Get ready for some feelings: this story is about as nostalgia-inducing as they come. It starts with a band you might remember called Bowling for Soup. They’re a sort of pop-punk outfit who reached their popularity peak in the early 2000’s, though they’re still going strong today with new music and tour dates if you wanna check ’em out.
In 2004, Bowling for Soup released a song called 1985. It’s an upbeat but bittersweet tune about a woman who’s pining for the glory days of her youth and the pop culture that surrounded it.
The song was a pretty big hit, peaking at #10 on the Top 40 charts.
Since Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on M-T-V
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she’s uncool
‘Cause she’s still preoccupied
With 19, 19, 1985
The Cover
Inspired by the song, TikTok user @fntmsage decided to make us all feel old by rewriting the lyrics to pine for the era in which the original song was actually written, which, wake up call, was well over a decade ago.
This gives older Millennials like me very mixed feelings, especially considering this kid looks like he was probably about 4 years old when the song came out.
@bloomersound Rewrote Bowling For Soup – 1985 to modern times! #fntm #singing #bowlingforsoup #1985 #poppunk
The Movies
The checklist nature of the lyrics gives @fntmsage an opportunity to absolutely bombard us with memories of yesterday from every category, including flicks like Meangirls, Superbad, and Juno (man, Michael Cera was really having his heyday then, wasn’t he?)
Source: Fox Searchlight
The Technology
We’re even brought back to a time before smart phones, when a quality .mp3 player was a luxury item and the best best possible way to rock out on the go. It would be populated with songs that were either pirated or ripped from actual CD’s we’d go to an actual store to actually buy.
I used to have one of these; I wonder where it went?
Source: Stahlkocher / Wikimedia Commons
The Internet
Before Facebook took over as the most ubiquitous force in social media, MySpace was the place to be.
Making angsty posts, sharing music, and causing drama by constantly updating your top 8 friends.
Source: Myspace.com
The Bands
And of course, he walks us down memory lane with the biggest bands of the era, like Panic! At the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance (who, at the time of writing, are currently prepping for their reunion tour!)
Source: Michael_Spencer on flickr
And with that, we’ve all become the woman in the original song. Thanks, TikTok. You’ve aged us. You’ve transformed us. You’ve given us a mirror with which to examine ourselves. And it is a BOP.
What else could have gone in this song?
Remind us in the comments.