My children "came of age" in the 1980s, so I got a constant diet of 1980s music at the time - the Cure, the Smiths, the Clash, Loverboy, Pat Benatar (whom I have always liked), and then moving into goth and punk music. Nowadays, I find I'm much more tolerant of the music my children enjoyed.

I recently proofed the "Millenials" chapter of the upcoming Rise Again Songbook, a task that I was dreading. It turned out that I liked many of the songs, and I found the lyrics to be very clever and interesting. Not all of the songs are from the 1980s, but I think it's an interesting selection:

1234 (Feist)
Ain't no rest for the wicked
American idiot
Anyone else but you
Birdhouse in your soul
Black horse & the cherry tree
Boulevard of broken dreams
Hey soul sister
Hey there Delilah
I and love and you
I will wait
I won't give up
I'm yours
If I Had a Million Dollars
Live and die
Naked as we came
Old before your time
Perfect
Rolling in the deep
Scientist, the
Someone like you
Time of Your Life
Under the bridge
Viva la Vida
Way I am, the
We are young
You and I