Music of the 80s Never Dies

[marvinmacs]

My high school and college days fell smack in the 80s. I still listen to the music in that "era" with excitement. Is this being stuck in time? or is the music in those years simply good? Come on, even young guys half my age listen to the artists of those times.

[Richardssun]

It isn't being stuck in time Marv. The music was just better back then. For the most part. There's still good music out there, you just have to dig for it. There's very few people out here today who have more talent than John Hiatt in my opinion, but you're not going to hear on the radio.

I'm only 4 years older than you, but for me, when I first heard Levon by Elton John, I was hooked. From there, if it didn't sound like Elton, The Stones, or Zeppelin, it wasn't worth listening to. As much as I love it though, there's only so many times you can keep listening to it, so the natural progression for me was Country music. 

Tim McGraw started that for me, and I knew I was on the right track when I heard John Mellencamp and Travis Tritt sing their duet on the Tonight Show.

[Perfect7]

I enjoy a lot of the 80s music. My listening covered the widest range of genres in those days. My children still roll their eyes at me when I start singing along in stores, though!

[Burton]

I like music of the 80s and 70s. I don't think it involves being stuck in time, but there definitely is an effect from discovering music in your teens and twenties.

I recently became hooked on Mary's Prayer by Danny Wilson after only hearing it vaguely in the 80s.

[spacelover8126]

When I was younger I hated 80s music--if it wasn't from the 60s or 70s I didn't listen to it.  Over time though, 80s music has really grown on me and I love it now!!

[Chibear]

I think music is what helps us identify with certain moments of our lives.  Our teens and early 20's are when we really discover who we are and decide where we want to go with our lives. 

[Burton]

I think music is what helps us identify with certain moments of our lives.  Our teens and early 20's are when we really discover who we are and decide where we want to go with our lives.

I definitely agree with that. And I wonder what music different people would have been drawn to if they'd been born in different times and places.

For example, would the typical 70s rocker have been into Mozart chamber music if he'd been born in that era? I think he would have been into something of the time.

[Silva]

I have to say that as I was a rebellious teenager in the 60s, that's the music I love the most. I think that Bob Dylan is the greatest but I married a man who used to be a professional Country & Western singer/guitar player and he introduced me to Country music when I met him. I love that too now. That's not to say that there aren't certain songs of later years that I like, including some of the 70s, 80s, 90s and even today! I suppose it doesn't matter what era as long as it's sounds good. 

[winuxchrosh]

I have a different view about this topic. Just for me, I like the music that I have gown up with.

When I was little, I was taken cared by my aunt and she always listens to ABBA or The Carpenters so I like listening to this kind of music until now. My father is a fan of country music so I also like listening to songs of Kenny Rogers and Don Williams.

I think the type of music you like will depend on the environment you grew up with no matter what year it was. If you grew up in a community where hip hop is listened to often then you will like rap music. If you lived in a home where classical music is always played then there is a possibility that you will be playing with an orchestra in the future.

[Burton]

I grew up in a house that had a lot of country and western playing in it, but I didn't grow to like it as much as my parents.

I do appreciate the incredible singers and songwriters who work in that genre though.

[marvinmacs]

While I was growing up my elder brothers listened to a lot of Beatles and Bee Gees songs. This was in the 70s. I remember getting into the bandwagon then and sang lots of it too, with guitar on hand.

Even so, in the early 80s, I gravitated towards John Denver and Jim Croce. When I moved to the capital (I left home and stayed in a dorm 300 miles away to study) in mid-80s, I caught the virus of Spandau Ballet, Pet Shop Boys, Tears for Fears, Phil Collins, U2, and these sorts. There were good bands in the 90s but then I felt the pull of the 80s to be stronger.

The 80s was a decade when I went through a lot of growth and adjustment. Perhaps that's why my attachment is strong.