About the Track
Jump to lyrics
This track is a pretty special one to me as it features my sister, Ella. She is a much better singer than I am and for a while I have wanted to collaborate with her. This one took a long time to produce because I wanted it to be the best quality possible. At this point, I have a nice understanding of how Logic Pro works and recommended practices for editing, mixing, producing, and mastering music. This track still isn't what I'd consider studio quality
, but I am quite proud of the result (both the lyrics and music).
This track focuses on the 1980s and all of the parts of that decade we wish we could bring back and/or go back to. I recently have been listening to a lot of '80s music and my family has been watching a slew of movies filmed in the '80s and this track was inspired by these cultural icons (if you will). We do understand that the items featured in this track might be idealizing the '80s a bit, but we weren't trying to represent the decade in one song. This is simply an ode to our favorite parts of the '80s that we wish we could've taken part in.
About the Lyrics
Ella and I both wrote the lyrics. She'll probably try to tell you that she didn't do much but the actual idea for the song itself came from her. To write this song, we wrote down a list of all the things from the '80s that we enjoyed. We then paired them together through our best attempt at rhymes. Both of us are very happy with how the lyrics ended up (there were a few moments when we came up with a particularly clever line and had a moment of excitement). We tried to make the lyrics guide the listener through a day in the life of an eighties-er
, starting in the morning and ending with activities typically done at night.
About the Music
The music was engineered and designed by me (Ian) with feedback from Ella. While there is still much work to be done in terms of how good I can produce music, I think this is my best work so far. I was so excited when I came up with the little riff that repeats itself and when I incorporated some non-standard variations on chord progressions. The track went through many iterations and editing stages and I think that was beneficial in the long run as it allowed me to assess how well I liked certain parts of the music (this is how I added a bell sound as the track sounded too empty without it).
About the Album Art
The album art was designed and drawn by Ella (using my iPad, though :D). Ducks with top hats are just, the right thing. The disco ball and neon colors were Ella's ideas and I approve.
Lyrics
I wanna wake up to MTV
Then put on my cuffed jeans
The tease my hair up high
And chat with friends on my pink landline
Spend the day at the arcade
And roller skate the night away
Jam to Wham! on the radio
Or to a twelve-inch playing the Go-Go's
I wish I lived in the '80s
'Cause I'm all fed up with the twenty first century
I wanna loosen my feet and dance with somebody
As long as it's not on Elm Street
Hop in a car, no seatbelt on
And head to club lit up in neon
Hang with friends at a drive-in movie
Or scream along to Bon Jovi
I wanna be a karate kid
Or ride a bike with a mannequin
If only I had a time machine
To take me back to where I should be
I wish I lived in the '80s
'Cause I'm all fed up with the twenty first century
I wanna loosen my feet and dance with somebody
As long as it's not on Elm Street
As I hang my Madonna poster
And lay in my leg warmers
I dream of how life used to be
In the eighties
I wish I lived in the '80s
'Cause I'm all fed up with the twenty first century
I wanna loosen my feet and dance with somebody
As long as it's not on Elm Street