- '80s music wasn't the worst. Not by a long shot.
- All hail the OP, Queen of Eldergays!
- OP you were listening to the wrong music. Venture out.
- [quote]Worst frikking holocaust (plague)
I think the actual Holocaust in the 1940s might have been just a tad worse, no?
- When is OP going to reach puberty and start using words like "Fucking"?
- I stay up late just for drunken, nonsensical posts like these!
- OP = 100 years old.
- Broadway was awesome in the 1980s -- and tickets were under $40!!!
Glad%20I%20was%20around
- I hated the eighties, too. Everything was so superficial, so meaningless, so trivial.
Ronald Reagan was President. AIDS was rampant. Madonna came upon the scene. Nobody gave a damn about anything but money. I know every decade has its horrors, but the eighties was in a class by itself. I don't think there was ever a decade that worshipped avarice and selfishness like the eighties did.
- Too bad OP didn't get AIDS and die.
80s best decade ever
- You shut your mouth, OP.
Second%20that%20-%2080%27s%20best%20decade
- [quote] I don't think there was ever a decade that worshipped avarice and selfishness like the eighties did.
Apparently you must not know many young people from this decade.
The 80's was all about FUN and excess. The entitled assholes in our current decade are much, MUCH worse. Greedy, selfish, me me me me generation. Give me tje 80's any day.
- What r12 said -- in the 80s you could be a Gordon Gekko if you wanted to be, but you didn't [bold]have[/bold] to be in order to survive, like now.
- How COULD you, OP?
Bea%2C%20Rue%2C%20Betty%20and%20Estelle
- [quote]Too bad OP didn't get AIDS and die.
Lovely, r10. Back at ya turd breath.
- The first generation to know it wouldn't do better than their parents.
- The fashion was tacky as hell, but it was a lot of fun.
- Both my parents grew up in the eighties. They loved it. It's ok if you hated it op, but not everyone did.
- R18 the late 80s style and big hair was fucking ridiculous!
However women looked MUCH better and were smoking hot (Priscilla Barnes for instance) in the early 80s, which had more of 70s feel, the Farrah do was still popular and it's one of the most flattering hairstyles on women and it's not that dated. The huge hair, shoulder pads and drag queen look of the later part of the decade is extremely dated.
anonymous%20
- suck my pulsing asshole r15
r10
- "The 80's was all about FUN and excess."
"Fun?" What was "fun" about it? As I recall, people were dying like flies from AIDS in the eighties. You call that "fun?"
It WAS all about excess, though: greed and money and partying. Wasn't that how Reagan was elected? "It's morning in America!" Spend, spend, spend! Party like there no tomorrow! Of course all that shit eventually hit the fan what with the country and its citizens drowning in debt and the Great Recession and the housing crisis and everything else. But I guess it was "fun" while it lasted.
- Fashion historians, HOW did '80s fashion evolve into what it did? It was just fucking atrocious.
http://i.eatliver.com/2005/207.jpg
- Only stupid people don't understand that fashion is arbitrary. And they always think that whatever came before now was worse because it's not currently accepted.
- [quote]no wonder that generation is fucked up and bitter.
Who are the 80s generation exactly? What age did you have to be in 1985 to be 'that generation'?
- I love that OP equates AIDS and feathered hair in his post--as if they were both equally catastrophic.
- Every decade has had its share of shit, but 2000-2005 tops any list by far. The absolute pits:
A Stolen election
9/11
The SARS outbreak and Anthrax scares
The Iraq War and the McCarthy-esque "You're with us or against us" bullying.
Hurricane Katrina and the third world nation that New Orleans became.
All of this in under five years.
And we still haven't recovered.
- Don't forget all the gay bashing -- led by empowered fundies.
- The 2000s decade was worse.
Anonymous
- I agree R26, it wasn't a very auspicious start to a new century., was it?
But for some strange reason 2000-05 don't seem as nasty as the '80s. Not as cold and deeply unattractive.
The '80s to me are like a person with B.O.
Even without AIDS I'd LOATH them and I'm old enough to remember them from Jan 1, 80 to Dec 31, 1989
- R22's pic...is that for real or is it a spoof?
This video captures the gorgeous '80s just as well.
'EVERYONE' started to look like Rod Stewart in the '80s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dwlq0lYB3iSM
- The US and the world heaved a sigh of relief when Bush left office. The 2000s was Bush era and the worst decade in modern history. We were living "1984." There is nothing positive that I can think of from 2000-2008.
- R29 As horrific as the AIDS outbreak was (and it should never be forgotten) there was a still a sense of hope that if people fought and banded together, change could be done. By the late eighties, things were starting to turn around, albeit slowly. But hope and optimism were alive. And the media wasn't as "Biased" in their coverage, to put it nicely.
The early 2000's, by contrast, were cynical, mean spirited and downright ugly. You had a blatant stolen election that was literally swept under the rug in front of our eyes. You had overwhelming evidence that the Iraq War was a mistake, but anyone who dared to question anything was labelled a terrorist sympathizer. SARS outbreak, snipers. And a Republican government that was pracitcally defiant in their agenda. Has there ever been another adminstration that made no bones in not giving a shit about the people than the Bush administration? Even Reagan made somewhat of an effort to act like he cared.
People were out there protesting, and it's like they didn't exist, thanks to a Republican owned media.
Terrible all around. When you have people who grew up during the turblent sixties saying they never imagined anything like this, that should tell you something about how bad it was.
- r32 not to mention that if you dare to be critical of Bush, your career literally went up in flames because of fanatics, and the President stayed silent through it all.
The only thing I hope because learn for the 2000s is never again.
- The 80s were only good if you had money. It was the time of the Yuppie. The time of "Greed is Good". The time of excess.
If you didn't have money, "trickle-down economics" often missed you, but nobody cared.
- I agree with OP, the 80s were awful. Thank god they're long gone.
- The 2000s were all thanks to Raygun.
- Well, historians have pointed out that Reagan restored the country's morale, allowing people to believe that personal wealth and big accomplishments were possible again.
By 1979 the national spirit was in the toilet. (See Carter's "crisis of confidence" a.k.a. "malaise" speech.)
Don't get me wrong: I believe that Reagan was evil and that Carter is a great humanitarian, but history-in-the-moment is what it is.
- [quote]However women looked MUCH better and were smoking hot
Bwahahahahaha!!!!!!
- The 80s gave us this song which is probably the best song of the last 25 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79fzeNUqQbQ
- [quote]The fashion was tacky as hell, but it was a lot of fun.
Everybody looked like an inverted triangle.
Agree with all who say 80's was bad but 2000's were worse. At least people had money in the 80's and real estate was cheaper.
2000's had all the shortcomings of the 80's, plus bigger terror and no money.
Everything went to pits after 9/11.
And don't get me started on the music. Long live the 60's, 70's and 90's
- "Everybody looked like an inverted triangle."
YES!! Volume and width on top, skinny and streamlined on the bottom. Everything I wore had shoulder pads, or was severely tapered.
See link for my hairstyle, which was truly atrocious.
http://www.hairfinder.com/images/802.jpg
- It seems like we're having 2 conversations in this thread. Those who judge a decade by its politics and those who judge it by its culture.
- [quote]It seems like we're having 2 conversations in this thread. Those who judge a decade by its politics and those who judge it by its culture.
What's wrong with either or both?
- [quote]Fashion historians, HOW did '80s fashion evolve into what it did? It was just fucking atrocious.
In the very late 70s glamour made a comeback (after the earthy fashions of the 1970s). Punk and New Wave took this theme and mocked it, by over-accessorizing, over-padding, over-layering. Fashion reflected the more is good and big is better theme... big shoulders, big hair, big bold colours and baggy shirts and sweaters, but always with a spirit mocking traditional good taste. It was basically the clown version of opulence, a 'fuck you' to the wealthy.
- OP, Frankie Says Relax
FGTH
- One of the nice things about the 80s is that Manhattan was still relatively affordable, and the Disneyfication/shopping mall shit hadn't started yet.
- 1980 was the greatest year in music,and movies - you had excellent disco, metal, punk, new wave, country, and pop all at the same time. You had the movie Fame, and a host of other great films that I am too lazy to list. And alot of models and hot celebs were young at that time. There were great restaurants such as Mr Chows and the clubs were great too. There was uptown and downtown, 2 distinct socio economic locations
Feenix
- I was just a little kid in the 80's, so I only remember a little bit of it. I think there were some great movies, music, and TV shows from that time, but it must have been hard being a gay teen or adult back then with absolutely NO equal rights. It was hard enough being a gay teen in the 90's, so I can only imagine how hard things were previously.
- The eighties were before my time (I was born in '92), but I'm sick of hearing about them. They sucked.
The worst presidents ever (Carter, Reagan, Bush)
NO good tv shows and only 2 channels (3 in large markets) to boot
The movies were ALL terrible. Police Academy? Yentl? Home Alone? Rambo?, and those were supposed to be the best? Sad.
The music was terrible. A bunch of squawky crap like Michael/Janet Jackson, KC & Sunshine Band, Liza, Cher, Barbra, Boyz II Men, New Kids on the Block, Cindy Lauper, Bette, Wham, Prince. No diversity and all music in the 80s sounded like video-game music. Ping, ping, ping, ping.
No good literature, terrible clothes, terrible hair (all mullets and big hair), bellbottoms, break dancing, platform shoes, gawdy jewelry, no home computers, no cell phones, AM radio only, listening to music on records and 8 track tapes, black and white movies and photographs, stupid comedy, AIDS, herpes, disco, rap music was dumb back then, bad food, ugly cars, ugly furniture, ugly houses and architecture, ugly people (GAWD, people were ugly back then-even the supposed hot ones). Just on and on. Dreadful. Glad I didn't suffer through that shit.
- Boys II Men appeared in 1991.
- Feathered hair was more a 70s thing. The 80s were short and spiky, then big big BIG!
- AM radio only? B&W movies? Are you being serious, R49?
- I'm grateful that I was born in the '80s, so that I didn't have to remember any of that awfulness and I got to enjoy a '90s childhood instead.
The early '00s were bad, but as a gay man, I would 100 x prefer to have lived through the entire 2000s multiple times than deal with the death, plague and homophobia of the '80s.
- R49 makes it sound like 80s were an apocalyptic decade which nobody survived but him being born born in `92 is the proof they have.
- Knots Landing, Dynasty, Dallas, Falcon Crest - the 80s were fabulous!
Soap%20Queen%20
- r49 is clearly a joke post. No "diversity" in music? The 80s was when there actually WAS diversity in music. The music industry actually allowed songs to be hits without them "featuring" some ignorant rap interlude.
-
F&F for R10.
Toss out the trash.
- R49 is 21 years old. Doesn't know his ass from his elbow.
Anonymous
- I was born in the late eighties so I don't remember much about it. However, I do like a lot of the music from that era. I kind of agree R19. I was looking at a photo of Gia Carangi from the early eighties and I thought it was interesting that she didn't look very dated at all.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_md91frzwzt1qg03pro1_500.jpg
- I think this song by Lisa Lisa
I Wonder If I Take You Home
https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DP5m8lj5DCtI
- Actually my guess is that r49 is quite old and claiming otherwise. References to "Liza" and "Barbra" using only one name? That's coming from an olderly.
r49 is what's known as a contrarian bitch.
- And Ready For The World's "Oh Sheila" are an example of fun catchy songs from the 80s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DwbL2lMn34Oo
- I also like this song a lot. I think the 80s had great music.
A-Ha "Take On Me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DdjV11Xbc914
- R49, I beg to differ. I was born in '65 and was there.
Good Movies: The Empire Strikes Back, Airplane!, Raiders of the Lost Ark, American Werewolf in London, Thief, Superman II, Blade Runner, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Road Warrior, Return of the Jedi, Terminator, This is Spinal Tap, Back to the Future, To Live & Die in L.A., Breakfast Club, Aliens, Ruthless People, Platoon, The Fly, Lethal Weapon, Planes Trains & Automobiles, Die Hard, A Fish Called Wanda, Naked Gun, Batman, Lethal Weapon II. None of the films you named were considered among "the best." Home Alone was 1990.
Good Music: U2, David Bowie, AC/DC, Queen, Judas Priest, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Depeche Mode, New Order, Front 242, Ministry, Danzig, Slayer, Duran Duran, Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne, Rush, Huey Lewis & The News, Rolling Stones, Prince, INXS, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Heart, etc.
Good TV: M*A*S*H, Magnum PI, WKRP in Cincinnati, Taxi, Barney Miller, Newhart, Cheers, Miami Vice, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Hart to Hart, Golden Girls, Police Squad!, The Equalizer, Knots Landing, Dallas, Dynasty, Hill Street Blues, etc.
Note: Bellbottoms, feathered hair, platform shoes were the 1970s.
TV Channels: In 1980, when I was 15, we already had 30 channels (including HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, CNN, etc.) and had since the late '70s. TV and movies were in color at that time, Mr. Misinformed. In addition, we had VCRS to watch movies on.
8-Track tapes: Were being phased out by 1980. We had records, cassettes, and yes, CDs.
KC & The Sunshine Band & Liza: Not the '80s. KC was the '70s. So was Liza, for the most part.
Boyz II Men: the 90s.
Radio: We had AM & FM radio. Both were broadcast in stereo.
Disco music was mostly passe by the 80s.
For every ugly car, house or building, there were 10 beautiful ones.
Read a book or google the fucking 80s before you speak, mate.
I was there.
- [quote]Worst music
OP, have you turned on the radio in the last 13 years? Must not have, because you would realize that 80's music was WAAAAY better than all the AutoTuned shit you hear now.
- People always talk about the terrible '80s fashions. The early '80s weren't actually that bad. I look back at photos and that part of the decade was rather conservative. The second half of the '80s was the big hair, parachute pants, mullets, huge earrings, shoulder pads, etc.
I was just a jeans, T-shirt, and tennis shoes kind of guy in the '80s. I look back and don't really cringe. I still dress that way now. I just have less hair. I was never a flamboyant/trendy dresser. The people who followed the trends were the ones who look silly in retrospect. Same as today.
- R65 I agree. Autotuned music is so stale and bland. I like a lot of modern songs, but the production is just overpowering and stale. I hate the drum sound on virtually every album since the late 1990s. It does not sound natural. Drums used to sound like drums, even when they were electronic. Now, not so much.
Everything seems too polished and freeze-dried. The brick-walling of sound is really irritating too. No dynamics. No subtleties. Just a wall of noise.
Like the music, hate the production
- Oh and I love a lot of the songs from this particular group. It's fun and catchy and better than a lot of the music we have today.
Morris Day And The Time- "Jungle Love"
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1nua7_the-time-jungle-love-morris-day_music%23.UXhIwspzCzc
- r66, you're right, trendiness always looks ridiculous in any decade. It's just that stupid people pretend that whatever is currently trendy is somehow less ridiculous.
- R64, you have the worst taste in America.
MOVIES
Out of your enormous list, these were acceptable:
Back to the Future, Breakfast Club, Platoon,
This were good: To Live & Die in L.A.
You left out: 16 Candles, Pretty in Pink, Ordinary People, Raging Bull, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Top Gun, ET, Do the Right Thing, and on and on and on.
To quote you, "None of the films you named were considered among "the best."
MUSIC
Your list contains not one thing I'd listen to, not even with your ears.
TV
I didn't watch TV until 1988. All I know you missed are thirtysomething and LA Law.
And bellbottoms were from the '60s, you boob.
- For all the 80s lovers (like me), here's your thread:
http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html%23page:showThread%2C12682284
- A gift awaits Oh, Dear in R70.
R70
