It’s easy to imagine the allure of a song called “Maniac” to a 7-year old terror like I was. What’s not as easy to imagine is why the song still brings a smile to my face twenty-six years later. Believe it or not, I’ve never seen “Flashdance” all the way through, so that can’t be it. The song just makes me happy. I play it when I work out and it peps me up (although I don’t think I have much in common with “a steel town girl on a Saturday night). Hey, did you know that Michael (or Mike, as he was known at the time) Sembello played guitar on some of my favorite records by Stevie Wonder and The Jacksons? Hard to imagine a song this synth-heavy coming from a noted session guitarist, but, such are the mysteries of life.
Of course, the video features Jennifer Beals in all her “Flashdance”-ian glory.
For my money, one of the best soundtrack songs of the decade.
