I'm with Joe on this one. Both! Haha. But I think we're alone now is 80ser. For that intro if nothing else. I'm still listening along to every ep guys, but with less time than in the summer to properly engage. Rockin show as per always my dudes! Much luv Wax
Now hold on just a damn minute, I'm a baby gen Xer/ancient millennial and I love this schlock! 😂 Both of these ladies are ICONIC 80s and this is a tough decision. I gave only a slight edge to I Think We're Alone Now because it seemed like it was a little more ubiquitous with people other than teenage/pre-teen girls at the time. And because the other Tiffany songs really hit me right in the Caboodles with nostalgia (I wouldn't have been able to pull "Could've Been" out of my ass but it took me right back when you played it). I recognized the Debbie Gibson ones but they were more forgettable.
What might've given the edge to Gibson for me would've been if you'd chosen the teen anthem "Electric Youth" instead. The video is almost cartoonishly late 80s -- vests, neon, jorts, people flying around with keytars, lasers, Michael Jordan for some reason? I think they even "walk like an Egyptian" at one point. It's worth checking out if you haven't. Much respect to both Tiffany and Debbie.
I don't know much about Small Wonder but I definitely watched it (it's right up there with Out of This World for must-see late 80s TV). Apparently the actress who played Vicki is now a nurse.
Thanks for weighing in on Small Wonder! I wondered if it hit our younger crowd more than us because we were off in college.
I didn't go "Electric Youth" just because I was going first release vs first release, and also because I didn't accidentally own that album 😂 so I kinda missed that one! 😁 I will check out that video, though!
So you were like 7-9 when these Tiffany/Gibson songs hit, right? It makes sense that it would hit you so hard.
Thanks for listening and taking the time to weigh in!
Small Wonder was definitely fucked up and weird in retrospect, like so many things that didn’t age well.
Yes, I was 7-8 when these songs came out/were played all the time. So just slightly younger than the (likely) target audience. And I always wanted to be older than I was, musical taste included.
Wow. Tiffany for the win, because it was everywhere in the 80s -- and sorry, Debbie, but I have zero memory of that song!
Going to the mall was definitely a thing that was done in the 80s, but it wasn't something my friends did other than going to a movie at a mall. Worst 80s mall store -- Bachrach has to be up there -- distinct memory of lot of really expensive and really ugly shirts and sweaters ("People buy this stuff?!?"). But best? I don't remember any particularly great stores in the mall.
Sears Toughskins jeans -- pre-patched at the knee from the inside! Awful. But Sears did have one really great thing going for it -- Craftsman tools -- break it and they'd replace it for free. And they actually honored that guarantee without any hassle.
I don't even KNOW Bacharach but it SOUNDS like something for old people!
I had Toughskins! and destroyed them anyway, of course. And I still have some Craftsman stuff that we got as wedding presents in '94, so good quality stuff that's still working 30 years later!
Thanks for checking in, Chris. I haven't looked recently, but the comments tend to be like yours in terms of a trend that Tiffany's song is better remembered!
Both Debbie and Tiffany are super 80s and deserve to be winners! 😃I'll have to go with Debbie on this one because she was slightly more popular in Argentina, thanks to "Lost in your eyes". On a side note, the first mall in Córdoba opened in 1990, but we had smaller shopping galleries with record stores where my friends and I would go on saturday mornings!
Do you remember the NAME of the mall? But I guess by then you would have been in college, so you didn't have a teenage "mall" experience. But hanging out a record store is a cool way to spend your teen weekends! --Keith
The shopping gallery where I used to go on saturdays was called "Paseo Azul" . Not quite a mall in terms of size, but it held its own! I wanted to attach you a picture I found online, but I guess substack doesn´t support any format other than text.
I was reluctant to even start listening to this episode because I so seriously loathe these two singers, and really don't want to have to hear them again. Just white hot hate. I also really hated every vapid, vacuous asshole at my high school who was into either or both of them. If they had gone on tour together back then and pulled a Buddy Holly-Ritchie Valens fiery plane crash death I would have celebrated. I'm more mature now, but I would snicker if one of them did something like fall off the stage and break their leg.
I was incredibly annoyed when, while I was in college, Gibson was cast in the Broadway production of Les Miserable as Eponine, the best character in the show. There is no way she had the depth for that. But I suppose she had slightly more "talent" than Tiffany since she wrote her own shitty, shitty songs.
I thought for sure the Debbie Gibson song in this would have been Shake Your Love. That's honestly the only one I can remember, as it was unfortunately seared into my brain back in 1987/88.
I'll likely abstain on this one, both being equally representative of the shittiest part of 80s music. And also because voting this week hasn't turned out so great.
Different than the reason I abstained on OMD-Psychedelic Furs, because those two great pieces of art deserved to advance (and again, fuck you both for doing that on the first round).
I didn't expect you to *love* these songs, but 😂 damn 😂!
The choice of each one at least by me was because I was comparing first singles that I was aware of, and "Out of the Blue" and "Shake Your Love" were similar-level hits (both peaking at 4, I think). So in our area, they played the former more than the latter, so I knew that one a little better. I think the fact that Debbie has about 8 songs that I have heard, and Tiffany has 2 might make Debbie more of the background music of the 80s, (even if you don't like that background) but that's just my opinion, and not a strong one.
Hopefully the next matchup is more to your liking! 😁
I'm with Joe on this one. Both! Haha. But I think we're alone now is 80ser. For that intro if nothing else. I'm still listening along to every ep guys, but with less time than in the summer to properly engage. Rockin show as per always my dudes! Much luv Wax
Glad to still have you on board, my friend! Appreciate the kind words, and wish you a great end of 2024!
--Keith
Now hold on just a damn minute, I'm a baby gen Xer/ancient millennial and I love this schlock! 😂 Both of these ladies are ICONIC 80s and this is a tough decision. I gave only a slight edge to I Think We're Alone Now because it seemed like it was a little more ubiquitous with people other than teenage/pre-teen girls at the time. And because the other Tiffany songs really hit me right in the Caboodles with nostalgia (I wouldn't have been able to pull "Could've Been" out of my ass but it took me right back when you played it). I recognized the Debbie Gibson ones but they were more forgettable.
What might've given the edge to Gibson for me would've been if you'd chosen the teen anthem "Electric Youth" instead. The video is almost cartoonishly late 80s -- vests, neon, jorts, people flying around with keytars, lasers, Michael Jordan for some reason? I think they even "walk like an Egyptian" at one point. It's worth checking out if you haven't. Much respect to both Tiffany and Debbie.
I don't know much about Small Wonder but I definitely watched it (it's right up there with Out of This World for must-see late 80s TV). Apparently the actress who played Vicki is now a nurse.
Thanks for weighing in on Small Wonder! I wondered if it hit our younger crowd more than us because we were off in college.
I didn't go "Electric Youth" just because I was going first release vs first release, and also because I didn't accidentally own that album 😂 so I kinda missed that one! 😁 I will check out that video, though!
So you were like 7-9 when these Tiffany/Gibson songs hit, right? It makes sense that it would hit you so hard.
Thanks for listening and taking the time to weigh in!
--Keith
Small Wonder was definitely fucked up and weird in retrospect, like so many things that didn’t age well.
Yes, I was 7-8 when these songs came out/were played all the time. So just slightly younger than the (likely) target audience. And I always wanted to be older than I was, musical taste included.
Fucked-up, weird, didn't age well-- are we talking about Small Wonder, or Scott Baio?
Wow. Tiffany for the win, because it was everywhere in the 80s -- and sorry, Debbie, but I have zero memory of that song!
Going to the mall was definitely a thing that was done in the 80s, but it wasn't something my friends did other than going to a movie at a mall. Worst 80s mall store -- Bachrach has to be up there -- distinct memory of lot of really expensive and really ugly shirts and sweaters ("People buy this stuff?!?"). But best? I don't remember any particularly great stores in the mall.
Sears Toughskins jeans -- pre-patched at the knee from the inside! Awful. But Sears did have one really great thing going for it -- Craftsman tools -- break it and they'd replace it for free. And they actually honored that guarantee without any hassle.
I don't even KNOW Bacharach but it SOUNDS like something for old people!
I had Toughskins! and destroyed them anyway, of course. And I still have some Craftsman stuff that we got as wedding presents in '94, so good quality stuff that's still working 30 years later!
Thanks for checking in, Chris. I haven't looked recently, but the comments tend to be like yours in terms of a trend that Tiffany's song is better remembered!
--Keith
Keith, what's with the hate for JCPenney's? Lol.
And, Joe, Carnation Mall was less mall-y than Southern Park. Best--Spencer's. Worst--Sears.
Thanks for the complements, guys! ❤️
Really needed my 80's-est today.😢
Bad experiences with back-to-school shopping and not liking the fashions, I guess.
You will MOSTLY be complimented on the show, at least by me 😂
--Keith
Since they can't both lose, going with Tiffany. It's not the worst song in the world. Debbie's slightly more irritating.
That seems to be the trend, you're not alone in that opinion!
Both Debbie and Tiffany are super 80s and deserve to be winners! 😃I'll have to go with Debbie on this one because she was slightly more popular in Argentina, thanks to "Lost in your eyes". On a side note, the first mall in Córdoba opened in 1990, but we had smaller shopping galleries with record stores where my friends and I would go on saturday mornings!
Do you remember the NAME of the mall? But I guess by then you would have been in college, so you didn't have a teenage "mall" experience. But hanging out a record store is a cool way to spend your teen weekends! --Keith
The shopping gallery where I used to go on saturdays was called "Paseo Azul" . Not quite a mall in terms of size, but it held its own! I wanted to attach you a picture I found online, but I guess substack doesn´t support any format other than text.
email it to me at the80sest.gmail.com, and I will add it to this post! --K
Will do!
I was reluctant to even start listening to this episode because I so seriously loathe these two singers, and really don't want to have to hear them again. Just white hot hate. I also really hated every vapid, vacuous asshole at my high school who was into either or both of them. If they had gone on tour together back then and pulled a Buddy Holly-Ritchie Valens fiery plane crash death I would have celebrated. I'm more mature now, but I would snicker if one of them did something like fall off the stage and break their leg.
I was incredibly annoyed when, while I was in college, Gibson was cast in the Broadway production of Les Miserable as Eponine, the best character in the show. There is no way she had the depth for that. But I suppose she had slightly more "talent" than Tiffany since she wrote her own shitty, shitty songs.
I thought for sure the Debbie Gibson song in this would have been Shake Your Love. That's honestly the only one I can remember, as it was unfortunately seared into my brain back in 1987/88.
I'll likely abstain on this one, both being equally representative of the shittiest part of 80s music. And also because voting this week hasn't turned out so great.
Different than the reason I abstained on OMD-Psychedelic Furs, because those two great pieces of art deserved to advance (and again, fuck you both for doing that on the first round).
I didn't expect you to *love* these songs, but 😂 damn 😂!
The choice of each one at least by me was because I was comparing first singles that I was aware of, and "Out of the Blue" and "Shake Your Love" were similar-level hits (both peaking at 4, I think). So in our area, they played the former more than the latter, so I knew that one a little better. I think the fact that Debbie has about 8 songs that I have heard, and Tiffany has 2 might make Debbie more of the background music of the 80s, (even if you don't like that background) but that's just my opinion, and not a strong one.
Hopefully the next matchup is more to your liking! 😁
--Keith