Was the 80's pretty much the worst decade in recorded time?

To add to the excellent list of 80's artists in the last post, Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees also came from the 80's, and that is some great music. Yes, I do admit that the era had a ton of cheesy music (awesomely bad, as my boyfriend refers to it), but there was also some great talent. I wouldn't call it the word decade for music.

 

the grateful dead was at its best in the 80s

 

I pretty much can't stand 80% of the things that occurred in the 80's.

 

The 80s weren't all bad... Metallica? Guns n roses? But it was a huge step down from the 70s and I think we still are far below the standerd set by sabbath, Zeppelin, and pink floyd

 

no this decade was.....we start with the "terrorist" attack and finished the decade with the economy in the toilet.

 

The 80s were some of the best years of my life. Yeah, there was some bad music and fashion going on, but I didn't participate. There are people with good and bad taste in every decade.

 

Yes I agree with Karen, it all depended on who you hung out with, lot s of cheesieness going on in some clicks, big hair, preppies. I spent the first half of them absorbing tunes from the 60's and 70's and exploring the universe. I got turned on to the Dead in 86 so I spent the rest of the decade exploring that scene. Never really stopped come to think about it, so I missed the bad music and the good as far as that goes. But there were some great bands that hit in the 80's and dont forget the mountains of coke everywhere.:deadxmas:

 

The Smiths were one, Big Country another (RIP Stuart Adamson).

 

the talking heads were badassed and atleast most of america's jobs were still in america. instead of outsourced to cut the common man's throat. plus our senile president reagan did say some pretty humorous slips of the tongue.

 

It seems like (almost) every I flip through the dial on a radio I've walked in on a competition to play the worst music in history.

 

Can't be bothered to read the whole thread so no idea is I am agreeing or disagreeing with anyone.

80's were good and bad. Some rad cult films (Lost Boys, Terminator, Fatal Attraction even lol) and some really fantastic music. My favourite group is an 80's one, The Smiths. And in case anyone takes the time to argue that, please don't Fair enough not everyone likes Morrissey.

But then there's Prince, my favourite performer.

Dire Striats, The Cure, The Pixies (Sort of), Big Country, Joy Division, Bruce Springsteen at his finest, the list can go on forever. Probably missing loads of my favourite stuff.

Oh, yeah, there's one - Tracy Chapman

Seriously, it was great. But the hair effin sucked.

 

Oh, And Dream Theater started in 1985. Awesome.

 

where have u been?

 

I was extremely lucky to be born in Ireland at a time when I was destined to take an interest in music around 1977. The punk phenomenon opened the door for a whole new wave of artists which were classified, for some obscure reason as "new wave". The gates to the charts were flung open and the old '70's dinosaurs were blown away.

Shortly after this musical breakthrough , technological advances meant that the synthesiser was to become the instrument of the 2nd new wave, leading to the new romantic (where the fuck did that name come from?) movement of the early '80's .

A particular couple of guys decided to splash out on one the these new-fangled gadgets in order to try to make music. They managed to get some gigs in some local pubs around Basildon, Essex, England . In the meantime they come up with a name of their new act,,...,Depeche Mode.

This was my time and by Jaesus, did I love it! I still love the old electronic music from this time.

I agree with Frankie , above , that this excellent wave died out in the mid '80's. In Ireland (which mainly follows UK trends) the scene was taken over by a trio of gits called stock, aitken and waterman who proceeded to write pure and utter drivel for manufactured pop groups and soap stars, at which point I lost interest in charts. It was the beginning of the boyband or girlpower or celebrity band or whatever label could be concieved to appeal to the teeny bopper and tabloid newspaper market.

 

The 80's killed the Ozone layer!!!
Yeah, on the whole it was a sucky decade, but every decade has it's good and bad points to it.

 

It certainly was!!!!! PERIOD!....good riddance

 

i would have loved to live in the 80's , i would have toured with the dead

 

Music-wise, I don't know that there's a lot of 80's music that's going to stand the test of time. I saw a lot of top groups in concert that decade including The Cars, The Thompson Twins, The Go-Go's, Berlin, Flock of Seagulls, The Pretenders, and many more. I still listen to some of that music, but it has to be in small doses. For the most part, I still hark back to the classic rock of the 60's and even into the 70's. The 70's are largely associated with disco, but a lot of classic bands from the 60's continued into that era and a few new bands came around as well such as Bachman Turner Overdrive. I listen to a lot of 60's and 70's music. I can't take much old Madonna, Van halen, Heart, New Wave, etc. I guess Tom Petty got started in the 80's - he's had a good run.

Fashion-wise, nothing really stands out about the 80's except big hair, bright colors, and mullets. Yes, I did the mullet thing for a while. We all thought they were so cool at the time, but now they're ridiculed. I guess every decade has its faux pas. On college campuses the attire of choice for guys and girls alike was jeans. That's been the trend since the 60's, nothing unique about that.

Car-wise, the 80's was the decade of the Fiero. Those things were hugely popular on college campuses along with Trans Ams. Fieros lasted a few years and were discontinued. I considered buying one, but true to many reviews, there were a lot of design flaws. I couldn't bring myself to do it. Eventually the public agreed.

Until now I never thought of the 80's as a forgettable decade, but I guess it was. Realistically, there's a fair amount of the 80's I don't even recall. I was partying my ass off and killed many brain cells. I guess I had fun, because there are big chunks I can't remember, LOL! :rofl:

 

and Devo is kinda cool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbt30UnzRWw"]YouTube- Devo "Whip It"

 

I think 80's was cool and 90's, but most people find their childhood and teen years to be good years.