Throwback Thursday returns to 1986, so break out the spandex and hair spray
Every Thursday through the summer, we’re blasting a mix of classics and deep cuts from different eras, themes, and scenes, including The British Invasion, Freedom, XPN Unplugged, The Long and Short of It, and Songs from Soundtracks.
Throwback Thursday has returned to WXPN for the summer, and we’ve got a slate of themed music on tap for the next 14 Thursdays, spinning tunes centered around a new theme each week.
First up is the music of 1986. Can you believe that was 40 years ago already?
That year Tom Cruise’s Top Gun, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Crocodile Dundee packed movie theaters across the country. The “Super Bowl Shuffle” Chicago Bears won a Super Bowl, and Mets fans rejoiced when a ball rolled under Bill Buckner’s mitt (we won’t talk about Phillies’ record that season). ’86 was also marked by the Space Shuttle Challenger and Chernobyl disasters, as well as the Iran-Contra scandal.
Spandex and big hair ruled, and a ton of great music came out, too. The year saw big releases from Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon, R.E.M., Janet Jackson, Madonna, and Metallica. Hip-Hop also moved into the mainstream a bit more when Run-DMC taught us to “Walk this Way,” and the Beastie Boys invited us to fight for the right to party.
Tune in to 88.5 or stream the broadcast right here on the WXPN website starting at 6 a.m. every Thursday to fill your ears with songs from back in the day.