Careless Whispers
Aside from the fact that this is maddeningly brilliant (link via TMN), and I've played it probably a good four dozen times since I downloaded it yesterday, it has completely thrown me into a mid-eighties reverie wherein I cannot stop thinking of the following:
1. Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, two at a time. Grape Shasta afterward.
2. Spending entire days during summer vacation watching Clue on VHS over and over again, knowing how it ended but still suspecting Miss Scarlet every single time.
3. The sound of my parents fighting in the next room.
4. My 13-yr old brother chasing me around the living room couch, stopping suddenly like he was about to give up, and spitting a gigantic wad of warm phlegm across the room onto my right cheek. Me screaming.
5. The girl up the street with the gigantic boobs. She was two years younger than I was, and in order to compete I had to wear a padded bra, one that made my 10-yr old, 80-pound body look like it had been overrun by uneven alien mole hills.
6. My dad's dramatic crush on Loni Anderson.
7. Pictures of Andy Gibb, John Stamos and Scott Baio splattered over every inch of my sister's bedroom walls.
8. Smurfs.
9. Pulling up to soccer practice in that goddamn beige Ford Taurus.
10. Courtney Smith, Courtney Carrington, Courtney Price, Courtney Dees, Courtney Nelson.
11. The dream I had about being trapped in a burning building, about to succumb to the smoke and flames when David Hasselhoff and KITT show up to my resuce.
12. My brother trying to pull his socks off by the toes, giving up halfway through and walking around with them just like that, halfway on/halfway off, all day long.
13. The smell of Pond's Cold Cream in the morning as my mother took off her eye makeup.
14. Matching my socks to my turquoise Converse hightops. Pinch-rolling my Lee jeans.
15. Hardee's.
16. Sitting in my father's lap before school, listening to Air Supply and rocking back and forth, hearing him whisper in my ear, why won't your mother come back to me?
17. Hall and Oates.
18. My sister's hairdo, which I think I can safely blame for the death of my first goldfish.
19. My "Love Boat" themed Trapper Keeper.
20. My first triumphant completion of Pitfall.
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Heather talks about overcoming depression on today's Momversation.
- Leta: "STOP FOLLOWING ME, COCO!"
I wonder where she picked up that exclamation.
- Me: "Hey Marlo, here's a vibrantly colored, squeaky toy made specifically for your age group!"
Marlo: "Got any knives?"
- @makeandtakes my pleasure! Had a great time with you guys!
1. Rachel said:
Strawberry Shortcake.
2. brynne said:
Ugh.. my little brother used to do that half on/half off thing with his socks too. Didn't seem to bother him, but it annoyed the fuck outta me.
3. Cory said:
Andrew McCarthy. Mannequin.
4. darian said:
I miss the jordache jeans and those jelly shoes!
5. Tommy said:
I rememebr figuring out it didn't matter how many "cheeks" I turned. I was the new kid (again and again) and they were going to try to beat me up whether I fought back or not. On the lighter side I also remember dressing up as Obi Wan Kenobi on Halloween and continuously being mistaken for a JAWA.
6. jen said:
I remember pouring peroxide on my hair over and over again to get that Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran yellow bangs thing going on. It worked unfortunately and it seemed to take forever to grow out. A year or two later I remember using my Duran Duran records as frisbees in the ravine.
7. Seth said:
My Fall Guy lunchbox.
8. Ariel said:
For me, it was dreaming that Automan would come save me. This show was only on for a year...why do I remember it so clearly?
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/
servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-1921/
9. Aarika said:
Jelly bracelets, jelly shoes, jelly everything.
10. anna said:
did your mom ever come back?
that's so sad.
11. Chantelle said:
Mrs Peacock was a man?
I'm relieved that I'm not the only one to have been obsessed with Clue (although I still am obsessed...others who are better and stronger than I have perhaps been able to move on...)
12. Windowsill Wendy said:
Seth: I LOVED the Fall Guy.
Atari, Care Bears, Rainbow Brite and Cabbage Patch Kids.
13. feelafel said:
You know, even though I've seen all three endings, including "The way it REALLY happened", I still think the Ms. Scarlett ending is the most believable.
I also think that Yvette is smokin' hot.
14. ME said:
about wearing those short-shorts like George Michael in Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" video and singing and dancing along in my room.
15. Sara said:
I second the Cabbage Patch thing... but need to add: Cabbage Patch Premie. That's the one you had to have. That's the one my best friend had.
I had the faux-Cabbage Patch doll that my mom made. I hated it then, but love it now.
Did you know if you go to the Toys R Us store in Times Square, they have a real, life size Cabbage Patch with a video running, in which a nurse narrates about the birthing process that the patch babies go through?! It was disturbing to hear as an adult. I never imagined where they came from other than a generic "patch".
16. antisocial diva said:
my little house on the prairie lunchbox. those little ovens where you baked things. shrinky dinks!
17. mole said:
it's all about the pound puppies. i loved mine. his name was 'frisky'. we had matching outfits.
18. Buzzed said:
I was in college during the mid-eighties and, while older than you all, should recall some of these things. And then I remember that I was busy participating in another mid-eighties fad--cocaine usage--that occupied my time and burned a few memory cells. This is your brain on drugs, kids.
19. jess said:
rainbow brite. the popples. also, i watched the smurfs recently, and as much as i love them, i realized that they just put the word 'smurf' wherever they want. it has no actual meaning.
20. The Other Erika said:
My Little Ponies!!!
21. Jen said:
Blue eyeshadow, blue mascara, pink irridescent lipstick, 45's and B-side songs, my little pony and anything fluorescent.
22. shel said:
Hypercolor shirts. Knight Rider. The first Baywatch. Twisted Sister. Asteroids.
23. Jen said:
I forgot to say, I loved The Smurfs but was usually forced to watch them in french (Les Stroumphs). I also loved The Barbapoppa's.
24. Dirtybilllover said:
Ok, I am such an 80s fiend but my list of things will have to wait. I just had to post this: one of Bill's co-workers, a MAN in his THIRTIES, collects smurfs. Tell me that doesn't make your skin crawl.
25. Danika said:
The Goonies, my trusty Snoopy snow cone maker & Gem!
26. dirtybilllover said:
ok, I just have to write this one: Frankie Say Relax t-shirts
27. paperdog said:
I still proudly own my Pound Puppy "Popcorn", and I can also say that I visited the Babyland General Hospital in L.A. and "adopted " a Cabbage Patch.
Growing up sucks.
28. the propagandist said:
my first ill-conceived stab at parody:
instead of writing the english paper, filming a video (with thoes GIANT cameras- remember?) wherein michael hasselhoff (me - in a curly black wig) and KITT (my dad's equalizer in the mazda station wagon) chase edgar allen poe thru the house of usher and down the rue morgue.
29. El Guapo said:
My brother and I each owned the same blue and white velour jogging suit that the '84 US Olympians wore. If only I had chest hair back then, I could have worn it unzipped with no shirt underneath.
30. Cory said:
Windowsill Wendy: Thanks for the reminder of the Cabbage Patch Kids. Mine was a homemade knock-off. His belly button was about two inches too low, so it looked like nubby junk. I felt so bad for him.
31. onegirl said:
"Small Wonder", Gimp & Flourescent spandex shorts.
32. onegirl said:
Oh- and LA Gear Shoes.
33. Stv. said:
thunder, thunder
thunder, thunder,
thunder, thundercats!
34. Stv. said:
Oooh - and Garbage Pail Kid sticker/card things!
35. Jason said:
e, e, e, e, ee-woks
36. TLC said:
All this and more can be seen on VH1's 80's series, which goes year by year. They somehow got quite a few personalities to talk for what seems like hours.
37. allisonic said:
Twist-a-bead necklaces.
Add-a-bead necklaces.
Pudding pops.
Hart to Hart.
38. wilber said:
Making mix tapes of dubious audio quality, Intellivision and the coolest video ever - "Take on Me" by A-ha.
39. Daejin said:
Screw the Fall Guy! I'm talking the Six Million Dollar Man. Lee was at the top of his game and married to Farah Fawcett - back when she had THE HAIR and not the little voices inside her head.
40. scotty the body said:
You rocked pitfall? badassed!
41. mole said:
transformers! more than meets the eye!
42. krotchbat said:
Like the MP3. It's kinda like WEEN.
43. Emily said:
stirrup pants, Garfield, Nerds candy, "Square Pegs", my E.T. bed sheets (I miss those), Lite Brite, puffy and scratch n sniff stickers, the Weekly Reader, the Scholastic book club, ghetto blasters
44. lordgoon said:
Hey - don't forget being taken across the street by your mother to 'play' with the almost creepily tall neighbor kid, and being handcuffed (with REAL handcuffs, for god's sake!) in a small toy teepee in his back yard for THREE HOURS in the sweltering July heat while she scoffed fresh muffins obliviously in the neighbors' kitchen, then being 'rescued' by the aforementioned goon as twilight began to descend, but having to wait for ten extra minutes to be unbound while he turned you over onto your belly and shoved a toy metal six-shooter straight up your ass.
Oh....that didn't happen to you?
45. Kate the Great said:
I'm still scarred from never receiving the much-coveted Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine NOR the Mickey Mouse Talking Phone. I got the Cabbage Patch Kid only after much humiliating pleading.
I was generally only allowed to watch public television at home, so any sleepover at a friend's house was a sweet, Dirty Dancing-loving, For Keeps-watching respite. Fifteen years later, I'm still mesmerized by cable.
46. Mrs. Bo Duke said:
Me, in my super-sexy Wonder Woman Underoos and my mom's shoes with the wooden wedge heels, imitating every move on SOLID GOLD.
I also remember when cartoons ONLY came on on Saturdays, unless you were out of school and got to catch a little Captain Kangaroo or The Bozo Show. When Soul Train came on, that was the end of your cartoon watching until the NEXT Saturday.
47. Syrinx said:
My little brother (who did that thing with the socks too) would put my Barbies into the Barbie Townhouse elevator and yank down on the string so they would rocket out the top of the townhouse and across the room. Then I'd hit him with my Cabbage Patch doll - swung by the feet so as to get in a good crack with the hard plastic head.
Do you remember those orange plastic charm necklaces that looked like chain links on which you clipped little plastic charms with bells on them? And puffy painted t-shirts?
Strawberry Shortcake, scented markers, scratch and sniff stickers... people sure liked to sniff things in the eighties, eh Buzzed?
48. Joshua Kaufman said:
Ameteur a cappella! I love it! Those who want to hear some serious a cappella might want to check out The Best of College A Cappella 2002:
http://www.varsityvocals.com/
boca/bocadisc.html#boca02
49. Chizantski said:
ahhhh, the good old days: not one, not two, but three swatches! Jimmy Zs shorts (w/ the velcro). 1 cent Pal bubblegum. Lionel Ritchie "Hello". 120 minutes. Yelling at my sister for watching "Top Gun" every day after school for 3 months. Aweful Saturday shopping trips to Caldor with the family, just so i could eat at Burker King. Granola. Big Wheels. Rat Tails. And last but not least: Moon Boots!
50. ECWHIPP said:
The Fraggles and Fraggle Rock!
51. the mighty jimbo said:
i think that the reason i have never enjoyed nintendo or sega or sony video games is because i can't use an atari 2600 joystick. i swear that i could sit down with one today and flip asteroids on my first go.
and cory, i fucking LOVED mannequin. if i was gay, i would want to be full-on, polka-dotted cadilac, hollywood montrose gay.
52. The Other Erika said:
OMG - Garbage Pail Kids!
My gramps used to bang my cabbage patch babies on a table as anesthetic and used a hand drill to make a hole for a pacifier.
53. Shawn said:
Reading this makes me think of the elusive Pogo-Ball. My mom wouldn't let me have one because she was pretty sure I would bust my head! (probably right)
54. Miss Mea-Mea said:
"Easy Lover" as it should be, as far as I'm concerned. I think they should do "Relax" next.
Alright, is anyone else cursing right now for having been exposed to the internet Pitfall?
55. Kate the Great said:
Syrinx: I still have my charm necklaces--one is fluorescent orange and the other is fluorescent pink, and both are dripping with charms. Periodically I take them out and think about bringing back such a truly awesome fad. One of these days...
56. Bill said:
Hairspray, bangs that deifed gravity to loom several inches above my forehead. Enormous gold earrings.
57. Bill said:
Defied gravity, not deified. Not a bad typo, mind you.
58. Alex said:
* "Moonlighting"
* Black lipstick
* Cheez Whiz on white bread sandwiches
* Billy Idol's "Dancing with Myself" video with those freaky zombies -- I hate zombies!
* My kick-ass 8-track, dual-cassette, record player stereo system
* "When Doves Cry"
* ABC Afterschool Specials. I loved the one with the then unknown young Calista Flockhart as a bulimic girl who would hide jars of vomit in her closet
AND finally
* The movie "Just One of the Guys" which was a poignant and touching story of a young woman's journey to self-discovery and growth.... Yeah, um basically she was a hot chick who dressed like a guy to win a journalism contest and won up falling in the love with the school nerd. *sigh* Now that's good cinema!
59. The Posterboy said:
I was about 2 years old. Not alot to remember :)
60. Shawn said:
The Calista Flockhart after school special was good, but do you remember the one where Helen Hunt smoked PCP and jumped out the window?
61. Chip Tijuana said:
Transformers...More than meets the eye!
G.I. Joe...Knowing is half the battle!
Thunder, Thunder, Thunder Cats...HOOOOOO!
62. monorailmike said:
Strange how we've already become nostalgic for the '80s -- it wasn't that long ago, was it?
What a great era for pop culture: Back to the Future (best movie ever!), ColecoVision (Zaxxon ruled), and more Swatches than I really needed.
63. Carrie said:
Oh, how I tried to ape Martha Quinn's style! Off the shoulder shirts, blue, purple and red color scheme clothing, complete with oversized earrings in the same colors, and jelly shoes, of course. I *loathed* the Cabbage Patch dolls, Smurfs and Rainbow Brite. Very creepy that grown men collect Smurfs now (reminds me of an article in The Onion, where an antique appraiser complains about how he finds himself constantly appraising peoples' damned Smurf collections, but I digress).
64. PJ said:
Turning 30, having a baby, buying our first house, quitting my job to watch said baby. Cripes, you people make me feel old.
I'm upset my boyfriend Daryl is way down on the list at #17. He is still Smurftastic!
65. dougie said:
The Dukes of Hazzard - specifically Daisy Duke, her cut-off jeans, buttoned-down shirt (two sizes too small) and heaving bosomage.
66. dougie said:
The Fall Guy - specifically Jody Banks, her cut-off jeans, buttoned-down shirt (two sizes too small) and heaving bosomage.
67. ALLISONIC said:
Damn, Alex. Just One of the Guys. I'd forgotten all about that movie. Loved it!
68. dougie said:
The A-Team - specifically Amy Allen, her cut-off jeans, buttoned-down shirt (two sizes too small) and heaving bosomage.
69. PD said:
tv I could never miss:
-You Can't Do That On Television
-Jem and the Holograms
-He-Man and She-Ra
-Care Bears
-Pinwheel
-Reading Rainbow
some fashion:
-slap bracelets
-jams
-biker shorts (gee, i hope i wasn't the only one)
-brown loafers with rolled up jeans
70. moose said:
Oof. About peed in my pants listening to that.
Little Feat. DEVO. B52s. Jeans completely covered in patches. God, this is making my brain ache.
71. the mighty jimbo said:
uh, monorail mike, i know it doesn't seem that long ago, but 1983 - ya know, smurfs and van halen jump, and return of the jedi, and family ties, and flashdance, and jane fonda - that was 20 years ago man. twenty.
72. syrinx said:
Better than bike shorts were my hot pink spandex capri pants, with a palm tree on the bottom of one leg. In seventh grade one day I had paired them with an oversized green t-shirt with one side through of those t-shirt buckle things and my neon paint-splatter keds. Some girl asked me if I was dressed up for nerd day for spirit week. Of course I wasn't. I was so damn cool.
Kate the Great - now is the time to bring back the charm necklaces! I wish I still had mine...
73. Windowsill Wendy said:
Oooh.... Kaepa, KangaRoo and Lotto sneakers, Pac-Man, side ponytails, ribbon barrettes and Bonne Belle Lipsmakers!
I still have my plastic charm necklaces and my Swatch watches.
74. julia said:
i hated to comment because the comment tally was at 69, and i'm just juvenile enough to want to leave that alone and just giggle at it.
anyway, as far as afterschool specials go, i defy you to top: dinky hocker shoots smack.
can't do it.
just. can't. do. it.
75. Kat said:
Greatest American Hero. Who doesn't love a high school teacher in tights and a cape? You know you do.
76. Arex said:
monchichi monchichi oh so soft and cuddely...ha ha ha happy happy monchichi
..and that's one to grow on
77. mole said:
man, i loved those garbage-pail kids. i had the greatest collection ever...complete sets and everything. my mom hated them. she snuck into my room one night and threw them all away. i finally got her to admit to it 15 years later.
78. filter said:
You have no idea how much crap I took in college for listening to and actually liking Hall & Oates. Nowadays I would call it a guilty pleasure, but the fact is I truly dig songs like Private Eyes, Sara Smile, So Close and She's Gone.
79. kgjbnme said:
all of the above...
plus that summer of me & my sister watching "Labyrinth", "Arsenic and Old Lace", and "The Parent Trap" again. and again. and again. and again. and again. and again.
and again.
80. Soulie said:
I can't believe no one has mentioned parachute pants. And parental fear that you'd break your neck break dancing. And Breakin' the movie. Or those Star Wars toys that were the ultimate status symbol. I was sooo envious of the kid with the Millenium Falcon.
81. Irk said:
Oooh, I loved my day-glo spandex shorts. I had one pair in all green, and one black pair with hot pink stripes down the sides.
Cinching my t-shirt with a scrunchee (scrunchy? hair thingy?).
Bass moccasins with the laces coiled up so you don't have to tie them and no socks.
"I learned it from watching you!"
82. stacey said:
There's all this weird sadness in your list, family angst and phlegm. Whose mom takes off eye makeup in the morning? Did anyone who left an "I Love the 80's" VH1-style comment read your post at all?
Oh, and Joe Millionaire looks like David Hasselhoff.
83. matty said:
voltron. go-bots. wrist-racers
84. cat said:
spending the summers in my swimsuit (and wearing a towel indoors so that Mom wouldn't yell about damp chairs). green chlorine hair. popples. charm necklaces. He Man and She Ra. hating the thought of going to school in the fall, but being consoled with a new TrapperKeeper replete with a hot pink unicorn on the front. that horribly annoying boy who couldn't keep himself from snapping the back of my bra. double-layered, two-toned socks. bangs.
85. Kristine said:
General Hospital ... the marriage of Luke & Laura (which followed the rape of Laura by Luke by about 12 months)
And All My Kids ... I hated Erica even when she was a teenager ... and was in love with Jeff.
86. Broch said:
Well, I have run through the list, and cannot believe this will be the first mentioning of... PARACHUTE PANTS!!!!
87. se said:
Members Only jackets, MTV--Kajagoogoo(ugh), Split Enz(yeah), Big Country, Bananarama-- jeri curl, Esprit clothes, "Breakfast Club, my first heavy, clunky Walkman, cruising in a small west TX town, French vanilla cherry lime cokes at Sonic, Double Bouble bubble gum.
88. se said:
Thinking and spelling. Double Bubble bubble gum--esp. green apple. Vans, Ropers, 9 West. American Band Stand and Solid Gold.
89. dooce said:
oops. i almost forgot: watching ìDegrassi Junior Highî on PBS and thinking Canadians were strange, strange creatures.
90. @#$%^&* said:
Ralph Furley's rose motif shirt.
91. Some Guy said:
Stacey: I'm with you (not on the Hasslehoff-Joe Millionaire thing, but the rest). So, good and bad:
A Smurfs-themed birthday party where I couldn't play the "find the peanut" game cause I helped hide 'em, and I couldn't have the good prizes even if I won the games, but I had pin the tail on the Smurf, and a Smurfy birthday cake (favorite Smurf: Handy).
The very vague memories of my father at the front door with all of his belongings in paper grocery bags, the last time I ever saw him.
Oh, and check out my link for Hasslehoff goodness. Read the reviews at the bottom of the page.
92. Alex said:
Ah yes, the lovely trouble-free kids of Degrassi. They definitely hold a special place in my heart:
http://www.injust-spring.com/degrassi.html
93. Irk said:
And I almost forgot, Canadian Sesame Street, for us border state-ers.
And changing the channels using a pair of needlenose pliers. Or maybe that was just us.
94. anna said:
I. HAD. A. PERMED. MULLET.
and braces.
and i was 5 inches taller than all the boys in my grade.
but i did have some fly izod shirts that i wore with the collar turned up.
95. the husband said:
River Raid.
Stone in Love.
Two-tone.
V.
Live Aid.
Pink shirts.
No socks.
Mullets everywhere.
Cloves.
Huey Lewis and the News.
Hair. Hair. Hair. Big hair.
Dance Party USA.
Club MTV.
96. Benjy said:
* Dukes of Hazzard
* Silver Spoons - man I wanted a house with a train in it!
* that gum in the toothpaste tube
* He-Man
* GoBot watches
* Capri-Sun
97. deadking said:
NINTENDO!!!!!!
98. .sara said:
oh crap, monchichi. yikes!
dubble bubble is not gone, my dears! we have a BUCKET containing 360 individually wrapped pieces of dubble bubble here at work. sick, i know. just like back that, it loses it's flavour after about 3 minutes. (:
99. onegirl said:
Has anyone mentioned tie-dye yet? Or maybe that was just a throw-back from the 70's...
100. 411 said:
Cory Hart.... I wear my sunglasses at night... oooh and Relax, don't do it... oh so funny.
101. The Inmate said:
Frankie Says Relax
Who didn't have one of those damned t-shirts?
102. shauna said:
i can't believe your mum didn't use avon makeup remover *gasp*
103. LK said:
All the Molly Ringwald/brat pack movies - Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire... ahh, memories.
104. Marlys said:
Convertible rabbits. All the cool kids in high school drove 'em. Mini skirts with fat aerobic socks and Reebock high tops or Mias with little holes in them....
105. Rickster said:
What about Mr T and Gay Busey in "DC Cab"??? and only 1 mention of "the A team" so far??
And the 6 million dollar man and Bionic woman were totally 70's, not 80's (sorry).
106. flashy said:
I can't pass the second page of that damn game, how is it supposed to last 30 min???? I f*cking hate those bitchis crocodales..maybe if I just turn that song off...
107. Emily said:
Oh my God! "I learned it from watching you!" lol...remember how the dad was this short little mustached guy?
How about "This is your brain on drugs" and the giant Kool-Aid pitcher guy bursting through the brick wall on roller skates? "Oh yeah!"
108. se said:
Oh shoot me now. It's Super Bubble gum, not Dubble Bubble. Super is still available, but not where I am. My father scoped out to bottom shelves in the candy aisle of several 7-11's last year looking for green apple flavor to send me to no avail. Another 80's thing that brings back mixed memories--Polo cologne. Some boys must have bathed in it.
109. Jen said:
I can't believe nobody has mentioned this yet... JAZZERCISE!
110. seth said:
I second that emotion for the A-team, as well as Macguyver, Blue Thunder, and that mini-series with the man-eating lizards, V.
Oh yeah, Small Wonder. I think I still remember the theme song...
111. David said:
Have you played that GTA3: Vice City?
Apparently, it's causing a massive boost of eighty's music popularity.
John Waite, anyone?
112. shy said:
retro 80's! woohoo! mine was love boat and 'welcome to fantasy island! ahahahahaaaa!', or how about duran duran and my posters of john taylor and simon lebon, but let's not forget about virgin bracelets, "V", and playing Pipedreams which was the first game that featured mario bros before it was known as donkey kong and then just marios bros... and we can NOT forget about the fact that i played this very particular game on my apple II plus E which ran on 64K.
64K!!! can you believe that?
long live the 80's!
113. batty said:
Sylvanian Families. Those giant Swatch watches we hung on the wall. Coloured mesh tanks over black bras. Shoes with velcro fasteners. Tape drives and Commodore 64s. Corey Haim. Frogger. Agadoo-doo-doo-doo-push pineaple shake the tree! Thanks for the link to Pitfall Harry!! Too cool! I still have my Intellivision (made by Mattel) and about 50 cartridge games... all in perfect working condition. My dad bought it for my birthday in 1981.
114. Sarah said:
Holy shit. I know the guy who made that Pitfall game, but someone else got it from your blog and pasted it to me, unknowingly. So it's just this scary Internet orgy.
115. Meg said:
Punky Brewster.
Kids Incorporated.
Max Headroom.
Fluorescent orange.
Big league chew.
Feathered bangs.
Wind breakers.
Tiffany.
Dear Mr. Jesus.
116. Amy said:
Wow... thanks for the surprisingly sweet nostalgic reminders! Your post brought back some vivid memories, as did many of the comments... I'll add these:
Say Anything - John Cusack
Pong, Packman, Q-bert and Frogger
Madonna! circa, like a virgin and lucky star, baby fat and dark roots...
and
Lying on the couch with chicken pox, discoving Cyndi Lauper and "Girls Just Wanna have Fun" and watching the Challenger explode. I was about 7.
117. Amy said:
Oh yeah... and BMX!
118. nora said:
in no particular order....
1. pegged plaid pants.
2. forenza sweaters.
3. wall-o-bangs (not the standing tall ones, but hide behind nobody-can-see-me ones)
4. Limahl.
5. Duck shoes. Neon, no less.
6. My first pair of combat boots and shaving the sides of my head (great when combined with the wall o bangs.)
7. Perfume Barbie.
8. Apple Slice (really horrible when combined with rum, by the way.)
119. tumbleweed said:
the girl's high-pitched "ding-dee-dee-dink-dee" is a thing of wonder.
why is it those memorable songs are so maudlin?
120. poop on a stick said:
Degrasssi was the best
Who didn't have a crush on Caitlin..........
Im surprised no one has questioned the Electra relationship with your pop....
16. Sitting in my father's lap before school, listening to Air Supply and rocking back and forth, hearing him whisper in my ear, why won't your mother come back to me?
was it creepy??????
Did he buy you pearls and make up???
121. nifflet said:
Taping the Ghostbusters cartoon on a vcr the size of a small island, using a "remote control" on a cord to pause out the commercials; the Snorks; double layered socks stuffed into white Keds sans laces; the aforementioned Thundercats, and the Silverhawks which came on after them; Wham! Make it Big, my first-ever record; the Christmas I got the Belinda Carlisle tape, a Walkman, and a red bean bag chair, which I used simultaneously for the next 3 months; the Headbanger's Ball; and Adam Curry, the VJ to end all VJ's.
122. shotwise said:
Atari, Atari 2600, original Nintendo and Mike Tyson's Punch Out, slap bracelets (too), Transformers vs. Go-Bots and M.A.S.K. Men, "good" music and those stupid "Parental Advisory" stickers, D.A.R.E and the T-shirts--collectibles now, I think
123. Romi said:
*picture pages w/ bill cosby
*silverhawks
*mask
*the snorks
*sun-in
*menudo
*checker print Vans
*'Teen magazine
*betamax
*tinkerbell (cosmetics)
*stonewashed anything
haha..
124. da said:
little debbies and grape soda, interesting poop in the making there. for us it was weiners and coffee milk in massive quantities (you need to be from RI to get it)
125. ME said:
I almost forgot - wanting to be like Bill Bixby in the Incredible Hulk which aired on CBS.
"David Banner, physician, scientist, searching for a way to tap into the hidden strength that all humans have.
Then an accidental overdose of gamma radiation alters his body chemistry. And now when David Banner becomes angry or outraged a startling metamorphosis occurs. The creature is driven by rage and is pursued by an investigative reporter.
"Mr McGee don't make me angry you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
The creature is wanted for a murder he didn't commit. David Banner is believed to be dead and he must let the world think that he is dead until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells within him."
I always tried to find regular household items that would give me gamma radiation to turn me into the Hulk (second only to my desire to be bitten by a radioactive spider).
And I was kidding about dressing up as George Michael. I though Andrew Ridgely was the better looking one.
126. dooce said:
no, poop on a stick. you're creepy.
127. Jason said:
The entire summer of 1984 lost to Galaga.
High Score: 1,382,500
128. Adin said:
nice stuff, keep it up!
129. the mighty jimbo said:
ooo....does anyone remember "tales of the gold monkey", or am i the only person who ever watched that?
130. PrincessEvilina said:
That post brought back lots of memories. I didin't think I needed to read all 129 comments just to say that. If I am wrong you may smite me.
131. Chad's Favorite Bridesmaid said:
Watching Kevin Bacon suffer in that podunk little town, having to dance alone in that crappy warehouse...being kicked off the gymnastics team (no dancing, but they've got a boys' gymnastics team over at the high school--THAT's cool), having to fight Chuck Cranston for the love of Reverend Shaw's slutty daughter Ariel & show said podunk town that dancing ain't so bad after all. (She was slutty, but how cool was she when, after a roll in the literal hay with Chuck one sunny afternoon, when she was putting on those red cowboy boots? I so wanted a pair)
And why does the love between a young beautiful dancer/welder & her rich hot boss have to be so difficult? So she's a maniac...so what? (Every damn time Hannah dies I cry like a baby)
Life after college looked like it'd be fun...you could be an adulterer, a coke fiend, a guy obsessed w/a girl you have less of a shot w/now than you did in college, a mousy chunky trust-fund virgin in love with the adulterer, a (gasp) member of a Republican couple, or the guy that sleeps with your best friend's girl--who's another one of your best friends. And not only are you one of these folks, you're lifelong friends with the rest of them.
Give me a rainy weekend with the '80s movie marathon on TBS anytime.
132. punky brewster said:
Ahhh, calling the local radio station to announce songs on the Top 9 at 9...and those annoying shout outs. Being terrified of getting caught watching the video for I Want your Sex, by George Micheal, but not being able to take our eyes off the screen. I don't know if I was even breathing for the entire 3 minutes! I also had a pair of skin tight Guess jeans that were pink and turqoise splatter paintesque, with zippers on the legs. Awful. Just awful. My mother made me wear my headgear to school in 6th grade.
133. e said:
romi! thank you for reminding me about the joy of SNORKS!!!!
134. CartDi said:
Air Supply is cool. So are Trapper Keepers. =D
135. maggiejane said:
chris utroska. chris smudde. chris showalter. chris jones. chris klein.
136. Igor said:
Saturdays. Mom making our favorite dish, cartoons on tv and coffee and cake in the afternoon.
137. Erich Ian said:
Amazing song cover. Reminds me of watching music videos on shows like Night Tracks and Friday Night Videos.
138. dayna said:
hmmm, they should come out with a "facts of life" reunion show.....
i'd love to see tootie these days.
139. Stephanie said:
This is so fun! How about:
* The Coreys (Haim and Feldman)
* The Debbie Gibson/Tiffany debate
* My bright pink leopard spotted spandex pants and keds with no laces
* ESPRIT Bags!
* Care Bears
* Hair Crimpers!
* Making friendship bracelets from embroidery thread.
140. jkottke said:
That short mention of Hardee's just sent me into a swirl of childhood rememberances. I'm in a flat spin, Goose....
141. Kat said:
i used to watch the A team in my parents room on the tv that did, in fact, need a wrench.
142. Anonymous said:
When Lionel Ritchie's Hello came out, I made up a video about it where Lionel is walking around New York in the rain and walks past a ballet studio where a beautiful blind girl is dancing, then there is a dream montage where they dance together and she feels his face. Then he walks off alone, soulfully.That is so embarrassing, I am almost not even embarassed by it.
143. Shawn said:
Dayna they just recently had a Facts of Life reunion show.
144. Bast Herself said:
I know this off topic, but it's related to Dooce's moving crisis.
Dateline on NBC is doing a show about the scams that movers are doing. Sounds like what you went through Dooce. Hope they spotlight the guys that screwed you.
145. ralph macchio said:
Thought of this one last night and had to resist the urge to turn the computer back on:
THE KARATE KID
and also, "Oooh, la la, Sassoon."
146. paula said:
Ok. Teen Beat and Tiger Beat issues promising to reveal the real faces behind Kiss. Those annoying turtleneck shirts that the Preppies wore with little whale patterns. Eventually, this morphed into little whale patterned shoelaces, socks and raincoats. Also, it was all the rage in my junior high to wear pins of your afvorite bands. We actually hand band wars where people would divide into tribes of those who liked either Duran Duran, Michael Jackson or The Police. Oh, and rollerskating rinks. These were HUGE here. HUGE. This is where most of us had our first cloaked first base sexual experiences and also where I got to see Michael Jackson's Thriller video on the big screen.
147. Romi said:
gee, your hair smells terrific and dippity-do hair gel.
and yes, Trapper Keepers were all the rage.
and! those bicycles with the long seat and backrest and the prerequisite basket attached to the handlebars (w/ plastic flowers for the girls)
haha..
148. windydaze said:
Olivia Newton-John: "Physical" video (my dad loved that one) and Xanadu.
149. the husband said:
Dude. I can't believe I forgot:
NINJAS.
150. zchamu said:
Duran Duran. Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Playing group orgy with barbies.
151. drew said:
matching star wars bedroom set. we're talking sheets, pillow cases, blanket AND curtains!
152. hopey said:
degrassi jr high.
adam ant.
wearing that dumb fedora everywhere (and yeah, peroxiding my bangs ala John Taylor), plus all my pen pals from Smash Hits magazine's RSVP section!
153. Ryan said:
Flipping Atari Space Invaders back to zero. Oh how joyous.
154. syrinx said:
OK, I wasn't gonna add anymore, but I can't help it because I just remembered the Wuzzles! And the Get-Along Gang.
Thank you for the reminder of Monchichi - I loved my Monchichi doll more than anything and I had completely forgotten about it. Now I can even remember what it smelled like...
155. megchem said:
HEY YOU GOONIES! Baby ruth..ruth..baby ruth...
Do the truffle shuffle. It's their time...their time up there, but it's our time..it's our time down her. I be save by pinchers of peril.
156. Danika said:
Gremlins, Playing Goonies in the alley with siblings and neighbors...
157. Heather #2 said:
Beverly Cleary. Kids Incorporated. Pong. Teen Beat. And I just have to say it, although I noticed people were nice enough to stear clear: Where's the beef?
That was Helen Hunt that jumped out of the window in that movie we had to watch during Health class? That image has never escaped me.
158. dirtybilllover said:
I swear I read every comment, but I don't see the biggest thing of all: MEMBERS ONLY jackets.
159. glen said:
Random memories:
Land of the Lost and all that wacky Sid and Marty Krofft stuff.I was big into Starlog magazine during that timeWeird Al in his early days (Another one rides the bus)
160. glen said:
Hey, how come I can't put HTML in my comments? My last one was so nicely formatted, but not anymore...
161. 888 said:
Save South Dakota! Please register at www.sdakota.org.Give us your support.
What about the Flock of Seagulls haircut? And parachute pants. It wouldn't be the eighties without them.
ps Lakers Rule!
162. christine said:
this is too exciting for me, i can't even think straight.
163. Danika said:
Hoola Hoops... Pogo Sticks.... Chinese Skip rope...
164. Kirk E. Gaard said:
Fraggle Rock. Gary Gnu. Labyrinth. Homeroom.
summers in Rangoon, luge lessons, meat helmets (AP).
Courtneys.
165. Catherine Clay.com said:
I was going to e-mail you sooner. I am having brain surgery on Tuesday. I have a shit load of web sites I have been making through the years and have been fired on numerous occasions because of my beliefs.
Hang in there. You rock. You need to go to net sol and update your e-mail address because I don't think you work for the content project anymore. Or you can go to onestop.net and transfer your domain name.
Good luck with everything,
love,
Catherine Clay
166. lordgoon said:
Pitfall!
Jesus - all my old jealousies of the rich kids in out neighborhood with non-puritan parents who had Ataris have come home to roost. In gratitude for this link, may I offer you my firstborn child?
167. Kristin said:
My boyfriend made me think I was the only one who ate those damn oatmeal creme pies two (or three) at a time! Thank you, Dooce. You've made me feel so much better.
168. Another Lurker said:
Boy George. Watching the premiere of "Thriller" on MTV. The Stray Cats. Live Aid. Safety Dance. "Boy Toy" belts, lacy socks, crinolines, fingerless gloves and rosaries. Wearing pink and yellow eyeshadow. Wearing fishing lures as earrings. Having maroon hair. I'll shut up now.
169. Michelle said:
The Super Bowl Shuffle,
playing double dutch,
anything Menudo,
and perms & Degrassi were the bomb!
170. rayne said:
I love my monchichi! And my Strawberry Shortcake doll still smells like strawberries when you squeeze her stomach.
171. Lik-M-Aid said:
Trolls (those nasty dolls with the freaky hair)
Rick Springfield, Working Class Dog!!
Neon socks and clothing
Freshen Up Gum (jingle: he didn't know...the gum was loaded)
Van Halen's 1984--JUMP!
Pac Man Fever (the song: I got a pocket full of quarters and I'm headed to the arcade...)
Friendship bracelets and those beaded safety pins on your sneakers
Country Time powdered lemonade
172. Jane said:
Dirty Dancing! I still love that movie.
173. Jane said:
Was anyone else in love with the Aha - Take on me video? I thought it was so romantically tragic.
174. onegirl said:
SYRINX: I had totally forgoten about Wuzzles and I think I still have my stuffed Get Along Gang cat - "Zipper "!
175. Michele said:
Jane...Yes! I still watch the Aha video on the edge of my seat while sighing. It is romantic and tragic. I couldn't have said it better!
176. ex southern babtist said:
Yes, Pepsi's & oatmeal creme pies...and after school stealing away with my highschool sweetheart at his mom's house while she was at work! Oh boy the things we learned.
177. zophia said:
does anybody remember manimal?
178. Marty said:
Cocaine and hookers.
179. ~ANGEL said:
Those little black, plastic bracelets, and the ones filled with glitter and water!
180. Chad's Favorite Bridesmaid said:
Oh yeah, MTV...my parents just got the box to get us the GOOD cable so we'd get MTV (&, with the right combination of keys pushed at the right time, all the naked channels!) & it was only on the main TV. They wouldn't let me watch MTV cuz they were in the middle of their shows, so once they were asleep I snuck upstairs & caught my first video ever. Peter Gabriel, "Shock the Monkey". Couldn't make heads or tales of it. And the World Premiere Video at that time...Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' "You Got Lucky".
181. leblanc said:
half the things you people have listed are things still present in my daily life, like jelly bracelets, Rainbow Brite ( i have a sweatshirt), smurfs, etc. don't you people have Hot Topics where you live? you can still get all that stuff.
182. Benjy said:
I forgot about Freaky Freezies, the gloves with the pictures that changed colors in the cold!
183. lee said:
Thank you Another Lurker for bringing up the premiere of "Thriller" on MTV. I was wondering if what was the most defining moment of the 80's for me was in fact wrong! all wrong! I taped it and only watched it 328 times afterwards.
PS - you have 183 comments now. That's a shit ton. It's because you mentioned Degrassi Junior High later. Love that.
184. nessa said:
woohoo! a cappella!
i spent two loooooooong years of my life in an all female group at u of michigan.
as far as 80s:
SMURFS! Punky Brewster. Teddy Ruxpin. Lite Brites. gummy bears (the cartoon as well as the candy).
185. i got your a cappella right here said:
that song reminds me of this project :(http://www.keyofz.com/keyofz/langley/)
click on 'desperado' and let the chills begin....
186. EY said:
*Oversized top, skinny black leggings, peter pan getaway boots
*lots of final net
*very large hoop earings
*Giorgio Beverly Hills perfume
*Howard Jones, Thomas Dolby, Heaven 17
187. Chris said:
Anyone else have a Commodore Vic-20 (Aka: 'the wonder computer of the 80's,' complete with casette drive in lieu of a disk drive?) I loved how the screen would just say: "3500 bytes Ready." That's 3.5 k!
188. Beales said:
I'm 33 and my brother got me Flashdance on DVD for Xmas this year. He remembered me watching it, almost daily, after it came out on video. Now I can start watching it daily again.