Did you guys hate stuff like this in 1988...??

[Stylee Mousse]

The song has hooks. However I really disliked Bruce at the time because he was constantly being pushed on one by the biz.

I remember a payola story from the day that label people would call the local record shops and coerce or bribe them into reporting giant sales numbers for artists like him.

When soundsscan (reporting for charts based on upc came in) suddenly hip hop was on top of the pile…

 

[Chrisk-K]

I actually hated anything he did..synths or no synths.

I don’t hate him but I couldn’t care less about everything he ever did.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I was actually into other music and art at the time of the 80s and 90s and missed a lot of this type of thing.

I've been doing a semi-deep dive into that period, like John and Alan Lomax discovering lost folk music from around the world.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I don’t hate him but I couldn’t care less about everything he ever did.

 

[bassdude51]

I never heard the song before until I clicked the YouTube link. (I was 37 in 1988.) (By the way, "hate" is kind of a strong word!)

Never been a Springsteen fan. I did buy his 5 LP box set of live music but only ever played a couple of songs. Never played the full set.

Back in the early 70s, like maybe '72 or '73, me and some friends went to see Sha Nah Nah at the Ohio Theater here in Columbus, Ohio.

The opening act was some dude with a band and a black sax player. Nobody knew of him. Found out a couple of years later that I had seen Bruce. Ha!

Music styles are constantly changing with each and every new generation of young people. If an artist wants to sell music and tickets, they have to change with the times or fold up. Generally speaking. Yes, SELL OUT!

Look at the big music today, Taylor Swift! And etc. Hard for us older ones to swallow, isn't it?

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I remember the tune. My cousin at the time was nutso for everything-Springsteen. (and may still be...) So if all of us went out together we had to hear it. I was 19 at the time, and starting to play bluegrass and oldtime music, and literally nobody wanted to hear that.

 

[Jhass]

I’m a fan, and have been since 1984. I don’t love every song he’s written, but I do respect the fact that every one of his albums has a unique sound.

 

[Bassist4Eris]

I didn't like anything but thrash and hardcore in 1988. I like almost everything now.

 

[Killing Floor]

I like Boss. That’s not my favorite song but it’s not bad either. I don’t remember thinking a lot about Tunnel. He was in a phase.

 

[richntiff]

I’ve always liked the concept of Bruce Springsteen far more than I’ve liked the actual music of Bruce Springsteen.

Regardless, in 1988 I probably laughed at that song and spun the radio dial in search of the next big hair band. So, clearly I was not exactly skilled at determining what good music was.

 

[getrhythm]

Didn't care for it when it came out but now think it's one of his better recordings. I'm not a fan of his.

 

[DirtDog]

Actually I really like Tunnel Of Love because of the great songs. It was almost like he was following up Nebraska but in a real studio this time.

I know people will say that the sound is dated because of the synths, wait a few more years. Think of all the bands out there right now using the same analog synth sounds we thought were dated 35 years ago. Oh and how about the return of fuzz bass



Nobody else ever thought of doing Texas blues with synthesizers. Genius…seriously.

It certainly paid off for ZZ Top. Can’t fault them for that. Although I was more into spinning Tres Hombres, Deguello and Fandango in 1988 than I was Eliminator or Afterburner.

 

[DirtDog]

I was actually into other music and art at the time of the 80s and 90s and missed a lot of this type of thing.

I've been doing a semi-deep dive into that period, like John and Alan Lomax discovering lost folk music from around the world.

Same. I had moved back from the Stones/Zep etc through to SRV, then Muddy Watters and the the Three Kings, towards Lightnin Hopkins and Robert Johnson. Probably like a lot of us of that vintage.

The Lomax field recordings of Lightin Hopkins in his hotel room still rank high in my list of favorites.

 

[Lowbrow]

When we were being force-fed critics’ strident assertions of ‘the greatest thing ever’ in the mid seventies, I agreed and have not moved much in my opinion.
And I’m talking about The Ramones.

 

[cymbop]

Funny enough, I was looking for some nostalgia this week, and pulled up Tunnel of Love for a close listen on the headphones. I was in 6th grade when it came out. I've never been into Bruce but I still recognize him as a national-treasure level artist and an all-around good human being.

I think the song holds up! What I want to point out is that the outro melody -- of this "sell-out synth pop" tune -- is a yodel! And it's beautiful, and it works.

 

[bassfran]

I actually hated anything he did..synths or no synths.

HAHAHAHA!!!

 

[bullshark]

Nope. And anyway, synth pop and hair metal, the two major style in North America in the 80's, never really caught on here in Quebec, the only majorly French speaking outpost in the America's. Punk did make some headway's with kids younger than me, but beside that we had our own stuff that had a more bluesy rock type of sound and roots.

 

[Rev_Slinky]

I wasn't really into this album when it came out, but I had a lot of respect for him as an artist. Born in the USA was a huge album for me (I was 10 when it came out and just getting into popular music), and I will still put songs like COVER ME and I'M ON FIRE up there against anything else of that era.

That said, I was the kid painting LED ZEPPELIN on his jeans jacket and watching Headbangers Ball whenever I could get over to a house with cable.

 

[Jefenator]

I could probably count on one hand the number of artists who didn't at least dabble in synths & gated snares at some point during the 1980s.
I've found it's best to go along with it.
My favorite example of a down-to-earth singer / songwriter going pop for a minute would have to be Leonard Cohen.

 

[Norm Nelson]

Maybe I'm just getting old but I'm drawing an utter blank on this song. Mostly because the Dire Straits "Tunnel of Love" is dominating my memory. LOL. Yeah, so, suffice it to say I wasn't listening closely to the Boss around then.