Mainstream was Coolest in the 80s??

[Papa G]

People get too wrapped up in the 80s being all about new wave, new romantices, synth pop etc. Guitar Bands like Van Halen, Guns and Roses, Motley Crew, Def Leppard, ACDC, Bon Jovi and countless others were all incredibly mainstream and popular.

 

[Yellabellabingbangboo]

People get too wrapped up in the 80s being all about new wave, new romantices, synth pop etc. Guitar Bands like Van Halen, Guns and Roses, Motley Crew, Def Leppard, ACDC, Bon Jovi and countless others were all incredibly mainstream and popular.

Agree.

Pop music has morphed into this concept that it is cheesey or overly produced music, when it is just music that is popular. I happen to like alot of cheesey pop music, like some britney, beyonce even a taylor swift song or two.

I absolutely love high quality catchy cheese or overly produced "pop". The problem is there is so much s**t around where little effort and talent are involved and this gives pop a bad name. Famous people decide they want to be a dampus singer so they get a hack to write them an album. Anyone can make a tune, most of us have the technology to.do this.

There are great producers put there (like the lead singer of NERD whose name has escaped me) but it is drowned out by talentless hacks.

In the 80s people went a bit synth mad and there seemed to be alot of s**t. Like Kylies 80s albums were a joke whereas she made some good albums in the later 90s.

In the 90s i cpuld listen to commercial radio because mainstream music consisted of lenny Kravitz, Metallica, smashing pumpkins, radiohead, portishead, gnr, beastie boys, spiderbait and of course Nirvana, they were MASSIVE in the 90s. There was almost a consensus on them being good.

These days people that are into music follow their own path. At the risk of being a snob but people that can qithstand commercial radio, and not have their ears bleed, aren't really into music. I am astonished when i unwittingly walk into a shop that is playing some horrific song.

Music and its production has changed.

Having said that there os outstanding music being made, but it isn't being played on the radio.

 

[Mootsy]

 

[Mootsy]

 

[Mootsy]

 

[Mootsy]

 

[Mootsy]

 

[psychobrown]

Yes I believe so, even the corny synthpop songs from the 80s were more entertaining than most Top 40 now. They still had to have some musical ability back then even as it was becoming more digitised, they were good at song composition and constructing hooks and importantly also made their choruses distinctive from the verses in comparison to the lazy email-their-vocals singers now.

 

[footyfan1978]

I've just spent ages watching music videos from the 80s...
Now, no doubt the 90s was good too, but more in an alt-rock/indie sort of way.
Is it just me or was mainstream music cool, raw, exciting back then and now it isn't at all, whatsoever.
'80s was new-wave and cool I guess.
Way better than today's mainstream.
The more I research the cooler the 80s get, in terms of mainstream singles across the board. Pretty amazing era for feature music.

I think it was just the perfect time for lots of one hit wonders with music videos popular and new for time and still radio play was big. Also the mainstream artists all seem to dress up with a theme of a certain look. I admit I did not really care for a lot of it as a kid and then teenager but If I remove my memory of lots of stupid new era videos of these times, the music itself, even some of stuff did not listen to at first, grew on me over time If I do not care about the "look" of the artist. MTV come out. Countdown had existed for eons, every channel had some music show of some kind and then Live Aid came along which was absolutely massive for something well before internet era. It was post disco era of 70's but before albums become redundant way to make yourself known as internet in household was still some time away.

 

[QuietB]

Any decade that is responsible for the invention of power ballads cannot be the be the “coolest”

 

[footyfan1978]

I was curious what was popular music at start of decade and what was going on at the end of 1989.
So had a look on youtube

Oliivia-Newton John and Blondie popular then in mainstream.


Miichael Jackson Rock With You
AC/DC too with Back in Black also popular
Queen big late 70's band very popular.
Men at work -I come from a land Down Under
Crap like Dr Hook...lol
Elton John, Abba, Village People etc etc. Disco era on last legs and music video not really taken hold yet.

Non mainstream would be something like Prince in early days dressed up in a way not fit for mainstream viewing..
Dirty Mind etc etc. You just look at the video and go WTF? .lol


John Lennon died in 1980 and Elvis Presley was well and truly dead so music influence from early 60's and 70's was coming to an end.
Heavy Metal and New wave music was kind of what fought for attention on tv and radio during 80's

Mid 80's mainstream would catch up with Prince briefly after movie Purple Rain come out. Stood out as totally different to everything else of this decade.

I mention end of decade I find on youtube but it is really really ordinary imo.

 

[footyfan1978]

End of decade you got s**t like Milli Vanilli, Kyle Minogue, Jason Donovan and Bros at times. *, what shite...
Some serious s**t in 1980's in contrast to the really good stuff.
As a school kid in 1980's was funny time musically. You got the extreme into absolute s**t like Bros and Wham and the others into Iron Maiden and Quiet Riot... ha ha... Amused how many would only listen to their small range in taste of music, like it was cool. Ha ha

 

[Plugger35]

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions weren't mainstream in the 80s but they were cool.

I think I was the only one in my school that was even aware of them.







Everyone was raving about The Smiths in the 80s, Lloyd Cole wrote better lyrics and songs than Morrissey.

 

[Plugger35]

The The were another cool UK band from the 80s, I started a thread on them here a while ago.