Comments on: Like, OMIGOD!

Like, OMIGOD!

carsonb — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:34:51 -0800

80smusicvids.com - Like totally bodacious collection of over 1000 music videos from like the raddest decade. Choice.

Bonus, dude! Retro video games like flashacized.

By: Science!

Science! — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:40:00 -0800

carsonb: " Bonus, dude! Retro video games like flashacized." Awesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesome!

By: philip-random

philip-random — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:42:28 -0800

The 80s were not rad. I was there. They were conformist, indulgent and polluted with really ugly culture.

By: yhbc

yhbc — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:43:34 -0800

I score all my 80s music video lists by the number of Devos. This only rates a one David Letterman appearance.

By: puke & cry

puke & cry — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:48:25 -0800

They were conformist, indulgent and polluted with really ugly culture. Everything old is new again.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:51:33 -0800

The 80s were not rad. I was there. They were conformist, indulgent and polluted with really ugly culture. posted by philip-random You say that like it's a bad thing...

By: clearly

clearly — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:02:13 -0800

Choice. Indeed.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:04:06 -0800

Choice. Indeed. Obviously.

By: clearly

clearly — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:23:55 -0800

I'll give you candy, give you diamonds, give you pills, give you everything you want, hundred dollar bills!

By: carsonb

carsonb — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:31:06 -0800

clearly I want hundred dollar bills. Email in profile.

By: porn in the woods

porn in the woods — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:36:34 -0800

Bonus, dude! Retro video games like flashacized. Caveat: Donkey Kong is missing the hammers on level one. Avoid.

By: porn in the woods

porn in the woods — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:38:15 -0800

...but they've got Hüsker Dü's "Could You Be the One," so that cancels out the above wrongdoing (or Kong-doing)

By: scarylarry

scarylarry — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:39:53 -0800

The video for Oingo Boingo's 'Private Life' (great song!), which I'd never seen before, features some of the least convincing lip-syncing I've ever encountered.

By: kurumi

kurumi — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:46:45 -0800

I was bemused/dismayed to find no "Video Killed the Radio Star", but that was my fault for looking under 'B' for 'Buggles' instead of 'T' for 'The'.

By: droplet

droplet — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:53:18 -0800

I didn't know there was a video for Hourglass! I'd forgotten about that tune. And Hüsker Dü! Yay! It's kind of disconcerting to see Kate Bush and Kids Incorporated lumped together, though. It struck me watching some of those videos that the 80s were the last time when mainstream pop stars who I and other teens of the 80s liked could be average-looking or over 30. That would absolutely never happen now.* And even 25-ish performers today get the short shrift. *Indie rock types who get Pitchfork tongue baths don't count.

By: darth_tedious

darth_tedious — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:06:20 -0800

clearly: settle down, settle down, settle down.

By: DarlingBri

DarlingBri — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:11:03 -0800

That is a list of 1,000 songs and videos that actually were totally bogus.

By: Slothrup

Slothrup — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:17:45 -0800

I find something about the makeup and hair sported by the women in the early 80s *really* appealing. Probably because I was 13 in 1982.

By: Slothrup

Slothrup — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:22:57 -0800

Also, this: "It struck me watching some of those videos that the 80s were the last time when mainstream pop stars who I and other teens of the 80s liked could be average-looking or over 30."

By: Alvy Ampersand

Alvy Ampersand — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:28:31 -0800

The 80s were not rad. I was there. They were conformist, indulgent and polluted with really ugly culture. As opposed to the suffocating self-righteousness, intellectual posturing, flake-headed sincerity, and desperate need for authenticity that made the nineties such a treat. Thank god we outgrew that, amirite?

By: seawallrunner

seawallrunner — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:32:30 -0800

ah, well there goes Saturday. And maybe Sunday too. thank you carsonb

By: Mike D

Mike D — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:42:52 -0800

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWWWWWWW!!!! Pretentious and big hair and everything and wallowwallowwallow! Geldof and the Boomtown Rats' "I don't like Mondays" and Dexys' "Come on Eileen" and Robin Williams backing Bobby McFerrin on "Don't Worry; Be Happy" and Boney M in Red Square with "Rasputin"... and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart"... and I haven't even got to "E" yet... It's already been said, but one more time won't hurt: THANK YOU!

By: tommasz

tommasz — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:45:48 -0800

If anyone wants me, I'll be on this page.

By: cj_

cj_ — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:49:54 -0800

So much hair.

By: Mike D

Mike D — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:51:48 -0800

"I find something about the makeup and hair sported by the women in the early 80s *really* appealing." J Geils Band: "Centrefold". Motion seconded. All those in favour?

By: inigo2

inigo2 — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:04:11 -0800

Choice. Indeed. Obviously. Calvin Klein. For Men.

By: gen

gen — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:16:31 -0800

If you like Hall & Oates, Darryl Hall is doing a live music show at Live From Darryl's House.

By: spoobnooble

spoobnooble — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:47:56 -0800

"I find something about the makeup and hair sported by the women in the early 80s *really* appealing." J Geils Band: "Centrefold". Motion seconded. All those in favour? AYE! (slight aside: when we were kids my brother had a friend who liked to sing the chorus from J. Geils' 'Centrefold' at odd times, but at the "nah-nahhh-nuh-nah-nah-nah" part he instead sang the theme from The Smurfs. As far as I can recall, no one ever bothered to correct him on this...)

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:22:49 -0800

*ahem* i present to you...post-punk.com

By: Alexandra Kitty

Alexandra Kitty — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:23:51 -0800

If I were Supreme Ruler of the Universe, it would be Groundhog Decade and it would be the '80's all the time (I'd bring the Hives over and all the techology goodness just because I could) -- where people could wear big hair and legwarmers and not feel like dorks and it would be fun music like this all the time and Madonna and Michael Jackson wouldn't look so scary...

By: droplet

droplet — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:34:49 -0800

*ahem* i present to you...post-punk.com You are a very good person. Yes, indeed.

By: damnitkage

damnitkage — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:00:46 -0800

Bless you for posting this. I want to live in Alexandra Kitty's universe.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:07:29 -0800

I want to live in Alexandra Kitty's universe. seconding that. it looks like bunches of fun!

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:18:49 -0800

Tubular.

By: sergeant sandwich

sergeant sandwich — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:22:16 -0800

well i guess if the cramps are post-punk, that gives me an opportunity to post some awesome live footage!

By: louche mustachio

louche mustachio — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:34:46 -0800

I was expecting this to be a list of the terrible shit, but it's a pretty comprehensive list that encompasses a broad spectrum of artists. They didn't dig terribly deep, but there's some really unexpected stuff here. The funny thing is, I do remember seeing almost all of these on MTV, back when they, y'know, still played videos. Some of them were in heavier rotation than others, some only were played in the middle of the night, but It's cool to think of a time when the medium was so new that even the less Top 40 friendly music was represented and musicians could still be ugly.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:43:01 -0800

musicians could still be ugly like this guy? (warning: not safe for anywhere)

By: vronsky

vronsky — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:05:05 -0800

great post :)

By: humannaire

humannaire — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:12:32 -0800

The 80s were not rad. I was there. They were conformist, indulgent and polluted with really ugly culture. Wow. Talk about missing out on a good time. My take on the 80s was fun and dancing. People danced all the time (from 1981 to 1989, roughly). Gay clubs were secret, underground places where the best music eva was played! The only thing that sucked about the 80s was left over from the everything that came before the 80s. This cannot be said about the 90s. For whatever reason, maybe because it was the end of the world and everything, the 90s really bit all on their own. For instance, once hardcore rap and hip-hop hit big, all of us stopped dancing. Dancing was considered soft. Of course, the whole rave/post-rave thing went big in the 90s, but....eh? Now he we are, in a brand new millenium century decade and world, and as stupid as it is/has been, at least there's hope. Obama, for instance. I mean, I'm voting for him as a symbol, that's it. And what he symbolizes is a world that exists post-Brave New World. And that's a dandy enough idea to make me and a many of us all really excited with the idea of being happy again. And you know what? I went to a dance the other night, an 80s-themed dance party, and danced like it was NOT 1999 but 1983. And in case you forgot, or missed out completely, 1983 was better than rad: It was DEF! Everything that "sucked" about the 80s sucked about the 20th Century. And a good number of us are in the process of sloughing off the last of that crap right now. In fact, vote for Obama, and lets get on with rededicating ourselves to a future which is as fun as the 80s without all the suck. There's a little saying of mine which applies here. It is, "When the women are dancing, everyone is happy." I say that (and mean it) because when the women are dancing, women who like women are happy and dancing, and so men who like women are happy and dancing, and consequently men who like men are also happy and dancing. What's not like? Everybody wins! And here's the thing. Chances are everyone's going to be dancing to 80s music! Which normally I abhor. I mean, I lived it, it was great, on to the next. HOWEVER, if everyone is dancing, who am I to argue? I mean, when everyone is dancing, I'm happy!

By: vronsky

vronsky — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:26:13 -0800

Wendy O. and Tom.

By: jeremias

jeremias — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:31:43 -0800

humannaire, excellent post, but you neglected to support your point with a video, let's see, how about : Cameo : Word Up

By: eccnineten

eccnineten — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:45:23 -0800

1980s music for me was Renaldo and the Loaf, The Residents, Throbbing Gristle, SPK, The Screamers, Coil, Whitehouse, Negativland...

By: Mael Oui

Mael Oui — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:58:42 -0800

More (but fewer) retro arcade games (Space Invaders, Tetris, Asteroids, Snake, Simon, Hexxagon, Frogger)

By: Mael Oui

Mael Oui — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:03:26 -0800

Sadly (?), 1980s music was, for everyone else (at least, according to 80s compilations), Tony Basil, Wang Chung, and Katrina & the Waves.

By: AloneOssifer

AloneOssifer — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:05:39 -0800

Needs more Genesis: Invisible Touch Land of Confusion Jesus, He Knows Me

By: vronsky

vronsky — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:18:47 -0800

Well said humannaire. long live 1983! I like Boys! (not really) McCain & Palin (ps - cortex sux)

By: jeremias

jeremias — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 21:46:33 -0800

I'm just making a note of these videos for future posterity, let the record state that the 80's were not solely about legwarmers, weird hair and coke. (Ok, you can't escape the hair, but still) The Cure - Boys Don't Cry Trio - Da Da Da Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock Front 242 - Headhunter Plasmatics - Damned The Art of Noise - Close to the Edit Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart Even the top 40 has it's perverse benefits on 80's video

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:19:36 -0800

Got to add Slippery People, Talking Heads, such a tight beat. Man, oh man, 80's music is so energizing!

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:57:30 -0800

I'm just making a note of these videos for future posterity. There may be some weird hair here. Alien Sex Fiend - Ignore the Machine Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust Cocteau twins - Carolyns Fingers Dalis Car - The Judgement Is The Mirror Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon Front 242 - Headhunter Gary Numan - Cars Husker Du - Could You Be The One I is a fucking wasteland. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart Killing Joke - Love Like Blood Laurie Anderson - Language Is A Virus Morrissey - Suedehead Nick Cave - The Mercy Seat Oingo Boingo - Private Life Pixies - Debaser Q is horrible R.E.M. - The One I Love Soft Cell - Tainted Love The Cure - Boys Dont Cry Ultravox - Vienna Violent Femmes - Blister In The Sun Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio a bonus W track to make up for I: World Party - Ship Of Fools XTC - Dear God Y & Z are forgettable, so here's Siouxsie - Spellbound

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:58:11 -0800

I think it's awesome how Ratt spelled their name with two t's. Nothing rocks like an extraneous consonant.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:04:06 -0800

or an extraneous umlaut, though i can't quite remember which hair metal band put an umlaut over an i...?

By: vronsky

vronsky — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:06:43 -0800

That's hot Nicky :) Did you know there was some video floating around of you on youtube ?

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:13:26 -0800

You'll find it here, Ubu: heavy metal umlaut.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:32:39 -0800

fantastic, thanks Kräftmätic.

By: UbuRoivas

UbuRoivas — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:48:34 -0800

on afterthought: what a huge omission from the list.

By: Davenhill

Davenhill — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:18:00 -0800

The 80s were not rad. I was there. They were conformist, indulgent and polluted with really ugly culture.

I guess you can probably find that in any decade. But my experience as a teenager in the 80s was mostly wonderful. To me it seemed much less conformist than any time since. Sure a lot of the fads (like most fads) looks strange or stupid in retrospect, but it was nevertheless seemed like a very playful decade to me. High school a hint of costume ball, with kids dressing up as goths, punks, mods, skaters, preppies, and such. Androgyny was in vogue - girls and guys with big hair, short hair, long hair, bushy hair, curled hair, permed hair, short hair with tails, feathered hair, shaved heads, sculpted afros, Mohawks, fauxhawks, spiked hair, colored hair, and various Flock of Seagulls hairdos. Men and women could wear unusually bright and conspicuous colors like electric pink, fluorescent red and bright yellow. Make-up could be over-done and look hideous by today's tastes, but it was always fun and playful (and sometimes even ended up on men). Hats of all kinds could be found - caps, macs, felt hats like you'd see being worn by Madness, Howard Jones, Culture Club, those hats styled after French legionnaires, etc. Girls could obviously get away with all sorts of hair accessories to boot. Tight jeans, ripped jeans, button-fly jeans, stone washed jeans, acid washed jeans, baggy jeans, baggy trousers(!), parachute pants, pants with side pockets (no, they're not new), pegged pants, crinkled dresses, women wearing ties. Jackets over t-shirts. Big sunglasses, huge (I mean huge!) t-shirts, t-shirts that changed colors, iconographic band t-shirts. I'm not even sure where to begin with accessories. Gloves, bracelets, gratuitous numbers of bracelets or necklaces; workout outfits, sweatbands, leg warmers, and such. Stud ear rings on men, big earrings on women, hoops or otherwise, multiple piercings. Running shoes, vans, doc martins, boots. Basically, a lot of the looks and styles you see in videos from the era could be seen reflected in this clique or that (though of course usually not as extreme and not all that common). For better or worse, a lot of the music just seemed more playful and silly (cf. Falco - Rock me Amadeus, Men Without Hats - Safety Dance, A-Ha - Take on Me). Lots of corny love songs but even the low budget videos could have a really distinct look (Robert Palmer - Simply Irresistible) , many overly self-indulgent songs about heartbreak (Naked Eyes - Always Something There to Remind Me... sorry, no Smiths songs in the list), cheesy songs about rebellion, lots of British bands, synthesizer bands (Depeche Mode, Erasure, Pet Shop boys), songs that seemed so scandalous at the time when they hinted at sex (Depeche Mode - Just Can't Get Enough) as compared to the graphic lyrics you can hear now), light songs about very serious concerns (Nena - 99 luftbalons, Genesis - Land of Confusion, Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World) but mostly lots of great dance (New Order - Blue Monday) and party songs.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 05:28:56 -0800

Please let that decade die already.

By: D_I

D_I — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:48:58 -0800

My crush on Kate will never die. You didn't know the greatest band ever came from the 80s?

By: mediareport

mediareport — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:52:06 -0800

Damn, I hadn't heard Eric B and Rakim's 'Microphone Fiend' in ages. Anyone dissing the 80s has his or her head *far* up his or her ass.

By: MiamiDave

MiamiDave — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:36:50 -0800

OMFG!!! I now have the video of The B-52s "My Private Idaho" on my private idaPod!! THANKZ!!

By: Chuffy

Chuffy — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:09:50 -0800

WikiWikiWikiWiki

By: Chuffy

Chuffy — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:14:44 -0800

My crush on Kate will never die. The three stages of Kate Bush (from a friend of mine): Who is that chick with the Snow White voice? Her music is pretty good, if you can get over her voice. I want her to have my children.