Forty years ago, Paul Simon released an album that really shouldn't have worked. Graceland arrived on Aug. 25, 1986. Simon was 44 years old, his previous album had been a commercial disappointment, and pop music was increasingly being defined by…
If you could spend four years at any fictional high school from an ’80s movie or TV show, where would you enroll? Would you hang out with Spicoli at Ridgemont High? Serve Saturday detention with the Breakfast Club at Shermer…
For those of us who grew up in the ’80s, MTV VJs had one of the greatest jobs on the planet. They interviewed rock stars. They traveled to concerts. They hung out backstage. They introduced the videos we couldn't wait…
Some movies don't just survive the passage of time—they become part of who we are. Released 40 years ago, Stand By Me captured something rare: the bittersweet moment when childhood gives way to adulthood. Based on Stephen King's novella The…
The 1980s transformed James Bond. The decade began with Roger Moore delivering quips as effortlessly as he dispatched villains, steering 007 through increasingly outrageous adventures filled with gadgets, exotic locations, and larger-than-life action. By the time the decade ended, Timothy…
Some reunion albums exist simply to relive the past. Others remind us why the band mattered in the first place. Haircut 100's new album, Boxing the Compass, falls squarely into the second category. This week on Stuck in the '80s,…
Not every story from the 1980s is built around hit songs, blockbuster movies, or unforgettable pop culture moments. Some stories are about survival. This week on Stuck in the '80s, Steve Spears welcomes author Tracy Viola to discuss her powerful…
Summer has a funny way of collapsing time. A familiar song on the radio. The smell of charcoal drifting through the neighborhood. Fireworks lighting up the night sky. Before you know it, you're sixteen again, counting the days until the…
For many Gen Xers, childhood in the 1980s wasn't measured in birthdays or report cards—it was measured in action figures, toy catalogs, Saturday morning cartoons, and that one special toy you begged your parents to buy. The toys of the…
When people remember the summer movies of 1986, the conversation usually begins with Top Gun and quickly moves to Aliens, The Karate Kid Part II, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Forty years later, those blockbusters still dominate lists of the…