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Here’s what you’re saying about the 80s #XPNAtoZ

December 05, 2018
01:12 PM
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Even in detention, Ally Sheedy’s Allison Reynolds knew that Prince was going to be a hit in the #XPNAToZ | still from video

The 80s edition of the #XPNAToZ special has been in full 24/7 swing for the past week, and the conversation on social media and in the real world is booming. People love it, people can’t stand it, people are generally into it but didn’t like that we played that one song, people don’t understand the Springsteenian excess. Here’s a roundup of some of The Key’s favorite Tweets from the #XPNAToZ hashtag. Join the conversation over that-a-ways, and keep listening; we’ve still got a lot of 80s A to Z to go!

https://twitter.com/SwithinIV/status/1067964997190524928

https://twitter.com/chosenfool/status/1067794050684780544

Possibly the biggest surprise of the first hours of #XPNAToZ: Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson was tuning in, and stoked to hear “A New England” by Billy Bragg.

https://twitter.com/danielthauber/status/1067816107237670912

The wild, unexpected transitions (or, per DJ Robert Drake, train wrecks) are a big part of what made this countdown. Sometimes they’re unexpected because of two typically-clashing styles, and sometimes they’re unexpected because the styles clash with what you hear on XPN on 90% of the year. Helen Leicht’s move from Motorhead’s “Ace Of Spades” into Iron Maiden’s “Aces High” had our twitter fans banging their heads.

https://twitter.com/chosenfool/status/1067817578079367168

The #XPNAToZ is totally bringing back a lot of nostalgia feels. Or just hysterical feels.

https://twitter.com/DavidBe06868695/status/1067962446441259009

https://twitter.com/chosenfool/status/1068375232250109953

Again with the transitions. This was a particularly dance-y one in the middle of the night. Yes, we’ve had #XPNAToZ fans chiming in during the overnight hours!

https://twitter.com/DavidBe06868695/status/1068705632210046976

Another thing we’ve heard a lot is how the countdown is getting listeners to discover unheard older classics, like this one by synthpoppy Brits Visage.

Air xylo? That’s something I need to see.

https://twitter.com/tinar411/status/1068942375236616193

The number of GIFs populating the #XPNAToZ hashtag is pretty staggering. A lot of them go back to Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club dancing to “We Are Not Alone” by Karla DeVito, and some are just videos of the artists … like the beautiful one of Sade you can see above.

Listeners also chime in with whatever activities they’re doing while listening to the #XPNAToZ, which included being stuck in traffic, removing a radiator, and cleaning a shower.

https://twitter.com/chosenfool/status/1069380992866164736

Excellent use of the most 2017 of all GIFs right there.

That GIF was a reaction to Oingo Boingo’s “Little Girls.”

https://twitter.com/chosenfool/status/1069611289956294661

No arguments here.

I’m a sucker for old show flyers, and Twitter user @rudiedudie has uncovered a ton of them that have been showing up in the #XPNAToZ conversation all day.

This one was in response to a spin of “Paid In Full.” Any excuse to get hip-hop on the XPN airwaves is fine with me.

That sounds scary, but I think it’s a compliment? So we’ll take it. Tune in to the 80s #XPNAToZ 24/7 for the next several days until the alphabet is exhausted at 88.5 FM in Philly, or XPN.org anywhere else in the world.