MTV

When I see that TV ad for CDs late at night, The Best of the Eighties! I like to joke that the term is an oxymoron–wasn't all that much going on musically that did it for me, especially in the early part of the decade. 


There were some songs I liked, even though a lot of them were pop and bubble gummy. Hall & Oates, Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love." Joan Jett, The Clash. I took my daughter to an INXS concert once and sat there wearing ear plugs, reading a book, she almost died of embarrassment, which was, of course, why I did it ...


These were the days when MTV actually did music videos, and I watched them now and again to see what the kids were into. 


Some of these were way past pretentious, including the one above, even though I do like the vocal version of "Every Time You Go Away," by Paul Young.


And the haircut. Maybe I'll go retro and grow my hair that way. Kind of an electric mullet ...