More '80s Nerds

Thinking about the recent post on Revenge of the Nerds, I got to thinking about other cool scenes from that cool movie.

One that came to mind was the very '80s-esque performance of the nerds during the college talent show competition. This performance is very, very '80s. Its got new wavish syth music, Devo-ish hair styles, and Michael Jackson imitators doing the Moonwalk. Admittedly, the Lamar character (in the Michael Jackson jacket doing the "rap") is a bit much, but check out the computer toting nerd dudes sporting the '80s styles!!  

And theres also the very '80s opening song, by the Rubinoos.

Okay nerds.. Let's go!


Mom packs us a lunch and we're off to the school,
They call us nerds 'cause we're so uncool.
They laugh at our clothes, they laugh at our hair
The girls walk by with the nose in the air.


So go ahead, put us down
One of these days we will turn it around
Won't be long, mark my words
Time has come for Revenge of the nerds!


Revenge of the nerds
Revenge of the nerds


We wear horn-rimmed glasses with a heavy duty lens
Button down shirts and a pocket full of pens
Straight A students, teachers' pets
They call us nerds but with no regrets


So go ahead, put us down
One of these days we will turn it around
Won't be long, mark my words
Time has come for Revenge of the nerds!


Revenge of the nerds (Nerds)
Revenge of the nerds (Hahaha)
Revenge of the nerds (Baah)
Revenge of the nerds


(Nerds)While the jocks work out (Nerds) with the football team (Nerds)
We're trying to score with the girl of our dream
You know we ain't good looking but here's a surprise:
Nerds are great lovers in disguise


So go ahead, put us down
One of these days we will turn it around
Won't be long, mark my words
Time has come for Revenge of the nerds!


Revenge of the nerds
Revenge of the nerds (Nerds!)
Revenge of the nerds (Neerds)
Revenge of the nerds (Hahaha)


So if they call you a dork, a spazz or a geek
Stand up and be proud, don't be meak
(Hey!)Beautiful people, haven't you heard?
The joke's on you, it's revenge of the nerds


So go ahead, put us down
One of these days we will turn it around
Won't be long, mark my words
Time has come for Revenge of the nerds!


Revenge of the nerds (Nerds!)
Revenge of the nerds
Revenge of the nerds (Who, me?)
Revenge of the nerds
Revenge of the nerds (Hahaha)
Revenge of the nerds (Neerds)
Revenge of the nerds (Baah)
Revenge of the nerds 

Revenge of the Nerds

One of the things I remember most fondly about the '80s were the trend of nerd films: films like Revenge of the Nerds, Weird Science, and my fave, Real Genius where oddball, brainy outsiders were the heroes. 


The end sequence of Revenge of the Nerds, culminating in an inspiring speech, is a classic. Its really about misfits and oddballs and people who just don't fit in finding their place in society and standing up for who they are.  Its a message which should resonate with anyone who has ever felt different, regardless  of whether one considers oneself a "nerd" or "geek" or "freak" or any other category.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

A Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers!!

The above clip is a 1988 Metlife commercial, aired during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (always an important part of Thanksgiving for me, ever since I was little). 

Growing Pains

I used to enjoy the '80s sitcom Growing Pains. There was something about all of the characters that I could like and appreciate.

The parents, Jason and Maggie Seaver, were baby boomers, a member of that extraordinarily large generation which came of age during the '60s, and which were often featured on many an '80s movie or TV show. Boomers, who at the time were in their 30s, and many of whom were what was then termed "young urban professionals" (or "Yuppies" for short), were most identified with the movie The Big Chill and the TV show Thirtysomething.  But they were everywhere, including sitcoms like this. 

I kinda liked it, actually, since I had my own nostalgia for the '60s back then, and had a strong attraction to '60s culture. I remember there was an episode where some youthful acquaintances of the now middle aged Jason Seaver got together with him, and encouraged him to re-join in their effort at reviving the rock band that they had been in during their teen years. 

Their daughter, Carol Anne Seaver, was a nerdy, intellectual kid. I was too, and I identified with her most. Later on in the show, she was shown going off to college, and interacting with other would be intellectual youths.

Their older son, Mike (played by Kirk Cameron), was initially a goof off, but later on became involved in the theater. As a high school drama kid, of course I could identify with his interest, and his transformation into a "theater kid."

Then there was their younger son, Ben, who was just sort of there. He was okay though.

As time went on, the family changed, aged  and grew. New characters were introduced, including one played, in one of his first roles by the very young Leonardo DiCaprio.


Growing Pains ran from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992.

Only somewhat related to the topic: Here's Jim Carrey doing an pretty good impersonation of Alan Thicke, who played the father, Jason Seaver. From a 2011 episode of Saturday Night Live.

Hungry Like The Wolf

Here's the adventurous music video for Duran Duran's big 1983 hit "Hungry Like The Wolf."  

This was a breakthrough hit for Duran Duran, a band which exploded onto popularity in America as part of the Second British Invasion, and which would go on to score a large number of more hits during the '80s.


This week has been devoted to the Second British Invasion of music groups which exploded onto the American music scene in 1983. My previous posts on the subject are below. I encourage checking them out:


Repost: MTV and the Second British Invasion Groups: Culture Club


"Britain Rocks America- Again"


The Police


The Kinks: "Come Dancing"

Repost: Second British Invasion: Madness and Thomas Dolby

Repost: Second British Invasion: Madness and Thomas Dolby

This is a re-post of the June 23, 2011 post. I'm re-posting it as part of a week devoted to the Second British Invasion.


The Second British Invasion of 1983 is most often associated with its most popular acts, like Duran Duran, Culture Club, Eurythmics and the Police. But the launching of MTV brought exposure to a large number of quirky bands from both sides of the Atlantic. And the new art form of music videos generated a lot of creative, quirky and fun-loving masterpieces. Heres two such examples from the UK:

The Second British Invasion of the early '80s really did open the door for Americans to access a wide range of arty British musical culture which had not made it to the USA before. A lot of it was from the various subgenres which sprung up in the New Wave aftermath of punk in the '70s and early '80s. One example is the group Madness. Madness originated in the ska reveival which took place in Britain around 1978-79, but which didn't really obtain too much exposure in the United States. Finally, in 1983, Madness joined the British Invasion to hit it big with the chipper, catchy song "Our House," a big hit in '83.  The writer Simon Reynolds, in his book, "Rip It Up and Start Again" compared this song to the Beatle's "Penny Lane."

The Second British Invasion also brought the quirky, creative synth-pop of Thomas Dolby. A good example of it is the sonf "She Blinded Me With Science," which actually became more of a hit in America than in the UK. And a big hit it was. The video is an excellent example of how creative and fun-loving video could be during the early '80s. It kind of reminds me of the Beatles films in the late '60s, with its quirky humor and smile-inducing imagery.

The Kinks- "Come Dancing"

The Kinks first became well known during the first British Invasion of music groups during the 1964-1965 era, with hits such as "You Really Got Me," and "All Day and All of the Night," and "Tired of Waiting for You."  In 1970, they again hit on both sides of the Atlantic, with "Lola."  Although the Kinks continued to make music, and continued their popularity in the U.K., they largely disappeared from the U.S. charts during the '70s.

Then in 1983, after an absence of many years, the Kinks joined in the Second British Invasion of the U.S. music charts, and had a big hit with a wonderful song called "Come Dancing." "Come Dancing" was a sentimental gem of a song which tenderly recalled times past. According to Wikipedia:

 The song is a nostalgic look back at childhood memories of its writer: the Kinks' frontman Ray Davies, remembering his older sister going on dates to the local Palais dance hall where big bands would play. The lyrics tell how the Palais has been demolished and his sister now has her own daughters who are going on dates.

"Come Dancing" is a tribute to Davies' sister Rene who bought him his first guitar, with the song's lyrics affording Davies' sister a happy life denied her in reality. Living in Canada with her (reportedly abusive) husband, the 31-year-old Rene was visiting her parental home in Fortis Green at the time of Ray Davies' thirteenth birthday — 21 June 1957 — on which she surprised him with a gift of the Spanish guitar he'd tried to persuade his parents to buy him. On the evening of the same day, Rene — who had a weak heart as a result of a childhood bout of rheumatic fever — suffered a fatal heart attack while dancing at the Lyceum ballroom.

Its a sweet song, and a great song for a comeback by the Kinks onto the American airwaves.

The Police

The Police, one of the first new wave bands to achieve worldwide success, first achieved their popularity during the late '70s and early '80s. In 1983, they joined the wave of British bands invading America with their hugely successful album, Synchronicity. An album containing creative and catchy songs which also often had an intellectual edge and social commentary, Synchronicity was a presence on the album charts throughout 1983.






The highest charting song off of Synchronicity was the very popular "Every Breath You Take," a song that I remember being heavily played on the radio during 1983.

  One of the most creative videos, however, belonged to one of the follow up singles, "Wrapped Around Your Finger."   


Shortly after the major success of Synchronicity, the groups brainy lead singer, Sting, left to undertake a solo career. Always lending an intellectual element to the '80s music scene, Sting was often a champion of human rights causes and the source of many creative artistic efforts in both music and acting.

"Britain Rocks America- Again"

On January 23, 1984, Newsweek magazine featured a cover with Boy George and Annie Lennox, and a big article about the colorful wave of new British music groups which were invading America with help the help of the new cutting edge music channel, MTV. According to Newsweek:

"The British are coming -again. Twenty Years after the Beatles first appeared on 'The Ed Sullivan show,' conquering America. with their long hair, cheeky wit and pell mell rock and roll, a new wave of British bands is exciting a new generation of American fans."

Newsweek described the style of the new groups:

"Irony abounds. The mood is sardonic. Singers sometimes border on catatonic. And the look of the new  bands is something else again. Some of them sport clothes and haircuts that recall 'Brideshead Revisited.' Others evoke 'Blade Runner' or 'the Road warrior.' Still others recall Marlon Brando in 'The Wild One.' Lined up, they would form an improbable parade of ghouls, transvestites, bikers with spiked dog collars, mercenaries in battle fatigues, tie-dyed tramps and dapper young squires."

I think the description is a bit much, but it shows how mainstream culture viewed this colorful new, varied musical style, with its odd styles and quirky videos. But for many of us growing up at the time, its was all fun and exciting and new.

The article goes on to describe the American attraction to the new British musical invasion:

"America is welcoming the new wave with open arms -- and wallets. The extent of the new British beachhead was revealed on July 16, 1983, when 18 singles of British origin appeared in the American Top 40, eclipsing the previous record, set on June 19, 1965. Heading the list of last summer's top British groups was the Police. Close behind were other such familiar stars as David Bowie, the 37 year old godfather to many of the new British groups, and the Kinks, veterans of the first British invasion, enjoying their biggest hit in years. But the brightest names were Culture Club and Eurythmics - two new groups that continue to dominate American airwaves six months later. Culture Club is currently enjoying its fifth straight Top 40 single and Eurythmics has just released and striking new album, "Touch," that contains some of the strongest electronic pop yet. Meanwhile the bland but best selling Duran Duran, with its glamorous video clips, is preparing a North American tour that some insiders predict will be one of the top grosses of the spring season."

Repost: MTV and The Second British Invasion Groups: Culture Club

This is my repost of the June 8, 2011 post. I'm re-posting it as the beginning of a week of posts devoted to the Second British Invasion: the wave of British music groups which invaded American culture in 1982-83 with the help of MTV.

The 1980s were an era of colorful, quirky music qroups. Early in the decade, MTV went on the air, initiating the era of music videos, and exposing American culture to the quirky musical subculture called New Wave. New Wave dated to the late 1970s, with the emergence, in the wake of punk, of arty, quirky musical acts like the Talking Heads, Devo, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and Blondie. But its comibation with the new media of MTV in the early '80s exposed it on a large scale to the American public, and turned it from a oddball subculture, into mainstream culture. And America ate it up.

A large number of the groups given exposure by MTV came from Britain, and thus, in 1982-83, was initiated what was called the Second British Invasion... the first being the 1964-65 invasion of British musical groups like the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Hermans Hermits, and the like. The Second British invasion of 1982-83 was similarly a cultural and musical invasion and included the likes of very popular multi-hit acts like Duran Duran, the Police, Culture Club, Eurythmics, and the Human League and lesser lights such as ska revivalist Madness, catchy celtic tinged popsters Dexys Midnight Runners, and synth virtuoso Thomas Dolby.

Culture club was one of the more memorable groups to come out of this invasion. Emerging out of the Bowie-inspired theatrical New Romantic subculture, Culture Club was an easily recgnizable presence during the early '80s, due in large part to their gender bending lead signer, Boy George.




The very first big hit for Culure Club in the U.S. was 1982's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," which really hit big the following year. I still remember vividly watching this video, and just being amazed at this andogynous character singing this remarkably catchy tune. This was also around the time I started getting into music videos, itself still a new medium, and it was also when I really started getting into music in a big way. It was my early teens, and my sense of being an adolescent was growing strong. This new, shiny quirky catchy music just captured my imagination.

Culture Club would have many more hits in the '80s, all this catchy soulful pop punctuated by Boy George's rather rather appealing smooth voice. Among them, "Karma Chamelion," below, which is another wondeful example of the music video medium, and the optimistic catchy popishness of the New Romantic/New Wave era.

E.T. Pepsi Commercial

The recent post on E. T. has gotten me thinking about how much that movie permeated '80s culture, including its commercials. 

Here's an '80s era Pepsi commercial starring E.T., and featuring some of the same hopeful, enchanting imagery which was a central aspect of the movie.

This is one of the wonderful things I remember about growing up in the '80s: the sense of hope and wonder, as conveyed through the creations of the great Steven Spielberg.