Update: I’m adding one more at the top of the list.
I ask if the 80s should come back, even though it’s sort of a moot question because it’s clear that the 80s have come back, and SXSW puts all questions to rest. For instance, the lead singer of the band Rosie & the Goldbug not only tried to sound just like Cyndi Lauper, she tried to compete with her in the goofy clothes department, as you can see in the picture.
The streets of downtown Austin are awash in neon colors, checkers, brightly colored Converse, slouchy boots, and even, as you see in the picture, leotards. Initially, I was just against it. But, upon further reflection, I’ve decided that I’m actually pro-80s (and even the early 90s are coming back!—-flannel everywhere!) in many ways, and so I’m ambivalent about this trend. I thought I’d do an analysis of the pros and cons, and open it up to debate.
Pro: Cut-up T-shirts. People make fun of the most ubiquitous version of the cut-up shirt look, which is the off-the-shoulder sweatshirt. Be that as it may, but other forms of this fashion—-cutting off sleeves, using scissors to slant your shirt’s hemline, pencil skirts with angled and hemless bottoms, etc.—-are amazing. It’s DIY, it’s playful, and it’s sexy without trying too hard.
Con: The no-pants look. Repeat after me: Leggings are not pants. I’m iffy on leggings at best, especially in this heat, but if you wear them under a dress or a pair of hot pants, you look good. If you wear them how I’m seeing women wear them—-as an alternative to pants to be worn under shirts that barely cover your butt, if that—-you fail. I saw a woman wearing cute hot pants, a T-shirt, and leggings, and she looked good. Too bad the woman I saw wearing a large man’s shirt with a white belt and white leggings couldn’t take a page from her book.
Pro: The return of stripes. I never quit liking horizontal stripes and wore them proudly through the dark days when no one else did and people said I looked like a sailor. Now they’re back, and the only reason I’m sad about this is that stripes have stopped being My Thing and now don’t look different at all.
Con: The return of obnoxious checkers. God, I saw a guy wearing checkered sunglasses to match his checkered tie yesterday, and I wanted to throw up.
Pro: The return of the skinny tie/narrow shirt thing. Sharp fashion went through New Wave into the mainstream in the 80s, and this look was the happy result. You look sharp but not dressed up, and it’s a way for guys to be sexy. Skinny ties and shirts may not work if you’re a bit heavier, but some guys that are more bear-ish can pull off the suspenders look.
Con: NEON. Hateful, hateful neon. I sort of see the appeal a little bit—-bright colors are fun. Bright pink is acceptable in moderation. Lime green is actually a neat color. But when you are talking that neon baby blue, it needs to end, now. It was stupid the first time, and it’s stupid now.
Pro: Candy-coated synth pop. The backlash against this kind of music was so severe in the 90s that the rock resurgence was treated like the second coming. But synth pop didn’t need to be buried, and now straight up rock and roll and Casio-driven dance music have made their peace and live in harmony. Which is how it should be—-candy-coated synth pop had many highlights, both on the R&B side and on the New Wave side. I remember the dark days when admitting you liked The Time or New Order would make people sneer at you. Now, synth pop is back and there are many bands we’ve seen this week that are doing it right, most notably Angry Vs. The Bear. DJ Mel was also phenomenal, and he draws most of the melody part of his mixes from candy-coated synth R&B from the 80s.
Con: Candy-coated synth pop. Then again, this music has a strong tendency to slip into the soulless, inane zone, where the fear of getting heavy leads to embracing a vapid, materialist aesthetic that will never be cool. Rosie & the Goldbug were the worst offenders I’ve seen this weekend—-they had a song that’s intro was a someone chanting the names of designers like Dolce & Gabbana and Prada.
Pro: The return of the badass female MC. Hat tip to Samhita for pointing this out to me—-she did a profile of an up-and-coming young rapper named Rye Rye who is tearing it up at SXSW. She has a very 80s thing going on, as you can see from her video.
There’s a sense in the late 90s that it became harder for women to do what, say, Salt ‘n’ Pepa did, and make it without going all porn star. Stuff like this is sexy—-because duh, it’s pop music—-but it’s more about having fun than being objectified. Perhaps bringing the 80s back means recreating these avenues for female performers to be about dancing and partying instead of getting naked.
Con: The return of hair metal. The good news is that it seems that bands like The Darkness have largely failed to bring back a full-scale return of hair metal. The new Guns ‘n’ Roses is a joke, Bret Michaels is more famous for “Rock Of Love”, and the hair metal in Rock Band has caused nothing but snickering. Perhaps this 80s bullet will be safely dodged.
Pro: Devo. Devo’s playing SXSW. ‘Nuff said.
Con: Metallica. They are also playing SXSW, for the true WTF moment of the festival. True, the 80s were when Metallica was good, but they’re not going back to that space, I suspect.
What parts of the 80s do you want to see come back? What parts should stay buried forever?
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I want to bring back girls in B&W;striped leggings. Seriously, to this day it’s like catnip to me.