Is 80's music coming back?

[Axis1~SL61]

I consider Jimmy Hendrix more like late '60s... the real '70s for me are musically defined by the coming of age of progressive rock (King Crimson, Yes, original Genesis, etc). Hard rock and heavy metal (Deep Purple, Slade and Black Sabbath). Actually this 3 genres started as early as 1968, but evolved and peaked in the midd/late '70s. I think the '70s are still unsurpassed in music innovation to this day.
That said, the'80s are cool too -- Depeche Mode, The Psychedellic Furs, Echo & the Bunny Men, FGtH, and others, to name but a few) -- and yes, in the'80s there was also a newer wave of heavy metal like Judas Priest and others, but there was also a '50s revival, which I liked a lot too (the Stray Cats come to mind, as well as the Back to the Future trilogy). Ah, and spiky hairdos were fun, too
What I hated about the '80s: synths with no knobs and minimalistic LCDs... Every monthly edition of Electronics&Music Maker (that was how Future Music mag was called back then) had at least one article about the DX7 and it's Yamaha fm family of synths and every new synth from the competition had to be compared against the "wonders" of fm

[SODDI]

Which 80s?

This one:


Or this one:


Maybe this one:


Or even this:


Because that's what the 80s means to me.

[GeckoYamori]

Yeah, it's been "coming back" for well over a decade by now so it's probably best to stop looking at it like some resurgent fad. It's here to stay. I think the whole "the 80's are back!" sentiment is getting kind of moot by this point.

Frankly I'm more concerned that there hasn't been a full-on renaissance for 90's music yet. We are well into the 20 year cycle.

[sjm]

Frankly I'm more concerned that there hasn't been a full-on renaissance for 90's music yet.

The whole "tarnce" phenomenon sounds almost exactly like 90s Eurotrash. I thought we were right in the middle of sounding exactly like drivelpop did in the 90s.

[robotmonkey]

... I think it's just in the air.

Yes, I can feel it, coming in the air tonight, oh lord.

I LOLed

But seriously the Phil Collins gated snare and those huge 80's tom toms (a la on Kate Bush's The Dreaming) are pretty much universal and very much lovable to this day.

Strangely enough what connects todays music to 80's is that both are technologically driven in a bad way. Like in the 80's today very few artist are above the technology and use it for their own purposes and not the other way around - having their music be determined by the technology they use. In the 80's all the music sounded the same because everyone were using the same limited available gear. Most of the people today still use all the same stuff than everyone else and follow the same CM tutorials.

I'd rather have 80's music coming back than listening to most of that bland dub/bro/whatever step and/or EDM and such. At least in the 80's you still had to actually play all the instruments and still have some sense of composition/harmony and melody.

[Numanoid]

I noticed there are quite a few young bands already performing it.

Have ya been in jail during the last 10-15 years

80's music is now passe, it is 90's we want now

[Wildfunk]

80's music is now passe, it is 90's we want now

Have ya been in jail during the 10-15 years

90's music is now passe, it is 80's we want now

[Josmoker]

To those people moaning that there is no quality music today and want 80s music to come back - if all you're doing is look at the mainstream charts it's no wonder you don't find quality music. It's not like charts weren't full of stereotypical shit in the 80s.

[robotmonkey]

What I hated about the '80s: synths with no knobs and minimalistic LCDs...

Lol, this was the best part of the 80's! Every time I see this Yamaha sequencer I go:" WOW this must be the most futuristic and sexiest piece of equipment ever made!" Just gotta love that design.



You couldn't be blamed if you mixed it up with an answering machine or something.

[fese]

To those people moaning that there is no quality music today and want 80s music to come back - if all you're doing is look at the mainstream charts it's no wonder you don't find quality music. It's not like charts weren't full of stereotypical shit in the 80s.

Yes! I am waiting for the return of Stock-Aitken-Waterman bubblegum pop or the classic hooters pop of Samantha Fox or Sabrina - real quality stuff!

[deastman]

I think there is still plenty of interesting music being made today. The problem is that most of it gets drowned out in a sea of mediocrity and me-too's. Even dubstep was a pretty interesting idea- if only a small handful of people remained making music in that style. But now that we have the Internet, you have millions of kids watching and creating "how to make dubstep" videos on YouTube, and becoming "producers" on their ipads. I would actually propose that this phenomena started with trance and drum n bass, although of course its much more widespread today. When every man, woman, and child has instant worldwide communication and the means of production at their fingertips, what you apparently end up with is a homogenization of culture. One would hope that our individual unique perspectives would shine through, but it appears that our social instincts are too compelling.

At any rate, the music of the 80's, like any decade, was too diverse to be summarized in a single revival movement. A lot of what seems to be coming back now is the influence of mainstream pop which I couldn't stand the first time around. I mean, yes, these days I can listen to an old hit from Lisa Lisa, Cameo, Phil Collins, Night Ranger, Hall and Oates, or Loverboy just because it sounds familiar and nostalgic, but that doesn't mean I liked it when it was new.

Oh, and in response to a previous post, Judas Priest started in 1969. The Scorpions were around before "Rock Me Like a Hurricane". Rumor has it that even Tina Turner had a career before "What's Love Got To Do With It".

[Numanoid]

Every time I see this Yamaha sequencer I go:" WOW this must be the most futuristic and sexiest piece of equipment ever made!" Just gotta love that design.

TQ5 is a Workstation, not just a sequencer

[ariston]

A lot of established artists made really bad albums in the 80s, when they tried (or were convinced by their producers and A&R slimeballs) to modernise their sound. Joni Mitchell, Jethro Tull, Neil Young...even Zappa.
I don't remember the 80s too fondly, although a lot of great music was made then. Mainstream music, however, was usually cold and sterile, dominated by hideous DX7 pianos, synth toms, tiny kicks and flabby snares, reverb (!lots of reverb!) and thin, tame guitar sounds. The overall style didn't help... pastel colors, puffed-out trousers, shoulder pads. Shoulder pads! My god. So while I listen to the great music of the Cocteau Twins or Husker Du, I wince every few seconds at the contrived sound and wish to high heaven that Liz Frasier and Bob Mould had been born a decade earlier (or later).

Then came the Pixies, and later the Seattle scene, and lo! everything was back to normal.

You can keep yer 80s.

[Igro]

I noticed there are quite a few young bands already performing it.

Have ya been in jail during the last 10-15 years

80's music is now passe, it is 90's we want now

I was in 90's and have had its vibe enough. But yeah, there is a feel of nostalgia:

[crimsonwarlock]

I don't remember the 80s too fondly, although a lot of great music was made then. Mainstream music, however, was usually cold and sterile, dominated by hideous DX7 pianos, synth toms, tiny kicks and flabby snares, reverb (!lots of reverb!) and thin, tame guitar sounds.

Indeed you needed to listen outside of mainstream music, but to me some of the best music I've come to remember fondly was made during the 80's.