I think Molly Ringwald is stalking me.
Sure, go ahead, laugh if you must. But I have proof of her vendetta against me: I have never seen the end of “Pretty in Pink”. Every single time channel 11 shows that movie, I get interrupted right before the end at the exact same scene.
Kate, the doorbell’s ringing. Kate, the dog got loose. Kate, your brother cut off his finger mowing the lawn, take him to the hospital. Sure he did, Mom. It’s all too convenient if you ask me.
She’s out there, doubled over in laughter, knowing her schemes are driving me slowly to the edge. Only one thing keeps me sane in regard to “Pretty in Pink”: the movie’s soundtrack, especially the standout song “If You Leave” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.
OMD, those wacky Liverpuddlians who just love smushing all the vowels in their name together, produced this fabulous song for the film’s soundtrack in 1986. This synth band had already established itself nearly a decade before in the UK with moderate hits like “Electricity” and “Enola Gay”, and was one of the first 80s British bands to embrace electronic music.
“If You Leave” was their first major success on the US charts, reaching number 5 on the American Top 40. Sure, the song used just about every other number on the chart after that to climb back down to the bottom again, but that’s beside the point.
What is the point is that I jumped up and down on my bed dancing with a pillow while listening to this song when I was six, and I jump up and down on my bed dancing with a pillow while listening to this song today. The thumping synth bass and pristine electronic violin combine with lead singer Andy McClusky’s passionate lyrics to make one listenable pop song. It’s just some hardcore gosh-darn-good 80s music. And apparently, I am not the only one who thinks so.
The song still gets airtime on popular stations like WPLJ. And current punk-gods-rising Good Charlotte (of TRL’s recently retired “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” fame) cut a cover of “If You Leave” that proves a good song only ages like fine wine. OMD’s words and melodies are just as catchy today as ever. Every second, every moment, we’ve gotta make it last, OMD asks. And sixteen years later, I’m still happy to indulge the request.
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