My family stumbled upon an infomercial for Time/Life’s ‘Easy 80s’ CD collection recently and it quickly devoured nearly a half hour of our lives. Our daughters alternated between rolling their eyes and asking “Who sings this one?” as we belted out one cheesy 80s ballad after another.
Time/Life has a million of these things — ‘Romancing the 70s,’ ‘Pure Rhythm & Blues,’ ‘Golden Age of Country,’ ‘Pop Memories of the 60s.’ They’re worth their weight in gold, though not worth the $130 (plus shipping) they cost. Doesn’t Time/Life know that you can buy the 80 songs you really love (out of the 150 they’re offering) on iTunes for less than a hundred bucks?
So these box sets don’t make much sense as additions to your music library, but they make wonderful TV. They wash over you like a warm bath of nostalgia and good feelings, allowing you to relive the songs of your youth from the comfort of your middle class couch and DirecTV box.
One of the songs that jumped out at me during the ‘Easy 80s’ show was The Bangles’ ‘Eternal Flame.’ I rarely hear this song but every time I do I’m reminded what a gem it is. This is a melody Paul McCartney would kill to have written. It’s that damn good.
I’d love to see the cast of Glee tackle this song and bring it to a whole new audience. Tell me Lea Michele wouldn’t knock this one out of the park.
Do you feel my heart beating
Do you understand
Do you feel the same
Am I only dreaming
Is this burning an eternal flame
I believe it’s meant to be, darling
I watch you when you are sleeping
You belong with me
Do you feel the same
Am I only dreaming
Or is this burning an eternal flame
Say my name, sun shines through the rain
A whole life so lonely
And then you come and ease the pain
I don’t want to lose this feeling
Close your eyes, give me your hand
Do you feel my heart beating
Do you understand
Do you feel the same
Am I only dreaming
Is this burning an eternal flame
Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling
Do you feel my heart beating
Do you understand
Do you feel the same
Am I only dreaming
Is this burning an eternal flame
Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling
Do you feel my heart beating
Do you understand
Do you feel the same
Am I only dreaming
An eternal flame
Meet Me In Montauk 
It’s funny that you mention McCartney as I remember that, in the height of the Bangles fame, they were often referred to as the female Beatles. I always thought that was a big stretch, but, while they lasted, they certainly pumped out some great tunes. One wonders if, had they stayed together, they would have continued to generate that type of lofty comparison. I suspect not as there is really only one Beatles–male or female.
I owned at least one Bangles album back in the day–the one with “Walk Like an Egyptian,” but, like my Cars collection, it didn’t transition from cassette to CD and, at this point, I suspect it never will.
This is a great song, that, I agree, would kill on Glee. I’m not sure if I’d rather see Lea Michele or Chris Colfer tackle it, however. I’m seeing a little Kurt pining over Blaine action – maybe cross cut with Rachel swooning over Finn. Yup – definite potential there 🙂