I hated the fucking 80's

[orangecrush]

I hated Reagan with a white hot passion, I hated "Yuppies", I hated "greed is good", I hated the synthetic music that replaced music that had depth and meaning, I hated the death of free form f.m. radio with syndicated stations that played the same shit on a loop over and over, I hated the clothes, the union busting, I FUCKING HATED ALL OF IT.

And Trump came back like a ghost from that era to haunt me and make my "golden years" fucking miserable.

Fuck this shit.

Seriously.

Rant over.

[Scrivener7]

1. I never made that connection, but he IS like the ghost of "the me generation on steriods" past, isn't he.

It was a pretty odious time, wasn't it?

Though my hair is naturally quite big, so I did at least have that going for me.

[orangecrush]

2. He is stuck in the 80s

That has been a common observation, it seems that's where his policies come from.

[Tasmanian Devil]

84. In defense of 500 miles (I'm Gonna Be)

Since New Year's I've been making *everyone* in my house watch the David Tennant BAFTA opening to try and improve our collective mental health. It's basically impossible to be too sad after watching this. And with recent current events we need all the help we can get. Of course it helps if you're a Tennant fan ... or Scottish!

(it's a little slow to start, give it time ...)

[Pinback]

87. So fun - thank you!

I saw the Proclaimers do this live in a small club a good few years back, and everybody was clapping and singing along. I had no idea who they were! I had just tagged along with a woman I had a crush on.

I didn’t get the girl, but I have fond memories of the song! And I love David Tennant and all things Sco’ish, so this was a treat!

[Tasmanian Devil]

89. You're welcome & lucky you!

So cool to have seen them in a small setting. Glad to try and share the smiles, they are hard to come by these days!

[Scrivener7]

100. Don't you wish you could party with David Tennant?

[misanthrope]

52. Yep, Trump is the distillation of the Reagan era

It was the era that brought him into the national public eye. Everything about him -- the greed, the bigotry and racism, the misogyny, the insularity and lack of compassion, the lack of ethics, the lack of taste -- is such a perfect symbol of what Reaganism really meant and what it produced.

Since the Iranian hostage crisis begat the Reagan era, it would be poetically apropos if a similar situation overseas put a dagger through the Trump regime and ended the Reagan aftershock once and for all.

[orangecrush]

70. Great analysis

[Leghorn21]

3. Same same, orange -- hated it all till

I was at a friend’s house and there was this ROCKIN piece of music on his stereo and that stopped and then came this funky tune called “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and I turned my head and said who

in the fuck

Is THAT??!?!!?”

Truth, Stevie Ray saved me from every creeped-out thing you’ve listed

W H E W

[orangecrush]

4. Stevie can do that

He's a Voodoo Chile that can't be touched by the 80's!

Strange story - when I was in high school around 1974, I got up, was eating breakfast and turned on the local f.m. free form station. There was a news report about a blues artist whose helicopter crashed in the fog. Then I woke up. It was a dream.

He really was a Voodoo Child.

?si=0k5273bFLmbLQYsa

[DBoon]

5. The 80s were the complete collapse of the 60s

Last edited Mon Jan 5, 2026, 11:47 AM - Edit history (2)

On Edit:

60's music - Eve of Destruction
80s Music - Material Girl

60s hip auto - Volkswagen bug, well worn
80s hip auto - BMW 300 series, brand new

60s statement on race relations - MLK March on Washington
80s statement on race relations - Ronald Reagan Philadelphia Mississippi speech

60s attire - Blue Jeans
80s attire - Expensive designer suits

60s statement on foreign wars - Anti Vietnam war protests
80s statement on foreign wars - Cheering the invasion of Grenada

60s reading material - Walden
80s reading material - The Art of the Deal

I'm sure there are many more

[orangecrush]

9. Intentionally

Reagan hated the counterculture.

[SidneyR]

29. In fact, Reagan threatened the peace movement,

saying, "if they want a bloodbath, let's get it over with." A bloodbath? What an asshole--they were advocating peace, not a freaking bloodbath. Reagan was the friendly fascist. Now we have the belligerent fascist.

[orangecrush]

38. Edwin Meese

Was a real hippie hater.

"Edwin Meese III was a prominent figure in the conservative backlash against the counterculture movement, primarily through his roles in law enforcement and the Reagan administration. His actions and philosophy were in direct opposition to the values and protests of the 1960s and 1970s counterculture. "

[BannonsLiver]

124. Yeah that's when all the peace and love generation folks morphed into Yuppies and elected Reagan. Twice.

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Everything you list is true

but the 80s were the best decade of my life. There were good movies, New Wave music, small fuel efficient cars, the illusion that health care solved problems, Nike waffle bottoms, Ben & Jerry's, acid-washed jeans. It was before we knew all the downside of what was happening.

[orangecrush]

10. I had a Chevette

I hated that fucking piece of shit.

[bucolic_frolic]

13. lol I rode in one of those once.

They were real low to the ground, noisy, and acceleration was poor. But they were an improvement on 1970s exploding Pintos.

[orangecrush]

15. Much rather would have

A VW beetle.

[wcmagumba]

20. I had a Mercury Bobcat, same as a Pinto with nicer trim...it never exploded but the stick shift did come loose and

the timing belt did break, hmmm...

[bucolic_frolic]

22. Timing belts were not on my radar back then

[orangecrush]

28. Bad car

Embraced the spirit of the 80's completely.

[wcmagumba]

36. As bad as it was, that car got me around for a few years...traded it for a new Saturn, better but not much...

I have always had chronically bad judgement in cars, in my old age I have a Corolla I bought new in 2008...still rolling...

[orangecrush]

72. Corolla is a great car

Hard to kill.

[NBachers]

58. I had a Mercury Bobcat, and I have only very good things to say about.

[Diamond_Dog]

79. My sister's Mercury Bobcat was stolen!

We often laughed, who would want to steal that piece of shit?

[Tetrachloride]

45. My family had a Pinto that drew many comments.

[BonnieJW]

56. I had one too!

It was the color of Velveeta. Hated it.

[paleotn]

71. HA! So did I! Worst car I ever owned. By far.

Got rid of it and bought a used Toyota. a couple decades later it was on to Subarus and I've never looked back. That shitvette jaded me to US cars ever since.

[orangecrush]

74. They were awful

[bamagal62]

93. I had one too!

It had a really hard time getting over hills!😂😂😂horrible piece of crap.
But, I had a car and that was a big deal
For me!

[bucolic_frolic]

53. Acting was acting, before computer graphics grabbed the budgets

It was Woody Allen's heyday ... all those nostalgic NYC scenes, a time before quants tookover investing, when the little guy could gain an edge by reading and thinking. The food supply was in some ways cleaner, the roads were less crowded because the population was 1/3 of what it is today. Leaf peeping season was pre-online booking and available. See? you got me started.

[NotHardly]

115. Woody is a pedo

[yaesu]

7. I loved the 80's, loved the music, had a great union job, it's my "good ol days" but yeah, Ronnie Raygun sucked. nt

[orangecrush]

11. Aaaaaaaaack!!!!

[orangecrush]

14. Just for you

?si=IPjo-vc1F6JWRbY2

[Ishoutandscream2]

143. OMG, no!!

🤮🤮🤮🤮

[orangecrush]

144. ...

[Coventina]

19. I also loved the 80s, mostly the music

All my favorite bands are from the 80s (although some of them started in the 70s)

The Cure
Echo & the Bunnymen
The Smiths
U2
Bauhaus / Love and Rockets
Go - Go’s
Madonna (fuck the haters)
Social Distortion
Depeche Mode
OMD

I could go on.

[yaesu]

24. And MTV was great adding to my music enjoyment. nt

[orangecrush]

31. To each their own.

[Celerity]

49. I doubt the OP knows many of those bands at all. I LOVE 1980s punk, post punk, new wave, industrial, two-tone, etc etc.

New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies (1983 Album)

[Coventina]

94. I know. I'm solid GenX, but this place makes me feel young! Haha!

Love New Order!!!

I could have listed 20 more bands near and dear to my heart, but I would've had a crazy list!!

[AStern]

54. You forgot Siouxsie, New Order, Kate Bush, REM, lol.

Everything mentioned about Yuppies, Wall Street, Trump, Reagan sucked ass.

[Coventina]

96. Oh yes, love all the acts you listed, plus: Madness, the Specials, B-52's, the Cramps, Devo

I could go on and on:

Eurythmics
Elvis Costello
Bryan Ferry
Guadalcanal Diary
Jesus and Mary Chain
English Beat
Ministry
Pixies
They Might Be Giants
Cocteau Twins

Geez, the more I think about it, the 80s totally ruled, music-wise.

[Chipper Chat]

103. LL Cool J, Springsteen, Oingo Boingo.

[Coventina]

104. Oingo Boingo YES! The other two, meh.

But I realize I've forgotten:

The Clash!
The Church
Sisters of Mercy
INXS
XTC
Violent Femmes
Simple Minds (much more than "Don't You Forget About Me&quot
Pet Shop Boys
Salt n' Pepa
Run DMC
Sir Mix-a-Lot (his 1988 album Swass is a masterpiece)

[Celerity]

109. The Sisterhood - Giving Ground (1986) (Sisters of Mercy spin-off)

The collaborative record featuring Patricia Morrison, James Ray, Lucas Fox, and Alan Vega, was released by Andrew Eldritch to prevent his former bandmates from The Sisters of Mercy from using The Sisterhood as the name of their new band.

Label: Merciful Release – SIS 020
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: UK
Released: Jun 1986
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Industrial, Synth-pop, Goth Rock

[electric_blue68]

146. Liked to loved most of these!

[electric_blue68]

145. Liked all of them!

[Happy Hoosier]

118. DEVO! NT

[orangecrush]

142. NOOOOOOO!!!

[Happy Hoosier]

149. Those guys are brilliant, and the work is very meaningful.

But ya know…. You do have Freedom of Choice!
Gen-Xers unite!

https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th/id/OIP.KvfnJElHISs39D-zX0NW-AHaHa?pid=Api&P=0&w=400&h=400

[BannonsLiver]

125. Nice choices!

Last edited Mon Jan 5, 2026, 01:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Also a big Cure fan.

[valleyrogue]

8. That neolib garbage never went away.

It keeps coming back in new and more toxic forms.

[orangecrush]

12. They apparently got pissed

That it didn't stick.

They're serious this time

[sdfernando]

16. Well I turned 21 in the early 80s

So I can't say I hated it....that would be like saying I hated my youth. Sure there were bad sides as there are with every decade. Reagan and Bush 1 sucked big time!

[IbogaProject]

17. I liked the music but hated all the rest

Lots of artists flourished in the 80s. I was fortunate to catch one of SRV's few shows b4 Bowie kicked him off the Serious Moonlight tour. Caught the Dtop Making Sense tour w the Talking Heads that same summer, mind blown.

My biggest gripe starting college in 1986, was too much repition. Most kids all had the same few CDs and many, though not all, parties had the same songs playing. And I can't count how many parties would have the Stop Making Sense concert movie video tape on one kid's hi-fi vcr playing on the TV & Stereo. Never any other concert movie, even though there were quite a few by then. It lead me to seek out friends who had eclectic music collections. It guided me to not buy the same stuff as everyone else.

[wcmagumba]

18. I don't really "hate" a time period, I always had and made choices and did my own thing...

The ambient society we live in can influence us of course but each individual is ultimately in control of his or her life...

[orangecrush]

76. Zeitgeist

Is a real thing.

Trump is the 80's zeitgeist for me.

Him, Ghoulliani, that whole fucking crew.

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Reagan Era, Yes

The music part, no.

[ananda]

23. I grok that.

And it was Reagan and Bush in the 80's
that set us up to culminate in this
monstrosity of a world.

[UTUSN]

25. To think, we thought NIXON was the absolute worst, then RAYGUN, then W-Shrub - KRASNOV leaves them in the dust.

[UpInArms]

26. You must be living in my head, oc

Thank you for putting it all into words

[orangecrush]

33. Most welcome

[Faux pas]

27. I'm right there with

you on your whole (nailed it!) rant orangecrush!

[orangecrush]

35. Thanks

[underpants]

30. 80's music sucked. Thank god for alternative music

REM
Lets Active
Pixies
Replacements
Hüsker Du
Maniacs
Smithereens
Etc.

[KLK1972]

39. 80s music was incredible-

ALT music was born in the 80s, that IS 80s music!!!

[underpants]

64. I forgot the dB's

?si=xFWxLDshk63EWlFD

[DBoon]

101. and I need to mention The Minutemen

[underpants]

102. Absolutely 👍

[Ishoutandscream2]

32. Worst. Decade. Ever.

And with all you mentioned, music never sucked more.

[PatSeg]

37. Yeah, I hated the '80s

Though I think I am hating this era even more.

[orangecrush]

77. I agree

[BannonsLiver]

127. Best. Decade. Ever.

Sorry you had to suffer through the Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary era of music. I’d feel shortchanged too.

[Sequoia]

139. You didn't listen to KROQ

Sad. I loved the 80s...good job, fun BF, camping in Yosemite National Park, roller skating beside the sparkling Pacific ocean, Venice boardwalk, friends from England and none of us liked Ray Gun, or Thatcher, the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. And yes, great music from English and European bands.

[BeneteauBum]

34. Late 60's to the mid 70's

Even with the illegal war, it was some of the best years of my life. College, traveling, sailing….pretty care free. Some of the best music ever was produced during that era. Still wear a freak flag and continue to embrace peace and love.

Peace ☮️

[KLK1972]

43. The whole "coming of age" thing makes sense

I'm a bit younger, came of age in the 70s and 80s so I remember them most fondly. I feel like many gfenerations probably love the era of their teens/twenties best.... well, its hard to imagine Gen Z will ever feel that way about today but who knows, I guess.

[misanthrope]

67. Oddly enough, that doesn't exactly apply in my case

The 1980s/Reagan era comprised the last part of my adolescence and the first part of my 20s. But I couldn't stand it. I didn't like the conformity and conservatism that seemed to become de rigeur and being in the Deep South, it was even more pronounced. I was able to plug in to elements of regional underground scenes -- college radio, alt newspapers and fanzines, bands out of places like New Orleans, Athens, etc. -- but it overall felt constrictive.

I also recall that my knowledge of history told me there was likely to be a cultural swing in the opposite direction to follow in the 1990s. One night in late 1989, I was tending bar and watching the live coverage on the overhead TV set of the Berlin Wall coming down. One of our regulars, a highly conservative man who was a grocery store manager was elated and trumpeting the triumph of Reaganism. I quietly told him I had a suspicion that he wasn't going to like the oncoming decade very much.

What I anticipated in the early 1990s came to pass and felt like a liberation, both in my personal life and in cultural trends. I further freed myself from my familial influence, more fully embraced my personal tastes and preferences. I was surrounded by highly creative peers who were outside my family's stringent social norms. I felt like I was coming alive. I wasn't well off, but had good health and jobs that kept the wolf from the door. I had a well-running car, the freedom to find a woman who loved me for who I am, and a wonderful dog.

I didn't really want for much more. There were intermittent hardships but my overall memories are fond ones.

[orangecrush]

78. Peace

[BeneteauBum]

106. And to you

Thank you OC. Attending an anti ICE rally tomorrow with a bunch of like minded hippies….
Peace ☮️

[NBachers]

88. The story of Owsley Stanley's life and times, from his wife & companion.

https://a.co/d/5sQMWEy

[Celerity]

40. Killing Joke - Eighties (1984)

Label: EG – EGOX16, EG – 821 224-1
Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: Apr 1984
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Post-Punk, Synth-pop

[chowder66]

65. One of the best songs that I still listen to regularly.

[Celerity]

80. Alien Sex Fiend - Ignore the Machine (1983) (4K 60fps)

Label: Anagram Records – 12 ANA 11
Format: Vinyl, 12", Single
Country: UK
Released: Aug 1983
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Goth Rock, Indie Rock

[NNadir]

41. Well, yes, but personally, for me, meeting and falling in love with my future wife, living with her...

...marrying her, traveling with her, and having her to share the horror of Reagan-Bush, then Bush-Quayle, was a big time consolation.

Politically it was hard for us, but as soon as Clinton became President, we conceived our two sons.

That's for me personally, not, of course, for the world at large.

[KLK1972]

42. I loved the 80s, and still think it was my best era.

I didn't love Reagan but I'm an early Gen Xer through and through and think we had THE best music, movies, and television of the last century. I even loved the feral teen trends of the 80s. Bring back shopping malls, parties at the quarry, fast chevy's, Boones Farm, the brat pack, aquanet, real MTV, Miami Vice, and heavy metal PLEASE!

2026 is nothing like the cool 80s!

[Martin Eden]

46. Reagan was a bad actor (in more ways than one) and far too many people believed him as president

Music was a helluva lot better in the 1960's, and in the 70's when I was in high school and college.

I enjoyed going to blues bars in Chicago during the 1980's, and still in my prime as a softball player. Generally had a lot of fun, though not happy with Republicans in the White House 12 straight years.

I joined DU in 2002 during the campaign of lies that took us into Iraq. Protested in Chicago & DC before the war was launched. Hated Bush with a passion, and was heartbroken when he got a 2nd term.

Trump is far worse. Getting a 2nd term after J6??!!! Might as well put Vlad Putin in the White House.

[BluesRunTheGame]

47. I was a hippie in Boulder, CO in the 80's...

Liberal paradise. I paid $60.00 a month for rent. Tulagi’s sold beers for 60 cents on Monday nites. Groceries were cheap.

The music scene was phenomenal.

I saw Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, Violent Femmes, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Hedges, Peter Rowan, Bill Monroe, Chris Hillman, and many others at small venues. Hot Rize was a local band. The guys from Leftover Salmon were getting started.

And….I was in my twenties.

I go back to that right now, no questions asked.

[flvegan]

48. I loved the 80's.

Grew up in it (Gen X). No internet, no social media, no bullshit. We didn't even have cable tv until the mid-80's. The Guess? triangle from the back pocket of the girls' tight jeans burned forever in my teenage brain.

The music? The 80's gave us Guns n Roses and Beastie Boys, Metallica and Bon Jovi, Motley Crue and Jane's Addiction, Madonna and Public Enemy. It was also some of the best years for AC/DC and Van Halen. Maybe not for everybody, but I wouldn't trade it.

[iemanja]

50. Now is far worse

Both the politics and the music.

[hannah]

51. So did I

Couldn’t find any music I liked. Had an awesome stereo but struggled with the music. Did Arc of the Diver come out then?
By Stevie Winwood? Loved Traffic and Stevie. Sort of liked Cindy Lauper but not really Madonna.

[biocube]

55. I'm too young to remember it...

...but it was definitely a lame decade of music and movies.

[Cheezoholic]

57. Right there with ya. Straight out of high school into 12 years of repuke hell. I was screwed until my early 30's

As soon as we recovered a little along comes GWB and Nixon Pt 3. And now as I enter my "golden" years these fuckers are going to fuck it all up even more until I die. Every generation has its challenges socially/politically but I swear it feels like I've had an Elephants knee on my neck for most of my adult life and there's been little in the way of stopping it.

[orangecrush]

81. I feel ya

[rampartd]

59. he's actually a generation older

his role model is sinatra and his philosophy is straight out hefner.

but his hedonistic sadism has always been popular in america

[misanthrope]

68. Sinatra wasn't nearly the bigot that Trump is

Trump would have never abided, "The House I Live In." Especially once he discovered the lyrics were written by Abel Meeropol, who also wrote the anti-lynching ballad "Strange Fruit" and who adopted the children of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

[mvd]

61. It did have its faults

But I basically grew up then and it was a happy time. Yes, bad things were happening that were a precursor to today. But that is looking back on things. I personally enjoyed the music - U2, REM, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, and more.

[LisaM]

62. Reaganism created Trump.

Eliminating the Fairness Doctrine, busting a federal union, doing Margaret Thatcher's free market bidding, plus the debacle in Afghanistan...all with that creepy, oily voice that used to send me fleeing from the room. Trickle down economics. All of it. UGH.

[orangecrush]

82. Nailed it

[Martin68]

63. I'm with you 100%. The decade the music died. The president that put us solidly on the path that led to the mess we're

Last edited Tue Jan 6, 2026, 09:35 AM - Edit history (1)

on today.

[Shermann]

66. New Wave didn't rule the 80's, there was a lot of other great music to choose from! nt

[CaptainTruth]

69. I like how hard rock (aka "hair metal") became popular in the 80s.

But that was about it.

[soldierant]

73. I'm a tail end Silent Generation but identify

with Boomers - and I honestly don't even know what you are talking about. I spent the 80s in a small college town, where apparently no one cared about fashion - I know I never have except historically (I've dabbled in theatrical costuming). I've never listened to any music but classical on a regular basis, although I try to keep up intellectually. Like one of the other commenters here, the 80s was when i met, fell in live with , and married my spouse (husband) and after 41 years and some months we are still in love, so there's that. Of course Reagan was godawful (and corrupt) and the Me culture is even worse but Reagan was nowhere near as bad as Trump**(*), who, to the extent he is Reagan, is massively on steroids.

Tim Walz has been quoted as having said "Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy." I guess that's how I got through the 80's.

[twodogsbarking]

75. Reagan, not unlike others, would scream that the government sucked and then made it much worse.

Rinse, repeat, Republican.

[Kali]

83. hmmm, you may have a point

got married in the early 80s

[orangecrush]

85. ...

[Kali]

86. 2026 stinks already!

[orangecrush]

95. Orange Caligula

Made sure of that.

[progressoid]

90. Yeah... The 80's did it.

And a lot of us wanted to rebel against all of that. Unfortunately there was also too many of us boomers and ex-hippies who supported the "greed is good" mantra; who scoffed at the punk rockers who rejected corporatized, overproduced mainstream music, who abandoned the liberals for an easier, third way; who became the people that helped Reagan and Trump thrive and survive.

Also, Stranger Things, fucking rocks!

[Aristus]

91. I do have some nostalgia for the 80's, but just because it was the classic

adolescent period when I was developing my own tastes and identity separate from those of my parents. But for the rest of it, I was an unpopular, unlikable kid floundering around in the swamp of hormonal changes.

I won’t endorse the toxic axiom that military service “makes a man out of you” - barf- but it must have given me the kind of glow-up that made the early 90’s a lot more fun for me than the 80’s.

[ABC123Easy]

92. Me too!

Great post! I particularly agree with, "I hated the synthetic music that replaced music that had depth and meaning". Synthesizers everywhere. Everything was fake and plastic.
Much like the majority of music now. I can't listen to the radio anymore. It's just shit. To use an analogy from South Park, modern music just sounds like fart sounds to me now, hahaha.

[orangecrush]

97. Thanks

[kwolf68]

98. Give me a break

...the music of the 1980s was way freaking better than the crap in the 1970s. Oh lookie an opinion. I am half joking, there was plenty of great shit in the 70s, but the 1980s were WAY MORE than hair metal and new wave.

I choose to look at the underground hardcore and metal scenes, the alternative rock scenes, goth rock, etc....you had some amazing shit in the 80s, I'll start with REM, Killing Joke, the Cure, Metallica, Huskur Du, U2 before they got weird and the rise of actual good punk rock like Bad Religion and the Descendents. You had killer stuff like the Smiths and Bauhaus. Tears for Fears were solid. You had the rise of real metal (not glam) as Judas Priest and Iron Maiden did their best work ever and the rise of thrash metal like Slayer, Megadeth. Thrash bands Testament and Anthrax had songs about native Americans, Testament did shit on the global warming and environmental decay. Before he became a nut, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth wrote a song about extinction of animals and the fault of waring for religion. I could go on and on and on.

Bruce Springsteen was continuing to dominate the charts and John Mellancamp both, who sang of inclusiveness in their music. Mellancamp always made it a point to let people know rock n roll was basically created by black people (and he's right). David Bowie took MTV to task for not playing black artists in the early days, because Bowie spoke out MTV not long after saw the ball. Artists tried their hand at "helping people". The we are the world was kinda a failure but not because the artist, rather because some unscrupulous people used a good movement for their own cause with much of the money raised ending up in the wrong hands. Still, people did try.

You also had decidedly left wing political perspective resonating with bands like Minor Threat, DRI, Corrosion of Conformity and seminal punk bands like Dead Kennedys, TSOL, and Circle Jerks.

Lets move toward rap and soul. The Dazz Band, Kool and the Gang, Gap Band picked up where the masters Earth, Wind and Fire left off. Of course the 1980s you had the rise of rap. Now you had black artists singing about their lives. Do yourself a favor and look up "The Message" by Grand Master Flash, it's genius. That was at the start of the 1980s, by the end you had rap groups like Public Enemy spreaking total truth to power, overt and radically political, damn near every PE song was a "news report" of some type. Chuck D should be given a nobel laureate for poetry.

Oh no, the 1980s were totally badass. You had trash in the 60s and 70s, and you had trash in the 1980s, but don't think the 80s didn't have some amazing, thoughtful and awesome contributions to the history of music.

That all said, yes fuck Ronald Reagan.

[live love laugh]

99. Ahhh the good old days .,,, comparatively ,,,

.

[hunter]

105. I had some magnificent adventures and misadventures in the 'eighties.

Can't really say much about music, radio, television, or fashion. I simply wasn't paying attention to any of that.

Some Good things:

That was the decade I clawed most of my mind back after it had gone a little sideways in adolescence. ( Some people take drugs to trip out. I take drugs so I don't. )

That was the decade I got my asthma under control, thanks to newly developed meds.

I didn't die! ( See above. )

JPL space exploration.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/timeline/?jumpTo=1989-08-25

I had access to university computers and the internet. The computers I owned and built were finally powerful enough to do some really interesting stuff.

That was the decade I met my wife and we married.

My wife and I bought our first house, for $8,000, in the U.S.A. "Rust Belt."

Some Bad things:

Reagan, of course.

Friends and patients dying of AIDS.

All the assholes, many self-proclaimed "Christians," who thought gay people and drug addicts somehow deserved AIDS.

[MichMan]

107. Loved the 80's

While I loved the 70's and came of age so to speak in that decade, it was the 80's that I felt really defined me.

I entered the 80's as a 22 year old college drop out with few job skills and working for close to minimum wage at entry level jobs. Struggling to pay rent and lonely, in need of female companionship. When the 80's ended, I was married, a college graduate with an Engineering degree, and in the midst of establishing a successful career. My income had quadrupled and we will be celebrating our 40th anniversary this year.

I thought the music and culture was great. Loved the rock and soul music of the times. Sammy Hagar, Def Leppard, Asia, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Whispers, Evelyn King, Patrice Rushen, and so many more. IMO, Lonesome Jubilee by John Mellancamp is one of the finest albums ever recorded. Iconic comedy films like Caddyshack (love Rodney), Vacation, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Blues Brothers, Stripes, Trading Places, Revenge of the Nerds.

As a big car enthusiast, the malaise of the 70's, was replaced by some great new models and performance was back, with the dreaded 55 mph speed limit going away. Finally, one could go to the beach and women with unsightly tattoos were few and far between.

[Mossfern]

108. I was very busy

having babies - 1978, 1980, 1985, 1988.

Musically, we were very much into Raffi.
Actually, James Taylor had a wonderful children's album out then - In Harmony
.
https://www.google.com/search?q=James+Taylor+In+Harmony+youtube&client=firefox-b-1-d&hs=nKRU&sca_esv=f89be96fa9d53e8d&sxsrf=AE3TifNAEYUq54baUVm26pjPXfI106bsoA%3A1767586886942&ei=RjxbaZ2hOdSg5NoPxeGxgQw&ved=0ahUKEwid3IWkxvORAxVUEFkFHcVwLMAQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=James+Taylor+In+Harmony+youtube&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiH0phbWVzIFRheWxvciBJbiBIYXJtb255IHlvdXR1YmUyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigAUinLlDDBljgLHABeACQAQCYAV-gAdsKqgECMTm4AQPIAQD4AQGYAhKgAtIKwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICCxAAGIAEGJECGIoFwgILEC4YgAQYkQIYigXCAgoQABiABBgUGIcCwgIFEAAYgATCAgUQLhiABMICBhAAGBYYHsICCBAAGKIEGIkFwgIFEAAY7wXCAggQABiABBiiBMICCxAAGIAEGIYDGIoFwgIFECEYqwKYAwCIBgGQBgWSBwQxNy4xoAfRZLIHBDE2LjG4B8sKwgcGMC42LjEyyAc6gAgA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:4ea19a5c,vid:d0uV4zRJFL4,st:0

(I don't know if I'll ever get this link thing down)

[GreatGazoo]

110. It was quite a shift, a change of direction

I traveled around Canada in 1990 and found myself thinking "This is what the US would be like if we hadn't turned right in 1980."

A lot of good music was made in the 1980s -- Tracy Chapman, Lenny Kravitz, Robert Plant, Sting, Peter Gabriel, U2. John Fogherty got his rights back and toured.

[Lem1951]

111. The AIDS Crisis

I was drowning in the AIDS crisis. Watching friends waste away. Sitting at bedsides holding hands of those who would die soon. Hating Reagan and Nancy for their cold hearts and insensitivity towards those suffering. My PTSD will never go away!

[drmeow]

112. In the 1980's I had a guitar playing friend

and a guitar playing boyfriend who loved the late 60's and early 70's music and absolutely HATED my 80's new wave music. Once they listed to the music with an open mind, they BOTH came back to me to say that the music was actually really good with some great guitar playing and great song writing.

Every era has shitty music, including the 60's and 70's, and not all music is to everyone's taste. There are genre's I absolutely hate - but I can also acknowledge the musical skill of the artists creating the music within that genre. A lot of pop music from every era sucks!

My HS yearbooks have comments giving me a hard time for hating Reagan from 2 people. One of those has come around to hate him, the other is a lost cause.

[Be The Light]

114. Yes 80's music sucked!

60's and 70s was the golden age of rock!

I feel blessed to have grown up in that time. Here's how we rocked back in the day.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1194258752103196

[Mme. Defarge]

113. Not proud of this

but I was a registered Republican (because of my dad) until a “B” actor ran for president in 1980. That was a bridge too far. I re-registered as a Democrat and have never looked back.

[Rebl2]

116. Not

fond of the eighties either, except a couple of years when I met my husband and we got married in the mid eighties. I finished college early eighties and had an extremely hard time finding a halfway decent job.

[Happy Hoosier]

117. I'm with you on most of that... but 80's music rocks. I'll die on that hill. NT

[Ranting Randy]

119. Someone should write a song about "the decade the music died"

[Callie1979]

120. LOVED the 80s! Best times of my life. If I only made my current income back THEN

I was probably in the best shape of my life too

[orangecrush]

121. To each their own.

I was living in the Pittsburgh area and due to my union and other left wing involvement, found myself on the radar of one Richard Mellon Schaife.

In a minor way, relatively speaking, but not a good experience.

[BannonsLiver]

128. This thread is a reflection of core DU demographics

I’m not surprised people who are now in their late 70s and early 80s aren’t fans of Depeche Mode or Duran Duran. .

Conversely, as someone who grew up in the 80s I’m not terribly excited about Joan Baez or Peter, Paul and Mary.

[orangecrush]

133. Late 60's here

The period 1970 to 1975 was incredible.

[Callie1979]

150. I was thinking the same thing; I thought someone averaged that once

If I recall the average age here is above 70

[Hugin]

122. I loved the '80's...

My friends and I cobbled together from the noise.

I hated the ‘80’s we were/are trying to be sold.

[BannonsLiver]

123. Aww that's too bad.

But I love the 80s enough to more than make up for your hatred!

[orangecrush]

132. I don't think that's in the realm

Of possibility

[BannonsLiver]

134. If you saw my record and vintage Swatch collections you might think again.

[orangecrush]

138. I wear a Members Only jacket

ironically

[MustLoveBeagles]

126. I have memories going back to the mid 70's

I liked the 70's better. With moms divorce the 80's went downhill fast. We were poor at a time when being such wasn't fashionable and we were bashed for circumstances beyond our control. Reagan didn't help in that regard. Honestly I was relieved when the 80's were over. Unlike you , I liked 80's movies and music. They were my only escape outlets.

[Pluvious]

129. I hated how overplayed Boston was in the '80s

It's pretty amazing that it was just two guys, though

[orangecrush]

130. Overplayed is a serious understatement

?si=5kovd7R0BQ4WtdY1

[bagimin]

131. I was a traveling folkie in the 70's

a letter carrier in the 80's 90's 00's and teens. Today, I'm retired and afraid (tonight on Fox!)

[Kid Berwyn]

135. Voodoo Economics Forever!

50 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tax-cuts-rich-50-years-no-trickle-down/

[dameatball]

136. I had never heard of trump until he started showing up on 80's tv....usually some talk show.

Even then I couldn't believe what an arrogant asshole he was. Made me cringe that he was popular enough with some portions of the country that he would get air time and publicity but I underestimated the viewing public and the corporate bigwigs that saw dollar signs. Little did i know what was to come.

[moondust]

137. Today's inequality was predictable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States

When "Trickle-Down Ronny" was reelected in 1984 in a 49-state landslide...my tea leaves waved goodbye.

[Raine]

140. I loved the 80s 🥰

but HATED Reagan!

[Trashman272]

141. If I had

Doc Browns Delorean I'd go back to the 80s in a heartbeat. I had wayyyyy to much fun and didn't stress about shit back then. A couple doobies and a Judas Priest concert and life was as good as it gets.

[beaglelover]

147. I LOVED the 80s. Best decade EVER!! Both high school and college graduation. First love. First real job!

[electric_blue68]

148. The '80's was a mixed bag for me...

Being a political person; Reagan was horrible! Being one who believes in ethics, and fairness the "greed is good" "ethos" fostered bad behavior.

Otoh had I had a mostly interesting and creative job mid '80s. And previously a good 18 month temp job, good
co-workers, nice boss; only lost bc my boss's boss wanted his teacher daughter to have a job. Made some good new friends. Found SW Zine Fandom where I did B&W illustrations for fan stories through late '80s - part of the '90s.

Liked, and loved a lot of music! Tears for Fears, Talking Heads, New Order, The B-52's, Devo, Simple Minds, The Police, The Pretenders, Culture Club, Echo & the Bunnymen, Blondie, Eurythmics, The Smiths, The Fixx.
Finding U2 early! More Springsteen!
Saw some of these live!

We had a great nicely designed dance, and music club in NYC - Harruh's for a few years. A far cry from grungy CBGB's though I was there from late ?'76 through part '80s.

I was never a '60's music snob even through I grew up with The Beatles, The Who, The Animals, C,S,N & Y, Jefferson Airplane, etc.

In '80 I went on my second Big USA trip. Up to South Dakota for a particular event, then to Denver where my cousin took me on his motorcycle to visit The Red Rocks Amphitheater (not at concerts time), and then up into The Rockies! Then back to Arizona- to revisit The Navajo & Hopi Nations, and revisited my dad's friends in Albuquerque.

So many personal great times!

[Dave Bowman]

151. Had a lot of fun in that decade.

[Permanut]

152. Even worse, the 80's were responsible for the end of disco..

I'm gonna go play some Irene Cara.