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What Do You Remember About the 80s?

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Newman

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  • #1
If you grew up in the 80s, you already know it was awesome. While I remember a lot of what made it so great, I'm also forgetting a lot. That's why I wanted to jot down a few of my favorite things here. I invite you to join in to list what you loved about the 80s so much as well. I'll also be updating this post as I remember things, which will hopefully happen.

- Parachute pants
- MTV
- Friday Night Videos
- Tape recorders
- Boom boxes
- Breakdancing
- Really fat shoelaces
- The A-Team
- BMX bikes
- Walking to school
- Music on tapes
- Radio was good
- The Betamax
- My Cabbage Patch doll
- Walkie Talkies
- Arcades
- Pac-Man
- Acid washed jeans
- Board games
- Michael Jackson
- Big hair
- Trapper Keepers
- Neon clothes
- Atari
- He-Man
- Matchbox cars
- E.T.
- Walkmans
- Swatch watches
- Nike hi-tops with big tongues
- Jean jackets
- Car stereos
- Hot rods
- Saturday morning cartoons (w/ bowl of Captain Crunch)
- Dialing only 4 numbers to call local
- WWF
- Real Halloween
- Music stores
- The mall
 
WendyMay

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  • #2
The Goonies
Risky Business
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The Breakfast Club
Stand By Me
Airplane!
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Sixteen Candles
Star Wars
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
Back to the Future
Pretty in Pink
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
National Lampoon's Vacation
Gremlins
The Karate Kid
Time Bandits
Wargames
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
St. Elmo's Fire
Footloose
Weird Science
Revenge of the Nerds
Top Gun
Real Genius
Dirty Dancing
Better Off Dead
 
KodyWallice

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  • #3
Not born in the '80s (was born in the '90s), but damn, I sure do love a lot of '80s movies and music over '90s ones. Most of what I could remember are attributed to those mediums though, movies and music:

- Movies with muscle-bound men like Arnold and Stallone movies
- Lots of quality music from artists like Cyndi Lauper, Bonnie Tyler, and of course, Michael Jackson
- A number of sci-fi movies that would come to define the decade's geek culture zeitgeist like Empire Strikes Back, The Terminator, Back to the Future, Aliens and Ghostbusters.
- TRANSFORMERS!
- Robocop
- Nightmare on Elm Street
- Friday the 13th

Basically, just lots of movies. lol
 
JGaulard

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  • #4
That's awesome. I'm sure you've got some good stuff in mind. I'm going to try to list some of what I can remember as the best music artists from the 80s. There are a lot of great artists, so I'm bound to forget some. A lot of what I liked too was in the 90s, but nothing can compare to the 80s when it comes to music. Also, there are some more esoteric groups and individuals that I like as well, but I'll keep this list to the mainstream stuff.

Michael Jackson - Probably the biggest name ever.
Madonna
A-Ha
Cyndi Lauper
Bon Jovi
Wham
The Human League
Whitney Houston
Van Halen
Men at Work
Journey
Duran Duran
Culture Club
Berlin
U2
Foreigner
Cutting Crew
George Michael
Pat Benatar
Prince
Def Leopard
Depeche Mode
AC/DC
Phil Collins
Billy Joel
Bryan Adams
Billy Idol
Mr. Mister
Twisted Sister
Bruce Springsteen
The Police
Guns N' Roses
Run-DMC
Metallica
Genesis
Iron Maiden
LL Cool J
The Cure
INXS
Motley Crue
Peter Gabriel
The Smiths
Eurythmics
The Cars
Beastie Boys
David Bowie
Ozzy Osborne
John Mellencamp
Chicago
Fleetwood Mac
Pet Shop Boys
Tears for Fears
Poison
Scorpions
Survivor
Rush
Slayer
Pink Floyd
Blondie
Ice-T
Sting
Toto
Boston
Simple Minds
Thompson Twins
Rick Springfield
Roxette
Annie Lennox
Spandau Ballet
Jefferson Starship
Steve Perry
Eddie Money
Europe
A Flock of Seagulls

Why do I feel like I'm forgetting about 90% of my favorites?
 
KodyWallice

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  • #5
By the way, I already edited that list of favorite movies into my previous post just now. lol In case you missed you, I'll post it in a new post instead:

Favorite '80s Movies
  1. The Fly (1986)
  2. Aliens
  3. The Terminator
  4. Predator
  5. A Nightmare on Elm Street
  6. An American Werewolf in London
  7. Back to the Future
  8. Creepshow
  9. Commando
  10. Grave of the Fireflies
Also, pop culture icons I forgot to mention:
  • Mad Max
  • Goonies
  • Scarface
  • My Neighbor Totoro
  • Raging Bull
  • The Shining
  • The Thing
  • Evil Dead
  • Big Trouble in Little China
  • Die Hard
  • Blade Runner
  • Footloose
  • Bon Jovi
  • AC/DC
Also, some of my favorite '80s music in no particular order:
  • Beat It - Michael Jackson
  • Thriller - Michael Jackson
  • The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
  • Material Girl - Madonna
  • La Isla Bonita - Madonna
  • Like A Prayer - Madonna
  • Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
  • Under Pressure - Queen and David Bowie
  • Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
  • Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
  • Don't Stop Believing - Journey
  • Conga - Gloria Estefan
  • Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
  • I Want to Know What Love Is - Foreigner
  • (I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight - Cutting Crew
  • Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship
  • Maniac - Michael Sembello
  • Never - Moving Pictures
  • Let's Hear It for the Boy - Deniece Eilliams
  • Sussudio - Phil Collins
  • Uptown Girl - Billy Joel
 
JGaulard

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  • #6
This is great. I was totally going to do songs too. I now have to really pick through some of my favorites, which is going to bring me into that esoteric list. I guess I don't have to list everything, but a good sampling would be nice.

By the way, my favorite songs from your list are:

Michael Jackson - Thriller
Don't Stop Believing - Journey
Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
Nothing's Going to Stop Us Now - Starship
Let's Hear It for the Boy - Deniece Eilliams
 
KristinaW

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  • #7

Have All Roller Skating Rinks Closed?​

I remember back when I was a kid, roller skating rinks were all the rage. I used to live in Danbury, Connecticut and Rollerland was a big place to go roller skating. I think I went there back in 1984 for a school trip and that's when I saw Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video for the very first time. The long one. Everyone in the place stopped skating to watch the video. What an incredible memory to have.

I was just wondering the fate of all the roller skating rinks that used to exist. I know Rollerland and Rollerworld in Connecticut are now closed, but what happened to all the rest? I was watching some videos on YouTube last night about roller skating in the 80s and it seems like everyone loved it. How can something like that just die off? Why did the enthusiasm for skating disappear?
 
KodyWallice

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  • #8
KristinaW said:
I remember back when I was a kid, roller skating rinks were all the rage. I used to live in Danbury, Connecticut and Rollerland was a big place to go roller skating. I think I went there back in 1984 for a school trip and that's when I saw Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video for the very first time. The long one. Everyone in the place stopped skating to watch the video. What an incredible memory to have.

I was just wondering the fate of all the roller skating rinks that used to exist. I know Rollerland and Rollerworld in Connecticut are now closed, but what happened to all the rest? I was watching some videos on YouTube last night about roller skating in the 80s and it seems like everyone loved it. How can something like that just die off? Why did the enthusiasm for skating disappear?
From what I hear, while skating rinks used to be very popular, there's sort of a comeback with them. New ones are actually being built right now. I guess people still want to skate.

I think real estate prices, utilities, and property taxes closed many rinks down. It's the same thing that happened to so many nightclubs. People are only willing to pay a certain price to go skating and if the rink raises those prices to coincide with their costs, they'll lose all their customers. The only option for many of these places is to close down and move to locations where it's less expensive to do business. And I think that's what they've done.

If you think about it, this is what the rinks were and are up against. A decent sized rink is about 30,000 square feet. The building to house that costs millions, not to mention all the expenses that are incurred inside. Outside, parking needs to be expansive as well with parking lots that need to hold 500 cars. If someone wanted to open up a skating rink in a popular location, they'd have to fork over millions per acre of bare land and then pay the property taxes on it. It's just too much. Especially since not that many people go skating anymore.

I don't really want to get into how absolutely horrible today's music is, but I guess I can't avoid it. Roller skating became popular in the disco era when people enjoyed "dancing" to their music. If a rink were to open today, they'd have to rely on 70s and 80s music to keep the vibe going. They couldn't use today's music. And since not too many in the younger generations know of 80s music, there wouldn't be the draw that once was.
 
15Katey

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  • #9
Not to mention the onset of roller blades. The only places I used to be able to use my four wheel skates was at the rink. When roller blades came out, people began skating anywhere, which was a huge threat to the rinks. I'm sure that didn't help the finances any.

Here are a few links that can offer a heck of a lot more information than I can:

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/05/whatever-happened-to-roller-skating/362100/
https://excelrollerrinkconsultants.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/the-rise-and-downfall-of-roller-skating/
https://nypost.com/2020/06/05/roller-skating-surges-in-popularity-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/
https://www.northeastohioparent.com/blogger/whatever-happened-to-roller-skating/
https://www.footfiles.com/wellness/...history-of-roller-skating-12-surprising-facts

'80s Skate Night


Columbus' Adult Roller Skating Scene

 
Phoenix1

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  • #10

What Happened to New York Nightclubs?​

For the past few evenings, I've been scouring YouTube for stuff from the good ol' days in and around New York City. I grew up around the area and can remember when every other commercial on Hot97 was for a nightclub, either in the city itself, on Long Island, or in New Jersey somewhere. There were tons and tons of clubs and I frequented many of them. This is during the late 80s to early 90s. Dance music was the thing and people couldn't get enough of going out. Let's just say that times were great. I miss those days so much.

Here, check this out. If you're not from the tri-state area, you're in for a treat. We had some of the best radio and DJs around, from KTU to Hot97 to Z100 to WPLJ. I can remember passing people on the highway (684), watching them as they'd be bee-bopping their heads up and down to whatever they were listening to on the radio.


I can remember going to Polo's in Brewster, NY, north of NYC. And then it turned into Soho's and Streets North. I also went to Streets in New Rochelle and the Ivy in Greenwich, CT. When I was much younger, I went to Images in Brewster. That was a teen club in the attic of the Barn Mall, if anyone remembers that. There were tons of clubs all around. They're all closed. Even Tuxedo Junction in Danbury, CT is closed. But even more astounding is the closure of so many of the larger clubs down closer to the city. Clubs like the Palladium in NYC, Hunka Bunka in Sayreville, New Jersey, the Roseland Ballroom in NYC, the Limelight in NYC, CBGB in NYC, and the Tunnel in NYC. Still open is Webster Hall down on East 11th Street, but how long will that remain? Who knows.

There are so many things that factor into their closings and the general decay of good music around the world. My problem is, I can't figure out which factor came first or if everything occurred at the same time. Did music begin to suck and there was nothing to inspire people to go out? Did rents rise so much that clubs had to close, which sucked the life out of music because no one had anywhere to put on a live act? Did people just not buy music anymore because they weren't into it? Did Napster kill the music scene? I even read that Mayor Giuliani put a damper on things because he had the cops crack down on underage drinking. I don't know what to believe. All I know is that everything had an effect and we're left in 2020 with nothing to listen to on the radio and no place to go out and dance. Is the dance club gone for good? If not, I have no idea what any DJ would play to get the vibe going. Have you looked at the Top 40 charts lately? They're pathetic.

I'll link to a few pages that I found that have to do with this subject. If you know anything or have any input though, I'd love to hear from you.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTop..._so_what_happened-New_York_City_New_York.html

https://www.vice.com/en/article/bjjdzq/how-mayor-giuliani-decimated-new-york-city-nightlife

http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-york-city/54058-blast-past-early-80s-90s-nyc-8.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nightclubs_in_New_York_City

https://medium.com/cuepoint/no-sleep-nyc-nightlife-flyers-1988-to-1999-5442e4a7d52c
 
CampFireJack

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Best New Wave/Romantic Music Artists Ever​

I already have a feeling that this thread is going to go on for miles and I really hope it does. We all have our favorite bands and artists, so I highly doubt that you will agree exactly with what I list here. That's why I would love it if you chimed in to let me know what your favorite all-time New Wave or New Romantic artists and bands are. I'll get the ball rolling down below, but you should totally add to it.

Before I begin though, I think it might be helpful to define what New Wave and New Romantic are. These names are part of two different music scenes in the 1970s and 1980s, but there's a lot of crossover between the two of them. I actually wasn't aware that New Romantic was a thing until I began delving into what I liked best. I kept looking up New Wave bands and what I found didn't quite hit the nail on the head. But when I began researching New Romantics, yes, that's when I found what I loved most. Some of those groups are simply incredible and so, so good.

I'm going to link to both Wikipedia pages for these music genres, so you can take a look at them for yourself. Then, I'll give you a few definitions that resonate with me. It's quite challenging to accurately define such things, but I'll do my best. Tell me if you agree with me or not. You can offer your own definitions too if you'd like.

New Wave: Okay, so here it is. New Wave isn't just one type of music. It's a bunch of different types that overlap one another. The name stems from the late 70s and early 80s era and encompasses the edges of both rock and pop. You see, when someone creates music, they don't choose a genre and then confine themselves within it. It's actually quite the opposite. The artist first creates the music and then hunts down a genre or genres to fit their music into. And sometimes that's a challenge. So if someone produced a punky rock pop song in 1980, they'd likely call it something along the lines of New Wave. This genre is known as being post-punk. It typically includes electronics, creative visuals, and synthesizers. Some say that New Wave is a combination of power pop, synth-pop, ska revival, and other forms of post-punk, but not necessarily confined to those genres I just listed.

If you're like me, in your late 40s, you were introduced to New Wave by MTV. And really, most of what I probably consider New Wave isn't even in the most pure sense. Examples of the more purist New Wave bands/artists are XTC, Gary Numan, and some from the underground late 70s music scene in the UK. What I consider New Wave to be is much more American styled. Bands like Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, and INXS to name a few. Totally A Flock of Seagulls and OMD. So yeah, New Wave is tough to pin down, but I'll tell you this: when I discuss this genre, I'm coming from the American viewpoint of someone who grew up right outside New York City, who listened to WPLJ, Hot 97, Hot 103, Z100, and the rest of those incredible music radio stations. I lived right outside one of the best music markets in the world, so that's what I know. I also know MTV, VH1, and Friday Night Videos. So that's my perspective. I love some New Wave bands and can't stand some others.

New Romantic: There is a lot that's said about New Romantic music, but this is what I think of it - how I can define it. It's sort of like a more gentle New Wave. Forget about that abrupt Punk style that can at times be hard on the ears and think more along the lines of smooth music that's really easy to listen to. Think Spandau Ballet, Boy George, Ultravox, and David Bowie. I like to think of The Church and China Crisis as being New Romantic. You can read up on this genre if you want. I'll tell you that it's all pretty confusing because it seems that people were simply tossing around new genres everywhere back in the early 80s. New Wave competed with New Romantic and Synthpop and so forth. And at the same time these genres were competing, many groups and individual artists belonged to many of them. It was crazy.
 
CampFireJack

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The Best New Wave Bands

I found a great list of New Wave bands and artists. I'll list it here and I'll bold the ones that I like the best. Again, some of the bands from this era I don't really care for but others I really do. They're my favorites. Also, I think some wouldn't actually consider many of these artists New Wave at all, but more of 80s pop. That's understandable. People from the UK would especially think this, I would say.

1. Talking Heads
2. Elvis Costello
3. The Police
4. Blondie
5. Eurythmics
6. Duran Duran
7. Tears for Fears
8. Depeche Mode
9. The Cars
10. Frankie Goes To Hollywood
11. a-ha
12. B-52's
13. The Psychedelic Furs
14. The Pretenders
15. Men at Work
16. INXS
17. The Fixx
18. Devo
19. Bananarama
20. Culture Club
21. A Flock of Seagulls
22. Simple Minds
23. Thompson Twins
24. XTC
25. Spandau Ballet
26. Pet Shop Boys
27. ABC
28. Thomas Dolby
29. Modern English
30. The Human League
31. Squeeze
32. Adam Ant
33. Howard Jones
34. Soft Cell
35. Berlin
36. Talk Talk
37. Level 42
38. The Jam
39. Gary Numan
40. New Order
41. OMD
42. Joe Jackson
43. Ultravox
44. Erasure
45. Midnight Oil
46. Naked Eyes
47. Nik Kershaw
48. Boomtown Rats
49. Dexy's Midnight Runners
50. The Motels
51. Planet P Project
52. The English Beat
53. Madness
54. Split Enz
55. General Public
56. Animotion
57. The Call
58. Paul Young
59. Missing Persons
60. Wall of Voodoo
61. Til Tuesday
62. The Vapors
63. Heaven 17
64. The Dream Academy
65. Falco
66. Dead Or Alive
67. Men Without Hats
68. Big Country
69. Bronski Beat
70. The Hooters
71. The Go Go's
72. Real Life
73. The Buggles
74. Bow Wow Wow
75. The Tubes
76. Peter Schilling
77. Oingo Boingo
78. Kajagoogoo
79. Swing Out Sister
80. Graham Parker & the Rumour
81. Timbuk 3
82. Wang Chung
83. The Members
84. Mr. Mister
85. Frida
86. Gene Loves Jezebel
87. The Power Station
88. The Specials
89. The Plimsouls
90. Information Society
91. Arcadia
92. Haircut 100
93. The Church
94. China Crisis
95. Icehouse
96. Tom Tom Club
97. The Sisters of Mercy
98. Ian Dury & The Blockheads
99. Big Audio Dynamite
100. Visage
 
CampFireJack

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  • #13
Best New Romantic Bands

And here are some of the best New Romantic bands. Now that I look at them, they mostly overlap with New Wave. That's pretty nuts. I'll include my current music collection down below so you can see what I'm into and I would consider myself into New Romantic more than New Wave. Again, I'll bold the ones I prefer most.

1. Duran Duran
2. Spandau Ballet
3. Adam & the Ants
4. Japan
5. Culture Club
6. Visage
7. The Human League
8. Ultravox
9. Heaven 17
10. ABC
11. Johnny Foxx
12. Soft Cell
13. Talk Talk
14. Pseudo Echo
15. A Flock of Seagulls
16. David Bowie
17. Roxy Music
 
CampFireJack

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And this is my partial music collection to date. I removed most regular ol' rock and pop albums I have in an effort to leave only the New Wave and New Romantic albums. I just wanted to get this out there to show you what awesome music is. I also wanted to mention that some of this music is listed under various other genres, such as Alternative Rock. That's not what I would have put them under, but who am I to argue?

18 New Wave Classics (Vol. 1)
A Flock of Seagulls (Wishing - The Very Best Of Disc 1 & 2) *
ABC (20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection - Best of ABC) *
a-ha (25 - The Very Best of a-ha Disc 1 & 2) *
Alphaville (First Harvest - The Best of Alphaville 1984 -1992) *
Big Dish (Rich Man's Wardrobe - Concise History Of) *
Bryan Ferry - Roxy Music (More Than This - The Best of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music) *
Camouflage (The Singles) *
China Crisis (Diary of a Hollow Horse) *
China Crisis (Wishful Thinking - The China Crisis Spectrum Collection) *
Cocteau Twins (Lullabies To Violaine [Disc 3] & [Disc 4]) *
Cutting Crew (The Best of Cutting Crew [1994]) *
David Bowie (Legacy Disc 1 & 2) *
Depeche Mode (The Singles 81]85 & The Singles 86]98 Disc 1 & The Singles 86]98 Disc 2) *
Duran Duran (All You Need Is Now Disc 1) *
Duran Duran (Astronaut)
Duran Duran (Greatest) *
Duran Duran (Red Carpet Massacre) *
Echo & the Bunnymen (Ballyhoo)
Echo & the Bunnymen (Do It Clean [An Anthology 1979-1987]) *
Faith Assembly (Shades of Blue) *
Frankie Goes To Hollywood (Welcome To The Pleasuredome + [2010 Deluxe Edition]) *
Gene Loves Jezebel (Voodoo Dollies- The Best of Gene Loves Jezebel) *
Go West (The Very Best of Go West Disc 1 & 2) *
Howard Jones (The Best of Howard Jones) *
Icehouse (The Best of Icehouse) *
Information Society (Information Society) *
INXS (The Very Best of INXS) *
Jimmy Somerville (Very Best Of [Bonus CD] Disc 1) *
Johnny Hates Jazz (Best of Johnny Hates Jazz) *
Morrissey (The Very Best of Morrissey Disc 1) *
Mr. Mister (Broken Wings - Best of Mr. Mister) *
New Order (Substance Disc 1) *
New Wave 80s (New Wave 80's [Madacy] Disc 1 & 2) *
Oingo Boingo (Best O' Boingo) *
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (The OMD Singles) *
Pet Shop Boys (Popart- The Hits 1985-2003 Disc 1 & 2) *
Pseudo Echo (Best Adventures) *
Psychedelic Furs (Greatest Hits) *
Red Flag (Naïve Art) *
Red Rockers (Good as Gold - Schizophrenic Circus) *
River Detectives (Saturday Night Sunday Morning) *
Simple Minds (The Best of Simple Minds Disc 1 & 2) *
Talk Talk (The Very Best of Talk Talk) *
Tears for Fears (Elemental) *
Tears For Fears (Songs From the Big Chair) *
Tears for Fears (Tears Roll Down - Greatest Hits 1982 -1992) *
The Adventures (The Sea Of Love) *
The Adventures (Theodore and Friends) *
The Bolshoi (Away...Best of the Bolshoi) *
The Church (Gold Afternoon Fix) *
The Church (Starfish) *
The Church (Under the Milky Way - The Best of the Church) *
The Fixx (Ultimate Collection) *
The Human League (A Very British Synthesizer Group - The Anthology [Deluxe Edition] Disc 1 & 2) *
The Icicle Works (Blind [Expanded Edition]) *
The Icicle Works (Icicle Works [Disc 2]) *
The Icicle Works (If You Want To Defeat Your Enemy Sing His Song) *
The Icicle Works (Live At The Town & Country Club 1986) *
The Icicle Works (Lost Icicles, Vol. 2 [Live]) *
The Icicle Works (The Icicle Works) *
The Icicle Works (The Small Price Of A Bicycle) *
The Jesus and Mary Chain (21 Singles 1984-1998) *
The Mission (Singles A's & B's [Disc 1 & 2]) *
The Ocean Blue (Beneath the Rhythm and Sound) *
The Ocean Blue (Cerulean) *
The Ocean Blue (The Ocean Blue) *
The Railway Children (Listen On - The Best of the Railway Children) *
The Smiths (The Very Best of the Smiths) *
The Stone Roses (The Very Best of the Stone Roses) *
The The (Soul Mining [Reissue]) *
The Wild Swans (Bringing Home the Ashes) *
Thompson Twins (Big Trash) *
Thompson Twins (Greatest Hits [Arista]) *
Toto (Africa - The Best of Toto Disc 1 & 2) *
Ultravox (The Very Best Of) *
Ultravox (Vienna + Bonus Disc) *
Pretty in Pink [Original Soundtrack] *

* = I own the CD. Otherwise I own the files.

------

TO PURCHASE

------

China Crisis: Working with Fire and Steel
Heyday by The Church
2 By 2: Expanded Edition by Blue Zoo
Southern Lands by Cetu Javu
Believe You Me or Platinum Collection by Blancmange (Lose Your Love, Don't Tell Me)
Some Kind of Wonderful Soundtrack
The Roaring Boys - House Of Stone
Roller Coaster: The Best of the Mighty Lemon Drops, 1986-1989
Vitamin Z
Twist of Shadows by Clan of Xymox
Wild Birds 1985-1995: Best Of Beggars Banquet Years by Peter Murphy
35: Collection 1985-2015 by ESSENCE
Lullabies To Violaine: Singles And Extended Plays 1982-1996 Vol.1 by Cocteau Twins
All Over England by Somewhere Over England
Still Looking for Heaven on Earth by Crazy House
OMD - Crush (Secret)
The Field Mice - Snowball
The Pale Fountains - From Across the Kitchen Table
When in Rome - When In Rome
The Sisters Of Mercy - Slight Case of Overbombing
The Big Supreme - Don't Walk
 
Phoenix1

Phoenix1

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  • #15
A few of my favorites from your personal list are:

- The Stone Roses - Rock
- The Railway Children - Alternative Rock
- The Ocean Blue - Indie Pop
- The Jesus and Mary Chain - Alternative Rock
- The Church - Alternative Rock
- China Crisis - New Wave/Synth Pop
- The Adventures - Rock/Pop
- River Detectives- Folk Rock
- Psychedelic Furs - New Wave
- Pseudo Echo - New Wave
- Gene Loves Jezebel- Rock
- Big Dish - Pop
- The Roaring Boys - Synth Pop
- The Pale Fountains - Quiet Pop, Jangle Pop, Sophisti-Pop, Indie Pop

I mean, there is some good stuff on that list. Some of it is extremely esoteric. For instance, The Roaring Boys, The Big Supreme, and The Pale Fountains? I haven't heard of them in years. They are excellent! I'm actually very glad I stumbled across this list. I also hope you don't mind that I added the genre/genres to each of the groups/artists that I like best. I thought that would help out with some of this genre mess. As you can see, many of these groups straddle the line of a few different genres. And I don't really agree with a couple of them. I guess it really depends on who you talk to.
 
CampFireJack

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  • #16
Check this out. I picked these two records up last year some time when I got hooked on the Roaring Boys and The Big Supreme. I don't even own a turntable yet and I'm thinking I may eventually buy one just to play these two pieces of vinyl. House of Stone and Don't Walk are insanely great songs. These 45 singles weren't easy to get my hands on either, as they're somewhat rare. A perfect start to my vinyl collection.

roaring-boys-the-big-supreme.jpg
 
JGaulard

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  • #17

Bull Moose for 80s Music​

Since moving to Maine, I have been to a number of Bull Moose locations. I go primarily for their used CD section. I like to look for any good 80s New Wave and New Romantic music I can find. Trust me, I've got a long list. Since I visit Bull Moose Entertainment so often, I figured I'd write out a list of their locations and phone numbers so I can find them easier the next time I would like to go. As of right now, there are 12 or 13 locations. I'll list them below, which will remind me which ones I've gone to. I'll also give a really quick review of those stores down at the bottom.

Maine

Brunswick
151 Maine Street
Brunswick, ME 04011
207-725-1289
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

North Windham
Windham Shopping Center
771 Roosevelt Trail
North Windham, Maine 04062
207-893-1303
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

Waterville
80 Elm Plaza
Waterville, ME 04901
207-861-5884
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

Sanford
Center For Shopping
1364 Main Street
Sanford, ME 04073
207-324-5786
Open 10 AM to 6 PM Daily

Portland
151 Middle Street
Portland, Maine 04101
207-780-6424
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

Bangor
Maine Square Mall
683 Hogan Road
Bangor, ME 04401
207-262-0410
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

Scarborough
456 Payne Road
Scarborough, ME 04074
207-885-9553
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

Mill Creek
219 Waterman Drive
South Portland, Maine 04106
207-347-2400
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

Lewiston
Lewiston Mall
20 East Avenue
Lewiston, ME 04240
207-784-6463
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

New Hampshire

Portsmouth
82-86 Congress Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
603-422-9525
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

Salem
419 So. Broadway
Salem, NH 03079
603-898-6254
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

Keene
West St Shopping Plaza
401B West St.
Keene, NH 03431
603-354-3591
Open 10 AM to 9 PM Daily

My Bull Moose Store Reviews

The Bull Moose store in Brunswick is good. It's the smallest of all the stores I've been to, but Brunswick is a cool town and it's a fun store to visit. If memory serves, the music section is right near the entrance and then movies and video games are in the back. There wasn't a huge section for used 80s CDs, but I'd still go back every so often to see what they have in stock. I feel like this store is more boutique than the others, which adds some interesting atmosphere to it. To see a picture of the outside of this store, check out my blog post on it. I took a photo and posted it.

The second store I've been to is the Bull Moose in Bangor. This one is really big and it's got lots of stuff in it. I think this one actually had the largest used CD section of them all. As a matter of fact, the entire music section is huge and there are even lots of vinyl records. Some of them are used too. So really, you're getting lots of used 80s CDs and tons of used records. I love records and really want to get into collecting them someday. If you visit my blog post on this store, you'll see lots of photos of the inside. I really enjoyed visiting this location.

NOTE: One thing I want to mention before I continue. When purchasing used CDs, make sure to take a look at them for any scratches. If there are any, mention that to the person checking you out. They have a machine there that polishes the CD and it removes the scratches so they look brand new. It's pretty awesome.

The Bull Moose in Waterville was pretty large too. As far as I can remember, it was about the same size as the Bangor store and the Lewiston store. We had to go down to Waterville to visit Home Depot and Harbor Freight Tools, so we decided to go to Bull Moose as well. The plaza in which this store is located is right next to Home Depot, so it's easy to get to. It's right off 95. Their used CD section is extensive and I believe that sell records too. Some new and some used. What I'm seeing is that many older bands are now releasing their music on vinyl so you can actually buy it brand new as opposed to used, which is very cool.

Finally, I've gone to the Lewiston store. Again, this is a big one and it's got tons of stuff. It's located in a plaza that's not busy at all, so there's lots of available parking. And like the other large stores, this one's got books, CDs, movies, video games, and vinyl records. Pretty much everything is offered used too, but I'm not so sure about the books. From what I saw, those were all new. But yeah, this store has a really large used CD section that was a lot of fun to browse through. Just some advice for you; make sure you bring a music list with you. They organize their music by genre and then alphabetically, so it's pretty easy to look though. But trust me, your mind will go blank the minute you walk through the door.

Have you ever visited any of the Bull Moose Entertainment locations in either Maine or New Hampshire? If so, what did you think of them? Which is your favorite? Let me know.
 
Cameron

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  • #18

Not 80s, but Still...​

Huge Joe Bonamassa Fan​

Since the year 2000, not much in the way of good music (to me) has been produced. I can remember driving down the highway in the early 2000s listening to a report on the radio that Metallica was suing people for illegally downloading their music on Napster. Remember Napster? That was the popular file sharing website where people would "share" their music with others. What that actually meant was that people would either download music or buy CDs and rip them to upload the files to the service. Then, anyone, anywhere could download any music they wanted to. It was a free for all and the music industry nearly went bankrupt because of it. And artists no longer made the money they deserved. I'm not sure if this was the impetus for the horrible music because there was some pretty bad stuff coming out before that, but I'll tell you that it's only gotten worse since. And what they're producing today is just insane. I recently browsed the Billboard Top 100 listings for new music and I was left nearly speechless. Names like Jawsh 685 x Jason Derulo, Pop Smoke Featuring Lil Baby & DaBaby, and Juice WRLD x Marshmello populated the screen. I mean, seriously? Is this the best we've got? Whatever happened to power bands like U2, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, and Pink Floyd? You know, bands who actually made their music, practiced it, and took over the world? Have you ever seen a U2 concert? It's like nothing else. They made people cry. I'm not sure if Pop Smoke and Lil Baby ever made anyone cry. If you've never seen U2 play, I encourage you to watch this video. It'll open your eyes.


Well, such is life. I suppose people like this don't exist anymore. Well, there is one artist who exists and who is making remarkable music this very day. But before I get to him, I'd like to offer you another video of an incredible man. His name is Phil Collins. This is real music. Watch the entire video.


Let's move on to the best musician to stand on a stage today. There's no comparison. This man puts almost everyone else to shame in 2020 and has been doing so for the past decade. Mr. Joe Bonamassa may very well be the best guitarist in the world at this moment and his singing ain't bad either. It's actually very, very good, which is simply mesmerizing.

I was first introduced to Joe Bonamassa in 2012 when I first began learning how to play the guitar. I searched YouTube for "guitar" and one of his videos was the third result. At the time, he hadn't played at too many venues, but he did play at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which is where I saw him play Woke Up Dreaming, Last Kiss, and

Woke Up Dreaming


Last Kiss


Ballad of John Henry


Royal Albert Hall Documentary & Concert

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQWq-qeqlPo

You can't touch this kind of music. What truly moves me about Joe is actually his fans. When I watch his videos. I see that his fans are around the average age of 50 years old. That's such a wonderful thing. Such class. Such grace. Such beautiful music.

Joe has come a long way in the past decade. He's played a countless number of venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Royal Albert Hall (again) in London, and the Vienna Opera House in Austria. If you're interested, here's another version of Woke Up Dreaming, but this time from Carnegie Hall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM1M6p1fiUM

The songs I added above are some of my favorites, but there are some new favorites as well. I'll list them below.

Drive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euMNVyuqmwo

Mountain Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiMqvPYPvQ0

Mountain Climbing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qJ8bT3W1D0

While I wouldn't characterize myself as one of Joe's mega fans, because I recognize that there will always be a group of bigger fans than I could ever possibly include myself in, I would say that I'm a huge fan. I love Joe and I love his music. He's so down to earth and so very talented; such a rarity these days. And he's a true artist. Another rarity.

So far, I've got five of Joe Bonamassa's CDs. Mostly they're recorded from his concerts, but one is studio recorded. They are: Blues of Desperation, An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House, Live at Carnegie Hall, Live From New York - Beacon Theater, and Live From the Royal Albert Hall. I'll include some of the album covers below. I don't have the Royal Albert Hall one because I stupidly gave that one away to a friend after I ripped it. My mistake because I'd like it back.

joe-bonamassa-beacon-theater-cd-cover.jpg

joe-bonamassa-blues-of-desperation-cd-cover.jpg

joe-bonamassa-carnegie-hall-cd-cover.jpg

joe-bonamassa-vienna-opera-house-cd-cover.jpg

Are you a fan of Joe's? I'd love to know. How did you find him? Why do you like him? Have you ever gone to any of his concerts? You really need to fill me in.
 
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