Springtime at the movie theatre has lately been established as the time and the place for eighties nostalgia, what with the three most recent springs seeing the releases of the 1987-set Adventureland (released April 3, 2009), the 1986-set Hot Tube Time Machine (released March 26, 2010), and the 1988-set Take Me Home Tonight (released March 4, 2011 – technically that’s still winter, but let’s not split hairs). All were disappointments at the box office, undeservingly so. HTTM managed to be a minor hit, Adventureland was criminally mismarketed and overlooked, and TMHT was all but completely ignored. But those of us who did see these gems were treated to a very eighties aural feast. Based on my viewing of these blasts from the past, they each featured one song that stood out singularly – a signature song, if you will – among the rest of a soundtrack filled with synthesizers, hair bands, and other elements from the strangest era ever for pop music. We are left to wonder, what nostalgic romp coming our way March or April 2012 will make great use of a “Jump” by van Halen, or a “How Soon is Now” by The Smiths, or even a “99 Luftballoons”? For now, here are the signature songs from the above mentioned films:
Adventureland’s signature song – “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco
“Jesus Fucking Christ! They play this song like 20 times a day!” “Fucking sadists. Fucking sadists!”
With all due respect to Martin Starr as Joel, Austrian hitmaker Falco’s only American hit is a great song … but it is best listened to with the distance of time and a healthy dose of irony, neither of which is afforded by working at a crappy amusement park in the summer of 1987. Adventureland perfectly demonstrates the principle of using setting to establish the mood, and the constant presence of “Rock Me Amadeus” is a major part of that. It’s bad enough for James Brennan that he is missing out on a summer in Europe for one of the worst jobs ever; the added burden of “Amadeus” on constant repeat would be enough to make anyone wonder, “Who is trying to make me kill myself?”
Hot Tub Time Machine’s signature song – “Let’s Get It Started” as performed by Craig Robinson
Hot Tub Time Machine follows the nostalgic lead of Back to the Future in a lot of ways – time travel, sports betting as a sure thing, Crispin Glover, and a “song from the future.” Back to the Future did feature some songs that would have been around by 1955 (“Mr. Sandman,” for one), but its most memorable music originated from later in the decade, with Marty McFly putting his spin on Chuck Berry’s 1958 class “Johnny B. Goode” (sure, Huey Lewis’ theme song and Alan Silvestri’s score are memorable, too, but they are not tied so closely to one scene the way that “Johnny” is). Similarly, Hot Tub Time Machine features songs from the eighties, but its most memorable musical moment is not part of that decade at all. HTTM is not particularly realistic or sweet or cheesy in its nostalgia, so it makes sense that it would ignore the era’s music when suitable. And it is suitable when you have a secret weapon like the vocal talents of funnyman Craig Robinson.
Take Me Home Tonight’s signature song – “What You Need” by INXS
One might think that the Eddie Money power ballad namesake of Take Me Home Tonight would be this film’s signature song, but it actually never appears. This may be partly due to the fact that this was not the original title, but that may not be the best theory when you consider that the namesake songs of the previous titles – “Young Americans” and “Kids in America” – also never appear in the film. Of these three recent eighties nostalgia blasts, TMHT has the least polished soundtrack. Thus, its signature song is the rare one that is incorporated smoothly into a memorable scene: the dance off between Barry and the Ralph Macchio wannabe. I did not know that dance offs existed in the eighties, but I did know that INXS can lead to some great dancing, and thankfully someone else did, too.
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