Down with the 80's

[RC Vikings]

When I think of the 80's I think of a lot of one hit wonders.

[il Padrino Ute]

Is Money for Nothing '80's? I think that may be the greatest foot tapping tune ever. Someone ought to do a top ten foot tapping tunes.

Yes it is. From Dire Straights album Brothers In Arms released in 1985.

[YOhio]

Someone ought to do a top ten foot tapping tunes.

Great idea!

Signed,

Senator Larry Craig

[Babs]

Is Money for Nothing '80's? I think that may be the greatest foot tapping tune ever. Someone ought to do a top ten foot tapping tunes.

Is anyone else laughing at the thought of Seattle bustin a move behind the wheel of his Passat, grooving to Dire Straits, ABBA, and The Cars?

[wuapinmon]

The era brought us the kind of shallow, sugary, mindless and meaningly pop that we continue to see take over our collective soundtrack for a few years every decade.

Are we so sure that the sugary, mindless, and "meaningly" pop is native to the 50's and its progeny in the modern age? I would venture, like most trends, that you could find parallels between cultural criticism in 21st Century Western thought and the Ancient Greece. I don't want to take the time to research it now, and no, I don't know any off the top of my head, but if pressured, I can summon an answer.

Just like how people view the 50's in this sort of Pax Americana idealism of moral fortitude (the same decade as On the Waterfront) and how the world has gone to hell since has parallels in each of the previous four centures.

[wuapinmon]

No order:

1. Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians' cover of "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall"
2. The Cars, "Drive"
3. Tom Petty, "Free Fallin'"
4. John Fogerty, "Centerfield"
5. Georgia Satellites, "Keep Your Hands to Yourself"
6. Guns n' Roses, "Sweet Child O' Mine" or "Paradise City"
7. Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean"
8. John Mellencamp, "Pink Houses"
9. Bruce Springsteen, "I'm on Fire" or "Born in the USA"
10. Alan Parsons Project, "Eye in the Sky"

substitute;
Bonnie Raitt, "Have a Heart"
Randy Travis, "I'm Gonna Love You Forever"
RUN DMC, "King of Rock"

When I was in college, I sat down and showed my dad the lyrics to "Born in the USA," and Vietnam Vet that he was, he started crying. I never asked if they were tears of understanding or of feeling betrayed.

[Babs]

Are we so sure that the sugary, mindless, and "meaningly" pop is native to the 50's and its progeny in the modern age? I would venture, like most trends, that you could find parallels between cultural criticism in 21st Century Western thought and the Ancient Greece. I don't want to take the time to research it now, and no, I don't know any off the top of my head, but if pressured, I can summon an answer.

Just like how people view the 50's in this sort of Pax Americana idealism of moral fortitude (the same decade as On the Waterfront) and how the world has gone to hell since has parallels in each of the previous four centures.

We're discussing American pop music, which is generally considered to have begun in the 1950s -- some would say with the advent of Elvis, but some would probably say a few years earlier. Either way, the Greeks couldn't have brought us American pop, and certainly couldn't have brought us bubble gum pop.

Obviously, "pop," in the sense of simplistic art intended to appeal to the masses, has existed throughout the ages and across genres.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

At the risk of alienating myself from il Pad, 80's music sucks. I would have a tough time assembling a top 10 albums from the 80's. The pop/rock music was all that good and it is one of the worst decades for jazz music. In fact, I would say that jazz was basically dead in the 80's with the exception of a few notable Herbie Hancock albums. Good thing that the 90's revived jazz.

I would definitely stack up the top 10 albums of the 80s to any top 10 list from the 90s or this decade. I graduated from high school in 1995, so I should be sticking up for the 90s, but I can't since the last 3-4 years of the decade were totally indefensible. In the early 80s, a lot of radio stations were part of big conglomerates that maintained a pretty tight grip on what was played- basically it had to be songs and groups that would get the most listeners. So you had a steady stream of Journey, Styx, Chicago and Christopher Cross. MTV came onto the scene and provided a new outlet for acts that weren't getting put onto the radio and then there was huge burst of creativity until around 87 when the hair bands and the likes of Paula Abdul, Bel Biv Devoe and Milli Vanilli destroyed music until late 91. Yeah, some people consider GnR a hair band, but they also had credibility in the metal community. Bands like Metallica HATED Poison and all that crap but respected GnR.

Off the top of my head, here is my take on the top 10 albums of the 80s.

1. Michael Jackson- Thriller
2. U2- Joshua Tree
3. GnR- Appetite for Destruction
4. Prince- Purple Rain
5. The Smiths- The Queen is Dead
6. The Pixies- Doolittle
7. AC/DC- Back in Black
8. Bruce Springstee- Born in the USA
9. Van Halen- 1984
10. Beastie Boys- Paul's Boutique

Note, I edited this post and replaced Synchronicity from the Police with Springsteen's album.

[Shaka]

You can't lump bands like Styx and Journey in with Christopher Cross. Styx and Journey were two of the most talented bands of the seventies and eighties. Both continue to have large followings. They are certianly better than most of the crap MTV foisted upon us.

[MarkGrace]

I graduated from high school in 1995, so I should be sticking up for the 90s, but I can't since the last 3-4 years of the decade were totally indefensible.

There were a lot of great records in that period, the difference being that they didn't hit the airwaves in the way that they had in the early 90s. By that time radio had been taken over by garbage.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

You can't lump bands like Styx and Journey in with Christopher Cross. Styx and Journey were two of the most talented bands of the seventies and eighties. Both continue to have large followings. They are certianly better than most of the crap MTV foisted upon us.

Actually I agree about Journey, they were talented and I think they had the best singer any rock/pop band has ever had. Those guys were very good at making catchy tunes that a lot of people liked, and they've actually experienced a resurgence over the last little while.

I can't really agree on Styx.

Christopher Cross was supposedly talented also.

But the music was farely formulaic and mainstream music was kind of in a funk. For every Journey, there was a band like REO Speedwagon that didn't have nearly as much talent.

This what I call the Michael Jordan theory. Michael Jordan was supremely talented and extremely fun and compelling to watch. Jordan was the most famous man in the world for probably 10 straight years. Every kid that was playing basketball between the late 80s and the time Jordan retired tried to be like Jordan. After Jordan retired the NBA went into a funk that it's just barely getting out of. Jordan's play spawned the likes of Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury. Low and behold these guys couldn't win like Jordan because they weren't as talented and they didn't care about winning as much as Jordan did. The overall level of play declined and a horrible to watch, opportunistic with the refs', whining team like the Spurs won 4 championships over the period.

Journey was talented, but they also had many clones who totally sucked ass and radio and popular music was suffering.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

There were a lot of great records in that period, the difference being that they didn't hit the airwaves in the way that they had in the early 90s. By that time radio had been taken over by garbage.

Radio in the late 90s was the same as radio in the early 80s.

But I disagree about the music though. I think great records either have to have some moderate degree of commercial success (a lot of people have heard it and it resonates with them) or it must have some strong influence on later acts that have some commercial success. There may have been a handful of records that were decent, but where were the results? The first 2-3 years of this decade were as bad as the late 90s.

I hear people talk about My Bloody Valentine. I listen to a few tracks from that record and I just don't get it. Doolittle from the Pixies- absolutely I get. Both had decent success, but only one really had a huge amount of influence.

[Shaka]

I love both bands but think that Styx has two singers who are both better than Steven Perry. I've seen both bands live multiple times and both Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung, in a live situation, can sing Steve Perry under the table. In fact I've never heard a band that can generate three and four part harmonies live better than Styx.

That doesn't mean I hate Steve Perry because I do not. He has one of the most recognisable voices in rock and kicks the crap out of most of today's singers.

If you haven't figured out Styx go buy Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight and turn your stereo up loud. You will get it.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I love both bands but think that Styx has two singers who are both better than Steven Perry. I've seen both bands live multiple times and both Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung, in a live situation, can sing Steve Perry under the table. In fact I've never heard a band that can generate three and four part harmonies live better than Styx.

That doesn't mean I hate Steve Perry because I do not. He has one of the most recognisable voices in rock and kicks the crap out of most of today's singers.

If you haven't figured out Styx go buy Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight and turn your stereo up loud. You will get it.

I really like the Cartman version of Come Sail Away.

How did you see Styx live? Aren't they exclusively a Cruise Ship act? Okay, I'm only partly kidding. These guys make a helluva lot of money from music they made 30 years ago, that's something that's got to be respected.

[Shaka]

I really like the Cartman version of Come Sail Away.

How did you see Styx live? Aren't they exclusively a Cruise Ship act? Okay, I'm only partly kidding. These guys make a helluva lot of money from music they made 30 years ago, that's something that's got to be respected.

I saw both Journey and Styx in my early teens. I've caught both bands reunion tours ever since. I saw Styx and Journey play the Energy Solutions Arena about five years ago and the place was completely packed. Styx still plays shows for crowds ranging from 10,000 - 1000 depending on the venue. Sure they don't sell out the 20,000 seat arenas like the did in their hey day but a lot of popular bands never even hit the numbers they have today.

To me Styx and Journey both represent the melding of early hard rock (Led Zep), progressive (Yes, King Crimson), and pop. Those two bands could virtually write and play songs that ranged from raging hard rock to ballads and everything in between. Not only could they do it they had the chops to do it well.