the 80s

[action]

the eighties, often seen as something of the dark ages of music, was actually full of exciting new ideas both in pop and rock music. Eighties pop tracks are still loved today and sure to bring the spirits up when played at parties. Some of the most exciting rock albums were released in the 80s, but this time it was different. There was this interesting rock / pop fusion going on. guitars mixed with synths. Looking back, there is much to love here. I'm finding a new interest in this often overlooked era. Some people rock bands weren't rock enough anymore, but I disagree. I'm also looking to expand my collection of great 80s pop/rock albums or songs. Any recommendations? here are mine:

- Queen (A kind of magic)

- Rolling stones (steel wheels)

- dire straits (brothers in arms)

- michael jackson (thriller)

- top gun soundtrack

- dirty dancing soundtrack

- footloose soundtrack

- judas priest (screaming for vengeance)

- prince (purple rain)

- metallica (kill em all)

- guns n roses (appetite for destruction)

- AC/DC (back in black)

then there are all those brilliant one-hit wonder pop singles with their distinct 80s sound. This era is a goldmine of great pop songs. 

Edited August 14, 2020 by action

[EvanG]

Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, R.E.M., Soul Asylum, The Smiths, Pixies, The Cure.

edit, I realized just now you asked for albums, well, probably any 80's records by those bands might tickle your fancy if you like pop/rock.

Edited August 14, 2020 by EvanG

[DieselDaisy]

Neil Young's Freedom. 

[action]

8 minutes ago, EvanG said:

Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, R.E.M., Soul Asylum, The Smiths, Pixies, The Cure.

edit, I realized just now you asked for albums, well, probably any 80's records by those bands might tickle your fancy if you like pop/rock.

recommendations for song are just fine too!

you never can go wrong with those "80s" compilation albums you see everywhere

[Len Cnut]

34 minutes ago, action said:

the eighties, often seen as something of the dark ages of music, was actually full of exciting new ideas both in pop and rock music. Eighties pop tracks are still loved today and sure to bring the spirits up when played at parties. Some of the most exciting rock albums were released in the 80s, but this time it was different. There was this interesting rock / pop fusion going on. guitars mixed with synths. Looking back, there is much to love here. I'm finding a new interest in this often overlooked era. Some people rock bands weren't rock enough anymore, but I disagree. I'm also looking to expand my collection of great 80s pop/rock albums or songs. Any recommendations? here are mine:

- Queen (A kind of magic)

- Rolling stones (steel wheels)

- dire straits (brothers in arms)

- michael jackson (thriller)

- top gun soundtrack

- dirty dancing soundtrack

- footloose soundtrack

- judas priest (screaming for vengeance)

- prince (purple rain)

- metallica (kill em all)

- guns n roses (appetite for destruction)

- AC/DC (back in black)

then there are all those brilliant one-hit wonder pop singles with their distinct 80s sound. This era is a goldmine of great pop songs. 

Queen are shite, Dire Straits are shite, Jacko ain't all that, Judas Priest are shite, Prince was shite, Metallica are PROPER shite, really the interesting stuff in the 80s was the stuff @EvanG pointed out.  What was interesting in the 80s was that, after the death of punk in the late 70s all these bands took the ethos of punk and realised 'y'know what?  we ain't gonna fuckin' make it playing this music, its never gonna be popular' but they still loved it so a consequence of that was they went WAY out and experimental and just went for the music, hence you had great bands like The Replacements, The Butthole Surfers, James Chance and the Contortions, PiL, Sonic Youth, The Smiths, The Pixies...lots of great Hardcore bands, you had Black Flag, Minor Threat, Minutemen, Dead Kennedys, Big Black, Scratch Acid, just great fuckin' music.  So when the alternative boom happened in the 90s it was like 'wow, this just came out of nowhere!' but it didn't, an entire decade of blood, sweat and tears went into it based on the work of the aforementioned bands and bands like them.  They kinda kept guitar based music alive...and a great deal of them didn't earn jack shit for it, an entire generation grew up that wasn't into your fuckin' Judas Priests and all that bullshit greasy metaller bollocks.  Actually thats unfair, a lot of the above mentioned owed at least something to Metal, I just personally hate it so I'm being prejudiced.

And of course, the most important thing about the 80s, hip hop and it slowly pushing into the mainstream to end up becoming the dominant cultural force of the last quarter of a century.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Len Cnut

[action]

3 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

Queen are shite, Dire Straits are shite, Jacko ain't all that, Judas Priest are shite, Prince was shite, Metallica are PROPER shite, really the interesting stuff in the 80s was the stuff @EvanG pointed out.  What was interesting in the 80s was that, after the death of punk in the late 70s all these bands took the ethos of punk and realised 'y'know what?  we ain't gonna fuckin' make it playing this music, its never gonna be popular' but they still loved it so a consequence of that was they went WAY out and experimental and just went for the music, hence you had great bands like The Replacements, The Butthole Surfers, James Chance and the Contortions, PiL, Sonic Youth, The Smiths, The Pixies...lots of great Hardcore bands, you had Black Flag, Minor Threat, Minutemen, Dead Kennedys, Big Black, Scratch Acid, just great fuckin' music.  So when the alternative boom happened in the 90s it was like 'wow, this just came out of nowhere!' but it didn't, an entire decade of blood, sweat and tears went into it based on the work of the aforementioned bands and bands like them.  They kinda kept guitar based music alive...and a great deal of them didn't earn jack shit for it, an entire generation grew up that wasn't into your fuckin' Judas Priests and all that bullshit greasy metaller bollocks.  Actually thats unfair, a lot of the above mentioned owed at least something to Metal, I just personally hate it so I'm being prejudiced.

And of course, the most important thing about the 80s, hip hop and it slowly pushing into the mainstream to end up becoming the dominant cultural force of the last quarter of a century.

the albums I listed are mostly music, aimed at the masses. music that invites you to party and have fun. it doesn't aim to be of "high level" or musically sophisticated. It aims to be fun. In every kind of entertainment form, you have these two camps: those who like fun, and on the other hand those who like "quality".

[Len Cnut]

1 minute ago, action said:

the albums I listed are mostly music, aimed at the masses. music that invites you to party and have fun. it doesn't aim to be of "high level" or musically sophisticated. It aims to be fun. In every kind of entertainment form, you have these two camps: those who like fun, and on the other hand those who like "quality".

The above are hardly sophisticated  

 

[EvanG]

21 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

 So when the alternative boom happened in the 90s it was like 'wow, this just came out of nowhere!' but it didn't, an entire decade of blood, sweat and tears went into it based on the work of the aforementioned bands and bands like them. 

This is true, Nirvana got so much credit but they were lucky that they were one of the first bands that broke through to the mainstream, but bands had been doing the same thing for a lot of years before that. A lot of those bands from the 80's hit the mainstream after 1991 because of the success of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. People who didn't know better saw them as Nirvana rip offs or that they were jumping on the grunge bandwagon and even criticized their appearance because it looked too much like Cobain. Must have been weird for bands like that, having played all the small clubs and paid their dues for almost ten years, and then being seen as some grunge wannabe band.

This is Soul Asylum in 1986 before Nirvana even existed,

 

 

 

[soon]

The Clash

Peter Gabriel 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 

Kate Bush

Pink Floyd (The Final Cut)

Tracy Chapman (self titled debut)

Talking Heads

B-52s

Willie Nelson

Jeff Beck

 

 

 

[RussTCB]

The 80s are the dark age of music?? Honest to God, I have never ever heard that opinion ever. There's a ton of amazing music that came out of that decade. 

[Len Cnut]

22 minutes ago, soon said:

The Clash

Peter Gabriel 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 

Kate Bush

Pink Floyd (The Final Cut)

Tracy Chapman (self titled debut)

Talking Heads

B-52s

Willie Nelson

Jeff Beck

 

 

 

Are you sure those are all 80s?

EDIT: ignore me, I didn't read OP properly

14 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

The 80s are the dark age of music?? Honest to God, I have never ever heard that opinion ever.

You've never heard this, really? 

Edited August 14, 2020 by Len Cnut

[RussTCB]

10 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

You've never heard this, really? 

No, I've honestly never heard anyone refer to the 80s as the dark ages of music. 

[soon]

Ive heard people mourn the dip in production value that came with early digital recording and technology. Like the late 70s- early 80s had some perfected, gorgeous analog productions (Fleetwood Mac, Floyd) and then came early midi with a focous on treble and a thinner sound. Ive also heard people comment on the gated snares and kick drums even on analog recordings. 

Im actually becoming a Def Leppard fan via a classic rock station. And enjoy Bauhaus with its thin recording sound.

Id add to my earlier list,

Grateful Dead

Cyndi Lauper

David Bowie

Emmylou Harris

Dolly Parton

Linda Ronstadt 

REM

Ozzy

 

[Len Cnut]

27 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

No, I've honestly never heard anyone refer to the 80s as the dark ages of music. 

I don’t mean that exact phrase, I just mean that it was a shit era of music, you gotta remember it was as much about Bananarama, Status Quo, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and all shit like that.

[EvanG]

They always talk crap about mainstream 80's music, and a lot of it is crap mainly due to the production, at least I think so but I dislike almost anything with synthesisers. I've been watching a lot of Netflix series lately that use a lot of 80's music, and I discovered music that I probably wouldn't have liked when I was younger, but now I see the appeal, like Prefab Sprout. Also want to add Crowded House.

 

[DieselDaisy]

8 minutes ago, EvanG said:

They always talk crap about mainstream 80's music, and a lot of it is crap mainly due to the production, at least I think so but I dislike almost anything with synthesisers. I've been watching a lot of Netflix series lately that use a lot of 80's music, and I discovered music that I probably wouldn't have liked when I was younger, but now I see the appeal, like Prefab Sprout. Also want to add Crowded House.

 

They are from Durham near me. One of them came to speak at a music course I was on.

[Len Cnut]

30 minutes ago, EvanG said:

They always talk crap about mainstream 80's music, and a lot of it is crap mainly due to the production, at least I think so but I dislike almost anything with synthesisers. I've been watching a lot of Netflix series lately that use a lot of 80's music, and I discovered music that I probably wouldn't have liked when I was younger, but now I see the appeal, like Prefab Sprout. Also want to add Crowded House.

 

I think there’s always a balance and the further away you get people forget the shit and remember the good.

[RussTCB]

1 hour ago, Len Cnut said:

I don’t mean that exact phrase, I just mean that it was a shit era of music, you gotta remember it was as much about Bananarama, Status Quo, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and all shit like that.

I like a lot of songs by many of those artists soooooo lol

[Len Cnut]

26 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

I like a lot of songs by many of those artists soooooo lol

I know what you mean, I like a lot of songs and a lot of bands that prevailing notions consider to be a load of bollocks but you just like what you like, don’t you?  Its important to guard against a tendency to take pop music too seriously.  I mean I like a lot of people that do but at the same time there’s room for the other too.  Where do you draw the line?  Wherever you want to I suppose.  A lot of people want to talk about music as art and musicians as artists, well that in and of itself requires something of a push from the medium towards what is a little more elevated in our tastes rather than the common denominator, which has its place also.  A lot of what is ‘pop’ music is created in boardrooms and informed by focus groups and ‘what sells’, which is often difficult to reconcile with notions of artistic integrity.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Len Cnut

[RussTCB]

5 minutes ago, Len Cnut said:

I know what you mean, I like a lot of songs and a lot of bands that prevailing notions consider to be a load of bollocks but you just like what you like, don’t you?  Its important to guard against a tendency to take pop music too seriously.  I mean I like a lot of people that do but at the same time there’s room for the other too.  Where do you draw the line?  Wherever you want to I suppose.  A lot of people want to talk about music as art and musicians as artists, well that in and of itself requires something of a push from the medium towards what is a little more elevated in our tastes rather than the common denominator, which has its place also.  A lot of what is ‘pop’ music is created in boardrooms and informed by focus groups and ‘what sells’, which is often difficult to reconcile with notions of artistic integrity.

My view on pop music falls under the category of "there's a time and a place for everything". 

There's tons of music that I take more seriously (for lack of a better term) however, there's plenty of time to work in large amounts of frivolous pop music just because it's an easy and fun listen. 

[lame ass security]

Gary Numan- The Pleasure Principle

Bruce Springsteen- Nebraska, The River, Born In The USA

 

[Powderfinger]

Jesus and Mary Chain, Pixies, Nirvana, Primal Scream, REM, Dead Kennedys, X. Just a few off the top of my head that were 80s bands. 
 

Jesus and Mary chain are chronically overlooked I think. A great band. 

[alfierose]

5 hours ago, Len Cnut said:

I don’t mean that exact phrase, I just mean that it was a shit era of music, you gotta remember it was as much about Bananarama, Status Quo, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and all shit like that.

Don't go slagging off Bananarama!

How very dare you? 

[Len Cnut]

26 minutes ago, alfierose said:

Don't go slagging off Bananarama!

How very dare you? 

They were mates of Paul Cook y’know, they were being made homeless once and he let em kip at Sex Pistols HQ on Denmark St.

[J Dog]

I've always had a soft spot for Billy Idol.