Two Hosts Walk Into 1986 And Immediately Get Distracted

Step into 1986, where the radio blasted arena anthems, the movies minted icons, and neon felt like a state of mind. We rewind the year with a blend of laughs and real talk: the rock that ruled car stereos, the pop and R&B that defined slow dances, and the synth‑pop curios that vanished as quickly as they arrived. From Bon Jovi singalongs to Whitney’s first ascents, we map the soundtrack that made malls, gymnasiums, and Friday nights feel electric.

The screen was just as loud. Top Gun turned flight suits into fashion and gave Berlin a timeless ballad, Ferris Bueller made cutting class feel like a social philosophy, Aliens redefined sequel ambition, and Crocodile Dundee exported easy charm worldwide. We connect the scenes to the songs and the way soundtracks welded cinema to radio, proving that 1986 didn’t just entertain—it coordinated an entire mood.

History pressed in too. The Challenger disaster and Chernobyl changed how we watched live events and thought about risk. TV stitched comfort and cool with The Cosby Show, Miami Vice, MacGyver, and ALF, while MTV still shaped pop culture with wall‑to‑wall videos. At home, the Nintendo Entertainment System remapped our thumbs, the first PC virus whispered about a digital future, and Cabbage Patch Kids kept the toy aisles chaotic. We even confess which trends we’d exile forever—looking at you, Rubik’s Cube—before closing on sports drama: the Mets’ heartbreak classic, the Celtics’ dominance, and an NFL season that reminded fans why “made it to the big game” is a badge, even in defeat.

Stick around for the chaos cameo from Pip and Squeak, and a preview of what’s next as we gear up for 1987 and a holiday special. If you love 80s music history, movie nostalgia, retro tech, and sports lore, you’ll feel right at home here. Enjoyed the ride? Follow, share with a friend who still knows every word to Living on a Prayer, and leave a quick review to help more 80s diehards find us.

Transcript

Cold Open And 1986 Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Good day maidies, gentlemen, and those still emotionally recovering from the sound of dial-up modems. Welcome once again to the MT Alternative Podcast, the show that bravely proves each week that research, preparation, and basic focus are entirely optional. Today, your hosts Mike and Tom will attempt, and I stress the word attempt, to dive into the shimmering neon magnet of 1986. A year filled with legendary music, iconic movies, and enough hairspray to punch a hole in the ozone layer. Will they manage to stay on topic? Of course not. This is Mike and Tom. They could get lost during a weather report. So buckle in, adjust your shoulder pads, and prepare for a nostalgia trip, guided by two men who barely remember what they ate yesterday. This is the MT Alternative Podcast.

SPEAKER_05 1:30

MT alternative's on the air with your favorite friend. Tom's got the stories, Mike's got the tune. Roll down the windows and crank up those boom bones. MT Alternate pockets, let's ride Mike and Tom. We're still rocking live.

SPEAKER_04 1:47

Well, Tom, welcome back, bud.

SPEAKER_03 1:49

Hey man, what's going on?

SPEAKER_04 1:51

Uh, not too much, you know. Uh in the studio today.

SPEAKER_03 1:54

Yeah, we're not outside on the porch today.

Studio Banter And Thanksgiving Recap

SPEAKER_04 1:56

It's a little chilly. A little nipply out there this week. Not too bad, but that breeze. Yeah. Too cold for a podcast. But here we are, toasty inside, which is fine.

SPEAKER_03 2:07

This kind of weather makes you feel like men have nipples too.

SPEAKER_04 2:11

Yeah, we do. Anyway, let's uh first start off with I have a complaint. What the hell's up with Rupert?

SPEAKER_03 2:18

Yeah. He did get a little up on us, didn't he?

SPEAKER_04 2:21

Get a little testy there, ain't he, all of a sudden. Yeah, worse than Daniel.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

Not to mention, he's not set in stone right now. Exactly. So who knows?

SPEAKER_04 2:34

By the sounds of it, he doesn't give a shit anyway. No. But anyways, moving on. Uh, this week we'll be discussing 1986. 86. Mostly the music and other notables, obviously.

SPEAKER_03 2:45

And different things.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

But uh.

SPEAKER_03 2:48

How was your Thanksgiving? Pretty good. Pretty good. We had lots and lots and lots of food.

SPEAKER_04 2:56

Didn't eat a lot, but I I cooked a turkey. Only had turkey sandwiches. The wife had to work. Right. She's working again today. Uh so we'll have our meal tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 3:06

There you go.

SPEAKER_04 3:06

But I'm making my turkey soup. That's what I'm looking for.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

Turkey soup. Yeah. But we had uh there there was a lot of different things. I mean, different people brought different stuff. My sister-in-law, she made the turkey, which was pretty good this year, and some deviled eggs, which Deviled eggs are always good. Always, always, always good. And then the other sister-in-law, she had the ham, which was good. And and then uh my nephew, he killed a deer, and he brought a uh brought the deer to the house. The deer ham, which was good. And then we had all kinds of different sides of different things. What did Josh bring? He brought uh they they had uh macaroni cheese and did he buy it or did they make it? No, they made it. Jamie made it. Good job. Good job, Josh. And then it was uh they uh I can't remember what else. They did bring something else, but yeah, yeah. I can't bring but anyway, yeah. We had everybody there and we it was a good good little situation.

SPEAKER_04 4:22

So football games were somewhat decent, but there's one today at three o'clock, matter of fact.

SPEAKER_03 4:28

Yeah, well it's not like the Bears and Yeah, I forgot what the Bears are playing, but it's the Bears.

SPEAKER_04 4:34

Eagles. The Bears. The Bears. Anyway. Yeah. So it's nice to have a three-day work week. Yes. Oh.

SPEAKER_03 4:43

It's like a five-day work week because we had no leadership.

SPEAKER_04 4:48

Anyway. Oh, a five-day vacation.

unknown 4:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 4:51

Five-day, you mean five-day weekend. Yeah. Oh no, it's more than that. Seven-day weekend. Could be.

SPEAKER_03 4:58

We yeah, it's however you look at it. Well, we still were but it was it's decent this week.

SPEAKER_04 5:05

Not running around with our heads cut off a lot. And our one truck turned into two.

SPEAKER_03 5:10

Oh, yeah, that was different. But anyway, we made it. Yeah, we did.

Hard Rock Highlights Of 1986

SPEAKER_04 5:18

Good stuff. Yeah, that was. Anyway. Well, let's crack down to our music.

SPEAKER_03 5:25

Music, music, music.

SPEAKER_04 5:27

Let's see what our top songs were. Yeah. 1982.

SPEAKER_03 5:30

1986. I should have graduated this year.

SPEAKER_04 5:35

Let's see. Oh, top hard rock songs of 86 song. Living on a prayer, Bon Jovi. Yep, there he was. Bon Jovi's next with You Give Love a Bad Name. Yep, there he was. And Bon Jovi again with Wanted Dead or Alive. Imagine that. There he is. We have Europe with the final countdown. Rock you like a hurricane, scorpions? No one like you.

SPEAKER_03 5:59

Oh, Bon Jovi. Scorpions. Oh, no Scorpions.

SPEAKER_04 6:03

Yankee Rose, David Lee Roth. Ah, that was a good one. Why can't this be Love Van Halen? Now that's when they get that Sammy Hagar sound going. You know, I love Sammy Hagar, but I love Sammy Hagar on his own. With Van Halen, it became sappy poppy. That one's always Eddie Van Halen, though. He can't beat him on guitar. Exactly. Look at there's another one, Dreams. Van Halen. Oh, no, that's not the song at all. Nope. Nope. Way off there.

SPEAKER_03 6:32

Oh, okay. Sorry.

SPEAKER_04 6:32

Tom doesn't really know a lot of these songs. I kind of do. If he heard them, he would. But I'm the same way with the country. Still of the Night, White Snake, great song. Yes. In the Still of the Night, I hear the In the Still of the Night. Tom's stuck in the 50s. Oh, sorry. Okay. And then we had In My Dreams Dachin, good song. Oh, Dawkins. I like that.

SPEAKER_03 7:02

I do like Dachin.

SPEAKER_04 7:04

You do? Yes. Well, 1986 top songs across all genres. So we gave ourselves a little list here of ten of all different genres. Okay. All right. Number one, that's what friends afford, Deion Warwick. Sweaty. And friends. Don't forget the friends. Gladys Knight and Elton John, Stevie Wonder. Those are her friends. Evidently. Evidently. Say you, say me. Say you say. Lionel Richie. Say to Commodores. I miss you. Climax. Uh miss you. No, you don't. Sorry. On my own. Patty Labelle and Michael McDonald.

SPEAKER_03 7:48

Yeah, on my own.

SPEAKER_04 7:49

Yep. That's the one. How about broken wings, Mr. Mister? Broken Wings. We take these broken wings and learn to fly again. How are you gonna fly again with broken wings? Learn to live free. How will I know? Whitney Houston. How will I know? He loves me. Eddie Murphy. Michael wants to party. My girl wants to party all the time.

SPEAKER_03 8:14

Michael wants to party.

SPEAKER_04 8:15

I always thought it was Michael wants to party all the time.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

I watched Eddie Murphy 48 Hours last night. Yeah, I did, Nick.

Top Songs Across Genres

SPEAKER_04 8:23

I'm surprised you didn't watch Trains, Planes, and Automobiles, which Voz was on last night, too. I did see all that. And Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

And I passed it up. You know what for? Yeah, freaking. 48 hours.

SPEAKER_04 8:40

You gotta go with the classics. You can always watch that. The classics early on, one took. No, I know. All right. Uh we had Burning Heart, Survivor, and Kyrie, Mr. Mister. Addicted to love, Robert Palmer.

SPEAKER_03 8:54

Might as well face it.

SPEAKER_04 8:56

Now wanna break it down. Okay. The five top songs for each genre. There you go. All right. That's what friends are for, of course. Say you, say me, Lana Richie's, I Miss You by Climax, On My Home, Patty LaBelle, Michael McDonald, and Broken Wings. Funny, those are the top five songs of the year, too.

SPEAKER_03 9:19

And we mentioned every one of those already.

SPEAKER_04 9:22

Well, what do you know? Text. Rock. We got Silent Running on Dangerous Ground by Mike and Mechanics. Okay. Good. Yeah. Stages by ZZ Top. Oh. Good old ZZ. Throwing it all away by Genesis. Throwing it all away. Okay. Higher Love by Stevie Wimwood. Bring me some higher drugs. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:44

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:45

And Feel It Again by Honeymoon Sweet. Great song. Yep. RB. Okay. That's what friends are for. We're working friends. Okay. On my own. Play the bell of Michael McDonald.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

Wait, wait, wait. Let's let them guess what the next one is.

SPEAKER_04 10:03

Anybody? Anyone? Anybody? Say you say me, right? You won. Okay, now we have a different. Oh. We have Kiss by Prince in the Revolution. No way. Oh, not Kiss. Not the band Kiss. Kiss by Prince in the Revolution. I got you. You're a Kiss. Okay. Tasty Love by Freddie Jackson. Oh, Freddie. Tasty Love. Country. Oh boy. Here it comes. Leading Hot Country singles, number ones in year and that many. 1986 include Nobody by Sylvia. Your Nobody Call today. And I don't know the song.

SPEAKER_03 10:44

She hung up when I asked her name. Morning.

SPEAKER_04 10:48

Morning Desire by Charlie Daniels. You're asking me if that's the one? Wrong person. Oh, the Desire. Okay. Forever and Ever, Amen by Randy Travis. Yep. When he wasn't drunk, it was kind of naked. Yeah, there he was. Whoever's in New England by Reba McIntyre. And whoever's in New England's true with you. Okay. Don't underestimate my love for you by Lee Greenwood.

SPEAKER_03 11:15

Oh yeah. Yeah, Lee. Good old Lee. He was a good one.

SPEAKER_04 11:20

And Dance now. Bill Board's talking Dance Club Play No. These top tracks were rumors by Timex Social Club.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

Okay. Don't remember that one.

Genre Deep Dives And R&B Picks

SPEAKER_04 11:32

I think that's the one. Go Home by Stevie Wonder. Stevie came and never mind. She's still around. Still around the dog. I can't wait by new shoes. Yeah. That's one everybody should know. Being boiled. Oh. By ABC. Sesame Street? Being boiled. Being boiled? Yeah, I've been boiled boiled. I've been boiled. Nothing I have to admit, nothing really comes out.

SPEAKER_03 12:07

No.

SPEAKER_04 12:09

I know there was a lot of good songs in 86.

SPEAKER_03 12:11

Yes. What about the one-hit wonders that nobody really knew? Did we look that up?

SPEAKER_04 12:16

We did. We did look that up.

SPEAKER_03 12:18

We did.

SPEAKER_04 12:18

We absolutely looked that up. What about forgotten songs? Yes.

SPEAKER_03 12:25

Oh, that would be awesome.

SPEAKER_04 12:27

Let's get into some forgotten songs.

SPEAKER_03 12:29

Wait a minute. I forgot what songs they were.

SPEAKER_04 12:33

Well, we're gonna we're looking at them right here. Oh, forgot. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We have a teleprompter.

SPEAKER_03 12:39

Oh, I'm not sure. Moving up. Okay, moving on up to the side.

SPEAKER_04 12:43

Okay, no one is to blame Howard Jones. No one is to blame. Stream time, Darrell Hall. What happened to John Oates? They had a spat. Well, that happens. Emotion, emotion. Rico Cassick from the cars.

SPEAKER_03 13:01

An emotion makes it me over. Nope, that's not it, bro.

SPEAKER_04 13:06

See, I can tell you right now, this is why people have forgotten songs, because happen these are like, oh yeah. When the heart rules the mind. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:12

Yeah, thank you, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:14

Steve Howe. Must be from Yes. One hit one to super group. Yep, Steve Howe, Steve Hackett, beautiful guitar work, almost no cultural footprint. Oh, that's sad. Steve Howe. Invisible touch? Everyone knows the big singles, but deeper cuts like throwing it all away often get overlooked. Let's see. New wave synpop. Now these are songs people probably forgot about. Oh yeah. That's what we're reading now. Something about you, level 42. Oh, yeah. Something about you. Life in a Northern Town. Life in a Northern Town. Kind of a weird, dreamy type song. It was, of course. Perfect Way. Squiddy Polity. Oh, okay. Wait. It's a funky little scent pot that completely vanished. Well, geez, with a name like that.

SPEAKER_03 14:02

Wait a minute. It had to be physical before it completely vanished. And I never remembered it at all.

SPEAKER_04 14:11

Looking at you, I'm surprised you remember anything. Well. Looking at the look on your face right now.

SPEAKER_03 14:16

But that was because of the chocolate.

SPEAKER_04 14:18

Anyway, go ahead. Okay. RB and soul. Sweet love, Anita Baker. Sweet love. Sweet. Word up. Word up. Oh yeah, that was a good. Rumors. Timex Social Club. Let's see. Rock and Hard Rock. Why can't this be Love Vant? That's a forgotten song. It's just stay forgotten.

SPEAKER_03 14:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:46

Final countdown. I think everybody's going to be able to do that. That's a Okay, Country. We got Home by Joe Dippy. Yeah. It was another version. It says here early version. What my thoughts are singing home. Before his 90s fame, he had underrat he had an underrated early work around this era that barely gets remembered.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:07

All right. Now, 15 here. We got Friends of Low Places. Demo versions existed.

SPEAKER_03 15:12

A lot.

SPEAKER_04 15:13

Gott wouldn't release his version until 1990, but the song floated around Nashville in demo form in 86. One of those fun musical almost.

SPEAKER_03 15:21

Almost.

SPEAKER_04 15:22

Until what, 1990 when it was probably released it?

SPEAKER_03 15:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:27

Songs you uh may have forgot, forgot. Typical male, Tina Turner? Yeah. I could say I forget, I don't even know it. Stevie Wonder again with Go Home.

SPEAKER_03 15:37

Go Home Boy.

Forgotten 1986 Tracks And New Wave

SPEAKER_04 15:38

In Emotion with iEngineer and Mr. Mr. with Kyrie. What's that song? Kyrie? Whatever, however, yeah, yeah. Not a dumb song. But Broken Wings by Mr. Mr. was a good song. Broken Wing? That is a great song. Yeah, lyrically it's good. Yeah. So that's it for that stuff. We're gonna we'll go into the uh well, let's go into the one hit wonders now. Let's get it. Let's see if any of these What's that? That seems to be my stomach. Is that what it is? Yeah. It's eating something inside me. All right. Do you remember uh Like an 80s movie? Wait a minute. Kind of. Kinda. All right. 1986 One Hit Wonders. Take my breath away, Berlin. Take my breath away. Now what movie was that from, Tom? Talk tock. That you never watched. Never watched. People he never watched it. Don't shoot me. I will. Okay. Alright, next up obsession and emotion. You are an obsession. We talked about this, I think. One time before. Yeah, sometime before. Yeah. How about walking on sunshine?

SPEAKER_03 16:51

Walking on Sunshine. Woohoo!

SPEAKER_04 16:55

Technically a re-release hit in 1986 in some countries, but the band never had another major U.S. hit. Well, of course not. I can understand. That's a one-hit wonder. Sweet Freedom, Michael McDonald. Sweet Freedom. Oh, huge hit from the soundtrack Running Scary, but McDonald's solo career mostly focused on adult contemporary rather than chart topping pop hits. Well, that's why we didn't hear much about it.

SPEAKER_03 17:18

There you go.

SPEAKER_04 17:19

About the Doobie Brothers? What happened?

SPEAKER_03 17:23

Doobie Brothers. I like them brothers.

SPEAKER_04 17:28

Who's the hell's Peter Shilling with Major Tom? Major Tom. I don't think that's. That's David Bowie's song, right?

SPEAKER_03 17:35

Yeah, that's David Bowie's song, I'm thinking of.

SPEAKER_04 17:37

How about Shannon, Henry Gross? Mm-mm. Nothing rings a bell. While not strictly 1986 in all regions, it resurged on some charts and is emblemic. Emblematic. I had to correct myself. A fleeting fame. We got Mickey from Tony Basil. Hey Mickey, you're so fine.

SPEAKER_03 17:58

Yeah, you're so fine to blow my mind. Hey, Mickey.

SPEAKER_04 18:01

You want a Mickey?

SPEAKER_03 18:02

Hey, Mickey.

SPEAKER_04 18:03

Though originally released earlier, it's a recharting success still. Tony Basil never had another comparable hit.

SPEAKER_03 18:10

Obviously not.

SPEAKER_04 18:12

I can't wait. New shoes? I can't wait. I can't wait.

SPEAKER_03 18:17

I can't wait for some new shoes.

SPEAKER_04 18:18

I think some more up. A quirky synth pop track that dominated the airwaves, but the band never had another huge hit.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

Never.

SPEAKER_04 18:26

American Dream, Bank of Love, very 80s New Wave Sound. Bank of Love didn't break through beyond this one track. And here's a weird one, Tom. Okay. We all know True Colors from Cindy Lauper. True. Technically, not a one-hit wonder globally, but in some markets only know her. Or she's only known for this one song. Wow. Hell of people living under a rock.

SPEAKER_03 18:49

Cindy Lauper? She bop and uh girls just want to have fun.

SPEAKER_04 18:54

That's the biggest one right there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:55

That's I mean, you gotta know that song. What markets are you going to? Exactly. Piggly wiggly? Easy. Easy. I don't think we can say that.

SPEAKER_04 19:08

Can't say Pipley Wiggly. No, but uh, I guess getting off of this now. Let's let uh Pip and Squeak enter the room here. Oh boy. Have their little time. I'm gonna go munch on something quick. And uh we'll be back after the little dude.

One‑Hit Wonders And Soundtracks

Pip And Squeak Take Over

SPEAKER_02 19:34

Hello, Squeak. What the fuck is up? Got a cuss already? Well my God. Let's get this party going. Let's get this body started. You the one that said we're gonna get the party going. That was just an expression. This butt marty. People say that when they say, hey, let's get going. Let's do this. People don't do that to me. Speaking of sorry. Let's get this show started. Okay, there we go. Now we were gonna do a show today. First of all, we get things started. Okay, wait a minute. People would like to know. I am at the Louise. She was like a wall of women. She looked like a woman, a one of the way. That was a try. You had B and you had a very large one. We don't need to know that. Well, there was some kind of vegetable vegetable. Okay, well, why is it? What are you doing this way? What do you mean? What am I doing? I'm still listening to my story. Okay. Okay, everybody. But there must have been something. Well I think they say you know. So nobody would know. Seventy money. Okay. Well, seventy mummy. You gotta she gave another seven hundred pounds. Okay, but she wants six seven hundred and fifty pounds. Okay, you go big a home. Wait a minute. First time you told me about her, she was four hundred pounds. How the hell is she getting three hundred pounds since you met you? Okay, what the hell are you thinking about? She eats a little bit. A little bit, yeah. She well. How much does that go drink? Well, just about what the normal woman does. Let's win to my mom likes her and let her in his house. Well, she's a little bit dipsy. I want to know how she's getting to Tom's house. How the hell does she even get there? Well she she stumbles and then rose a little bit. There she is. When is she getting the door? Well, we stay outside. No, no, no. You don't go out there anymore. I don't go out with it. Okay, no, she rose. Well, when she stumbles, I rose, she rose a little bit away. Why would you say that about a lot of land? So shall we make someone? Name themselves skills.

Return To 1986 And Movies

SPEAKER_04 31:31

Squeak is quite the character. Boy, oh boy, oh boy. I get the feeling he didn't really want to talk about Ethelouise. He did and he didn't. And I'm wondering if it was just the beer and the pizza that the beer and the pizza.

unknown 31:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:47

And the tilting of the And is she really that big now? I don't know. You have cameras. Well, I have cameras, but she fit in a camera lens.

SPEAKER_03 31:59

They're aerial photos, so yes. Well, you need an aerial photo from the exactly. That's what I'm saying. So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:08

Boy, old boy. And his fruit farm. But anyways, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:13

Good old, good old squeak. Squeak and he's and I'm getting the impression Pip's getting a little tired of him. I don't know. Maybe I'm reading it wrong. I don't know. I haven't really and I think from now on, Tom, when you leave them their little treats, maybe maybe ration. Yeah, don't give my. I don't think he understands. He thinks they're all for one sitting. Well, see, that's like.

SPEAKER_03 32:39

Yeah, yeah, you're right. A little strange, that dude. He is a little stretch. A little? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 32:48

But well, let's get back into our 1986. Oh, yeah. And let's see, we have some notables.

SPEAKER_03 32:58

This would have been a year I was a senior.

SPEAKER_04 33:00

We don't need to talk about the music anymore. Well, we could always talk about music.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

Yeah, always. Music's always.

SPEAKER_04 33:06

I'm gonna start off with movies. Movies? Top Gun. Tom. Okay, talk about movies. Top Gun, Tom. That's a great movie. Didn't you love it? Maverick and Goose. There was a movie called Top Gun. With Maverick and Goose and Iceman. You goofed who? Tom, Tom, Tom.

SPEAKER_03 33:28

I never saw it.

SPEAKER_04 33:28

I know. I know, Tom. I'm making fun of you. I know you are. All right. Next we got Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I did see that one. He was was he a hero? He was. Or was he less just like a like to cause trouble?

SPEAKER_03 33:43

I don't think he liked it. I think he was a hero. He brought people together. Yeah, he didn't cause trouble because he never ever did anything. Remember? But he did. That one day.

SPEAKER_04 33:55

That was his day off.

SPEAKER_03 33:56

Yes. But never before that did he ever do anything like that. So yeah, he was a hero.

Global Events And TV Culture

SPEAKER_04 34:03

Oh, okay. Platoon. Good movie. You never seen that either, have you? Platoon. No? Part of it. Tom. For a guy that watches a lot of movies. I fell asleep. Maybe watch some movies that actually mean something besides them dumb, stupid ones like Dumb and Dumber. I fell asleep. Or say it. No. It's a Walter Math movie and a Robin Williams movie.

SPEAKER_03 34:33

Not that one. Not that one. That was a good one. The Survivors. They survived.

SPEAKER_04 34:41

And I didn't. Moving on. Aliens. Aliens. Aliens was a good movie. Did you watch that?

SPEAKER_03 34:49

Is that the one where the alien crawls out? Crawls out of where? Hercuter. I didn't see that.

SPEAKER_04 34:57

No, I'm kidding, it did crawl out from there.

SPEAKER_03 34:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 35:00

Maybe I did see that one then. Okay, how about Crocodile Dundee? That's a Tom movie. I did see that. Okay, wow. Yes. Imagine. All these movies I've seen. I've seen them all except for the movie. See, my problem is a few of them. I've watched all those movies from back in the day. I don't watch anything from now.

SPEAKER_03 35:20

Day in the back.

SPEAKER_04 35:21

Yeah, exactly. Okay. How about uh some political and world events, Tom?

SPEAKER_03 35:27

Yes, I saw that too.

SPEAKER_04 35:29

President Ronald Reagan got a second term.

SPEAKER_03 35:32

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_04 35:33

Uh-oh. I remember this because I started a job at Spectre. It was a fiber optic company.

SPEAKER_03 35:39

Right.

SPEAKER_04 35:40

We were at a pizza place, waiting in line to get our pizza lunchtime. They bonused you? Nope. The space shuttle, the challenger blew up.

SPEAKER_03 35:49

Oh, Tuesday.

SPEAKER_04 35:50

And I remember watching the TV and like, what is that smoke? And everybody just stopped what they were doing.

SPEAKER_03 35:56

Tuesday. That was a Tuesday. I remember that.

SPEAKER_04 35:59

That was sucking. You can just see the expression on the uh what's it? Chrissy McCallus' parents looking up. Everybody just, yeah, that was tragic. That was a Tuesday. Okay, internationally, another tragedy. Chernobyl, nuclear disaster. Yes, bad. Very bad. They're saying they're finding weird things there now, like animals that just have weird deformities and shit and stuff. It's kind of creepy. But they I guess, and there's still high levels of radioactivity there, I think. It's crazy. But yeah, I don't know how true the stories are about the animals, but like you're just hearing weird things. But hey, nuclear disaster.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

Nuclear. That's yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:38

Let's see. What is this? The people power revolution in the Philippines led to the Carrozin Aquino becoming president. Who? Caronzo Aquaqu Aquino. Aquino. Aquino.

SPEAKER_03 36:50

Miss Aquino. Yeah, I probably. Or Mr. Aquino.

SPEAKER_04 36:55

Pushing the shit out of that name, but GMT alternative, what Timmy said.

SPEAKER_03 36:59

We butchered that.

SPEAKER_04 37:00

All right. Television, uh, popular TV show, still the Cosby show. Alf. Remember Alf Tom? He ate ate cats. What a good little alien. What an alien. Uh MacGyver still kicking ass with his uh rubber band and a paper.

SPEAKER_03 37:17

Rubber band. Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_04 37:18

Miami Vice still going. MTV continued to influence pop culture heavily with music videos. Wide ass. When they played videos. Yeah. Of course, we're getting close to the end of the 80s where they stopped doing that shit for the most part.

SPEAKER_03 37:33

Yeah, and they started bringing out them living in a house altogether kind of.

SPEAKER_04 37:39

Real world, or was that what it was?

SPEAKER_03 37:40

Or some stupid shit like that.

Tech, Trends, And Toys Of 1986

SPEAKER_04 37:43

All right, technology and science. The first PC virus. Oh. It's called Brain, detected in Pakistan. Wow, Pakistan, huh? Imagine that. Space shuttle missions continued before and after Challenger. Gotta move on, I guess. Yep. Nintendo Entertainment System. We're gaining massive, uh, was gaining massive popularity, of course. Now, cultural trends. Big hair. Oh, big, big neon fashion and aerobics craze dominated the mid-80s style.

SPEAKER_03 38:15

Aerobicized.

SPEAKER_04 38:17

What's her name? Olivia Newton John Physical Commercial. Video games and arcade culture surged. Yep. Cabbage Patch Kids remained a massive toy craze. Cabbage patch. The cabbage patch? It's a dance, too. Oh, really? You can do the cabbage patch dance. I didn't know that. Let's see. You know what else I want to talk about? Okay. I want to bring this up. Bring it up. Do you have any is there like anything in '86 that you wish was it like your least favorite trend?

SPEAKER_03 38:52

In 1986, my least favorite trend was Yeah, you had a bunch of stuff here.

SPEAKER_04 38:58

You know, parachute pants were everywhere. Over the top pair. How about leg warmers? Everybody was wearing that. Well, maybe some gay guys, too. I didn't. Not that there's anything wrong with that, folks. Even you.

SPEAKER_03 39:12

I didn't.

SPEAKER_04 39:13

Oh, lots of sentiment music.

SPEAKER_03 39:15

Yeah, I didn't.

SPEAKER_04 39:17

I'll tell you one of mine. Go ahead. And I wish it would not come back ever. Okay. Rubik's Cube and its accessories.

SPEAKER_03 39:26

That thing has followed us since 1971. Whatever. Frickin' Rubik's Cube.

SPEAKER_04 39:33

Take that shit, that little frickin' block of frickin' colorful squares and get rid of that stupid thing.

SPEAKER_03 39:41

Here was the thing. Okay, for a couple years ago, my grandson, what do we get him? What do we get him for Christmas?

SPEAKER_04 39:51

You cheaped out and got him a stupid cube.

SPEAKER_03 39:59

And then? Nah. It's still at my house.

SPEAKER_04 40:03

But yeah, that could be gone.

SPEAKER_03 40:08

It attacks you.

SPEAKER_04 40:09

Parachute pants. They had their time.

SPEAKER_03 40:11

That's fine. Parachute pants.

SPEAKER_04 40:13

But yeah, that damn Rubik's Cube where every time we were reading about that.

SPEAKER_03 40:16

Everything, it comes back up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:19

But okay, now I do want to move on to sports notables from 86. Are you ready?

SPEAKER_03 40:28

I'm so ready.

SPEAKER_04 40:30

Let's see. Debbie got beat by the Giants in the Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_03 40:36

Only by a little bit.

SPEAKER_04 40:37

Of course, that was the 86 season. The Super Bowl was in 87. Right. Only by a little bit.

unknown 40:44

Shh.

SPEAKER_03 40:45

Okay. Well, this was in '96, so it don't really matter. Well, it was actually '87. Yeah, so it don't really matter.

SPEAKER_04 40:53

Yeah, well. But hey, we talked about the Patriots. I know it's blocked.

SPEAKER_03 40:57

I know, I know. 46 to freaking 20. Okay, we got beat.

SPEAKER_04 41:00

All right. Major League Baseball. The Mets won the World Series against the Boston Red Sox.

SPEAKER_03 41:05

That sucked.

Sports Recap And Team Histories

SPEAKER_04 41:06

It shit happens. NBA. Boston Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets championship. They're a little dynasty going on. I I think that's okay. And let's get into what happened with our teams. What did happen with our teams? We're gonna look back a little noticeable from 86. I kinda know. You do? Yeah. Of course, because we discussed it already. You should absolutely know.

unknown 41:32

I kinda know.

SPEAKER_04 41:34

You kinda know? A little bit. You wanna know? You really love me. All right. Let's see. In 1986, we both went 11 and 5 that season.

SPEAKER_03 41:45

How many of us made the playoffs?

SPEAKER_04 41:47

We both made the playoffs. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh you beat us in the Denver beat us in the divisional game, 22 to 17.

SPEAKER_03 41:55

And went to the Super Bowl to get our ass handed to us by who? The Giants.

SPEAKER_04 42:01

Of course. Like the Giants. Yeah. What are you gonna do, Tom? You know? Well, we went. See, we can say this though. Let's see uh Denver Broncos, 1986. Well, John Elway was, of course, your quarterback. Of course, yeah. He gave me 805 passing yards and three touchdowns in notable games. So it must be the playoffs. Dance Johnson was a prominent wide receiver with high average, nearly 20 yards per catch. Well, that's pretty damn good, man. 20 yards per catch. That's a good average. Yeah. That was back in the day. Orson Mobley. See, now I know him. Yeah. Orson. General Will Height, know him. Yep. That other dude I never heard of. Who? That guy we talked about before.

SPEAKER_03 42:42

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 42:44

Carl Mecklenburg. Yeah, those are the ones that those are players I heard of.

SPEAKER_03 42:50

Rulon Jones was a big guy. Who? Rulon Jones. Rulon Jones. I thought you said Rulon Jones.

SPEAKER_04 42:57

Oh, he's in there. I don't think I read his name. All right, so let's see. Key figures for the Denver Broncos. John Elway, Sammy Winder, Steve Watson.

SPEAKER_01 43:06

Right.

SPEAKER_04 43:06

Clarence Kay.

unknown 43:07

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 43:08

Billy Bryan. Carl Mecklenburg. Rulon Jones. Mm-hmm. Okay, then we had other notables. Lewis Wright, Mike Hardin, Steve Foley, Dennis Smith. All defensive backs. Chris Norman, your punter, I guess was some of the other folks in here. Here's our list, and the first name sucks ass. Tony Eason. Led the team through the regular and postseason campaigns and Super Bowl run. Yeah, thanks, Tony. That's why Grogan had to come in a bunch of times. But Tony Collins, our running back. Irvin Fry, Y Receiver, we talked about him last week. Julius Adams talked about them. So basically, we have both had good seasons. You went on to the Super Bowl, but Deborah went on to the Super Bowl. And the Patriots, hey, after a Super Bowl loss, like we had, we at least made it to the playoffs divisional round. I'm pretty happy with that at that time. Yeah. Being a big Patriot fan.

SPEAKER_03 43:57

Making it to the Super Bowl is better than I'll tell you what, losing the Super Bowl is better than not making it to the Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_04 44:06

That's how I figured, too. That's what I always say when people make fun of Buffalo. They went four straight years. Where was your teammates? Exactly. Yeah. Well, we didn't lose the Super Bowl. Yeah, because you never made it.

SPEAKER_03 44:17

You never made it. Yeah, there you go. You know? I'm with you.

SPEAKER_04 44:21

Same bullshit all the time, but it's like, yeah, get on Buffalo. Yeah, it kind of sucks, I guess, for the fan and the players. It's like, damn, we were there and didn't win it. But exactly. Four years in a row. You just had all those other teams that it's Dallas, San Fran, whoever they end up playing.

SPEAKER_03 44:39

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 44:40

Whoever it was. Just the way it was. So next week we're going to be moving on to 87. 1987. Now, once we get to the end of the 80s, we'll maybe gather up some songs, but I'd like to, we're going to revisit backwards. I don't mean every year just we're going to start talking about different songs we like than the guess the podcast. We'll we'll pick our songs. Right. Talk about those songs. I'm not saying every song that came out, just songs that had meaning to us. Not reading the top 10 or top 20 or whatever may be.

SPEAKER_03 45:18

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 45:19

But that's what we'll be doing next. Uh we'll have our holiday special coming up with the little dudes.

SPEAKER_03 45:24

Yeah, the little dudes' holidays special.

SPEAKER_04 45:26

They're working up something. I don't know what they're doing, but they have some.

SPEAKER_03 45:29

They begged us, so we're letting them. We'll let them do this.

SPEAKER_04 45:33

People seem to love the little dudes anyway. Well, I do not know.

SPEAKER_03 45:36

There you go.

SPEAKER_04 45:37

But on that note, Tom, I think we'll end this podcast.

SPEAKER_03 45:42

Yeah. We hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Oh, absolutely. Hope your football teams all do what they're supposed to.

SPEAKER_04 45:51

Just enjoy this whole week. College football, pro football.

SPEAKER_03 45:55

Stretch out.

SPEAKER_04 45:55

Everybody relax.

SPEAKER_03 45:57

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 45:58

And on that note, people uh remember to listen to us on our website, uh, mtallpod.com. Excuse me.

SPEAKER_03 46:06

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_04 46:07

Uh listen to Deezer FM, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Spotify, and I'm sure there's other platforms you can find us on. Plus for us another one. But yeah, check out our website, mtallpod.com, and uh hopes that'll do it. Until next time, Tom.

SPEAKER_03 46:25

We always thank God for the gift of gap.

SPEAKER_04 46:28

Alright everyone, take care, God bless.

What’s Next And Closing Credits

SPEAKER_00 46:30

Later. Help. And thus concludes another episode of the MT Alternative Podcast, the 1986 edition. A remarkable achievement, considering their attention spans are normally shorter than a gnat riding a caffeine hive. Truly folks, witnessing Mike and Tom stay on topic is like spotting Bigfoot doing taxes. Rare, majestic, and probably never happening again. If you've learned anything today, congratulations, you're doing better than they are. Next week, the boys claim they'll tackle 1987. Which means, naturally, they'll probably end up talking about 1991, sandwiches, or Tom's alleged band that no one has ever seen evidence of. Thank you for listening, and remember, if everything Mike and Tom said today made perfect sense, seek professional help.