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Grouchy_Interview_95 OP t1_j28axrp wrote

Reply to comment by Gezz66 in Is it an unpopular opinion to dislike 80's music? by Grouchy_Interview_95

Thanks for this analysis, I think the biggest problem is the commmercial appeal on the 80's, we still have it of course.

I guess that's why I have a problem with american pop music knowing that I do like my country (Brazil) 80's music, despite of course, still being commercial, i think the fact that we weren't exporting internationally in the same intensity as USA it's the reason why I feel like there's more soul into it.

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Gezz66 t1_j2cd6dg wrote

When you look at it, music for the most part was driven by commercial pressures for most of its existence, with a brief period when artists wrenched control in the late 60s and early 70s.

New Wave was actually quite commercial in nature, but it rather focused on simplicity and was also deliberately raw. The early 80s saw an embracing of technology and the result was a more polished product based on the same relative simplicity of New Wave. At the time, it seemed fresh and appealing, but the result is that it has not aged so well.

I think artists only started to assert control from the 1990s onwards when it became much easier to record and publish music. With streaming sites, it became even easier. It is very noticeable that bands from the 90s onwards seem a bit more experimental again and that quirkiness that defined the 70's seems to have returned again.

Didn't know you were from Brazil. During lockdown I was listening to some of your country's music, Arthur Verocai, Azymuth. That may be the less commercial stuff though !

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