From Pop Music To Politics, The 1980s Was An Easy Decade To Be Paranoid
By Keith Walsh
There’s never been a good time to be paranoid, but the 1980s was an easy time to become paranoid. From the rise of authoritarianism (Ronald Reagan in the U.S., Margaret Thatcher in the U.K.) to the growth of synth pop and its theatrics of despair, the 1980s gave us sensitives plenty of fodder for our neuroses. Not to mention, four years in and we’re facing a culture becoming increasingly similar to that depicted in George Orwell’s dystopic novel, ‘1984.’
First there was Hall And Oates single of 1981, “Private Eyes,” a number one hit from the album of the same name. Wrapped in a song about a watchful spurned lover, the tune is a blatant reminder of the growing influence of corporate surveillance of citizens of the world.
Private eyes
They’re watching you
They see your every move
Private eyes
They’re watching you
Private eyes
They’re watching you watching
You watching you watching you
Wrapped in sweet electronic blue eyed soul, the tune barely conceals a much darker meaning, not unlike the tune “I Can’t Go For That,” from the same Hall And Oates album and another number one single. Just so we know what’s at stake, the soul is the object in question.
Use the body
Now you want my soul
Ooh, forget about it
Now say no go
Pop music fans ate these tunes up, and they were on heavy rotation on radio and MTV, as was the number one tune “Every Breath You Take” by the Police from 1983. In my sensitive state, I took this song as a message from Big Brother, or God, or whoever might be in charge, to the rest of us. A friend of mine told me I was taking it all wrong — that it was just a message from a lover to his former flame. You decide.
Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I’ll be watching you
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I’ll be watching you
This song has been understood as a stalker’s anthem by some. To me, it’s another song about Big Brother wrapped in a story about a spurned lover. Then came Rockwell’s 1984 single “Somebody’s Watching Me,” which is pretty much forgettable except for the chorus, which is sung by Michael Jackson and sums up the paranoid (or is it real?) message of the song. Add to this tune dozens of others, including “Who Can It Be Now” by Men At Work, an ode to paranoia if there ever was one. Add to these the electronic soullessness of the decade’s music and the effect is emotionally chilling.
1984 was here, with a film of the same name, based on the 1948 novel by George Orwell and featuring a soundtrack by British duo the Eurythmics. By then, the truth was pretty clear. Orwell’s predictions were pretty much on the nose: power will rewrite history, define the truth, and keep an eye on all of us. In an analysis of his novel, Orwell said that to avoid becoming soulless automatons, we have to resist. I don’t remember his exact words, but his point was that we must be soulful. Heidegger would say that ‘care’ is the factor we need to bring to the equation.
By the end of the 1980s, the technology of surveillance had accelerated, just as inequality increased, due to the influences of deregulation and limited government. More than three and a half decades later, it’s become clear: if you think someone is watching your every move, you’re probably correct.
