That 80's Show

the complete season of "That 80's Show"

When this thing gets up to 88 miles per hour, you are going to see some serious Sh**!

80's Lyric quiz

Be sure to use proper spelling...

"I've been going to this high school for 7 and 1/2 years, I'm no dummy."

I am doing the planning for our 20 year class reunion. Since my class was in school from '79-'92, the eighties were a huge part of our lives. I am trying to incorporate that into the reunion theme without going overboard, just because I happen to love the eighties.

vacancy

When I first created this blog I had a million ideas going through my head about what I would post. It turns out that I am just not in the writing mood lately. The Go-Go's are still in my daily playlist.. so here's another.

Go-Go's - Tonite

Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n Wrestling intro

RIP Jani Lane: 1964-2011

My favorite online store..

8bitzombie.com now has their 2011 catalog available online with all sorts of new designs.  If you are a fan of 80's television and video games, this guy will have something for you.. 

American Products, American Pride.

Remember when people bought American products? Remember when American actually MADE products?  Yeah, it's true.. in the 80's it was still about buying American.  Very few places had Walmarts, but they sold American back then and helped the economy here.

80's bands currently touring

80's Concert Tour Dates 2011 2012 - 80s Music at The 80's child.com

Some Interaction

Please reply to this post with your favorite memory of the 80's, whether you were a kid or not.  If you were not born yet, tell us what you like about the 80's era.

Yuppies

Material possessions had a lot to do with growing up in the 80's, much more so than in previous decades. Electronics were the new craze, video game systems were on every kids wishlist, and cable television provided a wide variety of shows. Most households now had color tv's and VCR's were becoming standard household items. For many wealthier families, video cameras and cell phones were also available.

Yuppies had to “keep up with the Jones's'”, and I personally remember being treated differently many times because I didn't have a certain gadget that the other kids had.

Today is much the same, just different gadgets to fight over and much more violence.

On August 1, 1981, at 12:01 a.m., MTV launched with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll!” 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MTV!

Now,  please stop showing these dumb reality shows and play videos again.

Day Glo

There was something special and unique about almost everything in the 80's. This 1986 GT bike is an example of what I'm talking about. You don't see these colors used anymore.

Something else I clearly remember is the heavy use of the heartbeat design and Paint Splatter..

Simple Minds "Don't You Forget About Me"

This never get old.. 80's dating tapes

Eurythmics Sweet Dreams

Yes kiddos.. THE EURYTHMICS, Not a Manson song.

Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun & Time After Time ( American ...

Swap Meet time machine

Yesterday I stopped by the swap meet  like I try to do once a month or so.  Normally I end up leaving empty handed, but this trip was well worth it. I found an 80's Sony Boombox in perfect working order, a stack of LP's that were like new, and a neon green watch still in the package labeled 1984.   The best part is... It cost me $12 total.. Better than any trip to Walmart.


So last night I went through my cassettes and today I'm rocking out to the recorded radio programs from my early teen years.

80's Wrestling Star dies..

Pro wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage, 58, was killed Friday morning in Florida when the Jeep he was driving jumped a median and hit a tree, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
His wife, Barbara L. Poffo, 56, who was in the passenger seat, was injured, the patrol said. She was expected to be released from a hospital, said Highway Patrol Sgt. 1st Class Steve Gaskins.
Savage's real name was Ralph Mario Poffo, according to the wrestling federation for which he performed. The couple lived in Seminole, Florida, authorities said.
An investigation is under way, but a Highway Patrol report said that Ralph Poffo "lost control" of his 2009 Jeep Wrangler for "unknown reasons" as it was traveling westbound on Florida State Route 694 near 113th Street North in Pinellas County.
The highway patrol report said Poffo "may have suffered a medical event; however, this cannot be confirmed until an autopsy is performed."

The oldschool way of stealing music.

Long before Bittorrent and Piratebay, we "borrowed" music by recording it onto cassette from the radio. Once dual cassette stereo's came out, we could even copy tapes from our friends...  I remember going to Kmart with my friend Brad and we would each buy a tape, then go home and copy each others..  Good thing I was underage and it was like 30 years ago.  Times have changed, but people stealing music is pretty much the same.  Ya know.. Not only do I still have several of the Records I bought as a kid, I still have several radio programs on cassette.

Something else I remember about music is how I wanted to be a DJ so bad.  We had a console stereo that I would sit in front of, play records, and announce the artist into the microphone between songs.. I have a recording of me doing this in the early 80's when I was like 10 or 11, where I even read ads from the newspaper as commercials.. what a dork I must have been.

bluelight specials

I was just thinking..  The 80's were the only time you would find fairly wealthy and middle-class girls all wearing sweat shirts/pants in public.. Proudly!  Thank Belinda Carlisle for that one, or maybe Olivia Newton John?

I think it's about time for a baggy sweatshirt revival. 

I got it..

Everything is better in retrospect...    
I am very much aware that the 80's were not perfect. Some of the hardest years of my life were during the 80s, but the world is worse now.  It's not about fun anymore and everyone and everything is just too serious.  Music has lost it's purpose, there's no heart anymore. Maybe to these kids it does have heart. Maybe they see something I don't.  But they're not unique, they're not creative, and they're just recycling the same sound over and over again.     

 

Ice Ice no way baby

FYI: Ice Ice Baby was big on the radio in 1990, it does not represent the 80's.. I only point this out because it seems to be listed on about every 80's site out there.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Go-Go's Vacation Album Commercial (1982)

MTV LAUNCH FIRST DAY SATURDAY 12:01 am AUGUST 1st , 1981 1st hour Part 1

The Go-Go's on American Bandstand..

The styles...

These clothes seem a little silly now, but it wasn't all that long ago when we all wanted them. I wasn't exactly spoiled or wealthy, so my collection was pretty limited.. But I did have the pants..just ignore the fact that I'm on a horse, it's the pants we're talking about..

my how it's changed

My curfew was the street lights. My mom called my name, not my cell... I played outside with friends, not online. If I didn't eat what my mom cooked, then I didn't eat. Sanitizer didn't exist, but you COULD get your mouth washed out with soap. I rode a bike without helmet, getting dirty… was OK, and neighbors gave a damn as much as your parents did. Re-post if you drank from a garden hose and survived.

strumming back memories

This an Ibanez rg560, in the exact color I wanted all those years ago. I have had tons of guitars over the years, but I have yet to find the one I wanted as a teen. 

... and although a dayglo orange guitar would make my day, finding a photo of Boy George and Mr T together is pretty great too. 

You grew up in the 80's if...

This list is on a million various sites, but I have edited it since it was based more on people born in the 80s..  1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SYKE or AS IF. 2. You remember Pound Puppies. 3. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy 4. You or a friend yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own. 5. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake scented dolls. (my sister did)

6. Two words: Parachute Pants
7. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
8. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and spokey-dokes or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect
9. Your grandma was addicted to TAB cola
10. You owned  Underoos (I had Superman)

11. You can whistle the entire theme song to "The Smurfs" 

12. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons
13. Girls wore a  ponytail on the side of their head
14. You know all the turtles' names from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series
15. You got super-excited when it was Show & Tell day at school
16. Girls made their mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side
17. You played the game "Mousetrap"
18. You wore stonewashed jean jackets and were proud of it
19. L.A. Gear and Guess....need I say more?
20. You remember "JEM" . (She's Truly Outrageous.)
21. You remember reading books for Pizza Hut coupons.
22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF"
23. You wanted to be a Goonie
24. You ever wore fluorescent DayGlo Clothing (some of us...head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf
27. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets
29. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts
31. Barbie and the Rockers were part of your Record Collection
32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets and beads on safety pins

34. You or friends ever owned a pair of Jelly shoes.
35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"
36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples
43. Don't worry, be happy
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do..getting yelled at by younger hip members of the family)
46. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
47. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.
48. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
49. You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales
50. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot
51. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac
52. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB"
53. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class
54. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - > YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME
55. You just sang those words to yourself
56. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird
57. Homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
58. You remember when Mullets were cool.
59. You had or someone you know had a Mullet.

60. You still sing "We are the World"
61. You tight rolled (pegged) your jeans
62. You owned a banana clip
63. You remember "Where's the Beef"?
64. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?
65. You had big hair and you knew how to use it
66. You're still singing "Shot Through the Heart" in your head, aren't you!

Feel free to comment and add one to the list.

Everybodies going surfin.. or not

Today's a good day to visit the beach, so here's some 80's surfers (photos by:Jeff Divine) to set the mood.  If you don't live near a beach, I'll try to have enough fun for all of us.

we had some pretty rad toys..

funny stuff

 

Me and my lil sis.. 82 

 Again.. but notice my rad Thriller jacket!

.. and how about them "Shirt Tales"? This is me and my sister hangin with one of them at some theme park in the early 80's.

RIP Polly

Poly Styrene dies aged 53

The punk icon and singer of X-Ray Spex has died from an advanced form of breast cancer.

Photograph: Nazarin Montag

Poly Styrene, best known as the frontwoman with the punk group X-Ray Spex, has died. Styrene was receiving treatment for an advanced form of breast cancer when she passed away Monday 25 April. She was 53.  A spokesperson for Styrene confirmed her death, saying everyone around her was saddened by the news.

Styrene, who was born Marian Joan Elliott-Said, shot to fame in 1976 with X-Ray Spex, and was immortalised in punk history with the song Oh Bondage, Up Yours! "Little girls should be seen and not heard," Styrene would say to introduce the track. X-Ray Spex released one album, the acclaimed Germ Free Adolescents in 1978, before Styrene left the group.
 

Styrene went on to release a solo record in 1980, Translucence, but a series of traumatic incidents stalled her career. The singer was sectioned after being misdiagnosed with schizophrenia in the 80s, and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. In 1995, she survived being hit by a fire engine.

 

Styrene was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, and was told it had spread to her lungs and spine. Despite undergoing treatment, she gave numerous interviews in recent months to promote her latest solo album, Generation Indigo. In an interview with the Guardian in March, she was described as "ironically upbeat" in spite of her health. 

 

She told the Guardian: "You remember that old song 'Que Sera Sera, Whatever will be, will be, the future's not ours to see'? I've always felt that. It's been a rollercoaster ride, but I wouldn't change a thing." - excerpts from http://www.guardian.co.uk

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-- Xray Spex was one of the first punk rock bands that I got into back in the 80's.

Some detailed memories

It's easy to look back and remember everything being much better than it actually was at the time, but it really was better in many ways. If you feel like ready about my memories.. here we go...

It was 1984 and we were selling various candy bars for school fundraisers. The day we picked up trhe boxes of candy bars, we were also given a brochure full of prizes we could choose from, based on the amount we sold. I immediately picked up several extra boxes because I knew exactly how I was going to sell them. My father worked in a huge factory with thousands of employees, my mother was a bowler, and I spent my weekends at STAR SKATE and Roll-A-Rena. Between these three places, I just knew I'd get whatever I wanted from that brochure, plus the kid with the most sales got a trip to Kings Island, a Pizza Party, and a Boombox... and I wanted that Boombox so bad.

After a very successful week of candy sales, I came into school on Monday morning with my brochure filled out, an I just knew I had sold the most. Well, I was quickly put in my place when “:Billy M.” has sold 6 more candy bars than me.. SIX MORE! I don't remember my exact reaction, but I'm pretty sure it included some crying. I watched Billy walk out of there with my Kings Island Tickets, and MY boombox.

That evening I got a call from Billy, letting me know that the Pizza Party was for me too and he wanted to show me HIS Boombox. The details about the party are vague, but that weekend I went to a slumber party at Billy's house and we became friends. The majority of my memories from this point on include Billy, because he was that bad influence that I just had to be around. My weekends were spent at his house, sharing parachute pants, fingerless gloves, and records.... mostly because he was a bit spoiled and had more than I did.

To start things off...

I became a teenager in the 80's, so I do have some good and bad memories of the entire decade. 
To start things off, please leave a comment here with your best memory of the 80's. 

Here's the Go Go's early version of "Vacation" with original lyrics.