I Don't Like (Playing New Wave on) Mondays

Ever wonder why radio stations usually play old songs only on Fridays?

I've heard of taking a trip down memory lane, but this is ridiculous!

A couple of weeks ago I stayed up late preparing an advertising strategy for a client whose market consisted of late-teeners and early-twenty-somethings. To "get into character", so to speak, I slapped on my headphones and played my 80s-90s playlist, hoping to remember how it felt when I was my market's age. At about 3 a.m. I called it a day and hit the sack, falling fast asleep with the music of The Cure, Depeche Mode and Flesh for Lulu playing in my head.

The following morning I woke up feeling depressed. I should have woken up happy--my one-year-old son had his face buried in my armpit, and my angel of a wife was sleeping like a baby with her head resting on my outstretched arm. But no. I felt sad because I realized I will never be in high school again. That's not to say that I haven't been reminiscing before. Heck! I've hardly missed a class reunion in years. But on that weird morning, for the first time, my insides seriously yearned to spend even just one day back in 1985. Sadly, 24 years later Steven Spielberg's concept DeLorean has yet to hit the streets. So the only option for me was to lumber out of bed, whispering to myself, "We've had some really great times, haven't we?"

Over breakfast, as I fought desperately to psyche myself for work, it dawned on me: retro hits really should be played only on weekends (and maybe non-working holidays).