The '80s are the decade that just refuses to go away. The lives of a whole generation of Americans resemble one long-running episode of "The Wedding Singer," as they stay glued to retro radio stations (such as Bob) and belt out less-than-stellar renditions of Bon Jovi and Belinda Carlisle hits at karaoke nights in cheesy bars across this great land.

But for Bloomfield resident Spat Cannon (who at age 27 is too young to have experienced that decade for himself as anything but a small child), the '80s mean something completely different. In his alias, "DJ Hatesyou," Cannon presides over Neon, the largest subcultural '80s night in the city.

Despite a lack of advertising beyond simple word-of-mouth and a few silk-screened dayglo posters hanging here and there, Neon consistently draws hundreds every Thursday night to the most unlikely of locations -- a converted social hall in Lawrenceville called Belvedere's.

And the proper term when referring to Neon really is "subcultural," because it isn't your usual '80s night frequented by big-haired ladies and meat-market dudes. Instead, DJ Hates-you's following runs the gamut from 30-something alt-music types who used to haunt Oakland's much-missed Upstage Lounge to younger punk rockers, bohemians and goths.

"But it's pretty diverse," Cannon adds. "It also gets average neighborhood folks, college kids, and people who drive in from the suburbs."

On one recent evening, the crowd grew so large, according to Cannon, that they had to refuse admission for more than a half hour. How often do you hear about that happening at a club night that doesn't spin Top 40 tracks? And there's another aspect that differentiates Neon from your run-of-the-mill '80s night -- the music is almost entirely spun from vinyl records, more than you'll find at any given hip-hop event. Cannon schleps at least five crates of albums a week (over 500 individual records), representing only a fraction of the collection he keeps at home for potential club play.

In fact, after participating actively in the local punk/indie scene for the past 10 years (he was in the bands Pimps Up Hoedown and The Moment, and self-published some chapbooks and 'zines), what drove Cannon to become a DJ was the fact that he just had too many records NOT to be one. Two years ago, the Neon concept was born at the behest of Kalie Pierce (of the punk band Gunspiking) and Joey Reichenbacher, who has booked the schedule at Belvedere's during its transition from neighborhood bar to music-scene hangout.

According to Cannon, Neon stands out for his "archaeological" approach to the music. "I like to look at the time the music was made."

Just like today, what the public got to hear was controlled by large corporations who had the money to back certain acts, while many other bands fell by the wayside. Once you're removed from the time period, things that didn't get distribution but are very good get passed down as people say, 'You should check this out.' "

"Eventually, it causes sort of an equilibrium," he continues, "where all records can stand out and quality music can be recognized for what it is. I do lots of funk, hip-hop, freestyle, R&B, punk, post-punk, goth, industrial and even '80s ska. On Mr. Rogers' birthday, I played a verse of 'it's a good feeling to know you're alive.'... You get to the point where you realize that Whitney Houston never had any good songs, but that maybe Mission of Burma were onto something. I look at the '80s with a sense of refinement, whereby we can go back and sift out the darker financial workings of the music industry and extrapolate what's really of value. The first time [music promoter and DJ] Omar Abdul came to see me, he said, 'You're definitely the only guy in the city playing Sheila E into Operation Ivy.' "

Abdul should know. He and partner J Malls run a different kind of retro night -- "The Big Throwback," which specializes in soul and funk from the '60s and '70s once a month at Bloomfield's Brillobox. Cannon acknowledges his own '80s night competition -- after two decades of DJ exploits, DJ EZ Lou (formerly of the Upstage) still holds court in Oakland at Peter's Pub with Thursday night's "Pressure" weekly.

"He does that with Nate the SK8, who also has another night at the [South Side's] Smiling Moose on Sunday. It's called Upstage Nation, and it's successful. There are also other '80s nights at bars with their own respective clienteles, like Friday nights at the [South Side's] Lava Lounge."

DJ Hatesyou, who appreciates his position in the community well enough to give back to it ("on World AIDS Week, we donated 100 percent of the door to the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force") became an icon in such a short time that he was recently invited to branch out, and he will be guesting this Saturday at the Ceremony gothic/industrial night, held downtown at the Pegasus Lounge.

"My friends Wandi and Lisa are two of my biggest supporters. They felt that Thursday was not sufficient -- that I should DJ on a Saturday -- and Ceremony was the route they chose to take. I'm going to play a lot of classic industrial and goth songs from the '80s that have fallen by the wayside, but also introduce some off-the-wall things that I think should be incorporated into the world of dark dancing."

It's obvious that although Neon retains its predominant popularity and Cannon doesn't mind the occasional gush of praise ("It's pretty sweet you're dragging records back into your house at 3:30 in the morning, and someone drives by and yells, 'We love DJ Hates-you!' "), he's mainly into it for the love of the music. "People get really excited about the really 'cutty' songs that I play. I'd rather be nine people's favorite DJ than hundreds of people's ninth favorite DJ."

And he actively resists any temptation to slavishly re-create what the club experience was like in the '80s, because, after all, it's 2007, and this isn't Club Tech Noir from the first "Terminator" flick. "What I want to do is draw out what I find relevant from that period. I look at the crowd and take them into consideration, throw a bit of myself into it, and come up with a party that we all seem to enjoy."

Manny Theiner is a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer.

Neon

When and where: 9:30 p.m. every Thursday. Over 21. $4. Belvedere's, 4016 Butler St., Lawrenceville. 412-687-2555.

Ceremony

When and where: 9 p.m. Saturday. $4. 18 and over. Featuring guest DJ Hatesyou. Pegasus Lounge, 818 Liberty Ave., Downtown. 412-281-2131.

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