The recent video of Weezer covering A-Ha's Take On Me brought on mixed feelings from me. For one, it almost made me choke up and nostalgic about the mid-1980's. For another I was impressed with the way the video captured the era so beautifully. And, finally, it made me long for a time when I was actually in tune with popular culture. Probably the only time in my life in which that was true.
I'm old enough to remember the '60's. I like a lot of things about the decade, but I am not terribly fond of most of the music. I came of age in the 70's, the era of classic burnout rock. A time people of my generation endlessly pine for.
I wasn't exactly in synch with the times back then. Most classic rock bores me to tears. I'm stuck listening to a radio station at work, and they are still playing the same old crap I was sick of in 1977.
I was never anything close to a metalhead. I never got on board the rap bandwagon. I wasn't a punk. I thought that the grunge phase was mostly dreary and depressing.
But New Wave...that most uncool of genres...I loved it. I loved the styles of the era. I liked MTV. The movies of John Hughes spoke to me as few others ever have in my life. Even though I was a decade older than the generation he depicted in his classic teen films. I guess you could say I was a late bloomer.
I liked most of the movies of the era. Teen, horror, and some of my favorites were combinations of the two: The Lost Boys, Night of the Creeps, Vamp, Fright Night, and so many others. I felt in touch with all of it.
And we still had a great drive-in theatre in my area, and it didn't just show the same mainstream pap the other theaters ran. My friends and I saw as many as we could, and we never had a bad time, regardless of whether we watched horror, comedy, action, even drama. CGI and digital editing had not completely overtaken the process of moviemaking, and I loved it all. Well, maybe not all, but one hell of a lot of it.
I began reading Fangoria Magazine, and I could not get enough information about current and older horror movies. Now I know all I ever wanted or needed to know about it.
The horror fiction market was dominated by paperback originals. They were great. Wonderful covers, terrific stories, small towns, ancient evil. I could not get enough Stephen King at the time, and I liked all the movies from his work. Even Maximum Overdrive. Even Firestarter. Even Cat's Eye.
My life is immeasurably better now. I am finally in a mature relationship. I am making real money and I have a position of respect. But that time period, the middle 1980's, it defined me in ways that can only happen to someone in his youth.
Yes, I got all of that from the video. Thanks, Weezer.
Written by Mark Sieber
I'm old enough to remember the '60's. I like a lot of things about the decade, but I am not terribly fond of most of the music. I came of age in the 70's, the era of classic burnout rock. A time people of my generation endlessly pine for.
I wasn't exactly in synch with the times back then. Most classic rock bores me to tears. I'm stuck listening to a radio station at work, and they are still playing the same old crap I was sick of in 1977.
I was never anything close to a metalhead. I never got on board the rap bandwagon. I wasn't a punk. I thought that the grunge phase was mostly dreary and depressing.
But New Wave...that most uncool of genres...I loved it. I loved the styles of the era. I liked MTV. The movies of John Hughes spoke to me as few others ever have in my life. Even though I was a decade older than the generation he depicted in his classic teen films. I guess you could say I was a late bloomer.
I liked most of the movies of the era. Teen, horror, and some of my favorites were combinations of the two: The Lost Boys, Night of the Creeps, Vamp, Fright Night, and so many others. I felt in touch with all of it.
And we still had a great drive-in theatre in my area, and it didn't just show the same mainstream pap the other theaters ran. My friends and I saw as many as we could, and we never had a bad time, regardless of whether we watched horror, comedy, action, even drama. CGI and digital editing had not completely overtaken the process of moviemaking, and I loved it all. Well, maybe not all, but one hell of a lot of it.
I began reading Fangoria Magazine, and I could not get enough information about current and older horror movies. Now I know all I ever wanted or needed to know about it.
The horror fiction market was dominated by paperback originals. They were great. Wonderful covers, terrific stories, small towns, ancient evil. I could not get enough Stephen King at the time, and I liked all the movies from his work. Even Maximum Overdrive. Even Firestarter. Even Cat's Eye.
My life is immeasurably better now. I am finally in a mature relationship. I am making real money and I have a position of respect. But that time period, the middle 1980's, it defined me in ways that can only happen to someone in his youth.
Yes, I got all of that from the video. Thanks, Weezer.
Written by Mark Sieber
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