Mirage Records, a tiny little label with major distribution, was on fire in 1984. The label scored a few high-profile dance chart hits, but ended up getting their most notable…
John C. Hughes
402 Articles
John C. Hughes began his Lost in the ’80s blog in 2005 and is now proud to be a member of the Popdose family, where he’s introduced LIT80s’s companions, the obviously named Lost in the ’70s and Lost in the ’90s, alongside the slightly more originally named Why You Should Like…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
I love remembering songs that are perfect for “Lost in the ’80s”, and Nolan Thomas’ “Yo Little Brother” is so lost and forgotten, it’s nearly sublime. This is another of…
John C. Hughes
2 Min Read
Hiccupy. Chipry. Helium-powered. Chipmunk. All those descriptors have been applied to the singing voice of Altered Images’ Clare Grogan, and for the most part, they’re pretty accurate. While Altered Images…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Visit my other blog today for Part One of my Rock & Roll Jeopardy experience. It’s 80s-riffic. More Lost in the ’80s coming up this week.
John C. Hughes
3 Min Read
When it comes to spectacular pop flame-outs, itÁ¢€â„¢s still tough to match the Knack, even 25 years after the phenomenal success of Á¢€Å“My SharonaÁ¢€ and their debut album, Á¢€Å“Get the…
John C. Hughes
2 Min Read
That was my mantra in 1988, when industrial music was in its golden age, and I was a sucker for anything released on the Chicago Wax Trax label. Most if…
John C. Hughes
7 Min Read
Question: YouÁ¢€â„¢re the lead singer and lyricist of an up and coming underground synth-based band. YouÁ¢€â„¢ve just lost your songwriter and main keyboardist to an ego clash. YouÁ¢€â„¢re left with…
John C. Hughes
5 Min Read
It was tough being one of two Frankie Goes to Hollywood fans in my suburban/rural Ohio hometown in 1985. The popular musical force at Elyria West High School was hair…
John C. Hughes
2 Min Read
Sometimes you go through your old albums and run across one that leaves you scratching your head, wondering Á¢€Å“why did I buy this?Á¢€ This happened to me the other day…
John C. Hughes
4 Min Read
Once upon a time, Bob Geldof was an asshole, and infinitely more interesting. IÁ¢€â„¢m using the term Á¢€Å“assholeÁ¢€ in the most complimentary, and admittedly, inflammatory fashion here. Geldof, alongside the…
John C. Hughes
5 Min Read
Welcome to Lost in the Á¢€Ëœ80s. HereÁ¢€â„¢s where youÁ¢€â„¢ll find the other side of all the big hits you rememberÁ¢€¦the failed follow-ups to the one-hit wonders, the album tracks that…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
I’m payin’ off credit cards, so bid on my comics and shit! Tons of good readin’, mint bronze age Marvels, and if you ever wanted to read about Tarzan and…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Okay, I’ve been bugging and bugging my friend Matty to start his blog, ‘cuz he’s fucking hilarious and has about seventy bajillion stories to tell. And now, that lazy HOAR…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Thine subtle humor While others laugh on cam’ra I love you, Frondi
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
After last night’s little excursion and expirement in BWI, I woke up today feeling a little insecure. I mean, I was probably one of the oldest people at that club…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Blogging While Intoxicated. Apparently, it’s the hip thing to do now. I’ve read several blogs in the past few days where the writer was blogging drunk (which is scary, since…
John C. Hughes
2 Min Read
I admit it. This show gets me every summer. I give up three hours of my week to spend it with Julie Chen, her bizarre body glitter and Silver Surfer…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Thanks for all the IMs and e-mails folks, but I know. This is usually the part where I come up with a bunch of bad “heart” puns made from Bowie…
John C. Hughes
2 Min Read
Strange Johnny Convergence Moment – #52 in a series As an impossibly aggressive junior high school geek, I was obsessed with British sci-fi phenom Doctor Who, specifically the Tom Baker…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Get erect. The incredibly nasty, dirty, skanky, whorish Gravy Train are touring. Nationwide even. Stop what you’re doing NOW and go to here to download “Sippin’ 40z”, then join me…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Liz Phair is 37. I am 36. From 1986 to around 1988, Liz Phair and I lived a mere 10 miles away from each other (she at Oberlin College, me…
John C. Hughes
4 Min Read
After 22 months of biting my lip as the President of the company I work for screamed (at me…at his receptionist…at the guy who stocks the vending machines), today was…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
1. The internet 2. Alternative music becoming mainstream 3. (The London) Suede 4. Bowie going industrial 5. That cool Prodigy band with the Á¢€Å“cat songÁ¢€ he liked so much going…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
I had to run some errands on this lovely partly cloudy day: Á¢€¢ I stopped first at Fingerprints Records to pick up the new Lloyd Cole CD (“Music In a…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
If anyone knows this incredibly hot guy in the green shorts that was at “Lapride” this past weekend, please propose to him for me. He’s obviously into bald whities, so…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Lollipop Thrower Hits David Bowie in Eye OSLO, Norway (AP) – Halfway through his third song at a Norwegian music festival, an object came flying out of the crowd and…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Today, I paid off the last remaining balance of a Visa I’ve had since I was 20 years old and living in Cleveland. It’s done. Over and out. $0.00. I…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Beautiful synchronicity led me to the International Channel where I saw a quickie documentary on artist Takayuki Mitsushima. Mitsushima creates his work using nothing but colored sticky tape on white…
John C. Hughes
5 Min Read
In the winter of 1990, I found myself in Tongduchon, Korea, a smallish military town about 15 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, the long stretch of no-manÁ¢€™s…
John C. Hughes
1 Min Read
Don’t pay her a promised Toyota. Everything about this story is hilarious, from her expression, to the prize, to the fact that she expected honor among Hooters.