After I broke my ankle in 2017, I spent weeks in a cast, followed by months in a boot. During that time, the tendons in my right foot stiffened, the muscles atrophied, and the nerves screamed. Eventually, I got the all-clear to start putting weight on my foot again and – more importantly – to begin physical therapy.
Physical therapy at that point was all about getting things moving again as my creaking tendons and weakened muscles were forced back into action. I typically did 30 minutes of physical therapy a day, combined with multiple 1-hour sessions with a physical therapist each week. To provide inspiration for my at-home sessions, I put together the Geek Rebuild playlist.
The rules for this list are simple:
- The song needs to be from the 1980s.
- The song needs to either be part of a classic movie action montage … or could be envisioned as being part of such a montage.
Think of the classic action montages in Rocky or Top Gun, and you’ll get what I was going for (and why there’s so much Kenny Loggins on this list). The playlist did its job. Sure, I was sore as hell while doing physical therapy, and again when I started jogging again but imagining being the protagonist of my own 80s movie kept me going.
- “Eye of the Tiger”, Survivor, Eye of the Tiger
- “I’m Alright”, Kenny Loggins, Caddyshack soundtrack
- “Breakaway”, Big Pig, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure soundtrack
- “Relax”, Freddie Goes to Hollywood, Maximum Joy
- “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”, Wang Chung, Mosaic
- “Footloose”, Kenny Loggins, Footloose soundtrack
- “Kickstart My Heart” – Mötley Crüe, Dr. Feelgood
- “I Can’t Drive 55”, Sammy Hagar, VOA
- “Danger Zone”, Kenny Loggins, Top Gun soundtrack
- “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, Tears for Fears, Songs from the Big Chair
- “The Goonies Are Good Enough”, Cindy Lauper, Goonies soundtrack
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The Seagull Nebula. Credit: NASA-JPL