At age 8, I basically wanted to be Olivia Newton-John: She was so pretty and seemed so nice and she could sing and roller skate at the same time. “Xanadu” (1980): I have vivid memories of listening to this soundtrack - on 8-track, no less - during carpool on the way to school in the morning. And of course we all tried to keep up with Cara on “Out Here on My Own,” even though we didn’t have the vocals - or the life experience - to make it work. The idea that high school students would bust out and sing “Hot Lunch” in the cafeteria, or stop traffic to rock out to the film’s theme song, was pretty inspiring back then.
#Irene flashdance soundtrack crossword movie#
The fact that the songs were so high-energy, so poignant, and ultimately so crowd-pleasing is what made this movie acceptable for kids my age. “Fame” (1980): This movie seemed so racy in its day - the uncomfortable nude scene involving Irene Cara and a creepy photographer, the ballet-dancer abortion - but my exceedingly cool, film-loving mother allowed me to see it when I was just a little girl.
With the remake of “Footloose” coming out this weekend, it’s a great opportunity to dig through our cassette collection, reminisce about childhood and pick five other great movie soundtracks from the `80s:
“Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” “Dancing in the Sheets,” “Almost Paradise” and, of course, the title tune - they were top-40 favorites and mainstays in our boom boxes, and they brought us back emotionally to a movie that was such a cultural touchstone during our formative years. A huge part of the allure of the original “Footloose” was the soundtrack of catchy, radio-friendly songs it produced back in 1984.