When we heard last week that for — the first time since 1987 — vinyl records outsold CDs in the United States, we got to wondering:
If vinyl is back, what else from that year might be fun to revisit? The pegged pant? Shoulder pads?
Here are some highlights from the year of our Lord 1987 that could inform our modern day, for the better.
1987 was a great year for music, and we can only hope that the folks who are making vinyl sales soar are doing so by paying respect to these artists. Among the year’s legendary releases were Whitney Houston’s Whitney, The Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill, Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction, U2’s Joshua Tree, and Michael Jackson’s Bad.
Also in 1987, Def Leppard played the L.A. Sports Arena for the beginning of their Hysteria tour. Missed that show? You can make it up; the band is on a global tour this year with pals Mötley Crüe.
It wasn’t a bad year for Hollywood, either. Films released in 1987 include such classics as Dirty Dancing, Lethal Weapon, Fatal Attraction, Eddie Murphy Raw, Good Morning Vietnam, Moonstruck, and Three Men and a Baby.
Obviously, there were a lot of things that needed to change in 1980s Hollywood (and many things still do.)
But good storytelling never goes out of style — just take a look at this year’s Oscar winners.
Led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson, the Lakers took home the NBA championship against their rivals, the Boston Celtics.
As much as we’d love to bring that championship back this season, though, our boys in purple and gold have a 49% chance of making the playoffs and just a 1% chance of winning the Finals, according to FiveThirtyEight. But who are we to rule out an upset?
Acid-washed denim, shoulder pads, and enormous hair were the order of pretty much any given day in 1987. Vogue magazine also published covers featuring this police-officer-looking hat and Cindy Crawford in a popped, shimmering collar.
We wouldn’t be mad to see any of those items return (again), and acid-washed jeans are already head-banging their way into 2023. Maybe we could just do without the ozone-destroying hairspray.
In 1987, five family members living in Springfield, USA made their small-screen debut. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson first appeared on Apr. 5 as an animated short on The Tracy Ullman Show:
Two years later they got their very own show. And the rest...well, it's not history yet. There's no need to wish for them to be back; they’re still going strong and will be for at least two more seasons.
