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I hereby declare the 1980s as the absolute worst decade for music and movies.

posted 6 years ago by samoanjoes (58607)
99 replies | jump to latest

The 80s had some classic movies: Back to the Future, Die Hard, The Breakfast Club. They also had some classic albums: Michael Jackson's "Thriller", U2's "The Josua Tree", Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." None of these are enough to save the utterly abysmal decade knows as the '80s.

It's the most dated decade. Who thought synthesizers in music was going to be a good idea? Those awful drum machines weren't pleasant on the ear either. How about those weird lasers you would see in music videos.

80% of the movies had such a boring feel to them with music completely out of place. Gunshots in movies all sounded the same and didn't sound like gunshots at all. Every actor playing a cop had a mustache and were all "loose cannons".

The '80s were not kind to us.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I agree.

[–] nyctc7 (44107) 6 years ago

I was a teenager in the 70s living around bell bottom jeans, platform shoes, and gigantic lapels. The 80s was awesome. I loved synth-pop.

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

Synth-pop are two words I feel should never go together.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

No, it's great stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7u9hP4r1S8

[–] nyctc7 (44107) 6 years ago

I was thinking more along the lines of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeMFqkcPYcg

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Yes, that was a classic tune! Seriously Great stuff.

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

Actually the synthesizers work in Sweet Dreams.

[–] BillHicksFan (10717) 6 years ago

I'd agree that it was the biggest drop-off with movies and music, especially considering the 70s were great, but I don't think things got better after the 80s, either.

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

I think 1996-2003 had some good stuff for movies. The music wasn't great either but I still think it was way ahead of 80s music.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

I agree. Over on the Stranger Things area I posted that the music for the show stinks because it’s all 80s crud, and was inundated by protest from cretins. No, that music blows chunks, it’s so bad. Your musical taste is at the wrong end of your alimentary canal!

[–] snepts (11123) 6 years ago

I'm not sure how you are framing your argument. There was a lot of great stuff but there was a lot bad stuff? The bad stuff you are likely thinking of was very popular. No one thinks of Yaz but they were a great synth group. Howard Jones and Thomas Dolby were entertaining.
Yes, "80's music" has it's share of problems, but it seems the successes outweigh the duds.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

No one thinks of Yaz .
I do , with a shudder. About 88 was it? polluting the airwaves

[–] snepts (11123) 6 years ago

While I agree the excesses of the 80s are annoying now, a lot of people have fond memories of the time. One of my favorite moments in Pulp Fiction is when SL Jackson calls that one young guy Flock of Seagulls because of his haircut.
and Yazoo (Yaz US) put out at least one very good album. The synth master was from Depeche Mode and Alison Moyet was/is a great singer. Might not be your thing, but I think most folks who know of them actually admire them.

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

You're thinking of Yazz.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Your right i was.

There was some great music around in the 80s , of various types , but in the UK we had very limited music / media channels . 4 tv channels , very few music shows.
And the radio was constant chart music .
no mtv :(

the 90's was the same but worse - more cool music , but you had to dig for it

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

Nope, I thought pop music was the best in the 80s and 90s. It was cool, no problem with it.

You guys had Top of the Pops in the 80s, which was cool. I've been watching old episodes.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

i guess most of the 80s pop was ok , especially the ones that are still known today.
90's was worse - boy bands and novelty records , and if that wasnt bad enough Simon Cowell arrived , stole the industry and shit on it.

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

I'm a pop fan, so the 80s and 90s are a goldmine to me.

I never jumped on the bandwagon of any boyband like the other girls in my class, but I have to admit now that The Backstreet Boys had some darn catchy tunes. And like it or not, they could actually sing.

Simon Cowell ruined tv as well. I hate that guy.

[–] NotoriousRio (12927) 6 years ago

Totaly agree Mark, music has been bland ever since.

[–] Keelai (36157) 6 years ago

I disagree. Great 1980s movies:

Ghostbusters, original Star Wars movies(the last 2), The Terminator, Ferris Buellar, Aliens, Princess Bride, Wall Street, Trading Places, Do the Right Thing, Friday the 13th, Highlander, Coming to America, Spaceballs, Revenge of the Nerds, Top Gun, Dirty Dancing, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Baby Boom, Caddyshack, Beverly Hill Cops, The Karate Kid... I could go on. It's endless.

1980s music:
Prince, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Bo Jovi, Whitney Houston, Madonna etc.

I believe present American movies and music are the worst. The movies are almost all remakes. No creativity nor new franchises. Just rehashes. Mindless superhero movies. How many times are they going to reboot Spiderman?

Music is worst. No melody. Dead. No energy. Forgettable. I can't describe what type of emotional pain I'm in when forced to listen to that garbage at the gym.

[–] db20db (17754) 6 years ago

How many times are they going to reboot Spiderman?

How about Godzilla movies? I've got a movie channel with a long list of these dominating the menu and I think, " This is why my cable bill keeps increasing? "

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

I think only the popular bands are like that. There are a lot of great obscure bands out right now. There are a lot of great 80s movies, but even the great ones feel dated and like they could still be better.

[–] Keelai (36157) 6 years ago

If the band was great, they wouldn't be obscure.

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

Not really. Katy Perry is a thing.

[–] Keelai (36157) 6 years ago

A bad thing. I had to google her "music". It sounds like lifeless disco.

If this doesn't make you move, you're dead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ScjucUV8v0

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

Better than anything Katy Perry has done.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Man I loved the 80s!!

[–] yatzo376 (7753) 6 years ago

*Ouch*

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

I’m also trapped with it at the gym, and my ears are in physical pain, because they don’t (can’t) sing, they SCREECH. Or else they talk, which just isn’t music at all. The lyrics make My Weekly Reader seem like William Butler Yeats by comparison.

[–] dmac8 (5050) 6 years ago

The current decade is the worst for music

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

I think I'm terms of the music that's most popular. There are a lot of great lesser known bands. I pretty much hate everything from the 80s.

[–] Keelai (36157) 6 years ago

Can you link on or two songs from lesser known bands that you think are great?

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

Seeing how this discussion is an entire decade, I tried to go for different years.

https://youtu.be/0sDfXh_FX_k

https://youtu.be/hJE0FIV4Ap8

https://youtu.be/GHX3lWJxQPA

https://youtu.be/z77xnT0bd1Q

[–] yatzo376 (7753) 6 years ago

Agreed 100%

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

It truly is. Just awful.

[–] McQualude (4231) 6 years ago

Pop music now is manufactured trash. Buy a song, buy a singer, hire a bunch of nobodies and put them on stage pretending to play while the studio recorded version blasts over the loudspeakers.

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

You're full of shit!

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

No, the 80s were.

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

I guess you just couldn't see or hear properly with all that shit in your eyes and ears!

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

You guessed wrong.

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

How would you know? You've got shit for brains.

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

I would know if I had shit in my ears and eyes... because you know it's me. Weird how you would think that I did.

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

"I would know if I had shit in my ears and eyes... because you know it's me."

Okay, that's poop logic.

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

"That's just, like, your opinion, man." - The Big Lebowski

[–] Stratego (31082) 6 years ago

"Keep your stupid comments in your pocket!"

[–] mikethemartian (7001) 6 years ago

1984 and 1985 were probably my two favorite years of my life.

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

Maybe your life experiences, but how do you feel about the movies and music putting nostalgia aside?

[–] mikethemartian (7001) 6 years ago

Well Van Halen’s MCMLXXXIV is my favorite album of all time and two of my favorite films are The Wrath of Khan and the first Back To The Future. Also back then there were many different computer platforms from different manufacturers which made it interesting.

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

Every time I think about the 80s it's synthesizer music, dated movies, awful haircuts, spray painted walls, excessive colourful fashion, and these two things:

https://innovatebuildingsolutions.com/images/_static/products/gb-walls-bars/gallery1/Crabtree-006-Interior-view-glass-block-wall-that-filled-in-patio-door-area.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GfihMSMuxcc/maxresdefault.jpg

[–] mikethemartian (7001) 6 years ago

Glass blocks were an 80s theme? I always associated those with the 50s.

[–] bohemianroxie (2478) 6 years ago

After checking out this partial list of 80's films you have convinced me that we are currently in the worst...right now.. and least creative blandest era for film..

Blade Runner
Once upon a Time in America
Platoon
Risky Business
Aliens
Dead Calm
Near Dark
After Hours
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Shinning
Raging Bull
Full Metal Jacket
Scarface
The Terminator
Die Hard
Back to the Future
The Empire Strikes Back
The Elephant Man
Beetlejuice
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
The Untouchables
The Last Emperor
Romancing the Stone
Amadeus
Conan the Barbarian
Gremlins
Goonies
ET
Lethal Weapon
Dead Poets Society
Body Heat
Drugstore Cowboy
Dressed to Kill
When Harry Met Sally
A Fish called Wanda
Big
First Blood
Gandhi
The Outsiders
The Fabulous Baker Boys
Field of Dreams
Silverado
Beverly Hills Cop
Bull Durum
Starman
Pale Rider
Ghostbusters
Mississippi Burning
Good Morning Vietnam
The Natural
Mask
Something Wild
The Shinning
The Thing
Escape from New York
Big Trouble in Little China
The Road Warrior
Mad Max
Trading Places
The Color Purple
Terms of Endearment
Tootsie
Time Bandits
Das Boot
The Big Chill
Fatal Attraction
Rain Man
Blood Simple
The Right Stuff

Also in music we had U2, The Police, Simple Minds, The Eurythmics,R.E.M, Hall and Oats, Dire Straits, Talking Heads, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Cars, Heart, David Bowie, Queen, Bob Seeger, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Prince, Bon Jovi, ZZ Top
I think of today as having music that seems to sound the same...it's all more of a show then based on the music.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

you have convinced me that we are currently in the worst...right now.. and least creative blandest era for film..

Damn right , and I blame those fucking comic book superheroes 100%

[–] samoanjoes (58607) 6 years ago

I think the films are just less creative now. The films now aren't that great but I'll still put them ahead of 80s films.