As an eighties kid, synth pop has been pumping in my blood ever since that first day I turned on my MTV. There’s some debate as to who’s considered a synth pop band and who isn’t. For this September Music Twitter challenge – #SynthPopSeptember – I’m focusing more on what’s considered synth pop, not who. The songs I’m featuring on Mental Jukebox this month aren’t solely composed of synthesizers. There may be drums, bass, and dare I say, electric guitars. But each of these songs were picked because the synthesizer is core to its being.
A-ha enjoyed considerable success in Europe, but in the States they were considered a one-hit wonder. “Take On Me” became one of the most well-known synth pop songs of its generation, thanks to that iconic keyboard part and a music video that blended animated characters with real-life people. Thankfully, it was the exposure on MTV of “Take On Me” that led me to discover an A-ha single that I loved so much more: “The Sun Always Shines On T.V.”.
Purists will say this isn’t really a synth pop song because the guitar plays a prominent role. But I’d argue that this is a synth pop song to the core because the synthesizer is the heart and soul of this song. It’s responsible for nearly every major moment on the track. It creates the dreamy interlude in the beginning. It ushers the song into overdrive at the :50 mark. And it’s the star of the instrumental chorus portion toward the end, not the guitar.
“I Reached inside myself And found nothing there To ease the pressure off My ever worried mind.”