Flashback: September 21, 1987

Welcome to the Jungle of ‘87

The fall of 1987 wasn’t just about homework and homecoming. This was prime late-80s territory… big hair was reaching architectural heights, shoulder pads approaching linebacker proportions, and we were sneaking into Fatal Attraction screenings.

On Wall Street, the market was riding high…though nobody knew Black Monday was just around the corner.

Politically, President Reagan was in full stride, touting peace through strength, even as global whispers about glasnost and perestroika hinted at change in the Soviet Union.

Closer to home, teens were rolling into skating rinks on Friday nights, or gathering around cardboard mats to try out the latest breakdance moves. Arcades glowed with the lure of Double Dragon and Out Run, while and VHS tapes kept the soundtrack going when the quarters ran out.

Sports fans had plenty to cheer about too…the NFL season was underway, Mike Tyson was the undisputed heavyweight champ, and the Minnesota Twins were still basking in their World Series win from the year before.

But for us in September ’87, there was a golden confidence in the air. Our Walkmans were loaded with perfect mixes of rock, R&B, and new wave. And it felt like the future was ours for the taking.

Let’s dive in!

This Mixtape Memory Lane is sponsored by 50 Ways to Keep Your Lover.

Mixtape Memory Lane 

🎧 “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” – Michael Jackson

The first single from Bad, this duet with Siedah Garrett showed MJ could rule the charts even with a tender ballad. It set the stage for a whole new era of King of Pop dominance.

🎧 “Lost in Emotion” – Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

An irresistible blend of freestyle and dance-pop. With Full Force behind the production, this one had us filling dance floors coast to coast.

🎧 “Here I Go Again” – Whitesnake

Hair metal in all its glory. David Coverdale’s soaring vocals and Tawny Kitaen’s iconic car-hood cartwheels made this track immortal in both sound and sight.

🎧 “La Bamba” – Los Lobos

The Ritchie Valens tribute hit like lightning, blending rock nostalgia with modern flair. Thanks to the movie, a whole new generation discovered the roots of rock and roll.

🎧 “Didn’t We Almost Have It All” – Whitney Houston

Whitney’s powerhouse ballad replaced ABC’s When Smokey Sings in the Top 5 this week. With vocals that could stop traffic, she proved yet again that her voice defined an era.

🎧 BONUS TRACK: “Welcome to the Jungle” – Guns N’ Roses

Before it became the anthem blasting at every stadium, this track was the gritty postcard from L.A.’s wild side. Axl promised you’d feel the danger…and honestly, even from your boombox in suburbia, you kind of did.

👆 Watch the full throwback video playlist on YouTube Music.

Screen Time Rewind 

At the movies, variety was the name of the game. Fatal Attraction had audiences double-checking their relationships and locking rabbit cages, while The Princess Bride gave us a fairy tale that was equal parts swashbuckling and snark.

If you needed adrenaline, Predator brought jungle warfare and unforgettable one-liners.

And for anyone who just wanted to laugh, Adventures in Babysitting kept things light and chaotic.

On TV, primetime still belonged to the heavy hitters. The Cosby Show and Cheers were dominating Thursday nights, while Moonlighting mixed romance and razor-sharp dialogue in a way that kept “will they/won’t they” debates alive in cafeterias and office break rooms alike.

Daytime was no slouch either. The Oprah Winfrey Show was only a year into national syndication but was already changing the tone of talk TV with empathy and real conversation.

Sally Jessy Raphael, with her trademark red glasses, was tackling rawer topics that gave afternoons their own spark.

Over in soap land, The Bold and the Beautiful was fresh on the air, bringing high fashion and family drama to the lunch-hour crowd.

And if you needed something lighter, Win, Lose or Draw turned doodles and quick guesses into an easy afternoon watch.

Whether you were at the theater, parked in front of the TV at night, or sneaking daytime reruns, 1987 made sure there was always something to keep us hooked.

This Life Reboot is sponsored by La’Merde Designs apparel.

Life Reboot: Mind

Mindset Over Meltdown

In 1987, we didn’t talk about “emotional intelligence.” If someone suggested you should “process your feelings,” you’d probably roll your eyes and crank up Def Leppard. Stress was either stuffed down or blasted out through music, movies, or a locked bedroom door.

But here’s the truth: our teenage brains weren’t built for balance. Neuroscience now shows that adolescents feel everything more intensely because the rational prefrontal cortex is still developing. No wonder a crush ignoring you felt like the end of the world!

Fast forward to today, and we’ve got tools to keep our inner teenager in check. Psychologists call it “temporal distancing”…asking how much something will matter in a week, a month, or a year. It’s the antidote to the instant drama loop.

The same way we memorized every lyric on our favorite albums, we can train our minds to notice patterns and choose new responses. Mindfulness doesn’t mean ignoring your emotions. It means seeing them without letting them run the show.

This Week’s Challenge
Take five minutes to try journaling as a way to steady your emotions. Write about your strongest feeling today…what sparked it, how it shows up in your body, and how you responded. No editing, no judgment, just a chance to notice.

If you’d like prompts or a little guidance, the Mindfulness.com app offers a journaling feature alongside meditations and tools to help you reflect with more structure.

Visual Feature is sponsored by Practical Advice from the Scriptures.

Visual Feature: Meme of the Week

Life Reboot is sponsored by La’Merde Designs.

Mixtape Memory Lane is sponsored by 50 Ways to Keep Your Lover.

Visual Feature is sponsored by Practical Advice from the Scriptures.

Get to the Chopper!

That’s our rewind to September 1987…a month of blockbuster ballads, iconic one-liners, and television that dared to break the rules.

It was a time when our worries were smaller but our feelings ran big, and the world felt both fragile and full of possibility.

So this week, if a song, a scene, or a memory from 1987 made you smile, don’t keep it to yourself…share this edition with a friend who’d get the reference. And if you haven’t already, subscribe so you never miss a rewind. After all, nostalgia’s better when it’s a group project.

Until next time, remember the words that still make GenX hearts melt:

“As you wish.”