Discovering ‘80’s Music

[CarpeBasso]

I've always been of the belief that 70's music was the best decade for music, regardless of genre. I was mainly a rock guy in the 70's, graduated HS in 1978. In the 80's however, I was strictly a country guy. Stuck with that throughout the 80's & most of the 90's. Now I'm doing a lot of listening to the 80's pop & rock that I missed out on, and having a ball! The 80's was a pretty good genre for music after all. Still can't beat the 70's though.

 

[Scottgun]

Even though there was plenty of synth and drum-machine abuse in the eighties, they were still recording the old-fashioned way that didn't involve the copy and paste, pitching and pocketing that sucks the human element out of everything these days. King Crimson's best stuff is from this time imho. Also, Jaco's work primarily in the '70s was bringing bass players out of the shadows in the '80s. Spector basses hit the scene and are still awesome today.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

quintessential 80's albums:

Holy Diver

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[bolophonic]

I listen to a lot of hardcore punk, which came into its own in the 1980's. Even after 35 years of listening and collecting, I am still not even close to running out of new things to hear, just in terms of what was released in the 80's, let alone all the music that came after.

In the early 80's, I was lucky enough to have direct exposure to early hip hop radio, which was groundbreaking back then, but I understand that it tends to sound dated to many these days. The look on my wife's face when I start rapping along to Jam On It is unbelievable.

 

[Otterbob]

I listen to a lot of hardcore punk, which came into its own in the 1980's. Even after 35 years of listening and collecting, I am still not even close to running out of new things to hear, just in terms of what was released in the 80's, let alone all the music that came after.

In the early 80's, I was lucky enough to have direct exposure to early hip hop radio, which was groundbreaking back then, but I understand that it tends to sound dated to many these days. The look on my wife's face when I start rapping along to Jam On It is unbelievable.

I love that bassline tho

 

[Engle]

Check out Blondie, The Pretenders, The Dead Kennedys

 

[bolophonic]

I love that bassline tho

That song is still 100% dope. I was rocking it today.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

It's easy to judge an entire decade on the cheesiest crap that made it into Top 40 radio. There was oceans of drek in the 60's and 70's, no less the 80's, and some great stuff too. The best stuff survives, the Carpenters Greatest Hits ends up in the Church Bazaar record sale next to Englebert Humperdink and the original cast album of Grease, where it slowly molders into obscurity.

 

[Lobster11]

 

[two fingers]

Here's the thing about 80s music that is most overlooked..... and translated as "cheesy".

A lot of it was FUN!!!! We just had a good time.

A good time has been somewhat vilified today.

The 90s was perhaps the most depressing decade in music history. Many of the songs that were hits were just too serious. (Yes, there were exceptions.) And we have never fully recovered from the 90s. If your music is found to be "too" fun these days, you're hosed. You ain't "woke" if you're too happy.

 

[friskinator]

Some of my favorite songs (and bass lines) of all time are from 80s British pop and new wave. I was relatively young in those days (born in '74) and not a musician yet, so I've been rediscovering a lot of great material from that genre.

 

[Groove Doctor]

Ultimate 80's tune


Also Check out Rio by Duran Duran. Wild bass line.

 

[GregC]

Here's the thing about 80s music that is most overlooked..... and translated as "cheesy".

A lot of it was FUN!!!! We just had a good time.

A good time has been somewhat vilified today.

The 90s was perhaps the most depressing decade in music history. Many of the songs that were hits were just too serious. (Yes, there were exceptions.) And we have never fully recovered from the 90s. If your music is found to be "too" fun these days, you're hosed. You ain't "woke" if you're too happy.

"Happy" may literally be the most popular song of this decade.

 

[MonetBass]

I was in high school and college in the 80s, so this era really resonates with me. The quintessential 80s artists, IMO:
Adam Ant
ABC
The Art of Noise
The Cure
Depeche Mode
Devo
Duran Duran
The Eurythmics
The Fixx
Go West
Daryl Hall & John Oates
Howard Jones
Huey Lewis & The News
INXS
Journey
Little River Band
Michael Jackson
Midnight Oil
Midnight Star
Missing Persons
Mr. Mister
New Order
Oingo Boingo
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD)
The Outfield
THE POLICE
The Pretenders
R.E.M.
Rick Springfield
Loverboy
Simple Minds
Soft Cell
Squeeze
Tears For Fears
Talk Talk
Thomas Dolby
Toto
U2
Yaz

 

[avvie]

The thing that's great about today is that streaming services can serve up all the B-sides and minor/alternative material from any given decade. Slacker Radio is my choice for an 80's Alternative channel that excludes all the top 40 dreck; to me, 80's music is NOT Madonna et al.

 

[avvie]

AMAZINGLY good concert film that still holds up today.

 

[Rev J]

Here's a classic bass cut:



Then there was all of the stuff Louis Johnson was playing on in the 80's.

C/S,
Rev J

 

[garp]

Even though there was plenty of synth and drum-machine abuse in the eighties

Hah. Oughta have been a crime!

Taste Enforcement Officer: "License and registration, please."
Musician: "I don't understand. What did I..."
TEO: "Excessive Yamaha DX7 use."
M: "But everyone's doing it. And it fit the song."
TEO: "A real Rhodes would've worked just fine. But you chose a 'Glassy Rhodes' synth patch. Terrible. And then there's the beat violation."
M: "Beat violation?"
TEO: "I could hear that chintzy Roland CR-78 a mile away."
M: "But Phil Collins uses a CR-78! And he's a drummer!"
TEO: "Maybe you should've thought about that before your final mixdown. Sign here, please."

 

[HeavyJazz]

The Cure was essential 80s. I still enjoy them. On the jazz side both Pat Metheny and Wynton Marsalis released some really solid material during that time.

 

[charlie monroe]

I was in high school and college in the 80s, so this era really resonates with me. The quintessential 80s artists, IMO:
Adam Ant
ABC
The Art of Noise
The Cure
Depeche Mode
Devo
Duran Duran
The Eurythmics
The Fixx
Go West
Daryl Hall & John Oates
Howard Jones
Huey Lewis & The News
INXS
Journey
Little River Band
Michael Jackson
Midnight Oil
Midnight Star
Missing Persons
Mr. Mister
New Order
Oingo Boingo
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD)
The Outfield
The Pretenders
R.E.M.
Rick Springfield
Loverboy
Simple Minds
Soft Cell
Squeeze
Tears For Fears
Talk Talk
Thomas Dolby
Toto
U2
Yaz

Good list, but I think you missed one. The Police literally owned the 80's.