I've talked about this in so many loosely related posts about this stuff, but thought I'd make an actual topic asking people about it.

My mom especially was a huge fan of pop music back then. ALMOST to the point a teenage would be, in the sense of commonly listening to the radio/buying albums, going to the mall and just being a part of the culture in general. My dad (in his 40s at the time) even likes some of the music in a more casual sense. He played Nintendo games with me as a kid, and also got into things like SNL from that time.

To me I always thought that was normal for adults to like pop culture (unless they were really older, like grandparentish) since that's what I got to see firsthand, but I later realized that's not always true. I do think the '80s were easy to like, since the popular music was so fun, light and catchy and the movies were mostly innocent.

For anyone whose parents were already, say over 20/21 at the time, what did or do they think of it? Did any flat out despise it in a Tipper Gore sense?

My paretns were as different as night and day. I love 80s music myself and play alot of pop around the house. My mom usually likes most of what I play, Michael Jackson, (clean) Prince, Sade, Terrence Trent D'arby...She'll sing along and everything. On the other hand my father hates everything. If it's not BB King, or Jackie Wilson he's not listening to it! LOL! (Which is fine because I wasn't gonna share my Thriller CD with him anyway. LOL) ::)

^ LOL. I actually heard that alot of people's parents dug Thriller when it came out. Probably because MJ has alot of classic influences like Motown or James Brown, it might've reminded them of the '50s and '60s. Alot of 1980s music seemed to take alot from that time, but made something new out of it.

My parents complained about the 80s, much like I complain about today. They hated the music, the fashion, the culture, everything. I can't stand today's music or fashions, but I don't mind some of the culture; i.e. industrial and architectural design...

My parents complained about the 80s, much like I complain about today. They hated the music, the fashion, the culture, everything.


  Yeah, my folks would have me believe the culture was bringing-on the decline of western civilization.  It never ends...


I can't stand today's music or fashions, but I don't mind some of the culture; i.e. industrial and architectural design...


  Could we now be in danger of slipping into a culture of mind numbing mediocrity..?

My mother was in her mid 20s to mid 30s in the 80s, and she pretty much like 70s music more, but she likes 80s music as well.  My father likes 70s and 80s music too.  That's why I like 70s and 80s music more besides early to mid 90s music.

my father passed away in 1985, so he never saw the best decade for music! >:(  however he was into big band stuff from the 40's and early 50's.  mom  younger than he was into late 50's and 60's and some 70's stuff, although when she would be over at my house in the 80's she thought some of the 80's stuff was interesting!  she liked to watch some of the music videos with me! :)

My parents were okay with it. They were both in their mid-twenties in 1980 and early thirties by 1989. They were cool with pop culture because it was still part of their culture as well.

My parents were in their 50s in the eighties. I think they quite liked the decade. My Dad liked Stevie Wonder's cheesier hits and my Mum loved Tina Turner / Julio etc. My Mum would also watch stuff like Scarecrow & Mrs King and Remington Steele.

What I know for certain is that my Mum always said she stopped listening to the Top 40 countdown in the 90s because music went downhill. Aah like mother like son!  ;D ;)

My mum and dad both turned 40 in 1980.  They were really fans of late fifties music but still found stuff to like in the eighties. 

My mum was a big Cliff Richard fan and he was still churning out the hits then.  My dad liked Queen and Status Quo in particular.  I also remember we bought him Only You by The Flying Pickets as a present once.

We always listened to the Top 40 (was it still just the Top 30 back then?) on Radio 1 every Sunday evening.

My mom claims not to remember the song "Should I Stay or Should I Go".

I was like...15.  There is no way she did not hear that over and over.
She was busy and doesn't seem to recall; only the clothes. She remembers my clothes.  But I was tasteful and trendy.
No complaints from moms about the 80s.

In the 80's my parents were in their late 20's/mid 30's.  Overall they liked a lot of the Pop/Top 40 music that I also listened to.  They'd play with my Rubik's Cube and Atari 2600 and arcade games (my dad moreso than my mom).  They didn't really get much into 80's fashion, but they didn't look out of place neither.  My parents divorced in 1984 and my mom concentrated on providing for us on a daily basis while my dad would take us on weekends and often include a fun activity like going to the movies or Golf N' Stuff or something.

Today they still listen to music from the 60's on up to current stuff.

Edit:  some useless trivia about my folks:

- my mom likes the song "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back To My Room)" by Paul Lekakis :o
- my dad's favourite 2600 game is Yar's Revenge.

Yup my Dad loves the 80's music he said 1985-1990 was a pretty good period for music. My Mom likes Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson;s work that I know of. She listened to 80's music when I was younger but I am not sure how much she actually likes of it anymore. My Mom likes R&B artist Keith Sweat but he's both 80's and 90's. My mom likes Anita Baker too.

Most of the artists back in the 80's were baby boomers just like my parents were.

My Dad kinda made of fun of his work suit a couple months ago that he wore in the 80's as far as fashion goes.

My parents were in their 30's when the 80's was going on.

My mom liked 80's music.  She would listen to the radio all the time and I can remember her doing aerobics to it LOL  My Dad, not so much I guess... I guess he was more into country back then.  But more than anything, they listened to oldies.  Both of my parents love 50's and early 60's music, the music they grew up with.  They were probably reminscing their childhood in the 80's just as much as we are reminiscing ours today. 

In the 80's my parents were in their late 20's/mid 30's.  Overall they liked a lot of the Pop/Top 40 music that I also listened to.  They'd play with my Rubik's Cube and Atari 2600 and arcade games (my dad moreso than my mom).  They didn't really get much into 80's fashion, but they didn't look out of place neither.  My parents divorced in 1984 and my mom concentrated on providing for us on a daily basis while my dad would take us on weekends and often include a fun activity like going to the movies or Golf N' Stuff or something.

Today they still listen to music from the 60's on up to current stuff.

Edit:  some useless trivia about my folks:

- my mom likes the song "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back To My Room)" by Paul Lekakis :o
- my dad's favourite 2600 game is Yar's Revenge.


That's cool. Actually that's a good point too. I think fashion and slang are the "deepest" things for generations. Usually you won't see people beyond 30 (unless they're celebrities or really youthful) taking on hairstyles or fashion trends of an era. I do that that's more centered to teens. When older people get into a decade, it seems to be casual enjoyment of music, tv shows and movies.

Actually, for younger kids it's the same way! ;) Just with toys mixed in as well.


Yup my Dad loves the 80's music he said 1985-1990 was a pretty good period for music. My Mom likes Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson;s work that I know of. She listened to 80's music when I was younger but I am not sure how much she actually likes of it anymore. My Mom likes R&B artist Keith Sweat but he's both 80's and 90's. My mom likes Anita Baker too.

Most of the artists back in the 80's were baby boomers just like my parents were.

My Dad kinda made of fun of his work suit a couple months ago that he wore in the 80's as far as fashion goes.

My parents were in their 30's when the 80's was going on.


Oh yeah, your parents are about my mom's age so that makes sense. I also get the impression my mom kinda burned out on some of it (despite loving it back then) and isn't as heavily into it now. My dad was more a casual fan of 80s music, but I think he still likes those songs today.

That's true about the musicians being older then (I'd say they could be anywhere from late 1930s to about 1970-born). Not just the comebacks (i.e. Starship, Aerosmith, Tina Turner) but even some of the new stars were a little older, like Huey Lewis. I wonder if that's maybe why people our parents age tended to like it more, if the singers were close in age to them?

My mom liked 80's music.  She would listen to the radio all the time and I can remember her doing aerobics to it LOL  My Dad, not so much I guess... I guess he was more into country back then.  But more than anything, they listened to oldies.  Both of my parents love 50's and early 60's music, the music they grew up with.  They were probably reminscing their childhood in the 80's just as much as we are reminiscing ours today. 



yet another thing that our childhoods had in common...my parents loved the oldies too! I guess that's where I got my love of them from.

yet another thing that our childhoods had in common...my parents loved the oldies too! I guess that's where I got my love of them from.


awesome! I know that's why I love them... I remember many long car rides visiting my grandparents listening to oldies...those were the days :)

awesome! I know that's why I love them... I remember many long car rides visiting my grandparents listening to oldies...those were the days :)



oh heck ya! My parents always told me about "their" music and stuff. For my 16th birthday party they threw me a big oldies party...it was soooo much fun. They decorated it all retro, and the guests dressed up as either a 50's girl/guy, a hippie, or a beatnik. We played all sorts of neat games (limbo, hula hoop contest, etc). I'll never forget it.

Nowadays, I like to go to oldies concerts with my parents. There are some bands (Johnny Angel & The Halos, Pure Gold, The Vogues, etc)...that usually play at fairs, etc..in the summer. My parents (dad, especially) loves to attend them. :)

I think I got my taste in Beatles (especially later stuff, like the White Album), Motown, Peter Paul and Mary, Creedence Clearwater and other 1960s and early '70s stuff from them, moreso my dad.

They listened to it right alongside the current hits. What's even cooler about that is that I didn't differentiate. Since I heard it in the same company. I didn't even realize what was older and what wasn't until I was older (some time in the '90s), so I came to like it all just the same. ;)

My Dad wasn't too keen on it.  My Mom tried to keep up with things.  There were some things she liked, mostly TV shows.

oh heck ya! My parents always told me about "their" music and stuff. For my 16th birthday party they threw me a big oldies party...it was soooo much fun. They decorated it all retro, and the guests dressed up as either a 50's girl/guy, a hippie, or a beatnik. We played all sorts of neat games (limbo, hula hoop contest, etc). I'll never forget it.

Nowadays, I like to go to oldies concerts with my parents. There are some bands (Johnny Angel & The Halos, Pure Gold, The Vogues, etc)...that usually play at fairs, etc..in the summer. My parents (dad, especially) loves to attend them. :)


That's so cool! I"ll have to see if any of them come around my way, I'd love to go.  Sorry I'm just now responding to this! :)

Oh, and that birthday party sounds totally awesome!!! That is certainly memorable.  How great!!

That's so cool! I"ll have to see if any of them come around my way, I'd love to go.  Sorry I'm just now responding to this! :)

Oh, and that birthday party sounds totally awesome!!! That is certainly memorable.  How great!!


Yes, I'll have to post some pictures of it sometime, it was very memorable! :)

I remember the time I was hospitalized for depression and my dad visited one weekend; he was sitting on my bunk listening to "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendancies on my Walkman.  He nodded with approval and said it reminded him of Frank Zappa's "Help I'm a Rock" (the rap has a similar meter).  Kind of lurid, but so was everything about my adolescence!
8-P

I remember the time I was hospitalized for depression and my dad visited one weekend; he was sitting on my bunk listening to "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendancies on my Walkman.  He nodded with approval and said it reminded him of Frank Zappa's "Help I'm a Rock" (the rap has a similar meter).  Kind of lurid, but so was everything about my adolescence!
8-P


That's kind of like my Mom liking the song "School's Out" by Alice Cooper. Because she was a teacher at the time.  It kind of ruined it.

- my mom likes the song "Boom Boom (Let's Go Back To My Room)" by Paul Lekakis :o



;D That is so not a song I want to think about my mom listening to let alone liking.

My mother was late 20's early 30's and neither she or my stepfather were into it at all.  He liked 50's era country and she was into classical.  To be fair, she grew up in the 60's and didn't like 60's culture either.  She is kinda strange, but that is where I get my strange from. ;)

My dad wasn't in my early life so I don't know if he liked it or not.

For the most part, I would say yes, my parents enjoyed 80's culture. My dad liked the music more than my mother did. My mother was more into TV and sometimes likes to talk about the shows she used to watch in the 80's.  :)

I remember the time I was hospitalized for depression and my dad visited one weekend; he was sitting on my bunk listening to "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendancies on my Walkman.  He nodded with approval and said it reminded him of Frank Zappa's "Help I'm a Rock" (the rap has a similar meter).  Kind of lurid, but so was everything about my adolescence!
8-P


   That's cool about pops checking out ST.  Appropriate song for your stay in the hospital.  I'm suprised they didn't take that tape away from you.  Have a Pepsi, dude... 8)

   There will always be a special, warm place in my heart for I Saw Your Mommy.  We ought to start a lurid adolescence thread to restore metaphysical balance...

My parents both loved it. My mom was pretty young in the '80s, so she obviously loved it as it was going on and still loves it today. My dad is a little bit older than her, so he is more split between '70s and '80s music.

At the time, in the 80's and early 90's, everyone made fun of the 80's culture.  In hindsight, were we wrong?  The 80's seemed to be easy good times (at least to me, but I was quite young).  The 90's were dull and the 00's aren't much better, plus we have the global terror threat now.

At the time, in the 80's and early 90's, everyone made fun of the 80's culture.  In hindsight, were we wrong?  The 80's seemed to be easy good times (at least to me, but I was quite young).  The 90's were dull and the 00's aren't much better, plus we have the global terror threat now.
Uh I had a good time in the 90's. As for the 00's It was alright from 2001-mid 2005 and even a little bit in 2006 and early 2007. I don;t care for the late 00's are becoming. I think after the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl over the Bears in 2007 I started to feel out of the loop with pop culture a little after or maybe I just feel "old". I think another reason why I feel down on the late 00's is because the economy is going down in the US.