The "Wow, those 80s guys really were musicians!" thread (1 Viewer)

[Carlo_M]

And I mean this with affection. I know the 80s get a bad rap as the synth/keyboard/key-tar generation, with their feathered hair and feathered sounds (what the hell does that mean, Carlo?)...

Anyway, I grew up in that generation, but went to college in 1991 as the grunge scene exploded. I was immersed in that, and my dad was a big classic rock fan (Zep, Beatles, etc.) so you can guess my musical tastes. Over the years, I've found myself not listening to 80s music. Now, as I ease into my thirties I find myself drawn to the singer/songwriter genre. What a surprise that I find myself a huge fan of current singer/songwriters who were front men/women for 80s acts! Take for example:

Aimee Mann (Til Tuesday)
Neil Finn (Crowded House)
Colin Hay (Men at Work)
Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs--okay they were late 80s, early 90s)

And then, since I've ripped nearly my entire CD collection onto my iPod, and I hardly ever get rid of old CDs, whenever a song from, say Talking Heads, The Cars, etc. come up, I find myself listening to it and smiling!

It's gotten so bad that after watching the special edition of The Wedding Singer, I ordered both soundtracks from Amazon.com and they should be here in a few days and I'm giddy with anticipation!

Now I know, every decade had its share of bad music, but I think the 80s has been maligned for too long. Some of those acts really were good/great musicians (despite the hair).

Any thoughts?

 

[Philip Hamm]

You need to find the two Grosse Pointe Blanc soundtrack CDs.

 

[AlyssaAnders]

I love 80's music still, hair and all lol. I have long since been a Bon Jovi fan and probably always will be (I know, its funny to most). But seriously I have always enjoyed 80's rock music and always will.

 

[John_Bonner]

Missing Persons
Joe Jackson (80's stuff)
Big Country
INXS (80's stuff)

 

[Ruz-El]

DEVO. Simply genius.

 

[Andrew 'Ange Hamm' Hamm]

Some of rock and pop music's greatest albums were produced in the 80s by:

• Joe Jackson
• Peter Gabriel
• The Police
• Devo
• Sting
• Elvis Costello
• King Crimson
• Run-DMC
• Def Leppard
• Bruce Springsteen
• Bon Jovi
• Iron Maiden
• Metallica
• Beastie Boys
• Michael Jackson
• Living Colour
• Suzanne Vega
• DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
• Gary Numan
• Rush
• Pete Townshend
• Prince
• NWA

...and many more. All of the above artists can not be held to blame for the likes of Poison and Billy Ocean!

 

[Carlo_M]

Great...thanks for getting Caribbean Queen stuck in my head...

 

[Jay H]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...

Funny!

Jay

 

[Philip Hamm]

Now we're sharing the same dream / And our hearts will beat as one / No more love on the run.

Great song.

 

[Brook K]

The Smiths
Depech Mode
Erasure
The Cure
New Order

I busted out Culture Club not long ago and am listening to Simply Red right now (though I think their 90's stuff got a lot better than their more famous 80's material)

Always thought GnR was the best of the "hair" bands.

 

[Jay H]

How can you forget Joey Scarbury and "The Greatest American Hero"


Believe or not, I'm walking on air, ....



Jay

 

[Brian L]

I always though that a lot of the guitar players in the various hair metal bands were pretty good players. For years, I have had a hair metal comp (starting on Cassette, then CD, and now on iTunes) featuring Winger, White Snake, Ratt, Crue, LA Guns, Skid Row, and a bunch more I can;t recall.

Killer hooks, and killer shredding.

Brian

 

[Bobby T]

Dokken/George Lynch-great guitar player and Dokken had some great harmonies in thier songs.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

Two words: Oingo Boingo.

 

[Felix Martinez]

This, my friends, is pure '80s bliss...

 

[Will_B]

Thomas Dolby's been doing shows around San Francisco recently. Keith Knight made a comic about one of the shows:

http://www.buzzle.com/showImage.asp?image=10637

 

[Brian L]

Aliens Ate My Buick is one of my Desert Island discs. Killer sonics, and killer tunes.

Brian

 

[Craig S]

Two little bands called U2 & R.E.M. did allright for themselves in the 80s...
I have that set. I love that set. An essential tour of the decade's highs & lows. Includes most of those catchy singles from one-hit-wonder bands that really don't warrant a full "Greatest Hits" disc. This set does for the 80s what the "Have A Nice Day" series did for the 70s. Thank God for Rhino!

 

[Philip Hamm]

If I had a photograph of you
Or something to remind me
I wouldn't spend my life just wishing...

 

[JonZ]

I agree the musicians in modern music dont seem to have the ability to play like the guys of the past.

In the 70s and 80s, musicians really learned how to play, instead of just strumming downtuned powerchords.

Wheres the Eddie Van Halen, Neil Peart,Angus Young, George Lynch,Glenn Tipton, Randy Rhodes,Steve Harris,Cliff Burton,and Geddy Lee of today?

Everything sounds the same nowadays. You can listen to 10 different bands and they all have the same sound.