1980's kids: this is your thread....

[Mudhammam]

Since I was born in '88, the one thing I remember is crawling behind the couch and the (small) family dog looking back at me with eyes that said what I can only interpret now as, "Leave me the fuck alone already, baby." We had to put her down in '90 or '91 I believe, so that's my only memory of the dog...and the 80s.

[Nope]

I was 14 in 1980.  I used to watch Thunder Cats with my little brother just to make him happy not because I secretly enjoyed the show.

MTV played music videos. Every Friday and Saturday, TBS would play music videos late at night. I would stay up and watch them.

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, played corny horror movies and I loved to watch them.

Every summer, new slasher movies would be released and most of the young viewers didn't grow up to be killers.

Preachers liked to play records backwards to find Satan's hidden messages.

[Rev. Rye]

I was born on December 14, 1989. Do I count as an eighties kid?

[Foxaèr]

I do not remember much of the 80s. I was eleven when the 90s began so I am more of a 90s bitch.

[KUSA]

I grew up in the 80s. The best music ever made was in that era.

I also remember the evolution of sport bikes. The 900cc Kawasaki Ninja, the FJ1100 Yamaha, and the Suzuki GSXR 1100.

Those were the good old days.

[c172]

And now ca random musical interlude:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhxF9Qg5mOU

[polar bear]

Graduated H.S. in 85 so I was in the '80s hey day.

501 levies with square toed cowboy boots

Polo Cologne (lots of it)

Men at work, Huey Lewis, U2, the Clash, the Cars, B-52's, and a few others you probably haven't heard of are all concerts I went to

Was standing in my underwear in my dorm room at college when I watched the Challenger explode

Trickle down economics

Kill a commie for mommy

But the best thing was in the military, they would randomly test us for drugs.  Mary Jane stayed with you for a good 30 days but cocaine only 3 
guess what we did on long weekends?????

[abaris]

Born in 63 I have recollections of every decade leading up to the 80ies, when I was still a youngster, ranging from 17 to 26.

My memories might be a little different though, since I recall it to be the first decade where the hunt for money became a virtue and humans started to be seen as a commodity. Not when it started. There was still some rebellious spirit left with the fight against stationing even more nukes in the heart of Europe and the rise of the green parties fighting for the environment as well as equal chances for everyone. A role that even back then the social democrats couldn't fulfill anymore.

I remember of course very clearly the fall of the Iron Curtain. Even more so, since from Vienna it was only a distance of 40 to 60 kilometers to a communist border. When the Berlin wall was knocked down, I was just driving to work. There's that old saying about you never forgetting where you were when some historical event happened and in this case it's true.

As for the fashion, people looked slick. There's no other way to describe it and they also were in spirit. It was the advent of the empty suits that nowadays dominate pretty much every aspect of life. It was also the Reagan area with a stream of abysmal propaganda movies flooding the european market too. Such as "Officer and Gentleman", "Top Gun" and various others of dubious content. This was especially noteable comparing it to the American movies of the 70ies, transporting a very different message. It was also the restart of American interventionism. After having finished licking the Vietnam wounds, Grenada was the first victim.

[AFTT47]

I was 21-30 from 1980-1989. Absolutely loved that decade and the early years of the 90s. Then, the culture took a turn for the worse IMO. It was certainly the golden era of popular music. It saw an explosion in consumer electronics too. The VCR and PC added a new dimension to life. The CD player made high-fidelity audio a thing for everyone.

Can't say I miss the cold war though and we're STILL dealing with the religious-fucking right's take-over of the Republican Party.

[KUSA]

How about the crazy hair styles?