By Ashley Morris
For Weekly Surge

I can't help it. I get a goofy smile when I think of the '80s - similar to the one I'm sure I wore when the Smurfs yet again escaped the evil wrath of Gargamel and Azrael or when I successfully imitated another kick-and-turn of one of the spandex-clad "Solid Gold" dancers on TV.

From age 5 to 15, I was a so called "Child of the '80s," which wouldn't really become momentous until, 20 years later when it's a celebrated decade in the revolving door of pop culture.

Why? Although we '80s kiddies cringe at old photos of us armed with sweater shoulder pads and Aqua Net-teased bangs, we also smile because the '80s were fun, most times tacky, but, most importantly, we put our unique imprint on Americana. And now, whether you like it or not, it's back, and '80s-themed parties are cropping up at bars and nightclubs along the Grand Strand faster than you can say "parachute pants."

Gordon Biersch Restaurant Brewery, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary nationwide tonight (including the locale at The Market Common on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base) with an all-out tribute to the '80s, is just one of the venues in just about any little ol' town in the U.S. spinning right 'round with the '80s. To attend this bash, guests must be in costume (if not in one's closet, accessories are creeping back onto mainstream store racks) to enjoy rounds of Rubik's Cube enjoyment and Pop Rocks, Pizza Rolls and corndog refreshments.

"The '80s are all about big everything, and it's perfect for us because it has the concept of being a fun, cool thing," says Gordon Biersch manager Helen DeGenarro. "I mean, the majority of our clients tend to be in the 30- to 40-year-old age group, but the kids that work for us love the '80s, too."

1980s child/graphic designer Alli Denning, who launched www.liketotally80s.com two years ago, says the site's most popular hits are on '80s parties, whether it's her insightful party planning tips or pics of costumes submitted by readers, and fashion. "The feeling people get is that it was a simpler time - there was an innocence," says Denning from her home office in Alabama. "There weren't cell phones. But there was a Cold War going on, and the divorce rate was blowing up. Nostalgia wipes out reality; you don't remember that stuff."

Like, major downer.

City Bar (www.citybarrestaurant.com) on the north end of Myrtle Beach is getting in on the '80s action too hosting Funky Cold Medina Friday Nights featuring all '80s music, best '80s t-shirt contest and drink specials with '80s-centric names such as "Flux Capacitor" and "Who Shot J.R.?"

"The '80s parties are so fun because we get to bring back all of the bad taste that we secretly wish we could wear every day," says North Myrtle Beach House of Blues promotions manager Jacki Giardina. She and a trio of friends formed a Surge Bar Olympics team called "Hot Mess" with uniforms inspired by 1980s Richard Simmons-esque workout clothing.

My recent '80s-themed party experience at Bully's Pub & Grill, Barefoot Landing, involved chatting with a cluster of mostly twentysomethings (barely preschoolers in the '80s) dressed in retro costumes - or what we '80s children like to refer to as a flashback to embarrassing yearbook pictures.

"Yeah, I'm the cute preppie guy who everyone hates at the end of the movies," says Brian Barnes, clad in a sweater-draped, up-turned collar Izod polo shirt and khakis. How very Stan Gable in "Revenge of the Nerds."

"I can't believe I found this clip," says Vicki Pirher, pointing to the Cubic zirconia-studded hot pink T-shirt clip above her black leggings and legwarmers. Very cross-between-"Fame"-dancer-and-Kelly Kapowski-of-"Saved by the Bell"-fame.

Music/Movies/TV

The '80s film and MTV icons we grew up with and that are now regurgitated on YouTube or Nick at Nite now form a common communication bond between the 30- to-40-year-old and twenties/teens demographics.

"More and more '80s bands are reuniting and touring, and VH1 and VH1 Classic have highly rated shows about '80s pop culture stars," says Amy Harriman, co-owner of Retro Active, a store at Broadway at Beach completely stocked with '80s memorabilia.

Case in point: Foreigner, which had its biggest successes in the 1980s, including the no. 1 hit, "I Want to Know What Love Is,'' performs at the House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach tonight.

"I Love the 80s," the show on VH1 garnering all of this popularity, relives the best (and worst) of the decade's pop culture in 30-minute snippets through clips and celebrity commentary. One such celebrity commentator is South Carolina native/musician Edwin McCain.

"I was 10 in 1980, so that was pretty much my decade," he says during a recent phone interview while on his "Nobody's Fault But Mine" summer tour. "I don't know if I'm an expert, but I've been known to be a tremendous smart ass and that's what they were looking for. I was just paying attention in the '80s.

"It's challenging, because you go into a room with live microphones and a producer and crew and no one's allowed to laugh, so you don't know if it's working," he continues. "It's my challenge to make a cameraman crack up."
What was so funny about the '80s? "The '80s seemed, for better or worse, to be a decade that had fun with excess - from spending habits to hair to makeup to music," says pop culture and trends expert Rachel Weingarten (www.gtkgroup.com). "It was ridiculous, but so incredibly fun."

Yes, we can all share an all-knowing laugh (or argue on the quality) about the good music/wardrobe excess of the 1980s - and about the fact that mullets and keyboards are finding their way back onto mainstream stages. "People are looking for things they haven't heard in such a long time," says McCain. "I mean, the keyboard is like an auditory scrapbook." For instance, Metro Station, one of the bands on "The Soundtrack to Your Summer Tour'' slated for Saturday at the House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach - employs heavy synths in its current hit "Shake It,'' ala Berlin or New Order.

"A lot of bands are using keyboards and synths these days," agrees Giardina. "I've also heard a lot of people mimicking singers such as Robert Smith [of The Cure] and Morrissey. Tribute bands have also become a big deal. We just had Who's Bad - The Tribute to Michael Jackson [at House of Blues]. The audience was psyched about the moonwalking and everyone was caught lip synching at one point or another."

In fact, a Cure tribute band, The Cured is coming to town on Aug. 24 at The Clubhouse Myrtle Beach.

"When I'm in a really bad mood, all I need is my dose of '80s music to get me through," shares Weingarten. "Professionally, I work on a lot of high-profile events and always ask the DJ to play my all-time party song, 'Bizarre Love Triangle' by New Order."

Good selection, Weingarten. My additional cassette classics that give me a Zen-like peace when play is pushed include Michael Jackson's "Thriller," Blondie, The Go-Gos and Tiffany (guilty pleasure).

McCain's '80s comforts include movie stars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. "I catch myself watching 'The Lost Boys' or 'Dream a Little Dream,'" he admits. "I watch 'The Two Coreys' [with a new season that airs on A&E], which is like admitting you have some weird underwear fetish."

I don't think I ever missed an episode of my parent-approved "The A-Team" or "The Cosby Show" growing up.

But Weingarten warns of the mirage of those younger generations who seem to go ga-ga for products of the '80s like cheesy movies, Rubik's Cubes and synthesized sounds. "In the music scene, there's the popular push for Nu Rave as an updated take on New Wave," explains Weingarten. "For those of us who lived through the '80s during the first round, there was a headiness of fun and discovery. The '60s were a backlash against the uptight nature of the '50s, which were a backlash of the privation of the '40s. The '70s relaxed attitude about sexuality and fashion was a backlash against war. That said, the '80s economy veered between good, great and devastating, as did the music. The resurgence of the '80s style doesn't have any of the innocence; the irony is gone. The best of the music was upbeat or tragic with an upbeat tempo.

"We miss the fun, we miss the innocence and I'm not ashamed to admit that I really, really miss the music," she continues. "We're way too tied in now to what others think, texts, Facebook, e-mail, cell phones. ...It's overwhelming, to say the least. The '80s were the moment before everything changed. Trying to reclaim that moment before the shift is all about optimism and hope, I think."

McCain has a more laid-back opinion of '80s child wannabes: "I want everybody to have a good time, so I always try to have as much fun as possible. I don't think it matters if a 15-year-old is wearing a Duran Duran T-shirt and probably never saw them in concert - they probably saw them on YouTube or something."

Fashion

Picture this: an awkward teenager with glasses only Sally Jessy Raphael would be proud of, stirrup pants swallowed by a duet of matching scrunchy socks (kind of mimicked leg warmers), a baggy sweater with shoulder pads and matching belt, knock-off "Swatch" watch coordinated with her outfit that day, and hair in the growing-out phase spiked out of a banana clip. That's me representing '80s fashion in seventh grade.

And now it's back? (I nervously laugh.)

"I see it in advertising all the time," says Denning. "I would have never thought skinny jeans with zippers at the bottom would be back. Jellies are readily available. ...I think it's a validation that it was as cool as I thought it was back then. I went to see 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' with my child and one of the ads in the movie previews was for a new J.C. Penney line; the ad was supposed to look like 'The Breakfast Club.' I think there's a 20-year nostalgic cycle going on ... and this is our stuff now."

Harriman and business partner Amy Leonard of Retro Active and Back in 2 Style (981 E. Hackler St., The Market Common) can attest to the popularity of '80s fashion recycling, with lots of sales of leather wristbands, mesh trucker hats, studded belts and jelly bracelets. "We're also seeing jeans and pumps, artfully cut T-shirts to make them look 'ratty,' [skinny] pants - no baggy jeans!," says Harriman, "Big hair is still out there, studded belts, spandex on the ladies, leggings with long T-shirts, and Capri-cut leggings with the baggy tee and big belt. Luckily, only the best part of the '80s is returning; we're leaving behind the day-glo net shirts and M.C. Hammer pants!"

Lindsay Lohan is constantly caught by the paparazzi sporting the black leggings and long tee in Hollywood (and wearing her "Sunglasses at Night" as Corey Hart sang) And, unfortunately, she seems to be a trendsetter.

Harriman also says parents are flocking to the racks of T-shirts touting the "big guns": KISS, Pink Floyd, AC/DC and Rolling Stones. (I couldn't pass up a Rolling Stones onesie for my son. How cute is an '80s rock baby?)

But slow down, '80s babies, let's analyze the '80s look from the Gen Y POV. "There's an entire generation who imagine that they're discovering the music, the fashion, the attitude [of the '80s], when it's recycled for the most part," describes Weingarten. "For instance, model Agyness Deyn is seen as having an edgy, new look, when it's mostly updated '80s style. The best of the '80s style was expressive, while the popular looks now seem like a cloning of what was once fresh. ... Kids have to grow up so much sooner these days. ... We're obsessed with perfection to the point of annihilating originality. Plastic surgery, lip(osuction) and more have taken over. The waif has replaced the supermodel."

Why We Love the '80s, Like, For Real

Pop culture is a peculiar evolving, revolving phenom that we all experience in our lifetime. And, while most 30-year-olds and older have experienced the reincarnation of styles from the decades their parents grew up in, in 2008, children born in the '80s are now reliving their past for the first time. How rad, this ebb and flow of a collage of cultures.

"I think nostalgic elements come back when we go through periods of tough times, like today with the economy and the election," says McCain. "We're feeling the crunch, and then the '80s almost glorified hedonism. The outlook was bright, people were making lots of money, so we'll go buy a Ferrari and do some blow. When we need to tighten the belt, be more green-conscious, people want nostalgia."

 

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