Tweet
As I approach the start of my 4th decade, I think I can make an assessment of those I have lived through, and choose a favorite, w/ some actual authority born of experience.
The decade I choose as my favorite is the 80's. Why? Short answer: It's when I came of age; I was a teen & in high school (translation: surviving puberty) then. I guess we all feel some special affection for the decade we did that in.
long answer: Let me count the ways. . . .
Almost all the girls had big, teased out hair. I loved this. I still love it. Thank God I still live in Jersey where you can on occasion stil see a hot guidette sporting it.
Many of the girls that weren't sporting the big hair were sporting short hair (think Olivia Newton john on the physical album cover, or pat Benatar), which I also liked.
Iron maiden, Motorhead, Van Halen, Rush & AC/DC were putting out some of their best work. Even the pop music of that era was better than what's out now. Don't get me wrong; fuck Michael jackson & Culture Club in the ear. But Men at Work, Crowded House, Duran Duran. . . even if you were a metal head like me, you still gotta give some of these songs some nostalgia props.
Music videos were invented. Some were quite good, and MTV played them like a radio station plays songs. You could veg out for hours and hear no more talk than those sound bite-y MTV news clips every so often.
I discovered my Dad's stash of Playboys, and the goddesses ensconced therein, like Shannon Tweed, Karen Witter, Laurie Carr, and Cynthia Brimhall, just to name a few.
Stephen king, Clive Barker & even Dean R. Koontz were still writing readable horror on a pretty much regular basis. Robert McCammon could still be found on the shelves. And the last couple Travis McGee novels by the late great John D. MacDonald were published by 85.
I got my 1st job in (where else?) a bookstore. Freebies and that fat employee discount kept me reading for years. Got almost all the McGees from strip lists.
I discovered beer. And the friendships fueled thereby have endured - some of them - into their third decade now.
I spent a HUGE amount of time in NYC, particularly Greenwich Village. I loved the Bohemian, artsy vibe that oozed through the whole neighborhood. Bars & Delis that didn't proof and Rastas all over the park in the pre-Giuliani days helped quite a bit, too.
Miami Vice and M*A*S*H were still in their original runs on TV. SNL had Eddie Murphy for awhile, and then he moved on to make classic comedy albums and movies, and the cast has NEVER been that good again.
Highlander. Predator. The Terminator. Raiders of the Lost Ark. The. Empire. Strikes. Back.
The Swamp Thing American Gothic saga was still being written. Crisis on Infinite Earths. Grimjack. Creepy & Eerie had yet to breathe their last.
I bought my Ibanez Roadstar II bass in 87, and played the shit out of it for more than 6 years, before I started law school and gave it up for what was supposed to be a few years (I went back to it in 02, but a broken collarbone saw to another suspension, and I just haven't gone back).
The only thing that could have made it better was if I was actually banging those cheerleaders with the big hair. But hey, you can't have everything, right?
So, anyone who's old enough (or thinks they're old enough) to form an opinion & wax nostalgic (even in the short term), post your favorite decade here, and why it is so.
The decade I choose as my favorite is the 80's. Why? Short answer: It's when I came of age; I was a teen & in high school (translation: surviving puberty) then. I guess we all feel some special affection for the decade we did that in.
long answer: Let me count the ways. . . .
Almost all the girls had big, teased out hair. I loved this. I still love it. Thank God I still live in Jersey where you can on occasion stil see a hot guidette sporting it.
Many of the girls that weren't sporting the big hair were sporting short hair (think Olivia Newton john on the physical album cover, or pat Benatar), which I also liked.
Iron maiden, Motorhead, Van Halen, Rush & AC/DC were putting out some of their best work. Even the pop music of that era was better than what's out now. Don't get me wrong; fuck Michael jackson & Culture Club in the ear. But Men at Work, Crowded House, Duran Duran. . . even if you were a metal head like me, you still gotta give some of these songs some nostalgia props.
Music videos were invented. Some were quite good, and MTV played them like a radio station plays songs. You could veg out for hours and hear no more talk than those sound bite-y MTV news clips every so often.
I discovered my Dad's stash of Playboys, and the goddesses ensconced therein, like Shannon Tweed, Karen Witter, Laurie Carr, and Cynthia Brimhall, just to name a few.
Stephen king, Clive Barker & even Dean R. Koontz were still writing readable horror on a pretty much regular basis. Robert McCammon could still be found on the shelves. And the last couple Travis McGee novels by the late great John D. MacDonald were published by 85.
I got my 1st job in (where else?) a bookstore. Freebies and that fat employee discount kept me reading for years. Got almost all the McGees from strip lists.
I discovered beer. And the friendships fueled thereby have endured - some of them - into their third decade now.
I spent a HUGE amount of time in NYC, particularly Greenwich Village. I loved the Bohemian, artsy vibe that oozed through the whole neighborhood. Bars & Delis that didn't proof and Rastas all over the park in the pre-Giuliani days helped quite a bit, too.
Miami Vice and M*A*S*H were still in their original runs on TV. SNL had Eddie Murphy for awhile, and then he moved on to make classic comedy albums and movies, and the cast has NEVER been that good again.
Highlander. Predator. The Terminator. Raiders of the Lost Ark. The. Empire. Strikes. Back.
The Swamp Thing American Gothic saga was still being written. Crisis on Infinite Earths. Grimjack. Creepy & Eerie had yet to breathe their last.
I bought my Ibanez Roadstar II bass in 87, and played the shit out of it for more than 6 years, before I started law school and gave it up for what was supposed to be a few years (I went back to it in 02, but a broken collarbone saw to another suspension, and I just haven't gone back).
The only thing that could have made it better was if I was actually banging those cheerleaders with the big hair. But hey, you can't have everything, right?
So, anyone who's old enough (or thinks they're old enough) to form an opinion & wax nostalgic (even in the short term), post your favorite decade here, and why it is so.
Comment