Thursday, January 26, 2012

The 80's Are Back? + First Listen of Gotye


photo source

Scott has pointed out to me on several occasions that I tend to use the words "kind of 80's" or "that's pretty 80's" to describe things that are tacky, ugly, or undersireable. And at the risk of sounding JUST like my mom, when I see "those kids" (gosh I'm old) out there buying up poofy sleeved dresses from Forever 21, and wearing metallic spandex pants and whatnot, I can't help but think that there is a reason those things got left in the dust 30 years ago. I remember my mom being horrified when I fell in love with some vintage 70's pieces as a teen...she would say "ick. I had something just like that when I was younger". To which I replied, "why didn't you keep it mom???! You could have given it to me".

As a child of the 80's, it just doesn't hold the same romance that it does for older folks like my hubby (sorry baby), who graduated in '89. He remembers the stone washed pants with love, the hammer pants with nastalgia, the mullets with a chuckle. All I remember with a shake of the head are the bangs, the hairspray, the paint splashed crop-tops, the skinny jeans that zipped at the ankle with the little bows in back. The itchy fabrics and the preppy look. And lots of bad music. Nope, clothes-wise I'm definitely more of a 70's girl....I love the flowy skirts, the delicate tops, the floral designs, the bold colors--rusts, oranges, lime, yellows. And there's no denying my love for 90's girl bands/artists (can you say Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Juliana Hatfield, Fiona Apple, Alanis, Veruca Salt, Liz Phair, Portishead, the list goes on and on). I guess we all develop a soft spot for whatever was cool when we were 13, and it follows us around forever :)

Enough about that. This week I got my first listen of the new album by Gotye, "Making Mirrors", and was instantly teleported to the cooler version of the 80's or "the good 80's" as I'll now have to say. And while we've probably all sung at the top of our lungs to the Peter Gabriel-esque hit "Somebody That I Used To Know" (hey, who doesn't love a good breakup song?), I found the rest of the album to be interestly 80's-tastic.

If you're curious and don't want to cough up the dough to download it, check it out for free right now on NPR

Oh, and please--no hammer pants.

2 comments:

ladysherwood said...

I admit it. I totally bought skinny jeans for Carisma. She really wanted them. I think skinny jeans are stupid, but by now I am just an old mom in mom-jeans, so what do I know?

Erika said...

haha. I'm not against skinny jeans...just remembering the poufy on top, pleated jeans with the tight rolls or ultra-tiny zip-to-close ankles of my youth ;) Plus, you gotta indulge kids' fashion senses, even if you think they look silly. Everleigh loves her jeggings, so who am I to judge?