# 80s music appreciation thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726 "2004-10-28T20:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/21 "2004-10-29T03:15:08Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > The hairbands may have been harmless fluff but it was mostly good fun and it didn’t take itself so seriously as most of the aforementioned bands did. Put another way, people who drank more, took better drugs and had better sex (with more attractive people) listened to the hairbands and their ilk. Or how about people who liked The Smiths and The Cure wanted more than harmless fluff. They wanted lyrics that meant something. They didn’t want drunken gropefests, they wanted real relationships that mean something. And I’d be glad to be thought of as a pretentious loser than as a hairband fan. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Sayid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jack\_Sayid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Sayid)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/22 "2004-10-29T03:26:21Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > Or how about people who liked The Smiths and The Cure wanted more than harmless fluff. They wanted lyrics that meant something. They didn’t want drunken gropefests, they wanted real relationships that mean something. > > And I’d be glad to be thought of as a pretentious loser than as a hairband fan. Not all “hairband” music was a “drunken gropefest”. Chew on this: \*She’s got a smile that it seems to me Reminds me of childhood memories Where everything Was as fresh as the bright blue sky Now and then when I see her face She takes me away to that special place And if I stared too long I’d probably break down and cry Sweet child o’ mine Sweet love of mine She’s got eyes of the bluest skies As if they thought of rain I hate to look into those eyes And see an ounce of pain Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place Where as a child I’d hide And pray for the thunder And the rain To quietly pass me by\* ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/23 "2004-10-29T03:34:36Z")
> [@Soapbox Monkey](#): > > … Now, now…_Appetite_ was a great record. Maybe not #1, but definitely makes _my_ Top 50 of the Eighties. Plus I can’t believe I forgot Metallica, Slayer, Motorhead, the entire rise of the rap genre (Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash, Boogie Down Productions, De La Soul, Public Enemy, etc.), Prince, Jesus & Mary Chain, etc, etc, etc… ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/24 "2004-10-29T03:37:42Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > Smiths. Sonic Youth, Aztec Camera etc. etc. Most of that was self-absorbed nonsense listened to by pretentious losers who, in order to protect themselves from the fact that nobody liked them, got off on pretending they were more intellectual than most. > > The hairbands may have been harmless fluff but it was mostly good fun and it didn’t take itself so seriously as most of the aforementioned bands did. Put another way, people who drank more, took better drugs and had better sex (with more attractive people) listened to the hairbands and their ilk. When I was 16 I know which group I wanted to be part of. I can be introspective at 35, I wanted beer and chicks in 1988. You don’t think that those hairband losers took themselves seriously? Man, maybe you should watch [Decline of Western Civilization Pt. II](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094980/) for a bit of a reality check. Those dorks were pretty damn serious. As for “drank more, took better drugs and had better sex (with more attractive people)”… if you mean: drank more Barbarian Cooler, did more crappy blow and had sex with people who looked like they went crazy with Mommy’s makeup and clothing… well, I guess you’re entitled to remember the 80’s however you like. As far as I was concerned… if you had to listen to **Bon Jovi** to get laid, you were a pretty sad sack of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/25 "2004-10-29T04:01:34Z")
> [@Jack Sayid](#): > > Not all “hairband” music was a “drunken gropefest”. Gn’R is kind of weird for me. I don’t really like metal, but I can tolerate their songs. There seems to be something behind it, something real. As opposed to a majority of the other stuff. But I don’t think I like it enough to buy an album or even download a song or two. It’s just not for me. Sort of like Eminem… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/26 "2004-10-29T04:39:38Z")
> [@Kid\_A](#): > > Gn’R is kind of weird for me. I don’t really like metal, but I can tolerate their songs. There seems to be something behind it, something real. As opposed to a majority of the other stuff. > > But I don’t think I like it enough to buy an album or even download a song or two. It’s just not for me. > > Sort of like Eminem… Well, Guns ‘n’ Roses isn’t really metal by my definition. It’s hard rock/stadium rock if anything. If you compare it with real metal bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, etc., you will hear that it’s a completely different idiom. Then again, I really don’t consider “hair metal” as metal, either… ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/27 "2004-10-29T04:53:15Z")
> [@vl\_mungo](#): > > As far as I was concerned… if you had to listen to **Bon Jovi** to get laid, you were a pretty sad sack of shit. ::golfclap:: ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/28 "2004-10-29T04:55:29Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > who doesn’t think a good looking girl with wild porn-star hair and tight jeans is hot? That would be me. Good looking is good looking, of course, but tight Jeans and porn star hair is trashy and not hot at all. ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/29 "2004-10-29T05:06:46Z")
For goodness sake. If I’d started this thread I’d be mighty pissed around now. This thread’s not about ‘trendy’ alternative 80s bands that it’s still ‘cool’ to like (in some cases, if anything ‘cooler’ than it was back then). There are countless other threads in Café Society where you can backslap about _appreciating all this ‘underappreciated music’ such as that makes you so much better than fans of fun, carefree rock music just cause your lyrics ‘mean something’_. So a rare thread in praise of hair metal and its virtues has been taken over by musical one-up-manship, and mickey-taking. How disappointingly predictable for this forum :rolleyes: . * * * There are some bands about nowadays that keep the hair metal spirit alive. _Andrew WK_ is the most obvious one, but I’m not too sure what happened to him recently. However, there are also: _The Wildhearts_ (from Newcastle, England no less), _Supersuckers_, _Young Heart Attack_, and of course _The Darkness_. If you’re into the sleazy-glam sound, you might also want to check out another much-maligned British band–_King Adora_. _Placebo_ straddle the boundary (can be pretty angsty), but the critics all seem to hate them at the minute so there must be something in it 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/30 "2004-10-29T06:17:04Z")
“Trendy”…“alternative”… WTF are you talking about? I wanna hear some fucking Motley Crue…or even some Twisted Sister…fuk a bunch of pseudo intellectual CRAP. I wanna bang my head… you know…crank that shit up as loud as it’ll go and play some RATT :eek: you know…what comes around How 'bout it _Loverboy_ because she’s no… no… no… no, …no…no…no…no…notorious… walkin…on FIRE Nope we’re not gonna take it…no smooth lyrics, no wondering what the political ramifications might be it’s just party music. cum on feel the noiz…you either get it or you don’t. 😉 A fast fuckin ride w/ a fine ass chik…some LOUD music and a few lines to go. BAM Look out! The party is ON… been there and done it. Damned lucky to have lived through it, so far 😃 we’re not ALL dead yet. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/31 "2004-10-29T06:44:11Z")
> [@bluecanary](#): > > For goodness sake. If I’d started this thread I’d be mighty pissed around now. > > This thread’s not about ‘trendy’ alternative 80s bands that it’s still ‘cool’ to like (in some cases, if anything ‘cooler’ than it was back then). There are countless other threads in Café Society where you can backslap about _appreciating all this ‘underappreciated music’ such as that makes you so much better than fans of fun, carefree rock music just cause your lyrics ‘mean something’_. > > So a rare thread in praise of hair metal and its virtues has been taken over by musical one-up-manship, and mickey-taking. How disappointingly predictable for this forum :rolleyes: . Hey… it said “80’s Music Appreciation Thread”, so this is what you’re gonna get. And as for “fun, carefree rock music”, I think that the “underappreciated” Replacements said it best… \*Going real fast, hanging out the window Drinking in the back seat, half the bottle/at full throttle The light was green, so was I The radio’s blasting, turn that shit off 90 miles an hour, slidin’ on grease I got my doubts we’ll make it in one piece Just takin a ride We’re takin a ride We’re takin a ride\* ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/32 "2004-10-29T11:46:26Z")
> [@t-keela](#): > > Let’s see…I graduated from highschool in 1980. So anybody wanna pop off w/ some bs about who was jamming then…y’all be telling me about how bad ass Boy George was back then. What about it…no Billy Idol fans? No real head-bangers in the bunch. > any Scorpions fans > How bout Stevie Ray he was still alive back then and kicking ass pretty good. > AC/DC busted outta the 70’s and right into the 80’s w/out slowing down a bit. I’m listening to some Scorpions right now! I love some good 80s “hair metal”, Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Def Leppard, Twisted Sister, Billy Idol, Whitesnake. For those that don’t think some of these bands didn’t have anything to “say” only know the stuff on the Radio. So who’s up for an 80s party! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/33 "2004-10-29T12:09:08Z")
> [@mouthbreather](#): > > That would be me. Good looking is good looking, of course, but tight Jeans and porn star hair is trashy and not hot at all. 😕 I recognize the words… but…somehow they don’t seem to make sense in the way you are using them. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/34 "2004-10-29T13:06:56Z")
Let’s try to look at it with a bit more perspective. What was hair metal, exactly? It was basically warmed-over New York Dolls and KISS. It was enormously popular and fun, but what exactly did it contribute to the musical smorgasboard? The “alternative” bands played a broader variety of musical styles. The “alternative” rock movement was born in the 80s…R.E.M. and the many, many, many bands in their wake essentially made Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, and many of the Lollapalooza-era bands possible. We really tend to pick the dumbest stuff for retro-trends. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/35 "2004-10-29T13:34:03Z")
I wanted to beat **Roland Orzabal** to it: Tears for Fears 😛 I still listen to them from time to time. I’ve been looking for a copy of _The Hurting_, but I can’t find one–well except for the one at Borders for $17.99 and I’ll be damned if I’ll pay that much for a 22 year old CD. I’m sorry, what were we talking about again? ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/36 "2004-10-29T13:37:04Z")
80’s heavy metal was about having a good time…analyze that. Man I saw the 70’s up close and it fuckin rocked…but we were tired of the political bullshit and the dance craze. AIDS hadn’t been diagnosed and hard drugs were good and cheap. Play it loud and play it hard…KISS (before their time)…you gonna tell ME about fuckin KISS (heh) man I was an original KISS fucking fan…you think Judas Priests and KISS were the same? Some 80’s rock was harder than others…and there was a lot of crap just like always…the bullshit that came out in the very late 80’s leading into the hip hop and boy band bullshit belongs to y’alls generation NOT mine. If you think that shit was it in the 80’s, then YOU weren’t there. Yeah some “people” listened to it in their daddy’s cars and shit but if you were out there on the edge with me…50 thousand watts of power… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/37 "2004-10-29T13:39:12Z")
**t-keela** …how you doing? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/38 "2004-10-29T14:02:00Z")
Devo. Devo Devo Devo. (I know they started in the late 70’s.) Also, I like the old-school rap. Particularly Sugar Hill Gang. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/39 "2004-10-29T14:07:40Z")
man I still get that attitude…you know just fukit…balls to the wall I gotta get me another bike. They got some high tech cd players and headphones (we didn’t have back then) I can ride with the tunes cranked up and see just how fast a Harley will go…go to Detroit Rock city…get up everybody bad motor scooter… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726/40 "2004-10-29T14:18:32Z")
man gimme a break…we are devo D…E…V…O…we are devo… hah 😃 next thing y’all are gonna be tellin me Men at Work was the greatest thing… how come nobody mentioned the _Cars_…maybe I’m just a dinosaur from the 70’s who remembers the 80’s…cause I think _Aerosmith_ was kickin ass pretty good then and yeah know a lot of these groups came outta the 70’s dude…look like a lady… ya know I’m just yanking your chain. although I’m really serious IMHO but then I’m just a crazy fucker…oh yeah Ozzy left Sabbath and was showing his ass in the 80’s too. **all aboard…ha-ha** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/80s-music-appreciation-thread/271726.md?page=3)