1985 journey hit vision quest

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How a Leftover Song Changed Journey Forever

"Only the Young" became an inspirational touchstone, a homecoming spark, then an in-concert triumph. But first, it got left off one of Journey 's biggest albums.

"It was actually written for the Frontiers record," Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain told WCSX in 2018. "And some people, when we put the album together, thought it didn't work on the album and they wanted to put some other song in place of it. And I was kinda like opposed to it and I got outvoted, and it just sat on the shelf there in the vaults."

The first person outside of Journey's inner circle to hear the still-unreleased song was Kenny Sykaluk, a 16-year-old Ohio native battling terminal illness. His mother wrote the Make a Wish Foundation in the hopes that the band could visit Sykaluk.

"Back in 1983, when Make a Wish first began, one of the boys who was sick wanted to meet Journey," Cain told One One 7 in 2013. "He was in a cystic-fibrosis clinic in Cleveland, and we went off to see him. We had no idea how bad he was, but he was dying."

They brought an autographed platinum-album award, a football helmet signed by the San Francisco 49ers, and a Walkman. Inside the Walkman was a cassette recording of "Only the Young."

"Slipping the headphones over Kenny's ears, we watched as the kid began to listen to our unreleased song," Cain said in 2018's Don't Stop Believin': The Man, the Band, and the Song that Inspired Generations . "While the tune played, Kenny looked up and his eyes got huge."

Written by Cain, ex-frontman Steve Perry and guitarist Neal Schon , "Only the Young" eventually saw release, eventually became a hit, eventually turned into a concert staple. But in that moment, it became Sykaluk's song.

"As soon as I stepped out of that hospital room, I lost it," Perry said in the liner notes to the Time3 box set. "Nurses had to take me to a room by myself."

Listen to Journey Perform 'Only the Young'

Sykaluk died hours later. "When we did VH1's Behind the Music ," Cain told One One 7, "I was asked about the most powerful things that happened to me as a member of Journey, and it had to be with Kenny Sykaluk on that last day."

A leftover song suddenly took on deep new meaning within the group. "The lyrics to 'Only the Young' are powerful lyrics," Perry says in Don't Stop Believin' . "I really have to give credit to Jonathan Cain for coming up with the concept to write about, before we even knew about Kenny, about ' only the young can say they're free to fly away .' Because there's a certain innocence that the youth have. That's just a wonderful gift."

Journey was in the midst of a period marked by solo projects and internal strife. "Only the Young" ended up being covered on Scandal's debut album, while the original version – and Journey itself – continued to languish. They'd essentially split following Frontiers .

Then "Only the Young" was released on the soundtrack for Vision Quest on Feb. 12, 1985, and belatedly soared to No. 9 on the Billboard charts. Months later, sessions began for Journey's reunion on 1986's Raised on Radio .

Syaluk's passing put things in perspective. "It changed my outlook on life," Schon said on Behind the Music . "It makes you realize that the things you were making a big deal out of, maybe, were not so big."

Credit a label guy for finally smoothing the way for the release of "Only the Young." "David Geffen somehow got ahold of it and called our manager and said, 'I have this movie, Vision Quest ," Cain told WCSX. "And so we ended up taking it to New York to mix for Vision Quest ."

Journey subsequently opened every show on the Raised on Radio tour with "Only the Young." Later reissues of Frontiers also included it as a bonus track. For Cain, that winding path came to make perfect sense.

"Each song has its place and purpose," Cain said in Don't Stop Believin' , "and 'Only the Young' was meant to stay off Frontiers initially, simply because it belonged to Kenny."

Legends Who Never Had a No. 1 Single

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Vision Quest [Original Soundtrack]

Various artists.

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Release Date

Allmusic review, user reviews, track listing, similar albums, moods and themes.

Vision Quest (1985) Soundtrack

15 Feb 1985 (24 Songs)

Soundtracks

Order by name, order by artist.

Only The Young

Steve Perry, Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain

Add Scene Description

Hungry for Heaven

Dio - A Decade of Dio: 1983-1993

Harden My Heart

Time for me to fly.

Kevin Cronin

No More Words

John Crawford

Quarterflash - Throwback Tunes: 80s

She's On The Zoom

Don Henley and Danny Kortchmar

Time for Me to Fly

REO Speedwagon - You Can Tune a Piano, But You Can't Tuna Fish

Lunatic Fringe

Tom Cochrane - Tom Cochrane Revisited

The Four Seasons/Summer

Jan Tomasow, Solisti Di Zagreb and Antonio Janigro

Hungry For Heaven

Ronnie James Dio

Red Rider - Now That's What I Call the 80s

The Four Seasons Summer

Jan Tomasow, Solisti Di Zagreb, Antonio Janigro, Antonio Vivaldi

John Waite - Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Music From the Motion Picture)

I'll Fall In Love Again

Sammy Hagar - The Essential Red Collection

Berlin - Now That's What I Call the 80s

Shout to the Top

Paul Weller - Catch-Flame!

The Style Council - The Singular Adventures of the Style Council

Hot Blooded

Foreigner - iTunes Festival: London 2010 - EP

Crazy for You

Madonna - Celebration (Deluxe Video Edition)

Only the Young

Journey - Time3

I'll Be Home for Christmas

The Lennon Sisters - Ultimate Christmas Collection

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Song previews provided courtesy of Apple Music and Spotify.

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Ranking All the Songs from the Vision Quest Soundtrack

Vision Quest is a coming-of-age movie about a Spokane high school wrestler who falls head over heels in love with an older woman. Based on Terry Davis’ 1979 novel of the same name, the film stars Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino, Michael Schoeffling and Ronny Cox, but is best known for being the first movie to feature Madonna, who pops up as a singer in a local bar to perform Crazy for You and Gambler. Both songs appear on the Vision Quest soundtrack , as do the rest of these fine tunes.

10. She’s on the Zoom – Don Henley

Don Henley probably wasn’t thinking of the millions of workers who took to Zoom during the COVID pandemic when he wrote She’s on the Zoom, but even if it’s not prophetic, or even particularly profound, it’s an enjoyable romp with enough big beats and chewy hooks to get you interested. The production might have 1985 written all over it, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

9. I’ll Fall in Love Again – Sammy Hagar

He might be best known for his work with Van Halen , but Sammy Hager has also carved out a successful solo career… not to mention launched a tequila brand, a restaurant chain, hosted the TV show Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar, and fronted a bunch of bands that include Chickenfoot and Sammy Hagar and the Circle. Basically, he’s a very busy boy, and one who certainly knows his way around a big chorus and a meaty hook, at least if this classic slice of rock and roll from the Vision Quest soundtrack is anything to go by.

8. Hungry for Heaven – Dio

Dio, the heavy metal band led by Black Sabbath’s Ronnie James Dio, seemed to have a bit of a weakness for Hungry for Heaven. Dig through their discography, and you’ll find dozens of versions, some released as singles in different countries, some found on live albums, and some on compilation recordings. The one most fans are familiar with is the one from the band’s third studio album, Sacred Heart, which reached number 30 on the Billboard Top Album Tracks chart in 1985. Check out their performance on the Vision Quest soundtrack for yet another version to add to the list.

7. Lunatic Fringe – Red Rider

Red Rider guitarist Tom Cochrane wrote Lunatic Fringe in response to the rise in anti-Semitism during the 1970s. He recorded the first demo on the evening of John Lennon’s murder, an event that spurred him to go against the advice of his record company (who felt the song lacked commercial appeal) and release it as a single. It became the only one of the band’s singles to pick up any degree of airplay in the US, where it reached number 11 on Billboard’s Rock Radio Airplay chart. In 2000, it snagged the SOCAN Classic award after being played over 100,000 times on Canadian radio.

6. Change – John Waite

Change was first recorded by Holly Knight and her band Spider for their 1981 second album, Between the Lines. A year later, John Waite, fresh from leaving The Babys, released it as the debut single from his solo debut album, Ignition. While Spider’s version had gone largely unnoticed, Waite’s cover picked up a top twenty spot on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. After Vision Quest inspired a fresh wave of interest in the song, it re-entered the charts, this time peaking at number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100.

5. Hot Blooded – Foreigner

A tongue-in-cheek examination of the problem of meeting ladies on the road, Hot Blooded took Foreigner to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 1978. It’s since been certified platinum by the RIAA after exceeding record sales of one million. Find it on both the Vision Quest soundtrack and their second studio album, Double Vision.

4. Only the Young – Journey

According to Song Facts , the first person to ever hear Only the Young was a 16-year-old Cystic Fibrosis patient called Kenny Sykaluk, whose mother had written to the band telling them how much he’d always wanted to meet them. The band visited Kenny through the Make a Wish Foundation and played the song to him in his hospital room. Kenny died that same night. The experience left the band deeply affected, with Steve Perry later saying “As soon as I stepped out of that hospital room I lost it. Nurses had to take me to a room by myself.” As a tribute to Kenny, the band played the song at the opening of each show on their Raised On Radio tour.

3. Shout to the Top!- The Style Council

Shout to the Top! was written by Paul Weller and released by The Style Council in 1984, initially as a standalone single but later as a bonus track to the band’s second studio album, Our Favorite Shop. In addition to appearing on the soundtrack to Vision Quest, it also worked its way onto the soundtrack of the 2000 movie, Billy Elliot. In 1998, a remixed version of the song featuring Loleatta Holloway made it to the top spot on the US dance charts.

2. Gambler – Madonna

Described by Stylus Magazine as the “most aggressive track of Madonna’s career,” Gambler is the kind of urgent, assertive disco-pop-punk mash-up that made Madonna the Queen of Pop in the ’80s. It never got released as a single in the US (Madonna’s management were worried it would lessen the impact of singles from the Like a Virgin album) but it became a big hit internationally, reaching number 4 in the UK charts and entering the top ten in Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, and Norway.

1. Crazy For You – Madonna

Described by Billboard as the “ultimate slow-dance song,” this sassy, slow-burning ballad from the Vision Quest soundtrack became a major hit for Madonna in 1985, earning the singer her second number-one single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, reaching the top 5 in Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK, and topping the charts in both Canada and Australia. It also scooped a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance – the first (but by no means the last) Grammy nomination of her career.

You can also read:

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No, do not confuse this Thomas Newman with the composer. But I'm still a music lover nonetheless. You'll catch me mostly writing articles about the artists and bands I love. Maybe some theory. Maybe some analysis. Whatever lands in the world of music is something I'm likely interested in. In particular I'm a huge fan of classic rock and the oldies. Zeppelin are among my favorites and Foghat's "Slowride" is one of my favorite tracks.

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[Review] Vision Quest: Original Motion Picture Sound Track (1985)

If you’re wrestling with the idea of watching this film, just buy the soundtrack and watch The Wrestler instead.

Kronomyth x.x: No holds bards.

I saw maybe thirty minutes of this movie on tv, figured it was about the stupidest thing I’d ever seen, and went back to watching cheesy ‘60s science fiction (“The radiation just seems to make it stronger…”). Vision Quest fed into every sweaty, fungal little fantasy that ever crept into the crack of a high school shower tile: boy gets super strong, shows up his parents and teachers and gets laid by a hot, college-age chick. In fact, just thinking about it makes me want to take a shower.

So why did I buy the soundtrack? Because it cost me a dollar. Because it has Dio ’s “Hungry for Heaven” on it and I wanted to see if it’s the same as the Sacred Heart version. (It is.) And because, just in case anyone ever asked me what was the dumbest movie I ever saw, I could pull this sleeve out and say “This one.”

The soundtrack isn’t nearly so bad. It has some great rock tracks on it, including “Lunatic Fringe” and “Hot Blooded.” It also contains actual hits that were unique to the movie soundtrack: Journey’s “Only the Young,” Don Henley’s “She’s on the Zoom” and Madonna’s “Crazy For You.” (She also contributed “Gambler” to the soundtrack and made a cameo in the film as a singer.)

Oddly, the album doesn’t contain anything from Tangerine Dream , despite the fact that they composed the film’s original soundtrack. I don’t recall ever seeing TD release anything from this soundtrack either. Maybe they used pre-existing material from earlier albums, or watched the film and filed some kind of injunction against releasing any material associated with it.

Original elpee version

A1. Journey: Only the Young (Steve Perry/Neal Schon/Jonathan Cain) (4:01) A2. John Waite: Change (Holly Knight) (3:14) A3. The Style Council: Shout to the Top (Paul Weller) (4:18) A4. Madonna: Gambler (Madonna) (3:54) A5. Don Henley: She’s on the Zoom (Don Henley/Danny Kortchmar) (3:18) B1. Dio: Hungry for Heaven (Ronnie James Dio/Jimmy Bain) (4:12) B2. Red Rider: Lunatic Fringe (Tom Cochrane) (4:20) B3. Sammy Hagar: I’ll Fall in Love Again (Sammy Hagar) (4:11) B4. Foreigner: Hot Blooded (Lou Gramm/Mick Jones) (4:24) B5. Madonna: Crazy for You (John Bettis/Jon Lind) (4:08)

The Players

Belinda Carlisle (background vocals on A5), Jane Wiedlin (background vocals on A5), Stephen Bray (arranger on A4), Rob Mounsey (arranger on B5). Produced by Mike Stone (A1), John “Jellybean” Benitze (A4/B5), Don Henley, Danny Kortchmar and Greg Ladanyi (A5); A1 mixed by Bob Clearmountain.

The Plastic

Released on elpee, cassette and compact disc on February 12, 1985 in the US (Geffen, GHS/M5 24063, 24063-2), Canada (Geffen, XGHS 24063) and Japan (CBS/Sony, 28AP-3000). Reached #11 on the US charts.

• Re-issued on compact disc in the US (Geffen, 24063).

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Vision Quest

A high school wrestler in Spokane, Washington has trouble focusing on his training regimen when a beautiful young drifter takes up temporary residence at his home. A high school wrestler in Spokane, Washington has trouble focusing on his training regimen when a beautiful young drifter takes up temporary residence at his home. A high school wrestler in Spokane, Washington has trouble focusing on his training regimen when a beautiful young drifter takes up temporary residence at his home.

• Harold Becker
• Terry Davis
• Darryl Ponicsan
• Matthew Modine
• Linda Fiorentino
• Michael Schoeffling
• 91 User reviews
• 18 Critic reviews
• 55 Metascore

• Louden Swain

• Louden's Dad

• (as J. C. Quinn)

• Margie Epstein

• (as R. H. Thomson)

• Kuch's Dad
• Louden's Opponent
• Injured Salesman
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia This was Linda Fiorentino 's very first audition straight out of drama school. She got the part, and it was her feature film debut.
• Goofs In the match between Loudon and Shute, the referee clearly says "no takedown" as they go out of bounds. Yet, when he brings them back to the line, Loudon takes the "down" position and the score is 2-0 in Shute's favor, indicating a takedown has been awarded.

Louden Swain : You never took a night off to see me wrestle before. They'll dock you for that.

Elmo : Hey, kid - money ain't everything.

Louden Swain : It's not that big a deal, Elmo. I mean, it's six lousy minutes on the mat, if that.

Elmo : You ever hear of Pele?

Louden Swain : Yeah, he's a, a soccer player.

Elmo : A very famous soccer player.

Elmo : I was in the room here one day... watchin' the Mexican channel on TV. I don't know nothin' about Pele. I'm watchin' what this guy can do with a ball and his feet. Next thing I know, he jumps in the air and flips into a somersault and kicks the ball in - upside down and backwards... the goddamn goalie never knew what the fuck hit him. Pele gets excited and he rips off his jersey and starts running around the stadium waving it around his head. Everybody's screaming in Spanish. I'm here, sitting alone in my room, and I start crying.

Elmo : That's right, I start crying. Because another human being, a species that I happen to belong to, could kick a ball, and lift himself, and the rest of us sad-assed human beings, up to a better place to be, if only for a minute... let me tell ya, kid - it was pretty goddamned glorious. It ain't the six minutes... it's what happens in that six minutes.

• Connections Featured in At the Movies: Vision Quest/Turk 182/Blood Simple/Mischief (1985)
• Soundtracks Only The Young (end title) Performed by Journey Written by Steve Perry , Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain Produced by Mike Chapman Scandal did indeed record a version of this song, but the soundtrack version is Journey. Courtesy of Columbia Records

User reviews 91

• james-obeirne
• Jul 15, 2008
• How long is Vision Quest? Powered by Alexa
• February 15, 1985 (United States)
• United States
• Crazy for you - Liebe auf der Ringermatte
• Santa Clarita, California, USA
• Warner Bros.
• The Guber-Peters Company
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $12,993,175
• Feb 18, 1985

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 47 minutes
• Dolby Stereo

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Vision Quest Soundtrack [ 1985 ]

List of songs.

Only The Young

Steve Perry, Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain

Add scene description

Hungry For Heaven

Ronnie James Dio

Harden My Heart

I'll Fall In Love Again

Sammy Hagar

Time For Me To Fly

Kevin Cronin

Lunatic Fringe

Tom Cochrane

No More Words

John Crawford

She's On The Zoom

Don Henley and Danny Kortchmar

Shout To The Top

Paul Weller

The Four Seasons/Summer

Jan Tomasow, Solisti Di Zagreb and Antonio Janigro

Crazy for You

Hot Blooded

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Vision quest.

1985 Directed by Harold Becker

All he needed was a lucky break. Then one day she moved in.

After deciding he needs to do something meaningful with his life, high school wrestler Louden Swain sets out on a mission to drop weight and challenge the area's undefeated champion, which creates problems with his teammates and health. Matters are complicated further when Louden's father takes in an attractive female drifter who's on her way to San Francisco.

Matthew Modine Linda Fiorentino Ronny Cox Daphne Zuniga Charles Hallahan Michael Schoeffling Harold Sylvester J.C. Quinn Madonna Forest Whitaker Gary Kasper R. H. Thomson Raphael Sbarge Frank Jasper Roberts Blossom James Gammon Tom Elkins Jana Marie Hupp Judith Hansen Sean Morgan Andrew Shue

Director Director

Harold Becker

Producers Producers

Peter Guber Jon Peters

Writer Writer

Darryl Ponicsan

Original Writer Original Writer

Terry Davis

Casting Casting

Nancy Klopper

Editor Editor

Maury Winetrobe

Cinematography Cinematography

Owen Roizman

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

William M. Elvin Thomas J. Mack

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Adam Fields Stan Weston

Lighting Lighting

Hugo Cortina

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Stephen St. John Mike Benson

Production Design Production Design

Bill Malley

Art Direction Art Direction

Set decoration set decoration, special effects special effects.

Joseph P. Mercurio

Composers Composers

Christopher Franke Edgar Froese

Sound Sound

Greg Dillon William Randall David J. Hudson Robert Glass Gordon Daniel Chris Carpenter Gilbert D. Marchant

Costume Design Costume Design

Susan Becker

Makeup Makeup

Cheri Minns

Hairstyling Hairstyling

The Guber-Peters Company Warner Bros. Pictures

Releases by Date

15 feb 1985, releases by country.

• Theatrical R

105 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Christian Ryan ★★★★ 1

You know that Journey song,  "Only the Young" ? Well, it popped up a few times throughout the movie, and every single time it did, I was jumpin’ on the couch doin’ fist pumps. What a fuckin’ song, man. Honestly, I can’t even tell you if this movie was any good... because that fuckin’ song, man... that fuckin’ song makes everything good.

Review by MenOnFilm ★★★★ 2

Louden Swain is the horniest movie teenager you've never heard of.

Pitching Vision Quest to someone makes it sound like the driest movie imaginable, a wrestler wants to lose 20lbs and he falls in love with some older girl. Well I'd let Linda Fiorentino absolutely destroy my life.

A killer soundtrack throughout, Lunatic Fringe is the coolest song to skip rope to.

Review by Kate Erbland

Matthew Modine is a stone-cold weirdo in this but he’s also kinda hot. Smh

Review by Ben Peterson ★★★

Matthew Modine is very good here and the on point 80s power tunes soundtrack rules.

Review by Dylan P. ★★★½

What a strange movie.

One of the most casually existential pieces of media I’ve ever seen.

Review by FilmApe ★★★★

"It's not about the six minutes, it's about what happens in the six minutes."

Hits a lot of sweet spots in regards to 80s sports movies. Matthew Modine gives a strong performance, especially given that the character Louden is unlikable a fair bit, but always relatable and sympathetic. This actually takes a unique approach to the sports movie genre, in that the main character is already accomplished at the beginning of the movie, but they are going out of their way to test their abilities and prove something (basically the dude drops two weight classes in order to wrestle this unbeatable rival). I would say that one knock against the film is that while Tangerine Dream is billed as doing…

Review by Kevin Clarke ★★★½ 2

Recipe: 1 can Tom Cruise Formula (generic or name brand)  1 packet Wrestling Movie 1 packet High School Movie 2 cups Matthew Modine 3 tablespoons Linda Fiorentino 1 tablespoon Working Class Setting (preferably Spokane, WA)  Mix well Stir in several helpings of Madonna’s “Crazy For You” and Journey’s “Only The Strong” to your taste Heat on medium for 20 minutes Serve warm

Review by Paul Anthony Cassidy ★★★½ 1

Small town Spokane high school wrestler Louden Swain (Mathew Modine) has just turned 18 and wants to make his mark on the world.

He figures the best way to do this is to put his health at risk by dropping down two weight classes by a dramatic 22lbs in order to challenge the seemingly invincible three-time state middleweight champion Brian Shute (Frank Jasper) who competes for a rival local high school.

Just as he's dialled his focus in on an excessive training regime that will see him lose the weight and prepare for his intimidating opponent a distraction comes along in the form of Carla (Linda Fiorentino) an attractive 21-year-old aspiring artist whose car has broken down en route from…

Review by ᴋᴇɪᴛʜ ★★★

Imagine just casually drinking in a club, and Madonna is the one performing. Her song 'Crazy for You' in this film is better than her studio version.

My comfort films

Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★

It is very much setup as standard 1980s teen sports melodrama, but it treats Modine's obsession very seriously and with a much heavier approach than expected, and he plays the part like he is in something ambitious and not, let's say, Karate Kid. Very dissonant, and maybe by accident enlightening about a lot of what is emotionally at stake in similar movies. Above-average script and solid supporting cast. Harold Becker directed it with a good eye for detail, moving consistently between the character work and the more inspirational material. A curious late marriage between 70s sensibility and 80s aesthethics.

Review by Hellasguy315 ★★★★

It has been a while since I have seen this, probably twenty years. So when Warner Archives was having a sale I decided to pick up this recent edition on blu ray.

I grew up in the 80's. This came out in the middle of my sophomore year in high school. I didn't see it in the theaters but sure enough it was a VHS rental and HBO staple as well. Movies like this never get old for me. The movie holds up nicely and the music from the soundtrack, Journey and Madonna, you still hear being played.

Modine plays a high school wrestler looking to drop 2 weight classes to wrestle an opponent who is undefeated in the area.…

Review by Callisto ★★

This is another movie I decided to watch thanks to the synth music documentary, The Rise of the Synths , and I actually haven't listened to the Tangerine Dream soundtrack. The soundtrack isn't on the popular streaming services, but it is uploaded on YouTube; so maybe it's a rarer soundtrack. Actually, after looking into it, it seems it was never released officially, but some fans got together to release unreleased Tangerine Dream stuff (somehow).

The title sounds like it would be something about computers, but that's the farthest it could be. It's about a high school wrestler named Louden Swain (Matthew Modine, who I forgot was in Full Metal Jacket because he looks so different normal and with hair) trying to…

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