This week, musician Michael Hearst launched an ambitious new project: 80 covers of 80 songs from the 1980s, with a new one released every week.
Over the next 80 weeks (!!), 80 From The 80s will feature guest appearances by an impressively wide range of musicians—including Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson of Magnetic Fields; John Linnell of They Might Be Giants; Tanya Donelly of, well, Tanya Donelly (also Breeders and throwing Muses); John Cameron Mitchell, creator of Hedwig & the Angry Inch; Amanda Palmer of Dresden Dolls and Neil Gaiman's Divorce; and of course, Jonathan Coulton.
More from Hearst:
In 1983, the year that "Mr. Roboto" was released by the band Styx, 10-year-old Michael Hearst missed the school bus because he couldn't peel himself away from the five-minute-long MTV video.
In 2024, inspired by the thought of teaching his 10-year-old son about 80s' music, Michael began recording his own versions of classics, such as "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder and "Hold Me Now" by Thompson Twins. Hearst is an avid collector and player of unusual and hand-crafted instruments, including theremin, accordion, and daxophone. After inviting his close friend and fellow 80s music lover Claudia Gonson (Magnetic Fields) to pick a song to sing—she chose "Eyes Without A Face" by Billy Idol—he decided to reach out to other friends including Tanya Donelly (Belly), John Linnell (They Might Be Giants), The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt, and Syd Straw to pick songs to sing for the project. They, in turn, suggested some of their friends to join the fun: John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig), A. C. Newman (New Pornographers), Amanda Palmer, Xavier Smith, and many more. Now the wheels were in motion, and Hearst was enjoying the ride way too much, thus he set about to record 80 of these reboots. 80 From The 80s!
From Krystle Warren's deep-velvet rendition of Paul Simon's "Call Me Al," to Jonathan Coulton's pitch-perfect falsetto on Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over," Hearst's 80 From The 80s aims to entertain and perhaps provide a little bit of respite from the election season ahead, reminding us of a time when you could still "catch the deluge in a paper cup."
The first song, a cover of "Voices Carry" by 'Til Tuesday featuring Syd Straw, is out now. Hearst is also running a Patreon campaign for people who want to get a sneak peek at future songs and behind-the-scenes footage.
Previously:
• This tribute to 80s entertainment is a good argument that the 80s sucked
