Time Hop: It was 20 years ago when Bowling for Soup sang “1985” … which was about 20 years ago

The song “1985” was actually written by the band SR-71 and released in May, 2004. Then BFS did the cover later, and changed some of the lyrics (for the better). The lyrics and the visuals in the music video include countless parodies of 80s so-called popular culture, some of which go unnamed. For instance, the first scene of the band playing in the garage has them dressed up like the girls in the Robert Palmer “Addicted to Love” video. Anyway, it’s just a funny video and you know I love the time hop thing. I guess you had to live through 1985 or most of it won’t make sense. I dunno. But here is the exit question: If you were to sit down today with the intention of writing a parody about 2005, what would you write about? What was “pop culture” that year? If it helps your frame of reference, this was the year Pope John Paul II died. Other than that, I got nothin.

13 thoughts on “Time Hop: It was 20 years ago when Bowling for Soup sang “1985” … which was about 20 years ago”

  1. I don’t have anything memorable either. I was a teen in 2005 planning for college. I always liked this song. Though I will say the 80s/90s overall had better music. Today’s music is quite lacking.

    I don’t understand the anti-rock music mindset in the Trad world though. Sometimes you need a good workout/house cleaning playlist. I get that music in heaven will more likely sound like Gregorian Chant like it does in mass. I figure rock is okay if you don’t “obsess” over it. Like anything else entertaining… don’t take it seriously.

    1. 2005 was two years before Summorum Pontificum. Things were already heating up. Gregorian chant was spreading throughout younger Catholics. Hope was sprouting for positive liturgical change.

      2005 was 4 years after 9/11. 2 years after invading Iraq because Netanyahu guaranteed that there were WMDs (sound familiar?). The US was full patriotism mode and we believed we were morally justified in Afghanistan and Iraq. Turns out we were the baddies sold a bill of goods by Mossad.

      I don’t remember the music being any good then. Grunge/alternative had died down, but radio stations were still pretty independent, and we had actual DJs who still picked the music. Today we have algorithmically-chosen music with pre-recorded entertainers interjecting clever yips and trivia bits between songs. Thank the 2006 US Congress GOP for removing restrictions on the number of stations one can own in a particular market. Radio died the next year.

      Few people were on Facebook in 2005, so most ppl still lived in the real world.

      2005 seems unremarkable in my mind except that it was a period in between two other more remarkable periods.

  2. Indigenous Peruvian music is best for house cleaning. At least it was in the late 80’s and 90’s. Far Out, dude!

  3. Anybody else feels a weird sadness that Ozzy died? I mean I didn’t like his music or occult themed ways, but his passing struck a chord with me.

    1. Seeing a lot of reports, he was Christian. No idea if that means he was Catholic. But he wouldn’t be the first.

      There’s a saying. Heavy metal are a bunch of nice people who cosplay as bad people, whereas Hippies are a bunch of bad people who cosplay as nice people.

  4. I used to work in the Dallas Music scene back in the late 90s early 00s. BFS always put on a great show, were decent guys to work with.

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