Hatin' on the '80s

Kansas City Star ^ | 3/3/05 | Jeff Leeds

[Incorrigible]

The problem with 80's radio was that it was 20 years after the 60's... prime time for baby boomer nostalgia.

Bands that didn't make music in the 60's found it hard to get on the radio even in NYC. The Ramones hardly got any airplay but Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and other 60's bands that had albums in the 80's got played and played. Well, on stations that weren't 24/7 Michael Jackson anyway.

Oh how I remember WPLJ first playing "Beat It" because Eddie VanHalen played guitar in the song. Within months of that event, it went from a decent rock station to top 40.

[discostu]

When they went to just Starship that wasn't a reunion, they'd still been around, that was a civil suit. But then they re-united the original line-up back under the Jefferson Airplane monicre, and totally stank. Remember the Monkees re-union was that year too, ugh city.

[LowOiL]

No kidding! That is odd. What was their beef with each other?

Stuart (lead, Big Country) said that Americans didn't know how to play a guitar, so the lead guy from the Stray Cats took the bait. They yaaa yaaaed a few times back and forth via the press. But there was bad blood between them for years.

[Dave278]

Does anyone remember the tragic nightclub fire a few months back where "Great White" killed the few remaining fans they had?

[Cowman]

compared to what is out there today it was ok.


It is impossible to spell CRAP with out RAP

[Cowman]

That was a funny movie!
Maybe so,
but, this was a very funny movie

[RockinRight]

Watch it. The Crue rules!!!

The problem is this-the nostalgia is for the old albums. The new albums fail for one of two reasons:

A. They don't sound like the old stuff we liked in the first place
B. They sound like a tired, cheapened version of the old stuff

IMHO, that's what happens. I love 80s music and movies for the most part.

[RockinRight]

Similar to my explanation.

I often go out and buy an OLD CD that I either never got back then or lost over the time. But I rarely buy new material from the same people.

Poison, for example. I LOVE their shows, they are among the best bands to see in concert of ANY genre. Even in their 40s they have an energy and a presence. Is the music cutting edge, innovative, or interesting? No, but it's a hell of a lot of fun. And back in their 'heyday' I wasn't a big fan.

That said, while I will throw on Flesh and Blood every once in a while, their new material sucks for the most part.

[RockinRight]

Hehe...that was an interesting one. I still remember my mom watching MTV and commenting on how low Grace Slick had fallen since the 60s on the "We Built This City."

[RepoGirl]

I still have some of my more 'choice' new wave outfits -- sadly, I no longer have the figure I had in 1982. Too much beer and bar b que!

I don't miss the hair... the hair was bad back then... ;-)

My favorite clothing line was Trash and Vaudeville--great, great stuff.

[the OlLine Rebel]

I dare not waste all my time reading the whole thing, but the 1st part seemed to have the gist that sales of NEW '80s-acts recordings were not doing well.

Big surprise.

Find me any R&Rers of the rock-pop era who were truly able to "come back" with new songs and all. Maybe pseudo-1-hit-wonders, but more than that? Fat chance.

This is not a shock that '80s acts can't sell new songs. If we're into nostalgia, we want the songs of the time, not new songs in a new time from an act which will likely try to sound new and up-to-date (no, I don't want that).

But this article sure seems to be hanging its hat purely on those kinds of sales. There is other evidence which this even discusses which shows '80s stuff is pretty big, or at least coming into its own. (And NO, it has NOT been going on for a decade!!!!)

Pfooey on their look at it all.

[the OlLine Rebel]

WADR - where did you get that list? Louis Armstrong? Too many metal and hard rock bands on that list to be real (sorry, they're never that popular!). Billboard I believe:


1 FAITH, George Michael (Columbia)
2 NEED YOU TONIGHT, INXS (Atlantic)
3 GOT MY MIND SET ON YOU, George Harrison
4 NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, Rick Astley (RCA)
5 SWEET CHILD O' MINE, Guns N' Roses
6 SO EMOTIONAL, Whitney Houston
7 HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH, Belinda Carlisle (MCA)
8 COULD'VE BEEN, Tiffany (MCA)
9 HANDS TO HEAVEN, Breathe (A&M)
10 ROLL WITH IT, Steve Winwood (Virgin)
11 ONE MORE TRY, George Michael (Columbia)
12 WISHING WELL, Terence Trent D'Arby (Columbia)
13 ANYTHING FOR YOU, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine (Epic)
14 THE FLAME, Cheap Trick (Epic)
15 GET OUTTA MY DREAMS, GET INTO MY CAR, Billy Ocean (Jive)
16 SEASONS CHANGE, Expose (Arista)
17 IS THIS LOVE, Whitesnake (Geffen)
18 WILD, WILD WEST, The Escape Club (Atlantic)
19 POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME, Def Leppard (Mercury)
20 I'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, Taylor Dayne (Arista)

[TChris]

Add me to the Xer ping list, if you would.

[KC_Conspirator]

Ann Fishman, president of Generational Targeted Marketing, said the problem isn't with the music, it's with the memories. The fans from Generation X, she says, “are not particularly grounded in their youth.”

“Would you be grounded in something where you had divorced parents, poor schooling?” she asks. “We presume nostalgia is a great selling tool. It is to the baby boomers. It's not to Gen X. The history of their youth has forced them to grow up more quickly. Nostalgia is not necessarily something that's going to move them ahead. They enjoy the music of their youth, but it's not a need.”

This is the truth. Baby boomers never grew up and they are always trying to relive their youth, recalling the days of Woodstock, Watergate, Vietnam, and the 60's. Hey, I like listening to 80's music, but life goes on.

[international american]

EXACTLY!

[MadIvan]

80's music was indeed better. The apogee was May 1989 -

Regards, Ivan

[Betis70]

I provided the link, not sure the veracity of it. Where did you get your list? Google didn't show anything within the first three pages that matches your list, but maybe google is slipping a little.

I thought Louis Armstrong was a bit weird too.

[the OlLine Rebel]

80sxchange.com listing, but they don't seem to credit the list.

Your linked site showed further down an alleged Billboard top 10 or 20; different from the list you had was at the top and said "greatest songs" - whatever that means.

I don't know exactly the source of mine, but it *is* closer to your linked site's list of Billboard top 20. Maybe they modified it over the years w/more accurate #s? (1 thing I know - the '85 list is correct, at least at the time. I recorded from Kasem's top 100 show and remember distinctly the curiousity of "Lovergirl" and "Loverboy" being right next to each other in the line-up at the spots they are shown on '80s exchange server!)

[Betis70]

Yeah maybe I picked the wrong list. It is a poorly designed site IMO.

Oh well it got people talking and I recalled a bunch of songs I had forgetten about just poking around on that site.

[Betis70]

Hey Gatorgirl, while poking around for the Billboard hits, I noticied that Amazon is selling a Billboard best-of CD that has "Wild Wild West", only $6.98. Of course there may be a lot of songs you don't like on it.

Billboard Top Hits: 1988
1. Wishing Well - Terence Trent D'Arby
2. Shattered Dreams - Johnny Hates Jazz
3. Seasons Change - Exposé
4. Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car - Billy Ocean
5. Anything for You - Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine
6. Hold on to the Nights - Richard Marx
7. Wild, Wild West - Escape Club
8. Flame - Cheap Trick
9. Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley (Freebaby) - Will to Power
10. Don't Worry Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin