I was born in 1972. I have very few memories of the 70s, but I remember the 80s like they were yesterday. They were pretty unforgettable.
There are several touchstones of the 80s for us Gen Xers. Big hair, loud clothing, questionable music, Phil Donahue—I embraced all these things.
What I remember most is the music. I was obsessed with music. I would sit for hours by my stereo listening to the radio. My finger was always at the ready on the cassette player record button in the hopes of being able to get my favorite song on tape. I was the mixed tape queen! Nothing pissed me off more than the DJ talking over the intro to a song. This totally messed up my recording efforts.
My love of this decade’s music hit a high when I attended my first concert in 1987. If you are trying to guess the hair band, it was the king of all hair bands: Bon Jovi. Skid Row opened that show and I went on to see them four more times. I have a crush on lead singer Sebastian Bach to this day. I saw countless hair bands during my high school years—Poison, Whitesnake, Guns N’ Roses, Kix, Cinderella, Warrant, Motley Crue. I could go on. Man, that was living!
I also totally embraced 80s fashion. Of all the clothing trends of the decade, I was most all-in for the florescent colors fad. I’m honestly not sure how my mother still has her eyesight given the blindingly bright fashion I paraded about during junior high. Day-Glo Orange was my favorite. I had an epic lace orange headband bow. It was huge. To this day, orange is still my favorite color. However, I learned long ago I should not wear it unless incarcerated. For the record, I have never been in jail.
TV and movies of the 80s were also my jam. Family Ties was probably my favorite show. Steven and Elyse Keaton are my #relationshipgoals. I could also not live without the ladies of Designing Women. They were such bad asses! I recently started watching Designing Women again and it absolutely holds up. Long live Julia, Suzanne, Mary Jo and Charlene! I would certainly be remiss if I did not give a shout-out to Murphy Brown. She may have been the reason I decided to study journalism in college.
My favorite movie was Sixteen Candles. Yes, I’m well aware of how inappropriate it would be by today’s standards. But, dammit I was Samantha and I was desperately longing for my Jake. The Breakin’ movies also ran on a constant loop at our house. I’m pretty sure my younger sister, Jaime, can still recite all the dialogue from Breakin’ 2 Electric Boogaloo. Had she used those brain cells for good, diseases could have been cured.
What is really fun is my daughter quizzing me about 80s pop culture. Thank you, Stranger Things. She does not know who she is dealing with. A recent music quiz resulted in me pulling out all the original Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Madonna and Wham! albums and singing along with them word for word. She was impressed (and maybe a little scared). I blame my vast knowledge of 80s song lyrics for my inability to do math. I’ve got way too much Cyndi Lauper and Prince in my head to know the fucking Pythagorean Theorem.
I suppose everyone has fond memories of “their decade.” I did leave the hair bands behind in college and settled quite nicely into the grunge music I still listen to today. Yet, just before Covid I bought tickets to see Sebastian Bach and added him to my hall pass list because you just never know. The show ended up being canceled, but if I close my eyes real tight, I’m right back on that stadium floor where he whipped his glorious hair and thrust his sexy hips while singing so loudly the walls shook. Shew. Is it hot in here or is it just me?
Angela Traver
What is this blog about? Well, it's a general blog, but it is also a very specific blog. If you get that reference, you get a gold star! I have been a public relations professional and writer of press releases for more than 20 years—primarily in the booze biz. I decided to do some writing for fun and embrace the humor that gets me through most days. Hopefully it will make you chuckle—or at least smile. I’m a certified crazy magnet, and more than a little nutty myself, so buckle up. Also, I have two vices—profanity and red wine/whiskey. You’ve been warned. It should also be noted, that I’m a HUGE Bob & Sheri fan. I’ve been a listener for more than 20 years. This opportunity is a dream come true and it may have made me cry. That being said, I cry at everything. If you are into booze, dogs, food and/or knitting, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (although I’m terrible at Twitter and it scares me) @kyspiritsgal. You can also find all my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com.
