Dangerous Memory of the 1980s

Episode9: The Top 40 Dangerous Memory List

Welcome to the Dangerous Memory Top 40 of the 1980s. The era had so many defining songs. This is not a list of the most popular. It is not even a list of my faves. Rather, this is a list of songs that defined the era politically and culturally. The book Dangerous Memory:Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed is very rooted in the experience of the Toronto/Canadian scene in the 80s - so if you are from other jurisdictions some choices will be a surprise. You can listen to the list on spotify:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5kAITvWS3nf5O0jIbAln4K
1.99 Luftballons  Nena  19832. Sun City  Artists United Against Apartheid 19853. B Movie   Gil Scott Heron 19814. Do they Know it’s Christmas Band Aid 19845. Thriller  Michael Jackson 19826. Redemption Song Bob Marley 19807. Material Girl   Madonna 19848. Rise Up  Parachute Club  19839. The Message    Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five  198210. London Calling      the Clash  198011. Karma Chameleon  Culture Club 198312. Biko Peter Gabriel 198213. Sweet Dreams   The Eurythmics  1983 14. Just Like Starting Over John Lennon.15. Stand Down Margaret    the English Beat 198016. My Hometown  Bruce Springsteen 198417. Ghost town    the Specials 198118. Fast Car  Tracy Chapman 198819. If I had a Rocket Launcher   Bruce Cockburn 198420. Beds are Burning   Midnight Oil 198721. Fight the Power   Public Enemy 198922. Once in a Lifetime   Talking Heads 198023. Ashes to Ashes     David Bowie 198024. Boy in the Bubble   Paul Simon 198625. Echo Beach    Martha and the Muffins 198026. Misguided Angel Cowboy Junkies 198827. Rocking in the Free World   Neil Young 198928. People Have the Power    Patti Smith 198829. Living on a Prayer Bon Jovi 198630. It’s the End of the World as We Know It REM  198731. Guns for the Afghan rebels  Angelic Upstarts  198132. Blue Monday    New Order  198333. Video Killed the Radio Star   the Buggles  198034. Cherry Beach Express  the Pukka Orchestra 198435. There is Power in the Union  Billy Bragg 198636. Ronnie Talk to Russia  Prince  198137. Breathing  Kate Bush 198038. High School Confidential Rough Trade 198039. Enola Gay Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark 198040. Rio Duran Duran  1982
 
 

Episode8: HOW THE 1980s GAVE US THE REVENGE OF HISTORY

The 1980s ended in the most spectacular way imaginable: the seemingly impregnable Berlin Wall fell without a shot being fired. It wasn't the militant Cold Warriors who brought down the wall - it was ordinary people on either side of the divide who put an end to the nuclear madness.
The 1990s could have been the era where the so-called "peace dividend" could have been used to handle global issues like the climate crisis, injustice and poverty. Instead, we were fed the myth that history was over and capitalism won. The result was a 30 year binge of neo-con ascendency in the false guise of globalization and offshoring of jobs. And now in the twenties all the chickens have come home to roost and we are confronted by a dangerous new cold war. How did we let this happen? Learn how on the episode of how the 1980s gave us the revenge of history.
MUSIC:Grandfathers Song - L'étranger 1983 ©Angus/CashInnocent Hands - L'étranger 1983 ©Angus/CashTime and Place -L'étranger 1984 ©CashNot Seein' Us -L'étranger 1982 ©Angus/CashSticks and Stones -L'étranger 1984 ©Angus/Cash

Episode7: HOW THE FOLK DEVILS OF THE 1980s CONTINUE TO HAUNT US

Every generation confronts insecurities and fears through an obsession with cultural "folk devils." The 1980s had no shortage of folk devils and moral panics - satanic cults, "crack" babies and the serial killer. Cultural obsession with serial killers launched a massive book industry and Hollywood cashed in a big way with the slasher movie genre. 
And yet, the 1980s failed to understand the rise of a new phenomenon one that haunts us to this day - the mass shooter. This episode looks at how we responded to fears of the 1980s. The episode ends with a reflection on the 1980s fear of dystopian future symbolised by 1984. Digital computers promised us freedom from dystopia and mass surveillance. How wrong we were. 

Episode6:How the 1980s Created Homelessness and Robbed You of a Home

The housing and homelessness crisis is creating massive divides across North America. The skid rows that were once limited to inner cities now cut across every small town in this country. In this episode we will look at how the crisis of homelessness was created in the 1980s and how our neighbourhoods were made unliveable when they were given away to international speculators.
This episode will look at Toronto as a test case. It was one of the most liveable cities in North America in the 1980s and has become a city defined by extreme wealth divides and inequities because of the policies that came from that era. 

Episode5: HOW THE 1980s COULD HAVE SAVED THE PLANET

In 1982 a super tanker the Esso Atlantic quietly made its way across the world's oceans. It wasn't carrying oil. It was carrying scientists. The oil giants were mapping out the impact of burning fossil fuels. The conclusions were frightening - if they didn't change course the world was on track for a climate catastrophe. Big Oil suppressed the evidence. They then poured billions into disinformation campaigns to dispute the science they knew to be true while promoting massive increases in fossil fuel burning. 
And even as their predictions are coming frighteningly true, they continue with the same lies and deceptions. This episode breaks down the great fossil fuel counter revolution of the 1980s.
Music: The Grandfather's Song - L'étranger 1983  ©Angus/CashThe Summer Before the Storm - Grievous Angels 2020 ©Angus 
https://grievousangels2.bandcamp.com/track/summer-before-the-storm
@Sticks and Stones - L'étranger 1984  ©Angus/Cash

Episode4. HOW 80s MUSIC WENT FROM DIY TO THE STRETCH LIMO

The 80s was a defining era for music. But this episode is not about the biggest hits or the most famous stars. I use this episode to reconsider how the politics of the era and the dramatic transformation in technology shaped and then reshaped the music of the era.The episode will begin by looking at the DIY music revolution that took place in the city of Toronto, Canada. The economic recession actually created perfect conditions for experimentation and grassroots activism. As the industrial city withered young artists took over old lofts and warehouse spaces. There was an explosion of venues and bands. The DIY culture was anti-capitalist, anti-commercial with a powerful political consciousness. I will look at the rise of the Rock Against Racism movement to fight back against fascist and white extremism.
I will then broaden out to look at the larger impacts of musical/political activism in the fight against apartheid, famine and the cold war. The fight against Apartheid was a defining moment of the 1980s in politics and arts. By the second half of the 1980s music began to reflect the consumerism and excess of the greed is good era. Part of that was influenced by the huge changes in technology - the transition from cassettes and 45s to the CD. The role of video had a huge impact. And the episode will end by reflecting on the transition of AM radio from being the soundtrack for young teenagers to the rage space for talk radio and conspiracy. 
Soundtrack:The Grandfather Song - L'étranger 1983 (unreleased track) ©Angus/CashTook What Didn't Belong - L'étranger 1982 ©Angus/CashGo Gently -L'étranger 1983 (unreleased track) ©Angus/CashSticks and Stones - L'étranger 1984 ©Angus/Cash

EPISODE 3: HOW A POP SONG, A TV MOVIE AND 4 MOMS SAVED THE WORLD

People remember the Cuban missile crisis as the most frightening moment of the Cold War. On this episode we travel back to the fall of 1983 when the world almost ended, not once, but twice. The 1980s was a time when the world stood on the precipice of nuclear destruction. It wasn't Ronald Reagan who ended the Cold War and brought down the Berlin Wall.
We look at how ordinary people took to the streets in increasing numbers to challenge the deployment of cruise missiles and pushed to de-escalate the nuclear nightmare. 
Inspired by the book Dangerous Memory:Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed by Charlie Angus published by House of Anansi Press 2024. 
 
Music:The Grandfather Song - L'étranger ©1983 Angus/CashSticks and Stones - L'étranger ©1984 Angus/CashWar Zone - L'étranger ©1983 Angus/CashGo Gently - L'étranger ©1983 Angus/CashThis is How the City Falls - Grievous Angels ©2023 Angus

Episode2. HOW THE 1980s KILLED THE AMERICAN DREAM

1980 hit hard with the worst job losses since the Depression. But unlike the depression this crisis had been planned at the top and it had Milton Friedman's fingerprints all over it. In this episode we look at the great economic counter revolution that turned the 1980s into the "decade of greed" and broke the back of the American working class. We have been picking up the pieces ever since.
But this episode tells the story of a manufacturing plant in Oshawa that stood up to shock doctrine. Resistance by Canadian workers in the 80s  represents a powerful dangerous memory. 
Soundtrack:Grandfathers Song. L'étranger. Angus/Cash 1983. DemoGoliath. L'étranger Innocent Hands EP. 1982. Angus/CashNot Seein' Us. L'étranger Innocent Hands EP. 1982. Angus/CashTime and Place. L'etranger 1984. Cash.Sticks and Stones. L'étrangre 1984. Angus/Cash

Episode1: HOW NOSTALGIA WON'T SAVE YOU FROM THE 1980s.

What is it about the 1980s that seduces us with waves of warm nostalgia? This first episode of Dangerous Memory challenges the false hold of nostalgia that clouds our memory of the era. Dangerous memories are required to look deeper into the politics of an era that continues to have huge impacts on our world today. It's about going deeper than the memory of parachute pants, fun pop songs, and big hair. How did an era of activist DIY resistance become the Decade of Greed? And why are we still living with the impacts today? 
Inspired by the book Dangerous Memory:Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed by Charlie Angus published by House of Anansi Press 2024. 
A ten part series. Episodes drop every week starting Sept 16, 2024. 
 
Music:The Grandfather Song - L'étranger ©1983 Angus/CashBarricades - L'étranger ©1982 Angus/Cash Not Seein' Us -L'étranger ©1982 Angus/Cash Taken Away -L'étranger ©1982 Angus/Cash Sticks and Stones - L'étranger ©1984 Angus/Cash