This week marks the 25th anniversary of the release of New Coke, the desperate attempt by Coca-Cola to recapture the market share they had lost to their sweeter rival, Pepsi.
For some reason the three short months of New Coke have always stood out in my memory. Maybe it is because the great soda switch occurred just as I started to pay attention to pop culture at age *cough*. Maybe it is because everyone had to have an opinion on something so trivial and yet so important. Maybe it was because it was the first revolution I ever experienced. Â
Come to think about it, it is sadly probably the only revolution I’ve ever been apart of and I was only a passive member of the rebellion.
So for the next three months, let’s take a listen to “The Music of New Coke” and come up with tenuous connections between mid-tempo, mid-80’s music and the reformulation of an empire.
Today’s entry, Foreigner’s “That Was Yesterday” from Agent Provocateur, which was #12 on the American Radio Chart (we’re going to bounce between ARC and Billboard) for the week ending April 27, 1985.
Notable for being my favorite Foreigner single and the least likely song out their oeuvre to be played during the slow dance at middle school socials.