80s Music and Fashion

Where were you in the 80s? What were you wearing and what were you listening to? Some of the music and fashions from the 80s are coming back again. Do you think that's a good thing or would you rather forget the 80s? Read our article below and discover one woman's views on what she remembers about the often cheesy Eighties. A lot of great music came out in the 80s.  Amazon.com is a great place to buy CDs and many other things!  Have a look at the CDs below.  If you don't see one that interests you, just click on the Amazon logo and search for more.

Give Me A Side Of Cheese With That Leg Warmers and Other Beloved Horrors From The 80s by Angelica Candelaria    5/15/07 Cheesy (che-ze) adj. (Colloq.) Unsubstantial; shoddy. Tucked away in an undisclosed location is a photographic depiction of the horror I was once subjected to...   I was the willing victim of shoulder pads. I was not content with this alone, however. The linebacker-type shoulder pads were sewn into a black blazer with multi-colored squiggly lines, accompanied by black stretch pants tucked into white socks. Bright, yellow hoop earrings completed the "rad" ensemble. (I must have forgotten the rubber bracelets that day.) At least I waited a couple of years before trying the "off-the shoulder" look with one of my blouses, ala Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance." (I vividly recall a fellow student scoffing at my attempt, which I subsequently abandoned.) I did, however, miraculously escape the lure of headbands and legwarmers, made popular by Olivia Newton-John's video, "Physical." In all seriousness, many of us who came of age in the Eighties experience a sweet delight recalling its trends and, in some cases, whimsically longing for their return. As I type this, a glittery Rubik's Cube sits atop my computer monitor, along with a miniature F-16 fighter plane ("Top Gun," anyone?) I still have the film's soundtrack on vinyl, but we won't get into that. During that most memorable decade, I considered myself a rebel against the current modes. However, I succumbed to more than a few of them right alongside my peers. I wore oversized shirts with stirrups, barrettes with long ribbon strands, rhinestone pins, mismatched earrings (one short, one dangling), and occasionally styled my hair with a ponytail hanging off the side of my head (I'll blame my Mom for that.) For a season, I walked about in those infamous jelly shoes. Upon hindsight, I question their appeal. Was it the unpleasant sweatiness they produced? The noises they made? The discomfort? The cheap plastic? I was recently struck by the memory of a royal blue pair I owned. Royal blue. What was I thinking? I suppose I was too dazzled by the cheesiness of it all to recognize the madness I had succumbed to. Yet, how I enjoyed it at the time--"like for sure, to the max!" (Slang tends to "barf me out," quite honestly. I am "bummed" with the prospect of utilizing it, although some may disagree and deem it utterly "trippendicular." To those dear readers I say, "Gag me with a spoon," as I shall have none of it!) Herein I must mention some of the music that shaped the 80's. Melodies such as "All Out Of Love" by Air Supply and "We Built This City" by Starship remain lodged within my mind like splintered chicken bones in the throat. Many others resemble them but alas, I am limited to 1600 words. Most of what I disliked was wildly popular: Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," Van Halen's "Jump", Toni Basil's "Mickey," Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl," and Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" are but several examples. Although my preferences traversed the musical spectrum, from New Kids On The Block (what a shameful admission) to Berlin to Cheap Trick, my first favorite song as a small child (ABC's, "The Look of Love") proved to be a foreshadowing of where my tastes would chiefly settle: British artists. Specifically, electro-pop bands. Nearing the end of the decade, I became especially captivated by the synthesized sounds of Erasure, whose music I still enjoy twenty years later. Twenty years later, and I am noting the reappearance of jelly shoes and rubber bracelets on my odd trips to the store. I recently met a young girl wearing big, colorful, hoop earrings made of that same rubber and was amused. Does she realize their previous popularity, lo those many years ago? Perhaps not. The recycling of trends is nothing bizarre, although I wonder if there will be a great resurgence in the usage of banana clips and parachute pants. Let's hope not. Comments

Email a Friend!     Related Articles    Next Article