Man In Motion- The Playlist

[methodwriter85]

I'm steeped in mid-1980's nostalgia right now because I got to watch the Pretty In Pink revival on the big screen (can you believe that movie came out THIRTY years ago? God, I'm old), so I thought it'd be fun to review my Man in Motion music choices. I had a blast working with that era, and got to use a lot of really fun music. I also understand that a lot of you have started re-reading old stories in the absence of new chapters, so this felt apropos.

 

Man In Motion Playlist

 

1.) "Man In Motion" by John Parr

 

The opening title

 

2.) "Material Girl" by Madonna

 

Brad, deep in thought, on a plane ride back to California. Chapter 1.

 

3.) "Souvenir" by OMD

 

Brad drives back to the East Coast, after hugging Robbie just a touch too long. Chapter 1.

 

4.) "Let the Music Play" by Shannon

 

At the Valentine's Party, where Brad meets Max. Chapter 2.

 

5.) "The Ghost in You" by The Psychedelic Furs

 

When Brad and Robbie make love, and Robbie admits that he's run up huge debt to impress Neil. Chapter 2.

 

6.) "Wouldn't It Be Good?" by Nik Kershaw

 

When Tonto visits Brad, and is accompanied by Robbie. Chapter 3.

 

7.) "In-Between Days" by The Cure

 

When Brad and Robbie are on the beach, and Brad reads Robbie his break-up letter that he carries around with him. They then have angry sex. Chapter 4.

 

8.) "Self-Control" by Laura Branigan

 

When Neil tries to seduce Brad, gets turned down, and then Brad has sex with Robbie. Chapter 5.

 

9.) "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves

 

When Brad and Robbie meet in New York City. Chapter 6.

 

10.) "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister

 

When Brad and Robbie talk about what just happened with Neil, and Brad gets Robbie ready for his graduation ceremony. Chapter 7.

 

*By the way, this is the official answer to "What was number 1 on the day you were born?" question for me. I have to admit I have to like it because of that.

 

11.) "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran

 

When Brad and Robbie have their good-bye sex, and Brad walks in on Ace and Bianca yet again. Chapter 8.

 

12.) "Lover Girl" by Tina Marie

 

When Brad visits his ex-stepfather in St. Louis and finds him railing Jake the Boy Toy in the garage while his oblivious wife is in the house. Chapter 9.

 

13.) "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush

 

When Roger is buried, dead from AIDS, and the family celebrates his life. Chapter 10.

 

14.) "Alive and Kicking" by The Simple Minds

 

When JP announces at the family dinner that he's HIV-positive, Mouse announces he's positive as well, and Claire announces her engagement to Jack Hobart. Chapter 11.

 

15.) "Pretty in Pink" by The Psychedelic Furs (1981 Version)

 

When Brad and Bitty talk about her baby, to be born in February 1986, and she refuses to name the father. Chapter 12.

 

16.) "Crazy for You" by Madonna

 

Claire and Jack's wedding. Chapter 13.

 

17.) "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John

 

When J.P. announces that it was a false positive, and nevertheless assures Mouse that they'll stay together. Chapter 15.

 

18.) "Our House" by Madness

 

When JP announces at the Escorial family dinner that he's HIV-negative, and Claire announces that she's having JP's first grandchild. Chapter 16.

 

19.) "Eyes Without A Face" by Billy Idol

 

When Brad gets really drunk, has sex with Robbie...only to be confused when Robbie comes in and seems really pissed off. Chapter 16.

 

20.) "Time" by The Culture Club

 

When Brad confronts Robbie on his bitchy behavior, and learns about how Bitty gave birth to her son prematurely. Chapter 19.

 

21.) "Don't Come Around" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

 

When Brad beats up Neil, who has secretly been in Paris. (I think? It's been a long time.) Chapter 19.

 

22.) "All Through the Night" by Cyndi Lauper

 

When Brad and Robbie have sex, while Robbie's out on bail after being arrested for Neil's murder. Mouse gets to watch. Chapter 21.

 

23.) "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash

 

When Brad finds Bitty in a crack house, shortly after she gives birth to her premature son. Chapter 22.

 

24.) "I Want To Know What Love Is" by Foreigner

 

When Robbie admits to Brad and his own psychiatrist, now that he's freed, that he really did kill Neil. Chapter 24.

 

I still remember Mark saying something about how played out this whole song is, to the point that it makes him still kind of cringe. LOL. Me? I remember it from the episode of Quantum Leap, where Sam leaps into a reporter in San Francisco in 1985, and he falls in love with an Asian woman psychic. This was their love song montage.

 

25.) "Leather and Lace" by Stevie Knicks and Don Henley

 

When Brad proposes to Robbie. Chapter 24.

 

26.) "Once in A Lifetime" by Talking Heads

 

When the happy couple discover that Stefan and Greg bought them a house in Malibu, right next to theirs. Chapter 24.

 

27.) "Left of Center" by Suzanne Vega

 

When Brad and Robbie discuss Jeanine's pregnancy, and Robbie decides that he can be okay with having Jeanine in their lives as Brad's baby mama. Chapter 26.

 

28.) "If You Leave" by OMD

 

When the gang leaves Claremont, this time for good. Chapter 27.

 

29.) "Modern Love" by David Bowie

 

When Brad, Robbie, and Jeanine show up with Darius and JJ at their new house, a family now. Chapter 27.

 

Aside: It's kind of sad to think that the whole family dynamic they tried to set up back in 1986 basically blew up in their faces in 1999-2000, and then permanently ended by 2001.;

 

Also, R.I.P. David Bowie. Anyone else remember this tune? It was used rather brilliantly in the 2013 indie film Frances Ha.

 

30.) "But Not Tonight" by Depeche Mode

 

When Brad and Robbie celebrate Robbie's official HIV-negative status, and make love.

 

31.) "The Neverending Story" by Limahl

 

When William John Steven Schluter is born on September 14, 1986.

 

***

 

I had no clue, back in 2009, how fucking right that choice was going to be. I honestly thought that by now, CAP would be finished out because we were going to hit present time by like 2011 or something, and we'd be on to something different.

 

It's still kind of weird for me that I'm 30 and JJ is still 17 even though we share the same birthdate. Man, I'm like his portrait in the attic or something. LOL.

 

I did have to laugh at this comment that I wrote all the way back in 2009:

 

 

It's been a pleasure playing DJ for you guys throughout the story of Brad's coming of age in the 80's. Hopefully, someday I'll be playing DJ again to showcase Darius, JJ, Marie, and Will as they navigate adolescence in the 90's through the 2000's. But until then....*takes a final bow*

 

Yeah, that was before I had any clue that Matthew Carrswold was going to exist. LOL. He and Wade really did kind of serve as "the bridge" to Will's cohort.

 

It also saddens me that Jeanine, who seemed so damn cool when we first met her, turned into a crazy stage mother before dying before the age of 40. There should be a PSA about not being the baby mother to a Schluter man. LOL.

Edited February 20, 2016 by methodwriter85

[impunity]

Ah, the soundtrack of my teen years.

 

I don't have the time to quote it elegantly and delete all the surrounding text with only a mobile device on an international data plan and about to lose hotel wifi on which to do it, but I loved your line about being JJ's portrait in the attic!

Edited February 20, 2016 by impunity

[methodwriter85]

Ah, the soundtrack of my teen years.

 

I don't have the time to quote it elegantly and delete all the surrounding text with only a mobile device on an international data plan and about to lose hotel wifi on which to do it, but I loved your line about being JJ's portrait in the attic!

 

I was HEAVILY into 1980's nostalgia when I was a teenager before anyone else was really doing it, so I pretty grabbed every 80's soundtrack or compilation I could get my hands on and downloaded it to my computer. I think I dressed up as someone from the 80's for Halloween at least four separate times during my teens and twenties. I even have a vintage blue Members Only Jacket from the 80's.

 

I had a coach that got annoyed at me for this and said something to the effect of, "Jeremy, you were born in 1985, practically in 1986 Why are you talking like you're an 80's kid like me?" (He was born in 1978.) I now understand his annoyance when someone born in the mid/late 1990's talks about being a kid of the 90's. No, you're not. LOL.

 

But eh, I'll admit I have a couple of 1980's time travel fantasies. I want to visit circa 1984 New York City and also 1986 Los Angeles Sunset Strip. It'd also be cool to shop at the Sherman Oaks Galleria as it looked like when it was the backdrop for Fast Times At Ridgemont High. The 80's just looked and seemed like such a fun time!

[impunity]

I was HEAVILY into 1980's nostalgia when I was a teenager before anyone else was really doing it...

Ok, I felt old before but this was just uncalled for.

 

I have to admit that I spent most of the 1980s on an entirely different continent so most of your references don't mean much to me. However, I completely agree that was a very fun decade.

Edited February 23, 2016 by impunity

[methodwriter85]

Ok, I felt old before but this was just uncalled for.

 

I have to admit that I spent most of the 1980s on an entirely different continent so most of your references don't mean much to me. However, I completely agree that was a very fun decade. :yes:I

 

I always thought that Man In Motion was in some ways Mark's little love letter to the mid-1980's. They were his college years of course. I always pictured that Mark then went off to live some version of the movie Wall Street after being a preppy 80's college kid before quitting the corporate world to live the life of a professor.

 

It'd be funny to pictures those preppies from Pretty in Pink becoming yuppies, then growing up to have kids who become hipsters.

Edited February 24, 2016 by methodwriter85