re: Stranger Things Inspired Thought: Were The 80's Out Greatest Decade?

I was born in 78 so it wasn't until the early 90s when I was old enough to "live in the decade". I have a half brother and sister who are 10 and 11 yrs older than I so I was exposed to a lot of the 80s, especially when it came to music, but I think the 90s were pretty cool as well. When you think about the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, there were social changes that took place and other things that defined each decade, but the world started to completely change in the 2000s.

9/11 changed how we lived in many aspects, technology became more advanced at a quicker rate than we ever experienced. As for as music, in the past, rock was rock, rap was rap, there were artist that inspired other artist, etc, but the music business became and still is more of a marketing business than music (not that marketing was not part of music in the past, to a certain degree it had to be, but it just seems like music has become less authentic.

The 1990's destroys the 1980's... Just look at the artist.

LINK

1980's had like 2 genres...

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Maybe not for AIDS and crack, but even in a high-income household you were 40% more likely to be a victim of a violent crime in 1984 than you were from 2008-2012.

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Do you actually remember the 80s?

People tend to remember the good stuff and forget the bad stuff. If you were "growing up" in the 80s, then you probably didn't have to worry about getting a job or much else.

Reagan fired air traffic controllers, taught Grenada and Libya a lesson, suffered a disaster in Lebanon and massively lowered - then incrementally raised - taxes, circumvented the law to sell weapons to Iran in order to fund an insurrection in Central America, and sort of mailed in his last two years in office suffering from the early effects of Alzheimer's disease. This isn't to say he was a bad president, but he gets far more worship than he deserves, and politics really hasn't changed all that much.

Musically, pop and hair bands ruled. The only real bright spot was the rise of college radio and alternative music's influence on the mainstream. Top 40 radio was a wasteland during the '80s and Classic Rock stations helped fill the void until the spring of 1992.

American manufacturing went into the toilet with American auto manufacturers finally letting "Made in Japan" become a sign of quality. But those manufacturers started selling so many cars that they started building plants over here, so it wasn't all a loss.

All in all, it wasn't all that much different than today, except for the internets, cell/smart phones and reality TV.

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We only locked our doors when we went on vacation

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I'm fine with someone arguing how it felt, but we can quantify the actual risk between then and now.

I understand that for many people, perception is reality.

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I'm fine with someone arguing how it felt, but we can quantify the actual risk between then and now. I understand that for many people, perception is reality

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I think kidnapping (by complete strangers) was probably a much bigger problem. As for being murdered or a victim of a violent crime in the suburbs...I don't know if that info exists. The 80's crime stats had to be mostly attributed to the cocaine industry.

Born in 78 so got to experience the 80s as a young child. I think the 80s were awesome if you were a young kid then.


I do love 80s music....but will always hold a top spot in my heart for 90s rock/alternative music. That was the music of my teenage years.

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Born in 78 so got to experience the 80s as a young child. I think the 80s were awesome if you were a young kid then.

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I can definitely see this, even if most kids feel that way about he decade they grew up.

I can't imagine a man who was 60 in 1980 thinks the 80s were all that great.

In my hometown we still don't lock our doors in 2016.

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You still could enjoy simple things like riding your bike to school, playing outside along with video games.

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You can't do that now?