1980s culture

[Jeffster]

Phil Collins has tons of talent and Genesis IS a great band. What are you people smoking?

 

[Geoff]

I'm gonna need that for a sig. May I?

Be my guest

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I agree with pure_mercury's analysis. The best of the 80s was very, very good and not necessarily different from the rest of what was around at the time except in terms of quality. There's crap and there's good stuff in every decade, but I agree that in the 80s the good stuff was popular and easy to find. In the 90s, not so much.* The 90s also brought us the insufferable shoe-gazing bands that all wanted to be Joy Division. Spare me.

Def Leppard > Portishead

80s > 90s

Genesis > Geoff


*That's for you, Tallulah!

 

[Tallulah]

Be my guest

Thanks!

And EffEm: I agree with you that 80s > 90s, but 70s > 80s. And Phil Collins kinda sucks.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I will agree that Phil Collins' solo work is uh...wanting. But he's a top-notch drummer, and Genesis is a great band. Nobody seems to remember that they existed for 17 years before Invisible Touch, which seems to be the point at which everyone decided they sucked.

 

[pure_mercury]

I will agree that Phil Collins' solo work is uh...wanting. But he's a top-notch drummer, and Genesis is a great band. Nobody seems to remember that they existed for 17 years before Invisible Touch, which seems to be the point at which everyone decided they sucked.

That album isn't my favorite, but the run before it, with Duke, Abacab, and Genesis was quite good. And I'd have to say that I am a Phil-Collins Genesis man and a solo-Peter Gabriel man, as opposed to solo-Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel-Genesis.

As for booyaa, perhaps the airwaves didn't sound like a great jukebox all through the 1980s, but I would have been listening to all those artists and having a great time. And there is nothing wrong with bubblegum-pop per se. I'll take Culture Club over Hilary Duff ANY DAY And a lot of the grunge bands were awful retreads, the same way that hair metal was. For every one Nirvana or Soundgarden, there were like 80 Seven Mary Three's. Every popular movement becomes a parody of itself eventually.

 

[booyalab]

The 90s also brought us the insufferable shoe-gazing bands that all wanted to be Joy Division.

Technically, shoegazing started in the late 80s.

 

[pure_mercury]

I agree with pure_mercury's analysis. The best of the 80s was very, very good and not necessarily different from the rest of what was around at the time except in terms of quality. There's crap and there's good stuff in every decade, but I agree that in the 80s the good stuff was popular and easy to find. In the 90s, not so much.* The 90s also brought us the insufferable shoe-gazing bands that all wanted to be Joy Division. Spare me.

Def Leppard > Portishead

80s > 90s

Genesis > Geoff


*That's for you, Tallulah!

I'd have to take Portishead over Def Leppard, but I agree with the rest.

 

[booyalab]

As for booyaa, perhaps the airwaves didn't sound like a great jukebox all through the 1980s, but I would have been listening to all those artists and having a great time. And there is nothing wrong with bubblegum-pop per se. I'll take Culture Club over Hilary Duff ANY DAY And a lot of the grunge bands were awful retreads, the same way that hair metal was. For every one Nirvana or Soundgarden, there were like 80 Seven Mary Three's. Every popular movement becomes a parody of itself eventually.

So we agree, the 80s wasn't a shining exception of perfect music.

 

[heart]

So we agree, the 80s wasn't a shining exception of perfect music.

The 80's were not perfect, but that which was perfect about them, outshines the collective perfection of the eras that followed.

 

[Tigerlily]

U2
Talking Heads
The Replacements
R.E.M.
The Smiths
The Cure
The Stone Roses'
Depeche Mode
Echo and the Bunnymen
New Order
Sonic Youth
The Pixies
Guns N' Roses
Peter Gabriel
Genesis

Also-
Alison Moyet/Yaz
Erasure
Duran Duran
Eurythmics
The Fixx
Black
Howard Jones
INXS
OMD
Pet Shop Boys
Squeeze
Thomas Dolby
UB40
XTC
The Jam
Joy Division
Billy Bragg
Black

T

There are those with perserverance but no talent, we call them Phil Collins.

Phil's not Peter but if you haven't seen him perform live then it's unfair to make the above comment. Plus I thought all old people liked Phil Collins.

 

[Tallulah]

I will agree that Phil Collins' solo work is uh...wanting. But he's a top-notch drummer, and Genesis is a great band. Nobody seems to remember that they existed for 17 years before Invisible Touch, which seems to be the point at which everyone decided they sucked.

Yeah, I like to give Phil a hard time. Fact is, I will usually listen to a Phil Collins or Genesis song if it plays on the classic rock stations. (Except for the "Groovy Kind of Love" cover. Ick.) It's just the kind of music that I never wanted to actually purchase. Honestly, I didn't even know Phil was a drummer until recently--Genesis was never a band I was into, so I never watched their videos or did any poking around about them. You do have to love him for having the chutzpah to make himself lead singer after Gabriel split, though. I learned that from watching the VH-1 Rock honors.

 

[pure_mercury]

So we agree, the 80s wasn't a shining exception of perfect music.

I never said it was. Just that I thought it was second only to the 1960s in the Rock N' Roll Era.

 

[Tallulah]

Phil's not Peter but if you haven't seen him perform live then it's unfair to make the above comment.

But it's funny!

 

[pure_mercury]

Also-

Alison Moyet/Yaz
Erasure
Duran Duran
Eurythmics
The Fixx
Howard Jones
INXS
OMD
Pet Shop Boys
Squeeze
Thomas Dolby
UB40
XTC
The Jam
Joy Division


Phil's not Peter but if you haven't seen him perform live then it's unfair to make the above comment.

I had The Jam in there! And Joy Division only made it six months into the '80s, so I left them out. New Order were awesome, too. I'd also like to add Tears for Fears, The Church, The Chills, Split Enz/Crowded House, INXS, and The Chameleons.

 

[Tigerlily]

But it's funny!

To be fair I was dragged kicking and screaming to his show while I was on a date. I sat for the first 10 minutes or so sulking until he really got going and was pleasantly surprised at what an amazing concert it turned out to be. I never went out with the pleb again but did enjoy the show.

 

[booyalab]

The 80's were not perfect, but that which was perfect about them, outshines the collective perfection of the eras that followed.

This is how I view 90s music:

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Outkast
Weezer
L7
The Flaming Lips
Yo La Tengo
Radiohead
DJ Shadow
Nirvana
Alice in Chains
slowdive
Toadies
Nine Inch Nails
The Offspring
Mazzy Star
Jeff Buckley
Stabbing Westward (sorry)
The Breeders
KMFDM
Poe
Green Day
Sarah McLachlan
Super Furry Animals
Frank Black
Orbital
Rammstein
Queens of the Stone Age
Pulp
Pearl Jam
Sublime
Spacehog
The Verve
Fugazi
Soul Asylum
Beck
Supergrass
Tool
Dinosaur Jr.
Modest Mouse- back when they were good

there must be more that I can't remember or don't know about but anyone who maintains that the handful of great 80s bands are better than all of these must hate music...or at least hate musical instruments.

 

[Tigerlily]

I had The Jam in there! And Joy Division only made it six months into the '80s, so I left them out. New Order were awesome, too. I'd also like to add Tears for Fears, The Church, The Chills, Split Enz/Crowded House, INXS, and The Chameleons.

You threw them in with The Clash. Heathen! Joy Division count. Their biggest hit (Love will tear us apart) was released in 1980 so it still counts. ;P

The Style Council
FGTH
Fine Young Cannibals
Adam and the Ants
Generation X/Billy Idol
David Bowie
10,000 Maniacs
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Bauhaus Peter Murphy

 

[booyalab]

And Joy Division only made it six months into the '80s, so I left them out.

I noticed you left The Police in...

 

[pure_mercury]

This is how I view 90s music:

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Outkast
Weezer
L7
The Flaming Lips
Yo La Tengo
Radiohead
DJ Shadow
Nirvana
Alice in Chains
slowdive
Toadies
Nine Inch Nails
The Offspring
Mazzy Star
Jeff Buckley
Stabbing Westward (sorry)
The Breeders
KMFDM
Poe
Green Day
Sarah McLachlan
Super Furry Animals
Frank Black
Orbital
Rammstein
Queens of the Stone Age
Pulp
Pearl Jam
Sublime
Spacehog
The Verve
Fugazi
Soul Asylum

there must be more that I can't remember or don't know about but anyone who maintains that the handful of great 80s bands are better than all of these must hate music...or at least hate musical instruments.

Nothing wrong with that bunch of music. But you have to remember, about 4 of those acts made any sort of impact on the charts in the United States. And the only person who hates musical instruments in this thread is DJ Shadow, who was very vocal about his dislike of guitars and white people who play them. I've also met Spacehog, very funny guys. What about Oasis, Blur, Suede, Pulp, Manic Street Preachers, Smashing Pumpkins, Massive Attack, Afghan Whigs, Screaming Trees?

P.S. Sublime and Pearl Jam? Not so much.