You’re a Strange Animal, That’s What I Know…
NOPE by Nick Ross
I started remembering pop culture in 1982. I was taken to a movie theater where the one sheets for The Thing, Blade Runner & Time Bandits all gave me those initial sparks that have fueled an internal eternal flame, devouring pop culture in all forms of medium. However, one thing that does stick in my mind a lot about that time? 1980s' pop culture's obsession with the 1940s and 1950s.
Retro is cyclical. For the longest time it worked on a 20-year formula wherein pop culture of the time whether it be media or fashion that would be recycled and re-upped by the current generation. However with the proliferation of technology, we are seeing that cycle contract and expand every year.
As I started growing up, I started to scoff at the Happy days type beat. I wanted stuff for now. I wanted the A Team. I wanted Alf. Moonlighting. Dallas. I was living “TV Party” by Black Flag minus all the beer and comradery.
2022 has become a year where the 1980s came back in such a hard way. With the release of Top Gun Maverick, TikTok started seeing an uptick (pun intended) in songs being used from the original soundtrack from 1986.
Berlin's “Take My Breath Away” and Kenny Loggins' “Playing with the Boys” all charted on TikTok right after Top Gun Maverick came out. Undeniability of 1980s production in this case when it comes to hot Hollywood soundtrack hits is timeless.
Even the breakout show Euphoria on HBO had key episodes of season 2 set in the 1980s paired with obscure and mega hits by bands such as INXS and Ministry. The rediscovery of the “Me” decade, both the highs and the lows that came with it, a reflected in our society as well as our works within media.
Jordan Peele's recent creature feature Nope is a great example of this, as it was a 2-hour love letter to the king of the 80s, Steven Spielberg.
However for me, it was Nope's inclusion of two Can-con anthems from the 1980s that really drove home the message of the movie. Larry Gowan's “Strange Animal” and Corey Hart's “Sunglasses at Night” are both used during pinnacle moments of Nope.
“Strange Animal” being used for the in-movie TV show, Gordy's Home! is very much on the nose however perfect for a 90s sitcom theme about a monkey that goes awry.
The irony of using that song in terms of the monster in Nope is further enhanced when the song of the summer of 1984, Corey Hart's “Sunglasses at Night,” gets chopped and screwed, turned into a sinister synth darkwave witch house anthem, all the while trying to avoid the gigantic monster in the sky.
However, the alpha dog in this conversation is the Netflix tent pole, Stranger Things. The needle drops in Season 4 were unlike anything I've seen in terms of reaction from its viewers. Authentic bootleggers immediately started churning out Kate Bush tees faster than you can say “Babushka.” TikTok drove the song to number one and pretty much every country on Earth that speaks English. Then add on top of that the 1986 thrash metal anthem “Master of Puppets” by Metallica? I bet The Duffer Brothers have a list a mile long of bands who want to eat by getting their songs used for the final season.
Retro and vintage and throwbacks aren't going anywhere. New generations are going to be exposed to older music and older styles. And if it's going to be through movies and television then let it be. It's better that artists get recognition later in their career rather than fading into obscurity.
