Album: Mosaic.

Release date: October 14, 1986.

Track: 5.

Mood: Poptimism before it was a thing.

What was your dream car in the 80s? The people I knew would’ve go for KITT, or Magnum’s Ferrari. Perhaps any of the sleek car from Miami Vice.

Mine was a Citation X-11. It was a little rusty, the carpet could be used a bacteriological warfare, and the stick wouldn’t move from second to third gear without a struggle, but for me, it was a perfect car. Because it was my cousin Beto’s car in Tampico. I would ride shotgun with him when we had to do any errands, and he would blast the radio and sing to any tune he’d knew the words to. And his repertoire was expansive.

I have a clear, constant memory of him belting out Wang Chung’s Let’s Go!, which is their best song. The video, colourful and peppy, as if the art from Trapper Keeper binders came to life. The vocal work from Feldman and Hues is perfect, and that build up to the chorus is pure 80s wonder.

It’s a song that encompasses poptimism, even before the term entered and got overused by the blogosphere. It was a simpler time, and your songs lived or died by the chorus.

Wang Chung got unfairly maligned and made fun of, possibly due to the ubiquitous Everybody have fun tonight, a decent belter that got overplayed to fuck. Let’s go was unlucky enough to compete with the fallout of Everybody’s massive chart success. I dunno, I like them and their soundtrack for To live and die in L.A. encompasses perfectly that flick.

Summers in Tampico were a humid inferno, but it mattered not. We would cruise Avenida Hidalgo, windows down -as the AC was out of order- and the sunbeams painted everything in a golden hue. My recent posts dabble into darker memories, but today things seem better, and Wang Chung is on the turntable. Relish the good days when you have them.

—Sam J. Valdés López