Mr Nice GuyOMG! The 80's - Crass or Classic?
November 25th 2010 01:48
One is wholly insistant that that it was all crass filled with commercial crap.
The other celebrates the "cheesy" fun, the silly singles; the bad haircuts; big synthesizers.
All this ghettoizes an era in pop music that was rich in innovation, great one-hit wonders, oddities, and inexplicable flukes.
It was the last great era for pop singles -- the last time that singles really mattered, the last time that something totally unexpected could capture the minds of the public.
The 80s did do a couple of things right: it relied heavily on new wave.
It experimented, yet tempered its own enthusiasm it with a mix of soul, hip-hop, hard rock, and soft rock.
Whether it was Michael Jackson, Madonna, Aerosmith, Don Henley, or Steve Winwood who ruled the MTV airwaves much of the giddy feel of that time can now be looked upon with a certain fondness and in many cases admiration for those such as Prince the REM who went out on a limb and hung on bravely.
Heavy hitters such as Elvis Costello and XTC or even Adam and the Ants found fame, fortune and creativity can be bedfellows while 'ditties' such as "Mexican Radio," and "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades" or just about anything from Thomas Dolby also had there fair share of sales from a music public clammering for inventiveness - no matter how bizarre sometimes.
Throw in a host of novelties such as the theme from the Greatest American Hero and you have quite possibly the most eclectic music decade we're ever likely to see - or not?
Do you have a take on the 80s? Crass or classic?
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