In Defense of Band-Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
In 1984, an instantly classic holiday song tried to save the world. Thirty years later, it seems the song needs to be saved from itself. I originally intended to write a piece outlining how the 1984 version of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” is infinitely superior to the 2014 version. (Sorry, One Direction guys, but it’s true.) But after some initial research, I realized the 1984 version is not quite as beloved as I...
5 Ways Christmas Was Better in the 80s
When I think back to Christmas as a kid in the 80s, things seemed a lot less complicated. There was the glow of the television screen — not of the iPad/iPhone screen — with the yule log burning or “Emmet Otters Jugband Christmas” playing on a loop on HBO. When we wanted to watch our annual Christmas specials, we had to check the TV Guide to make sure we were home in time for Rudolph or Frosty; there was no On Demand back...
A True Christmas Lifesaver – The Life Savers Sweet Storybook
Growing up, there were a few items I knew I would always get in my stocking at Christmas: A pair of cute, kitschy holiday socks (cats wearing Santa hats come to mind). During my teen years, I would get several cans of hairspray — thanks Santa! A girl can’t have too much AquaNet. A chocolate Santa that I was allowed to eat before breakfast. All of these holiday treats were awesome, but no 80s Christmas stocking would be...
Jingle Bell Rock: Five 80s Party Dresses Perfect For The Holidays
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it’s officially the start of the holiday season. Lights are going up, trees are being decorated, and invitations to holiday parties are going to start pouring in. What ever will you wear? Ditch the boring LBD and go for something fresh, with a little more sparkle, and a lot more retro glam. Amy Rose of Red Rose Vintage has scoured the web to find the perfect vintage 80s party dresses to ensure that...
80s Holiday Gift Guide 2014
The holidays are just around the corner, and if you’re starting to think about the perfect gift for the 80s fanatic in your life, look no further. Your friends, family and loved ones will open up a big box of nostalgia this holiday season with these ten totally tubular gift ideas. Retro Cell Phone Handset Do you know someone who longs for the long, curly phone cord from the kitchen of their youth? This is the gift for them! A kitchy,...
Then and Now: Judd Nelson
When you think of classic movie endings, what comes to mind? Citizen Kane? The Wizard of Oz? The Empire Strikes Back? Or, maybe this? Yup. There he is at the end of The Breakfast Club: fist in the air, screen frozen on my favorite “criminal,” John Bender. He’s just finished serving the most epic day of detention ever, followed by a sweet make out session/diamond stud earring exchange with Molly Ringwald. The Simple Minds anthem “Don’t...
Passion for Posters
Walk into any drug store or mall in the 80s (and we spent A LOT of time in malls), and you’d be sure to find one of these bad boys front and center, getting lots of traffic and attention. Remember, these were days before Pottery Barn began designing teenagers’ bedrooms. In the 80s, teen bedroom décor grew organically out of the tastes of the room’s owner. The walls served as a medium for self-expression—no fancy “themes” needed. My...
80s Halloween-Themed Music Quiz
It is officially the season– when grizzly ghouls from every tomb close in to seal our doom, when we bark at the moon and speak of the devil, when people across the country ponder the eternal question of “Who ya gonna call?” And so, Like Totally 80s would like to present our first-ever “80s-Music-Halloween-Themed-Quiz.” (Still working on the name…) [WpProQuiz...
What’s In Your 80s Halloween Candy Bowl?
If you remember wearing a plastic costume featuring a picture of who you were supposed to be on the front and a plastic mask that impeded basic respiration, you probably trick or treating in the 80s. On October 31st, in your plastic pumpkin head, giant garbage bag, or my personal favorite – the pillowcase – you would receive a bounty of treats. Some of the best included homemade popcorn balls, Reese’s Pieces, Bottle Caps, and if you...
Worst Halloween Candy Ever?
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. What could be better than going door to door—in a costume no less— and asking total strangers to give you candy? What’s even wilder is that they actually give you candy! The 80s were my prime trick-or-treating years and I raked in the loot! I was very grateful for this cornucopia of treats, with very few “tricks,” which should be understood here to mean “candy that sucks a**.” (Don’t even get...
Interview with Keva Rosenfeld
We recently attended the opening night festivities at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham on August 22nd, which featured the screening of Keva Rosenfeld’s documentary, All American High Revisited. As an avid 80sophile, I expected to like the film. But, wow, that doesn’t begin to cover how much I loved the film, and I wasn’t alone. The Alabama Theater was packed to the gills with over 2,000 people, and each and every one of them...
The WWF in the 1980s: I Was a Teenage Hulkamaniac
By Lori Ferraro My interest in sports as a young girl was pretty low – I was more of an “indoor” kid. However . . . I do remember a few significant athletic events of the 1980s that got me pretty excited about sports. Like . . . The Chicago Bears peaked my interest in football with that “Superbowl Shuffle” song. Andre Agassi pulled me into the tennis world with his good looks and super sweet mullet. Rocky II and Rocky III made me a...
The 80s Underage Dance Club
Awesome Beats, Smoke Machines, Lip-synch Contests and Mocktails As I entered my teen years in the mid-80s, I was completely obsessed with the following: Boys Music Dancing Fashion Thinking about it, I guess Prince was onto something with DMSR. There was one place and one place only where each of these obsessions could truly be fulfilled – and that place was Faces Teen Night Club in Tampa, Florida. Faces was located in a strip mall by...
Summer with Snoopy – The Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine
By Lori Ferraro When I think back to summertime from my childhood in the 80s, there are a few key images that pop into my head: my bike with the yellow glitter banana seat, the sandbox in our backyard, my old school cassette player that I used to record songs off of the radio, and this: The Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine. You remember the jingle, don’t you? “You put an ice cubes in and get a sno-cone out, yum-yum fun is what it’s all about!”...
The Good, Green Stuff: Hi – C!
By Lori Ferraro In the summertime in the 80s there was one drink of choice that my brother and I drank by the giant tin can-full. With flavors like Cherry, Fruit Punch and my all-time favorite Ecto Cooler, we would come running in from a long day of bike riding with our friends to get a big glass of the good stuff. All hail Hi-C! We drank Hi-C morning, noon, and night . . . Orange in the morning with breakfast . . . Sometimes...
