I wish it was Sunday…

  
There aren’t many songs that better exemplify the cheery whimsy of the 80s than “Manic Monday” by The Bangles. The song’s introduction is one of the stronger triggers for sensory flashbacks to the 80s. The way the piano rhythm explodes onto the horizon before you first hear Susanna Hoffs’ playful vocals and layered harmonies. The song continues with that simple piano rhythm and jangly guitars as it all conspires to make Monday a lot less Manic and a lot more capricious!

 

It was odd as a heterosexual male to be singing along about “kissing Valentino,” especially when Ms. Hoffs herself was inspiring all sorts of newfound hormonal awakenings. Much of the romantic allusions in the song were lost on that 12-year-old. (“C’mon honey, let’s go make some noise.”  You mean, like, with your guitars?) But the fanciful nature of the song certainly inspired thoughts of spending a thousand manic Mondays with Susanna Hoffs.

“Manic Monday” was released early in 1986, a year that not only marks the halfway point in the Eightiesology timeline, but is also crucial in many respects. Around the same time that “Manic Monday” was released, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated shortly after liftoff. This was really our generation’s first “Where were you when…?” moment. My generation was also being exposed to the ongoing Cold War, a proliferation of hijackings, and the Iran-Contra affair, all events that seeped into our conscience and slowly tore down the walls that hid us from the reality of the world we knew so little about. We also were hearing that Africa was starving and that we could help by buying a song and holding hands across America.

To an 11-year old going on 12, my world was changing subtly. I was becoming more aware and involved in the world around me which is likely why memories of this time are a little sharper. My classmates and I moved to the Middle School which essentially shared space with the High School. At this point in your life, puberty starts to hit you like a ton of bricks which added a new layer of relevance to the sounds and visions of the time. In ’86, the silver screen was filled with movies like Top Gun, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Karate Kid 2 as well as the ongoing legend of Back to the Future (now on VHS!), all wrought with characters who despite their adventures all seemed to be doing it for a girl.  On the Billboard album charts, magnum opuses like Van Halen’s 5150, Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet, Invisible Touch by Genesis all included hits that extolled the joys and pains of romance.  And it was all slowly starting to make sense.

Joining them on those charts was the equally cheerful “Manic Monday,” which peaked as high as #2, beaten only by its author Prince and his funk masterpiece “Kiss.” But its real accomplishment is the staying power of its melody, emblematic of the upbeat songs being written at the time. Lost in the song’s yearning for the Top 40 is its rather dynamic use of sophisticated girl-group harmonies along with acoustic piano and harpsichord! In the realm of 80s pop songs, there aren’t many who got it better than The Bangles on “Manic Monday.” And to the wide-eyed innocence and ever-surfacing pubescence of an 11-year old optimist, the song was indicative of the spirit of the time. I didn’t need it to be “Stairway to Heaven,” I just needed it to make me smile.

The Bangles went on to walk like Egyptians and light eternal flames but to me, their fire was never as brilliant as it was on that first hit. Susanna Hoffs still pops up in the unlikeliest of places, such as recording an album of covers with Matthew Sweet and offering background vocals on Jayhawks’ singer/guitarist Gary Louris’ solo album. The Bangles still record and tour.

Unfortunately, as I got older, Mondays were not so disarmingly bothersome. In fact, they are downright depressing. Sundays are more like my “I-don’t-have-to-be-micromanaged-day” and an inability to be late on Monday would be “I can’t be late because I guess my job will be outsourced to India.”  When you become part of the grind, the concept is no longer a fanciful notion. Reality’s intent is often to destroy the ideals of our youth, no matter what decade you grew up in. However, the decade that I grew up in had an often-relentlessly (and unrealistically, but who knew it at the time) hopeful and positive influence on its youth.

And this is really the driving mission for this blog. How we let nostalgia inspire and remind us of innocent times, times we are not entirely ashamed of but have grown apart from. Without the unrelenting irony that VH1 has hoisted upon the world with its endless snarky raping of the 80s. I have a lot more things to say about a Led Zeppelin or John Lennon song but that doesn’t mean I can’t find comfort and joy in Manic Monday. Hopefully you’ll find some delight in remembering, too.

 

Hear this! Check out the rare extended version of “Manic Monday.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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