# Were the Eighties the worst decade for music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2003, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501 "2003-01-14T12:39:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jillicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jillicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillicious)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/41 "2003-01-15T00:25:35Z")
With a few notable exceptions, YES! 80’s music sucks. In fact, last year I became embroiled in an e-mail war with a dj at a local alternative music station here in Seattle. They insist on filling the 12:00 hour with “ancient 80’s”, playing inane techno crap that was barely entertaining in the 80’s. In the end, I was unsuccessful in convincing them to stop and now I listen to a different station. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/42 "2003-01-15T00:25:46Z")
the 80’s? not even close, the music in the 80’s was great. much better then the majority of the 90’s or 70’s, both of which had very good music in the early years of the decade, and degenerated into absolute shit later on. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/43 "2003-01-15T00:43:52Z")
I was so disappointed by what happened to music in 1978, that the first half of the 80s wasn’t all that bad in comparison. The really bright spots of the 80s were two absolutely top of the line albums by Talking Heads: _Remain in Light_ (1980) and _Speaking in Tongues_ (1983). Bowie’s _Scary Monsters_ (1980) was also top of the line. The long-awaited return of King Crimson with _Discipline_ (1981) was more than excellent, and Bob Dylan’s _Shot of Love_ (1981) and _Infidels_ (1983) were not half bad, compared to his long career slide that followed them. Peter Gabriel’s _Security_ (1982) was just incredibly good. After 1984, I tuned out of pop music. The synth pop and hair metal did nothing for me. Genesis never recovered their classic sound, but continued to make pop sluge. Genesis was my single biggest disappointment. The 1980s were when I discovered World Music, and suddenly American-British pop music looked as confining as a wading pool compared to the vast ocean that was the music of the world. The defining moment was when I listened to Peter Gabriel’s _WOMAD_ compilation and heard Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for the first time; he immediately blew my soul out of the water. Many other amazing world sounds on that disc opened up my ears and my mind. David Byrne took us to Africa and Brazil. Ofra Haza first reached my ears in 1988 and I grooved in Sephardic Hebrew. Eventually I had done with pop music altogether and began checking out the classical and traditional music of Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and many far-flung realms. Some of my favorite jams came from Azerbaijan! So on balance, the 80s were all right, but not necessarily for the reasons you might be thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/44 "2003-01-15T01:19:39Z")
> [@](#): > > I think the Eighties were the last great decade of popular music. From my perspective (grad. '84), the eighties was the most eclectic, experimental decade we’ll ever see Of course you think that–you graduated in '84. _Every_ generation thinks the year they grew up was the year music died. Personally, '80’s pop scares me–the “hollow” sound of bands like A Flock of Seagulls (I don’t know how else to describe it) just sounds freakishly weird to me. But then I’m a child of the '90’s, so that’s hardly surprising. However, the '80’s were also the time of Operation Ivy and other bay-area punk as Minor Threat and the hardcore genre, so I wouldn’t say the '80’s were all that bad. :dubious: Whoa, where did that come from!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/45 "2003-01-15T01:57:59Z")
I graduated highschool in 1982, but I think the music of the 70s really sucked. I can’t stand “classic rock” at all. Even the ‘alternative’ of the 70s, art rock was crap. America, ELP, Pink Floyd, Boston, Styx, Foriegner, The Eagles and Journey are as much responsible for Punk coming along as Barry Manilo & Donna Summers. Without the punk DIY ethic 80s music would have been very different. I don’t think music started to get good again until 1979, with the B52s first album. There was so much innovation & experimentation in 80s music. There was incredible variety of music available. And yes, they played pop crap on the radio. Unless you were lucky enough to live in a town with a few college stations, a public station or an ‘alternative’ station you were stuck listening to some real garbage. But for us lucky enough to live in a decent-sized city, the 80s brought Hip-Hop, Rap, New Wave, New Age, Modern, Industrial. Reggae became commercially viable, Punk really took off (and unfortunately that was its undoing), Heavy Metal revived & came of age (and hadn’t learned to whine yet). Maybe it’s because we long for the decade in which we came of age, the time when we made our most & greatest discoveries; I really think that the 80s were the best decade of all for music. ---
**Author:** ![Flowerchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/858c86/32.png) [@Flowerchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flowerchild)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/46 "2003-01-15T02:27:55Z")
Do not insult 80’s music in front of me! C’mon , Flock of seagulls ? how can you not like them.? ---
**Author:** ![Adam\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Adam\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adam_K)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/47 "2003-01-15T02:58:25Z")
Hi guys, it’s great to be here > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gex gex \* > \*\*The 80s were the worst decade in music? Not bloody likely. > > The Pixies. R.E.M. The Cure. The Smiths. U2. Hüsker Dü. Grandmaster Flash. The Clash. Elvis Costello. Afrika Bambataa. Run DMC. The Beastie Boys. De La Soul. A Tribe Called Quest. The Jungle Brothers. The Go-Betweens. The Church. Echo and the Bunnymen. Crowded House. Split Enz. Sonic Youth. Nirvana. Hunters and Collectors. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Public Enemy. Jane’s Addiction. The Cocteau Twins. Red Hot Chili Peppers. They Might Be Giants. Erik B and Rakim. Kraftwerk. The Stone Roses. The Happy Mondays. New Order. The Violent Femmes. My Bloody Valentine. Public Image Ltd. > > Just to start us off. \*\* What he said, well except for U2 and the smiths. Oh OK maybe the smiths then if you insist. Note that the Cure were one of the best bands of the 80s **and** one of the worst bands of the 90s. They also had a very high turnover rate of membes 🙂 Alec Eiffel - a French Pixies page [http://membres.lycos.fr/alec/index.html](http://membres.lycos.fr/alec/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/48 "2003-01-15T03:04:27Z")
In my collection: Laurie Anderson, Blondie, David Bowie, Kate Bush, The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Cure, Eurythmics, Sinead O’Connor, Oingo Boingo, The Police, The Pretenders, REM, Paul Simon, Squeeze, Talking Heads, U2, and others I can’t recall or am too embarrassed to admit. I’d say not a bad decade, pop-musically. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/49 "2003-01-15T06:30:53Z")
I think people generally gravitate to the music they’re familiar with, so children of the 60s think theirs was the best music, children of the 70s think theirs was the best, etc. The thing is, I think we look at things with rose-coloured glasses. The hits that evreyone was listening to aren’t always the stuff we remember. Hendrix never sold enough to crack a top 10 list, but we sure remember his songs. On the other hand, “Sugar, Sugar” by the Archies was one of the top selling singles of 1969. Wretched, instantly disposable pop. Musical taste is very subjective. Some people love today’s music, although I think most of it is crap (someone’s buying those Nickelback CDs). Some people thought the 80s were a musical wasteland after the 70s. They’re all obviously stoned, but still entitled to their opinion. People who grew up with the Beatles I’m sure were distressed by the disco era that followed. Although my heart resides in the 80s, I still listen to the radio occasionally, and I do love a lot of the sounds that came before my formative years. IMHO, people would be a lot happier if they spent more time trying to appreciate a variety of music, rather than pidgeon-holing themselves into one decade or one style of music within one decade. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/50 "2003-01-15T07:41:39Z")
And for you classic rockers, Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top were huge in the 80’s. Supertramp released “Breakfast in America”, and Rush gave us “Moving Pictures” and “Signals” - their two best albums. The Eagles released “The Long Run”, which I think was their best album. Bruce Springsteen made “Born in the U.S.A.”, and Van Halen was huge. ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/51 "2003-01-15T08:08:09Z")
Don’t forget the Scorpions! ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/52 "2003-01-15T08:10:03Z")
From Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me: > [@](#): > > Felicity Shagwell: I want to see how the 70s and 80s turn out. > Austin: The 70s and the 80s? I’ve looked into it. There’s a gas shortage and A Flock of Seagulls. That’s about it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/53 "2003-01-15T08:27:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dunmurry \* > \*\*I liked the Electropop sound and the Disco sound. \*\* Wait just a second—what 80s disco? No such thing. Disco died on December 31, 1979. Its entry into the 80s was barred by popular demand. ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/54 "2003-01-15T09:24:21Z")
gex gex: > [@](#): > > The Pixies. R.E.M. The Cure. The Smiths. U2. Hüsker Dü. Grandmaster Flash. The Clash. Elvis Costello. Afrika Bambataa. Run DMC. The Beastie Boys. De La Soul. A Tribe Called Quest. The Jungle Brothers. The Go-Betweens. The Church. Echo and the Bunnymen. Crowded House. Split Enz. Sonic Youth. Nirvana. Hunters and Collectors. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Public Enemy. Jane’s Addiction. The Cocteau Twins. Red Hot Chili Peppers. They Might Be Giants. Erik B and Rakim. Kraftwerk. The Stone Roses. The Happy Mondays. New Order. The Violent Femmes. My Bloody Valentine. Public Image Ltd. Nice list. I’ll just add: Dinosaur Jr. Galaxie 500. The Replacements. Richard and Linda Thompson. Tom Waits. The Feelies. The Sugarcubes. Slint. David Bowie. The Flaming Lips. The Dead Kennedys. Bad Brains. American Music Club. Yo La Tengo. Jesus & Mary Chain. The Jam. Talking Heads. Spacemen 3. Bob Mould. Meat Puppets. The Minutemen. The Chills. The Fall. Throwing Muses. Joy Division. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/55 "2003-01-15T14:04:06Z")
Oh man, thanks **Nightime** - quite a few there that I missed. I purposefully didn’t include Joy Division though; I considered them to be a 70s band with New Order as their eighties equivalent, despite the fact that they released _Closer_ in 1980. I think that the main reason that the eighties are dismissed as shite is that it was the first decade where you really had to do some looking to find good music. In the preceding decades, what was artistically important and what was big were the same thing with only a few exceptions. When the eighties came along, those raised in the 60s and 70s who had to have their music spoonfed to them assumed that the music of the time began and ended with Bon Jovi and Poison. Little wonder that these are the same people complaining that there isn’t any good music nowadays. And I really must take issue with this comment: > [@](#): > > _originally posted by 5-HT_ > the 80’s? > not even close, the music in the 80’s was great. much better then the majority of the 90’s or 70’s, both of which had very good music in the early years of the decade, and degenerated into absolute shit later on. 70s: Bowie, The Sex Pistols, Lou Reed, The Clash, The Ramones, Television, Patti Smith, Curtis Mayfield, Radio Birdman, The Saints, Joy Division, Elvis Costello, Sly and the Family Stone, Kraftwerk, The Jam, The New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, The Stranglers, The Buzzcocks, Neil Young. 90s: Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, R.E.M., U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Green Day, Lemonheads, Sunny Day Real Estate, Radiohead, Blink 182, Rancid, The Promise Ring, Bjork, The Cruel Sea, You Am I, Spiderbait, Jebediah, Grinspoon, Blur, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Outkast, Snoop Dogg, The Beastie Boys, Belle and Sebastian, DJ Shadow, Underworld, Black Eyed Peas, De La Soul, Silverchair, Regurgitator, Foo Fighters, Weezer, My Bloody Valentine, Wilco, Pearl Jam, Daft Punk, Portishead, Massive Attack, Lamb, Roni Size, Ani Difranco, Ben Folds Five, Whiskeytown, The Breeders, Death Cab For Cutie, Modest Mouse, Beck, Powderfinger, They Might Be Giants, Jeff Buckley, The Get Up Kids, Placebo, Aphex Twin, Built To Spill, Groove Armada, Primal Scream, Crowded House, Shihad, Unwritten Law, Millencolin, NOFX, Eskimo Joe, Fugazi, The Descendants, Elliot Smith, Braid, Air, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Basement Jaxx, Beth Orton, Frenzal Rhomb, Jamiroquai, PJ Harvey, Rage Against the Machine, Supergrass, Morrissey, Veruca Salt. And I forgot to mention Billy Bragg and Devo in my eighties list. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/56 "2003-01-15T14:19:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by universe.zip \* > **And I couldn´t explain to you why I´d prefer listening to an A-HA album instead of N´Sync or whatever, I just do (though I don´t think they were all that great - […]).** HEY! You wanna step outside and say that?!? :mad: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/57 "2003-01-15T14:45:13Z")
**gex gex** , I’d move REM from the 90s to the 80s in your list. Do you really prefer “Up” or “Reveal” to “Lifes Rich Pageant” or “Murmur”? ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/58 "2003-01-15T18:23:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jomo Mojo \* > \*\*Wait just a second—what 80s disco? No such thing. Disco died on December 31, 1979. Its entry into the 80s was barred by popular demand. \*\* Actually it died on July 12, 1979. The autopsy results were just delayed until Dec. 31 due to lack of interest on the part of the medical examiner. The official findings: Death of Disco due to Demolition at Comiskey Park. Primary suspect, Steve Dahl, radio personality. ---
**Author:** ![Tygr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df788c/32.png) [@Tygr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tygr)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/59 "2003-01-15T22:05:54Z")
INXS Dire Straits Huey Lewis & the News Genesis Hall & Oates John ‘Cougar’ Mellencamp The Police Eurhythmics Back when pop music was fun to listen to. You could dance to it and/or you could rock to it. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501/60 "2003-01-16T00:58:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Legomancer \* > \*\ ***gex gex** , I’d move REM from the 90s to the 80s in your list. Do you really prefer “Up” or “Reveal” to “Lifes Rich Pageant” or “Murmur”? \*\* Agreed, and better move U2 into the 80s list also. I mean, “Zooropa” over “Joshua Tree” or “War”? Get real! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-the-eighties-the-worst-decade-for-music/148501.md?page=4)