Grown Ups (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

If you recognize more of these artists than their songs, don’t be alarmed. The soundtrack to Grown Ups is composed of AOR cuts from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. For the uninitiated, the AOR acronym stands for Album Oriented Rock, a mostly bygone FM radio format that focused on rock bands’ album tracks rather than their hits. So rather than using the Romantics’ power-pop anthem “What I Like About You,” their sultry garage rocker “A Night Like This” made the cut. Similarly, REO Speedwagon’s Bic lighter hoisting “Time for Me to Fly” was chosen instead of “Take It On The Run” and Cheap Trick’s rhythm heavy “Just Got Back” shows up here instead of “Surrender” or “Dream Police.” The soundtrack offers a couple of exceptions to the anti-hit menu like Eddie Money’s arena-rock opus “Two Tickets To Paradise” and Bob Welch’s make-out masterpiece “Sentimental Lady.” Triumph’s “Lay It On the Line” will make you want to feather your hair with a really big plastic comb from the driver’s seat of an El Camino, and three J. Geils Band songs help make for a perfect mid-life crisis-themed mix.