The 80's Are Better Than Today [Archive]

ss_11000

30th March 2008, 12:12 AM

Music wise of course.

Why is it that alot of bands have their best songs and/or albums early in their career and their later stuff isnt as good or just totally sucks?

examples:

Metallica: master of puppets, ride the lightning, and justice for all, kill em all, black album - all AWESOME albums and all before 1992 .... load, garage inc. st anger etc their later albums are no where near as good
Silverchair: ( i dont listen to a lot of chair so i'll name songs ) Anthem for the year 2000, tommorrow - AWESOMA songs...then you have the young modern album which IMO is not very good
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Blood sugar sex magic, californication, freaky stylie ( sp? ) all their early stuff ( pre 2000 ) is Awesome...then you have by the way and stadium arcadium which are great but not as good as their old stuff.alot of other bands i listen to are the same: Guns and Roses, Midnight Oil, Sum 41 etc. even the wiggles best songs were their early stuff.:2tsup:

So do bands just change with the times or loose creative genius or what. i would imagine that after a couple of hundred songs it would be hard to find things to sing about and would be even harder to write the music to it. as a btw, does anyone else think a lot of nirvana songs sound very similar???

hmm, i dont like most of the stuff in the top 100 and i'm running out of good 'new to me' music to find from the 80's and 90's. its a good thing i havent listened to enough metallica or chili peppers to be totally sick of em...yet ( eg, i listened to master of puppets - the sond not album - so much about a year ago that i got sick of it, its only recently i've started to like it again. )

any thoughts????

cheers

rowie

30th March 2008, 04:20 AM

any thoughts????

cheersLots:):D:rolleyes::p:(:- but too many to right write now:tequila:
Master Of Puppets! Mate, you ARE into the good stuff! GO STIRLO!!!:2tsup:
For starters, as far as good early stuff for bands, listen/look at ;
Motorhead
Iron Maiden
Faith No More
AC/DC (Bon Scott's stuff)
Pearl Jam
INXS
R.E.M
Just to name a few:2tsup:

clubbyr8

30th March 2008, 06:16 AM

Tend to agree, music today sucks :oo::oo: - must be an age thing. I actually prefer music of the 70's and 80's. Bands and artists like:
Deep Purple
Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Status Quo
Dire Straits
Supertramp
Gary Moore
Alan Parsons Project
Slade
Lindisfarne
Nilsson
Harry Chapin
Eric Clapton
Eurythmics
Simply Red
Plus lots more I can't think of at the moment.

A lot of bands and artists that are around a long time have difficulty in maintaining their "direction". I agree in a lot of cases their early stuff is their best. I prefer to judge an act on the way they perform live. Deep Purple is a case in point. I don't particularly like their latest couple of albums but their early stuff and their live performances are sensational. I thought the band would die when Ritchie Blacmore left but Steve Morse is the best guitarist I have ever seen or heard.

Let the arguments begin :D:D:D

RufflyRustic

30th March 2008, 06:40 AM

Queen

corbs

30th March 2008, 08:27 AM

I remember listening to bands like KISS as a kid and thinking that was the heaviest music could possibly be... now they sound like balads:rolleyes:. I still like my 80's hair (cock) rock though...

Skid Row
Def Leppard
Bon Jovi
Poison
Van Halen
Whitesnake
Warrant...

I have an 80's mix that I use for circuits sometimes and although not as heavy and driving as some of my doof doof stuff, people love it. I play it for groups where the oldest in the class would be 20 and they still sing along to Giorgio Moroder:U.

Corbs

LGS

30th March 2008, 08:38 AM

Bleedin Thumb

30th March 2008, 09:14 AM

Sterlo, the reason why you think music is no good today is because you are listening to the same old boring R & R that was originally produced in the 70 early 80's but is now stale.

In the late 80's music evolved with the onset of electronics - first with house followed by techno, rap, acid jazz, electro funk, ambiance, trance etc etc.

Modern music is sooooo much better than 3 bar rock & roll...you just have to find the groove thats right for you, be adventurous and broaden your musical pallet.

EDIT I just realised the evolution of electronic music happened earlier - I'm currently listening to "My Life in the Bush Of Ghosts" Eno & Byrne which was made in 1979. A fantastic album Infact Eno was doing electronic in the early 70's - music for airports - another green world etc do a google.

wheelinround

30th March 2008, 09:16 AM

Saw an interview with John Lord from Deep Purple the other day. His suggestion is that, in the 60's,70's and 80's, the record companies were more entrepeneurial and got heavily involved with the band's success. Also, there were less rules and the bands made it up as they went along.
Now its just plastic stuff aimed at a demographic deduced from highly specialised marketing ananlysis. (my opinion).

Right in every aspect

Forget the 80's Stirlo your young whats it going to be tomorrow or 10 years from now.

I love many types of music mostly 50's through to 80's, I asked a mate who works in the industry where is it heading? His reply "The big 4 are killing it" This is for the consumer market.

The pub and local content is still full on :2tsup: its just harder for us to know about it, young fellows like you and FC should be introducing us oldies to some new stuff.

Gingermick

30th March 2008, 09:18 AM

Perhaps record company execs used to be muso's. Too many thoughts to form a cogent argument here.
I think Ligs got it right, they are trying to create musicians under an archetype, either Britney of that other idiot from the boy band. Then they create music with no hooks, no melody then complain that sales are down due to people downloading. Listen to a new "song" by one of those and try and hum along with it.
Stirlo, it's only the really great bands that consistently improve. (With the exception of the Stones:-)
Wendy, Queen are the champions, my friend.:D

Gingermick

30th March 2008, 09:54 AM

In the late 80's music evolved with the onset of electronics - first with house followed by techno, rap, acid jazz, electro funk, ambiance, trance etc etc

Techno is not musical, rap is not musical but I have heard some music that could be called acid jazz.
Music still needs to be musical, whether it be made by a piano, trumpet, violin, guitar, moog synthesiser or anything else. (ie rhythmic, melodic)

Andy Mac

30th March 2008, 10:43 AM

There has been good music and absolute cr@p music all along, and there continues to be. To say one era has a monopoly on better or best is pathetic. You sound like your own parents when you turned up AC/DC or Led Zep back in '75!!:oo: Move on, open your ears!!
Some of the stuff I listened to in the 70's and 80's which I thought of then as THE BEST (some of it mentioned here already) has a definite use-by date, plain embarrasing even. One or two tracks ocassionally OK, but couldn't sit through a whole album, and certainly can't listen to any radio station that hypes up about "music from the 70's, 80's and today".
Forget about commercial Top 100, its soft cock garbage, R&B damsels warbling endlessly! Triple J is a better window IMO... yes they do go through phases of shyte, but some great new stuff keeps popping up. The Herd, the Waifs, Black Keys, JSBX off the top of my head.

EDIT: To stirlo's other point about band's earlier work being their best (regardless of if they started in the 70's or 80's I assume) I tend to agree in many cases -Midnight Oil for instance- and it may be because of their 'freshnesh', for themselves as much as the listener. They have their first recording contract after maybe years of working the circuit, so they are pumped and enthusiastic about recognition. Later it may become bit ho-hum, or even worse, producing records just to meet contractual obligations. For the listener, a new band with a new sound to savour, and later output may lack that vigour because you've heard it before.

Cheers

Lignum

30th March 2008, 11:22 AM

Move on, open your ears!!
Some of the stuff I listened to in the 70's and 80's which I thought of then as THE BEST (some of it mentioned here already) has a definite use-by date, plain embarrasing even.

Couldnt agree more. 80`s music is fun for a short burst of retro listening, but whats around now is sensational. Stop listening to JJJ and MMM and visit a quality boutique music store and ask to listen to some good new stuff. Those who work there know whats good and will recomend something very tastey to take home.

In Melbourne i like Readings - a sample of what they have http://www.readings.com.au/music

.
I think Ligs got it right,

Mick. To agnowledge my post 2 hours before i posted it, shows how remarkable your psychic abilities are:)

nev25

30th March 2008, 11:40 AM

Yeah when they come up with the name for RAP music they forgot the C at the start :D

Sir Stinkalot

30th March 2008, 12:24 PM

Metallica: master of puppets, ride the lightning, and justice for all, kill em all, black album - all AWESOME albums and all before 1992 .... load, garage inc. st anger etc their later albums are no where near as goodany thoughts????Garage Inc is actually a re-release of the Garage Days ep which was one of the earliest releases ..... and then re-released back in 1987. The main tracks of interest are on disk 2 .... Helpless, The small hours, The wait and Crash Course In Brain Surgery. Mostly covers of bands that they grew up with and were a strong influence.

If you go to ..... http://www.livemetallica.com/ and visit the Vault they offer a number of older live shows for download ..... Free :2tsup: Sound quality isn't always the best but some of the shows are very raw and fresh.

Bleedin Thumb

30th March 2008, 12:53 PM

Some of the stuff I listened to in the 70's and 80's which I thought of then as THE BEST (some of it mentioned here already) has a definite use-by date, plain embarrasing even.
Cheers

How true , I recently (re) bought a turntable as I wanted to digitally record all my old vinyl records.

It didn't take long to realise that my music tastes had changed and I had no desire to go back and listen to that stuff unless i was in some sort of nostalgic mood - either way it didn't justify the effort of the recording process.

as far as rap being .c.rap - well I'm not a big fan, though some of it is OK ...but like it or not it has permeated lots of other musical genres so get used to it or go back to listening to....."the greatest hits of the 70's, 80's and 90's"

Outbackrr

30th March 2008, 07:47 PM

Triple J is a better window IMO...

Totally agree, only place for new music; British India, Gyroscope, Faker, etc. and NO ads!

Stirlo has a real point, I can think of a lot of bands I liked in their early days but deteriorated after a few years. There would be various reasons I guess: Some change direction, lose members, change management or producers, recreational pursuits catch up, and so on.

ss_11000

30th March 2008, 09:09 PM

Modern music is sooooo much better than 3 bar rock & roll...you just have to find the groove thats right for you, be adventurous and broaden your musical pallet.

.
nickelback, sum 41, blink 182, panic at the disco...that type of modern music is good - punk rock, light metal, etc

its all the rap, r & b, techno and othe crap that drives me nuts

Techno is not musical, rap is not musical

:2tsup:i agree

You sound like your own parents when you turned up AC/DC or Led Zep back in '75!!:oo: Move on, open your ears!!
Some of the stuff I listened to in the 70's and 80's which I thought of then as THE BEST (some of it mentioned here already) has a definite use-by date, plain embarrasing even.

! Triple J is a better window IMO... yes they do go through phases of shyte, but some great new stuff keeps popping up. The Herd, the Waifs, Black Keys, JSBX off the top of my head.

EDIT: To stirlo's other point about band's earlier work being their best (regardless of if they started in the 70's or 80's I assume)

Cheers
fair points there...i dont want to be like my parents:oo: altho i couldnt imagine them rocking out to tallica:cool:

yep ( to the bold text last para. )

ss_11000

30th March 2008, 09:12 PM

Stirlo has a real point, I can think of a lot of bands I liked in their early days but deteriorated after a few years. There would be various reasons I guess: Some change direction, lose members, change management or producers, recreational pursuits catch up, and so on.loss of members isnt one i thought of before. good thinking:2tsup: ACDC is a good example as some one mentioned earlier:cool:

[/list]Garage Inc is actually a re-release of the Garage Days ep which was one of the earliest releases ..... and then re-released back in 1987. The main tracks of interest are on disk 2 .... Helpless, The small hours, The wait and Crash Course In Brain Surgery. Mostly covers of bands that they grew up with and were a strong influence.

If you go to ..... http://www.livemetallica.com/ and visit the Vault they offer a number of older live shows for download ..... Free :2tsup: Sound quality isn't always the best but some of the shows are very raw and fresh.
cheers for that...i'll check out the site later:2tsup:

Yeah when they come up with the name for RAP music they forgot the C at the start :D
so true:2tsup:

Sebastiaan56

6th April 2008, 08:36 AM

Stirlo,

The nature of what can be presented has changed as well. The music industry world wide is struggling and the real value (money) of these companies appears to be the catalogue that a company owns. Brian Eno would probably not get a contract nowadays. I doubt that Arctic Monkeys would have if they hadnt been an internet phenomona. Bands and artists get signed to produce mega hits not art. Return on investment.

A good listen is the Folkways Collection from Smithsonian records, not just the music but because the founder devoted his life to it. The podcast series is really good and the music is timeless. Similar devotion led to Mowtown records or Blue Note records. But they just wouldnt fit into a modern listed comanies business plan, too risky.

IMHO its all happening here in the Blues and Roots scene. The 80's stuff will keep on getting recycled, remixed, etc (it even happened to Hendrix a few years ago) but dont count on the media to bring new and interesting music too you. They have shareholders to look after, they need formula and predictable revenue. Go and check out some live music festivals.

edit: A lot of artists seem to be moving to Starbucks label at the moment, McCartney, Joni Mitchell etc. Its a lot of guaranteed publicity as their record gets flogged while you have a coffee. That said they seem to be able to afford the artists and give them creative freedom. /edit

BTW, I burned off Abbey Road for the car yesterday, Id forgotten how ordinary side 2 was....... there has always been a mixture excellence and mediocrity, even in the greatest bands...... ahhhhhh nostalgia aint what it used to be....

Sebastiaan

prozac

7th April 2008, 07:28 PM

I am sorry to disappoint you Stirlo (and please don't take this personally) but the 1980s was a music waistland, populated by shallow, catchy tunes that meant nothing.

The late 70s had the emergence of bands like the Clash, The Cure, Sex Pistols (not my fave), Talking Heads, but then as if someone flicked a switch on New Years Eve 1979 we got Duran Duran, George Michael and Wham, etc.

The 70's saw bands like Cream, Iron Butterfly, EL&P, yes Deep Purple too, Jethro Tull, Blind Faith, Gurvitz Brothers, Pink Floyd, JJ Cale, Velvet Underground, Weathereport, Focus, King Crimson (Brian Eno, Robert Fripp) etc refining their craft. Sure some of these bands were started in the 1960's but it took until the 70s for the earthy gut-renching soul to emerge. We had Australian Bands like Chain, Tully (early on), Taman Shud, Spectrum (Murtceps), Ayres Rock, Chisel, Aztecs, Blackfeather, Renee Geyer band, La DE Das (ok tell me their from NZ), Doug Parkinson (In Focus).

Then 1980's,.....mush.

ss_11000

8th April 2008, 12:34 AM

I am sorry to disappoint you Stirlo (and please don't take this personally) but the 1980s was a music waistland, populated by shallow, catchy tunes that meant nothing.

....

Then 1980's,.....mush.

righto, your opinion:cool: and the best thing about your opinion was you backed it up:2tsup:

funny thing is i've havent heard of half the bands you mentioned:-

Stirlo,
The 80's stuff will keep on getting recycled, remixed, etc

Sebastiaan

cover versions happen so often...half the time i dont even know a song is a cover but geez, there are some shockers out there arent there.

example - whoever did the cover of 'another brick in the wall' ruined that song:!.

but having said that - bands can do good cover versions.
example: metallica - 'turn the page' ( it is what i'm listening to right now )

cheers

Harry72

8th April 2008, 12:58 AM

Yep there was a lot of crap in the 80's but there was plenty of good stuff too... alas you can say the same about any decade of music!
There's plenty of crap nowdays but there's also plenty of very good music from modern bands eg, Thirsty Merc or JBT... even Linkin Park(they've matured well).
Seeing the competition is huge compared to say the 60's, artist's/bands now dont last if they are no good(or manufactured crap... thats what I hate).
Music now must be well written not just a jingle(60's!)or a guitar/voice solo (70's) ... manufactured (80's). Although to appeal to the younger gen now it must be an easy to remember lyric and tune as they have very little attention spans... to worried about their mobile phones!

prozac

8th April 2008, 11:29 AM

righto, your opinion:cool: and the best thing about your opinion was you backed it up:2tsup:

funny thing is i've havent heard of half the bands you mentioned:-

cheers

The 60s and 70s were very formative years for modern music. Worth doing a search on isohunt or torentbox etc to download. May not be to your taste but worth being exposed to. It's a pity it is so hard to find torrents of the older Aussie bands b/c there was a huge music scene back then with many musicians of international standard. You might get a laugh too from some of the old faces that are now seen in production and marketing roles within the industry.

In the last decade or so there has been an incredible choice of styles with influences from different genres and countries. I think these things go in cycles and that we are in an interesting period right now.

prozac

TJC

21st July 2008, 03:49 PM

Most of the bands and singers I liked in the 80's, had their roots in the 70's or earlier... The Police, Dire Straits, Queen, Genesis, the list goes on.

Side note: sitting in the back of Dad's station wagon when I was a kid, I had no say in the music selection... so we had Neil Diamond or Air Supply (if we were lucky) or The Platters (if we weren't). Now my kids sit in the back and when I can get the latest So Fresh CD out of the stereo, I hit them with Foo Fighters, Mika and Green Day, to name a few.

It's a never ending cycle. :D

Different

27th August 2008, 12:07 AM

Geebung

27th August 2008, 11:57 AM

Music is such a personal taste argument. It is great to see everyone defending their favourite genre or group etc. The great thing about music (or any other art form) is that it keeps evolving - it could be new or reinventing earlier works...but the best bit is that it is not the same...imagine if all we had to listen to for the rest of human existence was WHAM...gees, I reckon we would probably all run like lemmings to the nearest precipice (and yes I know lemmings really don't do that - it's a metaphor people).

Sure music companies want to make money (so does 99.99% of the population) but that does not prevent new music sounds coming out. I am no cultural snob when it comes to music but I do know what I like, However, often I am surprised when I like music from a category which I usually despise. e.g. ABBA is the quintessential pop band from the '70's and are often dismissed as such. But, when you really listen to some ABBA songs the arrangement of the music and the execution are quite impressive...not convinced? Just listen to people trying to cover their music! That said I will probably go to my grave despising every Country & Western song ever written (e.g. Achey Breaky Heart - I rest my case your honour). :U

Waldo

27th August 2008, 12:18 PM

example - whoever did the cover of 'another brick in the wall' ruined that song:!.

:yes: pure sacrilage that was too. :~ :think: it was Limp Biscuit (regardless of who it was, "they should get him up against the wall" ) or similar that did the cover to Another Brick in the Wall.

Some songs are sacred and shouldn't be touched, heard another one the other day, some dope has gone out and done a cover on American Pie or a similar song.

WortGames

27th August 2008, 01:17 PM

Nope, you are all wrong :D

Musicians evolve and leave behind fans when they do. You are just pining for the phase you happened to engage with.

I got into Iron Maiden in probably the mid 80's. Huge fan, torn jeans and everything. Started listening to some of their earlier stuff, and hated most of it. Too raw, too punk, too dated. Not enough power chords, reverb and giant stage props. Then along came 1988 and the embarrassingly bad 'seventh son of a seventh son' and it was all over. Guys older than me were into their early stuff, younger folks their later (of course, I'm the only one who's right...)

I got into Pink Floyd quite late, probably early 90's. Love everything after about DSotM, but the weirder stuff before that I could take or leave.

Also consider whether you were a hormonally-charged teenager at the time these 'great' bands made their 'great' music. If so you were probably much easier to impress than now (wow, that screeching guitar solo really, like, understands my angst man).

It's about what flicks your switch. There's probably great music from every decade you'd love if only you could find it, but you need to hunt it out as the commercial media will only pander to certain demographics (and if you're no longer in that demographic then you know what that means...)

:2tsup:

The Bleeder

27th August 2008, 01:24 PM

Yeldarb

27th August 2008, 01:39 PM

There is tons of very good music around today...you are just looking in the wrong spot. If you want to hear good music, stop listening to "Classic hits" and "Music of today" type commercial radio.

Pop music is crap...but no more crap than it was 30 years ago...it's just that those of us who experienced 70's and 80's pop appreciate it more.

Different

3rd September 2008, 11:41 PM

quote: Some songs are sacred and shouldn't be touched, heard another one the other day, some dope has gone out and done a cover on American Pie or a similar song.

I agree Waldo. Look at what some pommie (say hes an aussie now) did to 'Stairway to Heaven'. Should have stuck to 'Tying Kangaroos'.

Steve

As if Rolf doing Stairway dont get you where it hurts. I heard an interview with him recently where he said that at the time he was asked to record the song he had never heard of "Stairwaw to Heven " or Led Zeplin. You have to ask where he had his head shoved for the last 40 years to be that out of touch with things. Even my mother whose record collection consisys of Richard Clayderman, The Seekers and Perry Como knows who Led Zeplin was.

I hope he has given up his Australian citizenship and stays in England. He is plain embarrasing like Russel Crow and Shane Warne.

Ross

Gingermick

11th September 2008, 12:16 PM

I have changed my stance since I bought "Handbuilt by robots (http://www.newtonfaulkner.com/au/home/)" by Newton Faulkner the other day. Have a listen to his guitar playing. Like van halens tapping but modified for accoustic so it's not about speed but adding something that wasn't there before and I've never heard so much use of harmonics. And it's percussive and he has a great voice and writes some damn good songs.
Good music can still be written, it just has nothing to do with major record companies.