I'm sure I'm not the only 16-year-old person to wish that he/she was, like, old enough to experience the 80's. I would give my life to have been this old during the 80's! All the concerts...fashion...in general, the attitude. Anyways, if anyone would like to give us newbies a feel of the 80's and share some personal experiences or memories please do!

It's great to know that a small percentage of the younger crowd still likes 80's culture.

I have a little brother and sister myself and feel bad for them in a way because they were both born too late to witness any of
this incredible time.

Sad to say though, that you can watch all the movies, listen to all the music and it's still just not the same if you weren't there. You can get the gist of it, but unless you were living it, you'll never really know.

I was born in '76 and was only 14 by decade's end, but I always wished I had been born just a few years earlier so I could've really enjoyed the decade more thoroughly.

Even though I graduated high school in 1994, I had a button on my jacket that read "Class of '84". And that's what I always considered myself at heart.

I'm sure I'm not the only 16-year-old person to wish that he/she was, like, old enough to experience the 80's. I would give my life to have been this old during the 80's! All the concerts...fashion...in general, the attitude. Anyways, if anyone would like to give us newbies a feel of the 80's and share some personal experiences or memories please do!


Get lots and LOTS of Aquanet. I think we 80's teens single-handedly depleted most of the ozone by way of Aquanet  :o And get a good shampoo 'coz that stuff would leave white crap in your hair that took forever to get out. ;D

One thing that really sticks out in my mind is it seemed EVERY girl in my HS wore some perfume (??? Help me ladies...was it perfume or body spray?) called Loves Baby Soft. I think that is still permanently etched in my nasal cavity. Takes me back to 9th grade History and this girl Donna but that's a personal memory

Even though I graduated high school in 1994, I had a button on my jacket that read "Class of '84". And that's what I always considered myself at heart.


I think this is a very accurate to describe the way I've always felt.

Like I've said on here before, I was only 8 when the 80's ended, but due to my tastes already having been "set", I pretty much always thought of that as my "home". I didn't take to the 90's or 2000's as well (liking more "scattered" things as opposed to the general pop culture as a whole).

My being the age I am is VERY "cross generational" - I never knew if I was a really young Gen X-er or a very old Gen Y-er. Based on other people I know who were born in 1981 or 82 that I've talked to - about half of them like the 80's, and half were of the "Who, what?" and "That sucks" mindset.

That's exactly how it was with the kids my age. More than half of them didn't seem to notice movies, music or anything else pop culture related until the 90's started, and by then most of my favorite movies, music, tv shows, etc. had already come and gone.
I latched on to the culture around me when I was very young, when it seemed that most people my age didn't latch onto it until at least their teens started.

That's exactly how it was with the kids my age. More than half of them didn't seem to notice movies, music or anything else pop culture related until the 90's started, and by then most of my favorite movies, music, tv shows, etc. had already come and gone.
I latched on to the culture around me when I was very young, when it seemed that most people my age didn't latch onto it until at least their teens started.

Yes, exactly.

I think the older we get, the more we pick up. So the same guys who, 10 years ago in 1995 had no idea about some of the things from the 80's I'd mention, might have a bigger knowledge overall now.

The reality of this hit me in high school. I started to REALLY feel old when someone my age didn't know who John Candy was, who sang "We Built this City" or had never played the original Nintendo. ;D

You said you were born in 1976, right? Wow, that's amazing to me that someone your age - who would've already been 13 by the end of the 80's - wouldn't have had ANY liking of pop culture. Most kids by like 9 or 10 already seem to be very into it today from what I've observed.

Add in that the 80's style (well late 80's at least) lasted until 1991 or '92. Seems they got a late start, LOL!

Oddly enough, in the year 1990  I went through a phase where I would try to remember as much as I could about the 80's and I was only nine. What is strange though, is that some of the 80's music that I listen to now but didn't back then sounds very familiar, as if though I had listened to it at some point back then.

Yeah, the music seems more recognizable now than it did then. There were certain things I enjoyed, but I didn't really become reallly musically aware until I was about 12 or 13 (when I became big for the Beatles). I remember seeing the video for George Harrison's song "I've got My Mind Set On You" and it being one of my first "alert" moments for liking a song a lot, but not really recognizing who it was until much later..

Yes, exactly.

I think the older we get, the more we pick up. So the same guys who, 10 years ago in 1995 had no idea about some of the things from the 80's I'd mention, might have a bigger knowledge overall now.

The reality of this hit me in high school. I started to REALLY feel old when someone my age didn't know who John Candy was, who sang "We Built this City" or had never played the original Nintendo. ;D

You said you were born in 1976, right? Wow, that's amazing to me that someone your age - who would've already been 13 by the end of the 80's - wouldn't have had ANY liking of pop culture. Most kids by like 9 or 10 already seem to be very into it today from what I've observed.

Add in that the 80's style (well late 80's at least) lasted until 1991 or '92. Seems they got a late start, LOL!


              Also, to add to your observation Marty McFly, I think also some kids who have older siblings and the like seem to pick up on what they like, too. I know because my brother was 3 years older than me that I seemed to gain a different perspective of things. I liked what I liked, but he gave me a different view of his own tastes in music, clothes, slang, and just hanging out with the "boys." I was such a tomboy, but that's another story alltogether..

Also, to add to your observation Marty McFly, I think also some kids who have older siblings and the like seem to pick up on what they like, too. I know because my brother was 3 years older than me that I seemed to gain a different perspective of things. I liked what I liked, but he gave me a different view of his own tastes in music, clothes, slang, and just hanging out with the "boys." I was such a tomboy, but that's another story alltogether..


Another good point. :)

Since I understand this kind of thing a little more all the time, I believe some of the kids who aren't as into pop culture might've not had someone older to expose them to it growing up. Perhaps their parents forbade them to listen to rock music or watch anything beyond a G-rated movie. Even "peer pressure" to like what's hot, etc.

Having an older sibling helps. I was an only child - in my case, it was my parents who unintentionally put me "ahead of the curve" - according to them, I got into it on my own though!

I also was exposed to older things too. I had no idea the Beatles were already 15-20 years old by then, so I still associate them with the 80's - even though I know the difference now! ;)

I was 13 by the end of the 80s so remember even the beginning of the 80s pretty vividly. Altough i was never into pop music i was able to at least stomach some of the pop music back then. I have more of an appreciation for pop music from the 80s nowadays than i did then now that i look back on it. Probably didn't like it so much then though because i couldn't imagine just how bad it would get in 25 years or so from then. What i do remember most & loved about that era though were the popular TV shows, cartoons, movies & toys. I had this discusion with my girlfriend earlier today. I was talking aout The A-Team & about how all the TV shows are way too serious now & lack the element of fun the TV shows from the 80s did. The TV shows from then were iconic & memorable. How could you not prefere shows like Airwolf, Knight Rider, A-Team & 21 Jump Street just to name a few. I read a section on this site titled Reasons For Children Of The 80s To Feel Old & it honestly made me feel downright geriatric. One person wrote about how they tried to show some kid the Transformers movie which this little kid thought was old & boring & that it made him feel awful & old. I was disturbed by that considering i watched the new Transformers episodes & i thought they were crap & boring with some of the worst voice acting i've ever heard. Can't beat the original period. Another example that horrified me was a guy who made his son watch Back To The Future & after it his son asked "what's with all the funny looking clothes". The dad replied, "that's what your dad wore back then" & the son replied "on i mean before he got in the car" yikes. :o. Last but not least the sadest yet funniest one of all was a teacher who felt old when not one of his students knew how to use one of those dial phones. Man what's wrong with these kids, i might have grown up in the 80s but i'm still quite educated on popular culture & signifcant events pre 1980 probably dating back to the 50s. I lost track after the mid 90s or maybe i just disconected & decided to start blocking ecverything out from that point on. Oh by the way Marty Mcfly, no way did 80s style last untill 91 & especially not 92. Maybe 1990 but there was nothing reminisant of the 80s in 1992.
Maybe younger people have that perception because some of the later 80s tv shows were still on TV or reruns were being shown.

^ Great post. BTW, I've read those kind of "feel old" lists - haven't seen the one from this site, but I'd just as soon not read it - don't need to feel even older in that respect, LOL! ;D

Seriously, I think those examples you pointed out are the more "extreme" cases - those kids are the kind of people that make those lists possible. So in all seriousness, that might only be like 1 out of 10 who would say something like that.

If it helps at all - just as an example, ALOT of people from the Back to the Future boards are younger than me. Coincidentally I notice many were born in '89, so all hope isn't dead, LOL!

Oh by the way Marty Mcfly, no way did 80s style last untill 91 & especially not 92. Maybe 1990 but there was nothing reminisant of the 80s in 1992.
Maybe younger people have that perception because some of the later 80s tv shows were still on TV or reruns were being shown.

I always love getting a different perspective. :)

Yeah, I'd agree 1992 was nothing like 1985, but it still had a bit in common with 1989. The movies IMO, took longer to change over. Encino Man came out that year and I think it, for the most part, could've passed as an 80's movie - the attitude was "90's" but the appearence was more "80s".

Even though grunge came along in late 1991, some "80s" songs still came out in '92 (their respective albums might've been from 91 with the singles released in 92). "To be With You" from Mr. Big, Genesis' We Can't Dance album, and several others come to mind.

I think you could argue that from 1988-92 was the years rap began to really cross over. Indeed I remember even in 1990/91 those kind of songs were pretty popular (the kids loved "Ice Ice Baby" LOL).

Yeah good point, but i think a lot of the kind of music you mentioned was on it's way out by mid 91. It was all mainly artists that had already reached their peak of exposure in the 80s & were getting their last taste of exposure. Unfortunatly it's what was coming in & not what was on it's way out that defined the feel of that transitional period in time i think.
As for Encino Man, i thought it looked very 90s especially the way they dressed him up & the hairstyle. That style was popular in my highschool & was definatly nothing like the tighter smaller clothes & layered mullet style hair i remember in the late 80s & even a little in 1990. The main thing i remember about 1991 was everyone looking grungy & dressing in much looser clothing or grungy looking surf brand clothing or if they were into hip hop you wore very baggy jeans that came in all different colours. Definatly not cultural characteristics of the late 80s. Being very set in my ways by the late 80s i was very hyper aware of the transition that was going on around me & i remember by 1991 i was already having problems fitting in & relating to everything around me. Whereas 89 & 90 i was still in the clear.

Being very set in my ways by the late 80s i was very hyper aware of the transition that was going on around me & i remember by 1991 i was already having problems fitting in & relating to everything around me. Whereas 89 & 90 i was still in the clear.
I didn't get wind of the change from the 80's fashion till 1995-1996 when I started wearing clothes that wre bigger(baggy jeans and large shirts.) In my freshman year of high school which was 94 I wasn;t even into the grunge fashion or into the hip-hop thing like most people people wore.

Yes, exactly.

I think the older we get, the more we pick up. So the same guys who, 10 years ago in 1995 had no idea about some of the things from the 80's I'd mention, might have a bigger knowledge overall now.


You said you were born in 1976, right? Wow, that's amazing to me that someone your age - who would've already been 13 by the end of the 80's - wouldn't have had ANY liking of pop culture. Most kids by like 9 or 10 already seem to be very into it today from what I've observed.

Add in that the 80's style (well late 80's at least) lasted until 1991 or '92. Seems they got a late start, LOL!
To respond to your 1995 point I didn;t even really listen to 80's music in the 90's until I graduated High School a couple of months after June 1998. I was starting to listen to some 80's music on "Music Choice" a radio station that Direct TV provides. I was like a little kid in a candy store. I was like I remember that song and that song and that song from the 80's.

Yeah, the music seems more recognizable now than it did then. There were certain things I enjoyed, but I didn't really become reallly musically aware until I was about 12 or 13 (when I became big for the Beatles). I remember seeing the video for George Harrison's song "I've got My Mind Set On You" and it being one of my first "alert" moments for liking a song a lot, but not really recognizing who it was until much later..
Yeah I remeber that "'ve Got My Mind Set On You" in 1988. I was about 9 years old at the time and I liked that song. I heard it on the radio in my parents car but I didn't who it was by at the time.

To respond to your 1995 point I didn;t even really listen to 80's music in the 90's until I graduated High School a couple of months after June 1998. I was starting to listen to some 80's music on "Music Choice" a radio station that Direct TV provides. I was like a little kid in a candy store. I was like I remember that song and that song and that song from the 80's.


I can relate to this quite a bit. I listened to the radio alot growing up (especially in the car), so I love how in the last few years, with my being older, I'll often buy an 80's compilation CD or listen to a soundclip on Amazon.com. The recognition will instantly register, "Oh yeah!! I remember that song when I was 5! Totally forgot about that one!" :)

The most crystal clear example I can think of this is, back in January of 1999 when I was doing some searching on Peter Cetera (go ahead and laugh - I'm a guy and I like his kind of music!) and ran across the hit "One Good Woman" from the late 80's. Until that point it was erased from my memory, but when that "You bring me feelin', you bring me fire" chorus started, it clicked how I'd liked the song back then.

Needless to say, I had to buy the CD soon after! ;)

At age 17 that was the first time I actually started to feel like I was really getting older. I'd certainly missed certain things from my own past long before then, but this was kinda the first real reminder of how much time was passing. Just think, my musical tastes had pretty much always stayed the same, yet I still managed to forget THEN rediscover a childhood favorite!

My 2XL Robot. I always used to love those 8-Track Tapes I used to put in and he'd always tell a story. :)

Yeah I remeber that "'ve Got My Mind Set On You" in 1988. I was about 9 years old at the time and I liked that song. I heard it on the radio in my parents car but I didn't who it was by at the time.


Wow, that's cool to know someone else who remembers first hearing that song. :0)

Yeah I remeber that "'ve Got My Mind Set On You" in 1988. I was about 9 years old at the time and I liked that song. I heard it on the radio in my parents car but I didn't who it was by at the time.


I don't clearly remember it until maybe 1991 (I watched VH1 almost non-stop from, say late 1990-most of '93). But I always liked the Beatles, so I liked the song instantly.

Also liked the video, with the singing deer heads and other objects - going on while George is sitting in a lounge chair in this living room!

My 2XL Robot. I always used to love those 8-Track Tapes I used to put in and he'd always tell a story. :)


I say we pitch in and get Howard a 2XL  ::)

When's your birthday Howard? :D

I say we pitch in and get Howard a 2XL  ::)

When's your birthday Howard? :D


March 5th.My Father won't buy it for me from Ebay but he said I don't need it cause it's for babies. ;D

That's exactly how it was with the kids my age. More than half of them didn't seem to notice movies, music or anything else pop culture related until the 90's started, and by then most of my favorite movies, music, tv shows, etc. had already come and gone.
I latched on to the culture around me when I was very young, when it seemed that most people my age didn't latch onto it until at least their teens started.




I'm guilty of that too...I took an AWFUL lot of what we had in the 80's for granted. It never occurred to me that it was going to end. I thought we'd have our stuff forever and whatever generations came along would have theirs and so on. It wasn't until the mid 90's that I realised how much of my life I sailed though so blindly and arrogantly. I was miserable though much of the 90's, had real bad bouts with panic attacks and was self-medicating on alcohol.

We had good movies, we had music that was good and had a human element to it, weather we liked it or not, it wasn't done by computers and talentless idiots- it had a soul. We had good fashion-the girls looked great, the dudes looked good-our clothes fit and had style weather you were a rocker or a preppie. I only wish I could have appreciated that back then.

Just my take on it

March 5th.My Father won't buy it for me from Ebay but he said I don't need it cause it's for babies. ;D


Hey dude...mine is 14 March...cool.  It was for kids but so what...it was fun and he told cool jokes with that corny laugh  ;D I really have to see if mine still works. Just for craps & giggles I should take one of the 8 Track tapes to a store and ask "Hey, you have any of these?"  ;D :D :o

As far as Howard wanting that robot toy - dude, screw your dad. I'm 28 and am an avid Transformers fanatic (Generation 1 only though). I also still collect G.I.Joe (A Real American Hero version) and Masters of the Universe toys. You'd be surprised how many guys my age do and how rabid the collector's market is for the stuff.

Speaking of Transformers, someone earlier had stated that they played the Transformers movie for some kid and the kid didn't get it...that's the total opposite of two of my friends. My one friend is also 28 and his two sons both love the Transformers movie. My other friend, who is 25, has three sons who love the movie.

And Marty...you just go right on ahead and like Peter Cetera, brutha. I do too. And Air Supply. Of course, I also dig Fear Factory, Sepultura and a lot of heavier stuff. Like what you like and don't be ashamed. I hate closed minds. Poseur BS.

^ Thanks, man - I feel slightly less guilty about it now. ;)

I'm much the same way, many different things often appeal to me that have nothing in common with each other. Musically, I also can listen to the sappiest, most uncool, non "guy-ish" love song one minute, then headbang to Metallica the next.

PS: "One Good Woman" was one of his more rocking-type songs, but because of his image, I'm sure no rock station would touch it. It's still "cool" to me though!

I mentioned the thing about The Transformers movie about how some guy's son found it old & boring & i read it in a section on this site called Reasons For Children Of The 80s To Feel Old. I am also an avid G1 collector & i was shocked to read that since any TF series after G1 sucked total sh!t. Have you seen the new Energon series, too manga & some of the worst & corniest voice acting i've ever heard. G1 all the way. Hey anyone know if Takara is planning to ever reissue the G1 toys of Devestator,Constructicons, Dinobots, Wheeljack, Mirage, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Thrust, Ramjet  or any other popular characters that have not yet been reissued? At least i don't know if any of the above have already been reissued, except for the jets that were released 2 together but not seperatly eg/ Thundercracker & Skywarp together as one package. I think i'll stick to Takara because Hasbro doesn't seem to be reissueing much & when they do the missles & weapons don't seem to fire because of toy safety laws passed in the US, UK & Australia in the very late 80s or early 90s.  Japan doesn't seem to have that problem. If there are any diehard Transfans out there that know more than i do about the reissues fill me in.

One Transformers product i have that i don't know anyone else to have had or still own is an official Hasbro Transformers wall clock with with Optimus & Megatron on it. It's still on my wall now & it's still ticking away. Never even seen it on Ebay in all the years i've had the internet.
BTW Acidpiss, Fear Factory is not at all a heavy band nor would i classify any of their music as being heavy & Sepultura haven't done anything worth listening to since their Arise album. Now Slayer there's a semi commercial band that's heavy. Hate all these so called nu-metal bands that try to pass them selves off as heavy metal & they can't play for sh!t either. Being a musician myself i think i know what i'm talking about.

& Sepultura haven't done anything worth listening to since their Arise album. 


Arise was a great album! That tour was insane :D  I think Ministry opened for them if memory serves me...total chaos  ;D

And Marty...you just go right on ahead and like Peter Cetera, brutha. I do too. And Air Supply. Of course, I also dig Fear Factory, Sepultura and a lot of heavier stuff. Like what you like and don't be ashamed. I hate closed minds. Poseur BS.


I like Cetera too. He used to be in the band "Chicago" as well in the 70-mid 80's period before going solo. I also have different varities of music. From the 80's I like Kool and The Gang, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Taylor Dayne, Jody Watley, Ready For The World, New Order, and I love Depeche Mode(80's & 90's) stuff. From the 90's I like Stone Temple Pilots, Better Than Ezra, Soul Asylum, Live, Collective Soul, La Bouche, Jon Secada, Savage Garden, Toni Braxton, Aaliyah, and R. Kelly. I used to hate Mariah Carey;s stuff but my mom used to play it all the time so its like noglastic for me(her songs from the 90's.) From the 00's I like Frankie J, Craig David, Usher(he started out in the late 90's.), Nas(he's started out in the mid 90's.), Kanye West, and Alicia Keys. 3 doors is down is ok too. Never cared for Jon Secada's stuff back in thd day but my mom played his music all the time that like Mariah Carey;s his songs are noglastic for me.

Arise was a great album! That tour was insane :D  I think Ministry opened for them if memory serves me...total chaos  ;D


I agree Arise was great, but if you're telling me that Chaos A.D. wasn't any good, then you're nuts. Hands down, the best disc Sepultura did.
I didn't care much for Roots however, and I haven't liked them since Max left.

Fear Factory not heavy? Their first disc was death metal, for Christ's sake.

I am also a musician and have been for many years. Been on many tours and know many people in many bands, so I, also, believe that "I know what I'm talking about".

How did this turn into a metal thread?

Anyways, about those TF Gen 1 re-issues - they're done. Thundercraker did get re-released, as did Starscream and Dirge. They didn't sell enough though, and as cool as they were, there will be no new U.S. G1 re-releases.  You can find the ones that were released already dirt cheap on Toys R Us' website though.

Sorry don't like Chaos A.D. even though i have limited edition digipack with bonus tracks which i bought back then. That album was when they started doing all that tribal sh!t. It was also their first non metal album that was a step in the different direction they are heading in now. When it comes to metal i'm strictly into traditional stuff & pretty diehard about it. The formular & musical structure works so why change it & ad any superfluous bullsh!t like in Chaos & Roots etc. Only albums i liked were Scizophenia, Beneath The Remains & Arise. As for Fear Factory death growls & that sort of superfluous stuff isn't what makes the music heavy. Take Slayers Reign In Blood album for example no death growl or anything like that but the music is still more brutal & unforgiving than anything coming out now. If you truly want Death metal that's listenable & still brutal try the album Blessed Are The Sick By Morbid Angel.

Anyway about the Transformers, f*** Hasbro they released very little, it's Takara in Japan that are still releasing them & doing a much better job of it. The Takara ones are identical in every way except for the Japanese writting on the box. Hasbro owned licience for distribution in the west & Takara owned licience for distribution in Japan but they are both identical in every tiny detail. Actually the Hasbro ones sucked because the jets were given ridiculously longer missiles & other characters were released with non firing weapons due to toy safety laws passed in in the west sometime after the mid or late 80s. Personally i prefere the Japanese because they are the original ones & they came out over there first. Besides Hasbro don't want to deal with customers individually over the net & Amazon won't ship them outside the U.S. Believe me i tried & they just told me to ask my local Toys R Us store to order them for me & when i did ask the local store to do it they said it was against store policy & they order in bulk & can never know what specific charaters they will get in any given bulk order. So f*** them all.  So i had to replace some of my originals that were lost or damaged in the 80s with Japanese Takara Reissues. Last i checked Takara most recently re-issued Perceptor. I say go for the Jap ones the weapons actually fire like they are supposed to & they are still releasing them from what i've seen. I just don't know which one they will do next   

I have a few of the Japanese re-issues, actually. Meister (Jazz) and Convoy (Prime).

I like the Japanese ones because of exactly what you stated. The weapons that are supposed to fire actually do and the packaging is a little more intricate. I also hate the fact that they re-issued Megatron overseas, but won't release him here.

I have 85% of the original G1s anyways, so I'm not that hell-bent on getting all the re-issues. I just thought that it was cool that they were doing them. Especially nice was the use of the Dreamwave Studios art on the packaging for most of them.

Oh yeah...

And I think we should just drop the metal discussion because you and I obviously different views on what metal is and is not.  ;)

Michael Jackson memorabilia that was cool from back in the days.