The Pursuit of Cool, and other stuff

I've been surfing around the net, perusing my fellow retro bloggers, and discovered this great review of a new '80s oriented novel and interview with its author over at Kickin It Old School. KIOS is an excellent blog, especially for fans of '80s culture, often featuring some great interviews with '80s figures.


Recently, it featured a post on The Pursuit of Cool, a recently released novel about college life during the '80s. It sounds like a great flashback to that era. There is also an interview with the author, Robb Skidmore, where he talks about the '80s, and his memories of them. There is a great quote from him in the interview, which is just so "spot on" about the '80s:



The 80s was a charmed era and a truly great time to be young. The Cold War had 
stalled into a nonevent and it was a period of peace and prosperity. With no wars to 
fight, young people had lots of spare time. In 1981, MTV appeared on cable television 
converters and everybody watched it, constantly. The vibe of the videos, like the 80s 
in general, was generally happy and celebratory. But the 80s also had a very 
purposeful, ambitious edge as well. There was a career chic that made achievement 
and wealth a popular thing.

I just can't help but agree with this description. He talks about his own experience with the '80s, with John Hughes movies, with '80s music, and other elements of '80s culture. Commenting about '80s music, he says: "I still love 80s music and listen to it. The range and quality and originality of music produced in that era I don't think has been surpassed." I just wanted to recommend checking out the interview and the book as well. 


Also check out my own list of recommended '80s books in this Christmas post.


Looking around the retro-blogosphere for '80s subjects:

Fourth Grade Nothing recently had a post on another of my fave '80s flicks, the cult classic The Last Starfighter.

Totally Radical Awesome 80s had a post on the charity recording, USA for Africa, which included the '80s classic "We Are The Word." The song collected funds for famine relief in Africa.

And finishing up my recent string of Eurythmics videos, here's a song and video I remember well from 1985: "There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart."


Annie Lennox truly had a voice for all seasons.