Listening to The Psychedelic Furs greatest hits this morning at work and each song is so laden with memories for me. Some of the songs feel so deeply imbedded into my psyche (pun-intended) that I feel my eyes tear up with emotion, and those tell-tale prickles on my skin. The emotional pull is not tied to any one memory per se, nor are the songs all that connected to love, or heartbreak, they are just all wrapped up in my life.

Molly Ringwald and I are pretty much the same age (a year and a month apart, but close enough). This may not seem all that significant on the surface, I mean there are plenty of famous people my age, or close to it. But, not many who played such an integral part in the pop culture and coming-of-age fictional landscape as Molly did, for me. I was sixteen when Samantha’s parents forgot her birthday, I was a sophmore when Claire spent her Saturday in detention (and I had a big crush on my own John Bender), and I wore thrift shop/vintage clothing and was applying for a record store job when Andie worked at Traxx and hungout with Duckie Dale. I also went to private school with people who had so much more money than me, and was mean-girled for it, and for the way I dressed.

I may not have shared all of her fictional experiences, but I felt them deeply. I played the soundtracks non-stop, had Rave-Up’s and Psyche Furs albums (along with dozens and dozens of others), and I understood how love and friendship

Pretty in Pink :: The Psychedelic Furs