# Fuck the 80's **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 18, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093 "2005-03-18T02:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/81 "2005-03-18T18:47:10Z")
That’s OK, Matt. You started out in the right place. Then all these people came in to tell you how great the music they like is. And that’s fine. As for me, and possibly you, much of the music listed doesn’t appeal to us. We aren’t saying that it sucks or that other people shouldn’t like it, but for us it does nothing (except maybe induce nausea). It’s easy to confuse the issue. A lot of people resent being told you can’t see any value in their favorite thing - as if you were attacking their masculinity, or femininity, or something. But it’s just music. Music that I personally have no use for. It didn’t appeal to me then, it doesn’t appeal to me now. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/82 "2005-03-18T18:53:32Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > That’s OK, Matt. You started out in the right place. Then all these people came in to tell you how great the music they like is. And that’s fine. As for me, and possibly you, much of the music listed doesn’t appeal to us. We aren’t saying that it sucks or that other people shouldn’t like it, but for us it does nothing (except maybe induce nausea). It’s easy to confuse the issue. A lot of people resent being told you can’t see any value in their favorite thing - as if you were attacking their masculinity, or femininity, or something. But it’s just music. Music that I personally have no use for. It didn’t appeal to me then, it doesn’t appeal to me now. Cry me a fucking river. And then stop making stuff up. You’re the first person who’s said “the music you like doesn’t appeal to me.” And I’m sorry, my little sugarbear, but saying that something “induces nausea” is pretty fucking close to saying “it sucks.” Which kinda gives lie to your whole martyr shtick. ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/83 "2005-03-18T18:56:22Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > That’s OK, Matt. You started out in the right place. Then all these people came in to tell you how great the music they like is. And that’s fine. As for me, and possibly you, much of the music listed doesn’t appeal to us. We aren’t saying that it sucks or that other people shouldn’t like it, but for us it does nothing (except maybe induce nausea). It’s easy to confuse the issue. A lot of people resent being told you can’t see any value in their favorite thing - as if you were attacking their masculinity, or femininity, or something. But it’s just music. Music that I personally have no use for. It didn’t appeal to me then, it doesn’t appeal to me now. Ah, a nice pool of refreshing correctness and wholehearted agrement to rest by as the confusion induced sizzling in my brain begins to cool. Thank you, fishbicycle. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/84 "2005-03-18T18:56:43Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Cry me a fucking river. And then stop making stuff up. You’re the first person who’s said “the music you like doesn’t appeal to me.” > > And I’m sorry, my little sugarbear, but saying that something “induces nausea” is pretty fucking close to saying “it sucks.” Which kinda gives lie to your whole martyr shtick. I don’t remember addressing you specifically, or insulting you for offering your opinion. So how about you get bent. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/85 "2005-03-18T19:04:44Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > I see your “Fuck the 80’s” and raise you one “Fuck the 90’s”. > Check back in five years and I bet “Fuck the 00’s” beats them both. Here! Here! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/86 "2005-03-18T19:10:33Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > You started out in the right place. Then all these people came in to tell you how great the music they like is. And that’s fine. As for me, and possibly you, much of the music listed doesn’t appeal to us. We aren’t saying that it sucks or that other people shouldn’t like it, but for us it does nothing (except maybe induce nausea). Nawwww, this thread has been more like: Haters: 80’s totally sucked! I hate [list of popular 80s bands that sucked]. Others: Nuh huh! What about [list of 80s bands that were good]. Haters: Well, I haven’t heard that stuff but I hate it anyway. Cuz, like, the 80s sucked! Others: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/87 "2005-03-18T19:10:38Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > Oh FUCK I’ve created a tribute thread to the worst decade in history. > > May god forgive me, as I know I never will. For what it’s worth, and while there was certainly some good music made during that decade, I agree with you. The music, the syles…everything. I don’t why, but it just seems that whole decade was kind of ‘icky,’ and most of the music was pap. I was talking to my sister about this just the other day as a matter of fact, and she agreed. I’ve been around awhile. I saw Elvis come in, rock 'n roll, the Beatles, country rock, metal, Disco (which I loved, btw – you may sling your brickbats at will), rap, boy bands, hip-hop…all of it, and I still think the eighties sucked. It’s the only decade I feel that way about. So at least you know you’re not alone. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/88 "2005-03-18T19:15:28Z")
> [@fishbicycle](#): > > I don’t remember addressing you specifically, or insulting you for offering your opinion. So how about you get bent. Ah, I see. Sorry, I must have misread your post. You said "all these people,’ when you actually _meant_ “all these people except, yanno, not all of them.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/89 "2005-03-18T19:18:43Z")
…The Waterboys, The Specials, 10,000 Maniacs, The Connells, The Cowboy Junkies, Let’s Active, Split Enz, B-52s, Sugarcubes, Julian Cope, The Cure, Billy Bragg, Joe Jackson, The La’s, Joan Armatrading, Adam Ant, English Beat, Stiff Little Fingers, Jason and the Scorchers, Rank and File, The Plimsouls, The Bodeans… ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/90 "2005-03-18T19:20:15Z")
I found a list of things about the Commodore 64, of the 80s. It’s also a flash. [http://www2.b3ta.com/heyhey16k/](http://www2.b3ta.com/heyhey16k/) It has nothing to do with a pitting, but oh well. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/91 "2005-03-18T19:45:50Z")
[Billy Idol sneer] Wankers! [/sneer] …Love and Rockets, Go-Go’s, Ramones, The Damned, The Specials, XTC, Madness, Alice Cooper, Adam Ant, Blue Oyster Cult, Danielle Dax, Queen, Laurie Anderson… …“Michael Jackson still was black, those were the days”… And the finest album of the 80’s…seriously…Men without Hats “Pop Goes the World” ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/92 "2005-03-18T19:56:11Z")
> [@Andros](#): > > and Gobear is a trained killer. Just FYI. Nice to know my reputation precedes me. and what everyone else said. . . uninformed OP, the good 80s stuff wasn’t on radio, the Smiths, the Cure, Husker Du, Bad Religion, so on and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/93 "2005-03-18T20:08:15Z")
Why does it seem to be a characteristic of the eighties that almost all the good stuff wasn’t on the radio? I don’t recall this being said about another decade but it seems to have become a mantra here. What’s up with that? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/94 "2005-03-18T20:11:35Z")
Well, to be fair, almost all the good stuff from the 1700s wasn’t on the radio either. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/95 "2005-03-18T20:14:36Z")
I don’t think I’m making myself clear enough. Please, gentle readers, allow me to try again. The period of time between 24:00, Dec 31st, 1979 to 00:00 Jan 1st, 1990: sucked. The music sucked, the people sucked, the culture sucked, the clothing sucked, the food sucked, the arts: sucked. Every conceivable aspect of every conceivable action that occured (or could conceivably have occured), in that period of time: sucked. Every thought: sucked. Every word issued by every person, and even the incoherent babbles of newborns: sucked. Every sound emitted by every animal, plant and insect on the planet: sucked. The rotation of the planet was thrown completely off, purely because of the mass of the suckiness during the decade. If you look up ‘sucked’ in the dictionary, it says: see 1980 - 1989. It’s not possible for anything good at all to have come from that decade. Why? Oh, that’s easy! please allow me to explain: It sucked. Thank you for your time. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/96 "2005-03-18T20:17:07Z")
Damn! :smack: I keep forgetting about them. (All those past lives are just so hard to keep up with, y’know?) ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/97 "2005-03-18T20:18:33Z")
> [@mattmorgan64](#): > > The rotation of the planet was thrown completely off, purely because of the mass of the suckiness during the decade. I investigated your claim, and I see no scientific basis for it. Care to cite your sources? ---
**Author:** ![mattmorgan64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@mattmorgan64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmorgan64)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/98 "2005-03-18T20:20:34Z")
> [@Scott\_plaid](#): > > I investigated your claim, and I see no scientific basis for it. > > Care to cite your sources? Actually, I made that one up. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/99 "2005-03-18T20:21:08Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > Why does it seem to be a characteristic of the eighties that almost all the good stuff wasn’t on the radio? That’s the real question, idnit? In the 80s I pretty much stopped listening to radio altogether and really never went back. Now there are some decent stations in my area that play pretty good retro, 90’s “alternative”, and some actual variety in new music. That wasn’t the case back then, when you couldn’t turn the dail without getting an earful of Wang Chung or Mike and the Mechanics. It was the era when ZZ Top betrayed the blues and Phil Collins got more air than Peter Gabriel. Yeeesh. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093/100 "2005-03-18T20:22:19Z")
Uh, the above was in response to **andros**. And **matt** , I agree with you almost entirely. However, my daughter was born in 1980, and she contributed many amusing and touching moments to what otherwise was a very, very, sucky decade. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-the-80s/295093.md?page=6)