I am 17 years old, and I love the 80s. I feel that it was the best decade for...well, practically everything (Reagan excepted). I just want to know why most people who lived through the 80s and saw it first-hand are embarrased by the music, fashion, hairstyles, et al. The people in the 80s were far more fashionable. I watch clothing commercials today (like ads for The Gap and Tommy Hilfiger), and I recoil in fear seeing the ugliness of the models and their fashions. The hair was more glamourous (Show me a woman with teased hair, instead of a model with a Marcia Brady hairstyle. Don't ask about that last description, I just saw that somewhere.). The music was so much more original back then...Even the rap! I see music today, from Puff Daddy to Britney Spears to Blink 182 to Creed, and I want to smash my radio in. I don't think you children of the 80s have anything to be ashamed of. Why are you guys embarrassed by the best decade ever? Oh, and e-mail me if you want to chat about the culture of the 80s.

Sincerely,

John Kilduff

personally I think people most embarrased by the 80s equate the 80s with their youth and probably their awkwardness.. they look back and see themselves dressed much differently, and think it looks silly..

then there's guys like me.. who still wear their Member Only jackets proudly.. and keep muttering.. "but the 80s are going to come back.. they have to.. I don't want to wear a bright neon ski jacket.. how can THAT be cool?" of course my friends are starting to ask me to walk behind them in public when I wear it...

actually.. haven't those neon colored jackets already come and gone? man.. these fashions move too quickly for me.. Billy Joel got it right..

What's the matter with the crowd I'm seeing? "Don't you know that they're out of touch?"

John, First off, thanks for being such an outspoken fan of the greatest decade of the 20th century. I don't know how much you remember of the 80's as you were born in 1983, but I was in my 20's and squeezed every ounce of fun out of those 10 years. I can not understand why you feel people are embarrased by the 80's. I see it as just the opposite. Judging by all of the 80's web sites and emails that flow through this site alone, I think people are just starting to reallize how great those years were. The music was awesome, women dressed so sexy, there was no war, the economy was strong. It was great. Ther 80's are coming back! Get ready!!! Mitch (80's Forever!)

> I am 17 years old, and I love the 80s. I feel that it was the best decade
> for...well, practically everything (Reagan excepted). I just want to know
> why most people who lived through the 80s and saw it first-hand are
> embarrased by the music, fashion, hairstyles, et al. The people in the 80s
> were far more fashionable. I watch clothing commercials today (like ads
> for The Gap and Tommy Hilfiger), and I recoil in fear seeing the ugliness
> of the models and their fashions. The hair was more glamourous (Show me a
> woman with teased hair, instead of a model with a Marcia Brady hairstyle.
> Don't ask about that last description, I just saw that somewhere.). The
> music was so much more original back then...Even the rap! I see music
> today, from Puff Daddy to Britney Spears to Blink 182 to Creed, and I want
> to smash my radio in. I don't think you children of the 80s have anything
> to be ashamed of. Why are you guys embarrassed by the best decade ever?
> Oh, and e-mail me if you want to chat about the culture of the 80s.

> Sincerely,

> John Kilduff

1982. December 22nd, 1982, to be precise. Thanks for thinking of me as younger, though!

Sincerely,

John Kilduff

> John, First off, thanks for being such an outspoken fan of the greatest
> decade of the 20th century. I don't know how much you remember of the 80's
> as you were born in 1983,

Hey, don't knock us 80s-born people! I was born in '81, and I remember LOTS of the 80s! Whatever movies I missed by being too young, I saw em in the next year or two, and I of course got all the great 80s toys, watched the kid's shows and cartoons... I listened to the music, and followed the fashions when I was old enough to notice em. Hey, I have tons of photos of me with crimped hair... I guess I was lucky, some of my friends don't remember any of the 80s fashion or music, because they weren't into that stuff when they were that young, but my sister was a teenager then, so I guess I got into that kinda thing earlier than some kids, through her... I personally think it's time for an 80s comeback, although to me it feels like the 80s just ended, I still can't believe I babysit for kids born in the 90s! Anyway, 70s fashions was popular in the 90s, right? So, it's time for 80s fashion!

-Lizzi

What's with the "we missed so much of the 80s because we were born in 1983" deal?? Hello? You were born in 81, only two years of a difference. I was bron in 83 and I remember just as much of the 80s as anyone else here. Don't knock US cuz we're younger then you! (This is by no means an intention to start an argument, it is only to point out that because we weren't there for the beginning of the 80s or born later, no one can remember anything!)

> What's with the "we missed so much of the 80s because we were born in
> 1983" deal?? Hello? You were born in 81, only two years of a
> difference. I was bron in 83 and I remember just as much of the 80s as
> anyone else here. Don't knock US cuz we're younger then you! (This is by
> no means an intention to start an argument, it is only to point out that
> because we weren't there for the beginning of the 80s or born later, no
> one can remember anything!)

Umm... If this was a response to my message, please go back and re-read my post. I was *sticking up* for all us 80s born people with that post, not putting you down!! I thought that would be pretty obvious from the first sentences of my last message: "Hey, don't knock us 80s-born people!" If you thought I was putting you down because I said some of my friends don't remember a lot of the 80s stuff, I wasn't, I was just stating a fact. I don't know why, but a lot of my friends who are around the same age as me remember hardly any of the 80s songs and fashions.

-Lizzi

I don't know how much you remember of the 80's
> as you were born in 1983,

Hate to remind you dear, but you wrote that. Yeah you stuck up for all the 80s born people, but that was a direct comment as to 1983 born teens that we don't remember stuff. I don't think your two years senior puts you in the number 1 priority to say stuff like that. You can re-read your post.

> I don't know how much you remember of the 80's

> Hate to remind you dear, but you wrote that. Yeah you stuck up for all the
> 80s born people, but that was a direct comment as to 1983 born teens that
> we don't remember stuff. I don't think your two years senior puts you in
> the number 1 priority to say stuff like that. You can re-read your post.

Actually, I did not write that. I just did re-read my post, and here is the beginning, exactly as it can be seen if you go to my original message on this board:

-------------------------------Start:
> John, First off, thanks for being such an outspoken fan of the greatest
> decade of the 20th century. I don't know how much you remember of the 80's
> as you were born in 1983,

Hey, don't knock us 80s-born people! I was born in '81, and I remember LOTS of the 80s! -------------------------------End.

Please note the fact that the beginning 3 lines have this sign in front of them > that sign signifies that something is a QUOTE. Those particular lines were quoted from Mitch's post, which is what I had been replying to. Here is a segment of Mitch's post, which includes the lines I quoted:

------------------------------Start:
> John, First off, thanks for being such an outspoken fan of the greatest
> decade of the 20th century. I don't know how much you remember of the 80's
> as you were born in 1983, but I was in my 20's and squeezed every ounce of
> fun out of those 10 years. ------------------------------End.

Yes, I stuck up for all the 80s born people, it would be pretty silly for me to say anything bad about them since I am one of them, wouldn't it? I would not make any comments about 83 born people not remembering stuff because some of my friends who were born in 83 remember pretty much the same stuff I do.

-Lizzi

> I don't know how much you remember of the 80's

> Hate to remind you dear, but you wrote that. Yeah you stuck up for all the
> 80s born people, but that was a direct comment as to 1983 born teens that
> we don't remember stuff. I don't think your two years senior puts you in
> the number 1 priority to say stuff like that. You can re-read your post.

Ugh! This is a perfect example of why today's teenagers born in the '80s (which doesn't mean they actually *grew up* in the '80s) really belong on the '90s board. They think they know it all, but they can't even do the most basic things, like read a message board, and figure out who posted what. :-( It's one thing to say you're a fan of the '80s, but IMHO, someone of this age really can't say they lived it, especially if they weren't even alive for the whole decade...

We belong on the 80s board now? I don't think you should be one to judge there DUDE. I don't know everything about the 80s and I bet you don't either. So don't say just cuz we were born late doesn't mean that we know nothing of the 80s and didn't really experience them because I see old 80s stuff on tv all the time from when I was little and I always say "I remember that." Or "I remember when that came out/ hearing that song...." blah blah blah!! Don't judge who you don't know!!!!!!

> We belong on the 80s board now? I don't think you should be one to judge
> there DUDE.

{rolls eyes} I never said such a thing, Liz. Obviously, you're here now. You're clearly misquoting again, just as you did above w/ Lizzi. If you're going to make a point, at least get your facts straight first. I'll let the maturity level of your response speak for itself; if anything, I think it only reinforces what I said earlier. Funny how you didn't even address Lizzi's most recent post, but instead attacked mine. Didn't want to admit you were wrong??? ;-)

> I don't know everything about the 80s and I bet you don't
> either. So don't say just cuz we were born late doesn't mean that we know
> nothing of the 80s and didn't really experience them because I see old 80s
> stuff on tv all the time from when I was little and I always say "I
> remember that." Or "I remember when that came out/ hearing that
> song...." blah blah blah!! Don't judge who you don't know!!!!!!

You can keep rolling your eyes. I'm sick of fighting with people, it gets lame. I'm just tired of being put down cuz I'm younger. You and Lizzi can reread everything you wrote, cuz I am standing my ground. By the way isn't it the MEN that don't like to admit they're wrong????

Liz -

I see you caught some flak on this board. At first I was tempted to side with the others, but . . . looking over your posts, I feel more sympathetic towards you.

I can understand where you're coming from and I can understand where the others are coming from, too. You obviously love and appreciate the 80s, why else would you be participating in this forum? You are also knowledgeable about the decade. (This next part is not meant to put you down, I'll come back to it later as a personal illustration.) You are, however, of the age that you would have been a little kid by the end of the 80s and would have done most of your growing up in the 90s. Therefore, some of those who saw the whole decade might view you kind of like, "What does she know? She was three (or whatever) years old in 1986!" I think you can see how someone who was 15 or 20 in 1986 would feel that way.

Sometimes, though, people who are sort of "cross-decade" such as yourself actually DO know something about the era in which they were "little kids." I know because I'm one such person, and I have experienced some of what you have been experiencing.

I was 10 when the 80s began. This means that I was a "little kid" during the 70s. Despite being little during that time, I remember a lot from that time. I remember, first-hand, seeing news reports from Vietnam during the war, Nixon on TV, Nixon resigning on TV, seeing space capsules "splash down" on their return to Earth (heck, I remember SPACE CAPSULES!), disco, the BeeGees, punk, inflation, Carter, the Iran hostage crisis, etc.

I remember talking with someone more than five years my senior about "growing up in the 70s" and he said, "You didn't grow up in the 70s, you were what, nine years old?" I replied that I remembered stuff like I mentioned above. I had very real memories of that era. I experienced it and I feel that I am allowed to comment on it. Further, while I was little, I grew to appreciate the past (remember, 50s nostalgia was big then) so I made a point to remember what would one day be MY past. I don't know, maybe you did the same thing.

It's funny, at the same time though, sometimes I feel I myself was too young during the 80s. I mean, I was 20 by the end of the decade, but I was much too young to have been able to go to clubs like the Ritz, the Starwood, the Whisky, etc. and see all those bands like the Go-Go's, X, DEVO, etc. when they were starting out - the era when things new wave were just bubbling under the surface waiting to explode. I couldn't go to clubs until the 90s (and by then, there wasn't anything worth going to see!).

So, you're kind of a cross-decade sort like me. Old enough to have vivid memories of a decade, but young enough for some people older than you to think you don't know anything about the decade.

I would caution you about one thing, thought, something that I have found helpful in my 70s discussions. Don't get defensive when people say you're too young to remember anything. Either ignore it or just state that you're old enough to remember enough of the era that it made a big impression on you - and that's why you like the era so much (or something like that, whatever is appropriate to your situation).

Another thing that you should keep in mind (and those who try to put you down should as well) is that your experience of the 80s is going to be a bit different from those who are older than you. I'm not sure when you said you were born, but if you were born in 1983, you didn't experience certain things. You don't remember DEVO on the Top 40 with "Whip It", you don't remember when the Go-Go's hit it with the "Beauty and the Beat" album and what a big deal it was that an all female BAND had a double platinum album. You don't remember MTV going on the air or Duran Duran's "Rio" album being released. These things all happened before you were born. Your memories are going to be of the mid and later 80s. Some of this early 80s stuff may have influenced you, though. So you might not have been alive when "Beauty and the Beat" came out, but you probably heard "We Got the Beat" when you were little. You have your memories of these things, but those memories and experiences are going to be somewhat different from what older people will have.

Again, this is sort of like my experience. I was into New Wave in the early 80s (okay, I'm STILL into New Wave), but my memories and experiences of DEVO, the Go-Go's etc are going to be much different than someone who was in their 20s at the time. I experienced them via radio, record, and MTV. Older people saw them in clubs, etc.

It's probably more like my experiences/memories of the 70s. For me back then, some bands were just funny looking people I saw on posters. For people older than me, their music was the soundtrack for their lives. I "remember" those groups, but I didn't experience them or their music the same way that the older people did. I look back on them fondly now and say, "Oh yeah, those guys . . " But I say this coming from the perspective that I didn't experience them the same way that others did when they were out. (Although today I might have all their albums and play them constantly and know more about them than their fans from the 70s do.)

By and large, people here are flattered when younger people speak of their love of the 80s. Some of us (though not all) were not too impressed by the 90s. So, we are impressed when the 90s generation sees in the 80s the things about that decade that we also loved, and when they also appreciate in the 80s the things that we saw lacking in the 90s. Whether you like the 80s better than the 90s or if you the the 90s were really better . . . you still have some appreciation for the 80s, and we like that.

So . . . don't let it bother you.

This is technically the 80s message board. It's not the "Board only for people who lived through all of the 80s" or anything like that. It's a place for people who appreciate or want to know about or discuss the 80s to post messages. You lived through most of the decade and have some memories and experiences of the era, you appreciate this era and wish to discuss it. Furthermore, you are knowledgeable about the era (I remember having a discussion in 1992 with some kids who were 17. I mentioned DEVO and they asked "What's that?" I'm sure you know who DEVO is - and they didn't at your age, even though they were alive when DEVO was on the charts!) You have also been able to help others with questions. There's no reason why you shouldn't be able to share your thoughts or memories of the 80s here. We can all learn from each other here, because all of our experiences of the decade were different.

First, I do know what DEVO is ;o)

Second, Thanx for siding with me (half-way anyway) You pointed out a lot of stuff and it made me feel better in a way. I remember enough of the 80s to appreciate the decade, and I'm going to leave it at that.

Liz -

> First, I do know what DEVO is ;o)

I would have been so disappointed if you didn't! I can't tell you how shocked and disappointed I was that my friends, only five years younger than me, had no clue who DEVO was. This was even after I mentioned "Whip It", the Energy Domes they used to wear. Nothing. Not a clue. This wasn't just one or two people, there were about four or five of them. Amazing.

> Second, Thanx for siding with me (half-way anyway)

You're welcome. I do side with you. I just understand why some people criticised you. I also think it is a bit short-sighted of them to level such criticisms. I myself was skeptical about people born in the early-mid 80s posting here. However, I had to look at it as being comparable to my memories and experiences of the 70s. Maybe you were 6 or 7 when the 80s ended. You still have memories and experiences to share. Truth be told, it doesn't differ at all from my sharing my experiences and memories of the Bicentennial. I was only 6 years old then. I still remember so much from that time, and it made a big impression on me. It is most likely the same for your situation.

>You pointed out a lot
> of stuff and it made me feel better in a way.

I hope so. Just be confident that your experiences and memories are valid and worth sharing. It doesn't matter what other people say. You know what you experienced of the decade and can speak from that experience.

>I remember enough of the 80s
> to appreciate the decade, and I'm going to leave it at that.

That's a great statement. That's all that really matters.

As an addendum to what I wrote in my previous post, let me speak from the vantage point of someone "who lived through the whole decade." I can't speak for everyone, but I think that people such as myself often look skeptically at people your age because we often think, "They say they like the 80s, but they are just jumping on the bandwagon, trying to be 'retro.' They grew up in the 90s, they don't really 'get' what the 80s were about and what it was really like." Personally, I think that's true in many cases. For me, knowing the 80s is a deeper thing than just putting on a Dead Kennedys T-Shirt and calling yourself a punk or buying a Specials album and going on about ska. For example, I myself look at people like that and think, "Gee! I was made fun of in junior high and high school because I liked bands like Madness, The (English) Beat, and the Specials. Now it's trendy and cool to like ska." I look at them and think that they don't know what it really meant to be into the Second Wave of ska back in the early 80s. (On that note, I'm sure that the original ska fans from the early 60s in Jamaica looked a bit askance at those British groups reviving it 20 years later and an ocean away.) I think the same way regarding the general social climate of the era.

However, there are some people - such as yourself - who obviously DO "get" it and understand the 80s. You are into the era because of your personal experience. You sound like your appreciation isn't based on any trend or whatever. You sound like you understand the 80s and that you have even made an effort to learn about stuff that went on before you were born.

I guess it is best to look at each person individually and not generalize. On the whole, I guess I am skeptical (which makes me like some of the people who criticized you) but on the other hand, I'm open to accepting people who have their own memories of the era and want to share them because of the affection they feel for the era.

Like you said, you appreciate the decade. I think that's what matters most to people on this board. If you truly appreciate the 80s, then no one can criticize you and most people will welcome you.

Besides, you also know first-hand what it was like to be little in the late 80s. Those of us who are older don't know that and can learn from you. It's like me with the 70s - my older relatives know what it was like to be in high school or adulthood during that time, but they don't know what it was like to be a little kid.

That's what these boards are about, sharing information and learning from it.

Well . . . I've written enough on this. I'm always happy to know that someone understands and appreciates the 80s. (Some people who lived through the 80s criticize and demean it, so hey, you're already ahead of them!)

. . . and I'm glad that you know what DEVO is! :)

I'm going with The80s' post here as well. I thought you described the situation perfectly and your points were nicely executed. I, too, am someone born in '81 and found your relation to someone of my age refreshing and welcome. Almost being twenty by now, I may not appreciate being spoken to rather condescendingly when this subject arises (ie. "You kids don't know anything about the '80s... You were, what, NEGATIVE four when ____'s hit came out?") I won't be quick to claim I remember *all* of the '80s, as I remember most of the late '80s (very vivid memories, like Lizzi.) Obviously, a song's original release in '83 will be very difficult for me to recall unless it was played on the radio or aired on a music channel years later. I can't deny this. But the late '80s has a huge place in my heart so I still consider myself an '80s Child (not Teen, of course.)

I do believe that those born in the earlier portion of the period definitely 'grew up' during the '80s -- but during the later years. Those years during elementary are major learning experiences. You absorb everything around you and this point in your life is somewhat like a foundation. We did not black out during this time in our lives... This is where our childhood memories come from; as opposed to being a teenager and dealing with puberty and another sort of growing up. There's just some of us who remember more strongly than others -- and we are on here!

Thanks for hearing us out, the80s.