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The 80's were my 20s. It's hard to explain to younger folks how the 80s (especially early 80s) felt, culturally. The whole 'Japan, Inc.' thing was in full swing

The 80's were my 20s. It's hard to explain to younger folks how the 80s (especially early 80s) felt, culturally. The whole 'Japan, Inc.' thing was in full swing, and the general feeling was that Japan was eating the world. 'Tech' was this fresh, semi-mystical thing, still opaque to much of the public. Gibson latched onto that cultural wave and took it into a possible future, and it was exciting to me. Today it's interesting to see that technofuture both commoditized and idolized. Now in my 50s, it's still interesting but seems a bleak and not-terribly-human place that I don't want to live.

mindcrime 5y ago
It's hard to explain to younger folks how the 80s (especially early 80s) felt, culturally. The whole 'Japan, Inc.' thing was in full swing, and the general feeling was that Japan was eating the world. 'Tech' was this fresh, semi-mystical thing, still opaque to much of the public. I'm just a little younger than you then, but I remember the 80's pretty much the same way. Japanese manufacturers (especially of cars and consumer electronics) were sort of "eating the world" and computers and high-tech were still seen as very mysterious and mesmerizing and had a real mystique about them. Interestingly, for me, the mystique and mystery of high-tech largely persisted up until about 2010 or so. Maybe a little later, maybe 2015 even. It's only been in the last few years that it seems to be wearing off. Not sure if that's just a reflection of my becoming older and more cynical and harder to impress, or if its down to changes in society/culture at large, or what. But my recent re-reading of the Sprawl and Bridge trilogies was, in part, I think an attempt to recapture some of that. Not sure if it worked or not, but it was fun reading all that stuff. Now in my 50s, it's still interesting but seems a bleak and not-terribly-human place that I don't want to live. There are aspects of the "cyberpunk future" that still seem appealing in some regards, but it doesn't necessarily feel like the exact world I'd want to live in, that's for sure.
cwkoss 5y ago
Japanese 80s City Pop is one of my favorite musical genres - an outgrowth of the huge economic growth happening in Japanese cities. Big funky happy instrumentals and lyrics often alluding to glamorous lifestyles, social isolation and an unquenched loneliness. It was a very interesting time in Japan's history, which I personally think has a lot of parallels to the current west-coast tech bubble. Check out: Fantasy - Meiko Nakahara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kt8HP1VEPU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kt8HP1VEPU 真夜中のドア/Stay With Me - Miki Matsubara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEe_yIbW64w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEe_yIbW64w I Can't Stop The Loneliness - ANRI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bALJxjL8jw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bALJxjL8jw 4:00 A.M. - Taeko Onuki https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sOKkON_UnQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sOKkON_UnQ

mindcrime 5y ago

It's hard to explain to younger folks how the 80s (especially early 80s) felt, culturally. The whole 'Japan, Inc.' thing was in full swing, and the general feeling was that Japan was eating the world. 'Tech' was this fresh, semi-mystical thing, still opaque to much of the public. I'm just a little younger than you then, but I remember the 80's pretty much the same way. Japanese manufacturers (especially of cars and consumer electronics) were sort of "eating the world" and computers and high-tech were still seen as very mysterious and mesmerizing and had a real mystique about them. Interestingly, for me, the mystique and mystery of high-tech largely persisted up until about 2010 or so. Maybe a little later, maybe 2015 even. It's only been in the last few years that it seems to be wearing off. Not sure if that's just a reflection of my becoming older and more cynical and harder to impress, or if its down to changes in society/culture at large, or what. But my recent re-reading of the Sprawl and Bridge trilogies was, in part, I think an attempt to recapture some of that. Not sure if it worked or not, but it was fun reading all that stuff. Now in my 50s, it's still interesting but seems a bleak and not-terribly-human place that I don't want to live. There are aspects of the "cyberpunk future" that still seem appealing in some regards, but it doesn't necessarily feel like the exact world I'd want to live in, that's for sure.

cwkoss 5y ago

Japanese 80s City Pop is one of my favorite musical genres - an outgrowth of the huge economic growth happening in Japanese cities. Big funky happy instrumentals and lyrics often alluding to glamorous lifestyles, social isolation and an unquenched loneliness. It was a very interesting time in Japan's history, which I personally think has a lot of parallels to the current west-coast tech bubble. Check out: Fantasy - Meiko Nakahara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kt8HP1VEPU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kt8HP1VEPU 真夜中のドア/Stay With Me - Miki Matsubara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEe_yIbW64w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEe_yIbW64w I Can't Stop The Loneliness - ANRI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bALJxjL8jw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bALJxjL8jw 4:00 A.M. - Taeko Onuki https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sOKkON_UnQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sOKkON_UnQ