1980s Pop Music and the Atomic Pleasure Dome
Saturated in apocalyptic fears of the atomic bomb, 1980s music was also danceable and transporting. How can something that was so horrible also be so much fun?
1980s
Summer 1981 and the Start of ’80s Music
“’80s music” is often a short-hand for radio-friendly pop songs that are New Wavey, synthy, maybe a little goofy, a little overproduced, ridiculously catchy.
Nöthin’ But a Good Time Parties Like It’s 1989
Nöthin’ But a Good Time takes readers on a loud tour of the monster decade of the ’80s, but not for the reasons you’d think.
20 ’80s Music Videos That Have Aged Terribly
In this third and final installment of our retrospective of music videos from the 1980s, we focus on 20 promos that the passage of time has been especially unkind to.
20 Unsung Music Videos of the 1980s
From major artists like the Clash, David Bowie, and U2 to less famous brethren such as Haysi Fantayzee and Grandmaster Caz, these are the unsung videos from that decade that might have missed your attention the first time around.
‘Lie With Me’: Beauty, Love and Toxic Masculinity in the Gay ’80s
How do we write about repression and toxic masculinity without valorizing it? Philippe Besson's Lie With Me is equal parts poignant tribute and glaring warning.
Before Ru Paul and Trixie Mattel There Was the Ball Circuit: ‘Paris Is Burning’
Told through the voices and movements of the legends and pioneers of the '80s Harlem drag-ball scene, Paris Is Burning is an indispensable look at one of America's most influential subcultures of the last half-century.
The 100 Greatest Alternative Songs of the ’80s
One of our most popular series ever, this 2015 list of the 1980s best "alternative" music has it all, from new wave to punk and post-punk to goth.
‘The Ultimate History of the ’80s Teen Movie’: It’s More Than Just the Brat Pack
A quiet revolution of women in the film industry, the rise of home video -- The Ultimate History of the '80s Teen Movie is about more than just Saturday Night Fever and The Breakfast Club.
Locked and Loaded: Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud Discuss Their Classic 1988 Hip-Hop Debut
Super Lover Cee & Casanova Rud's Girls I Got 'Em Locked exuded the right amount of urban flair, boyishly sly humour, and club appeal when it was released back in 1988.
On Susan Seidelman’s Film of Aimless Desire, ‘Smithereens’
The experiences you have in NYC are not the best experiences to be had, the sex you have is not the best sex, the friends you make are not the best of all possible friends—but they ought to be.