Welcome back to the Oscar Songs Project, where Roommate Joe and I revisit every Oscar-nominated song from 1980-1990.

Today, I’m hosting our journey through 1983, when we all felt the music, closed our eyes, and were rhythm.

To see all the entries in this project, just go here.

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“Flashdance… What a Feeling” — Flashdance [Music: Giorgio Moroder; Lyrics: Keith Forsey and Irene Cara] WINNER

Mark: A great pop song can make you embrace a ludicrous lyric as though it were gospel truth. If you think about it, the phrase “rolling in the deep” doesn’t really mean anything, but when Adele is belting the shit out of it, you can almost imagine that it’s a thoughtful insight on relationships. Or rolling. Or whatever. My point is this: The lyric “Now I hear the music/Close my eyes/I am rhythm” is so over the top that it really should be laughed off the radio. Oh, you’re rhythm? All by yourself? Okay, girl. I’ll be hanging out with Tempo and Meter, and we’ll kick your ass after school.

But… you know what? “Flashdance… What a Feeling” makes that lyric work. Giorgio Moroder’s bubbly synth track and Irene Cara’s hair-raising vocal turn it into a delirious declaration of dancefloor freedom. For me, it’s better than “Fame” (Cara’s other Oscar-winning hit) and better, really, than almost any other dance song of the 80s.

Joe: Well, since Mark has covered pretty much everything I have to say about this certified classic of a song, all I’m left with is the observation that the whole “controversy” of Jennifer Beals not doing her own dancing could have been solved if they’d just finished work on this song first and then played it for her, because honestly, who couldn’t be moved to dizzying heights of dance by this song?

“Maniac” — Flashdance [Music and lyrics: Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky]

Mark: You know how Queen Latifah is awesome in Chicago, and you would totally give her the Oscar… were it not for Catherine Zeta-Jones? That’s how “Maniac” relates to “Flashdance… What a Feeling.” Both songs were #1 hits, both songs are undeniably great… yet “Maniac” just doesn’t have as much juice as “Flashdance Zeta-Jones.” Fun fact: This song’s Oscar nomination was eventually revoked because it was revealed that it was not expressly written for this movie. (At least, that what I think happened. My research is inconclusive, and it doesn’t seem like another song was nominated in its place. Anyone have any firm answers on this front?)

Joe: Perfect comparison with Latifah/Zeta-Jones. I think the disqualification of a song like “Maniac” is instructive for how the Best Song category has become less and less essential. As the years go by and the restrictions for what counts as an “Original Song” get tighter and tighter, you lose out on songs like “Maniac,” a song that absolutely defines and is defined by Flashdance.

“Over You” — Tender Mercies [Music and lyrics: Austin Roberts and Bobby Hart]

[Listen to the song here. It's the second song that Buckley performs.]

Mark: Tender Mercies is the original Crazy Heart, with Robert DuVall in the Jeff Bridges role as the alcoholic country singer seeking redemption through a relationship with a woman and her young son. I know, right? They’re the same damn movie, and it doesn’t help that DuVall, who won an Oscar for this role JUST LIKE BRIDGES, is ALSO in Crazy Heart. Really, the only way to tell them apart is that Crazy Heart‘s song actually won the Academy Award, and Tender Mercies’ just got nominated. But that’s not a knock on “Over You,” which is a great country tearjerker. Fun fact: In the movie, this song is performed by Betty Buckley, who originated the role of Grizabella in Cats.

Joe: Mark, I know you and I play the “should be made into a musical” game all the time, but once more: Why couldn’t you make Tender Mercies into an amazing Broadway musical? Maybe it’s just the sound of Betty Buckley that’s crossing my circuits in that regard, but my gosh “Over You” is such a lovely song.

“Papa Can You Hear Me” — Yentl [Music: Michael Legrand; Lyrics: Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman]

Mark: Well, well, well, look who’s back. It’s the motherfucking Bergmans. But at least their songs for Yentl are less embarrassingly mawkish than their shameful trio from 1982. I’ve never seen this movie, so I’m not sure how “Papa Can You Hear Me” serves the story, but I’ve always liked it. Barbra Streisand injects it with a lovely, emotional quality, and the Bergman-stamped lyrics get at something honest about the need and fear that underscore so many parent-child relationships. Fun fact: Though the Bergmans didn’t win in this category, they did collect a statue in the short-lived category of Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score. I’ve read that category’s name several times, and I’m still not sure what it’s meant to celebrate.

Joe: I actually saw Yentl a year or two ago, and I can say that “Papa Can You Hear Me” serves pretty much exactly the purpose you think it does. If you think the purpose is that Barbra Streisand—who has gone undercover as a Jewish schoolboy—is singing to her dead father who used to break Yeshiva law by teaching her things (and whose death made necessary the aforementioned schoolboy ruse). It’s all there in the lyrics. I’m not anti-Barbra, per se, but of all the songs she’s most known for, this is my least favorite (or at least tied with “People”). She does what she can by bolstering the lyrics with that golden voice of hers, but it’s all so overly ornate.

“The Way He Makes Me Feel” — Yentl [Music: Michael Legrand; Lyrics: Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman]

Mark: This one plucks all the right Broadway strings for me, what with the big notes and Streisand’s odd-yet-evocative phrasing. (See: “sunlight in his hay-ah.”) And again, it seems the Bergmans do better work when they’re writing for specific characters instead of writing about vague ideas of love.

Joe: This song works a bit better for me—though I can’t exactly say I love anything from Yentl—but it’s definitely one of those move-the-story-along songs and not something that can ever really stand on its own.

Final Assessment

Mark: There are no stinkers in this batch, and they showcase a nice range of genres. You could even argue that “Papa Can You Hear Me” is a minor classic, among certain circles. However, “Flashdance” is just a classic. Full stop. It deserved to win.

Joe: This one’s an easy call, much as “Over You” makes an awfully strong case for itself. You only come across pop perfection like “What a Feeling” once in a blue moon. Take your passion! Make it happen!