80's retro: What were we thinking?

[denem]

Duran Dyran, Frankie goes to Hollywood, Mullets, Rick Astley (of course). As Reaganomics meets 'the ash heap of history', for those who were there, what did you take with you from the decade before the internet (other than condoms) ;)

[leftyclimber]

1. My students keep asking me if I'm going to whatever the latest retro tribute show is.

I'm all hell no, dude, I was there the first time. :rofl:

From that decade? I took with me my profound opposition to all things conservative. I was born during the Nixon administration, and things just kept getting worse from there.

Although I do wish we could get back that "fuck it, we're all going to die anyway -- let's have a good time" attitude. It was a great coping mechanism.

[denem]

4. "born during the Nixon administration"!

just imagine having to say "born during the W Bush administration".

[leftyclimber]

5. At least they caught the end of this 30+ year fiasco rather than the beginning..... nt

[denem]

7. Yeah - but they won't remember what was lost.

Bittersweet. And we'll all be fingered for climate change as the planet fries.

[fizzgig]

2. a deep love of anything jim henson

fraggle rock was my absolute favorite show as a child and i still love watching it, and my screen name and sig line should tip you off about what my favorite movie is :D of course, i was born in 81, so i don't know just how much i really could have taken from that decade ;)

[denem]

6. Jim - the man who wrote "It;s not easy being green"

[Lost in CT]

3. My White dinner jacket and shoes without socks still looks good damnnit... nt

[Name removed]

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[InvisibleTouch]

9. I'm pretty much still living in it. :) n/t

[Justyce]

11. Me too, hair and all...

;)

[graywarrior]

10. The big hair and the combed eyebrows...yikes!

[MorningGlow]

12. Ah, my young adult years

The decade that had the absolute most influence on me, for better or worse--I graduated high school in '83 and college in '87, so I am an '80s kid all the way! What did I take with me...hm...

- burned hair from chemically straightening it so I could have a mullet like Chrissy Hynde
- a healthy fear of cold-war nuke-heavy histrionics (expecting to hear the air raid siren go off in the middle of the night and moments later be turned into a glowing cinder)
- an ability to play the guitar
- being able to dance like Molly Ringwald in The Breakfast Club (that herky-jerky side-to-side thing)
- love of all things British from the '70s and '80s--music, TV, movies...
- fondness for independent films back when they were truly "indie" (i.e. "weird" and "low budget")
- nostalgia for the brat pack and all their movies
- fond memories of some KICKASS concerts! Adam Ant, U2 in a small venue, REM in an airplane hangar (!), etc.

I'm sure there's more, but I'll stop there before I go drag out my vinyl or try to find Sixteen Candles playing on cable...

[Arugula Latte]

18. Yep -- I'm an '84/'88 grad so I can totally relate.

We used to say: "Do the Claire Standish!" and start dancing like Molly. I saw U2, B-52s, English Beat, the Police, the Pretenders, etc. etc. in concert back in the day.

I'm still heavily into Manchester (Madchester) music.

[PassingFair]

13. I'm a decade older, more readily defined by the movie "Dazed and Confused"

...than by "Sixteen Candles".



This movie PERFECTLY captured my
high school years.

[Iggo]

14. I know, huh.

That movie is like home.

[PassingFair]

16. Watching that movie is like being a voyeur on my own life.

Unsettling, its that close to the reality
of lower/ middle class teenager of the 70's.

We were so stripped down compared to other
decades.

I miss it.

[Iggo]

17. Yep. Scary close.

I clearly remember my sister and her friends lying down on the bed or the floor and zipping up their Dittos with a pair of pliers.

The hair was right. The clothes were right. The make-up was right. Excellent flick.

[BuddhaGirl]

31. Dittos!!!!!!!!!

oh my I remember those...how skinny I was back then roflmao!!!!! :rofl:

[DarkTirade]

15. I look to that decade as a shining example of what NOT to do.

:P

[ghostsofgiants]

19. I was born in '85, so the '80 were very crucial to me, haha.

[cherish44]

20. I was 12 when the 80s began, 22 when they ended...

so to me they represent a time of great wonder. WOW a lot happened in my life in that decade.

[Ishoutandscream2]

21. Worst. Decade. Ever.

Just hearing a song from that time gives me a sick stomach. Yuck!!!

[Jamastiene]

25. +1

[Jamastiene]

22. Enough emotional scars to last a lifetime.

I'm soooo glad that decade is over. I still have nightmares about polyester and nylon and disco and hairy men in spandex with a potato stuffed down "there" to this day.

[av8rdave]

23. The potato thing never worked for me

But then, I discovered too late that you're supposed to stuff the potato down the FRONT.

[Jamastiene]

26. ...

:spray:

[acmavm]

24. Whenever someone mentions the 80s all I can think of is Disco Duck.

And that's not fair.

But I must admit, I most assuredly hated disco.

[Withywindle]

27. Some DAMN good rock'n'roll.

X, Black Flag, the Minutemen, Husker Du, the Replacements, R.E.M., Big Black, Naked Raygun, Mission of Burma, Guadalcanal Diary, the Rain Parade, the Dream Syndicate, Swans, Sonic Youth, the Fall, Robyn Hitchcock, Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Birthday Party/Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, U2 before the suck truck, Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr., ...

That was probably the decade when "great music of the era" and "the current top 40" diverged the furthest they'd ever been, never to be fully reconciled again. When I think of the 80s, I think of a lot of the best shows I've ever seen, when I was of an age to appreciate them most.

[GOPisEvil]

32. ...

:thumbsup:

[Rhythm]

35. +1 and i LOVE your musical tastes...

:hi:

[AwakeAtLast]

28. HEY! Don't diss Duran Duran!

They were AWESOME!!! I only had 15 posters of John Taylor on my walls. :P

Plus, they gave me so many interesting makeup ideas! :D

You can call me crazy, but I still like their music. :shrug:

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

34. I still love their music too!!!

[Mike 03]

29. St. Elmo's Fire. and a terrible crush on Ally Sheedy.

That was the quintessential turning point for me.

She happened to be attending the same university I was, and I tried to get her to appear in a student film of mine, to no avail...

[skooooo]

30. I was totally disgusted by the decade...

...except maybe the end of it when REM was new.

What was wrong with you people, watching stupid MTV??

[denem]

33. Madonna Material Girl. Prince 1999 Bowie (1980) 'as ugly as a teenage millionare"

or Twenty Something for that matter. Looking back, what stands out for me is how deepening poverty, despair, and desperation, vanished under the shiny stick, new romance, flux capacitors, the "brand new drag' as Bowue called it. U2 didn't hit it big until 86 - the train wreck was well underway,. 'Greed is good' was MMM - much more marketable under a blood red 'we all gonna die' sky.

THIS - sums up the 80's for me: 1999

I was dreamin when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin
Coulda sworn it was judgment day
The sky was all purple,
There were people runnin everywhere
Tryin 2 run from the destruction,
U know I didnt even care

cuz they say two thousand zero zero party over,
Oops out of time
So tonight Im gonna party like its 1999

Poverty, Desperation, Despair, War, look the other way, salve your conscience with Live Aid, and party on the Yuppie road to nowhere. The boomers cashed in their chips and "U know I didnt even care".

[DBoon]

36. Repo Man

the movie and the soundtrack

[surrealAmerican]

37. What did I take with me?

A large quantity of education, and a whole lot of debt from it. I graduated high school in '81, got my bachelor's in '86, and a master's in '90.

[Montauk6]

38. Were the 80s really all that bad...?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRvVzaQ6i8A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPrVSfP-GFQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOBUqCIXXWY

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2W4-0qUdHY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnNT9fsuFEQ (Language)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPj-8_wOZcA

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