The Final Countdown is classic songspeak thanks to 80s hair-metal band, Europe. Between Grand Theft Auto video games, Arrested Development, and stores with great names, it’s hard to know where to begin…

1. In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the game takes place in the 80s, and there’s a mall you can enter and wreak havoc in. The music store in that mall is called “The Vinyl Countdown”.

2. Every day, I drive by a store in Springfield, MA called The Final Markdown and will occasionally started singing this in tune to The Final Countdown to Kristen, since she is the lucky one who gets to carpool with me these days.

3. Jamie and I songspeak this all the time whenever the final anything happens. With food (It’s the final hot dog, the final taco, the final donut), with highway signs (It’s the final exit, the final rest stop), with television series (it’s the final episode, the final installment, the final-ee).

4. On Arrested Development, Gob Bluth (a magician… sorry, illusionist) makes his entrance with a fog machine and magical dance moves while blasting The Final Countdown by Europe. Brilliant.

Anyway, the band that started it all, Europe, once had their “Final Countdown World Tour”. A video sampling of this fine, fine event is here:

Tags: 00s tv, 00s video games, 80s music, arrested development, europe, final countdown, gob bluth, illusion, magic