Face the change

INXS, Blue Peter and Grade 9

Forty years ago this week, I started high school. This week my child starts the same journey (at a very different school in almost every way). Bring on all the feels.

This weekend I biked through my old neighbourhood. In September 1984 my cohort was the 2nd class in this high school, with only Grade 10s above us. The website touted on this banner has been 404’d—I’ll refrain from making a comment on the modern relevance of Catholic schools here.

1984 was a great time to grow up as a pop music fan: Prince, Eurythmics, the Police, Bruce Springsteen, Tears For Fears, Madonna, Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper, Platinum Blonde, Corey Hart, Bryan Adams, Jane Siberry, Sade, ZZ Top, Depeche Mode, U2, Bruce Cockburn, Art of Noise, Talking Heads, Run-DMC, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, Dalbello (with the strangest top 40 hit ever), Luba (I’ll always go to bat for early Luba, and I don’t care if you’re laughing right now).

Shall I go on? Check the charts here or here.

Or read Michaelangelo Matos’s very good book, Can’t Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop’s Blockbuster Year (reviewed by Slate’s Jack Hamilton here).

Over the years, including the past eight months, I’ve read anniversary pieces about many of the artists listed above (except the Canadian ones, of course). And the Eurythmics, who are in danger of being written out of history, IMO.

But today I’ll go to bat for another oft-overlooked 1984 album: The Swing, by INXS.