Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with 80s

Modern VL-Tone?

dmd — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:24:53 -0800

What's the modern equivalent of a Casio VL-Tone? I've seen suggestions like the microKORG, MINIKP, and KAOSSILATOR, but that really doesn't capture the same segment. I'm looking for something appropriate for a 5 year old.

What was that "Make the Boomers PAY" commercial I saw as a kid?

Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:24:59 -0800

I remember this commercial from back in last century, about the youth putting their elders on trial, basically for leaving them an f'd-up world. I also remember it getting pulled from the airwaves for ruffling too many feathers. What was it? I remember the scene as being dark, with rows of kids looking down in judgment on this old man.

The prosecutor was this young blond boy, and his message, as I remember it, communicated "Your generation screwed things up! You pooched the environment, muddied the waters, befouled the air, saddled us with debt, all while living the high life.

"Now we have to deal with the mess you, our elders made before we were even born. What have you to say for yourself?"

And the old man stammers something like "Uh... we didn't know."

Those are my impressions. What was this, and am I remembering correctly that it got yanked for touching too many raw nerves?

And yes, I'm assuming the elder on trial would have been an old Boomer by the time depicted in the scene. Having read 13th Gen; Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail? is why I make that assumption. Just FYI.

what are 80s style foods?

askmehow — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:46:02 -0800

what are 80s style foods? I'm going to a conference next week in Las Vegas, the big sponsored party night features a performance by Huey Lewis and the News and promises 80s style foods -- what is that?

Please name this seemingly ungooglable 80s cartoon

Dormant Gorilla — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:00:52 -0800

What is this 80s cartoon about some possibly magical woman who lived under the ocean? Ok, this one's a bit of a longshot. Asking for a friend- google has failed us. There was a cartoon in the 80s- this is my friend's description verbatim: "some magical young woman dressed in white lived under the sea and some guy escorted her around the world under the ocean and mostly they ran away from pirates. She might have been part computer sort of. And there was a song called something like Pirates Under the Sea." And it was on Saturday morning cartoons.

I am going to go right ahead and apologize for the ridiculousness of this question but this is one of those things where if we don't figure it out it might come to blows. If anyone knows this I will buy you a popsicle.

The More You Know

Christ, what an asshole — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:13:29 -0800

I am looking for music that evokes the spirit of nostalgic, 70s-80s-era, variety show, Saturday morning cartoon, vintage game show-style aesthetics, like The Go! Team or...umm -- well, anything that sounds like TG!T really, then.

Track ID needed (late 80s/90s popular music) - Reward!

groovinkim — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:40:58 -0800

Track ID needed (late 80s/90s popular music) - Reward for the finder! I'll snail-mail a custom made present to anyone who finds this song.

Here's what I know about the song I'm trying to find.

- It was made in 1996 or earlier, and probably in the 90s.
- It's not by a "grunge-y" band
- It's made by a person/band that was relatively popular and well known, but the song itself is on the obscure side because it contains too much profanity/obscenity to receive radio play.
- It wasn't a hidden track on the album, just a normal track along with the rest
- It's intended to be sex-oriented and not relationship/love-oriented
- He doesn't remember it having featured prominently in any movies

Not much to go on :/

(For the curious, a friend who I'm flirting with said that there was a song a friend in high school played him when he was around 14-15 and if a woman ever sang him this song, he'd make out with them on the spot. It's not even a song that he particularly likes, he hasn't heard it in 10 years, and he doesn't own the album. But I've decided to make it a needle in a haystack personal mission.)

Help me find this dystopian movie!

sunshinesky — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:01:43 -0800

NameThisMovieFilter: Dystopian society of people living in a domed city, who don't leave their homes and spend a great deal of their time in their dream machines. -Before you suggest it, this is not logan's run
-Made in the 80s/early 90s?

Synopsis:
Humanity is dying out because of lack of contact with one another and one girl decides to break the rules and escape the dome. There are people living outside the dome, and romance ensues.

At some point, she challenges a man inside the dome who is the controller of the dream machines- he may or may not be her father, and there is some question as to whether her entire escape was simply a dream.

---

A friend of mine would like desperately to see this, and my googlefu is really failing me. It sounds pretty interesting, so I'd like to try to see it myself, if the hivemind might oblige and provide a name. Details may or may not be entirely correct, but I have no way of knowing, since I haven't seen it myself!

Thanks, hive!

Remember those t-shirts with the drawing of the sabra cactus wearing that funny Israeli hat?

AnyGuelmann — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:47:19 -0800

Were you a Jewish kid in the 70s/80s? Remember those t-shirts with the drawing of the sabra cactus wearing that funny Israeli hat? I'm trying to find that drawing. I think the cactus was some kind of mascot and had a name - or maybe it was just Sabra. It's not important, I just half remember it and would like seeing it again.

80s clothing

dmt — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 17:30:58 -0800

80s party costume suggestions Just like vegetableagony I’ve been invited to an 80s party. It’s my other half’s 40th so I’m going to have to look the part. My ideas thus far are Robert Smith from The Cure, an 80s rapper or full Top Gun flight-suit but before I hit the charity shops, I wondered if AskMe had any inspired suggestions.

Name That Outer Space 80s Black & White Adventure Game

Nelsormensch — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:51:35 -0800

Name-That-Game Filter: Trying to remember the name of a late 80s/early 90s black & white "adventure" game. Involved outer space. In grade 2 or 3 ('89-'90 ish), I remember playing a black & white "adventure" game on my school's Macs. I say "adventure" because it didn't have dialog, inventory or anything like that. Very much a Hypercard adventure, a la Myst.

It was in black & white, took place in outer space (sort of). I vaguely remember friendly, sorta cutesy aliens. Interaction was mainly going around a small planet with a house on it and other things of that nature. I don't remember there being any real kind of plot or goal, it was just roaming around from screen to screen.

This is kind of a weird longshot, but I'm hoping someone will remember the title (or at least have better Google Fu than me). My memory of it is pretty vague, but I might be able to remember other details if prompted. Thanks!

Name of the 80s soccer arcade machine?

n3rt — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:59:44 -0800

Does anyone remember the name of the 80s soccer coin-op arcade machine? It was of a similar size to a Gauntlet box, was up to four player and was a world cup type tournament. Sort of cartoon-y / manga-lite type of players; and my overriding memory of it is the scissor / bicycle kick. If it then exists in a PC/PS2/ROM collection so much the better! Thanks all.

TV Show with Obstacle Course from the Early 90s

xdeliriumx — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:34:24 -0800

TV Show Filter: Show from the early 90's or MAYBE mid to late 80's where the final part of the show was to go through a large obstacle course. More details inside. I remember watching this show with my aunt. The final part of the show (might have been the whole show?) was going through a large obstacle course. It was quite a large course they had to go through with some pretty cool obstacles.

MAY have been on Lifetime or a game show channel. Maybe just reruns were on these channels. May also have been on around the time as the early 90's version of super market sweep.

THIS IS NOT:
-Legends of the Hidden Temple
-Master of the Maze
-Double Dare
-The Crystal Maze

ID this weird video

Shohn — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:49:53 -0800

Please help my wife identify a music video from the eighties. My wife is trying to identify a video she remembers from the eighties. There's a story to it, and the protagonists are children who are dressed as older teenagers or young adults. The boy is the singer in a band, and she swears that he's wearing some sort of Frankenstein head apparatus. The girl seems to be a some sort of fifties style teeny-bopper. She comes to one of his shows at the beginning of the video, then they fall in love. Then there's some sort of drama which may involve him being a jerk. At the end of the video, it's another show in which he's singing and playing the guitar. She's sitting in the front row rocking a baby carriage, and has a weird zig-zag scar on her face.

There is absolutely nothing about this that rings any bells for me. I think she may be crazy, but I told her I'd ask you.

Thanks!

What was this musical cups game I played in the 80s?

c:\awesome — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:14:55 -0800

When I was little (think 80s), a neighborhood friend taught us a musical co-op game that was played with one plastic cup per person (maybe?), and at least 4 people (though it could go up much higher as long as the number were equal). Basically, it went like this:

You'd sit in a circle, so that there was always someone opposite you, and have a flat surface in front (a card table worked well for 4 people, picnic table for more) where the cups would lay, upside-down.

The first person would start with a *clap* *clap* of the hands, followed by three slaps on the table, one more *clap*, and then you'd pick the cup up with your left hand, slap it against your right hand, slap it on the table, pick it back up with your right, with maybe a few more claps or slaps in between, and pass it to the next person. The person on your left is doing this too, and pretty soon the entire table is clapping and slapping cups in unison to the beat.

There was no drinking involved.

Did anyone else play this? What was it called? Are there any videos online of this? Help!

What mystery needs a mirror to solve?

charlesv — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 19:44:44 -0800

Need help remembering the title of a line of young adult books from the 80s involving mysteries and requiring a mirror to solve. I hate this kind of "help me remember this book/song/tv show/whatever from the 70s/80s/90s" question. I really do. But I don't have anywhere else to look.

I'm looking for the name of a line of kids' books from the 80s that were sort of like Encyclopedia Brown, but the solutions were at the end were reversed so that you had to hold the book up to a mirror to see what happened.

This was spurred by, of all things, a Facebook posting about hearsay.

I'm glad I'm not from the 80's, but for one night I want to look like I am.

vegetableagony — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:02:06 -0800

In a month or so I'll be going to a pretty epic 80's themed college party. I need ideas for a costume/ where to get it. I've read up on some websites with suggestions, but I figured metafilter would have better taste. I am a thin white male. I am willing to pay up to $100 but would prefer less than that. I want it to be something Ic an dance in. Any suggestions on what to wear or where to get it?

80sFilter: Trying to find a late 80s song I think was titled "I V(W)ant To Be a Vampire"

branwen — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 09:04:21 -0800

80sFilter: Trying to find a late 80s song I think was titled "I V(W)ant To Be a Vampire" that was a parody of the Boys Don't Cry "I Wanna Be a Cowboy" I think it was on the Dr. Demento show rotation...but not positive. Tried searching his archives with no success.

Cave Aliens 2

lundman — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:05:06 -0800

Yet another 80s Scifi search! But as it happens, I remember the whole movie... ... possibly 70s even, but I would have watched it in the 80s. Starts with a ship docking with a station having obtained an "egg" of sorts, which is sold and bought in a market-style place on the station.
Eventually we leave on a different ship, with the "egg" on board. Naturally the egg starts to grow into a alien creature, albeit a stationary one (mit tenticles). The first scene is set in a galley or kitcheny area with the creature on the right, usually shot from Predator-cam-angle, and the first human to find it, who attacks and gets killed by the creature.

One by one humans are killed and I believe the spaceship ends up in technical difficulties. Eventually the creature learns to communicate with the onboard computer, comes across a moral-code of sorts (could be the bible, or something like the bible).

Eventually the creature and humans communicate via the computer terminal, and it becomes clear the alien only killed in self-defense as it was being attacked by the humans.
(the usual: what is THAT?! I don't know, but kill it!).

The 2 surviving humans (male and female afaik) and creature learn to cooperate, repair the ship, even play chess from memory.

It stood out to me as it had the rare plot of a friendly alien.

Watched it in Scandinavia, but thought it was in English

Multiple Mystery Songs

batmonkey — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:33:00 -0800

Three songs I'm looking for - various degrees of difficulty... Easy:
Song played frequently on KEXP 90.3 in Seattle in '07. A dude is going to head to his shack with his woman and smoke weed (he may have used euphemisms...damn my conceptual memory). Sure it's not "Shake the Shack Tonight" by Sid King & the Five Strings. Solo artist, I think, but could be wrong. Quite frequently played on Fridays, near rush hour. However, even my digging through the archived playlists isn't jogging my memory. I'll bet you're smarter than me & know it right off.

Medium:
House-ish song from the late '80s. Most remember the samples: "Brothas and Sistas!", "I've got a question" - may be snippets of the same person, more likely separate samples. I've been told it may be tackhead. I've been told it may be "[?]screw" or "screw[?]". I know it most comes to mind when listening to "Beat Dis" by Bomb the Bass or "Hey, Poor - Jesus is Here" by Front 242. The "I've got a question" part is the most central piece of the whole search. Played in various clubs there (notably #s), heard years later in Dallas, lost the slip of paper with the details long ago.

Hard:
A version of "White Rabbit", house-ish - trippier/swirlier than techno - from very early to mid '90s (I dunno, could be late '80s, too). The key here is that it was played at The Church (Goth night at Dallas's Lizard Lounge") fairly frequently, generally in a set containing "Daisy Chain 4 Satan" and "Sober".

Old sci-fi stumpers. Can you identify the writer/story?

darkpony — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:09:28 -0800

Old sci-fi stumpers. Can you identify the writer/story? [more inside] 1. Humans don't have sex together but have recreational sex with flowers,
which collect semen and inseminate women

2. Arachnoid aliens arrive on the earth, looking for something - because
they have exhausted their local supplies of mammalian creatures in whom
to deposit their eggs

They are definitely from before 1980. Thanks!

Looking for Song from 80s Music Video

emjaybee — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:30:39 -0800

I am trying to remember the name/artist of an 80s music video. In it, the guy wore a glowing (bluescreen/transparent) suit and stumbled across the nighttime countryside while singing mournfully and freaking people out. It was kind of creepy, at the end he dissipates in a glow like an alien/angel while the scowling townsfolk converge on him. British artist, possibly Ned or Nick something. Anyone able to help me find this?

Ribbit

Skyanth — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:06:20 -0800

Which song is this? A very very 80s hit song with a frog in the music video. Google gives me crazy frog! :(

New Wave (not French) Movies

Astro Zombie — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:09:26 -0800

Looking for New Wave movies. No, not the French New Wave. Movies from the 80s and beyond that were significantly influence by New Wave music, including using the music on their soundtrack and having characters that were New Wavers. Some punk crossover is fine.

Early 80s movie? Help?

elfgirl — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:12:24 -0800

[Movie Filter] Watching The Black Hole (gravity so strong it sucked the science right out of it!) last night, I was reminded of another movie from the late 70s/early 80s with a sci-fi bent--but hell if I can remember what it was. Help? What I remember: the plot had something to do with a machine (computer?) that enhanced or expanded mental processes. Users wore some kind of headsets when connected to it. During the course of the movie, the developers were eventually refused access to the machine. The only scene I remember vividly was toward the end. One of the developers went over to a former co-workers house and the co-worker got him access to the machine via dialing into the lab.

Anyone have any idea what movie this might be? The female lead in The Black Hole brought to mind the movie, but based on her IMDB couldn't have been in it.

They get younger every year

svenx — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 10:30:04 -0800

Long-shot: I'm looking for an animated short from the 80's. It involves a very young boy who was accidentally drafted into the army, and nobody seems to recognize that he doesn't belong there. I believe it was on a collection of award winners from some film festival. Thanks!