Is Eighties-est a word? Because today's selection may be the Eighties-est ever!
Valley Girl is, like, just celebrated its 40th anniversary.
The movie was inspired by the parody song of the same name by Frank and daughter Moon Zappa, which skewered the "Val-speak" of the girls in the San Fernando Valley who liked to drop gems like "grody" and "gag me with a spoon" into conversation.
This was Nicolas Cage's first starring role— although somehow I doubt it's still on his resume. It's a very loose take on Romeo and Juliet, with Cage and his intended coming from two very backgrounds.
Love it or hate it, what matters to me is the music. And there's plenty here to enjoy. It just took a while to get here.
Because the film was a low budget affair only a six-song mini LP was manufactured but never actually released. But it was leaked, making it quite the collector's item if you can find it!
Luckily Rhino Records released not only a full compilation in 1994, they also shared a second one with more favorites the following year.
Sparks, Modern English, Psychedelic Furs, Payola$, The Jam, The Flirts, and Men at Work are just a few of my favorites.
But I want to highlight the band that not only contributes three songs to the film, they actually play themselves in it.
Some useless but fun facts: The band playing in the club scene was originally supposed to be X, but they bailed. And Club Central was previously the iconic Filthy McNasty's, which eventually became the notorious Viper Room.
But I digress.
In honor of Valley Girl's 40th anniversary, today's SoundTRAX selection is by the guys who were performing at the club in the movie, The Plimsouls, with "A Million Miles Away."
And you can also enjoy this scene from Valley Girl which features The Plimsouls performing.
