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hunter

(40,507 posts)

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

Reply to orangecrush (Original post)

Sun Jan 4, 2026, 11:03 PM

Jan 4

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.

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I hated the fucking 80's [View all] orangecrush Jan 4 OP

I never made that connection, but he IS like the ghost of "the me generation on steriods" past, isn't he. Scrivener7 Jan 4 #1

He is stuck in the 80s orangecrush Jan 4 #2

In defense of 500 miles (I'm Gonna Be) Tasmanian Devil Jan 4 #84

So fun - thank you! Pinback Jan 4 #87

You're welcome & lucky you! Tasmanian Devil Jan 4 #89

Don't you wish you could party with David Tennant? Scrivener7 Jan 4 #100

Yep, Trump is the distillation of the Reagan era misanthrope Jan 4 #52

Great analysis orangecrush Jan 4 #70

Same same, orange -- hated it all till Leghorn21 Jan 4 #3

Stevie can do that orangecrush Jan 4 #4

The 80s were the complete collapse of the 60s DBoon Jan 4 #5

Intentionally orangecrush Jan 4 #9

In fact, Reagan threatened the peace movement, SidneyR Jan 4 #29

Edwin Meese orangecrush Jan 4 #38

Yeah that's when all the peace and love generation folks morphed into Yuppies and elected Reagan. Twice. BannonsLiver Jan 5 #124

Everything you list is true bucolic_frolic Jan 4 #6

I had a Chevette orangecrush Jan 4 #10

lol I rode in one of those once. bucolic_frolic Jan 4 #13

Much rather would have orangecrush Jan 4 #15

I had a Mercury Bobcat, same as a Pinto with nicer trim...it never exploded but the stick shift did come loose and wcmagumba Jan 4 #20

Timing belts were not on my radar back then bucolic_frolic Jan 4 #22

Bad car orangecrush Jan 4 #28

As bad as it was, that car got me around for a few years...traded it for a new Saturn, better but not much... wcmagumba Jan 4 #36

Corolla is a great car orangecrush Jan 4 #72

I had a Mercury Bobcat, and I have only very good things to say about. NBachers Jan 4 #58

My sister's Mercury Bobcat was stolen! Diamond_Dog Jan 4 #79

My family had a Pinto that drew many comments. Tetrachloride Jan 4 #45

I had one too! BonnieJW Jan 4 #56

HA! So did I! Worst car I ever owned. By far. paleotn Jan 4 #71

They were awful orangecrush Jan 4 #74

I had one too! bamagal62 Jan 4 #93

This message was self-deleted by its author KLK1972 Jan 4 #44

Acting was acting, before computer graphics grabbed the budgets bucolic_frolic Jan 4 #53

This message was self-deleted by its author KLK1972 Jan 4 #60

Woody is a pedo NotHardly Jan 5 #115

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 yaesu Jan 4 #7

Aaaaaaaaack!!!! orangecrush Jan 4 #11

Just for you orangecrush Jan 4 #14

OMG, no!! Ishoutandscream2 Jan 5 #143

... orangecrush Jan 5 #144

I also loved the 80s, mostly the music Coventina Jan 4 #19

And MTV was great adding to my music enjoyment. nt yaesu Jan 4 #24

To each their own. orangecrush Jan 4 #31

I doubt the OP knows many of those bands at all. I LOVE 1980s punk, post punk, new wave, industrial, two-tone, etc etc. Celerity Jan 4 #49

I know. I'm solid GenX, but this place makes me feel young! Haha! Coventina Jan 4 #94

You forgot Siouxsie, New Order, Kate Bush, REM, lol. AStern Jan 4 #54

Oh yes, love all the acts you listed, plus: Madness, the Specials, B-52's, the Cramps, Devo Coventina Jan 4 #96

LL Cool J, Springsteen, Oingo Boingo. Chipper Chat Jan 4 #103

Oingo Boingo YES! The other two, meh. Coventina Jan 4 #104

The Sisterhood - Giving Ground (1986) (Sisters of Mercy spin-off) Celerity Jan 5 #109

Liked to loved most of these! electric_blue68 Jan 5 #146

Liked all of them! electric_blue68 Jan 5 #145

DEVO! NT Happy Hoosier Jan 5 #118

NOOOOOOO!!! orangecrush Jan 5 #142

Those guys are brilliant, and the work is very meaningful. Happy Hoosier Jan 5 #149

Nice choices! BannonsLiver Jan 5 #125

That neolib garbage never went away. valleyrogue Jan 4 #8

They apparently got pissed orangecrush Jan 4 #12

Well I turned 21 in the early 80s sdfernando Jan 4 #16

I liked the music but hated all the rest IbogaProject Jan 4 #17

I don't really "hate" a time period, I always had and made choices and did my own thing... wcmagumba Jan 4 #18

Zeitgeist orangecrush Jan 4 #76

Reagan Era, Yes ProfessorGAC Jan 4 #21

I grok that. ananda Jan 4 #23

To think, we thought NIXON was the absolute worst, then RAYGUN, then W-Shrub - KRASNOV leaves them in the dust. UTUSN Jan 4 #25

You must be living in my head, oc UpInArms Jan 4 #26

Most welcome orangecrush Jan 4 #33

I'm right there with Faux pas Jan 4 #27

Thanks orangecrush Jan 4 #35

80's music sucked. Thank god for alternative music underpants Jan 4 #30

80s music was incredible- KLK1972 Jan 4 #39

I forgot the dB's underpants Jan 4 #64

and I need to mention The Minutemen DBoon Jan 4 #101

Absolutely 👍 underpants Jan 4 #102

Worst. Decade. Ever. Ishoutandscream2 Jan 4 #32

Yeah, I hated the '80s PatSeg Jan 4 #37

I agree orangecrush Jan 4 #77

Best. Decade. Ever. BannonsLiver Jan 5 #127

You didn't listen to KROQ Sequoia Jan 5 #139

Late 60's to the mid 70's BeneteauBum Jan 4 #34

The whole "coming of age" thing makes sense KLK1972 Jan 4 #43

Oddly enough, that doesn't exactly apply in my case misanthrope Jan 4 #67

Peace orangecrush Jan 4 #78

And to you BeneteauBum Jan 4 #106

The story of Owsley Stanley's life and times, from his wife & companion. NBachers Jan 4 #88

Killing Joke - Eighties (1984) Celerity Jan 4 #40

One of the best songs that I still listen to regularly. chowder66 Jan 4 #65

Alien Sex Fiend - Ignore the Machine (1983) (4K 60fps) Celerity Jan 4 #80

Well, yes, but personally, for me, meeting and falling in love with my future wife, living with her... NNadir Jan 4 #41

I loved the 80s, and still think it was my best era. KLK1972 Jan 4 #42

Reagan was a bad actor (in more ways than one) and far too many people believed him as president Martin Eden Jan 4 #46

I was a hippie in Boulder, CO in the 80's... BluesRunTheGame Jan 4 #47

I loved the 80's. flvegan Jan 4 #48

Now is far worse iemanja Jan 4 #50

So did I hannah Jan 4 #51

I'm too young to remember it... biocube Jan 4 #55

Right there with ya. Straight out of high school into 12 years of repuke hell. I was screwed until my early 30's Cheezoholic Jan 4 #57

I feel ya orangecrush Jan 4 #81

he's actually a generation older rampartd Jan 4 #59

Sinatra wasn't nearly the bigot that Trump is misanthrope Jan 4 #68

It did have its faults mvd Jan 4 #61

Reaganism created Trump. LisaM Jan 4 #62

Nailed it orangecrush Jan 4 #82

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 Martin68 Jan 4 #63

New Wave didn't rule the 80's, there was a lot of other great music to choose from! nt Shermann Jan 4 #66

I like how hard rock (aka "hair metal") became popular in the 80s. CaptainTruth Jan 4 #69

I'm a tail end Silent Generation but identify soldierant Jan 4 #73

Reagan, not unlike others, would scream that the government sucked and then made it much worse. twodogsbarking Jan 4 #75

hmmm, you may have a point Kali Jan 4 #83

... orangecrush Jan 4 #85

2026 stinks already! Kali Jan 4 #86

Orange Caligula orangecrush Jan 4 #95

Yeah... The 80's did it. progressoid Jan 4 #90

I do have some nostalgia for the 80's, but just because it was the classic Aristus Jan 4 #91

Me too! ABC123Easy Jan 4 #92

Thanks orangecrush Jan 4 #97

Give me a break kwolf68 Jan 4 #98

Ahhh the good old days .,,, comparatively ,,, live love laugh Jan 4 #99

I had some magnificent adventures and misadventures in the 'eighties. hunter Jan 4 #105

Loved the 80's MichMan Jan 4 #107

I was very busy Mossfern Jan 4 #108

It was quite a shift, a change of direction GreatGazoo Jan 5 #110

The AIDS Crisis Lem1951 Jan 5 #111

In the 1980's I had a guitar playing friend drmeow Jan 5 #112

Yes 80's music sucked! Be The Light Jan 5 #114

Not proud of this Mme. Defarge Jan 5 #113

Not Rebl2 Jan 5 #116

I'm with you on most of that... but 80's music rocks. I'll die on that hill. NT Happy Hoosier Jan 5 #117

Someone should write a song about "the decade the music died" Ranting Randy Jan 5 #119

LOVED the 80s! Best times of my life. If I only made my current income back THEN Callie1979 Jan 5 #120

To each their own. orangecrush Jan 5 #121

This thread is a reflection of core DU demographics BannonsLiver Jan 5 #128

Late 60's here orangecrush Jan 5 #133

I was thinking the same thing; I thought someone averaged that once Callie1979 Jan 6 #150

I loved the '80's... Hugin Jan 5 #122

Aww that's too bad. BannonsLiver Jan 5 #123

I don't think that's in the realm orangecrush Jan 5 #132

If you saw my record and vintage Swatch collections you might think again. BannonsLiver Jan 5 #134

I wear a Members Only jacket orangecrush Jan 5 #138

I have memories going back to the mid 70's MustLoveBeagles Jan 5 #126

I hated how overplayed Boston was in the '80s Pluvious Jan 5 #129

Overplayed is a serious understatement orangecrush Jan 5 #130

I was a traveling folkie in the 70's bagimin Jan 5 #131

Voodoo Economics Forever! Kid Berwyn Jan 5 #135

I had never heard of trump until he started showing up on 80's tv....usually some talk show. dameatball Jan 5 #136

Today's inequality was predictable. moondust Jan 5 #137

I loved the 80s 🥰 Raine Jan 5 #140

If I had Trashman272 Jan 5 #141

I LOVED the 80s. Best decade EVER!! Both high school and college graduation. First love. First real job! beaglelover Jan 5 #147

The '80's was a mixed bag for me... electric_blue68 Jan 5 #148

Had a lot of fun in that decade. Dave Bowman Jan 6 #151

Even worse, the 80's were responsible for the end of disco.. Permanut Jan 6 #152

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