Hello,
I really hope my blog doesn't ever become only a nostalgia blog. I love the 80s but many worthwhile things have occurred since then and are occurring now. But I honestly don't think the 80s will ever be topped in terms of great pop culture or the best time to grow up. Just a couple of days ago I wrote about one of the best CDs of all-time, Def Leppard's "Hysteria". It celebrated its 26th anniversary this year. Today I've been listening to Tears For Fears' "The Hurting" on Spotify. That CD is celebrating it's 30th anniversary this year. Just a couple of the great CDs released in the 80s.
Pop culture was definitely great in the 80s, but growing up was even better in the 80s. Many others have written about those 10 great years, I won't be able to write better than many of them. I'm not trying to top them I just want to add my thoughts.
In June of 1980 I turned 13 and I had no idea the many things that was about to change my life in that decade. I had my first kiss, went to a few proms with very attractive women, graduated high school and went to Ricks College for a year. Going to Ricks College, located in a very cold, desolate, small town in Idaho, was a terrible experience in many ways. However it was my first time away from home and it helped me overcome home sickness. I also learned more about living with complete strangers in my "home". Overcoming homesickness was crucial, in 1986 I left for a two year Mormon (LDS) mission. I was very grateful for my tough learning experience at Ricks College.
About a month after I got home from my mission I started working at a family owned grocery store. I ended up working there for the next 17.5 years. It had a family environment and that enabled to make many lifelong friends. Some of the the best times of my life happened at that grocery store. Although we later divorced that's the place I met my future wife. Also returning home I continued my education at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC, pronounced Slick). I was on academic probation at Ricks College, not that I wouldn't have gone back on a bet. Thankfully SLCC was a lot better experience for me, it gave me a solid foundation to graduate from the University of Utah a few years later. In those 10 years I also went to many great movies and concerts and had many other amazing experiences.
Later I graduated from the U of U, got married had kids and finally moved on from that grocery store. My time at that grocery store ended when a big corporation took over the family owned business. They took most things that had been very successful, changed and perverted them.
That's my background, here's a list of great things from the 80's and why those things aren't as great any more:
1) MTV was at it's peak in the 80's, I spent many an afternoon in front of the TV watching MTV. This was in the time they actually showed videos, I don't know if they even do that any more. MTV aided and launched the careers of so many amazing artists. Many of those musicians influence is still felt today. Also Ken Ober, Colin Quinn and Kari Wuhrer brought us the joy and fun of "Remote Control".
Now: Other than "Catfish" I don't watch MTV ever. What has MTV become, basically a bunch of crappy reality TV shows. It's gone from being the cutting edge to just one station of many.
2) Listening to the radio, in the 80's it was so great. There were specific genres radio stations then, but nothing as hyper focused. The music from the 80s was so good and also so diverse that multiple genres couldn't help but find their way on to the same radio station.
Now: let's be honest, listening to radio now sucks. It's one of the many things that corporate America has ruined. The most obvious example of how corporate America has ruined radio is the number of commercials. Not only are commercials up to 5 minutes at a time. Even when the DJ is speaking they work commercials into their conversation. It seems almost each segment or gag, no matter how minor, has a sponsor. Many times multiple sponsors are worked in for one promotion. Every once in awhile music is actually played. Most radio stations have a very small rotation of songs they actually play. I wouldn't do the following but if you listen to radio all day what will you find? My prediction is that commercials will out number each song at least a count of 5 to 1. I would be surprised if you hear more than 30 different songs in the course of one day.
I have to say one great thing about listening to music now is Spotify. I love that for almost any music I want to listen to I can usually find it on Spotify.
3) There weren't many restrictions placed on kids in the 80s. Kids walked to school mostly without fear of being in any kind of danger. Sure there were bullies, but aren't there always? I rode in many cars without seat belts and survived every ride. Kids seem to be trusted more by parents, although many of us didn't have a lot of common sense. We were allowed to learn for ourselves in a relatively safe environment. We were allowed to fail, we weren't over reliant on parents to guide us every step of the way. We grew up tougher, we learned how to get what we wanted. We didn't expect to have things handed to us and we wouldn't have wanted that anyway.
Now: It's a bit surprising to me many of those same kids have now grown up to be over protective. I have no idea why that happened, for many of us growing up wasn't that much of a trial. In the 80s no one would have ever used the term helicopter parent, parents didn't need to hover. Fearing that I'm sounding like a crotchety old man, but now kids seem to have a sense of entitlement that I never had. (And I was one incredibly spoiled child.)
4) The Dallas Cowboys were actually relevant in the 80's. Those were the years of Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Drew Pearson, Cliff Harris and of course the legendary Tom Landry. Although Dallas didn't win any Super Bowls in the 80s there was always the sense that they could.
Now: sadly at the end of the 80s the great ego bought the Cowboys. The 80s is when the Ego made one of his few good decisions in his history of running the Cowboys into the ground. He hired Jimmy Johnson, thanks to Johnson's maniacal dedication and intensity he led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories. It was essentially his team that won a Super Bowl two years later. It was under Johnson's watch that the Cowboys would draft the great Troy Aikman and also made the Herschel Walker trade. That was the key to those 3 Super Bowls the Cowboys won in the 90s. The Cowboys third 90s Super Bowl is Johnson's Super Bowl title as much or more than Barry Switzers.
Those Super Bowls have very little to do with Jerry Jones, although he thinks they did. It cracks me up that just this week Jones said that he's doing a good job. This only shows how deluded he is, he made that statement a few days after his team gave up a FRANCHISE RECORD 625 yards of offense to the Saints. The late 80's, early and mid 90's held the promise that the Cowboys always had a chance to reach glory.
Sadly Jerry Jones started thinking he knew what he was doing and forced out Johnson. Surely the first coach who ever won two titles in a row who was forced out. And that was back when Jones was making better decisions. Now the Cowboys continue to get worse each year, which is directly related to the horrible decisions of Jerry Jones. 2013 will be the 4th straight year the Cowboys won't qualify for the playoffs. In 2013 it will ever be tougher to miss the playoffs as they are playing in the NFL's worst division this season. Even if the Cowboys somehow reach the playoffs they won't have a chance. Five of Dallas's six wins have come against mediocre or bad teams. The only team Dallas has beat with a winning record is the 6-5 Eagles.
I used to be proud to be a fan of one of the most loathed franchises in all of sports. However things have become so bad for Cowboys fans that many fan bases actually feel sorry for us. And there's no relief in site. In fact things have gotten so bad that I'm cheering against the Cowboys. I hope that the fake Cowboys fans who support Jones' delusion will stop putting money into the pocket of Jones. Then eventually real fans will take over the fan base once again. Hopefully someday I won't be embarrassed to be a Cowboys fan.
More to come later, themusicaddict
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