Sonic Angst

The Breakfast Club doesn't have a score—but it does have an iconic soundtrack. John Hughes loved music: If he hadn't been a writer-director-producer genius, he would've been a musician, or tried to be one (like Carl the janitor?). But instead of composing music for his movies, he settled for the next best thing: selecting the soundtrack, curating it to fit with cool, alternative '80s vibes (insofar as '80s vibes were cool and/or alternative). (Source)

One song defines The Breakfast Club: "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds. One the one hand, the song is about a guy hitting on a girl. But, in the context of the movie, the "Don't you forget about me" chorus seems addressed to the baby boomers, the parents, and the film's Gen X audience.

It's saying: Hey, you might be a self-involved bunch of rich '80s baby boomers, but can't you spare a thought for these Gen X misfits? As the lyrics read: "Will you stand above me? / Look my way, never love me / Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling / Down, down, down."

The song was actually written specifically for The Breakfast Club by a movie composer, Keith Forsey, who also did a bunch of instrumental tracks for the movie, along with a guitarist named Steve Schiff. It was then taken to the band, Simple Minds, who covered it for the final soundtrack—making it a number-one hit in the process. It's the song playing when Bender pumps his fist in triumph at the end of the movie, highlighting the lessons they've learned and the fact that they can't forget about each other if they want to hang on to those lessons.

Forsey had a long and pretty awesome career as a movie composer and music producer. He produced a bunch of successful Billy Idol albums, won an Oscar for the song "Flashdance… What a Feeling" from Flashdance, and wrote songs for the soundtracks to Ghostbusters and Beverly Hills Cop. 

Basically, this guy was in the thick of '80s music.