On That Note: Decades, 1980s

[drlove]

Many of my favorites have been covered, but in my early days, I was able to see these two at the Col Ballroom in Davenport. Oingo Boingo is still one of my top 5 shows of all time out of 200+




Couple other favorites

 

[Gonzo]

I remember the first time I saw this vid. It definitely moved.

 

[Buster28]

"Bring Me Edelweiss" by Edelweiss. You might want to be on something to watch the video. But it's one of the weirdest things/songs of that decade, but so much fun! Rapping, yodeling, accordion, driving beat - all in one 4 minute song.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Glad I looked this up. Released in ‘89. Thought it might have been early ‘91.

 

[Sigmapolis]

@cyclones500

You should make people vote for their favorite decade in music and/or rank them.

Just going through mine quickly...

1960s -- the British Invasion, countless classic albums, the formation of dozens of legendary groups and their best works, and a timeless pop sound that lasts forever

1970s -- the echo of the ideals and music of the 1970s playing themselves out, rock and pop at their highest ambitions (and, sometimes, pretensions), and even disco is fun

1950s -- usually seen as a "stable" era in American society, but really much more of a transition from the jazz- and instrumental-dominated era before it and into more modern pop and rock, and a lot of its rock 'n' roll and jazz holds up well today

1940s -- the era of big band, swing, bop, all "the Devil's Music," still great today

1990s -- the 1990s had something of a return to the ambitious attitude of the 1960s and 1970s with early grunge and a nice pop sound throughout the mid-1990s, but then the boy bands hit and stuff after and it all kind of just went to hell in a hand basket

1980s -- a bunch of blah pop songs and gimmicks (synths, booming drums, etc.) that, while monetarily entertaining, date much of this decade badly, and a lot of the best stuff of the decade (e.g., Van Halen, U2, the Police) were 1970s bands at heart

2010s -- essentially the scattering of musical tastes at this point with the digital revolution of distribution, but there are plenty of great artists now who are returning to the spirit and sound of some of the earlier, ambitious stuff above that I have listed

2000s -- gangsta rap and gangsta country... both beloved by suburban fratboys... kill me

 

[matclone]

 

[matclone]

 

[arobb]

 

[cyclones500]

My ‘80s Stones choices

 

[cyclones500]

Sorry if I posted this earlier, I didn't check back to see if it registered.

 

[cyclones500]

 

[Gonzo]

@cyclones500

You should make people vote for their favorite decade in music and/or rank them.

Just going through mine quickly...

1960s -- the British Invasion, countless classic albums, the formation of dozens of legendary groups and their best works, and a timeless pop sound that lasts forever

1970s -- the echo of the ideals and music of the 1970s playing themselves out, rock and pop at their highest ambitions (and, sometimes, pretensions), and even disco is fun

1950s -- usually seen as a "stable" era in American society, but really much more of a transition from the jazz- and instrumental-dominated era before it and into more modern pop and rock, and a lot of its rock 'n' roll and jazz holds up well today

1940s -- the era of big band, swing, bop, all "the Devil's Music," still great today

1990s -- the 1990s had something of a return to the ambitious attitude of the 1960s and 1970s with early grunge and a nice pop sound throughout the mid-1990s, but then the boy bands hit and stuff after and it all kind of just went to hell in a hand basket

1980s -- a bunch of blah pop songs and gimmicks (synths, booming drums, etc.) that, while monetarily entertaining, date much of this decade badly, and a lot of the best stuff of the decade (e.g., Van Halen, U2, the Police) were 1970s bands at heart

2010s -- essentially the scattering of musical tastes at this point with the digital revolution of distribution, but there are plenty of great artists now who are returning to the spirit and sound of some of the earlier, ambitious stuff above that I have listed

2000s -- gangsta rap and gangsta country... both beloved by suburban fratboys... kill me

You're recap of the 1980s is really clueless.

 

[Sigmapolis]

You're recap of the 1980s is really clueless.

There were plenty of great bands in the 1980s (though a lot of them were holdovers from the 1970s), but the charts were dominated by some rather unfortunate hair metal bands and pretty people that were ultimately rather bland and forgettable.

This is the era when popular music transitioned from albums and AOR to the music video. Look at popular artists in the 1970s in comparison -- they were downright ugly in comparison to the pop stars that dominated the music video era.

It went from people you wanted to listen to over to people you wanted to look at.

The 1980s suffer from a lot of production and sonic gimmicks, too, that were dropped subsequently and did not exist before it. I am sure recording snare hits on the back-beats in a warehouse was fun at the time, but it sounds dated now.

I do not hate the 1980s. I generally like its mixture of genres. I just think it is coming down from the top of the mountain compared to the 1960s and 1970s, and I like big band a lot, so if I had to choose between New Wave versus cool jazz, I would wind the clock back to Stan Kenton or Chet Baker instead Guns N' Roses or something like that.

 

[Gonzo]

There were plenty of great bands in the 1980s (though a lot of them were holdovers from the 1970s), but the charts were dominated by some rather unfortunate hair metal bands and pretty people that were ultimately rather bland and forgettable.

This is the era when popular music transitioned from albums and AOR to the music video. Look at popular artists in the 1970s in comparison -- they were downright ugly in comparison to the pop stars that dominated the music video era.

It went from people you wanted to listen to over to people you wanted to look at.

The 1980s suffer from a lot of production and sonic gimmicks, too, that were dropped subsequently and did not exist before it. I am sure recording snare hits on the back-beats in a warehouse was fun at the time, but it sounds dated now.

I do not hate the 1980s. I generally like its mixture of genres. I just think it is coming down from the top of the mountain compared to the 1960s and 1970s, and I like big band a lot, so if I had to choose between New Wave versus cool jazz, I would wind the clock back to Stan Kenton or Chet Baker instead Guns N' Roses or something like that.

Your whole view of the 80s is from the perspective of someone looking 1/2 inch deep into what was really happening. Yeah Cyndi Lauper and Poison were big on the charts. Every decade had its cereal box pop ********. For some reason you think it only happened in the 80s. Dig a little deeper and look at not just the variation of offerings but the quality of songwriting and how much artists from the 80s influenced so much of what came later. Like Radiohead? I do. Thank you The Smiths. Like Pavement and Beck? I loved them in the 90s. Thank you Talking Heads. Like pretty much any contemporary R&B or rap artists? Thank you Run DMC. The Replacements might be the most underrated American rock band of all time. The songwriting and artistry of bands like REM and The Cure was on a different level. I'm not saying it was the best decade for music, trying to determine that is moronic. But to say the music of the 80s is "a bunch of blah pop songs and gimmicks" tells me you paid very little attention to what was going on.

 

[madguy30]

I remember the first time I saw this vid. It definitely moved.

First time seeing that...realized how much that band and song is likely very influenced by the Rolling Stones.

Anyway...obligatory.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Your whole view of the 80s is from the perspective of someone looking 1/2 inch deep into what was really happening. Yeah Cyndi Lauper and Poison were big on the charts. Every decade had its cereal box pop ********. For some reason you think it only happened in the 80s. Dig a little deeper and look at not just the variation of offerings but the quality of songwriting and how much artists from the 80s influenced so much of what came later. Like Radiohead? I do. Thank you The Smiths. Like Pavement and Beck? I loved them in the 90s. Thank you Talking Heads. Like pretty much any contemporary R&B or rap artists? Thank you Run DMC. The Replacements might be the most underrated American rock band of all time. The songwriting and artistry of bands like REM and The Cure was on a different level. I'm not saying it was the best decade for music, trying to determine that is moronic. But to say the music of the 80s is "a bunch of blah pop songs and gimmicks" tells me you paid very little attention to what was going on.

Oh dear. Come on. You do better than this.

I am well aware there was saccharine pop music in the decades proceeding the 1980s. Heck, take a look at the top singles from 1969 while we are here...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1969

"Sugar, Sugar" was #1 for the year! That horrifying slop! There are some good things up there, and I love Tommy James, but oh dear there are embarrassments there.

Considering that was the year of, oh, just thinking about it...

Abbey Road
Led Zeppelin II
Let It Bleed
In the Court of the Crimson King
Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Willy and the Poor Boys
Tommy
The Band
The Chicago Transit Authority

...and probably lots of other great ones that I have forgotten about.

So I made my list with all that in mind.

Secondly, you railed through many of the best artists of the decade, yes, but I believe I can rail through even more such artists if you let me for the 1960s or the 1970s and more classic albums. I could play the same lineage game that you do above with 1980s bands back to the two decades before them. The Replacements, if I am just going to latch onto one of your instances, have elements of British Invasion pop-rock and 70s punk rock bands like the Clash. The older stuff generally has fewer antecedents just for being older, but, hey, I am well aware of the 1950s rock 'n' roll and old blues riffs that 60s artist were ripping off, too.

Plus, if you noticed, I tend to think past decades had better music (the cliff really coming with the Boy Bands, and we are still struggling to recover), so trying to "attribute" more modern bands to the 1980s and the 1980s alone probably will not work with me.

Like I said, not an 80s hater here. I like the decade. I just think the moon was waning a little bit compared to what came before, and the decade as a whole has some annoying sonic traits that put everything in a particular time and place. I find it funny the 1980s bands you picked are the ones that sound the most like bands from the 60s and 70s, and therefore I like them the most, too, compared to the hair metal and synth drone effluvia of the period.



I am not some Boomer snob here, either. I am 31. I love the jazz the Greatest Generation adored and their Boomer kids hated and rebelled against. I just follow my ears and tend to like jazz and instrumental music way more than most rock or pop fans.

 

[madguy30]

There were plenty of great bands in the 1980s (though a lot of them were holdovers from the 1970s), but the charts were dominated by some rather unfortunate hair metal bands and pretty people that were ultimately rather bland and forgettable.

This is the era when popular music transitioned from albums and AOR to the music video. Look at popular artists in the 1970s in comparison -- they were downright ugly in comparison to the pop stars that dominated the music video era.

It went from people you wanted to listen to over to people you wanted to look at.

The 1980s suffer from a lot of production and sonic gimmicks, too, that were dropped subsequently and did not exist before it. I am sure recording snare hits on the back-beats in a warehouse was fun at the time, but it sounds dated now.

I do not hate the 1980s. I generally like its mixture of genres. I just think it is coming down from the top of the mountain compared to the 1960s and 1970s, and I like big band a lot, so if I had to choose between New Wave versus cool jazz, I would wind the clock back to Stan Kenton or Chet Baker instead Guns N' Roses or something like that.

Bolded. That's not true. There's a reason you can hardly hear some of these performances by the fella below and The Beatles due to crowd noise...and it's not because everyone's excited about the music.

And the influences by various artists in fashion and stage presence wasn't due to their sound.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Bolded. That's not true. There's a reason you can hardly hear some of these performances by the fella below and The Beatles due to crowd noise...and it's not because everyone's excited about the music.

And the influences by various artists in fashion and stage presence wasn't due to their sound.

See my post about pop music above. Music has always had pretty people of minimal talent singing songs that somebody else wrote and/or not playing instruments.

The 1980s was not unique for that, but in the era between the dominance of variety shows and the rise of the music video on cable when FM ruled, it mattered less.

The Beatles of 1963 were pretty different come 1968 -- musically and in image. They intentionally cultivated a downtrodden, scruffy image in the later part of their time together, as opposed to the four teenage heartthrobs that burst onto the scene.

Then there were these guys. Would MTV have put them on often if it was around in 1973?

 

[Gonzo]

Oh dear. Come on. You do better than this.

I am well aware there was saccharine pop music in the decades proceeding the 1980s. Heck, take a look at the top singles from 1969 while we are here...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1969

"Sugar, Sugar" was #1 for the year! That horrifying slop! There are some good things up there, and I love Tommy James, but oh dear there are embarrassments there.

Considering that was the year of, oh, just thinking about it...

Abbey Road
Led Zeppelin II
Let It Bleed
In the Court of the Crimson King
Crosby, Stills, and Nash
Willy and the Poor Boys
Tommy
The Band
The Chicago Transit Authority

...and probably lots of other great ones that I have forgotten about.

So I made my list with all that in mind.

Secondly, you railed through many of the best artists of the decade, yes, but I believe I can rail through even more such artists if you let me for the 1960s or the 1970s and more classic albums. I could play the same lineage game that you do above with 1980s bands back to the two decades before them. The Replacements, if I am just going to latch onto one of your instances, have elements of British Invasion pop-rock and 70s punk rock bands like the Clash. The older stuff generally has fewer antecedents just for being older, but, hey, I am well aware of the 1950s rock 'n' roll and old blues riffs that 60s artist were ripping off, too.

Plus, if you noticed, I tend to think past decades had better music (the cliff really coming with the Boy Bands, and we are still struggling to recover), so trying to "attribute" more modern bands to the 1980s and the 1980s alone probably will not work with me.

Like I said, not an 80s hater here. I like the decade. I just think the moon was waning a little bit compared to what came before, and the decade as a whole has some annoying sonic traits that put everything in a particular time and place.

I am not some Boomer snob here, either. I am 31. I love the jazz the Greatest Generation adored and their Boomer kids hated and rebelled against. I just follow my ears and tend to like jazz and instrumental music way more than most rock or pop fans.

Yeah I agree. The difference is you seem to give those other decades credit for it and for the 80s you don't. It was all just Whitney Houston and Stryper.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Yeah I agree. The difference is you seem to give those other decades credit for it and for the 80s you don't. It was all just Whitney Houston and Stryper.

It is a preponderance -- since we seem to agree all decades have their sugarplum pop, it comes down, to me, something like this...

With the pop, "How good is this? How timeless? Even if commercial pop, what does it have in redeeming qualities musically, cultural, or in terms of influence? What would I think if I just turned on the average radio station during this decade?"

With the more timeless stuff, "How much of this is there in this decade or associated with its styles? What is my own impression of a mental census of the total number of all-time classic bands, artists, albums, or songs from this decade that really hit the mark?"

On those grounds, I just put the prior two decades ahead of the 1980s.

And I really really really hate "Sugar, Sugar."