I love the ‘80s.
Even before VH1 made that show with Weird Al and Boy George and countless other icons that seem to have a considerable amount of free time on their hands these days, I’ve always been a huge fan of the decade that brought us parachute pants, Ghostbusters, the California Raisins, MacGyver, Ferris Bueller, Hungry Hungry Hippos, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Nintendo, The Karate Kid, Saved by the Bell, Inspector Gadget, Bo Jackson, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Doogie Howser, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and even Super Pac-Man, not to mention a little animated ditty that I’ve continued to grow exponentially fond of over the years called The Simpsons!
Also, for what it’s worth yours truly just so happens to have been born in 1980, but before you all go suggesting that I might have any sort of bias towards the magnificent ‘80s and all of their glory, let me just go ahead and confirm right off the bat that this is precisely the case…
What can I say – the ‘80s were an awesome time to be growing up, from the toys to the movies to Saturday morning cartoons, and of course, one element that I intentionally left out of my ginormous list earlier because it rightfully deserves so much more space than I could ever possibly allot for it – the music of the ‘80s! Talk about some of the goofiest, most fun music that a six or seven year old could hear on the radio, with songs like Tarzan Boy and Walk Like an Egyptian and 867-5309 … I may not have had the foggiest idea why Tommy Tutone would want to call a girl and risk getting phone cooties, but I still had Jenny’s phone number memorized like the back of my hand just the same!
It’s because of these fond memories that I was beyond excited when I first moved to Tampa almost eight years ago and first came across 101.5 The Point on my dial – a local radio station dedicated to the sounds of the ‘80s (and more!), and in the years to come I can’t count the number of weekday commutes and grocery runs and late nights spent simply cruising around town with a cool breeze in my hair that weren’t made even more awesome with the adrenaline-pumping anthem of Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone blasting all of my cares promptly into the stratosphere. It was like I had died and been returned back to the days of my childhood, except that I had longer hair and a driver’s license, and admittedly I was still a little nervous about calling Jenny’s number…
Sadly, it brings a single tear to my eye on this balmy, summer evening to report that the Tampa Bay Area will have to find a new source for its funky fresh, alternative rock of yesteryear, as I just recently discovered that the owners of my favorite radio station of all-time have officially rebranded it in favor of that bass-heavy dance club music that solicits more bumping and grinding than Hammertime or the walking of dinosaurs … because apparently the kiddies with their baggy jeans and spinning rims needed a 38th option on the dial for music that can make my teeth vibrate when I pull up alongside them at a stop light. Never again will the smooth sounds of Baltimora ripple through the open airwaves about monkey business on a sunny afternoon, nor will the word “abracadabra” serve as an open warning that Steve Miller may quite possibly be lurking nearby with an unyielding desire to reach out and grab ya…
From all of us who grew up on Fraggle Rock and still have a pile of happy meal toys stashed somewhere in the closet to prove it, we’ll miss you, 101.5 The Point. No matter how much crappy hip-hop and dance music dominates our airwaves, we’ll always remember – you built this city on rock and roll.