Can You Ever Explain the '80s?

Okay, this is just too good not to share with everyone.  Recently I came across a fantastic website, Grantland.  And while I enjoy their eclectic commentary, I have stumbled upon pure genius – a section of the website entitled: Rembert Explains the '80s!  You might ask: "Who is Rembert and why do I care?" Well, Rembert Browne is a 25-year old contributor for Grantland and "[e]very so often, [they'll] e-mail 25-year-old Rembert Browne a video from the 1980s that he hasn't seen. Rembert will write down his thoughts as he's watching it, then [they'll] post those thoughts" on the site. You might only care if you experienced the '80s at all.

Having spent my teens and early 20s living through the '80s, I never questioned some of the more "creative" concepts that were going on at the time.  I just accepted them for what they were: bizarre ideas which occurred during a bad era for clothing, politics, economics, some music, some television, and...  well the list goes on and on in regards to the '80s.  I will say that even today many of the films are some of my favorites! So I do have a soft spot in my heart for that strange decade - even though I spent much of the '80s in a drunken stupor, thanks to Bartles and Jaymes. It's profoundly entertaining to have a fresh take on some of the decade's more ... umm... shall we say... 'interesting' music videos and television shows as reviewed by someone who wasn't born until 1988.  

Rembert does an amazing job of trying to explain the inexplicable, such as Don Johnson's video "Heartbeat" or "Kids Incorporated." Some of my personal favorites are: Rembert Explains the '80s: Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" - a truly awful song and even worse video; Rembert Explains the '80s: Lionel Richie's "Hello" Video - great song, but the video is pretty creepy; and Rembert Tries to Explain the '80s: Too Close for Comfort's Very Special Episode - I never quite got the appeal of that show.  

If you lived through the 80s, you will certainly enjoy this little stroll through time.  If you were born in the late 80s and beyond, well, I am sorry that you missed out on ALF, Ronald Reagan, padded shoulders, boom boxes, leg warmers, white stilettos, lots of pastels, and really big hair.  Ah, those were the days, my friends...