Favorite memory of the 80's?

The last day of law school. It was like getting out of prison.

Have you liked being an attorney, R1?

Bad computers. The Challenger exploded. Nancy and Ronnie Reagan. Starting architecture school and hating every second of it. Princess Diana wedding and thinking "lucky people but that won't last."

Money

Travel

Freedom

My favorite memory was when people knew that 80s is plural, not possessive.

Mama's Family!

Nightmare on Elm Street (3, in particular)

Super Mario Brothers / Legend of Zelda

and I confess, the "Forever Your Girl" music video.

I wasn't yet a teenager, so my memories are of pop culture.

The music

The movies

The TV shows

The commercials (yes, even those)

No iPads, iPods, or iPhones

No social media

The simplicity of life (I was a kid)

Computers hadn't literally taken over the world yet

Pagers. When my job gave me one, everyone looked at me like I was some sort of important CEO

"Friday Night Videos," Larry Bud Mellman on "Late Night with David Letterman," "Saturday Night Live," listening to the long distance dedications on Casey Casum's American Top 40.

Going to study in France for a year in 1986. I fell in love with the younger son in the family, but he was totally straight.

Still bitter-sweet, but bitter-sweet can be be sublime, looking back.

Smiths on tour, early summer

Music videos in the early 80s. We didn't get MTV until 1986, so in the early to mid 80s, we relied on local videos shows, including what we could get from Canada. Friday Night Videos, Video Hits, Good Rockin' Tonight, even Showtime showed videos. We used to record them and watch them over and over.

The 4th of July that they rededicated the newly refurbished Statue of Liberty. Everybody everywhere was wearing those green tiaras made to look like the spikes on the statue's head. It was a hot Summer holiday and Ptown was packed. Ahhhhh, and my friend Calvin was still alive. Thank you, Lee Ioweyouacoke-a-cola!

It was a fabulous decade with a wide variety of experiences.

Exploring Machu Picchu

Christmas in Australia

Shopping in the Covered Bazaar in Istanbul -- the world's greatest shop-til-you-drop experience. It has over 3,000 shops on 61 covered streets.

The Vatican Museum

Exploring the desolate coast in northern Peru

Going through the Str. of Magellan, the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal.

The year I reunited with the great lost love of my life. It was doomed but fun while it lasted.

Stranger Than Paradise

Berlin Wall coming down - one day they would mow people down for trying to escape, then the inhumanity ended, and everone won.

live Aid.

My 80s sojourn from New York to Oxford for my master's and then three years for my doctor of philosophy at Sorbonne in Paris, followed by 5 years at Princeton teaching--absorbed 1980-1990 perfectly bracket. Without this experience, I'd never have my job at State Department, so I loved the 80s.

Well, OP, that's quite a memory lane. Look, whatever anyone says as they wretch over your low IQ film choices, you must feel cherished, nonetheless. We need auto mechanics and clerks and people to stock shelves for us. Dumbasses are important to the functioning of the world, to enable me to have what I want on time and properly repaired--and delivered. Good bless proles, everywhere. You make my life possible.

Short shorts, being a kid, summers off from school, renting horror movies on VHS from a Rite Aid that had no age restrictions and clueless cashiers. Stealing mini cigars from that same Rite Aid. Bicycling everywhere. Humping/getting humped by my next-door neighbor, naked. Stealing pornographic magazines from stores.

Wait, was I supposed to pick just ONE favorite memory, OP?

[quote]Look, whatever anyone says as they wretch over your low IQ film choices

Whose low IQ choices, wretch?

R5's favorite memory is that he discovered shit sandwiches, and hasn't stopped eating them since.

[quote]including what we could get from Canada

R12 did you ever catch "Toronto Rocks" on CityTV? Loved that video show.

R19 visits Angie's List to look for reliable proctologists.

Actually, R22/OP, if anyone is eating turd'oeuvres in your exchange with R5, it is your brown-nosed self.

[quote]Summer Rental, Revenge of the Nerds, Weekend at Bernie's....the films were awesome.

You have abysmal taste.

You're right about 80s movies, but my god, the ones you chose...

Film degli anni '80 risucchiare palline di mozzarella.

a decade when people still knew the difference between plurals and possessives.

Hint: It's 80s, not 80's.

There is no apostrophe before the "s" when you are referring to a group of 10 years.

I remember that too r13 and all the ships that sailed to NYC for the celebration. It was amazing seeing the tall ships and others sailing up the Hudson.

The 80s were very very good to me. In spite of the AIDS tragedy unfolding, I miss that time of my life.

That's already been covered in this thread, R28? Do you have anything else to share?

Thank you for adding nothing to this thread, R25. Multiple times.

R26, I mentioned that I remember the comedies, the most. The movies I mentioned aren't Oscar bait, but fun, silly summer comedies. I'm sure when you're sitting around with your tasteful friends, and watching Bonfire of the Vanities, you will discuss this thread, and cluck your tongues over my choices.

Sorry R28, but R5 beat you to the bitchy punch. And much more succinctly than you did.

Goddamn, and thread that was meant to be fun, was ruined by a bunch of self-important twats. No wonder straight people hate us.

R31, crappy decade = crappy thread. Your bad taste is why people hate you.

Ah, wipe away your tears, R32. I know your panties are in a bunch, but I'm sure you'll find a new thread to post your snide, witless remarks and forget all about this thread.

R33, only 20% of your posts could be construed as positive ([italic]nothing[/italic] you have said could be called witty). The other 80% are your various cuntings at posters who obviously didn't enjoy the '80s the way you did. It's too bad it's your favorite decade, but as decades go, it really did eat caterpillar shit.

In the words of one of my favorite '70s songwriters, "Poor, poor pitiful R33/OP/R31/R24/R23/R22."

Margaret Thatcher's fab outfits.

Any memory before AIDS, 1980-82.

[quote]You're right about 80s movies, but my god, the ones you chose...

Oh please, those movies are hilarious '80s classics.

R34 wishes his opinion was as important to others, as it is to him.

Thanks, R37. The humourless trolls wouldn't know fun if it licked their ass.

"Weekend at Bernies"? That wasn't funny even in countries where humor only has one "U."

R38: I am not wrong, even when I am wrong. Because I am never wrong.

R41, could you please ask the first voice in your head to come back and type the replies? He makes more sense than this new one.

Vouge ,by madonna lol going to miami twice a month cause the cash was flowing. great great times. everything seemed possible. alot of waste also. but great memories

How do you live, R42?

Fell in love three times that decade v. 1x in the 90s (fell out of love 1x in the 90s too v 0 times in the 80s) and never since.

Filled with magical moments. Sex on the beach, a magical garden in an unexpected place, and simple joys like pickup basketball in the park, sunbathing while reading the Sunday paper in the yard, skinnydipping in the dark, napping on the porch during a thunderstorm, dancing without inhibition to "It's raining men," stuffing half a week's pay into the g-string of a stripper....

Getting physical.

Some really great summer blockbusters, back when you had to line up around the block to get a seat, even weeks after they opened!

The Empire Strikes Back Raiders of the Lost Ark ET Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Back to the Future Aliens The Terminator Beverley Hills Cop (not so great film, but classic 80s soundtrack - Neutron Dance!)

R23 I don't remember watching Toronto Rocks, what channel is City TV? We had channel 5 (CBC) Channel 9 (Is that City TV?) and Channel 11 (CHCH) on good days.

Running into Child World to see the latest He-Man and G.I Joe toys

Playing out in the street every summer until late.

Saturday morning cartoons

Nintendo

Jerking off while watching "Magnum, P.I." - Yum. Selleck was really hot back then.

If you weren't gay or living in the north of England, it was probably a better decade to live through than the 2000s.

I was in high school from 1979-1983. My favorite memories of that era:

Summertime and hanging out at the lake with friends, while drinking cold beer and jamming AC/DC's "Highway to Hell", "Back in Black", & "For Those About to Rock", Styx "Paradise Theater", Judas Priest's "British Steel" and "Screaming for Vengeance", Rush's "Permanent Waves", "Moving Pictures" and "Signals", Queen's "The Game", Van Halen's "Women and Children First", Journey's "Escape", Def Leppard's "Pyromania." The jams were awesome then.

Getting my first car at 16.

Seeing the latest movies: The Empire Strikes Back, Airplane!, The Shining, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman II, For Your Eyes Only, Blade Runner, Star Trek II, The Road Warrior, Poltergeist, Return of the Jedi, etc.

Meeting hot guys at the lake and at the mall. Ignorance was bliss because I never heard of AIDS until 1983 or so. After high school '83-'89 were awesome years. College, dating, great friends, the beach, lots and lots of beer, lots and lots of fun.

E.G. Smiths

MTV from 1981 to 1986, when they played 24 hour a day music videos and Saturday Night Concerts. No game shows, no teen mother shows, no "reality" shows at all. Just 24 hour a day music videos. Those were the days.

If you got tired of music videos on MTV, there was always Night Flight on USA Network. Their video segments featuring new wave, punk and heavy metal were the best.

Skinny people with feathered hair.

My teenage gay crushes on Tom Selleck, Christopher Reeve, Rick Springfield, and Harrison Ford.

Watching all the summer movies in Manhattan. Then hitting the arcade on 42nd street…smoking cigarettes, playing video games for hours. Another holla for short shorts on guys. Holy christ, men looked hot in those.

The 80s yuppie look. My dad taking me to restaurants like Arizona 206.

Guys not giving a shit about letting it all hang out in the locker room.

Trans-ams, Camaros and the Iroc-Z.

New Wave/punk clubs, especially on Long Island: Heartbeat, Spize, The Batcave, Paris, Malibu.

And Jones Beach in the 80s. Holy shit. Hot guys in tight trunks for days.

Yes, I was a little perv.

Seeing Grace Jones perform Warm Leatherette live at Dreamland in San Francisco.

I miss my friends as they were back then. A bunch of hot looking, fun hell-raisers. Today they are boring and talk about nothing but politics and reality TV. Yawn.

I still love them, but damn they can be boring. I'm not the party boy I was in 1986 either, but at least I'm not boring.

I also miss the days when you could go out with friends and actually have a conversation at the table without everyone updating their Facebook statuses, checking their Twitter and email, and taking cell phone calls every ten minutes. We have great conversations on Facebook but rarely get to get a word in in person.

It was a great era for films - Chariots of Fire, Room With a View, Heartland, Out of Africa, Ordinary People.

Doing X at The Starck Club

Thanks for starting this thread, OP.

Seeing "Aliens", an American sci-fi masterpiece, with all the other amped up 80s kids. Very little was revealed plot-wise at the time, but everybody knew it was going to be shit hot. This is one summer film that did not disappoint. I went running at 1am to burn off the resultant excess adrenaline from my first viewing. I was sixteen years old.

r65, to this day Aliens was the most insane time I've ever had watching a movie. The audience was at the mercy of it. I was also high and pumped after. Totally terrifying, exhilarating beyond anything we were anticipating.

Just getting in the car and driving. Gas was $1 a gallon so you didn't have to plan, you could just go.

Thinking you could quit your job and get another one because there were always jobs available.

To Live and Die in L.A.--still the slickest action movie I've ever seen with incredible cinematography. William Friedkin really knew how to make a great movie AND a popcorn movie. Michael Bay, take notes.

CFNY Radio out of Toronto.

My parents were small business owners who did very well during the Reagan years and we had a summer house on a lake in rural Pennsylvania. We were little kids who were outside all day playing, swimming, biking, waterskiing, taking arts and crafts classes, riding horses, picking berries, etc. No TV, cell phones, computers, video games. I idealize the time but it was so much healthier and happier than how kids grow up today (IMHO).

I got interested in music in the 80s, too--X, the Clash, PiL, the Smiths, Joy Division, the Jam, the Ramones, Jethro Tull, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Heart.

R68 was fixated on Petersen's erection, visible in shadow in that mass-distributed film, for years.

Getting horny and getting off in the adult movie theaters. Even "straight" movies had lots of gay action in the theater, and the gay movie houses had backrooms...

All of the great concerts. Great seats for $11.00-$14.00. Top acts too. I saw Kiss in 1979 for $9.50. I saw AC/DC in 1980 for $9.50. Queen in 1982 was $12.00. I saw U2 in 1983 for $10.99. Rush in 1984 was $11.50. I saw Prince & the Revolution in 1985 for $17.50 and I thought that was highway robbery. Great show, but that price seemed like gouging in 1985.

If you go see those same acts now (when they are all long past their peaks), you can expect to pay $85.00-$250.00. Kiss even has $1500.00 concert ticket packages. It's crazy! I attended my last concert over a decade ago and will likely never attend another one. It's outrageous.

R71, probably

Every city, even Detroit, still had hope.

In May 1980, seeing "The Empire Strikes Back" on opening day.

Mainly, I miss my youth. I am 50 now and I still feel young and vibrant, but my friends all seem to have gotten old and boring (as R-61 said). Every seems obsessed with politics. Nights out on the town and cookouts in the backyard turn into political debates between friends.

Hanging out with my straight friends is just as irritating. They're all obsessed with politics AND SPORTS. It's misery for me. LOL.

We should be political; MORE POLITICAL. I have nothing but contempt for people who want a life free of politics.

These aren't my favourites, but they are my memories of the 80s - I remember really, really bad fashions - giant shoulderpads and huge armholes (woman here). Any style that distorts your body shape, eg, dropped waists, empire waists, harem or palazzo pants is a mistake. I remember a great number of fake self-help New Age gurus conning people with fake promises. I remember very high interest rates. I remember some movies and music I liked. It was all ok, because I was younger.

I miss those carefree days of living on the Robin Masters estate (rent free fuckers!). I miss my old friend Higgins (long retired now). I even miss his goddamn dogs, Zeus and Apollo. Most of all I miss that fucking red Ferrari. I drove it all over the island and never paid a cent for gas.

'80s movies still make me feel good. There was something about them that warms me like an old blanket.

Ghostbusters, E.T., The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, Terminator, Back to the Future, Batman, Airplane!, Lethal Weapon 1 & 2, Star Trek II-The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III-The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Aliens, The Shining, Big Trouble in Little China, Die Hard, A Fish Called Wanda, The Naked Gun, The Right Stuff, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Blade Runner, The Thing, Arthur, Superman 2, Excalibur, To Live and Die in L.A., Return of the Living Dead, Re-Animator, Fright Night, Nightmare on Elm Street, Vacation, Stripes, Caddyshack...

Early '80s AOR (Album Oriented Rock) FM stations throughout the US. A great mix of acts like Heart, Ac/Dc, Rush, Axe, Loverboy, Foreigner, Rolling Stones, U2, A Flock of Seagulls, The Go-Go's, Judas Priest, Rick Springfield, Billy Squier, Police, Foreigner, Journey, April Wine, Styx, Kiss, Triumph, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, ZZ Top, Axe, Riot, Van Halen, INXS, U-2, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Krokus, Def Leppard, Pretenders, Devo, David Bowie, Aldo Nova, Quiet Riot, Queen, The Who, The Fixx, Accept, Motorhead, Billy Idol, Jon Butcher-Axis, Tony Carey, R.E.M., Don Henley, Def Leppard, Saxon, Ramones, Wang Chung, Pete Townshend, Toto, The Clash, Survivor, REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Dokken, Motley Crue, Ratt, Twisted Sister, Robert Plant, Sammy Hagar, Supertramp, E.L.O., The Kinks, Frank Marino, Aerosmith, Vandenberg, Madness, Duran Duran, Roxy Music...

Hearing The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams Are Made of This" on the radio- then seeing the weird, androgynous video. I knew the future was a place I could be.

Echo & the Bunnymen; INXS; U2; Depeche Mode; New Order; Frankie Goes to Hollywood; Erasure; Yaz; Prince & the Revolution; Judas Priest; Madonna; David Bowie; Cyndi Lauper; Bronski Beat; Bangles; AC/DC; Queen; Missing Persons; Berlin; Olivia Newton-John; Electric Light Orchestra; Tears for Fears.

As a sports fan, I miss the short shorts that basketball players wore back then. I quit watching when the shorts went to knee-length. I started watching soccer and I've never gone back. Lol!

John Hughes movies - "Mr. Mom", "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club".

"Summer School" - Mark Harmon, sexy as hell, Kirsty Alley stll not a joke. Courtney Thorne-Smith, the All-American girl. Ken Olandt, stripping...

Thr cheesetastic "Masters Of The Universe" movie with Courtney Cox.

The 1984 LA Olympics closing ceremony party, and the winter Olympics.

Easy, breezy, care-free fun

Dan Jansen, who I thought was the most gorgeous man who ever lived.

Smeaking a peek at "Playgirl" magazine, hidden inside "Rolling Stone" at Waldenbooks.

Unpretentious malls.

Seeing U2 in 85

My parents getting HBO in December of '79. They played lots of great movies in the early '80s.

Early MTV was awesome (all music, all the time).

There seemed to be soooo many hot guys back then (thin, lean muscle, feathered shoulder length hair, bleach blond).

Pre-social media years were great. We actually went out to clubs, movies, game rooms, restaurants with people and had good times.

I could still get 12 records or cassettes for a penny just by filling out the little record club card pullout in TV Guide.

Pants were tighter and I could really see the bulges a bulgin'...

Magnum PI, The Equalizer, Taxi, M*A*S*H, Newhart, Not Necessarily the News, Cheers, WKRP in Cincinnati, Barney Miller, Hill Street Blues, Star Trek-The Next Generation, Married with Children, SCTV, Night Flight (Heavy Metal Heroes), MTV Saturday Night Concerts...

Better yet, 2-3 minute commercial breaks during my favorite shows. An hour long show was 53-54 minutes long without commercials. Today hour long shows are 42 minutes.

I miss my 1982 Black Mustang GT. That baby could roar. I would crank up Ozzy's 'Crazy Train' and hit the highway!

I loved A Flock of Seagulls and Duran Duran. I had a huge crush on Billy Squier and Freddie Mercury (big teeth and all).

Mostly my long gone good friends, Ray, Marc and Trip. We had so many good times in the '80s. I lost Ray in '93, Marc in '95 and Trip in '98.

Spring Breaks 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986. Jeez, those were the best days of my life! I'm surprised we all survived those wild times.

R96 → Bryan Adams

Turning 50.

My favorite songs when I graduated HS in May 1983:

Photograph - Def Leppard

Rock! Rock! Till You Drop - Def Leppard

Beat It - Michael Jackson

Rock of Ages - Def Leppard

Red Skies - The Fixx

Don't Change - INXS

New Year's Day - U2

Flight of Icarus - Iron Maiden

Separate Ways - Journey

Faithfully - Journey

Mr. Roboto - Styx

You've Got Another Thing Comin' - Judas Priest

Gimme All Your Lovin' - ZZ Top

Wishing - A Flock of Seagulls

Some really excellent posts and memories. Thank you everyone for posting and please keep them coming.

Mein 99 Red Ballons

[quote]Thanks for starting this thread, OP.

No problem R64!

My friends: Walter, Gene, Tom, Steven, Nalty, Allen 1, Tinsley, Rick, David, Adam, Alan, Robert, Ed, Chuck, Mark, Kent, Bill, Allen 2, Jimmy. And Linda.

'80s dance clubs... they were the best!

'80s movies. They were so fun.

'80s music videos. So cheesy but so fun.

Graduating High School in 1984.

Graduating College in 1988.

Partying my cute little blond ass off!

I survived intact and healthy and I had a blast.

My first love, Brent. We first met in June of '81 and broke up two weeks before graduation in '83. It was awesome while it lasted. Great looking guy, great sex. Mmmm.

The Smurfs, Ducktales, Alvin & The Chipmunks, Thundercats and Jem.

The Cosby Show, A Different World, 227, Amen, Family Matters, Growing Pains, Family Ties and Empty Nest.

Playing double-dutch and hand-clapping games on the playground during recess.

Quarter-waters from the neighborhood bodega (25 cent plastic bottles of juice made up of sugar and artificial flavor - yeah, not healthy).

Now and Laters (candy)

Trips to McDonalds.

Michael and Janet Jackson, New Edition, Salt n' Pepa and Paula Abdul.

Competing with other kids to see who can sing the best rendition of "Superwoman" by Karyn White.

Howard the Duck, Big Trouble in Little China, Coming To America, Trading Places and Pretty in Pink.

High-top reebocks.

Nintendo and Super Mario Brothers.

Rye Playland.

Six Flags Great Adventure.

My mother.

The Cure was a big thing here and for a whole year it was my fave...besides English Rock, Post Punk, whatever they called such stuff....

Quaaludes

I think of Body Heat, Against All Odds and Down and Out In Beverly Hills.

And I liked The Cars.

Being 18 and traveling to Boston (from PA) for a weekend with other members of the college radio station. First real trip alone (without family) ..... it felt so 'grown up'.

Watching Saturday morning cartoons with a bowl of sugary cereal

Atari

best popcorn movies ever like those mentioned by R82

new wave music

the androgynous, beautiful, sexy, strange New Romantic pop stars

MTV

"Must See TV"

sitcoms with Very Special Episodes

very few (if any) McMansions, far less sprawl

Letterman on NBC

Saturday Night Live was still occasionally funny

playing Pac-Man & Dig-Dug at the roller rink or pizza parlor

going to the chintzy little amusement park in my city (since torn down)

Flashdance, Thriller, Ghostbusters, Fame the tv show. Madonna's video for Borderline in super heavy rotation on Mtv. Stevie Nicks' video for Stand Back. Breakdancers in rock videos they did not belong in like Uptown Girl and Robert Plant's In the Mood.

Heh. R5 When they post it on the left side of DL page, be proud.

When we had awesome president? Manly man. Not girly man.

Fleetwood Mac Tusk tour, singles (released album in /1979 singles in 1980 with tour). Mirage, Tango, Lindsey's solos--Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Dire Straits, some great Dylan albums, really fine jazz re-releases from 1950s, Weather Report, John McLaughlin, Jan Gabarek, Dave Holland Conference of the Birds, endlessly interesting eclectic music.

"Friday Night Videos"

Let me tell you, there was nothing I loved more than staying up late on Friday nights to watch all the latest music videos on "Friday Night Videos," "ABC Rocks" (which, IIRC, didn't last very long and always came on at really odd hours way up into the night, usually at 1:30 or 2 in the morning), and a 2-hour video show on one of the local channels in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. It was called "Texas Hit Revue" and was hosted by this hot DJ guy, usually in a nightclub setting if I recall. They showed it on Friday nights and Saturday nights around midnight.

I will never forget how much I loved staying up in my mother's living room late at night watching all my favorite music videos. I think I was about 20 or 21 then. I turned 49 today.

R120 Happy Birthday! Enjoy this year before the AARP comes calling.

Can still see the Friday Night Videos credits, with the neon efects. No "Late Night With David Letterman" on Friday nights.

Also the Charlex effects for the Cars video and the SNL credits from the Billy Crystal years.

Anyone remember "Manimal"? "Gavilan"? "Square Pegs"? "Tales Of The Golden Monkey"? "Dynasty II"?

Courtney Cox and Dean Paul Martin in "Misfits Of Science"?

The BBC adaptation of "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy"?

Dennis Quaid in "Breaking Away"? "Diner"?

Zach Galligan?

Thanks, R121. And yes, I remember pretty much all of those. We're probably around the same age.

"Breaking Away" will always be one of my all-time favorite movies.

Another musical moment:

Circa 1981, seeing the B-52's at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco.

We were dancing down by the stage, really close to the band. I had my eye on Keith Strickland, the sexy drummer (at the time). He was sort of in his own zone, just drumming away. Then, I remember he looked up into the crowd and I swear we made eye contact. And this big smile came across his face. It was awesome—like we had this connection there for just a few fleeting seconds.

I will never forget that.

Marcella Detroit on the August Sun tour with Eric Clapton (opening act, Graham Parker.)

Many DLers will remember Marcella as the singer at Saffy's aborted wedding in the Ab Fab movie.

R125, Marcella Detroit of Shakespeare's Sister?

Yes r126 -- awesome on Blues Harp, awesome with clapton

She co-wrote `Lay Down Sally` and she`s very audible as a back vocal.

Also "Roll It" on Backless

Loved the 80's All night drugged fueled sex at the Mineshaft or Anvil. I could get in the sling and take multiply loads with out needing to stop for hours.

That was a time when a gay guy could be free and celebrate the special things about being gay & proud

Man I miss the saunas, sex clubs & backrooms

At UCONN at the time, students would post classified ads in the student newspaper to each other. I tried to post an ad to my then crush, Calvin, and the paper refused to place it. I went back later and put the ad in addressed to "Cal", instead (they did not recognize me from the first visit), and they placed the ad. Times have changed, thank God! At least they didn't tar and feather me, when they declined the ad the first time.

1. Buying my fist record: Whitney Houston's "Whitney" in 5th grade. It was LP and i thought she looked pretty but no idea what she sounded like until i played that record - WOW!

2. Buying my first CD; Jody Watley's "Real Love". I still have it some box.

3. Watching my first porn @ my friend's house. It was Peter North and some chick. I still remember his dick spewing out all that goo - WOW

4. My first circle jerk watching that VHS with two other friends - good times....

Oh, the newspaper ad was probably Fall of 1980, as I recall I was on a date with Cal when we saw on the tele that John Lennon had been shot (Dec 1980), though that was not a favorite memory. Cal was, though! Rest in peace, sweetie! You too, John!

[quote]3. Watching my first porn @ my friend's house. It was Peter North and some chick. I still remember his dick spewing out all that goo - WOW

And did you and your friend "spew"?

Liked the 80s pop music. It went to shit in the 90s with boy bands and Britney and has never recovered. Even the first rap music (I think it was the first) from the Sugarhill Gang was good.

R135, hip hop turned to shit once southern rappers started to exist in the 90's, as well. And you are totally right about boy bands and teen pop ruining pop, but (I might get flagged for this) I think Rihanna, Lady gaga and even Katy Perry are all far more tolerable than those idiots.

R101 here. I just read my post from yesterday and realized that I left off my absolute favorite song from 1983:

"Lets Dance" by David Bowie.

I played that damn thing so many time. Another song I "totally" loved then was "A World of Fantasy" by Triumph, as well as "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring.

The '80s were an amazing time for music. Especially 1982/1983.

I hear those songs and I am magically transported back to a time when I still had my close group of friends (I lost three of them to AIDS between 1988 and 1994), my 1980 Camaro, and my boyfriend, Ricky, whom I loved dearly. We were together from 1980 to 1985. He moved to NYC shortly after we broke up and he passed away in 1999.

Favorite Memories: The music (pop, dance, new wave, punk, metal, glam). The movies (especially The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Aliens, and Ghostbusters). The clubs, the hot guys, the great friends, being young.

My first car, getting the heck out of high school, college, my first job, early romances (even the heartbreaks,and most of all my parents who were so young, vibrant, kind and loving. Both of them are gone now and I miss them so much.

Worst Memories: AIDS, Ronald Reagan's presidency, deaths of 2 close friends in 1988/1989.

THE TV SHOWS ---

M.A.S.H.

Cheers

Golden Girls

Magnum, P.I.

CHiPs

W.K.R.P. in Cincinnati

St. Elsewhere

Dynasty

Dallas

Knot's Landing

Simon & Simon

Taxi

Fridays

Flamingo Road

Falcon Crest

V

Hill Street Blues

Little House on the Prairie

Night Court

Bruce Springsteen, Duran Duran, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Tina Turner, The Cars, Van Halen, Cheap Trick, U2, David Bowie, Thompson Twins, AC/DC, Scorpions, Bananarama, Depeche Mode, Journey, Queen, Pat Benatar, Prince, Michael Jackson, Def Leppard, Soft Cell, Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads, Grace Jones, Rush, R.E.O. Speedwagon, Animotion.

My mom taking me to K-Mart at age 9 (1984) to buy my first albums. They were Van Halen's "1984", Duran Duran's "Seven & The Ragged Tiger" and Queen's "The Works." I played them religiously.

I still love all three of those albums. My mom also bought me the Star Wars VHS in late 1982 (when I was 7), at $79.99 plus tax and I wore that puppy out.

I was an only child and my dear mom spoiled this little guy rotten. LOL. Love ya mom!

New Order, Yaz, Depeche Mode, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Bad Brains, Black Flag, Dead Kennedy's, Husker Du, Prince, Wang Chung (for Dance Hall Days), OMD, A Flock of Seagulls, Jesus and Mary Chain, REM, Early U2

My parents purchased a TV satellite dish in 1981 and we went from 8 channels to about 45 overnight. I remember my brother, my sister and I watching MTV on Aug. 1, 1981 when it launched and fell asleep in front of the TV around 4:00 A.M. - I remember watching the very first MTV Saturday Night Concert in August of 1981 with some friends over. It was REO Speedwagon (Hi-Infidelity Tour). Great times.

The music - Stray Cats, A Flock of Seagulls, Duran Duran, Men at Work, Quiet Riot, John Cougar, Toto, Journey, Loverboy, Styx, The Clash, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Police, The Rolling Stones, U2, Eurythmics, Air Supply, Rick James, Prince, ABBA, Lime, Queen, Cheap Trick, Prince, Def Leppard were my fave raves.

Cruising the main drag of our small city, chasing girls (I never tried too hard). My buddies were all straight and I was pretending to be. It was fun, even though I had no interest in tits or vadge.

Staying up all night watching MTV and recording my favorite videos on videocassette, then watching them over and over again.

Songs...

David Bowie 'Modern Love'

Duran Duran 'Hungry Like the Wolf'

Total Coelo 'I Eat Cannibals'

Flock of Seagulls 'I Ran'

KISS 'I Love it Loud'

Scorpions 'No One Like You'

Devo 'Whip It'

Queen 'Another One Bites the Dust'

Queen 'Radio Gaga"

Adam Ant, AC-DC, The Bangles, Billy Idol, Eurythmics, INXS, U2, Heart, Benatar, Tom Petty, R.E.M., Judas Priest, Robert Palmer, The Outfield, Van Halen, Dokken, Kiss, Ratt, Rush, Bonnie Tyler, George Strait, Alabama, Styx, Queen, Scorpions, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Tina Turner, Madonna, Prince...

Deep-throating my first sausage... mmmm, good times.

Getting my sausage deep-throated for the first time.

Both occurred in Summer 1980.

My buddy and I skipping school one afternoon during senior year to see "The Terminator" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street." I think it was Nov. of '84. That was a great day (followed by an evening of hot, sweaty and awesome lovin' in the backseat of my old Toyota Carolla - probably to a soundtrack of a U2 cassette, lol).

Spending my teen years - early mid-80s - in love with Corey Hart, Tom Selleck, Mark Harmon, Tom Cruise (pre-freaky years), and Rick Springfield.

The time that thing happened on that TV show.

My 1989 crush on Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. I was 12 and fell for them madly. I still have a thing for Keanu. My parents thought I went to see the movie so many times because it was great. Nope. I liked it but I loved those two studs.

Watching The Goonies, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Superman II & III, Gremlins, Back To The Future, Star Trek 2 The Wrath Of Khan, and Sixteen Candles over and over and over again on VHS.

I only remember the late Eighties. Like '88 and '89: Paula Abdul, The Cure, Janet Jackson, Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, Batman, Lethal Weapon 2, The Abyss, When Harry Met Sally, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Simpsons, Metallica, Guns & Roses, Danzig, Married w/ Children, Beetlejuice, Erasure, New Order, When In Rome, Die Hard, Alf, Miami Vice, my best friends Roger and Albert, my Nintendo game system, playing at the beach all day, family vacations, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Cinderella, Poison, Warrant, Kiss.

Dead or Alive

Wham!

George Michael

Culture Club

Heaven 17

Kool & the Gang

A-Ha

Duran Duran

Psychedelic Furs

Simple Minds

Janet Jackson

Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade. The Breakfast Club. Pretty in Pink,

I'm glad I didn't live in the '80s (born in 95). Reagan was a cunt. I'm glad I did not live under his rule. Reagan/Thatcher/Cold War = no where I would wanna be.

Watching Barbra's wonderful H.B.O. special in 1985. Seeing Cher live in 1988. Witnessing life in the great times.

My massive crush on original MTV VJ's Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman... Yummy.

Circa 1982 and 1983 (I was 12/13), my favorite band was a group called Rainbow. I loved their songs "Stone Cold," "Street of Dreams" and "Can't Let You Go." I also loved Blue Oyster Cult. They had several songs I worshiped, "Burning For You," "Joan Crawford," and "Shooting Shark." I had all of those videos recorded off of MTV and watching them incessantly.

Then I discovered The Cure and my taste changed toward modern rock/alternative. I still love Rainbow & B.O.C. though.

Worst memory: Getting busted for a small bag of weed (It honestly wasn't mine. I was holding it for my friend Mike, but I took the fall for it), Spring Break 1984 at South Padre Island, TX.

Best Memory: Meeting Jeremy. We met in jail after my weed bust (my only crime ever) at South Padre. He was there for public intoxication (What did they expect? It was Spring Break!). As it turned out he was from Austin too. We drove back to Austin together and have been a couple for just over 30 years now.

GG Alin on afternoon television. Watching skinheads go wild on Geraldo. Seeing a skinhead smash Geraldo in the head with a chair on said show, drawing blood (NOT scripted, as is the case today), after they called him "Jerry Rivers". Oprah, pre-goddess phase, with one sleazy guest after another. Siskel and Ebert, loathing each other, really laying into bad Hwood movies (which would not happen today in corporate controlled media).

Meeting my partner, Becky. Still going strong after 26 years.

Our trip to Hawaii summer '89.

The great films like Personal Best, E.T., Rocky III & IV, First Blood, Rambo-First Blood II, The Verdict, Top Gun, Desert Hearts, The Accused, The Hunger, Cobra, Platoon, and Tango & Cash.

Great music like Bonnie Raitt, George Strait, Reba McIntire, Kentucky Headhunters, Kenny Rogers, Anne Murray, .

Great, wholesome television like Alf, The Golden Girls, Facts Of Life and One Day at a Time. Not to mention China Beach.

Many memories with friends who became family over the years. I am blessed to know them all.

'80s cocaine was the best.

R161 That. Is. Hiiiiilarious!!!! What do you do when people ask where you two met? Is is something like this?

I spent the '80s obsessed with Rush. I saw them live in '80, '81, '83, '84, '86, and '89. I got my first car (a brown Datsun pickup) in March '81 and everywhere I went I blasted their music.

I dated two great guys in the '80s (Gregg and Mark) and one major asshole (Parker). I had great friends and family. Many are gone now.

I met lots of hot guys at the gym, spent a lot of time at the lake, drank way too much back then, and, unlike now, never worried about a thing.

I spent most of the '80s living in San Antonio, TX. I had lots of dear, dear friends there. Many that I grew up with in the '70s. Many are no longer with us, but we had so many good times back then. We spent many a night dancing at the Bonham Exchange (an awesome club back then), dinners on the river walk, playing football and frisbee at Olmos Park in the warm Texas sun. I really miss it sometimes.

I had a house in Alamo Heights (a nice area of town) with three of my buddies (Mick, Jon, and Kevin). Those days were wild 'n' crazy. So many cookouts and parties.

Now I live in St. Paul, MN and I am so far from many of the people I loved. I have a great group of friends here (I've been here since '89) but sometimes I think about the past and remember the good old days.

I loved the music of the '80s. The great stuff they played on MTV. They had a great variety (Rock, Pop, Heavy Metal, New Wave, Industrial, Dance, R&B, etc.). What times we had.

Mom and Dad taking us to Magic Mountain almost every weekend.

Lip-synching to Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, & Sheena Easton songs on the radio.

My first drag show at a club in 1988. I was only 15 and had a fake ID.

Getting rimmed by an older man in his car outside the club. It was paradise.

All my good friends back in the day.

Michael Jackson Thriller

Michael Jackson Bad

Janet Jackson Control

Tina Turner Private Dancer

I loved the dudes in New Edition.

Gettin' my first johnson and knowin' that dick was for me. No punany for me.

My songs - "Lovesong" by The Cure, "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, "Big Log" by Robert Plant.

Lost my virginity, as top and bottom.

Fired for the very first time.

Taken advantage of financially for the first and last time by my first husband.

Being a sexual prude, and rather grateful now cause so many I knew are no longer around.

Believe it or not, I had a huge crush on Mel Gibson and lived for his movies, especially The Road Warrior, The Bounty, and Lethal Weapon I & II. Now I am ashamed that I crushed on him, but I had it bad for that (unknown to me) homophobic jerk back then.

My favorite memory is meeting a guy in 1988 that I dated for 4 years. He was the greatest. I loved him so dearly. He was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1992. I have never been the same.

Laughing at my friends who wore fingerless gloves and cravats, with big new wave hair, in broken down suburban attempts to look like David Sylvian.

r161 - thats fucking hot. what a great story.

My favorite memory was May 31, 1983. I graduated H.S. and the next morning I left the horrible little Kansas shit-hole town I grew up in, never to return.

My parents were abusive, drunk, homophobic and treated me horribly. I have never seen them since that day. My life has been great ever since.

best shows ever --- small wonder, mama's family and charles in charge. also joanie loves chachi.

My Fave Song Ever:

"Flamethrower" by J. Geils Band (1981/82)

and my theme song:

"Maneater" by Hall & Oates (1982)

That decade was all mine, bitches! Everybody wanted to get "Into my Groove."

M A D O N N A

The Eighties must not have been too great. I can't recall a thing about 'em.

Doing the safety dance.

Thinking about Alamo Heights makes me sad for one I lost back in those days.

J A N E T

Who's Janet?

[quote]Who's Janet?

The Queen. Bitch.

I spent a lot of it alone in my bedroom in those ugly new houses where I danced my legs down to the knees.

[R163] REALLY bad taste in movies

No quality or cultural touchstones in the list

Just stuff an oafish football type guy who sits around all the time would like

The hotel maid had a day off to go to the lobby and laugh at mdna?

[quote]The hotel maid had a day off to go to the lobby and laugh at mdna?

Queen Janet saw that poster and it came to her how that abomination is the fastest plummeting album of all time, hence her chuckle.

R193, I am a woman - no an oafish football dude. So, I don't care to watch Chariots of Fire or Ordinary People. Sue me. I love me. Those movies make me feel good. That's all that matters, love. Bless and love you.

I loved the movies then. They were so exciting. Places in the Heart, The Elephant Man, Gandhi, Bonfire of the Vanities, Sex Lies & Videotape, Scarface, The Dresser...

[quote]I don't care to watch Chariots of Fire or Ordinary People. Sue me.

You know you don't like Chariots of Fire or Ordinary People even though you didn't see them? If willful ignorance were actionable, you could be sued.

In other, and actually important, matters. I knew you were a woman from "my partner, Becky." Long may you love, Becky and R196.

I was born in 1990, so...

r163 Don't listen to mean people like r193. Be yourself.

R198, Hon, I've seen Chariots of Fire & Ordinary People. Depressed me for days.

Hanging out with my friend, Kyle. We were neighbors from 2 years old (1967) on. We were wild and crazy in the 1980s in our teens and our early 20s. I cherish my memories of him. He died in 1998. Sweetest, funniest guy I ever knew. We grew up together and I thought we would be friends into our old age. Didn't happen. My memories of him are the best memories of my life. I think of him every day and smile.

Best memory - March 1985: He and I taking off one afternoon and driving all the way to Miami (from Kansas City). We had a helluva time that week.

Many family trips to Astroworld in Houston. It was a great place in the 70s and 80s. It turned ghetto in the 90s and was eventually torn down and turned into parking lots and office space. Oh the memories. In the 80s I was between ages of 10 and 19. It was so much fun. Parents are gone now but I still have the memories.

I was just thinking about the summer of 1982. Rollerskating, staying out all day playing with friends until dark, hanging at the beach with my dear friends. I was 12 that summer. Best of my life.

The Songs of the summer of 1982: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, Heat of the Moment by Asia, Body Language by Queen, Let's Get It Up by AC-DC, Keep the Fire Burning by REO Speedwagon, Rosanna by Toto, No One Like You by Scorpions, Fantasy by Aldo Nova, Still They Ride by Journey, Crimson & Clover by Joan Jett, Hurts So Good by John Cougar, Hold Me by Fleetwood Mac, You Got Another Thing Comin' by Judas Priest, Only the Lonely by Motels, The Other Woman by Ray Parker Jr, Rock n Roll Party In The Streets by Axe, Juke Box Hero by Foreigner, Let It Whip by Dazz Band, Valley Girl by Moon & Frank Zappa, Stone Cold by Rainbow, I Love Rock n Roll by Joan Jett.

Great thread. It has me remembering a lot of fun times. Best movies that summer - Star Trek II and Blade Runner. My favorite TV show was Magnum, P.I. then. LOL.

New Coke (1985)

Movies like On Golden Pond, Room with a View, Missing, Coal Miner's Daughter, Chariots of Fire, Reds, The Last Emperor, Year of the Dragon, The Natural, and Ordinary People. Also Making Love with Kate Jackson.

Wonderful songs by Barbra, Bette, Cher.

Great TV like Lou Grant, Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere, 60 Minutes.

The wonderful literature and poetry of the era.

Most of all my dear friends, many gone now (cancer, heart issues, Aids, etc). I was in my 40s then, so you can imagine many I knew are gone now. Terrific memories. I would not trade them for anything.

People reminiscing about the '80s always sound so cheesy to me. Cheesy movies, cheesy fashion, cheesy decade.

The '70s and '60s sounded way more interesting.

R207, I like a lot of things about the 90's, but I can see some truth in the a statement another person on DL said. That 90's music is really just more of a homogenized, lame version of what was college rock or underground in the 80's. Plus, when it comes to 80's house vs. 90's techno, I'll take 80's house any day. Thank god techno never became popular in America like it did in Europe (despite Detroit being its birthplace).

Madonna. Michael Jackson. Poltergeist. Xanadu. My Joan Collins poster.

Parachute Pants. Vans. Sergio Valente. Jordache. Gold Diggers. Sasoon. Gloria Vanderbilt. And those jackets with the snappy flap thing on the shoulders.

Anyone remember ELLE magazine from the 1980's? My sister threw out a pile of them years ago. Wish I had held onto them.

Getup ting fucked by my dad

Moonlighting - Bruce Willis was at his peak hotness level, it was all downhill from there.

During my college years (early '80s), I worked my way through school working at 'a certain internationally recognized music store.'

Because of my employment during said years, I saw/met so many of the 'ground-breaking' acts in the music industry at the time: Culture Club, Duran Duran, U2, Simple Minds, etc., etc., and, of couse, 'She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed': Madonna.

The stories are endless, but the memories of it all make me smile.

The Jim Jones Guyana mass suicide

When people with a modicum of education knew the difference between 80s and 80's. Oh, what a glorious time! Made diseases and death positively bearable.

R215, please tell us what it was like meeting those people.

R217 is 212 posts too late.

[quote]Many family trips to Astroworld in Houston. It was a great place in the 70s and 80s.

Greezed Lightnin' and Thunder River were so fucking awesome!

Top 10 Cheesiest 1-hit wonders of the 80s. Good times.

Not unrelated:

Boy George And Culture Club Resolve Issues, Announce New Music And Tour

I'd buy a ticket to Boy George!

Do you ever remember something that you probably hadn't thought of since the 80s?

Watching TV the other night, I saw that "Valley Girl" was starting. So I flip over... just watching the intro brought me back to a memory of the movie playing on an independent TV station on a Friday night, must have been '85 or '86. I was still in high school, and had to work that night. So I asked my mother if I could record it (with our VCR, you couldn't watch something different from what you recorded). I was so excited to get out of work and get home to watch it. My mother started to watch it with me, but lasted about 10 minutes before the val-speak got to her.

I probably hadn't thought about that night since, but it came right back to me 28 or 29 years later.

"No Surrender"

Until our beloved webmaster goes after racist threads with the same violence he does pro-Z I O N I S T threads and Tig Notaro takedowns, you'll have your spam and like it, too!

Waitress: Morning!

Man: Well, what've you got?

Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam; spam bacon sausage and spam; spam egg spam spam bacon and spam; spam sausage spam spam bacon spam tomato and spam;

Vikings: Spam spam spam spam...

Waitress: ...spam spam spam egg and spam; spam spam spam spam spam spam baked beans spam spam spam...

Vikings: Spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam!

Waitress: ...or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam.

Wife: Have you got anything without spam?

Waitress: Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.

Wife: I don't want ANY spam!

Man: Why can't she have egg bacon spam and sausage?

Wife: THAT'S got spam in it!

Man: Hasn't got as much spam in it as spam egg sausage and spam, has it?

Vikings: Spam spam spam spam... (Crescendo through next few lines...)

Wife: Could you do the egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam then?

Waitress: Urgghh!

Wife: What do you mean 'Urgghh'? I don't like spam!

Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!

Waitress: Shut up!

Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!

Waitress: Shut up! (Vikings stop) Bloody Vikings! You can't have egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam.

Wife: I don't like spam!

Man: Sshh, dear, don't cause a fuss. I'll have your spam. I love it. I'm having spam spam spam spam spam spam spam beaked beans spam spam spam and spam!

Vikings: Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!

Waitress: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.

Man: Well could I have her spam instead of the baked beans then?

Waitress: You mean spam spam spam spam spam spam... (but it is too late and the Vikings drown her words)

Vikings: (Singing elaborately...) Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam! Spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam. Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Spam spam spam spam!

The 60s and 70s were more interesting but if you were not looking at Washington and what was going down there...the 80s were just fun.

Dancing in the clubs to "Into the Groove" and "You Spin Me Round" in the summer of 1985

Buying Madonna's first album and making up dance routines to it with my cousin, Andrea. i was a huge queen. LOL/

DL'ers are oddly obsessed with this crappy decade.

AIDS and Reagan

[quote]Thank god techno never became popular in America like it did in Europe (despite Detroit being its birthplace).

When did you finally wake up out of your coma?

[quote]best shows ever --- small wonder, mama's family and charles in charge. also joanie loves chachi.

Ewwwww

Ah, the days of Black's Beach in the '80's when you had to plow through boundless crowds of naked marines. A sunny day would empty Camp Pendleton onto Black's. Sadly, no more.

[quote]A sunny day would empty Camp Pendleton onto Black's. Sadly, no more.

What happened?

I remember Black's Beach in the 80s. Did they shut down the nudity, R216?

r218, I lost visited Black's about five years ago and could not have been more disappointed. I had been visiting it yearly or so since 1981 and saw the presence of young, gorgeous marines gradually dwindle on an ongoing basis. Rumors swelled at the beach that the Marine Command had made the beach off-limits. The adage that nothing attracts fishermen like a no fishing sign was certainly not true in this case. My last visit to Black's saw maybe three hot naked guys the whole hot August Sunday. What a shame!

[quote] the presence of young, gorgeous marines gradually dwindle

Maybe the same thing that makes young guys in locker rooms change beneath towels?

Good analogy, r220, the Thermidorian Reaction to the sexual revolution.

Don't be silly R220. We're talking about Marines - the gayest group of men in America. They showed off their hot bods at Black's to score hook-ups.

You're using the past tense, regrettably, r222.

Getting my first ten speed bike and riding it all over creation.

Going to the bowling alley to play videogames. (Donkey Kong, Centipede.)

When McDonalds debuted the Egg McMuffin. Wouldn't dare eat one today but back then - heaven.

Standing in long lines waiting to see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom for the 3rd time.

When Rugby shirts were in style. Crisp, white collars and bold, color blocked stripes. They looked good on everyone. They should make a comeback.

Having my biggest fashion dilemma be which pair of Nikes to buy for the new school year.

Yes, past tense on Marines at Black's Beach but it's not past tense on the Marines being the gayest group of men in America. Some Fundie base commander must have declared it off-limits.

It wasn't particularly good food, but back then McDs was guaranteed fresh.

Ahh, my first decade of life. Before I'd become self-conscious, before I knew I was gay. I still had my youth, I was popular & had lots of friends (they're all gone now). I had my health too (also gone now).

The '80s is where I go to in my mind when I need to escape the hell that is my current existence. It's my safe place.

Drive-in movies

Tight-rolling my pants

Pee-Wee's Playhouse on Saturday mornings

Watching Ducktales, Reading Rainbow, 3-2-1- Contact, Silver Spoons and Punky Brewster and Mork & Mindy after school (we didn't get cable until 1991).

My Michael Jackson cassettes (the only tapes I owned, and I only had them because I'd won them in a Pepsi contest about saying 'No' to drugs. I didn't even know what drugs were back then).

Birthday parties at the roller rink

Video arcades at the mall

Towards the end of the decade, recording dudes in speedos off various TV shows & then jerking furiously to them.

The '80s for Me:

High School (1979-1983). The first two years 79-81) were awful. I was brutalized, picked on, and made miserable by a bunch of straight asshole jocks. The last two years (1981-1983) were awesome. All the bullies either graduated, moved, or dropped out of school. My Junior and Senior years were awesome. I had a great group of friends (gay and straight) and had some great times.

College (1983-1987): Awesome. I had a nice apartment with my childhood friends Kyle and Ricky. We partied all the time and had the time of our lives.

Clubbing: I hit my first gay bar in July of 1981. I was 16 and had a fake I.D. - it was so much fun and I clubbed until the end of the decade. I remember those clubbing nights and the great tunes in the early/mid '80s. The guys seemed so much hotter then. Maybe it's just because I was so much younger.

The Music: I loved a wide variety of music, my favorites were AC/DC, Madonna, U2, Metallica, Queen, Van Halen, Judas Priest, Cyndi Lauper, New Order, Depeche Mode, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Duran Duran, Re-Flex, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Queensryche, The Cure, David Bowie, Prince & The Revolution, Rick James, Quiet Riot, Ratt, Motley Crue, Dio, ZZ Top, Wang Chung, The Church, Cheap Trick, Scorpions, INXS, Dokken, Styx, Wham!, Culture Club, Anthrax, Motorhead, The Go-Go's, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Pat Benatar, and many more...

The Big Movies: The Empire Strikes Back, Airplane!, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman II, Star Trek II, Blade Runner, Return of the Jedi, The Terminator, Back To The Future, Aliens, Batman, etc.

I will be the first to admit that '80s TV sucked over-all. I loved a few '70s left-overs like WKRP in Cincinnati, M*A*S*H, Taxi, Soap, and Barney Miller, along with a few actual '80s shows like Magnum, P.I., Newhart, Cheers, and Hill Street Blues. Otherwise, '80s television sucked.

I had a great group of friends. I only lost two to AIDS (1993 and 1994). I am fortunate to still have most of my old friends, as well as a few newer ones in the mix. I really loved the '80s. The '90s were painful for me. My favorite decades of life were the '80s and today.

MTV when it was 24-hour a day music videos. The channel began its downward decline in 1985, when Viacom bought it. It remained okay through the early '90s, but it was never the same as it was 1981-1984.

My beloved parents were still alive, healthy, happy, and reasonably young (mid-30s through mid-40s) in the '80s. I miss them both tremendously

My older brother, Michael, was still alive. He was my best friend. He was older by two years. We were so close. He died at 28 in 1992 in a water-skiing accident. We were inseparable in the '80s. He was gay too, so we partied in the same circles. He was so beautiful and a total sweetheart.

I still had my dear friends, Tom, Gerald, and Joey. I lost Tom and Joey to A.I.D.S. in 1995 and 1997. Gerald died in a motorcycle accident in 1998.

I miss my family. We were so close. My parents were amazing. They loved Michael and I and they never batted an eye about our sexuality. We were always so happy. I, thankfully, still have my beautiful sister Pamela. I remember our wonderful family vacations in the '70s and '80s. My memories still make me smile.

Kiss you r231. I'm glad you still have Pamela.

Before your post, I was thinking selfishly of cheap rent, cheap gas, and scads of money.

[quote]The '80s is where I go to in my mind when I need to escape the hell that is my current existence. It's my safe place.

And I'm right there with you R227.

My sister says I need to stop living in the past. I don't live in the past, I just enjoy the things from my past. There's a difference.

Had sex with Fawcett and Stevie at Ryan's home in Malibu...coked out of minds. Easy...in case you ask....was high-end dealer living in a carriage house of once famous star in Trancas.

The death of Madonna

[R 229] nice life!

Seeing the Clash on their London Calling tour in LA (I think it was the Santa Monica Convention Center). Got back stage that night. Cool guys..

Doing a semester abroad in Dublin when one dollar got 2 pounds. I was rich! Bought a lot of people drinks. Hung out with punk rock squatters. Visiting Belfast when "the troubles" we're raging.

Going to the video rental store for a treat every school holiday. I loved the video case designo back then. Especially the Disney ones which always seemed to be in big white cases. Very nostalgic now.

Why do the r-numbers not match up any longer with the posts they originally cited? Most correspond now to posts that hadn't been posted yet. Were that many posts deleted? So annoying.

Classical music, to which I turned rather than pop music, after buying a CD player in 1986. I came to hate popular music in the 1980s, but record shopping was a big part of my life, and I somehow turned to classical after hearing some Schubert piano music in a store one afternoon.

Watching Phil Donahue after school.

^ I liked how he ran up and down between the audience so people could comment on the shit fest on stage.

Moving in with my first partner in 1980, it was a perfect little love nest in Chelsea. It had big windows a working fireplace unobstructed southern exposure and a sunken living room. I filled with MCM classics, parsons couch, a Eames chair, breuer chairs imported from Italy.

[quote]When McDonalds debuted the Egg McMuffin. Wouldn't dare eat one today but back then - heaven.

I don’t know if this poster is still around, this thread was bumped from 5 years ago after all, but the Egg McMuffin was introduced in the ‘70s.