Popular Post ChrisL Posted February 8 Popular Post Share #1 Posted February 8 I’m listening to a playlist of New Wave hits from 1981 and it’s giving me some nice and not so nice memories. In 1981 I was a freshman/sophomore in HS. My dad was dealing with terminal cancer & died that June. I spent the summer surfing nearly every day while my mom dealt with her grief by leaving for Holland. I basically lived alone much of that year and truth be told my mom never really was herself until after I left for the Army. My cousins would hang out and we would live like teenage bachelors, eating crap, fishing, surfing, listening to music and basically goofing off. Any key memories from the year 1981? 2 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted February 8 Share #2 Posted February 8 2 minutes ago, ChrisL said: I’m listening to a playlist of New Wave hits from 1981 and it’s giving me some nice and not so nice memories. In 1981 I was a freshman/sophomore in HS. My dad was dealing with terminal cancer & died that June. I spent the summer surfing nearly every day while my mom dealt with her grief by leaving for Holland. I basically lived alone much of that year and truth be told my mom never really was herself until after I left for the Army. My cousins would hang out and we would live like teenage bachelors, eating crap, fishing, surfing, listening to music and basically goofing off. Any key memories from the year 1981? Sorry about the loss of your dad but glad you had that outlet to deal with it. I used to go run to deal with shit and then I used to go for a hammer fest on a bike once I discovered road bikes. Now I eat. Need to get back to the old ways What is your favorite 80s' band? Mine were Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, YAZ, B-52s, 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep_herder ★ Posted February 8 Share #3 Posted February 8 The was the year we moved from College Station to Burns in Eastern Oregon. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted February 8 Author Share #4 Posted February 8 6 minutes ago, jsharr said: Sorry about the loss of your dad but glad you had that outlet to deal with it. I used to go run to deal with shit and then I used to go for a hammer fest on a bike once I discovered road bikes. Now I eat. Need to get back to the old ways What is your favorite 80s' band? Mine were Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, YAZ, B-52s, OMG I don’t know that I could pick one. Heavy on my turntable was English Beat, The Specials, Madness, The Jam, Police, (I was really into the Ska movement). But I liked the Pretenders, Clash, Tears For Fears… Once I left for the Army I listened to more rock & classic rock. I think I was kinda like @groupw who had really diverse music interests. But in 1981 it was heavy ska. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted February 8 Share #5 Posted February 8 Beat and then General Public were awesome. Anything from Factor was pretty badass. I was into Rockabilly along with new wave. The Blaster, The Polecats, The Rave Ups. Also into Devo and The Tubes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted February 8 Share #6 Posted February 8 22 minutes ago, ChrisL said: I’m listening to a playlist of New Wave hits from 1981 and it’s giving me some nice and not so nice memories. In 1981 I was a freshman/sophomore in HS. My dad was dealing with terminal cancer & died that June. I spent the summer surfing nearly every day while my mom dealt with her grief by leaving for Holland. I basically lived alone much of that year and truth be told my mom never really was herself until after I left for the Army. My cousins would hang out and we would live like teenage bachelors, eating crap, fishing, surfing, listening to music and basically goofing off. Any key memories from the year 1981? I think that's the year Reagan was shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted February 8 Share #7 Posted February 8 17 minutes ago, jsharr said: Sorry about the loss of your dad but glad you had that outlet to deal with it. I used to go run to deal with shit and then I used to go for a hammer fest on a bike once I discovered road bikes. Now I eat. Need to get back to the old ways What is your favorite 80s' band? Mine were Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, YAZ, B-52s, I have tickets to see Echo in June. I saw them three times in the 80s. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted February 8 Author Share #8 Posted February 8 5 minutes ago, jsharr said: Beat and then General Public were awesome. Anything from Factor was pretty badass. I was into Rockabilly along with new wave. The Blaster, The Polecats, The Rave Ups. Also into Devo and The Tubes I saw the Blasters live in 83 or 84 (pre army). They were awesome! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted February 8 Share #9 Posted February 8 Without me searching the 'Net, I don't even remember the music then. I did play the radio then. I was in 3rd yr. university but had transferred my studies, to a different university west of my home city. So it was adjusting living away from home and with my Malaysian-Chinese room mate who was doing her music major, with minor in math (not surprising blend), plus hanging out with rich peers from Hong Kong on campus. They lived in such a different world than I. I started to volunteer work for a few hrs./wk. off-campus, at a resource centre for info. on Third World countries..history, current affairs. I needed to expand my brain, from a fairly conservative, at that time, Anglo city....very different from my home city, German-Mennonite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoseySusan Posted February 8 Share #10 Posted February 8 My great aunt had given my mom a box of used Harlequin romance novels, so I read romance novels and went swimming all summer long. That’s about all I remember from ‘81. My first year of high school and the debate team, too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groupw Posted February 8 Share #11 Posted February 8 81 I was into Ska, New Wave, starting into Rockabilly and just music that wasn’t over produced. I was waiting tables at Valentino’s and had just started dating the soon to be WoW by the end of the summer. I would drive to Dustys Records in Kearney every payday to buy 2 LP’s. Dusty often had things waiting for me on the counter and never steered me wrong. I went to work for him when he opened his 2nd store. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post petitepedal ★ Posted February 8 Popular Post Share #12 Posted February 8 My mom died in September of 1981..I was in my last couple of semesters of college..officially met class requirements after winter semester internships, but took a class that spring while I went to counseling..dealing with my sister(lots of mental health issues) and my mom's estate...I don't really remember what songs were big for me that year.. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post maddmaxx ★ Posted February 9 Popular Post Share #13 Posted February 9 2 hours ago, ChrisL said: I’m listening to a playlist of New Wave hits from 1981 and it’s giving me some nice and not so nice memories. In 1981 I was a freshman/sophomore in HS. My dad was dealing with terminal cancer & died that June. I spent the summer surfing nearly every day while my mom dealt with her grief by leaving for Holland. I basically lived alone much of that year and truth be told my mom never really was herself until after I left for the Army. My cousins would hang out and we would live like teenage bachelors, eating crap, fishing, surfing, listening to music and basically goofing off. Any key memories from the year 1981? My youngest son was born in 1981. Womaxx woke me up in the middle of the night and said "I'm in labor, let's go to the hospital". (30 miles away) At the first stop light near our house the light went red and womaxx said "run it". We made the trip in under 30 minutes on rural back roads. I handed her off to an attendant at the ER door and went to park the car. About 3 min later I entered the ER and the receptionist said "get up to maternity righ now. They are expecting you" There is a young nursing student waiting at the elevator door in maternity. She throws a set of greens at me and says "hurry up or your going to miss it" Son is born 15 min after we arrive. 10+ lbs and came out like a cannonball. 2 4 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted February 9 Share #14 Posted February 9 Musically, I think I was listening to AC/DC Back in Black and For Those About to Rock and the Kinks Give the People What They Want in 1981. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted February 9 Share #15 Posted February 9 I started dating the future WoBG in the summer of 81. I also purchased a 1981 Z28 Camaro for my fun car. My daily driver was a 1979 Chevy Citation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted February 9 Share #16 Posted February 9 I was settling into my job and bachelor life. Was listening to Elvis Costello Talking Heads, Blondie, Pat Benatar, etc. I really got hooked on mtv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted February 9 Share #17 Posted February 9 I was in JR High. I'm pretty sure those are the years AC/DCs Back in Black came out. Journey's Escape seemed to be big too. I dunno. Just a dumb kid then. Not much has changed really. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted February 9 Share #18 Posted February 9 16 hours ago, ChrisL said: Any key memories from the year 1981? I turned 11 in 1981. Not too much to remember other than just being a kid. What grade is 11? I think the end of 5th grade for me, so in 1981, I was changing from elementary (Penn Valley) 5th grade to middle school (St Margaret's) for 6th in the fall. That was pretty big, I guess. Meeting a bunch of new kids. It was pretty fun. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted February 9 Share #19 Posted February 9 16 hours ago, ChrisL said: Any key memories from the year 1981? I was in first/second grade, so very few Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rattlecan ★ Posted February 9 Share #20 Posted February 9 That was two years before my son was born. I was hauling steel and farm machinery from home base within about a thousand mile radius. Listening mostly to country in those days. Not so much now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted February 9 Share #21 Posted February 9 17 hours ago, ChrisL said: Any key memories from the year 1981? I was living on the funny farm with my wife and son Daniel. It was similar to the Hainey place but with a much bigger house and wonderful privacy. I have many fond memories from living on that farm. We adopted our second son John while living there. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Silly Posted February 9 Share #22 Posted February 9 I graduated HS in '81. I was fired in May from the gas station I worked at for giving discounts on gas to a girl I liked so I spent the summer dicking around before goring to college. I had a friend who had a job inventorying repossed cars. He'd pocket the weed he'd find. We had a lot of free weed that summer. As far a music goes, The new wave music I liked included Blondie, Devo, XTC and Peter Gabriel. The hippie music I like was Neil Young and the Grateful Dead. The Blues Brother's sound track was on heavy rotation too. 17 hours ago, jsharr said: Also into Devo A couple years later, my friends and saw Devo at the Fox Theater in Detroit. The theater was constructed before the depression and is very ornate. We were seated on the far side the 4th or 5th row. For some reason no one else was in our row. As you an see, the stage is flanked by a Buddha on either side of the stage. During the song, ‘Jocko Homo’, the ‘Are We Not Men? We Are Devo’ song, the lights went down and the band kept playing. Then a spot light flipped on and shown on the lead, Mark Mothersbaugh, reclining in the lap of the Buddha that was right in front of us. He started singing the, ‘Are we not men?’ part and the audience would respond, ‘We are Devo’. Great fun. He then climbed down off Buddha and went into the audience. He probably chose our row because it was mostly empty. He ran down our row and when he got to me sang, ‘Are we not men?’ then put the mic to my face and I sang back, ‘We are Devo’. He continued down the row did the same with my friend. It was probably the best concert moment of my life. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris... Posted February 9 Share #23 Posted February 9 1981. Ft. Lauderdale 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickinMD ★ Posted February 9 Share #24 Posted February 9 On 2/8/2024 at 5:40 PM, ChrisL said: I’m listening to a playlist of New Wave hits from 1981 and it’s giving me some nice and not so nice memories. In 1981 I was a freshman/sophomore in HS. My dad was dealing with terminal cancer & died that June. I spent the summer surfing nearly every day while my mom dealt with her grief by leaving for Holland. I basically lived alone much of that year and truth be told my mom never really was herself until after I left for the Army. My cousins would hang out and we would live like teenage bachelors, eating crap, fishing, surfing, listening to music and basically goofing off. Any key memories from the year 1981? 1981 is the reason I don't consider gold to be a good investment and is why I distrust any of the lying bastards advertising gold for sale. I remember that gold hit $831 in 1981 and there used to be a TV commercial where a man looked down from a skyscraper window on Wall Street and said, "$2000 an ounce for gold. Can you imagine?" I told friends, "If gold is going up to $2000 soon, why does that guy want to sell it to us for $831? If society collapses, how long do you think you'll life after rogues learn you're buying things with gold?" It took several decades, but that $831 ounce of gold is worth a near-record $2037.30 right now. Of course, if you had put that $831 in an S&P 500 Index Fund, it would be worth $33,112 now. I think of that 1981 ad when I see that coin ad today where you can get a coin for $9.95 that is "clad in 14 mg of pure gold" but buy now: the price of gold is changing and $9.95 can't be guaranteed. Since there are 28,350 mg per oz, that's 14/28350 oz and worth $1.01. Yeah, the price of gold is going to make a big difference in the price! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Far ★ Posted February 10 Share #25 Posted February 10 Wo2 & I flew to South Africa. On the first day of the air traffice controllers strike. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted February 10 Share #26 Posted February 10 14 hours ago, 2Far said: Wo2 & I flew to South Africa. On the first day of the air traffice controllers strike. 😲 How long we’re you stuck there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentonMakes Posted February 10 Share #27 Posted February 10 I turned 9 in 1981. I remember '82 as the year I started listening to "my own" music (and bought my first albums), so 1981 was my last year of always just hearing the same station my parents listened to. Not much in the way of specific memories - I guess 1982 would have spanned 4th and 5th grade, with my two favorite elementary school teachers, Mrs. Sheldon and Mrs. Schultz. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Far ★ Posted February 10 Share #28 Posted February 10 4 hours ago, Longjohn said: 😲 How long we’re you stuck there? We moved there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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