Here’s what you’re saying about the 80s #XPNAtoZ
The 80s edition of the #XPNAToZ special has been in full 24/7 swing for the past week, and the conversation on social media and in the real world is booming. People love it, people can’t stand it, people are generally into it but didn’t like that we played that one song, people don’t understand the Springsteenian excess. Here’s a roundup of some of The Key’s favorite Tweets from the #XPNAToZ hashtag. Join the conversation over that-a-ways, and keep listening; we’ve still got a lot of 80s A to Z to go!
What has my #GenX friends blowing up my social media channels all day? A radio show. A RADIO SHOW. #xpnatoz@wxpnfm Heard Away by The Feelies. Cool. Just started the letter B.
— Swithin Chandler IV (@SwithinIV) November 29, 2018
oh man! @JoelGHodgson listens to @wxpnfm too?! #MST3K#awesomeonawesomeonawesone#80s#XPNAtoZpic.twitter.com/NPQXain2Zz
— marcus (@chosenfool) November 28, 2018
Possibly the biggest surprise of the first hours of #XPNAToZ: Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson was tuning in, and stoked to hear “A New England” by Billy Bragg.
I didn't think @wxpnfm was gonna do Motorhead and Iron Maiden back to back… but sure enough… Guys, this is awesome! #XPNAtoZpic.twitter.com/L7Iu6Vn8b8
— Daniel (@danielthauber) November 28, 2018
The wild, unexpected transitions (or, per DJ Robert Drake, train wrecks) are a big part of what made this countdown. Sometimes they’re unexpected because of two typically-clashing styles, and sometimes they’re unexpected because the styles clash with what you hear on XPN on 90% of the year. Helen Leicht’s move from Motorhead’s “Ace Of Spades” into Iron Maiden’s “Aces High” had our twitter fans banging their heads.
…and @LeichtLunch is a closet metalhead.#80s#XPNAtoZhttps://t.co/EbYmW8GKhX
— marcus (@chosenfool) November 28, 2018
All I Want is You on every crush mixtape in the 80’s #XPNAtoZ
— sean tighe (@seanptighe) November 28, 2018
The #XPNAToZ is totally bringing back a lot of nostalgia feels. Or just hysterical feels.
https://twitter.com/DavidBe06868695/status/1067962446441259009
So many 80s ballads make you cringe, then listening to Careless Whisper & you remember how amazing George Michael was #XPNAtoZ#wham#george#ThursdayMotivation@LeichtLunch#lyrics
— Cin Rich (@cldrich) November 29, 2018
It’s like a mixtape on my Walkman that I don’t have to flip over every 30 minutes #XPNAtoZ 80’s pic.twitter.com/k2Ogoq1QEG
— Joe Belt (@joeybelt) November 29, 2018
D is for DAYUMM!!! check out what it started with 👇 #XPNAtoZpic.twitter.com/FYCsLxOqYN
— marcus (@chosenfool) November 30, 2018
Again with the transitions. This was a particularly dance-y one in the middle of the night. Yes, we’ve had #XPNAToZ fans chiming in during the overnight hours!
I'm totally into this 80s marathon. ♡ @xpnmorningshow@littlepalooza#XPNAtoZpic.twitter.com/lfZ5DjeNTv
— Jennifer Hill (@sublimejah) November 30, 2018
Refreshing to see a radio station play EVERYONE’S 80s, not just the top 100. I heard Digital Underground, Frankie Smith, NIN, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Tom Waits, The Damned, Suicide, and The Plasmatics over lunch today. #XPNAtoZ
— Seth (@inkablot) November 30, 2018
https://twitter.com/DavidBe06868695/status/1068705632210046976
Another thing we’ve heard a lot is how the countdown is getting listeners to discover unheard older classics, like this one by synthpoppy Brits Visage.
Hey kids jealous of those of us who grew up in the 80s: Never forget that we had Cindy Lauper and Devo and Pixies and U2 and Duran and The Smiths and Bowie, but we also had Motley Crue. #XPNAtoZ
— Hillary Glatt Kwiatek 🏳️⚧️ (@hillarykwiatek) December 1, 2018
Killin it on the air xylophone. Thanks @wxpnfm for Gone Daddy Gone by the Violent Femmes. #XPNAtoZ
— Jennifer (@nonnyballoon) December 1, 2018
Air xylo? That’s something I need to see.
Hey @wxpnfm If you really want to be authentic in your #xpnatoz 80's flashback, you better be playing the records in a smoke filled studio with equipment like this!
😉 pic.twitter.com/o1Kkwr1lfM— Joe Belt (@joeybelt) December 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/tinar411/status/1068942375236616193
The number of GIFs populating the #XPNAToZ hashtag is pretty staggering. A lot of them go back to Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club dancing to “We Are Not Alone” by Karla DeVito, and some are just videos of the artists … like the beautiful one of Sade you can see above.
Another amazing nostalgia moment from @wxpnfm#XPNAtoZ , only this time instead of being *in* the shower, I was *cleaning* the shower. Icehouse / Icehouse / Icehouse , as it used to come up on MTV (artist / song / album). ❤️😄❤️😄❤️
— 🌹Amy Guskin (@amyguskin) December 2, 2018
Listeners also chime in with whatever activities they’re doing while listening to the #XPNAToZ, which included being stuck in traffic, removing a radiator, and cleaning a shower.
My favorite Madge! #XPNATOZpic.twitter.com/eP5VciPAZV
— Susan Mlodzienski (@susanmlodziensk) December 2, 2018
#REM#ItsTheEndOfTheWorldAndIFeelFine#XPNAtoZpic.twitter.com/sGJwlh9jyc
— marcus (@chosenfool) December 3, 2018
Excellent use of the most 2017 of all GIFs right there.
Well, Oingo Boingo gets the award for creepiest song of the day. #XPNAtoZpic.twitter.com/xAPQn47mAn
— Bill Dewan (@StillDewan) December 3, 2018
That GIF was a reaction to Oingo Boingo’s “Little Girls.”
when i said the #80s will always have #Prince, i got it backwards.
Prince OWNS the 80s.#XPNAtoZhttps://t.co/rOkO4xK318
— marcus (@chosenfool) December 3, 2018
No arguments here.
Free Sonic Youth show! #XPNAtoZ@wxpnfmpic.twitter.com/vKP8kuMxxd
— That's the truth Ruth 👻🐶😬 (@rudiedudie) December 3, 2018
I’m a sucker for old show flyers, and Twitter user @rudiedudie has uncovered a ton of them that have been showing up in the #XPNAToZ conversation all day.
#XPNAtoZ is a class reunion in music form: 1) Old, dear friends, 2) People you'd lost touch with but are happy to see, 3) Classmates you didn't know well and you wish you had, 4) Former friends but now you have nothing in common, 5) People you couldn't stand then and still hate.
— Jennifer O. Bryant (@JenniferOBryant) December 4, 2018
I took a couple days off this month to prepare for Christmas, but now I’m thinking I’ll just watch all the 80s movies. #xpnatozpic.twitter.com/rjRTk0fMP9
— Jessica (@jesssica_who) December 4, 2018
Always room for Eric B and Rakim #XPNAtoZ
— John Howard-Fusco, writer of sorts (@EatingInSJersey) December 5, 2018
This one was in response to a spin of “Paid In Full.” Any excuse to get hip-hop on the XPN airwaves is fine with me.
Rarely do you hear Eddie Murphy's single "Party All the Time" on the radio. Especially in the same hour as you hear Guns N' Roses and The Smiths. But you can right now on @wxpnfm during the #XPNAtoZ.
— Jaclyn, not Jackie / When the Pawn forever stan (@miss_english) December 5, 2018
Rhymin’ and Stealin’ into Rhythm Nation is a hell of a way to start my morning commute, thanks #xpnAtoZ
— Son of Mecha Mummy (@thedesertpope) December 5, 2018
They say if people remembered every aspect of childbirth, no one would ever have another. The #XPNAtoZ event is like a chance to revisit your halcyon memories of the 1980s—while still including the video of the episiotomy. It’s viscerally compelling. #cantstoplistening
— Bryce Napier (@brainycreep) December 5, 2018
That sounds scary, but I think it’s a compliment? So we’ll take it. Tune in to the 80s #XPNAToZ 24/7 for the next several days until the alphabet is exhausted at 88.5 FM in Philly, or XPN.org anywhere else in the world.