Whilst I can appreciate an Abba track, it hardly makes Sweden a good sounding board for music of any kind, other than middle of the road of course.
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[Music] Is the 80’s the best decade ever for Pop Music ?
- Thread starter Live by the sea
- Start date
Whilst I can appreciate an Abba track, it hardly makes Sweden a good sounding board for music of any kind, other than middle of the road of course.
Is it PotG?
Thrifty non-licker
Yeah, what a shit songwriter that George Michael was……
You may not like it, but it was of the moment, and holds an endless number of memories for millions of people. That doesn’t make it technically superb, but it makes it relevant to vast swathes of people. Music is about opinions, but none of those opinions are factual. Perhaps the fact that many from after the 80’s choose to call it the best decade, along with those that lived it, gives a fair bit of credence to the opinion that it wasn’t as shithouse as you seem to think, from that revered hotbed of critically acclaimed artistes and trend setting genres that you live in.
Insel affe
HellBilly
Pop music - Popular music...
Meh.....
However the 80s was magnificent for different genres to mutate and spread their wings even if they started in the 70s
Punk mutated into hardcore and the grunge scene.
Ska mutated, as did mod, along with New Wave, Rockabilly mutated into Neo Roackabilly and Psychobilly and of course Indie with bands like the Smiths, Housemartins and influenced thousands of other bands, giving us the Stone Roses, Oasis were heavily influenced by the Madchester sound at the time. Riot girl music gathered pace as did various forms of protest music like Billy Brag.
It was a wonderful time for indie music, and so glad I lived through probably the last time youth cultures were so strong, and gave kids a home, a gang and sense of belonging that kids of today seldom find at home or on the internet. If someone suggests a new band, they can reach for spotify, where as we borrowed beat up cassettes and went to dubious pubs and clubs to find new bands....
great times, pop though...
Was pretty shite and bland.
Meh.....
However the 80s was magnificent for different genres to mutate and spread their wings even if they started in the 70s
Punk mutated into hardcore and the grunge scene.
Ska mutated, as did mod, along with New Wave, Rockabilly mutated into Neo Roackabilly and Psychobilly and of course Indie with bands like the Smiths, Housemartins and influenced thousands of other bands, giving us the Stone Roses, Oasis were heavily influenced by the Madchester sound at the time. Riot girl music gathered pace as did various forms of protest music like Billy Brag.
It was a wonderful time for indie music, and so glad I lived through probably the last time youth cultures were so strong, and gave kids a home, a gang and sense of belonging that kids of today seldom find at home or on the internet. If someone suggests a new band, they can reach for spotify, where as we borrowed beat up cassettes and went to dubious pubs and clubs to find new bands....
great times, pop though...
Was pretty shite and bland.
- Jan 3, 2012
- 17,439
Looking through this thread, I would personally have had a much narrower definition of Pop Music than most on here, but then again I object to people being too rigid in their categorising of music.
It's also made me realise I am not a great fan of Pop Music if it is down to people like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, neither of whom did it for me. But in terms of straight pop music, my own personal favousite pop record would be Heartbeat by Buddy Holly - a great song brilliantly produced. But then there was a lot more to Buddy Holly than Pop Music - like for instance he first did "Not fade away", which was later covered raucously by the Rolling Stones.
And talking of the Stones, I can't get past the 60s going in to the 70s as being the best (two) decade(s) ever. It was my era. I'm 68.
It's also made me realise I am not a great fan of Pop Music if it is down to people like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, neither of whom did it for me. But in terms of straight pop music, my own personal favousite pop record would be Heartbeat by Buddy Holly - a great song brilliantly produced. But then there was a lot more to Buddy Holly than Pop Music - like for instance he first did "Not fade away", which was later covered raucously by the Rolling Stones.
And talking of the Stones, I can't get past the 60s going in to the 70s as being the best (two) decade(s) ever. It was my era. I'm 68.
Last edited:
- Jan 3, 2012
- 17,439
Absolutely this - A lot of good music around in the 80s, but most of it I would not define as Pop,
Stato
Well-known member
- Dec 21, 2011
- 7,422
The eighties is a very interesting music decade to look back on. In very simplistic terms, the 50s was the excitement of the new, the 60s growth and experimentation in all directions and the 70s a come down period from the 60s with a concentration on looking inwards. Then punk reacted to what had gone before.
Eighties pop, particularly in Britain, has to be looked at in terms of post punk. Culturally, punk had a similar impact to the rock'n'roll of the 1950s. It hit hard and and went away quickly leaving a diaspora of musicians influenced by various parts of it. Post punk, in its early days was a period of massive experimentation similar to that of the sixties. This experimentation wasn't happening in a vacuum and wasn't just influenced by punk. Disco had happened and hip hop was crossing over. What we think of now as 80s pop was the child of these influences.
At the time, I happily dismissed loads of artists in the 80s charts as pap made for the masses without really understanding where they had ended up there. For anyone interested in the various journeys I'd recommend Simon Reynolds book 'Rip It Up and Start Again'. Although not perfect (and snobbishly dismissive of the roots of the C86 independent movement that followed), it is really good on explaining how the futurism of the likes of the Human League, the hedonism of young soul boys like Wham, the anarcho do it yourself of Scritti Pollitti, the eclectic tribal sounds of Adam & the Ants and many more were all different responses to filling the gap created by punk's explosion. It also gives you a hint at why most of these experiments moved towards a homogeneity that make many people today, perhaps rightly dismissive of a lot of eighties pop music. In short the answer is generally capitalism. It wasn't ready to react to the creative explosion of the sixties. It was absolutely ready in the eighties and it packaged and sold everything that showed any semblance of having a potential audience, rubbing off anything it considered troubling along the way. It basically did to music what it did to television and film in the nineties and beyond, giving more control to those selling art, than to those creating it and ultimately delivering something tailored for an imagined mass audience. Those who were happy to be part of that mass audience liked the product because it was aimed at them. Those who weren't, hated it and went off to make their own stuff. The resultant continual cycle of elements of the alternative coming into, influencing and occasionally dominating the mainstream started in earnest in the eighties and seems to have continued ever since.
Eighties pop, particularly in Britain, has to be looked at in terms of post punk. Culturally, punk had a similar impact to the rock'n'roll of the 1950s. It hit hard and and went away quickly leaving a diaspora of musicians influenced by various parts of it. Post punk, in its early days was a period of massive experimentation similar to that of the sixties. This experimentation wasn't happening in a vacuum and wasn't just influenced by punk. Disco had happened and hip hop was crossing over. What we think of now as 80s pop was the child of these influences.
At the time, I happily dismissed loads of artists in the 80s charts as pap made for the masses without really understanding where they had ended up there. For anyone interested in the various journeys I'd recommend Simon Reynolds book 'Rip It Up and Start Again'. Although not perfect (and snobbishly dismissive of the roots of the C86 independent movement that followed), it is really good on explaining how the futurism of the likes of the Human League, the hedonism of young soul boys like Wham, the anarcho do it yourself of Scritti Pollitti, the eclectic tribal sounds of Adam & the Ants and many more were all different responses to filling the gap created by punk's explosion. It also gives you a hint at why most of these experiments moved towards a homogeneity that make many people today, perhaps rightly dismissive of a lot of eighties pop music. In short the answer is generally capitalism. It wasn't ready to react to the creative explosion of the sixties. It was absolutely ready in the eighties and it packaged and sold everything that showed any semblance of having a potential audience, rubbing off anything it considered troubling along the way. It basically did to music what it did to television and film in the nineties and beyond, giving more control to those selling art, than to those creating it and ultimately delivering something tailored for an imagined mass audience. Those who were happy to be part of that mass audience liked the product because it was aimed at them. Those who weren't, hated it and went off to make their own stuff. The resultant continual cycle of elements of the alternative coming into, influencing and occasionally dominating the mainstream started in earnest in the eighties and seems to have continued ever since.
maffew
Well-known member
The thread quite clearly says best era for POP music, not different genres
So yes, surely it was
So yes, surely it was
Yeah, what a shit songwriter that George Michael was……
You may not like it, but it was of the moment, and holds an endless number of memories for millions of people. That doesn’t make it technically superb, but it makes it relevant to vast swathes of people. Music is about opinions, but none of those opinions are factual. Perhaps the fact that many from after the 80’s choose to call it the best decade, along with those that lived it, gives a fair bit of credence to the opinion that it wasn’t as shithouse as you seem to think, from that revered hotbed of critically acclaimed artistes and trend setting genres that you live in.
You ad me until "perhaps the fact", because you were right until that point: it is just opinions. My dislike for the 80s is a matter of taste and nothing else.
Good for you... ABBA are shite.
What's wrong with a drum machine? The 808 revolutionised music. I thought you were a hip hop fan
Yes, and it is very nice in hiphop. There is a lot of good hiphop from the 80s but that doesnt fully compensate for most music genres stepping in the cow pile for most of the decade. Plenty of fantastic artists that made great stuff before and after the 80s wasted a decade trying to adapt to that shite decade.
nickbrighton
Well-known member
- Feb 19, 2016
- 2,187
I noticed about a month or so ago that the Radio two (I know, old fogey alert) play list has changed dramatically, and is now playing a huge number of late 70s, 80s and early 90s music, , given that I am now in my late , late 50s its covers time i was become aware of music other than that , that my parents listened to, and formed the "soundtrack" of my early adulthood. I have rediscovered so many songs and artists that had slipped away from me
Its amazing to hear just how well this music has held up (some notable exceptions of course), and I cant think of any other era that had such a diverse mix of styles and genres. The fact that so many of the artists, now in their 70 and 80s are still performing to huge audiences is testament to their staying power, and also that the last 20 odd years has seen very little in the way of long term staying power(again, a few notable exceptions).
I cant imagine that there will be too many of the recent pasts repetitive, sampled (another way of saying, we cant write our own so we will nick someone elses work ), one trick pony songs and "artists" will still be playing to full stadiums in30 or 40 years
I recall a comparison of the lyrics and music of "imagine" written by one person, and a new track by the then flavour of the month, which had a team of about 15 song writers and consisted of about 5 different lines of lyrics ,(one verse-a dozen different words at most) constantly repeated with a chorus of boom bbom boom la la la etc with a backing track of mainly sampled music with a drum beat over it-
Its amazing to hear just how well this music has held up (some notable exceptions of course), and I cant think of any other era that had such a diverse mix of styles and genres. The fact that so many of the artists, now in their 70 and 80s are still performing to huge audiences is testament to their staying power, and also that the last 20 odd years has seen very little in the way of long term staying power(again, a few notable exceptions).
I cant imagine that there will be too many of the recent pasts repetitive, sampled (another way of saying, we cant write our own so we will nick someone elses work ), one trick pony songs and "artists" will still be playing to full stadiums in30 or 40 years
I recall a comparison of the lyrics and music of "imagine" written by one person, and a new track by the then flavour of the month, which had a team of about 15 song writers and consisted of about 5 different lines of lyrics ,(one verse-a dozen different words at most) constantly repeated with a chorus of boom bbom boom la la la etc with a backing track of mainly sampled music with a drum beat over it-
Tyrone Biggums
Well-known member
Riot Grrrls were the 90s.
The 90's were also full of youth subcultures. Grunge was massive world wide, I'd say the 90's were when the real big youth subcultures finished.
Lollapalooza started in 91. Think the 90's was the era of a large increase in music festivals popping up with so much alt music coming out.
Insel affe
HellBilly
Scarface
Dead Poets Society
Blues Brothers
The Smiths
Pixies
Public Enemy
NWA
So many
Young Ones
Blackadder
Only Fools & Horses
So much so, that is why so many kids, hipsters and fat old men, want to dress like its 1983 now
Simply disagree, you were not there, if you had been, you would have loved it.
What music floats your boat then Swansman ?
Insel affe
HellBilly
Technically speaking yes as a thing, but they were bubbling along in the underground scene before that with bands from the 70s , who kinda made it in the 80s like the raincoats and Joan Jett etc.
Scarface
Dead Poets Society
Blues Brothers
The Smiths
Pixies
Public Enemy
NWA
So many
Young Ones
Blackadder
Only Fools & Horses
So much so, that is why so many kids, hipsters and fat old men, want to dress like its 1983 now
Simply disagree, you were not there, if you had been, you would have loved it.
What music floats your boat then Swansman ?
Yes obviously there are loads of exceptions, just relative to other decades I find the 80s dross. On my Winamp list with 10 000 or so songs I'd say maybe 10% are from before the 60s, 20% from the 60s, 30% from the 70s, 10% from the 80s, 20% from the 90s and 10% from 2000 onwards.
Its difficult to put the finger on exactly what I find repulsive with 80s music but its something about the vanity of the decade and the playing around with "futuristic" sounds that turned out to be very, very timebound to the 80s. I find it a very distinct sounding decade (again, with plenty of exceptions since there was probably a million songs released) that just doesnt please my eardrum.
When it comes to movies, there's quite a few good ones but nowhere near like in the 70s and 90s - and most of the best ones from the 80s are set in other decades.
"Transvision Vamp" That is all I have to say. "I don't want your money honey, I want your love"
oh yes!
Stato
Well-known member
- Dec 21, 2011
- 7,422
Surely its also a matter of definition. If 80s pop is Queen and Duran Duran I'm with you, but if it's Prince, or Orange Juice, or The Pogues, or Pixies, or The Cure, or XTC, or the Redskins, or De La Soul, or Cardiacs, or The Teardrop Explodes, or, or or....