Special Edition: Music Tuesday - the music of John Hughes

I am a little tardy with this I know. Life gets in the way sometimes. But here you go. This is not a typical music post - no new tunes for you to discover and fall a little bit in love with. Instead, as a tribute to the late great John Hughes, I am digging back through the vaults of my musical preferences to the music that made his films amazing.

In the 80's and even the 90's music was so integral to a film that you just had to hear a song and you would think of the movie above all else. Now that is a rare thing. the last one I can think of is "another crappy love song" by Aerosmith for "another crappy space movie" - Armageddon.

Here we go......


This probably the most iconic song from my personal favourite movie of John Hughes - The Breakfast Club. Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me. I actually went out and bought the CD - Glittering Prize. And then my brother tried to tell me it was his. And then there was fighting. Bastard. but I got it back. Ha! Don't mess with me and my music!

John Cryer will be forever remembered for this impression of Otis Redding, Try a Little Tenderness. And even after this, Ducky doesn't get the girl in the end. Great hair always wins I guess (Andrew McCarthy had amazing hair in this movie- not in the final scene as that was a crappy cheap ass wig ). I just recalled that in the original cut of this flick, Ducky sorta-kinda ends up with the girl. But test audiences did not want this. So they caved and refilmed the final scene with Andy and Blane ending up together forever.

This is the original version of Pretty in Pink from the Psychedelic Furs. John Hughes asked them to rerecord it to be the title track of the movie of the same name. This one is a little darker, a little more snarly.....I think I like this one better?

Thompson Twins - If You Were Here. That scene in 16 Candles....... tear.

This was a hard clip to track down. OMD - If You Leave. From Pretty in Pink. Love love love. Love even more that OMD are still around!

Oh Oingo Boingo - where are you now? Weird Science. One of the best themes of all time right?

Miss Amanda Jones by March Violets from Some Kind of Wonderful. No actual clip appears on the interweb...... well none that I could find.

So this is just a teeny tiny snippet of only a few of the amazing songs from John Hughes movies. There are many more...... But I only have so much time :)

XO