My younger sister remakes 1987
Our bond is strengthened to the soundtrack of her dream Jane Fonda workout
Until I talked with my sister, Lisa Devine, I had nothing on 1987. It was the year after the Mets won the World Series and the year before my wife and I moved from the Bay Area to Austin. When I think about it now, I must have been listening to KFOG in SF, but in my musical memory, that year sounded like dead air.
Not anymore. Thanks to Lisa, I have a bunch of 1987 songs in my heart. It’s like a heart transplant because these are all her songs, the dearer to me for coming from her experiences that year of being a college senior at the University of Maryland.
Now, when I think of 1987, I have the vicarious musical thrill of hanging at the sorority, cranking a Walkman en route to fashion merchandising class, and nursing a part muscle car, part jalopy back and forth on the Turnpike to the shore and home in New Jersey.
Listen to our conversation here.
Episode One: The Year 2000 with Ben Schumer
Intro: I don’t want my musical memories to become a mausoleum