All of these anniversaries
It seems that as we age, the more anniversaries we experience. 10 years here. 20 years there. And you realize, “How did that amount time pass?” Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of 25 and 30 year anniversaries that impact my life. From artists releasing anniversary editions of their huge releases to movie re-releases, this blogger can get quite melancholy at times.
A few months back, pop music duo
Tears for Fears released a 30 year anniversary package of their ground-breaking
album, Songs from the Big Chair. The
three hits that spawned off of that album resonate to this moment in many
Generation X’ers and Baby Boomers’ minds to this day. In case you forgot, those
three hits include “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” “Shout,” and “Head Over
Heels.” 1985 was Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith’s huge year-in case you never
knew, those are the two main players in Tears for Fears. They also have a great
backing band. The duo was far from being a one-hit wonder. They followed up Sound from the Big Chair with Seeds of Love later in the 1980s along
with fruitful solo careers in the 1990s and of course, reunion tours that are
still ongoing. It’s no secret that acts with the caliber of Tears for Fears
find that touring is lucrative, but so is re-packaging the classic stuff.
Like many anniversary packages, the original album is beautifully
re-mastered from the pristine analog tapes which reveal all types of sounds
that were never heard on the original. Also included in these musical packages
is a bevy of unreleased material including alternate takes of the released
songs, perhaps full songs from those sessions that were never released, maybe
official music videos, previously unreleased concert performances, posters and
much more. CDs, DVDs, digital downloads and even vinyl versions are part of
these re-release offers. The problem with these package releases is that they
are quite pricey upon first release. I can wait for that one to drop in price.
Another anniversary that came upon me is the 30th
anniversary of The Breakfast Club. What?
30 years! How did that happen? Well, it happened and of course the film was
re-mastered, ‘re-premiered’ with some original cast members in attendance at a
festival, re-released in theaters and on DVD and Blu-Ray.
Do I feel old? Not really. What annoys me is that it’s such
a ‘phenomenon’ that time passed. So, with the brouhaha over the fact that The Breakfast Club is 30 years old,
comes the whole “Where are they now?” and “Oh my, has this one actor aged
terribly and this one hasn’t.” I’m over it as one can tell.
I graduated high school the same year that The Breakfast Club was originally
released. Yes, do the math. I’ve been to previous reunions and most likely, I’ll
hit my upcoming reunion because who knows, it could be the last. I’m not one to
wallow in nostalgia, but I’m one to remember where we were, where we are and
where we are going in life. I hope to attend the summer reunion, re-connect with
former classmates and learn a thing or two at the end of the event. As for who
aged better than the other, I’m sure some will fixate on that, but I could care
less. Just like the Tears for Fears and The
Breakfast Club re-releases, we too, are getting together as re-packaged
products. Yes, that sounds funny and strange, but think about it – we improved our
minds with further education and experiences, so yes, we’re ‘re-packaged!’ As
for looks: Everyone looks great. We need to stop obsessing over fighting time
and enjoy the moment.
My daughter asks me about what was it like in the 1980s on occasion
and most of the time, I reference The
Breakfast Club. Director John Hughes did a spectacular job at capturing
teen angst in the mid-1980s. One of my English teachers at the time said, “You
all don’t have ‘a time.’” I replied in my mind that it was the mid-1980s that
was “our time.” It was just in progress. So I say to my daughter that her time
is now-whatever one calls this decade. I think she gets it.
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