Not everything was better in the 1980s...

[Nitro Express]

It amazes me to read all this negative anti-80's stuff on a David Lee Roth website. Diamond Dave was the poster boy of that period and the wonderful party it all was. There certainly was more opportunity for musicians to make a living then. It really was a period of work hard and play hard. I don't see the people now having that kind of drive or fire. Everyone seems so beat down and wimpy now.

[Nitro Express]

Disco was gone in the by 1980/1981. The New Wave invasion was coming in. What specifically are you referring to?

Disco was smashed to bits by the reemergence of rock and roll. Punk rolled in. Rock bands like Van Halen rolled in. Even new interesting keyboard based weird stuff rolled in. All that sick disco and soft commercial rock of the 70's was gone. Vietnam was in the past. Carter and inflation were gone.

[DLR Bridge]

When people ask me what my favorite decade is, my automatic response is '75 to '85. Age 6 to 16 for me. The years of absolute zero responsibility. The 80's on the whole were pretty cool though. What I always wonder is why there are so many people today who still appear "stuck in the '80s" so to speak. What decade were people stuck in while the 80's were actually happening? The 50's? I can't recall.

[sonrisa salvaje]

What is funny is that there are people that would rather live in the current conditions and throw stones at the 80's. Are you fucking kidding me? Today's living is pure shit from politics to economics. Musically, we have entered a dark void from which there appears no escape. I'm sure there are aspects of today's society that i would take over other decades. If political correctness has led to a decrease in racism then i am all for it. However, i can't look at society today and and find too many ways in which we haven't gone backwards.

[Coyote]

A tinge of 1950's in the 21st century.

What an intimidating concept...

[BITEYOASS]

I don't know when this trend started or if it was due to digital recording, but a lot of rock albums starting in the mid 80's didn't have very much bass when you played them on the stereo. Maybe it was those shitty cassettes, I don't know.

[BITEYOASS]

Plus this whole family values BS didn't kick into high gear until around 85 or 86.

[jhale667]

Plus this whole family values BS didn't kick into high gear until around 85 or 86.

Yes, right after Tipper Gore heard "Darling Nikki" and got a tingle in her nether-region... "We have to do something about this music that makes me horny!!"

[Nitro Express]

Plus this whole family values BS didn't kick into high gear until around 85 or 86.

It kicked in about the same time the whole politically correct speech thing kicked in where we were supposed to all be equally boring and miserable. Now Dave would get in trouble for making fun of immigrant store owners and having confederate flags in his videos. California Girls would be called sexist now. The sweet spot of the 80's was certainly between 1980 and 1984. Some cheese rolled in after that and Sammy Hagar is the poster boy for it.

[Nitro Express]

Yes, right after Tipper Gore heard "Darling Nikki" and got a tingle in her nether-region... "We have to do something about this music that makes me horny!!"

Just a little ditty about the Chelsae Hotel lobby. Tipper Bore didn't know what was good for her.

[Kristy]

I think the issue here is that we always think the previous decade to our own just SUCKS. Cause it's cool to think that.

I'm sure the 80's were a great time for it was probably the most multi-faceted decade but it did spawn the likes of WHAM! and embarrassing shows like Growing Pains. The 90's weren't much better - probably the most dull decade from grunge to Brittany and the "00" decade? Not even historian can find anything remotely interesting to write about it. So it all goes back to the 80's where AIDS was the terrorism of the day and a mullet could get you laid. Can't say I am sad that I wasn't there.

[DONNIEP]

I was a teenager in the early 80s - and AIDS hadn't made its way down to the younger population yet. So the only way you'd die from sex is if you did it right, or if the chick's dad caught you!

The 80s was a great freaking time to be young. Overall the music, the clothes, the TV shows and movies - all great. Yeah, there were also douchebag yuppy guys running around with sweaters tied around their necks. But for the most part it was all bright, technicolor, fast and loud. Yes, it was excessive - but if a little bit's good then a whole lot is even better! And if you were young during that time you got to experience it all while you were free, no responsibilities and few consequences. And it was a great time to be a Van Halen and David Lee Roth fan! Nowadays, even with all our technology, we can't get one word out of Van Halen OR Dave. But back then all you had to do was turn on MTV. For a couple of years they ruled MTV, hell, Dave was on there so much he practically WAS MTV for a while.

[Nitro Express]

Oh I can remember being in biology lab where the professor said AIDS was going not only bankrupt the insurance industry but bankrupt whole nations. It never happened because of AIDS. The insurance industry just basically stole all the nation's money and broke it that way. The thing about the 80's is everyone could afford their health insurance, you didn't graduate from college a debtor slave, and you actually could save money, put it in a savings account and earn money on it. People weren't as lazy as they are now and more creative. It was considered shameful to live with mom and dad after graduating from high school.

[Nitro Express]

Come to think of it. Most the faggy shit in the 80's was coming out of the UK. Don't blame Wham! on us or Boy George or The Smith's.

[Little Texan]

What decade were people stuck in while the 80's were actually happening? The 50's?