The 1980s are a highly underrated decade for music

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I was born in 1983 and 90s kids tend to make fun of the 1980s. It was the music our older cousins were into or a not so old uncle. We laughed at the styles, the hair, the electronic drum sounds, and other hallmarks of 80s music.

As I have gotten older, I have revisited the 1980s and now place the 1980s above the 1970s in my rankings. I would even say that my opinion of 90s music has decreased because a lot of 90s rock stars were basically of the "take drugs and die young" mentality. At least 90s rockers weren't as outwardly sexist as the 80s ones. A lot of 80s rock songs admittedly do not hold up well in the #metoo era. This was the era when movies had male characters harass women until they agreed to date.

It seems like the 1980s culture was optimistic and playing around with the new tech toys that computers made possible (hence the electronic keyboards and electronic drum pads). Big Hair definitely looks silly to us, but they at least look like they are having fun.

I envy the optimism. It seems like since the end of the 90s the world has been on a series of negative gut punch news events. Oh yeah, and we are trashing the planet still even though we pretty much accept its happening. In the 1980s there was more plausible deniability that it was going to be series or at least you could still live with the assumption that we would do something... eventually. Now its pretty much too late and we show no signs of stopping as a species.

In the 1980s you had this optimism despite the Cold War - and holy crap it ended! I mean it actually ended! So they had hope and made movies and songs about preventing World War 3... and it was prevented!

Contrast that to now when its like, "well, Russia is invading Ukraine and... well we will wish them the best." I know, we are doing a lot but it just still feels like we are ready to call Russia only taking part of it a victory. That's still a crappy outcome.

Then we got the global slide of democracy... oh yeah and we had that Covid thing! And now thanks to the internet - which I remember we were so optimistic about at the time - we all know that our neighbors both have access to correct science but adamantly refuse to believe in the most basic of scientific facts.

Oh - and the music videos! Radio killed the video star, but the internet age killed the video star. 80s music videos were events. Nowadays a band can put out a music video and we don't have that shared experience of all having seen it. Best part is - when you see the live videos of concerts - NO ONE IS HOLDING UP CELL PHONES. People are just... enjoying being there.

There's my argument for checking it out if you haven't.

I prefer the 60s and 70s myself.

I find there was actually a fair amount of nihilism and cynicism back in the 1980s. Then again, I was an adult in the 80s, so I have a less nostalgic view of it.

I feel more nostalgia for the 60s and early 70s--the hippie era. Psychedelic music. Baroque pop and rock. Folk rock. Singer/songwriter stuff. The time when Rock became "Serious Art."

In the 80s, rock reverted back into "rock n roll."

I was a teen in the 90's.....i only listen to 80's music today. I cant think of hardly any songs from the 90's i would care to revisit.



Just had this on repeat


Then you've got:
Duran Duran
80's Madonna
Loads of one hit wonders from New wave bands
Ultravox
Midge Ure
Tears For Fears
Simple Minds
Wham
The Associates

TL;Dr

I'm not keen on most 80s music, although there are some that I like. I mostly like songs from the early 20th century, 40s, 50s, 70s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s.

I was a teenager in the 2000s but I seemed to listen to 60s and 70s music back then, because my mum liked them. The kids at school made fun of me, because you had to like the modern trending pop music to fit in. Now I'm this age there's no pressure for what music you listen to so I can just listen to any music and still fit in.

I'll listen to any old shite me.

Well, the 1980s did supply the world with these,

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rush-songs-of-the-80s/

1980s? I wasn't even born then!
Though, I love listening to 70s-90s classic rock radio.

Video killed the radio star, not the other way around.
Algorithms and autotune killed modern music.

The '80s gave us this classic:


But the '90s gave us this:

and this:


Tough call.

I enjoy listening to music from the 20s to the 90s.

I grew up in the 70's but I do like the early years of the 80's and also the 60's.

There was some good 80s music.

Some of it, though, was of the whiney, techno variety.

“Tainted Love,” by Soft Cell, is an excellent example. One of my favorite songs—but it is both techno and whiney.

I associate the decade with Prince, Micheal Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Cindi Lauper, Early Madonna, Van Halen, Hair Metal, early rap, "Prog" rock. Good and bad out of all of that.

I like Trouble Funk, and some of the other Washington DC go-go acts of the Eighties.

This thread is giving me the urge to go out nite clubbing.


https://youtu.be/PJwt2dxx9yg