Personally, I was never really a fan of music from the 80's. It's bands and artists such as Wham!, Madonna, Tears for Fears, and Phil Collins, just to name a few, that turned me off to 80's music. And as a result, I just kind of wrote off 80's music all together... Or so I thought.
It wasn't until recently that I realized that some of the most well-known songs out there came from the 80's. Songs that I have always enjoyed and praised to be the true definition of Rock. "I love Rock n' Roll" and "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett, as well as "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, and "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield are just a few really good examples of what I mean by "true Rock." These are songs that you have heard many times in movies and also, usually a few times, at high school dances. But it's not just Rock that the 80's did well for, there are certain songs that hold a special place in my heart that happen to come from the 80's.
Michael Jackson had a lot of hits in the 80's with songs like "Billie Jean," "Bad," "Beat It," and the all famous "Thriller." These of course are all well-known songs from "The Prince of Pop" that I personally like. Pop music really started to take off in the 80's by the way. Hence Michael Jackson's title... 80's pop is probably what I dislike the most about 80's music. Although I do enjoy a majority of Michael Jackson songs, I simply cannot stand "The Way You Make Me Feel." A lot of 80's pop is just annoying and cheesy. "Wake Me up Before You Go-Go" by Wham! and "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins, and perhaps the cheesiest of all "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley are just a few songs that make me want to clout my ears. However, I have a good amount of love for Cyndi Lauper. You know, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." If you have ever seen the 2004 film, Napoleon Dynamite, you have heard one of my favorites of her's, "Time After Time" She is one of the few pop artists of the 80's that I can actually stand.
Moving on from 80's pop, let's talk about 80's rock. The rock music of the 80's is far more enjoyable to listen to in my opinion. One of the greatest rock groups of the 80's would have to be Queen. Granted, they did form in the 70's but they had so many great songs in the 80's. "Another One Bites The Dust" is one that we should all recognize. "I Want It All" as well as "Under Pressure" (Which was a duo with David Bowie) were also quite memorable songs from Queen in the 80's. To me, Guns N' Roses always seemed a bit overrated and is one 80's rock band that never really appealed to me. Bon Jovi though, no matter how cheesy some of their stuff is, is an 80's rock band that I really enjoy. How can you not sing along to "Livin' On A Prayer" or "You Give Love A Bad Name?"
Aside from the good and bad 80's music, the most important thing to ever come from the 80's, music-wise, was the formation of The Red Hot Chili Peppers (RHCP) in 1983. Don't be confused, although they did form in the 80's, they are truly a 90's band at heart because that is really when a lot of their stuff took off. But RHCP, and 90's music in general, is talk for another time.
No comments:
Post a Comment