I think the curve of new cases going near-vertical over the past month or so with 30,000+ per day might have something to do with filming being postponed further and procedures becoming irrelevant.
1981. 1979. 1982. Most of the rest were 1983; "Cruel Summer" charted in 1984 in the US ('83 in the UK); and "Karma Chameleon" peaked at #1 in '84, but entered the chart in '83.
They still would've been getting airplay on the radio (at the time, they would've been relatively recent). As I've said, there's a million ridiculously expensive songs from that era that Warner could've chosen from for the soundtrack (had they wanted to spend the money).
You described them as "current in 1984". Nothing that dated back to the Carter administration was "current" in 1984. A little online research will turn up a slew of songs that were actually from that year.
I got all excited by the thought of "Star Trek: Andor" series set in 2155, with Jeffrey Combs as lead.
"Old Man Shran" still is something people hope for. I'd say move on with the actors but that's just me. What do I know?
I was pointing out that the poster wanted Coombs to play Shran from an point in time where he would have been much younger. Because we all know how well that worked out for Frakes and Sirtis in TATV.