Totally Awesome 80s: A Lexicon of the Music, Videos, Movies, TV Shows, Stars, and Trends of that Decadent Decade [Paperback]

Matthew Rettenmund (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1996

The 80s revival starts here!

The 80s ended only a few years ago, but already the days of Dynasty, skinny ties, and Valley Girls beckon. In Totally Awesome 80s, Matthew Rettenmund drops the touchy-feely 90s and dredges up the garish, glorious 80s. He's captured it all, from Culture Club to Men at Work, parachute pants to Members Only jackets, E.T. to Porky's, Moonlighting to The Cosby Show, and much more.

Deliciously wicked and unnervingly hip, Totally Awesome 80s holds a mirror up to that indulgent decade and lets us laugh at the all-too-familiar reflection.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Who could forget the decade that brought us AIDS, Milli Vannilli, teen slasher movies, and a sitting U.S. president with an advanced case of Alzheimer's disease? Well, I guess that question answers itself, but for those who wish to remember, no finer source can be found than Totally Awesome 80s, by Matthew Rettenmund, the man who brought us Encyclopedia Madonnica. This loving but ironic catalog of the most important cultural events of the 80s is fittingly slim, flashy, and shallow, covering mostly the poppiest movies, songs, and political actions of the era that told us "greed is good."

Review

"Matthew Rettenmund, with his sharp eye and his knowing prose, sounds like one of the freshest voices on the block."--The New York Times Book Review

"Matthew Rettenmund not only gets it all down, he gets it all right."--Kurt Loder, MTV News, on Encyclopedia Madonnica

"Matthew Rettenmund is a clever and witty new writer."--Greg Johnson, author of Pagan Babies

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (October 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312144369
• ISBN-13: 978-0312144364
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Totally Tubular! October 22, 2000

By John Orfield

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was six years old going into the 80's and sixteen coming out of them and I swear I remember how glad I was when that decade finally ended. Now I find myself gripped by nostalgia (gasp!) and I'm buying books like this. Go figure. I wonder, though, will the opposite be true? Will I eventually HATE the 90's, a decade I thought was pretty great? Maybe, but I digress...

Rettenmund does a tremendous job of categorizing the culture, music, movies, and tv shows of the 80's, placing them into neat little lists like "Ten Albums You Threw Out In Embarrassment in 1990 That You'd Give Anything To Have Back" or "Ten Big Action Flicks Of The 80's." He also adds a nice set of appendices at the end in case you'd like to see who won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1982 (Men At Work) or the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1986 (John Larroquette). Very thorough.

I do have a few compaints, though. The greatest complaint being the absence of an index, for those of us who want to know where all of the Tears For Fears references are RIGHT AWAY. And I suppose the lists were the easiest way Rettenmund could present an overview of ten years of pop culture, but lists of this nature are always subjective in nature, aren't they? I mean, he calls Madonna's "Into The Groove" The ULTIMATE 80's Song (a great song but the ultimate one? I'm not sure...) and says "Rain Man" was one of the most overrated movies of the decade ("Out of Africa" being at the top of his list). Still, I doubt anyone is going to throw the book down in anger because Rettenmund thinks "Out Of Africa" was the most overrated movie of the decade (except for Meryl Streep maybe)....

Also, Rettenmund either starts or finishes almost every listing with glib one-liners which do get a little tiring, especially if you read a lot of the book in one sitting. But they do their job and add to the light-hearted mood of the book, which is the point of all this anyway, right? Of course. And in that respect, Rettenmund succeeds and has put together the best pop culture book on the 80's I've found so far. Definitely a worthwhile purchase for everyone in the MTV Generation. Radical! Read more ›

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Great subject matter, irritating narative November 27, 2002

By No one you know

Format:Paperback

As a child of the 80's, I looked forward to this book after reading it's great reviews.
If you are looking for a book that will take you back to to the decade of Flashdance, Miami Vice, etc, this is it! The book certainly hits all the highlights (and lowlights) of the 80's; covering movies, music, and tv in separate sections and starting it all off with an overview of people and events.
However the commentary of the author all but ruined it for me. As a fan of snark, I am all for poking some fun at a decade filled will targets. But few of the comments are fun. They are either not funny, barbed, or just plain out of line and wrong! For those who want to remember a decade teaming with quirks fondly, to have the author taking rude potshots at everything and everyone in a patronizing way just sucks the fun right out of it.
Also there were glaring errors to be found even in a casual read through. Add that to the authors very annoying tendency to make assumptions about things such as a bands motivation for writing a song or naming themselves something without any basis for his observations takes all credibility out of the information. This book must have taken a lot of time, too bad the research was done on the bias, and so is the final product.
Bottom line: this book is a great way back machine for all 80's-philes. But a more accurate title would be "One Person's Opinion of Everything 80's", because that is what it is. A more impartial and accurate touch is needed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Calling All Children of the 80's January 15, 2004

By T. Hooper

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Do you love the 80's like I do? This will bring it all back to you in one book. The topics covered are current events, fashion, music, TV, and movies. Special attention is paid to the last three especially. I think fans of 80's music will love this the most. It covers everything from Lionele Richie, to Madonna, to Depehe Mode. As for movies, don't forget E.T., The Breakfast Club, and Back to the Future. In the realm of TV, The A Team comes on strong, the Dukes of Hazard wreck their car, and Arnold says "Whatchootalkinabout Willis?"

This will be a great gift for anyone who was a TV child in the 80's. If you're a child of the 80's, you should get it for yourself.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Decade of Decadence Revisited! December 17, 2003

By Ben Rowland

Format:Paperback

Ever wanted to re-vist the 80s and relive all the wonderful memories? Or perhaps learn about that time you might be too young to remember? Matthew Rettenmund's "Totally Awsome 80s" is the best place to start. At just over 160 pages, it gives you loads of trivia in such areas as important world events, pop music, movies, TV shows, scandals, and other items of interest.

The entire book is an easy read, since most areas are broken down into top 10-20 lists, with brief and often humorous commentary from the author. The most amusing section bar none is the "80sSpeak: The Idioms and Idiocies of 80s speech", which is an alphabetical dictionary of sorts outlining various 80s slang that was all the rage back them. From the teen slang ("Rad", "Gnarly", "Tubular"), to the annoying valley girl slang ("Fer Shur", "Gag me with a spoon", "Spazzing"), to the sexual innuendos ("Do The Wild Thing", "Get Horizontal", "Do The Nasty"). The list goes on. The book also covered more serious topics, like the greatest historical events (collapse of the Berlin Wall), and the biggest disasters (the AIDS epidemic). Also, for your reading pleasure, there is a look at the trends in fashion and art, which will either have you saying "Oh, fond memories" or "What the @#$% were we thinking?"

The most useful sections are the music and movie chapters. The music chapter has a great list entitled "The 80 Quintessentially 80s songs", which has a list of some of the best tracks from the decade - great for people looking to get into the music and who don't know where to start. The movies chapter outlines the best in action, drama, comedy, horror, and the best and worst of the decade. Each is broken down into a top 20 list for easy reference.... The commentary from the author, while not overly helpful or informative, is fun to read nonetheless. Matthew Rettenmund has a very sardonic approach to looking at the topics covered, and his commentaries are like those witty captions they have in magazines. After all, this is not a textbook.

"Totally Awsome 80s" is a fun read that you will likely revisit over and over again, either for the memories or to reference movies and songs listed therein. I'm sure there are other books that cover the decade better, but I have yet to find one. Though it is best appreciated by those who experienced the 80s, it is easily accessible to anyone who is interested. Read more ›