1980s Survival Guide

The eighties were horrible!! THe music was lame (Van Halen, and Huey Lewis are hardly long lived) the movies were weak (Ferris Bueller and Sixteen Candles), and the politics were feeble (Reagan and Ollie North). The economy was in the toilet(silver was $20 an ounce, interest rates for lending were 17%), and the best movie of the decade was ET.....that's it, you guesses wrong. Find another decade to praise.

People have to ridiculous nostalgic fetish for the '80s. Let it go!

bazza replied to jim: no jim am sorry but you are the one who's wrong bcause '80s were real rubbish and it seems like you'r the one who likes to dig out all the rubbish of the secondhand shelf

listen hear maybe you guys were not old enough to be lucky enough to grow up in te 80's it was the best there were no gangbangers,if u wanted to fight you would do it with your fists,coronas,california coolers,cheap weed,501's,ensenada was crackin,house partys were the craze,cheap sunglasses,reeboks,L.A.Gear boots,you did not need alot of money to have a good time,mini trucks, VW bugs seemed like a simpler time now its all about name brands everybody wants to be a baller those were the days if you were lucky enough to grow up in L.A. in the 80s you know what im talking about casa camino,brandys,elysian park,legg lake u member

very good

Jim is right, but didn't explain enuf.
Yes, to you bashing the 80s, if you're talking about the late '80s when commercialism took over the "new wave", like it often does when there's a great new movement/trend, and you had alot of pop-schlock vapidness: "let's see if we can get a hit in this big-hair synthy-pop 'hypness'"... (but even among that there were some great bands, like Duran Duran, Simple Minds[w/ one of the greatest songs of pop/rockdom], Depeche Mode[brilliant songwriting], English Beat, Tears for Fears, early Cult[1st album], Green Day[yes they started in the late '80s, folks], Bad Religon, Social Distortion, Radiohead and others.)
But it was the early '80s (from late '70s) that really brought in one of the most creative periods in music history: the REAL New Wave which was spawned from early punk. Bands like The Cure, XTC, Ultravox(one of the greatest bands ever, but much less known in the US than Europe.. you should've seen them live: amazing!), Siouxie &/t Banshees(also brilliant live), Dead Kennedys, Elvis Costello, The Police, Joe Jackson, The Stranglers, Bauhaus(& from them: Tones on Tail, Love & Rockets, Peter Murphy), The Fixx, Bruce Springsteen(for god's sake) and U2! (jeez people, check your music history before you start indiscriminately bashing a decade!), Talking Heads, REM, Blondie(the 1st real New Wave band to have a pop hit: "Heart of Glass"), Beastie Boys, hell, the whole Rap/HipHop explosion...the list goes on & on.. You shoulda been there.. I lived and had a band in San Fran at the time, could pick up any one of 5 underground stations.. it was one of the most exciting, creative periods in musicdom, and I've been a musician since the '70s.

The 80's gave us some of the best music, pop, country, alternative and adult contemporary and much of it is still played and appreciated today due much in part to the fond nostalgic feelings associated with the 80's.
The fashions however, give us great reason to laugh and smile. What were we thinking? Don't even get me started on the hair-LOL ! ! !
For some however, the 80's were a dark and desparate time with haunting memories and/or flashbacks. It is
in my opinion that those individuals who were there, in the 80's, who would rather forget it, and spout their anthem of, "let it go". Sorry for you. Good luck in letting 'it' go. There is good medicine and therapy for those that can't.
To all those that were there or wish they were, I shout "80's TOTALLY RULE" ! Peace

The 80's is the greatest decade ever!!! Long live the 80's!!!

I am proud to say I am an 80's child! The greatest decade of all times, while at the same time the worst. There were so many things and changes that happened. "Russia sucks" was our major anthem, we were attacked by Omar Kaddoffy(we told him to duck) and blew his "boat" outa the water, Ronald Reagen(the only president ever to admit to aliens, and the one that told Gorbichov to tear down the wall, which he did), dressing punk, dressing prep, dressing in neon colors with hair that matched, tight rolled red tag Levi's, hard rock on the radio, Frankie Goes to Hollywood( the first song banned by local dj's that made the top 40 so they had to play it)recession, inflation, spending like there's no tomorrow, Iran-Contra, CD's(death of 8track) etc,.

I was 18 in 1984 and still feel nostalgic for those times. You had to be there to really appreciate it. Peace :)

80s was a great time of change going from 1970s mentality lack of high tech electronics and sophistication like basic black and white Television to MTV and cable and walkman and wild style hair-do's both guys and girls ..Music was going from ugly looking Hippies singing smoke on water to Dance themes/Progressive music....Super heavy metal sounded really good like
KISS and Quiet Riot...Things have not really changed as radically...only the corruption of late 1990s and 2000..Music is 10x more synthesized and even a Frog can be made to sing today...No real talent.

Doubt world will see that kind of change ever again as no real entrapanuers around to take the lead and kids toady are products of society that is nothing more than a 100% service related industry in America which only knows how to copy exactly what it sees...reason every stupid program runs around with night vison cameras trying to look like Blair Witch movie----USA is not taking the lead and those who had the 80's relish in having been able to be there
and live it. Perhaps some form of wild times will come again..however my opinion it will be a long time in human history before we see that in music again.
and every next politian learns to lie better than its' predassesor.

The only decade that ever rocks, keep rocking, still rocking. The disgusing honorable 80s. I like! Never too complicated, always humble, crazy but real on the streets.

I loved the variety of music in the 80's. Rey and Fretrix already listed many of the great bands some still around and some not, so no need to do it again.

And crazy as the fashion was, there were many ways to dress and still be 'in.' It was a blast to be a teen in that era. My son and his friends in High School have been discovering and embracing 80's music here in San Diego. As a matter of fact my son is excited he's going to go see Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode, and Green Day this Summer with me.

I had one of greatest nostaligic experiences the last year. Here's a group and solo artist often forgotten. Kajagoogoo (remember 'Too Shy?') got back together with their original frontman, Limahl that they fired three months after the above named song become a #1 hit in the UK and #5 in the US.

I actually went to Wavendon England for their home comming concert in December and got to meet all of the guys. They were wonderful to meet. They even have 4 new songs on an EP that sound great. Anyone curios should check it out on their sight www.kajagoogoo.com there is a link to the Kaja Shop where the new material can be downloaded as MP3's or you can buy their EP "Death Defying Headlines." Or search them out on YouTube, there are videos out there with them playing the new material.

I was there (graduated H.S in 83), I didn't have big hair,wear make-up,chains or anything particularly "80's". The job market was tough,the world was not all peaceful,AIDS was scaring everyone...gay and non-gay alike. The cold war wasn't always so "cold" and the future was not always so rosy. However,it was a less complicated time for many. People did,in fact, enjoy simpler pursuits.One section of the populace enjoyed the fads and fashion labels...most of us didn't think it was important.Computers and all manner of electrical gizmo were not imposing themselves upon us in every imagineable way. You could , in many areas of the nation and abroad, still walk down the street on a warm evening and hear the clatter of dinner plates and families talking to one another (yes, sometimes yelling too). Mine eyes do not recall those itmes through rosey spectacles...that was the way it was.Most of us lived happier,less frightened lives unless you lived in a "bad" area. Even the notion of bad has changed to better reflect the horrors a "global" terror now presents.Yes,we must all "let go" to some of our past,yet,by really looking back at our past we may recall that which is worth recovery from it...our ever diminishing sense of decency and humanity freed from the burdens of imposed technologies. I'm worried as to where we are headed...or where our technology is being designed to lead us.

I've glanced at some of the comments left,About how lame the 80's were,weak movies,boreing music,e.t.c.I'm guessing that the people that left these comments didn't grow up during that time period,So they have no idea how it was back then.And to those who weren't there i ask,What's so great about the era you grew up in? The 90's were quite weak as well,And kidsIn 2k nowadays have NO idea how to truly have fun,Unless your sitting on a computer or playing video games allday.Whether you like it or not,The 80's were fun,It was a better time,And that's why you hear so much about it.Do you thing the 90's or 2k will be the same? It's doubtful.....

OMG! You 80's Haters MUST Have Been Born In The 1980's Sometime To Not Appreciate The Whole Entire Decade! Music, Clothes, Hair, Night Clubs, Dancing, Getting Drinks Actually Bought For You, Whether You Were Female Or Male. It Didn't Matter. Women Yes Women Even Bought Guys Drinks Too (LOL) An Equal Drink Buying Opportunity non-Discriminant Type Thing-LMAO!!!! It Worked Both Ways! And The Music Today i must Admit isn't All That Bad, However Nothing compares & Nothing Ever Will To The 80's (And Even The 60's-Motown...And The 70's-REAL Rock & Roll, Disco Yes I Said The "D" Word DISCO!) You Had (And Still Do) Madonna, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Deborah Harry(Blondie)..The Gap Band, The Bee Gees, K.C. & The Sunshine Band, Rod Stewart, Janet Jackson, Salt-N-Peppa, grandMasterFlash(Funkadelic)Earth,Wind&Fire, Ohio Players, The Commadors, Lionnel Richie, Cool & The Gang, Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Yes, Styx, Deep Purple, LedZepplin, And So Much More! The List Just Grows & Only Gets Better! And Back Then, i don't Know About Others But i would Only Bring (When Night Clubbing)Between 20 & 30 Bucks For The Night. I Would Have Afew Drinks(I Don't Drink Anymore, Quit Over 12-15 Years Ago)At Home To Spend Less Money At The Night Clubs, And When My Money Was Gone(Which It Usually Was Not) I Still Stayed Until Closing-LOL! Had A Great & Really Awesome Time Out. Being Only 25-26 Years Old Back Then(1985-1986) And Being The Mom Of 3 Young (19 Months To 5 Years Old Age Ranges)Daughters I Must Say, I Really Looked Foward To My ONE Night Out Per Week! At Home Me & My Daughters Would Blast The Stereo & We Would All Dance Around The House & They Loved It Ever Bit As Much As I Did Too! Then Cable T.V. Came Out With MTV And Eventually VH1 And My Girls absolutely LOVED Dancing & Watching The Music Videos! GOTTA HAVE MYyyyyyyyyyyyy ....MTVVVVvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvV!! LMAO!!!! There! That's Another Great Song! EVERYONE LOVED That "MY MTV" Song!! EVERYONE!
So Please Stop ragging On The 80's Decade Cause I Bet Your Parents Were into It Too & I Bet Ya half Or More Of You That Were Not Born Yet Or Just Born Were Probably MADE To Some Of These 80's Groups, Songs! LOL! It's A Well Known Fact That there Were millions of Babies Conceived To Song Artist The Great BARRY WHITE!! Soooooooooo HA! :0)~~~ There! Well, I'm Out Of Here, Gotta Go Listen To My Collection Of 80's CD's LOL! Peace Out! :0)

The 80's was great.From the fashion down to the music. Their will never be another era so loud and uncaring.

Absolutely, the 1980s was by far the worst decade ever. Terrible music, unatractive hairstyles (both for men and women) a clown like fashion. Shoulder pads for women that were fit for baseball players. The music tunes (such as heavy metal Van Halen and other so called euro techno really lacked creativity and in fact when watching such videos back are laughable). Politically speaking it was a very depressing era, where only the super-rich could benefit. It was all going back to the cold war era then. A threat of war with the former Soviet Union, Reagan in the US and Thatcher in the UK. Even Mitterrand in France showed the same valuables. The Falklands war. The list is endless.

Please choose another decade, the 1970s were in fact a fun time (even though there were some financial difficulties).

Hey, the '80's rocked your socks off!!! Time of the best metal ever, especially because it inspired everything you hear today. That is self-explanatory. To keep it real, everything not metal sucked totally in that time.
It was defintitely a time for fashion experiments, most of which failed. This was also the time of big hair, which would probably explain the increases in hair loss today.

Hands down, Ronald Reagan IS the best President to ever sit in the Oval Office. HE is the reason dictators like Muahmar Khadafi won't mess with the US!!! Don't ever forget it!

Guys, really hard for me and for my generation in my place to remember the 80's as we were just a teens as we faced the situations in the middle east - specially in Syria, may be for you do care about music or movies or other types of media but for us it was struggling to survive I hope that days memories never happen again.

With all respect and love to the ones who have a good memories.

Best regards

hi my nam is reza tanky you for this pretty pic of nice girle.

OMG..."The eighties were horrible!!"???? You didn't live them if you can say that!!! MJ, Ozzie, Madonna, Everywhere sounds and tunes that were epic! Yeah, there were boners, but after the 70's? TV wasn't full of CSI and crappy "reality TV". Their wasn't a fasination with sorry a$$ Survivors. You either didn't live it or were wearing diapers. You need to take a "Back to the Future" trip and really visit that era again. Beats the last 10 years all to #e!!

I STILL THINK THE 70'S HAVE AND ALWAYS WILL HAVE THE GREATEST BANDS......LED ZEPPLIN, JOURNEY....QUEEN....LYNARD SKYNARD.....LIST IS LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. PEACE&LOVE YALL....

who didnt love the 80's, we had:
ninja throwing stars, nunchucks, rambo knives, speed, weed, poppers, rap, pop, rock, rubiks cubes, he-man, thundercats, porsche 911, lamborghini countach, ferrari testarossa, terminator, indiana jones, rambo, the goonies, gremlins, ghostbusters, ET and back to the future.

you need to have been born before the 80's to appreciate it.

The 80's look so good in the rear view mirror. They were a mix for me. I loved the music and the innocence here in America and Texas and the pretty boy look was a refreshing break from the redneck or yuppie look. It was a lot of fun to buy or make the clothes and go out wearing them. The down side was that so much was "under the carpet" so to speak. Gays were closeted, the normes were oppressive. I had short hair and being a girl, I got intense stares and questioned about why I wanted my hair short. One guy after I had cut my feathered hair short said, "you ruined yourself". He was serious. It was ridiculously mainstream. So, punk had to happen. I became a punk because I hated the oppression of it all and it was so silly but people couldn't see their own silliness.

I loved the 80's and still do. I could turn on MTV or radio and listen to POP, ROCK, ALTERNATIVE, METAL, R&B, whatever because it was an era of creativeness. Maybe it was the pinnacle. People were more free or daring to be different. There was still a sense of rebellion towards conformity. Sometimes people don't want to be told how to dress or what to listen to. Women were strong and beautiful no matter what age, but they were still women. There are too many "haters" now when things don't go their way. I guess that's the major difference. If you're different you're hated. Being different now seems like a crime and that's wrong.

The 80s happened because of the excesses of the 70s, Rock became too technical and guitar adlibs were almost masturbatory. Mindless disco reigned and people were thinking it was still 1969, long hair, bell bottoms, unkept long hairs... Of course there were also a number of good bands/artists like Can, Emerson Lake and Palmer, David Bowie etc, but they did not definitely looked and sounded 70s.

I don't know, as a kid in the late 80s I felt that hipsters from the 70s were trying so hard to remain hippies. That's how I felt. The mainstream 70s music/culture pales in comparison with that of the 80s. Electronica was mainstream ( devo, midge ure, depeche mode), punk/alternative began it's continuing hold on the mainstream culture, metal witnessed the birth of thrash/hardcore, hiphop/rap became big, throw in the pan/world music that were partly popularized by David Byrne and Peter Gabriel's fascination with non western music. These were the currents that created the 80s whirlpool.

So what was wrong with the big hair? the 80s was also a time for corporate ruthlessness, thus the birth of power dressing and " over the top" -root of todays maximalist design philosphy. And who can argue punks' influence on culture? The D.I.Y. sensibility became big in the 80s. Suddenly, people realized anyone can do it by themselves. The home recordings, the fanzines, the cyberpunks, the punk /hip-hop fashion...It was a very libertarian decade, suddenly common people learned that on their own they can make their own scene sans corporations/big political movements and the government.

But as a rejoinder, I would say that people will always be subjective about their fave decade. The reason why I joined the forum is just to somehow shed some light about the 80s. Van halen maybe from the 80s but they definitely are not the epitome of the 80s sound. Cept for the tapping technique of Eddie which was ground breaking, Van Halen sound more 70s. If one should pick a band to represent the 80s, it should be from the punk/new wave/indie scene because this is the scene that really defined the decade in terms of how people viewed the world.

I'm from the Philippines, so the 80s was definitely big in terms of politics(people's power), music (punk, hardcore, b-boy breakdancing), D.I.Y. fashion (safety shoes, ripped t-shirts, studs, D.I.Y t-shirts).... I remember my mohawk.. Oi oi oi oi oi! :)