The big hair and glam makeup may make a comeback one day.  The guitar riffs likely have made a comeback thanks to Guitar Hero. 

But one thing even Brett Michaels and Poison won't be able to bring back is the importance of the landline, a.k.a. the home telephone. 

I was listening to the 80s channel on satellite radio this morning when I started singing along to a classic (for my generation) hit: Talk Dirty to Me.  Without thinking, I sang this line and then laughed out loud -- not b/c I was singing it to my 14-month-old daughter, but because it is utterly archaic now:

You know I call you
I call you on the telephone
I'm only hoping that you're home
So I can hear you

(cue my old man voice) - Back when I was growing up, if you wanted to talk to a girl, you had to call her house, and most likely her mom or dad would answer.  That was the first hurdle.  Then, she had to find a place in the house where everyone didn't hear your conversation (more of a challenge before cordless phones).  And then you had to contend with every other person in the house who wanted to use the phone (this was before dual lines). 

Even if you weren't "Talking Dirty," you had to overcome quite a bit just to communicate.

If this sounds downright foreign to you, here's a glimpse at what it was like: