Artists/bands that saved the 80s from total oblivion

snakes&ladders · 06-01-2009, 12:05 AM

I've been meaning to start a topic where we can discuss what was REAL music in the 80s and what was SHEER GARBAGE. I know there will be sparks flying by the end this topic is done...or maybe it'll go by without one single reply...WHO can tell??!!
Anyway, after listening to music since the tender age of 4 and playing the piano since 6 AND after listening to music for over 40 years, I reached this conclusion about the 80s music. In my opinion, it was bands like Blondie, The Knack, Clash, The Shirts (with Annie Golden), The Pretenders, Greg Sage and some others that saved that pro-Reagan/Thatcher era socially speaking and pro-dance era (as if the kids never danced to anything BEFORE disco music [or never had fun] ....what a silly term anyway...what does disco music mean anyway???!) from falling head deep into musical oblivion

. Thoughts and comments welcome of course

Kino · 07-12-2009, 03:47 PM

I kind of agree with you here, but I think there are more bands that gave the 80's it's name. Bands like, Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, and Def Leppard.

snakes&ladders · 08-04-2009, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by Kino

I kind of agree with you here, but I think there are more bands that gave the 80's it's name. Bands like, Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, and Def Leppard.

I agree....I was sticking to the 'poppier' side

zoose · 09-01-2009, 12:26 AM

The Question of the Ages I think.

Depends on your definition of garbage.
I loved the Knack - which many of my peers would go volcanic over, and the artsier stuff as well like Roboto.

My definition of it is a number of bands who turned out album after album of pure cardboard - often to rave reviews - seems a lot of people considered my garbage to be ambrosia. One of these "legends" had a "#1 hit" that I never heard on FM (maybe it was on AM?) or anywhere else.
Hard to define.

My time in rock bands was the 60s, when everybody sucked. I mean it - when the Who first came out Townsend couldn't play guitar very well and needed coaching from Robert Plant.
The 80s is when rock came of age and consisted of artists with monster talent.
Stuff that made Satisfaction sound like Diddle Diddle Bing wub wub.

What Disco was I still have no idea - I go with the line from that whackjob Bill Murray movie (I think it was Stripes?) - "Death before Disco".

Zombeels · 09-01-2009, 01:09 AM

Originally Posted by Kino

I kind of agree with you here, but I think there are more bands that gave the 80's it's name. Bands like, Guns N' Roses, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, and Def Leppard.

I think it was bands like these that gave the 80's a bad sound.

Kino · 09-01-2009, 11:39 AM

The 80's was those bands.

Zombeels · 09-02-2009, 01:50 AM

Originally Posted by Kino

The 80's was those bands.

I know. Weren't the 80's horrible.

deadfemalesofrock · 09-05-2009, 11:15 PM

I kind of shut down my attention to the music produced in the eighties, i was still listening to the seventies stuff, and had my kids in 1984 and 1988, and did'nt really notice how much had changed till i first heard punk

wolfsblood · 09-08-2009, 10:11 PM

I think the 80s was when rock started it's long slow descent.
But there were some great rockers who saved the decade: Black Sabbath turned out a few classic LPs (Heaven And Hell, Mob Rules, Born Again). Ozzy Osbourne (Blizzard Of Ozz, Diary Of A Madman, Bark At The Moon), Deep Purple's Perfect Strangers, Stevie Ray Vaughan's work, Guns n' Roses (Appetite For Destruction), Iron Maiden's first five or six albums, Metallica's first four albums, AC/DC (Back In Black, For Those About To Rock, Flick Of The Switch, Fly On The Wall) and several other hard rockers made the decade a good one for real rock.

Truckin · 09-09-2009, 04:20 AM

Loverboy
UFO
The Scorpions
Scandal
Pat Benatar
Riot.... their Fire Down Under album was killer
These are the ones I could stand and actually bought vinyl.

zoose · 09-09-2009, 04:24 AM

What nearly destroyed rock was Disco Vomit - it was a 70s creation.

The 80s thankfully killed off that abomination and rock began a slow recovery. The 80s get a bad rap - all I have to remember is John Travolta and leisure suits.

billtjr51 · 09-09-2009, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by zoose

What nearly destroyed rock was Disco Vomit - it was a 70s creation.

The 80s thankfully killed off that abomination and rock began a slow recovery. The 80s get a bad rap - all I have to remember is John Travolta and leisure suits.

Actually disco didn't hurt rock, and rock didn't hurt disco. They were two different groups (like democrats and republicans) who were separated by music likes and dislikes. I don't think there is such a thing as general garbage in music. There is personal garbage, such as, what I like and dislike, or what you like and dislike. I personally hated (and still do) disco. But there were, and still are, disco fans. The late sixties and early 70's were a revolutionary era in music. I think that is the primary difference in the decades. There was great music in all the decades, and it continues today!

Sullyrocks95 · 09-09-2009, 07:02 PM

Bon jovi, def leppard, 80's metal, guns n' roses

zoose · 09-10-2009, 04:58 AM

Oh yes Disco did hurt rock.

I went to some Disco bars and they BOOED if the DJ tried to play rock and roll. Disco dingbats hated rock and roll.

Rock stations began going to Disco formats and without that outlet a lot fewer upcoming rock groups had a vehicle for getting their music out. Disco was about as flat out retrograde as it got - Disco Inferno burn baby burn?
Bleeeeeeeeeech.
Forget about how good your music was if your records didn't get any radio airplay.

A radio takeover is what set off the legendary Disco Demolition Night in Chicago - and the backlash that finally got rid of Disco for good.

All Disco was GARBAGE.

billtjr51 · 09-10-2009, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by zoose

Oh yes Disco did hurt rock.

I went to some Disco bars and they BOOED if the DJ tried to play rock and roll. Disco dingbats hated rock and roll.

Rock stations began going to Disco formats and without that outlet a lot fewer upcoming rock groups had a vehicle for getting their music out. Disco was about as flat out retrograde as it got - Disco Inferno burn baby burn?
Bleeeeeeeeeech.
Forget about how good your music was if your records didn't get any radio airplay.

A radio takeover is what set off the legendary Disco Demolition Night in Chicago - and the backlash that finally got rid of Disco for good.

All Disco was GARBAGE.

I understand what you are saying, and agree to a certain extent. But there were not many rock stations, around here anyway, in the early to mid 70's. Top 40 stations ruled the airwaves. Some rock made top 40, but not many I was listening to. Many disco songs made top 40. I agree with you on that point. Most bands I listened to didn't stand a chance of getting on the radio, except for the (I think I got one radical rock station, to many years and lost brain cells to remember) what was then an extreme rock station. I was in central NC then, not near any real big cities. I can only speak from my experiences. Anyway, rock continues!