Soundtrack from “Sixteen Candles” the movie released on this date, May 4th, 1984. Like most who were teens in the 80′s, Sixteen Candles was one of my favorite movies and may or may not be partially responsible for the name of my kid (Jake Ryan = swoon). While the 5-song mini album is nowhere near the level of John Hughes’ epic Pretty In Pink music selections, there are a couple of strong tracks including punk godmother Patti Smith’s “Gloria” and The Thompson Twins’ “If You Were Here.” The other tracks are basically filler: “16 Candles” by the Stray Cats (not their best song), “Hang Up the Phone” by Annie Golden and “Geek Boogie” by Ira Newborn and the Geeks (though this last one makes me smile a bit because it reminds me that Sixteen Candles was my first introduction to John Cusack and I love John Cusack). John Hughes was totally dialed in to teenage popular culture as evidenced by all of the music that appeared in Sixteen Candles that didn’t make it to the soundtrack including “Happy Birthday” by Altered Images (my favorite birthday song ever), “True” by Spandau Ballet, “Little Bitch” by The Specials, “Turning Japanese” by The Vapors, “Young Guns” by Wham!, “Rebel Yell” by Bily Idol, “Young Americans” by David Bowie and “Tenderness” by General Public.