Is it an unpopular opinion to dislike 80's music?

Submitted by Grouchy_Interview_95 t3_zygnvf in Music

I don't hate 80's music, and i have to say that i'm mostly talking about pop music, but on the overall, it all sound so much of the same and repetitive, mostly shallow lyrics and a weird reverb that i'm not into.

Again, i'm mostly talking about mainstream music - and AMERICAN mainstream music - and not all of them, I do agree that there are unforgetabble songs that were released back then, I just don't get all of the hype about the 80's, since it's known as "the best time of music"

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FandomMenace t1_j25qo68 wrote

Define 80s music. Glam metal? New wave? Punk? Pop rock? RnB? Rap?

Sounds like you don't like one type of music, not the musical offerings of an entire decade.

Rick Beato has done multiple pieces on how simplistic music has gotten in recent decades, so hurling that accusation at music from the 80s is a bit weird to me.

Oftentimes these types of posts lack perspective. The 80s were the foundation for many different styles of music that, with the exception of glam metal, peaked in the 90s. If you ask me, 90s music was the best generation in music for that reason, but of course none of that would be possible without the 60-80s.

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Notinyourbushes t1_j25sii3 wrote

Gen Xer here. I was a teenager in the 80s and it was the music I grew up with.

When talking about mainstream 80s music (not metal or early alt), I don't think it's aged well. There was a very homogenized, go-to sound for the bass and synths that massively date the music and make it much less timeless than the people who haven't heard anything besides a top 40 song in the last 30 years realize.

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clogging_molly t1_j26hlfe wrote

I agree the pop hits sound dated. I’ve found the older I get the more I enjoy 80s pop though. I used to hate it

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Mattuk1626 t1_j25r42i wrote

No i love 80's iron maiden, metallica, slayer and anthrax

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A40 t1_j25zm3u wrote

Only if you dislike it just for the date.

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BOLIVIA_NEWTONJOHN t1_j2634yx wrote

A lot of 80s music was ruined by cocaine induced overproduction.

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DeadEyeMetal t1_j25sj17 wrote

The 1980s did have a set of very distinctive sounds across many genres. A lot of them haven't aged well - or at least, not fashionably. That doesn't mean that the music was uniformly, or even generally, inferior, just that some styles have longevity while some have to wait for periodic revivals to enjoy popularity again.

That reverb thing you mention is definitely an '80s trait, especially on vocals and drums. Then there is the limited palette of synth sounds and all the chorus on the guitars, lol. Anyone who lived through it can often nail an '80s song at 50 paces even if they never heard it before.

As with every decade I experienced before it and after, there was some music I loved and some I hated.

I can understand people saying they hate '80s music, but really it is a sweeping generalisation that is quite difficult to justify. There was probably stuff you'd have loved but if it wasn't fashionable you may not have found it. What you probably hate were the predominant popular/fashionable musical trends in the '80s that featured heavily in record charts, radio and TV.

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Ok-Pressure-3879 t1_j260utt wrote

I think it was butch vig talking about the 80s and how the drums all had to sound like cannons. I cant not hear it now.

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Grouchy_Interview_95 OP t1_j28bjv5 wrote

I don't really like to generalise it, but maybe because my father used to only listen to 80's songs and praises them just for being "the golden era" while it all sounded so generic to me, it's the reason why I feel like the whole decade is souless and shallow.

Still, I do think there are gems that I do love to hear, like "Stay on these roads - Aha" and "I'm still standing - Elton John", but to me they look like exceptions in a sea of "We're gonna party, dance, all the time" 80's themes (And the reverbs)

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DeadEyeMetal t1_j28fpaa wrote

That's the problem with most decades, I think. What we are exposed to as passive listeners is the stuff that is declared fashionable. That's not always what many of us would consider best or most interesting but it's what we mostly hear unless we actively go hunting for new stuff.

Finding new music is easy now thanks to the net but in past decades opportunities were sometimes limited by whether one lived somewhere with a fresh music scene or whether one was aware of people like (in UK) John Peel, Andy Kershaw etc who would play stuff that was very far from fashionable and which didn't have a snowball in hell's chance of getting mainstream airtime.

The good music has always been there, but the salesmen have often been pushing other things.

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Fianmusic t1_j26ck3n wrote

So far as I have observed this is the rule for all art, music, books, films, etc. At least 95% of it is pure unadulterated shit. 4% is tolerable and 1% is gold. Goes for pretty much any genre and for any timeframe. Beautiful, weird, wonderful, profound stuff is always being made but most of the time you have to go and intentionally seek it out.

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specialspartan_ t1_j25pxxb wrote

The 70's were by far the best decade for music overall, but every era has its gems.

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Scep_ti_x t1_j25rk7i wrote

Yes. But also the 70s was the worst decade and brought some of most awful bands to life. Same goes for the 60s, 50s and 40s...lets not talk about the 30s, but the 20s were very mixed quality too.

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Ok-Pressure-3879 t1_j260jx7 wrote

This cant be overstated. We pick the top artists of a decade and act like thats the median. The trash gets forgotten.

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Sndr666 t1_j262tqj wrote

Noone was more surprised than me when I realised Rick Astley turned out to be a wholesome down to earth dude. I hated that song with a passion, it dominated all the media for months. Mostly I hated the shared aesthetic, this non-descript unoffensive look and feel was so prevalent and so typical for that era. Like we all had to aspire to please an imaginary pearl wearing waspy mom. Grunge came to the surprise of no-one, really. After a decade of hairspray hair, tucked turtlenecks with chain over it, oh and those loafers. My god my entire school wore them.

No I am with OP on this one, sure I can cherry pick great music from that decade, Smiths, Kraftwerk, Cure, Prince, Slayer, Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, even the RHCP but they got no airplay. These were album artists.

There is one exception tho, the Bronski Beat, they had hit songs, synths, reverbs and all, seriously adressing a lived gay experience in that era, quite the achievement.

In my own mind, I am starting to sour on the 90s music. I am finding myself turned off by a drive to be 'edgy', alternative, interesting-as-an-aesthetic.

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Good_old_Marshmallow t1_j27bnja wrote

Nostalgia comes in waves typically a 30 year cycle, it used to be super cool to hate on the 80s as embarrassing and outdated, then the 80s became the “classics” era and if you disliked the big 80s hits you were being uncultured for not head banging to Bohemian Rhapsody, now the 90s are having a nostalgic classical moment (with the early 2000s hot on their heals) and I imagine as a result the popularity of defending like Warrent’s Cherry Pie has lessened

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joshinspok t1_j27chxq wrote

Hmmm. Popular 80s music was very much driven by the power people who decide who gets played and who doesn't. Those people want groups with a cd that has 3 songs that will be played for a 100 years and not an artist who makes a magic cd. That being said I will show u the magic of the 80s. Dier straits- brothers at arms. I'll. dmc- raising he'll and beastie boys- license to ill. Ll cool j- bigger and different. Eddie Brickell and the new bohemians- shooting rubber bands at the stars. Prince- purple rain. U2- Joshua tree. Sonic youth- daydream nation- I guess I could go on and on. The reason 80s music is cool is not because of the cds the power people picked. It's because of the people who sneeked through the cracks and made magic eddie Brickell is the original alanis morissette so check that out.

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Bmantis311 t1_j2883ct wrote

It depends who you talk to. The bulk of the people I know would much rather listen to 80s music as opposed to the new music coming out.

I would say it is both unpopular and popular to not like 80s music. It really depends on the demographic you are asking.

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ganamac t1_j28utvy wrote

80s music is my fave, especially New Wave (Depeche Mode being my all time fave band). I get flack for it, but that’s alright.

In my opinion, and my opinion only; the 80s had a wide array of different music styles. Hair Metal, Punk, New Wave, Pop, Thrash Metal and more. There was something for everyone. Keep in mind I’m a child of the 80s so my opinion might be a tad skewed.

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gnawyourself t1_j25qhrv wrote

considering the time and things being done is important to get the hype

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FightPhoe93 t1_j25sygm wrote

For me personally, 70s is best, 90s is number 2, 80s number 3 and 60s number 4. 00’s and beyond are all kind of a mishmash for me. Same with ‘50s and earlier.

The 80s were heavy style and less substance as getting your music video to look cool was the priority in that decade. I still love plenty of 80s music, but for me 70s and 90s stands the test of time better.

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existentialZed t1_j25thwz wrote

i bate most 80s rock and hair metal. i tend to gravitate towards 80s pop rock, thrash metal, hardvore punk, post-punk/new wave. i also like synth pop from that decade

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thequicknessinc t1_j26lm0l wrote

I feel this, and personally I blame the emergence of “pretty good” digital instruments and effects. It was just that decade where digital stuff finally was good enough to pretty much replicate real things and they thought it was cool and high tech and used it. Thing is, all of us in the future can tell it wasn’t really close and it all sounds like that cheap CASIO you can get from wal-mart for $60. But hey, it was necessary because had they not gone through that in the 80’s where would we be today?

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flynlionPS t1_j278k1x wrote

80s? You mean King Crimson and Talking Heads? Peter Gabriel and Yes? Bjork and the Specials? Lucky Dube and Third World? Sure, most of them started in the 70s but they didn’t hit their stride until a decade later 😎

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Gezz66 t1_j27dw9g wrote

Easy to forget that even at the start of the 80's, it was only 13 years after Sargeant Pepper, and at the end of the most turbulent period in the history of Rock. You could call it the classic period for the genre, when artists were at their most experimental, creative, but also indulgent. Some of the music became so artistic that genuine questions were asked about how such artists could appeal to the typical demographic.

There was a reset in the late 70s, with Punk and then New Wave, where songs were rendered rather more economic, but it was still remarkably edgy and rebellious, retaining a lot of that irreverent spirit of the late 60's (even if the artists were reacting against that period).

The 80's therefore heralded a somewhat sober period musically (even if artists were high on coke, it didn't manifest itself in their music, unless we're talking about those endless electronic drum beats). Commercial pressures were brought to bear of course, but technology also played a huge part, in allowing quite moderately talented musicians to sound quite professional (talking about you lot, New Romantics).

Suddenly, what was novel and inventive in 73, could be ripped off quite easily in 81. Roxy Music should have made a fortune suing all those working class UK bands for plagiarism.

The artists of one decade tend to reject the values of the previous one (with a few exceptions who were heralded as prophets, like Bowie), so a lot of what was considered admirable in the 70s (see above) was considered taboo in the 80s. Out went long songs and solos. And don't even try to fuse with Jazz (which of course was declared 'dead').

So, we have the confluence of three prevailing forces. Increased commercialism (record sales were higher), better technology that could make amateurs sound half decent and a value set that firmly rejected a lot of that was innovative.

Where I will give the 80s some credit though. I think it was the first era where we trully started to hear international musical themes permeate the mainstream. e.g. Talking Heads. And by the end of the decade, nostalgia was back with a folk revival and even a touch of the psychedelic. It would be the 90's (and the Post Rock rise) before Prog was given any credit though.

Now - this is obviously a contentious topic, so I'd like to just state that this is a just a rambling comment from myself that has been churned out without much thought. I came of age in the 80s, so I should adore this decade, but I don't. When I started listening to music, I was very much drawn to the 70s. Therefore, perhaps some of the frustration of my youth has manifested itself here. I have no doubt there was a lot of excellent music in the 80s (e.g. Talk Talk) for all that I have ranted against it.

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Grouchy_Interview_95 OP t1_j28axrp wrote

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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gtoz1119 t1_j27iusj wrote

Much of it does sound dated for sure.

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nav-netraam t1_j27s25z wrote

I feel the same about the typical 80's sound.

The weird drumsound. Not a fan.

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ApprehensivePlum2302 t1_j27xgkl wrote

Yeah, but you can’t categorize a whole entire era based on mostly just hating their pop music. 80s produced so so so much great music and is more than just the music that is playing on repeat at an 80s party.

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jwas1256 t1_j29743j wrote

No it’s not. There’s a lot of good music from the 80’s. And a lot of shit music from then. That’s how it always has been. Take advantage of the access you have to music at this point in time and listen to as much of it as you can and you will be able to find something you like from every year.

Playlists, radios, falling into the rabbit hole of ‘you might like’/‘related artists’ all are amazing ways to discover new music. Also there’s this website samplette.io that shuffles through just about every video on YT that can be considered music. Intended to be used to find samples, I found it works rlly well for finding old/obscure music, as it also includes videos of septuagenarians turntables playing worn-out 45s that haven’t seen the light of day in 40 years

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bluetriumphantcloud t1_j26ubh2 wrote

I'm with you.

Metallica aside, I don't think 80's acts stand up to those from the 70's or 90's. Not even close. For me anyway.

What was the 80's about? Excess?

The 80's had style. The 70's and 90's had more substance.

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kemphasalotofkids t1_j26n9dr wrote

You clearly have not heard enough Genesis and Phil Collins. The thread will wait...

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