Of course there some people out there that
believe we are going through a crisis.  What
kind of crisis, you ask?  Could it be an
economic crisis?  No.  What about a religious
crisis?  Not that either.  I got it......is it a war
crisis?  Wrong again my friend.  This crisis is
all around us.  We see it, hear it, feel it, and
by 2004, we will be living it...(for another six
years, I hope).  No, not money, Christ, or brute
force.....but an identity crisis.  And we are
nearing the obvious....the return of the good
'ol 1980s.  
 Yes, the 80s.  We are going through the
biggest, most shameful crisis of years gone
by.  In the early 80s, we imitated the 50s,
such as Billy Joel, Stray Cats, and so forth.
Not to mention the waking of the "punk". Of
course the mid to late part of that lovely
decade was too futuristic about converting
from the greaser bad boy type to the Beaver
Cleaver family values of the early 1960s.  So
that's where the rap music and synthesized
form of Euro and Brit pop(derived from disco)
comes in.  Okay, some of it was good, like
Depeche Mode, Yaz, and the Eurythmics.  
Everyone was feeling the beat on every
Electric Avenue across the world.  Break
Dancing was in full force in 1984, with Afrika
Bombaata's Planet Rock and Michael Jackson
claim as the King of Pop.   The 50s were out
and the time was NOW!  Then so comes the
big hair, leg warmers, lots of facial make up,
and a bombastic kissy-face routine toting
huge speakers, an amp, and , of course, the
electric guitar.....yes isn't that nice...  Okay
metal heads and Ozzie fans(some that
weren't even born during his younger days),
get angry and get ready to ROOOOOOOCK!!!!
Now into the late 80s, we have communisim
in the Soviet Union and East Germany falls
with that rediculous wall.  Poverty and the
increase of volitile, but good feeling drugs in
urban neighbourhoods soar as high  as the
early 90s rebirth of the hippie era.  We also
have techno getting into the scene and having
special parties, that we call raves.  This was
unheard of in the US during that time.  Even
today, since raves are considered evil and
bad, I feel the rave scene is not ready to be
heard.  We were so saturated by pop music,
that we made a special pile at your local
record store labled "Pop".  
 So now we get the synapsis of the whole
situation.  The early 90s, was saying...what
the hey?!  Let's re-live the hippie era of the
late 60s and early 70s.  And while we're at
it...let's sport flannels and cargo pants, grow
our hair and rat it out!  Okay, what nostalgic
period in the past inspired grunge music?  
Now in the mid 90s, we see grunge turning
into alternative. After Tupac's death, Gangsta
rap was turning into flashy outfits, Moet,
expensive cars, and know-how instructions on
how to be a "playa".  Hip hop didn't flow too
well through the 90s but it did gain large
amounts of "bling bling" with its enterprise
within this society.  Dance music was getting
real popular with the underground scene.  
Disco was in at this time and hip hoppers and
R&B people wanted a little piece of the
action.  Everyone wanted they're beats done to
techno.  But guess what.......it didn't quite
make the A list.  Once again, were still in the
"box".... that pop music bug still has us in its
death grips.  By the year 2000, we figured, we
were on a role here, so you know what that
means.......let's re-live the good 'ol 1980s.  
70s=90s------>80s=00s.....get it?  So 2004 is
more like 1984....get ready.  I want to say that
we have an identity crisis on our hands.  It's  
2K4...we need to move on and act like it's the
"now", and not the "then" .   I wasn't too big
on Madonna, Cindi Lauper, or Boy George.  
 We are the new generation trying to do for
the future, not tamper with the past...because
it will come back to haunt your grand kids, if
we ever recycle the time of old once again.
Note: "history repeats itself". So I guess we'll
return to the 90s in '10, right?  Who
knows.....we all maybe doing the Macarena to
speed metal, with a twist of happy hardcore
wearing tie-die shirts and  ;)
pennyloafers.....AAHH!!!!!  
 (Finally, in closing, I don't want to step on toes or pee pee on your Cheerios, but this is only my perspective, just by looking through the years of my 25 years of life.  I hope I can get feedback from my post and not hate responses.  I'm not totally dissin' the 80s era, but honsetly I don't want to conform to a decade that never really identified me :))

kÜng fÜ-1978_4_evah

Well I think most of the people here do identify w/ the 80's and vice versa. I don't think there's any kind of identity crisis. I live very much in the here and now. But as far as music,movies and TV I prefer the 80's and that what boards like this are for.
I think that there is a preference for what we grow up with  in our era. And obviously the catering to the generation that was 20 years ago is b/c we are now the ones in the same place the 60's genereation was in the 80's.
However, if you don't like the 80's, then I don't know why you would want to post on an 80's board.  ???

Quoting:  I'm not totally dissin' the 80s era, but honsetly I don't want to conform to a decade that never really identified me :))
kÜng fÜ-1978_4_evah
End Quote

 I understand your opinion, really, I do.  Like I said, I'm not trying to make fun, or degrade the 80s.  I mean, I had a few good things go on in my life in that decade.  Just that I never got to do what most other kids got to do; listen to what the other kids listened to; or had the nostalgic experience.  I spent most of the 80s either in military hospitals or moving a lot.
 I know everyone who grew up in the 80s and whom were born in the 80s, want to bring back the essence in the 00s, like the hippie generation did with the 60s revival in the early 90s, and goth/punk/ska/disco in the mid-late 90s.  Basically what I'm saying is that it's a pattern.  We take fashions, trends, and music more seriously than our past generations. Us teens and 20-somethings, and even 30-somethings want to differentiate ourselves from our elders because, yes, they had their time, now it's our time.  Okay, I'll let you in on something...I DID like Run DMC, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Depche Mode, U2, and such.  But I mainly was into the techno/early house scene (around '85-'86) when I was 7-8 years old.  I DID listen to some good music then, but it never really identify with me in that time, and still does not now.  I remember hearing the first techno/house radio station out of New York, when I lived in New Jersey.  I was hooked onto that 4-on-on-the-floor dance beat that I would record on a boombox with tons of cassette tapes..lol  ever since then, I've been into techno(now called electronica).  That was all I had because from the age of 1 til about 6, all I really ever listened to was Panamanian and Japanese music.  We all have fickled thoughts, and we change with the times, but I guess I found my niche and decided to embrace that.  Lately, I've been trying to give in and listen to what I missed out on, either on records, the internet, and club scenes.  I probably have tons of records that people would kill to have...lol :).  I have stuff from late 70s and early 80s disco and new wave to some mid-late 80s "butt rock"/break dance/ rap. I am constantly at the pawn shops, thrift stores, and record stores looking for old stuff. I like most of them, minus the rock because I never grew up on rock.  I even intend on producing some tracks with 80s influence, but mainly from the latter part of that decade.  At our music studio, we use an old 1988 Atari computer with programs from 1985 for making our techno sound like a Miami Vice type influence.
 I'm trying to "want" to revive my own experiences of the 80s, but I want to be different in my own way.  I'm just saying that I don't want to conform to what everyone else is doing, especially if I never shared their experiences.  I don't believe in following fashions, being what everyone thinks I should be.  I remember back in '89, everyone was into "pegging" their pants...even boys...oh m'god!  I had the '92 vision then, because I was wearing baggy pants then.  All the kids would laugh at me, saying I looked like a clown...:)).  I told them that "pegging" their pants was about the stupidest thing they could of ever done.  Well 3 years later, guess who's shifting to the baggy pants style?  AH HA!!  After everyone caught on...I stopped wearing baggies and started wearing weird stuff that no one would care to wear.  
 I guess if I was to relate to any group from the 80s, it would be a combo of gothic/punk mindset of non-conformity mixed with German/UK style techno.  My love of techno/house music of the 80s, 90s, and now derived from the tail end of the '70s, whence I was born...the most hated disco era.  It's cool though that I can say that, just like people born from '83 on say that's why they like the 80s because they were born in the hair band era.  No one can change our thinking.  What it all boils down to is that the mass put all this nostalgic novelty stuff out to the people and the greater majority runs to it like lemmings off a cliff.  All of a sudden, I see the mohawks, peircings, plaid pants, goth, too much make up...and that's just the "tweens".  I'm really anxious what's going to be the next biggest thing in 2010.  I can't wait, so I can revive "my" time...hee hee.  To bad I'll be in my early 30s *cringes*and won't be able to enjoy it.  
 During this closing, I just want to say that I guess by talking about this matter, I've learned a bit more about how I grew up and by telling you my story about it, I hope you can somewhat agree with some of the things I say, but everyone "is" different with their opinions.  I want to know about the 80s as much as most of you did.  This is a cool site and I want to make friends, but at the same time, let me know is something else is off base with some more feedback.  TY---kÜng fÜ

Um, no ???
I watched a ton of cartoon, when I was a kid, they were just in Panamanian and in Japanese...I didn't watch American cartoons til I was 8.

^Well sorry then, I confused you with someone else.  There was at least one other guy that used to come here a lot and he was born in 1978 too just like you.  He always insisted that while he did grow up in the 80's, he never really grew up in the 80's.  That sort of thing, if you know what I mean.  He went on and on about how he was too young to watch "The Day After" in 1983, and therefore he didn't understand the Soviet nuclear threat that was still around in the 80's, and he had little to nothing in common with anyone born before like 1977.

People tend to be selective on their memories, especially if it means, being lumped in with people that are older and less cool then them.  So I can understand someone born in 1978 or 1979 wanting to be part of the crowd of 19 or 20 year olds that were born in 1984, rather then the 28 or 29 year olds like me that were born in 1975 and are now pushing 30.  

Basically that guy seemed to want to distance himself as much as possible from the "teen culture" of the 1980's.  In some ways, I was able to understand where that dude was coming from.  I am 3 years older then him and you, I am 28 1/2 years old and I was born in 1975.  I remember I used to think that I was too young for a lot the stuff that went on in the 80's.  When I turned 14 in 1989, the 80's were not cool anymore and everything about that decade was corny and going out of style.  So being born in the mid 70's, I can understand the longing affection people born in the late 60's and early 70's have to the 80's, and the more cringeful embarrasment those born in the late 70's and early 80's have to the 1980's.  I was born at a time where I can understand both aspects of the 80's, both the campy and the cool.   The 80's were a decade that could be really cool and magical, but also really cheesy and gaudy at the same time.  So I can understand people 3 or 4 years younger then me wanting even less to do with the 80's and wanting to strictly identify themselves as "90's kids".

Though in my heart, I know I'm always an 80's kid.  :)    

I think I might know that dude, you're talking about...I think his name was Mark or something..lol That's cool, he shared that same thing I did about growing up, and he sent me an e-mail about it, but that's all I heard from that dude.  I've never even seen "The Day After".  What's that about?  I grew up a military kid, and was always in several different countries, so I couldn't get a lot of "english" entertainment til we came back to the US.

Here's a link for the Day After
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085404/

I am that Mark you were talking about...I haven't been posting here for a while (since like last April) but from time to time I read posts. All I was saying was that I think that from my experiences, there is a disparity between people born in the late 70s and those born earlier. And a lot of it has not much to do with the 80s and more with societal changes that occurred when we were growing up during those years. For example, I sense that parents of people my age and younger seemed to be a lot more involved with our lives than people who were just slightly older. Our parents were the original "soccer moms and dads"...they seemed to be a lot more protective and such, and were involved with our lives. Other things as well....we were heirs of the self-esteem movement more than previous cohorts...we seem to be more happy-go-lucky and optimistic...little of that stereotypical Gen-X angst. We were also essentially the first cohort to probably be on the internet before graduating college and probably the first to have had access to computers to some degree from K-12 or at least 1-12. The 80s and the memories from that decade are another difference...seems that pop culture for many (although not all) of my cohort didn't really have a major influence until the very late 80s or early 90s, when a transition was taking place. Yes, many of the people my age are into the 80s, as well as people who were much younger...with maybe "Alf" or something along those lines being all they can remember. But a lot of that has to do with the fact that they are curious of what they missed because they were too young to really care for the most part (operative word is really). Kungfu, I haven't heard from you for a while...my e-mail is yankeeyosh26@yahoo.com

^Never noticed what you are talking about.  I friends of all different ages, quite a few that are 3 years younger then me and born in 1978.  I have never noticed any extradoinary differences in their outlook or prefrences in life from mine.  Perhaps I should question them and find out.  My cousin/close friend is 2 years younger then me and born in 1977, again we like the same things, have a very similar outlook on life and reminisce about stuff from the 80's all the time like Knight Rider and A-Team.