Im in an 80s mood

[The Crusher]

Isnt that part of the uniform? Sweat pants and a wife beater. I see it all the time in Wal-Mart.

Uniform?

Sweat pants and a wife beater?

You see it all the time in Wal-Mart?

Maybe you should consider working somewhere else?

[JustInFudge]

The Police were poised to be the next big supergroup when they broke up in 1983. Talking Heads took over from there, especially with the Stop Making Sense movie. I don't think any band really dominated the late 80's. As far as hard rock goes, Guns n' Roses was huge with Appetite For Destruction. What an awesome change of pace they were from the caricature hair bands that came before them.

Personally, I find U2 and Metallica to be rather bland.

U2 sucks. Metallica was great until the self titled album.

I think the 80's are under appreciated, big time. I mean, I'm a die hard punk rock/hardcore band and though many of those bands formed in the 70's, it wasnt until the 80's that they got big (for punk terms) Ex: The Clash, Social Distortion, Misfits, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Minor Threat...and many many more.

Then there was some great music that was labeled "80's music", that IMO, if it didnt have the stereotype would be timeless. For example; The Cars, INXS, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Smiths etc.

Also, people forget Hip-Hop made its way into music at that time too. I mean, how classic are basically all the Def Jam acts?

Plus you had some of the biggest Pop acts in history really start to come on to the scene. Michael Jackson and Madonna.

But even further, its hard to assess that decade because you had a lot of 60/70's rockers trying to adapt to the times who produced some great over looked music. David Bowie, The Police, Stones, Iggy Pop and many many more.

But what made it amazing was some of the true gems that came from the 80's who helped shaped music genres that you hear today...Talking Heads, The Pixies, The Beastie Boys...all played HUGE parts in garage band, alternative/grunge and instrumental hip-hop...that flooded the airways during the 90's.

Overall, I get the criticism of the 80's music scene, but I think its misplaced do to the stigma associated with that decade. Ex: Hair Bands and a ton of 1 hit wonder electro pop stuff with funky hair and crazy clothes.

[Scott Dierking]

U2 sucks. Metallica was great until the self titled album.

I think the 80's are under appreciated, big time. I mean, I'm a die hard punk rock/hardcore band and though many of those bands formed in the 70's, it wasnt until the 80's that they got big (for punk terms) Ex: The Clash, Social Distortion, Misfits, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Minor Threat...and many many more.

Then there was some great music that was labeled "80's music", that IMO, if it didnt have the stereotype would be timeless. For example; The Cars, INXS, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Smiths etc.

Also, people forget Hip-Hop made its way into music at that time too. I mean, how classic are basically all the Def Jam acts?

Plus you had some of the biggest Pop acts in history really start to come on to the scene. Michael Jackson and Madonna.

But even further, its hard to assess that decade because you had a lot of 60/70's rockers trying to adapt to the times who produced some great over looked music. David Bowie, The Police, Stones, Iggy Pop and many many more.

But what made it amazing was some of the true gems that came from the 80's who helped shaped music genres that you hear today...Talking Heads, The Pixies, The Beastie Boys...all played HUGE parts in garage band, alternative/grunge and instrumental hip-hop...that flooded the airways during the 90's.

Overall, I get the criticism of the 80's music scene, but I think its misplaced do to the stigma associated with that decade. Ex: Hair Bands and a ton of 1 hit wonder electro pop stuff with funky hair and crazy clothes.

The Cars hey day was really the 70's-What they churned in the 80's was schlock. Same with The Clash.

Black Flag (Damaged) certainly was inventive and created a bit of a stir at the beginning of the decade.

It is no coincidence that with the arrival of MTV, there was a decline in meaningful music. It became less auditory, and more visual. That is a detriment to the medium.

As a whole, the 80's is forgettable, but that does not mean there was not good music to be had-You just had to look a little harder.

[JustInFudge]

The Cars hey day was really the 70's-What they churned in the 80's was schlock. Same with The Clash.

Black Flag (Damaged) certainly was inventive and created a bit of a stir at the beginning of the decade.

It is no coincidence that with the arrival of MTV, there was a decline in meaningful music. It became less auditory, and more visual. That is a detriment to the medium.

As a whole, the 80's is forgettable, but that does not mean there was not good music to be had-You just had to look a little harder.

True...but thats the difficulty of rating decades for music. Tons of bands carry over to the next decade. Or start late in a decade and flourish in the next. Its just a difficult debate which also takes taste into consideration. A lot of stuff that people find classic from the 60's/70's, I find very lame.

[Dude Love]

The 60's---

The best music EVER!

[slats]

But even further, its hard to assess that decade because you had a lot of 60/70's rockers trying to adapt to the times who produced some great over looked music. David Bowie, The Police, Stones, Iggy Pop and many many more.

But what made it amazing was some of the true gems that came from the 80's who helped shaped music genres that you hear today...Talking Heads, The Pixies, The Beastie Boys...all played HUGE parts in garage band, alternative/grunge and instrumental hip-hop...that flooded the airways during the 90's.

Overall, I get the criticism of the 80's music scene, but I think its misplaced do to the stigma associated with that decade. Ex: Hair Bands and a ton of 1 hit wonder electro pop stuff with funky hair and crazy clothes.

There really isn't a band that defines the 80's the way you can do with other decades. The 60's were the Beatles, the 70's were Led Zeppelin, and Nirvana shaped the 90's. The biggest artist of the 80's was probably Michael Jackson, right? Definitely outside what I was listening to. The mainstream rock acts on the charts were Journey (Open Arms was my, and everyone elses, Prom theme), Foreigner, Loverboy, ugh. What a bunch of crap.

The late 80's were terrible. Like you say, a lot of excess. The hair bands were awful, new wave evolved from something really cool with the early Cars, Police, Clash, etc., into electronic crap. I loved the first few Cars albums (particularly the frequently panned Panorama album), but after that they were crap. Love the Police, but Synchronicity was probably their worst record, IMO. The Talking Heads started to fall apart with Little Creatures, and fell off the cliff with Naked.

Guns n' Roses was like the coolest, most genuine thing in rock in what seemed like forever when they came out in '87 or so, and then they were completely exposed as more phoniness by the aforementioned Nirvana.

Rough decade.

[Jetsfan80]

slats, what about the heavy metal movement? No love for Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer? The decade wasn't a COMPLETE waste.

[JustInFudge]

There really isn't a band that defines the 80's the way you can do with other decades. The 60's were the Beatles, the 70's were Led Zeppelin, and Nirvana shaped the 90's. The biggest artist of the 80's was probably Michael Jackson, right? Definitely outside what I was listening to. The mainstream rock acts on the charts were Journey (Open Arms was my, and everyone elses, Prom theme), Foreigner, Loverboy, ugh. What a bunch of crap.

The late 80's were terrible. Like you say, a lot of excess. The hair bands were awful, new wave evolved from something really cool with the early Cars, Police, Clash, etc., into electronic crap. I loved the first few Cars albums (particularly the frequently panned Panorama album), but after that they were crap. Love the Police, but Synchronicity was probably their worst record, IMO. The Talking Heads started to fall apart with Little Creatures, and fell off the cliff with Naked.

Guns n' Roses was like the coolest, most genuine thing in rock in what seemed like forever when they came out in '87 or so, and then they were completely exposed as more phoniness by the aforementioned Nirvana.

Rough decade.

Again, I think its a hard decade to define as simply as you're putting it because the genres of music was so much more diverse than your typical 4 piece rock band of the 60/70's. Very few artist were trying to carry the torch from the R&B Motown days and Disco was really just a phase.

In the 80's, you had rock and roll, punk rock, metal, hip-hop, electro, pop, r&b, hair bands and so many more genres trying to stake their claim in music.

The bands that defined the 80's for me, were punk musicians who I prefer over just about anything or bands like the Talking Head and the Pixies that produced a couple of my all time favorite albums ever from that decade...but are either truly associated with the 80's?

[war ensemble]

The late 80's were terrible.

Um, have you perchance heard of thrash metal? Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies (How Will I Laugh Tomorrow...), Testament, Exodus, etc.? The late 80's were an awesome time for music!

[JetsFanInDenver]

The Police were poised to be the next big supergroup when they broke up in 1983. Talking Heads took over from there, especially with the Stop Making Sense movie. I don't think any band really dominated the late 80's. As far as hard rock goes, Guns n' Roses was huge with Appetite For Destruction. What an awesome change of pace they were from the caricature hair bands that came before them.

Personally, I find U2 and Metallica to be rather bland.

Metallica and bland. Those 2 words don't go together.

GNR would definitely make my Top 5.

[slats]

Um, have you perchance heard of thrash metal? Megadeth, Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies (How Will I Laugh Tomorrow...), Testament, Exodus, etc.? The late 80's were an awesome time for music!

Haha! I was getting a little old for thrash metal at the time, although I did really dig Suicidal Tendencies for a while. All I wanted was a Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me....

[JetsFanInDenver]

I thought it was only chicks that listened to Journey?????

There was a definite void in the 80's, certainly as the aimless hairbands made the scene.

Talking Heads and U2 as Slats mentioned, and even an occasional break out like the Violent Femmes could make a stir-but overall it was lacking as a decade for music.

If the 80s were lacking for you I wonder what you would call today's scene.

I think 80s for me was a great decade for music. There were ton of new bands and quite a few from the 70s carrying over.

Journey should thank Sopranos for bringing it back from the dead!

[#27TheDominator]

Bad Brains!

[JerryK]

I was in HS in the late 80's and I can tell you the music was so bad it drove me to drink (and worse). I'm in a mood to rant, so here's some notable crap that serves as evidence of payola:

-'I wear my sunglasses at night' (we wore our earplugs at night)

-'We built this city - klunk...klunk - we built this city on Rock and Roll...'

(They built that song on a fading reputation, Geritol, and methadone)

-Air Supply... kids these days have no idea what we endured to get laid.

-Kenny G emerges. (see Air Supply)

-'Safety Dance' (I guess we were danger-dancing before that and didn't know it)

-Menudo (to their credit, nothing describes that crew better than 'tripe soup')

-Puttin on the Ritz/One night in Bankok (different bands, same song. Having a bong helps them out)

-Chicago 'You're the Inspiration'. (A sweet horn section was their inspiration. Then they went all Tiger Beat and sucked a$$)

-Michael Mcdonald - Sorry dude, we liked the Doobie Brothers in spite of you, not because of you. Are you related to McLean Stevenson?

-Christopher Cross (popular among the 'everyone in school knows I'm gay but me' demographic)

There's more, but this is depressing me. I need a beer.

[CTM]

been getting into 80's cheese lately.. and i hated the music in the 80's, 90's and every other decade since..

like this.. not sure how you can listen to this and not get hooked..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azVqekQBK8g

[JustInFudge]

If the 80s were lacking for you I wonder what you would call today's scene.

I think 80s for me was a great decade for music. There were ton of new bands and quite a few from the 70s carrying over.

Journey should thank Sopranos for bringing it back from the dead!

Man, Im with you. I just did some 80's music research on bands carried over and new bands from the decade, and its pretty damn good. I think the classic rock guys just dont easily adapt. I listen to it all, and the 80's was producing a ton of everything. There are a ton of others that I didnt even think of when I first go in the thread...like one below...

Bad Brains!

Word. ******* love Bad Brains. There was so much great punk music made in the early 80's its unreal.

[T0mShane]

Early 80's U2 was the truth, which fed into GNR. Both legacies are stained by both bands turning to sh*t.

[war ensemble]

Haha! I was getting a little old for thrash metal at the time, although I did really dig Suicidal Tendencies for a while. All I wanted was a Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me....

When my self-esteem is low, I like to read the Youtube comments for music videos. I quite enjoyed the ones decrying the "All I wanted was a Pepsi" line as product placement. Youtubers crack me up.

[New York Mick]

The 80's had some of the best rock and guitarist. Lots of punk, thrash, speed metal, power metal and etc.

U2 (the Beatles of the 80's)

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Helloween

Savatage

Iron Maiden

Judas Priest

Slayer

Billy Joel

Anthrax

Skid Row

Guns and Roses

The Cure

The Clash

Van Halen

The Police

ZZ Top

Queensryche

Cinderella

Ozzy

Metallica

Megadeth

Wasp

Pantera

Bad Religion

Dead Kennedys

Rush

Motorhead

ACDC

Sepultura

Yngwie Malmsteen

Joe Satriani

Steve Vai

Eric Johnson

The Misfits

Social Distortion

Beastie Boys

I could name 50 more bands that had great music in the 80's. The biggest problem with the 80's was finding the damn music cause a lot of it never got played on the radio and there wasn't any internet to look for it.

[JustInFudge]

The 80's had some of the best rock and guitarist. Lots of punk, thrash, speed metal, power metal and etc.

U2 (the Beatles of the 80's)

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Helloween

Savatage

Iron Maiden

Judas Priest

Slayer

Billy Joel

Anthrax

Skid Row

Guns and Roses

The Cure

The Clash

Van Halen

The Police

ZZ Top

Queensryche

Cinderella

Ozzy

Metallica

Megadeth

Wasp

Pantera

Bad Religion

Dead Kennedys

Rush

Motorhead

ACDC

Sepultura

Yngwie Malmsteen

Joe Satriani

Steve Vai

Eric Johnson

The Misfits

Social Distortion

Beastie Boys

I could name 50 more bands that had great music in the 80's. The biggest problem with the 80's was finding the damn music cause a lot of it never got played on the radio and there wasn't any internet to look for it.

Definitely...there are a ton of bands...as I started looking back, it was really one of my favorite decades for music. But if you watched MTV every day or listened to the radio, you'd have never known it. You would have thought everyone was a die hard Flock of Seagulls fan.

[slats]

Definitely...there are a ton of bands...as I started looking back, it was really one of my favorite decades for music. But if you watched MTV every day or listened to the radio, you'd have never known it. You would have thought everyone was a die hard Flock of Seagulls fan.

I don't disagree, I'm just taking it from the angle that most of what you heard on the radio, MTV, or in clubs was crap. Especially the later 80's. 70's glam turned into 80's hair bands. The popular punk and new wave of the 70's turned into banal soulless techno garbage.

I think that's why Kurt Cobain and Nirvana have such a god-like status. Popular music SUCKED in the years prior to Smells Like Teen Spirit hitting MTV. Then all of a sudden, the entire landscape changed.

Now you have bands again sounding like Joy Division or The Cars, taking some of the best of the 80's and repackaging it. That's cool. But you don't hear anything like the Flock or Erasure - with extremely good reason.

[New York Mick]

I don't disagree, I'm just taking it from the angle that most of what you heard on the radio, MTV, or in clubs was crap. Especially the later 80's. 70's glam turned into 80's hair bands. The popular punk and new wave of the 70's turned into banal soulless techno garbage.

I think that's why Kurt Cobain and Nirvana have such a god-like status. Popular music SUCKED in the years prior to Smells Like Teen Spirit hitting MTV. Then all of a sudden, the entire landscape changed.

Now you have bands again sounding like Joy Division or The Cars, taking some of the best of the 80's and repackaging it. That's cool. But you don't hear anything like the Flock or Erasure - with extremely good reason.

The same thing could be said for the 70's. 90's and now, The music on the radio and at clubs sucks for the most part.

[slats]

slats, what about the heavy metal movement? No love for Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer? The decade wasn't a COMPLETE waste.

In the early 80's, I was listening to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, AC/DC... never much of a speed metal guy. But again, I was talking more about popular music than what was going on behind the scenes.

The same thing could be said for the 70's. 90's and now, The music on the radio and at clubs sucks for the most part.

Definitely agree about 70's radio. The pop charts sucked in that decade, too. But I think that in the 90's, things got dramatically better. That whole Seattle grunge scene turned alternative into mainstream, and that was excellent for radio. There were a few good stations on the dial back then. Now there's really only one radio station I listen to (WXRP 101.9, occasionally venturing off to WFUV 90.7).

I think it's different today. Back then, we were slaves to radio and maybe MTV for new music. I think kids today find most of their music on YouTube, or thru their Pandora playlist - then download it onto their iPod and off they go.

And I have no idea what's going on in clubs anymore.

[CTM]

surprised the jifiot didn't mention devo, but i guess they technically started in the 70's

[Apache 51]

In proper MTV form.......

[THE ILK]

CTM said, "It was the best of times it was the....."

Chop-meat and tarantula.

[Apache 51]

Not a big Journey fan, but perfect for the movie.........http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Npwl_8Bv6Q brings me back.

[visajets]

[JustInFudge]

surprised the jifiot didn't mention devo, but i guess they technically started in the 70's

I like Devo, not in love, the artist I kept forgetting that shocks me is Prince. Price is the sh*t.

[Larz]

bob was in the mood as well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImpSyGTzot0

[Panzer Division Marduk]

I could name 50 more bands that had great music in the 80's. The biggest problem with the 80's was finding the damn music cause a lot of it never got played on the radio and there wasn't any internet to look for it.

You didn't trade tapes? You got to hear some crazy stuff that way, thrash bands from behind the Iron Curtain, South American death metal etc. A bit of a pity that it all died off with the rise of the internet.

[JohnnyHector]

Popular music SUCKED in the years prior to Smells Like Teen Spirit hitting MTV. Then all of a sudden, the entire landscape changed.

I used to long for those days when the brainless masses were confined to whatever Kasey Kasem was running down on the weekly top-40. Fast forward to the early-90's and I suddenly have some former guido telling me how cool Agnostic Front is because they saw Lars Fredricksen wearing their shirt in a Rancid video on MTV.