1985 (song) - References To The Culture of The 1980s

References To The Culture of The 1980s

Because the Bowling for Soup version of the song differs in lyrics from the SR-71 original, the two versions also differ with respect to some of their references to the 1980s. Certain references were removed from the original and replaced with new ones, while some were added in places where the original song repeated lines.

Detailed references:

• Whitesnake and the music video for the 1987 version of "Here I Go Again" that featured Tawny Kitaen dancing on cars
• The line "Never knew George was gay, hoped they'd hook up one day" (SR-71 version only) is a reference to former Wham! member George Michael who revealed many years later that he is homosexual.
• Asking why Sammy Hagar is singing in Van Halen (Bowling for Soup version only)
• Questioning when Mötley Crüe has become classic rock, referencing the recent addition of classic metal bands to classic rock stations to be played alongside staples like the Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
• A time when sitcoms and game shows were popular and reality shows were nonexistent (Bowling for Soup version only).
• A reference to "...on the radio," which resembles the timbre of the voice singing the verses in The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star," the first video ever played on MTV when it debuted in 1981 (Bowling for Soup version only).
• A time when music videos were still shown on MTV (MTV has been criticized for a lack of music videos since the sudden popularity of their reality show The Real World in 1992).
• Ozzy Osbourne, before he was an actor (Bowling for Soup version only)
• When Madonna and Bruce Springsteen were popular, long before Nirvana popularized grunge in the early 1990s.
• They mentioned Duran Duran (Bowling for Soup version only), U2, and Blondie.
• References made to The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire (Bowling for Soup version only) and Fast Times At Ridgemont High (SR-71 version only). However, Pretty in Pink is an anachronism, as it was not released until 1986. With the exception of Fast Times At Ridgemont High, all the movies were part of the "Brat Pack."
• The line "She rocked out to Wham!, not a big Limp Bizkit fan" is a reference to Wham! being popular long before Limp Bizkit started playing Nu Metal in 1995. (Limp Bizkit remade Wham! singer George Michael's "Faith")
• The mention of a miniskirt made out of snakeskin (Bowling for Soup version only)