Heat of the Moment

This is definitely one of my favorite songs from the 80s.  For the longest time, I only paid attention to the chorus and assumed it was about a guy cheating on his girlfriend -- and perhaps asking for forgiveness.  I admit that I didn't really listen to the rest of the lyrics or even hear them (other than the line "and now you find yourself in '82").  I thought that line about "'82" was pretty cool since the song was released then, and it sounded so "futuristic."  Now it seems like ancient history...  Nevertheless, I read the lyrics to the song and some commentary, and now I realize that it is about a teenaged couple.  They must have had a very intense relationship, or at least as intense as teenaged relationship can be.  Anyway, the lead singer is sort of reminiscing about their younger days, and now they find themselves in '82 as adults.  He mentions some of her hopes and dreams from the past - "What were the things you wanted for yourself?  Teenage ambition you remember well..."  So, I think it conveys a message of encouragement for the woman to not grow old and loose sight of what was important to her.

As for the instrumentals in the song, I absolutely love the drums at the end of each line, and the guitar solo at the end of the song is pretty amazing as well.  The guitar in the very opening certainly grabs your attention and is quite powerful.  Power chords - oh yeah.  Good stuff.  Keyboards add a different flavor toward the middle of the song -- kind of a token of music from the early 80s.  Synthesizers were really big, especially in videos, and this video is very classic.  I like the use of multiple tv screens.  Very simple but very characteristic.  The clocks throughout the video are pretty fun.  I like the Mickey Mouse watch.  Those were popular, but I think they were eclipsed Swatch watches.  Had to have those and many of them on your arm at the same time.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy this tune.  I've also included an acoustic version of this song that I never knew about until just a few moments ago.  It is quite different yet certainly a good one!  Lots of beautiful vocals and acoustic guitar.