Events of the 1980s

There are a few unforgettable events of the 80s that remains stuck in the top of my mind.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall:
The fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the most memorable moments of the 80s for me. “When the East German government announced on November 9, 1989, after several weeks of civil unrest, that visits in West Germany and West Berlin would be permitted, crowds of East Germans climbed onto and crossed the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere.” - wiki
It was a celebration that me and the whole world was apart of. Every clamored of getting a piece of that wall.

Thriller
You can’t go on a single 80s page worth a damn and not see several reverences to Micheal Jackson’s Thriller album. Its reign of the 80s was complete.

The Moon Walk
The first time it was done, it stunned the world. Micheal Jackson launched the release the of the Thriller album with a live performance of Billie Jean and a moon walk across the stage that sent chills down the collective backs of humanity.

Reagan has been shot
I remember that when Ronald Regan was shot it was played on the news like a million times, in a million different speeds.

Challenger Explosion
The space shuttle Challenger explosion is a very memorable event for me personally. It was amazing shock for American and whole world.

Iran Contra
Although I have to re-read the details of this Whitehouse level scandal, I will never for get Col. Oliver North dodging questions of the Congress.

Popularity: 3% [?]

80’s Cable TV: On-TV

A couple of weeks ago my friend pointed out to me that me and my family where the only ones on the block who had cable in the 80’s. “You guys had ON-TV” he pointed out.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Ontvlogo.jpg

ON-TV was a subscription television service, also known as National Subscription Television, launched in 1977 by Oak Industries, Norman Lear’s Chartwell Enterprises and Jerry Perenchio. Oak was a manufacturer of satellite and pay-TV decoders and equipment. ON-TV operated in major markets such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit.

ON-TV was one of many “scrambled UHF” services in many major markets around the country in the era before multi-channel cable television became widely available. Others included SelecTV, Prism, Starcase, Spectrum, Preview, VEU, and SuperTV.

ON-TV, like other PayTV networks, aired a mixture of movies, sports events, and concerts. For example, the Los Angeles-area service showed many home games of the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, Los Angeles Lakers, and Los Angeles Kings, as well as some of the era’s biggest championship boxing matches. In Chicago, ON-TV aired Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks games (which eventually migrated over to a second ON-TV owned station, Sportsvision.)

ON-TV not only aired mainstream films, but much like Z Channel, also aired more unique films and concerts, featuring such acts as Talking Heads and Siouxsie and the Banshees. ON-TV also opted for a uniquely New Wave and heavy metal-dominated music video lineup between films, including acts that MTV and other video shows often ignored, such as Oingo Boingo, Slade, Adam and the Ants, Devo, Men Without Hats, Rush, The Police, J. Geils Band, Wall of Voodoo and many others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ON-TV

We used to attempt to watch the Playboy channel by flipping the A/B selector back an forth quickly. It was ultra softcore but for an 9-10 year old in the 80’s it was might as well have been Hustler magazine. What is funny is that Hustler and the other hardcore stuff seemed over the top. It was more of a gross out oddity taken too far that defied description. But Playboy was just right.

Aside from the occasional “skin”amax or late night HBO, What we watched more that anything else was MTV. There was no MTV2 or Realworld or whatever else lame crap they pass for entertainment these days. In the 80’s, MTV meant MUSIC TV and they actually played MUSIC videos. Their competition was the Box who played back to back videos (I think that was the name.. could have been “video box” or “thebox”). Thevideobox (or whatever the name was.. I maybe thinking of Video Jukebox) never really got that popular and might have been a local phenomenon, because I googled it and can’t find anything on it… let me know if you remember it. MTV’s only other real competition was VH1 (VH-1: Video Hits One) that got big a little later.

What was really cool about MTV at the time is that they seem to be a young and daring group of artists running the channel however the hell they wanted. As such they were able to break new ground in all directions in art: music, video, stories, shows, movies, even animation. Mad geniuses like Peter Chung introduced new states of consciousness via strange pieces like Æon Fluxin the early 1990’s. MTV was able to popularize the music video genre and the avante garde fringes of art & culture stimulating a revolutionary progressive thought that was brewing within the newly arrived Generation X. Unfortunately, MTV/MTV2 is now just another part of the corporate/commercial landscape. Innovation and freething has been pushed to the Internet.

On-TV was a big factor in my GenX development. While might chalk this up as an entirely negative thing, I would respectfully disagree. I really believe that cable is a interesting part of the American cultural landscape. In the 80’s, channels like MTV helped to define the boundaries of our culture. Many hard line traditionalist and religious types were seriously critical of the redefinition of those boundaries, but no one (not even a particular religion) owns the rights to all ethical answers. Life evolves to fast for a single one-dimensional measurement of morality and reality.

Popularity: 3% [?]

80s Nerds

Confessions of an 80s Nerd

I was always a strange kid, but I the first time I realized I was a nerd was when I first watched the movie Revenge of the Nerds (1984). I didn’t just root for the nerds in the movie, I identified with them as an outcast, reject with fringe talents. I wasn’t officially a “nerd” until the 1990’s (most of my teen years) where I was given the full Nerd christening: joined a writing club (full of other nerds), fell in love with computers, bullied, made fun of for my (lack of) style, looks and love of books.

80’s nerdom, for me, was nothing more than being unable to fit into the incrowd & hanging around with other nerds. 80’s nerd crowds would talk about the V: the series, computer games (if you were lucky enough the have access to a computer, not everyone had one), Dungeons & Dragons, and of course Star Wars & Star Trek. I remember being filled with hate when I was called a nerd or a geek in the 80’s. It wasn’t until the very end of my short stay in High School (in the 90’s) when lots and lots of “nerds & geeks” were getting super rich that I realized that being a nerd was a complement. The meek started to inherit the earth.

In the 80’s a nerd was the kid that got beat up and had his lunch money taken. I didn’t see any benefit to that. For me, the word has greatly evolved and I take it as a compliment said only as an insult by people who are either jealous or don’t understand what they are saying.

The pocket protector was popular 80s geek accessory. The stereotype of the typical 80s nerd is in the Revenge of the Nerds movies: button down shirts tucked in, with high-water quarteroy pants (or slackes) riding high over the belly button. Hygiene was optional. Taped glasses and suspenders were a plus. Realistically, I did know any one that wore all that stuff, but hygiene was usually lacking, shirts were usually tucked and pants were sometimes high-waters.

Like the pimps, the stereotypical 80s nerd is a timeless and unmistakable costume.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Stuck in the 80s Blogger on Penn & Teller Bullshit

Steve Spears is a Time online editor who runs the Stuck in the 80s blog.

He lucked out. He’s going to see Dennis DeYoung with Night Ranger on Jan. 19 at Clearwater’s Ruth Eckerd Hall. While there, he will be interviewing other 80’s freaks like you and I.

Sounds cool, huh… until he mentioned that he is doing it for the Penn & Teller’s show, Bullshit. If you have NEVER seen the show you are in luck. The show spends thousands of dollars to give a one-sided cynical, mean spirited, nihilistic, pseudoskepticism spin on every thing that anyone loves. They set out to conducted smear campaigns against everything for no reason. I’m certain that they would take that as a compliment… seriously. I hope they will do a “Bullshit” special about how THEIR show is bullshit, sleight of hand, smoke and mirrors, misdirection and mudslinging at its nastiest. Lately, every piece and oppinion I see from Penn & Teller is submerged in this sort of shock media like the “art” of Andres Serranos.

My comment to Steve: These guys did an hour long show blasting Mother Theresa & Mahatma Gandhi.. what do you think they’ll do to a Time online editor.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Acceptable in the 80s (not anymore)

A lot has happened since the 80s. Airport security for example is very, very different. It was acceptable to have matches in your pocket for example while on a plane going from America to the U.K. Not so much anymore. Here are a few more things that were acceptable in the 80s:

Micheal Jackson

Smoking in public restaurant

Big Feathered hair

Leg Warmers

Big Shoulder pads

Saying, “gag me with a spoon”

Being a political conservative (applies to U.S.)

O.J. Simpson

America

Check out Calvin Harris’ video, Acceptable in the 80s.

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Why People Are Obsessed with the 80s

This new obsession with the 80s is really my generation coming of age.  We are in our mid-20’s to early-40s now.  We are the up in coming writers, bloggers, producers and directors and we are remembering our child and teen years.  So it is really just nostalgia.  That is why you see all the 80s movie remakes (Transformers, Miami Vice, Dukes of Hazard), 80s music samples, 80s revisited culture, re-ingnited 80s stars (Mr. T, Weird Al) and even 80s blogs.

I suspect that in about 5-10 years we’ll see the same thing happen with the 90’s when the Internet generation starts to come of age.  There revolution will be much different since they’ll include the 2000’s and talk about things like the “Star Wars kid” and “Numa” and that peanut butter jelly song banana.   

 

Popularity: 4% [?]

First Kiss, Summertime, 20 year nostalgia

I love the 80s.  I was born in 1974 so most of my childhood memories are from the 80s. 

My first kiss was in the 80s.  It was beautiful disater that for some reason reminds me of
Nocera’s 1987 song “summertime, summertime”.  Remember that song:

Chorus:
Take me
Take me to the water
Summertime, Summertime
Maybe, we can fall in love
In Summertime, Summertime

I listen to the rain outside
Please come and take me for a ride
I really want you
To come and take me far away
I want to say

Chorus

I’m here lying on the sand
You look down to me and take my hand
I can’t believe it’s true
But you got me after thee
Until you say

Chorus

I’m in my 30’s now with two kids (as of 2006).  Time seems to go faster and faster with each passing year.  I no longer have the sweet naivety of youth.  Youth is relative.   My co-workers (most at least 15 years older than me) still see me as a kid.  Youth seems so disposable to me now but when I had it I felt like I would will live forever.  I don’t have that luxury anymore because.  I’ve felt the death of too many of my loved ones. 

I find myself looking back and wondering where all those summers of “firsts” went: first kisses, first girl friend, first job, first… everything.  Sade said it best: “never as good as the first time”. 

With a smile on my face, I know that 20 years is really no time at all.  I am certain that if I am lucky enough to reach 50, I’ll look back on all those decades I will have lived and smile and laugh the hardest at the 1980s and my childhood summers that are for me 20 years ago as of 2006. 

Popularity: 4% [?]