71 recorded the song "1985" and put it on their album.
In the prickly "1985", Mitch Allan tells of a story of a disillusioned housewife.
Bitter guitars open the single, setting a glaring tone. In the first verse, he says Debbie has officially lost it. It has led her to take anti-depressants in order to get through each passing moment. She's married to an accountant, the first and only man she ever slept with. At twenty-four, she became an adult with responsiibilites to handle. At 18, she had planned on going to Hollywood and landing auditions. Eventually, she would be in Whitesnake music videos and be famous. She resents that she can only afford a SUV and has to live vicariously through entertainment shows.
"Debbie just hit the wall/She never had it all/One Prozac a day/Husband's a C.P.A./Her dreams went out the door/Once she turned 24/Only been with one man/What happened to her plans/She was gonna be an actress/She was gonna be a star/She was gonna shake that ass/On the hood of Whitesnake's car/Now her SUV has become the enemy/Looks at her average life/Nothing has been alright since."
In the chorus, she wishes she could back to her senior year of high school (1985). She had such so fun watching U2, Bruce Springsteen and Madonna music videos on MTV. Her kids laugh at her for being obsessed with her youth and say she's not hip anymore. Two major errors exist: 1) Blondie broke up in 1982. None of their videos would've premeriered, 2) the single dates itself as circa 1997 with the Nirvana reference.
"Bruce Springsteen, Madonna/Way before Nirvana there was U2/And Blondie and music still on MTV/Her two kids in high school/They tell her that she's uncool/Cause she's still preoccupied/With 1985."
In the second verse, Debbie only watches 80s teen movies and is still a rabid Wham/George Michael fan. Like most young girls (myself included) thought Michael was handsome and they would have pretty babies. She wanted the life she was sold: as prom queen, she should have married the high school quarterback. She was the envy of every girl and the desired conquest of every guy. But then, she cheated on her the quarterback, got pregnant by an everyday guy, and had to own up to her jock boyfriend.
"She's seen all the classics/At least a hundred times/Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink,
Fast Times At Ridgemont/She rocks out to Wham!/Not a big Limp Bizkit fan/Never knew George was gay/Hoped they'd hook up one day/Where's her fairy tale, where's her dream?/Where's the quarterback/From her high school football team?/Where's her fairy tale, where's her dream?/How many times will she ask herself/ What happened to me?(the rubber broke)/When."
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, she doesn't like being middle-aged and out of the loop. All her favorite music is now played on the classic rock station. If she could, she would rewind time and make herself cool again forever.
"She hates time (make it stop)/When did Motley Crue become classic rock/She hates time (make it stop)."
The chorus is sung again to close the song.
Debbie can't deal with not being 18 and youthful anymore. During the stomach/butt cleavage fad in the late 90s, she bought pair after pair of low-rise, no waist jeans and belly-baring crop tops. It didn't matter she looked ridiculous, she wanted to be cool again. 1985 was the highlight of her life. Reality has hit her: she's really a snob and everyone else is better than her and she's nothing special. She's an average person and it kills her inside. Even her kids know she's pathetic
Allan's self-satsified vocals chide her. He's so glad he's not her.
The ornery guitar arrangement fumes with rancor at growing old.
The demeaning "1985" is yet another post-punk song that stereotypes woman as vain, selfish, and dumb.
In 2004, Bowling For Soup recorded it (after asking permission, according to SR-71's website) and it became one of their biggest hits.
In the bleary Bowling for Soup cover, Debbie is obsessed with the 80s pop culture.
Flippant guitars open the single, setting a mindless tone. The first verse is intact, which alludes to Debbie's inability to handle being 40.
The chorus is also remains the same.
The second verse has been changed. In it, "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" is replaced by "St. Elmo's Fire" (which does make sense, given the other two were Brat Pack movies). Also, she's become a casual Wham! fan and a Duran Duran fangirl. The entire last half about her pregnancy is edited out. Instead, she doesn't get the newer fads of now. She grew up watching "Who’s The Boss?", not people who sat around in a house all day, fighting about who wants to be boss. But, there's a factual error: game shows also became popular during the late 90s. In my opinion, the reference is inaccurate.
"She's seen all the classics/She knows every line/Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink/Even Saint Elmo's Fire/She rocked out to Wham/Not a big Limp Bizkit fan/Thought she'd get a hand/On a member of Duran Duran/Where's the mini-skirt made of snake skin/And who's the other guy that's singing in Van Halen/When did reality become T.V./What ever happen to sitcoms, game shows (on the radio was)."
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, she thinks pop culture has devolved into empty entertainment. 80s music is considered old and irrelevant. Also, her favorite pop singers are degrading themselves on a reality show to hopefully be popular again.
"She hates time make it stop/When did Motley Crue become classic rock?/And when did Ozzy become an actor?/Please make this stop/Stop!/And bring back."
The chorus is sung twice to close the song.
Oh. My. God. Debbie is me! Like Debbie, 80s movies are some of my favorites. Pretty In Pink ('One of these you're going to overdose on nostalgia" is a line that almost made the blog's tagline, albeit slightly modified. For example, overdosing on nostalgia since….), Breakfast Club (if it's on television, I have to see it) and St. Elmos' Fire is on my must-see list. Yes, I prefer Wham! to Limp Bizkit. I *heart* Duran Duran. I was a bit saddened when Jane Wiedlin was on the Surreal Life. Unlike Debbie, I don't loathe today’s pop culture. I may nitpick at it, but I still embrace it.
However, with the first verse still intact, it leaves some confusion as to what Debbie is really upset about. It doesn'treally fit anymore.
The rosy arrangement is kind of silly and blank as it tries to be trendy and stylish.
Jarit Reddick's nasal vocals imitate Allan's phrasing. The only difference is he's lighthearted about it.
"1985" is superior to the original cover, given that Debbie has become out of touch yet lovable. On the whole, though, the single points out how much better music and movies were in the 80s. It's also right. Music like Duran Duran, U2, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Blondie, and even Wham! had substance in their songs. "1985," unfortunately, amounts to a list.