Music of the 80s: what did it mean to you?

The 80's were the main decade for two of the most fascinating acts ever: the Talking Heads who created a very unique sound, and Kate Bush who not only did that as well, but also ranks right at top of the list of the best songwriters ever (if not even beyond that!).

 

Excellent point. I missed this when I 1st read through this thread. Serious music lovers need to just forget the "charts" when evaluating music. Who cares what "Joe Six-pack" was listening to? Certainly not I....

 

Of course, one shouldn't go to far the other way too, just because something WAS a hit, doesn't mean it wasn't good.

 

I don't know about that, man! As I was researching my 1983 comp tonight, I came across tons of forgotten stuff that never gets play on oldies radio that i'm sure people have totally forgotten. As I stated earlier, it was my dark period, so I also tend to forget. Granted, a lot of it was on the Black/Urban charts, but that's beside the point.

jsayers calls us "drones", but that is a bit snobbish. Pop music is what it is, popular, and there is never anything wrong with us, it, or liking it. It just may not be your cuppa tea. To be fair, I do know what he's saying. In my case, jazz would be the stuff that you didn't find on the top of the charts.

 

Now, that was insulting, ignorant, and very snobbish! You are not the gatekeeper of good music any more than anyone else.

OK, your opinion is not PC, and I wouldn't want it to be, but, man, don't be insulting people! There's a difference between insulting the music, and insulting those that like or dislike it.

 

Not my intent at all. Did you read my entire post? I was merely stating that the charts do not fully reflect the vast amount of music that was released in the 80's. Remember, there was a lot of "indie" labels that sprang up in this decade that put out a lot of really good music that wasn't "privvy" to radio or MTV exposure.
The three terms you slung at me were more offensive than anything I said. Thanks a lot.

 

rock and roll went underground, and blossomed there. The megga successes of the late 70's led the major labels down a very conservative path. If one old enough to look further than MTV as a guide, but still young enough to go out and see young bands in clubs it was a great time.

 

Well, you shouldn't have used the word "serious".

 

Being born in 1982, it's the decade when I started listening to music. 80s Billy Joel, Joe Jackson or Bruce Springsteen, U2's The Joshua Tree and Rattle And Hum, Fleetwood Mac's Tango In The Night, that was what I was listening to. I didn't have a clue that there was a lot of synth pop, metal and rap going on as well.

 

Care to give some examples?

 

Radiohead
Blur
Tori Amos

How long of a list would you like?

 

....what did it mean to you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j7sAOZr3GQ

 

Van Halen

 

That's a strange statement. I could've driven 10 miles in any direction last night and easily found a little club with a band playing original material, presumably to people having a good time.

 

I was born in 1980 - so I literally grew up in the 1980's, it was the first decade of my life.

I loved the music then and still do now. Great production values that have been lost in a lot of modern music, danceable beats, memorable melodies - all things that are sadly lacking in a lot of current music.

Sure, there was some crap but on the whole, I love it.

Albums like Michael Jackson's Thriller and Bad, Tears for Fears The Hurting, Big Chair and Seeds of Love, Dire Straits Brothers in Arms, Queens The Works etc still really do it for me.

Oddly enough, when I was a teenager in the 1990's I had little to do with the contemporary music scene, preferring to check out the 1960's instead.

I love the 80's!!

 

But you're using the worst the radio had to offer to make your point. Take '87 -- along with the dreck you list, you were likely to hear "Goin' Back to Cali," "Welcome to the Jungle," "Pump Up the Volume," "Brilliant Disguise," or "Don't Dream It's Over" -- classics all, at least in my book. It sounds like your perception of what was on the radio changed at least as much as the music did.

And as many have pointed out, what was happening in hip-hop and college radio made even the best stuff in the Top 40 look sick by comparison.

 

I'd say it's the beloved rock and prog bands of the 60s and 70s turning into 'elevator music' during the 80s.

 

I was age 10-19 for the 80's, so you must know that this is the decade of choice for me. I love all sorts of music, but the 80's hold a special spot in my heart. Favorites then(and still listened to on the ol' iPod) are INXS, Howard Jones, Duran Duran, The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, The Pretenders, Simple Minds, etc....

 

The 80s, the decade of the pop video, helped promote the idea - that began with the sleeve art of the LP - that music alone was not enough: it needed visuals - branding - to really sell. The accountants loved it. It meant that the mainstream labels could become a virtual cartel/monopoly - because the cost of creating a video was yet another barrier to entry (as if radio plugging, etc, weren't enough). Smart independent labels like STIFF Records, made cheap, inventive videos that bucked the trend, but they were the exception.

The other development was the CD. Record companies could sell you the same stuff all over again!

So the major labels became increasingly marketing and accountancy-led, and their wet dream came true: music became 'product' and 'units'. Even then, the market was dysfunctional - for example, "Mary's Prayer" wasn't a hit in England, but when it was a minor hit in the US it was re-released, now with the full record company behind it. It reached No. 3. What was going on? Marketing was winning.

For many reasons, partly those above, the great new music of the 80s was slightly off-the-radar. The major record companies are still in the 80s. The kids, however, aren't buying...

 

i'm sorry, i still can't believe the view that a decade of music was awful in and of itself.

rap grew from a party-disco vehicle to something politically and socially relevant with darker sounds and rhythms (run-d.m.c., public enemy, n.w.a., boogie down productions) it also changed to become very musically innovative (beastie boys, de la soul, eric b & rakim).

hardcore punk was pushed through and riled things up (minor threat, dead kennedys, bad brains, black flag, fugazi).

college rock produced some of the greatest rock bands ever (pixies, the replacements, husker du, meat puppets, minutemen, r.e.m., the smiths, tom waits, talking heads, SONIC ****ing YOUTH).

pop had its great moments (prince, madonna, michael jackson, u2, the stone roses).

metal became huge (slayer, metallica).

how about dance and techno? house music was invented around detroit and other places.

new sounds were introduced (shoegaze, dream pop, proto-grunge) with the likes of cocteau twins, my bloody valentine, galaxie 500, the jesus and mary chain, mudhoney, the vaselines, daniel johnston...

ETC. ETC. ETC.

this was an extremely fertile period for creativity in EVERY genre, so taste really has nothing to do with it. where is the hate coming from?

p.s. '90s were just as creative, as well.

 

I concur. However, there was good stuff that wasn't grunge that was released in the early 90s.

On the other hand, a number of the 80s hard rock and metal bands changed their sound to fit in with the musical climate at that time. Big mistake imo.

The exception to the rule were bands like Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P., and Motörhead; who didn't change their sound or look at all, imo. By sticking to their guns, they endured the 90s and are now thriving in this decade for the most part.

 

Loved it to bits. Songwriting was still important, the keyboards such as Fairlight and DX7 made the music exciting and fresh. The Cars made "Heartbeat City" and countless other albums showed great use of the new sounds without compromising the actual songwriting. Truly inspiring times!!

Oh, by the way I was in my glowing youth during this decade (may have something to do with my positive reflections!).

 

Right. Iron Maiden, W.A.S.P., Judas Priest and Dio changed their look and sound in the mid 80's to fit in with the musical climate.

Of course, all realised their errors and went back to their roots.

 

I concur for the most part.