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Awesome 1980s

VHS Hoodie

VHS Hoodie
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Be kind and rewind to the 1980s with MoonLambo’s graphic hoodie, inspired by VHS cassette box art. Its made from a soft and cozy mix of polyester, cotton, and elastane for stretch, and is dye-sublimated to keep its looks from fading – unlike that Lethal Weapon tape you rented from Blockbuster that’s been played 1000 times.

A Brief History of Home Video

A Brief History of Home Video

These days, most content is streamed. But there was a time when videotapes were the media of choice. Mental Floss takes a trip in the wayback machine to tell the story of VCRs, the epic war between Betamax and VHS, and how the technologies changed everything for visual entertainment.

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1985 Grammy Synthesizer Showdown

1985 Grammy Synthesizer Showdown

In the 1980s, musicians started to put synthesized sounds at center stage in their performances. This gem of classic footage brings us back to the 1985 Grammy Awards, during which Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones, Herbie Hancock, and Stevie Wonder joined forces for a synthesizer spectacular. The late John Denver kicks things off.

Literally Running Up That Hill

Literally Running Up That Hill

Now that Stranger Things 4 is complete, we were finally starting to get Running Up That Hill out of our heads. But the Kate Bush earworm is back since we heard this version by KestrelTapes in which he played the track on a 30-pound keyboard while actually running up a hill. As far as we know, no deals were made with God.

Running up That Hill A Cappella

Running up That Hill A Cappella

Thanks to its prominent placement in the storyline of Stranger Things 4, the Kate Bush song Running up That Hill (A Deal with God) is enjoying a major comeback. Korean group Maytree unleashed their vocal talents with this a cappella version that had us feeling those emotions from the Dear Billy episode all over again.

Don’t You Want Brass?

Don’t You Want Brass?

Musician Seb Skelly turns The Human League’s 1981 new wave hit Don’t You Want Me? into a jazz tune, performing all five parts of his arrangement for brass quintet. We sort of miss the synthesizers, but Seb’s version is pretty great too.

Once in a Lifetime without Music

Once in a Lifetime without Music

Same as it ever was… or maybe not. The Talking Heads track Once in a Lifetime is a true classic. Ross Hudson wanted to know what the vocals from the 1980 track might sound like without the music and posted this clip of David Byrne’s isolated voice, which gives the song a whole new texture.

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Aliens Modern Trailer

Aliens Modern Trailer

(PG-13) James Cameron’s Aliens was one of the best movies of the 1980s, and it still holds up to repeat viewings. What didn’t age as well is its original 1986 trailer, so Michael Edwards got to work editing together a new trailer with a more modern aesthetic and that builds the tension much better than the original.

Stranger Things Arcade Desk Caddy

Stranger Things Arcade Desk Caddy
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With all the interdimensional monster battles, been a while since the kids on Stranger Things had time to play video games. This mini arcade machine desk caddy brings back memories of happier days for Hawkins and offers a great place to store your pens and pencils. The MDF wood cabinet measures 5.5″ tall.

Shargeek Retro 35 Charger

Shargeek Retro 35 Charger

Shargeek’s adorable USB-C charger pays tribute to the classic Apple Macintosh computer. The palm-sized charger looks like a tiny Mac and cranks out up to 35-watts for charging laptops and other gadgets. Its screen displays a Happy Mac icon with color backlighting to indicate charging status.

2023 Toyota 4Runner 40th Anniversary Edition

2023 Toyota 4Runner 40th Anniversary Edition

To celebrate 40 years of 4Runner, Toyota will produce 4040 of this special SUV with retro 1980s graphics in yellow, orange, and red. It rolls on 17″ bronze finish wheels and has a body-color grille with matching stripes. Inside, you’ll find bronze stitching and 40th Anniversary logos on the headrests, dashboard, and floormats.

Wordle in the 1980s

Wordle in the 1980s

Like many of you, we’ve played Wordle almost every day since it broke out. Squirrel Monkey imagines what the hit word game might have been like if it came out in the 1980s and ran on an MS-DOS-based PC. You’ll also need a dot-matrix printer if you want to share your score.

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E.T. Kuwahara Bicycle

E.T. Kuwahara Bicycle

40 years after the release of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, you can have the same bike that Elliott rode into the sky with his alien pal. This special edition Kuwahara bicycle looks like the one from the Spielberg classic, upgraded with a 4130 Chromoly frame and sealed bearing hubs. The bike drops in the fall of 2022 for $800.

Hip to Be Metal

Hip to Be Metal

Musician Leo Moracchioli is here, there, and everywhere with energetic heavy metal cover of the Huey Lewis and the News 1986 hit Hip to Be Square, a song you might also remember from the novel and film American Psycho.

MythForce: Gameplay Trailer

MythForce: Gameplay Trailer

Beamdog’s 1st-person roguelite dungeon-crawler MythForce sends up to four players on missions to clear the world of villainous creatures. What makes it stand out from the crowd is its art style, which is borrowed straight from 1980s Saturday morning cartoons. An early-access version drops on 4.20.22.

Museum of Endangered Sounds

Museum of Endangered Sounds

Long for the startup sound of your old Macintosh? Or perhaps the squeal of a dial-up modem? Save the Sounds’ Museum of Endangered Sounds offers an online soundboard where you can enjoy the sounds of retro technology any time you’re feeling nostalgic. Try playing them all at the same time for fun.

Choose or Die (Trailer)

Choose or Die (Trailer)

After stumbling onto a 1980s computer adventure game and figuring out a way to play it, a young coder discovers the game holds a dark and terrifying secret – and it’s not just that games used to come on cassette tapes that made a horrible squeal if you tried playing them through your stereo. Coming to Netflix 4.15.22.

Retro Game Music on a 1980s Synth

Retro Game Music on a 1980s Synth

For some reason, music from 8-bit and 16-bit games seems more memorable than most modern games. It probably has something to do with retro synthesizers drilling the sounds deeper into our brains. If you love retro game music too, hit play and listen up as BearKeys performs on a Roland Jupiter-6 synth. Part two here.

NECA ALF Ultimate Action Figure

NECA ALF Ultimate Action Figure

Everyone’s favorite 1980s Alien Life Form is ready to land in your toy collection. NECA’s 7″ articulated action figure has interchangeable hands, and accessories like a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, a soda can, a bowl of popcorn, a radio, and a cat that looks none too pleased that he’s been turned into a sandwich by ALF. Ships 8.22.

The Book of Boba Fett: 1985 Edition

The Book of Boba Fett: 1985 Edition

“He doesn’t take no for an answer, unless he’s asked to. And then he does…” The Book of Boba Fett gets reimagined as a cheesy 1985 TV action series by the mad minds of Auralnauts. Released just two years after Return of the Jedi, this version also fits better into the overall timeline.

Retro Tech: Magic Message Audio Repeater

Retro Tech: Magic Message Audio Repeater

Techmoan shows off another strange bit of 1980s tech. The Magic Message was a cassette tape player attached to a remote transducer and designed to play audio descriptions of products when a salesperson wasn’t available. It had suction cups and was designed to be installed inside of a window.

Inside the Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines

Inside the Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines

With locations in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, the Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines is filled with vintage arcade machines that date back to the Soviet era. Incredibly, the machines have all been restored and are playable. Baklykov. Live takes us on a tour of the museum, its machines, and other artifacts.

G-SHOCK x Rubik’s Cube Watch

G-SHOCK x Rubik’s Cube Watch

G-SHOCK goes back to the ’80s with a watch inspired by the Rubik’s Cube. The limited-edition GAE-2100RC-1A has a colorful face based on the red, yellow, and blue sides of the iconic puzzle cube. It includes white and black bezels and a black strap with green and orange accents.

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