My wife and I sometimes declare that it’s a 1980s film festival night, and revisit a classic from that decade.
It’s really fun. Some flicks, like Real Genius, hold up better than others (Weird Science is much better at twelve than… other ages), but they all broadcast deep nostalgia for us and invite banter and intriguing conversations.
We’re both massive Better Off Dead fans, as evidenced by the fact that catchphrases like “I want my two dollars!” live on in our Gen X household. Thankfully, it holds up magnificently in its quintessential 1980s-ness.
During our recent re-watch, I also realized how incredible the music used in the movie is. Interestingly, not all of it is ‘80s-centric, such as Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” (expertly leveraged later of course in Wayne’s World) and Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy” (scooping Scorsese’s use of it in Goodfellas by a number of years).
Howard Jones is one of those ‘80s artists where I know his hits quite well but the artist’s name tends to slip off my radar. Maybe because it’s just not “very ‘80s”-sounding, like Culture Club or Bananarama or something? Or that Howard Johnson’s blocks it out in my brain?
Anyway, during our ‘80s film festival airing of Better Off Dead, a few things struck me.
First of all, “Like to Get to Know You Well,” off of the Dream Into Action LP from ’85, is not just good: it’s fantastic.
Then it hit me: it might just be the most 1980s song of them all.
Let’s make a defensible argument, if it pleases the court.
It’s all about the synth, of course. But the synth palette right here isn’t just ‘80s, it’s mid-‘80s specific, which we all know is when the ‘80s became THE ‘80s.
On a somewhat serious note, the synth here hits the synth sweet spot: it isn’t too artificial or too chilly in nature – it’s warm and groovy and in that pocket that makes you want to listen to it endlessly. Oingo Boingo also excels in this space. An example is the gloriously moody yet rousing “Just Another Day.”
I mean, there’s even a synth-y approximation of Caribbean-ish steel drums going in with “Let to Get to Know You Well.” That’s ‘80s on vacation, people.
And it’s also Peak Synth Pop.
Lyrically, I’m gonna be honest here: most of the song is literally like to get to know you well. However, there is also this one verse that’s revealing:
People wanna talk about the future
Don’t wanna linger on the past
Just wanna reach the real you inside
Forget all mistakes and rejection
Leave the things that separate
Build on the truths that we must stand on
This also reads as Very ‘80s from the standpoint of not being terribly introspective: forget the future, forget the past, live in the now. Wall Street’s “greed is good” mantra the Reaganesque go go capitalism of the era sort of corroborate this notion.
Finally, I’ll circle back to the fact that this song is featured in Better Off Dead, an ‘80s comedy classic featuring John Cusack in youthful top form. I’ll call that my closer, leaving the courtroom in awe of my erudite wizardry.
Now if you’d like to counterargue that “The Reflex” by Duran Duran or “The Final Countdown” by Europe or “Things Can Only Get Better” by 1980s pop artist Howard Jones, I’m not going to stop you. Legally stop you, at any rate.
But I think we all now know in our heart of beating hearts that “Like to Get to Know You Well” is The One.