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So '80s
April 23, 2008 - 7:35am — Katie Liederman
As far back as 1999, the '80s were already making a comeback. Suddenly, neon and shoulder pads and paint-splattered t-shirts were cool again. For whatever reason, this continues to hold today. People love laughing about Miami Vice and Empty Nest and Popples and all sorts of '80s technology and pop culture, but doing so is kind of old. "Oh my God! Remember Kate and Allie?! How about the Apple IIGS?"
If I hear another statement of this variety, I'm gonna blow my fucking brains out. At this point, it is so trite to talk about the '80s because people don't think too hard when they do so. They always fall back on the same old shit. Don't get me wrong... I loved the '80s, and I love talking about them just as much as the next guy. I just wish that people were a little more creative when reminiscing about this hugely weird decade. Crack, leg warmers, big hair, Menudo — we get it. Yes, they're all so '80s. And we so get it. Moving on.
On the plane to Dinah Shore, after coming to terms with the fact that no one was checking me out on the flight, my cousin and I decided to make a list — excluding the obvious — of all things '80s. It kept us engaged for the duration of the flight, and I think it's a pretty definitive list. The following are infrequently cited culprits: jeans, breasts, having one friend, homework, being grounded, "fancy" restaurants, speckled anything, wall-to-wall carpeting, telephones, the game telephone, nice cars, drinking champagne in a jacuzzi, homeless people, ordering pizza, pizza delivery guys, business meetings, "give me some skin," "eat my shorts," using the peephole on your door, triangles, being "ticked off," trying out for the school play, sliding down the banister of a flight of stairs, prostitutes, high-fiving, low-fiving, science, science experiments, beakers, reading "the paper," toast, apple juice, the color beige, Perrier, leaning against someone's backpack to write something down, dating "a college guy," babysitting, being 16 and having a four-year-old brother, older brothers, zits, exercise bikes, being medium weight, barrettes, cans of beer, really crowded house parties where everyone's dancing, not wearing your seatbelt, drunk driving, jogging, losing your virginity, graham crackers, getting fired, hamburgers, Bonkers (the candy), saying that someone is "cuckoo" while looping your finger in a circle by the side of your head, locker rooms, butts, threatening to kick someone's butt, kicking someone's butt, sharing one cigarette with all your friends, checking a book out of the library, the Statue of Liberty, having a cold, teachers calling their students "Mr./Ms._______," detention, secretaries, church, church weddings, bologna, missionary position, sneaking out of your bedroom window by shimmying down a tree, contests, dares, "doodling" in your notebook, raincoats, Fig Newtons, calling someone a jerk, individually wrapped soaps in airplane bathrooms, Tampax, room service, burglars, being "burglarized," pay phones, pot roast, ham, being forced to eat lima beans, "cleaning your plate," UNICEF, slamming the door, refusing to come out of your room, "taxicabs," having a crush on someone who doesn't know you exist, helping your dad in the garage, and hoodless sweatshirts.
I think that's it. Let me know if I'm missing anything (this is important).
If I hear another statement of this variety, I'm gonna blow my fucking brains out. At this point, it is so trite to talk about the '80s because people don't think too hard when they do so. They always fall back on the same old shit. Don't get me wrong... I loved the '80s, and I love talking about them just as much as the next guy. I just wish that people were a little more creative when reminiscing about this hugely weird decade. Crack, leg warmers, big hair, Menudo — we get it. Yes, they're all so '80s. And we so get it. Moving on.
On the plane to Dinah Shore, after coming to terms with the fact that no one was checking me out on the flight, my cousin and I decided to make a list — excluding the obvious — of all things '80s. It kept us engaged for the duration of the flight, and I think it's a pretty definitive list. The following are infrequently cited culprits: jeans, breasts, having one friend, homework, being grounded, "fancy" restaurants, speckled anything, wall-to-wall carpeting, telephones, the game telephone, nice cars, drinking champagne in a jacuzzi, homeless people, ordering pizza, pizza delivery guys, business meetings, "give me some skin," "eat my shorts," using the peephole on your door, triangles, being "ticked off," trying out for the school play, sliding down the banister of a flight of stairs, prostitutes, high-fiving, low-fiving, science, science experiments, beakers, reading "the paper," toast, apple juice, the color beige, Perrier, leaning against someone's backpack to write something down, dating "a college guy," babysitting, being 16 and having a four-year-old brother, older brothers, zits, exercise bikes, being medium weight, barrettes, cans of beer, really crowded house parties where everyone's dancing, not wearing your seatbelt, drunk driving, jogging, losing your virginity, graham crackers, getting fired, hamburgers, Bonkers (the candy), saying that someone is "cuckoo" while looping your finger in a circle by the side of your head, locker rooms, butts, threatening to kick someone's butt, kicking someone's butt, sharing one cigarette with all your friends, checking a book out of the library, the Statue of Liberty, having a cold, teachers calling their students "Mr./Ms._______," detention, secretaries, church, church weddings, bologna, missionary position, sneaking out of your bedroom window by shimmying down a tree, contests, dares, "doodling" in your notebook, raincoats, Fig Newtons, calling someone a jerk, individually wrapped soaps in airplane bathrooms, Tampax, room service, burglars, being "burglarized," pay phones, pot roast, ham, being forced to eat lima beans, "cleaning your plate," UNICEF, slamming the door, refusing to come out of your room, "taxicabs," having a crush on someone who doesn't know you exist, helping your dad in the garage, and hoodless sweatshirts.
I think that's it. Let me know if I'm missing anything (this is important).
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47 Comments
I AM a product of the 80's
Man....Let's see what I got
-"psyche" (slang)
-"cold chillin'" (slang)
-"Man you illin'" (slang)
-"Fresh" (slang)
-"Rad" (slang)
-"Let's get Stupid!" (slang)
-"YO YO YO WHAT'S UP!!" (slang)
-"Gettin' Busy" (slang)
-Valley Girl- dialect
-Swatches
-Pony's
-PUNKY BREWSTER!!
-Rainbow Bright
-Kangols
-LL Cool J
-Run DMC
-Adidas
-Never Ending Story (movie)
-ALL Freddy Kruger movies
-21 Jump Street
-Transformers
-Fraggle Rock
-Silver Hawnks
-Thunder Cats
-California Raisins
-the black Michael Jackson
-Tin lunch boxes
-Big Wheels
-My Buddie and Kid Sister
-Roger and Zapp (singer-before T-Pain EVER....)
-Me'shelle (singer-had a baby voice)
-Boom Boxes
-the Swinging for side to side white people dance (AKA the CAROLTON DANCE)
-Carrying a boom Box on you shoulder while walking thru the neightborhood with it turned all the way up!!
-Cassette Tapes
-Glow Worms
-Side pony tails
-Side bangs
-Skating Ring Parties
-Doing the "wop" (dance)
-the Dana Dane (dance)
-the Bobby Brown (dance)
-the Snake (dance)
-Doin' the Butt (dance)
-Basement Parties
-Colored Light Bulbs
-Afterschool Specials
-Atari
-Kalico*
-Nintendo-flat loader
-Friendship Bracelets
-Skip it!
...aawww theres more but I can think of it now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
([AnGiBabie])
Fast Times/Phoebe Cates,
Fast Times/Phoebe Cates, Fluorescent color clothes, leg warmers, “Let’s get physical”, wanting to go on a Goonie like adventure, Alf, New kids on the block (although I found them annoying, still do), Brat pack, Like a Virgin , KITT...from Knight Rider (a sober David Hasselhoff), Thursday night NBC, pac man, spy hunter, sneaking smokes in the shower stalls of the locker room (and thinking aqua net would cover the smell), those jelly bracelets when wearing them was fashionable(then) and not for a “rainbow party” (now), Valley Girl, gag me with a spoon, grody to the max, MTV was a music channel with music videos and not a bunch of tv shows, the original VJ’s – Martha Quinn, Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood, Alan Hunter, JJ Jackson, Fame, Solid Gold and those solid gold dancers...
....and the timeless Spin the Bottle and 7 Minutes in Heaven in an uncomfortably tight closet. 7 minutes seemed like an eternity then and is a ‘blink and it’s over’ now! Ahhh, good times......
correction
upon further reflection, i've realized that losing your virginity is not 80s. It's 70s. Being a virgin is 80s. My apologies for the misstep.
80's - shit.
the decade of jr. high, high school, marriage and childbirth - and coming out before marriage - losing virginity - cruising the strip from the mcdonalds to the sonic.. round and round.. drunk orgiastic teenage parties under the bridge... a gold 78 cutlass supreme with vinyl seats, perfect to puke in and wash it out with a water hose the next day.... binge drinking - binge sexing -- just all around good times.. jelly shoes, big hair, esprit, bennetton, mullets! (not on me), OP shorts, russell athletic sweatshirts and matching sweat pants - fast times at ridgemont high, breakfast club, 16 candles, ghost busters "who you gonna call", eddie murphy in beverly hills cop... mel gibson - tom cruise and risky business -- drive in theatres...devo, wham, a-ha!, mtv...
the decade of jr. high
i like it.
a few
mousse
cars w/ red or blue interiors - and the rayban wearing studs who drove them.
cigarette commercials
laserdiscs
women keeping their maiden names to prove a point
dittos
carbon copiers
blowing on things to make them work (ie nintendo games).
"bite me"
"dang"
step/aerobics class
wearing "sneaks"
an overabundance of sweatbands
turtlenecks
family portraits w/ glamorous backgrounds and carpeted props
being "too slow" on your last high five following the down low
the ultra secure stirrup pants
flip-up headlights
shirts w/ crotch snap closures
the unfortunately short-lived popularization of the keytar
oh jeez
emma your list is golden. maybe keytars can still be bought on ebay? p.s. "sneaks." yes.
Hmmm
Ya know, I've been on such a Flashdance kick lately. I've been dancing around the house to "What a Feeling" far toooooo much! So I was about to write ripped, off the shoulder sweatshirts, but that's way too known. I was born in 88 so I didn't get to experience the 80's first hand.... so I'll leave this up to the professionals!
P.S. KL, when I was leaving college today, I was walking behind this girl that looked just like you! (from what I've seen in pics) The hair, the clothing, the everything! Just as I was thinking how funny that was, the girl turns around and smiles at me.... in the midst of this smile, the sidewalk dropped off and she did a face plant into the pavement. Craziness! That was my Liederman moment of the day lol.
haha!!
from what I've read that Katie's written about herself.. that sounds exactly like her.. hot but a total retard.
You must have seen her twin.
Lol!
I know it, it was such a crazy moment because I wanted to die laughing, but I wanted to make sure she was ok first. She sprung back up before I could even get there and said "fucking drop offs!" And walked away really fast, I think she was pretty embarassed; and for some reason I felt pretty embarrassed too lol.
So I'm trying to think
So I'm trying to think whether the phrase "suck it" was in the 80's or 90's, with the whole action with it too. I of course wouldn't really know since I was born 88
OMG MM!
Love the girl with the Coors 12 pack hat on, omg, haaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! :) Peace, Jodie
i've been saying "suck it"
for as long as I can remember. p.s. you're hot
just cuz
you are an extraordinarily amorous dyke who has said "suck it" since preschool, it doesn't necessarily make it an 80's phrase. I don't remember suck it from back in the day... but i'm old.. maybe my memory is failing me?
80s
ended senteces with the word " sike "
"WAX ON,WAX OFF"
"I know you are, but what am I?"
always pondered why Smurfette was the only smurf..
doogie howser.
watching magic johnson play against larry bird.
banana clips.
Televangelist & Hookers
Oh the days of Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, Jimmy Swaggert and Oral Roberts. Oh and lets not forget the HOOKERS!!
LAKE
BETTE:"Can you imagine...Can you imagine that act
of looking and seeing and reseeing just to
get to the truth of someone."
Hummmmmm..............
I wonder why they call him "Oral" Roberts.
We would have to ...
ask the hookers! ;)
LAKE
BETTE:"Can you imagine...Can you imagine that act
of looking and seeing and reseeing just to
get to the truth of someone."
Back here it was..
-comunism;
-ration tickets;
-sitting in queues since 3 a.m. to get the family ration of food (the stores opened around 8 a.m.);
-being a "komrad";
-more comunism;
-not having the right of free speech;
-security;
- '89 - no right of assembly (as in, no more than 3 people could walk - as a group - on the streets);
- being arrested by the "security" for saying things against the comunist party.
-being considered very cool if you managed to get your hands on a pair of smuggled jeans (from relatives that managed to escape from the eastern block).
I could go on and on. But the best thing that happened in '89 was the revolution. People died so we can be "free".
You guys had it good. Lucky.
yeah, peaches and rainbows..
Well at least we're a bit more grounded than other nations that didn't "experience" communism. We don't take anything for granted, especially when we remember how hard it was to get food. Example: it was a luxury to have oranges or bananas for Christmas. We didn't have drug issues and stuff. We had starving children taken from their homes because they were being raised by single mothers. Yes, the communist party thought it was for their own good...go figure... so they took the kids to isolated locations, locked them up in houses and left them starve to death.
Not to mention being gay...it was against the law. I can't remember if i heard of any cases of people getting arrested coz of that, but I'll look it up.
Unfortunately, we're catching up awfully fast. I say unfortunately coz kids nowadays tend to copy only the bad parts of the western culture. Oh well...I guess that's how things go.
yeah, peaches and rainbows..
Well at least we're a bit more grounded than other nations that didn't "experience" comunism. We don't take anything for granted, especially when we remember how hard it was to get food. Example: it was a luxury to have oranges or bananas for Christmas. We didn't have drug issues and stuff. We had starving children taken from their homes because they were being raised by single mothers. Yes, the comunist party thought it was for their own good...go figure... so they took the kids to isolated locations, locked them up in houses and left them starve to death.
Not to mention being gay...it was against the law. I can't remember if i heard of any cases of people getting arrested coz of that, but i'll look it up.
Unfortunately, we're catching up awfully fast. I say unfortunately coz kids nowadays tend to copy only the bad parts of the western culture. Oh well...I guess that's how things go.
totally
totally.
Thanks
For putting things into perspective.
Lezbeth
i like to think of things
i like to think of things like breasts, butts, and triangles as being timeless.
i hear you
but sadly, they're eighties.
smoking in school buying a
smoking in school
buying a joint at school ( for a dollar )
designer jeans
Record Albums
Disco sucks
sex,drugs and rock and roll
wine coolers
luke and laura
walkmans
boombox..........
you get it
but i think wine coolers are nineties? maybe cause i got drunk off them from 94-97 (age 14-17) and thought i was baddass (melon-berry wine coolers are not badass).
and: designer jeans all the way. EXACTLY. nobody calls them "designer" anymore, even if they are.
Car Washing
Hand-washing neighbours' cars for money during the summer holidays.
J x
So '60s, So '70s
What a difference a couple of decades makes. The '80s for me: too much coke (not the drinking variety), too much booze, discos, poppers, the Truckadero and Amelia's in SF, Peg's Place (SF) closing, AIDS--friends dying, bathhouses closing, buying my first house, driving a Porsche, being 30, Silence=Death, the Quilt. I won't go on, but my list would be very different. What I notice coming back now are peace signs, protests about war, talk about the environment, a new wave of freedom in sexuality, women's music (thanks LWord), renewed GLBT civil rights activism, over-priced gas, public discourse on race and gender...it's so late 60s, early 70s, but with a different spin. I'm liking it.
Lezbeth
Like Omigod I'm an 80's baby
Let's see:
- Smurfs, Fraggle Rock, Garbage Pail Kids, Rainbow Bright
- Hulla hoops
- Hi-C juice boxes
- Fruit roll-ups (wrap around your finger and suck)
- Stone washed jean outfits
- Alf (I had an Alf t-shirt, don't ask)
- John Hughe's Movies
- Rubik's cube
- Recess
- Rolled up sleeves on jacket
-
-
- California Raisins
- Boom Box
- High Top Sneakers
You forgot "The Breakfast Club" and "Porky's"
Ok, the last one sounded pervie lol
Squirrel on crack '08
Back in the days...
And of course- British Knights; After-School Specials; The Cosby Show; Gangsta Rap...good times :)
whoa that's good
after-school specials is a good one.
this is very comprehensive and mad nostalgic...
Gloria Bigelow
jerry curls... anyone... no one will admit to that eh,?
lol...yeah
i guess i can admit to it...i hated that shit though..it was more like a jerry fro because i hated the juice..but i have redeemed myself..natural since 2000
I miss my...
Punky Brewster hi-tops!
I miss my Punky Brewter Shoes
with the rainbow colors...hmmm...maybe Punky was gay
Squirrel on crack '08
Out of adoration of Punky
Out of adoration of Punky Brewster, I wore a bandana tied around my jeans leg for several months running back in the 5th grade.
Ok you won
You are Soleil Moon French fry ;D
PS: send me a pic hehe
Squirrel on crack '08
You forgot
"Rad."
hello billy and ted
totally tubular/awesome, bogus, and my personal favorite gnarly
Awesome Hair Dude
The woman's hair in that photograph is brilliant!
J x
Going down memory lane
When I reminisce about the '80s, I wax nostalgic about my 30s, hah.
Anyway, some of my favorite pop culture memories of the '80s:
1. Madonna (diva)
2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (movie)
3. Cagney & Lacey (TV show)
4. Desert Hearts (lesbian movie)
5. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (song, Cyndi Lauper)
Cable teevee
But Katie as long as there is cable teevee,writers strike and weekend reruns we'll never escape people feeling the need to reminis.
A few days ago there was a Matthew Broderick(sp) marathon of all his teen movies.Ugh! I think it was a marathon as I kept seeing him as I searched and searched for something to watch(lol)
just out of curiosity
why did you write "teevee?"
(lol) Picked it up from
(lol) Picked it up from reading Reises blog[Automatic Straddle] for so long.
Jelly Shoes
And then there is always the predominant use of the word “dude” in all conversations, regardless of the gender of the person you’re speaking to/about.