The first time I heard this song I must have been in fourth or fifth grade, and I knew little to nothing about what a real ‘Manic Monday’ felt like. Still, no kid liked Mondays, so we had our own connections to this anti-work diatribe and weariness-of-life pop song. In the grand tradition of ‘9 to 5’, it listed the hardships of facing the start of another work week, the set-backs that seemed to compound one another, and the wish for a rewind to a more pleasant Sunday-fun-day state. Whenever I get down about Mondays, it helps to think that most of us are in the same boat, struggling in our own way to begin the day.
Back in grade school, my concerns were whether or not my math homework was done, or if my plastic pencils were running out of lead capsules, or whether Joey would make me laugh so hard I’d get in trouble with the teacher again. That’s the kind of Manic Monday I long for now. If I could do it all over again, I totally would.
Incidentally, the album from which ‘Manic Monday’ originated – ‘Different Light’ by the Bangles – was the first full record I ever got. (Not counting Muppet Movie soundtracks or ‘The Magic Garden’ LP or other kids’ stuff.) I wore the record out, listening to these four ladies harmonize and rock out. They came to me at about the time Madonna did, and for that reason I’ll always hold them close to my heart. They offered the escapism of a pop song, the shared longing for the weekend, and aural inspiration to get through it all until Friday arrived again. Like spring, it will always come.
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