THE 80s MUSIC THREAD

[stratman]

Since I've seen this pop up in different forums, I thought it would do good to vent here regarding your 80s music gripes. Which were your favorite bands and which did you absolutely abhor? The 80s were unique in the sense that many prevelant "pop" styles of music were competing in the mainstream, thanks to MTV no doubt. It ran the spectrum from dance to r&b to metal and neo-flamenco to the British second wave. Well then carry on....bash or glorify your faves!

 

[Davemcc]

Since I've seen this pop up in different forums, I thought it would do good to vent here regarding your 80s music gripes. Which were your favorite bands and which did you absolutely abhor? The 80s were unique in the sense that many prevelant "pop" styles of music were competing in the mainstream, thanks to MTV no doubt. It ran the spectrum from dance to r&b to metal and neo-flamenco to the British second wave. Well then carry on....bash or glorify your faves!

I spent more time listening to jazz in the 80's, being an alto sax player with delusions of going pro. But I kept up with the top 40 for a DJ business I ran. I never found much worthwhile in the top 40.

I liked Huey Lewis for the upbeat mood. Didn't like MJ at all, but ended up with three copies of Thriller for the DJ thing. Same with the early Madonna. Surprisingly, the early Madonna seems better to me now than then.

 

[mazersteven]

B-52s
Big Audio Dynamite
Boomtown Rats
Bronski Beat
The Clash
The Cure
Crowded House
Duran Duran
Depeche Mode
Echo and the Bunnymen
English Beat
Erasure
Gene Loves Jezebel
Godley and Creme
Jimmy Somerville
Morrissey
New Order
Orchestral Manoeuvres In Dark
Psychedelic Furs
The Plimsouls
The Ramones
Shannon
Siouxsie And The Banshees
Simple Minds
The Smiths
Talking Heads
Tears For Fears
Tom Tom Club
U2
Visage
Yaz

 

[Joe Schmoe]

For better or worse (mostly worse IMO), music in the '80s was dominated by MTV. Suddenly, musicians with talent but not looks were pushed into the backgound while those with looks but no talent became stars (those with both became superstars.)
Of the many fashion excesses, the one I remember best was Jane Childs. She was the one who had earrings, nose rings, and multiple chains connecting them across her face.

 

[billy p]

B-52s
Big Audio Dynamite
Boomtown Rats
Bronski Beat
The Clash
The Cure
Crowded House
Duran Duran
Depeche Mode
Echo and the Bunnymen
English Beat
Erasure
Gene Loves Jezebel
Godley and Creme
Jimmy Somerville
Morrissey
New Order
Orchestral Manoeuvres In Dark
Psychedelic Furs
The Plimsouls
The Ramones
Shannon
Siouxsie And The Banshees
Simple Minds
The Smiths
Talking Heads
Tears For Fears
Tom Tom Club
U2
Visage
Yaz

Excellent list!! Since you mentioned New Order you should of included Joy Division! One of my favorites was Ultravox and I for one loved my 80's music!! However, I did prefer my classic rock and still do!

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I counted 10 good bands on that list, out of 31 total. Not a bad ratio.

 

[mazersteven]

I counted 10 good bands on that list, out of 31 total. Not a bad ratio.

Only 10

That was a quick list I put together. There are many many more.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

The 80s were also a pretty good time for excellent sounding recordings (1994-1995 is about the time everything started to sound like ***).

Phil Collins - Face Time
Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Sessions
Duran Duran - Rio

 

[annunaki]

The 80s were also a pretty good time for excellent sounding recordings (1994-1995 is about the time everything started to sound like ***).

Phil Collins - Face Time
Cowboy Junkies - Trinity Sessions
Duran Duran - Rio

I agree.

 

[Audioholics]

What hits me (with regret) about the 80's is this single thought:

How on earth did we buy into those sappy love songs? As if some glam rock band with plastered-on make-up screaming out subdued vocals could ever be taken seriously as they're pumping out a ballad... Oh yeah, that's real touching.

Think:

Don't Know What you Got Til It's Gone
Every Rose Has Its Thorn

I am so ashamed...

 

[MDS]

Don't Know What you Got Til It's Gone
Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Two great songs.

What just occurred to me is that another great Cinderella song is 'Nobody's Fool'. So you have one song where he is all teared up and another where he's saying good riddance, I don't need you anyway.

 

[caupina]

In my case:
Wham!
George Michael's "Faith"
Tears for Fears
Simply Red ("Holding back the years")
Journey
Toto
E.L.O. ("Time and "Secrets Messages")
Phill Collins.
Sade (She should be in the top of that list....Anybody heard of Sweetback...its Sade's band members...I highly recommend it)

I was mostly into mellow music during that time, and one song that caught my attention and I used to play over and over again was Kiss "A World Without Heroes"

 

[Joe Schmoe]

Every Rose Has Its Thorn

Bill & Ted got some good use out of that one.

 

[stratman]

B-52s
Big Audio Dynamite
Boomtown Rats
Bronski Beat
The Clash
The Cure
Crowded House
Duran Duran
Depeche Mode
Echo and the Bunnymen
English Beat
Erasure
Gene Loves Jezebel
Godley and Creme
Jimmy Somerville
Morrissey
New Order
Orchestral Manoeuvres In Dark
Psychedelic Furs
The Plimsouls
The Ramones
Shannon
Siouxsie And The Banshees
Simple Minds
The Smiths
Talking Heads
Tears For Fears
Tom Tom Club
U2
Visage
Yaz

Mazer, I'm mortified! Man you read my mind. Out of your list I have 17 CDs in my collection! I think the 80s was a great "club" decade, if you were into it you can hear some great "underground" music played in clubs that barely made it to MTV much less the Top 40.

Love and Rockets, Gary Numan, The Cult, Ian Durry and the Blockheads, The Quick, Front 242, Human League, DEVO, and a host of bands and artists that kept the decade interesting, unlike today where you have some good stuff but it's the exception to the rule.

 

[mazersteven]

Mazer, I'm mortified!

I think the 80s was a great "club" decade, if you were into it you can hear some great "underground" music played in clubs that barely made it to MTV much less the Top 40.

Mortified or Petrified? LOL Cave Man

Did you say "Clubs" Growing up in New York was great in the 80's for clubs like

Spits (Long Island)
The Palladium (Manhattan)
Limelight (Manhattan)
Private Eyes (Manhattan)

 

[MDS]

Mazer's list includes a lot of artists/bands that were at the time considered 'new wave' or 'alternative'. I have many of those as well. That is one thing about the '80s that I feel made it a great decade for music (and yes I am biased because I was a teen in the '80s). You had all kinds of genres and differing styles.

- You had the continuation of the '70s super groups.
- You had the emergence of the 'hair bands' and hard rock/heavy metal. Now of course most of that is called Classic Rock.
- You had Disco and all the club/dance type stuff that it spawned. Much of that is now simply called Old School.
- You had a dizzying array of one-hit-wonder type Pop songs. I have hundreds of those types of songs without actually having an entire album of the artist.
- Even Country began to morph towards the Pop-Country style that is now very popular.

And Mazer I am shocked to see Shannon and Yaz on your list. You should have Trinere and Planet Patrol (and others) as well - same 'Old School' genre.

 

[stratman]

Mortified or Petrified? LOL Cave Man

Did you say "Clubs" Growing up in New York was great in the 80's for clubs like

Spits (Long Island)
The Palladium (Manhattan)
Limelight (Manhattan)
Private Eyes (Manhattan)

I went to the Limelight in NYC, almost went to the Palladium, but I was on a short trip. Down here we had Club Z, 1235, Ovo, Club Nu, Rebar, Woody's which was partly owned by Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones, I saw him a few times there and clubs that would last one weekend and then morph into something else for the next. That was the real hey-day of South Beach, now it's pathetic, it got that way after the city chamber of commerce started to court the the MTV rapper/hip-hop crowd. It went down the drain from there.

 

[mazersteven]

And Mazer I am shocked to see Shannon and Yaz on your list. You should have Trinere and Planet Patrol (and others) as well - same 'Old School' genre.

Old School

Frankie Smith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkZ0q9aiG2s

 

[MDS]

Old School

Frankie Smith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkZ0q9aiG2s

One I do not yet have. My sister hates that song. She still lives in FL and they sometimes play it on adult night at her rink.

 

[Tomorrow]

There was music in the '80's?!

I thought Disco killed music.