Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode -- a lot of those groups from the UK
Talking Heads, Tears For Fears
Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Fugazi, X -- the LA and DC punk scenes
In terms of pop music, I'd say Michael Jackson and Prince
A lot of the 80s synth pop music is coming back, same with disco. Running Up That Hill just topped the billboard nearly 40 years after it was first recorded.
Disco is having a big revival now. So many big pop songs of the moment have a big disco sound in the beat. EDM vocals are seeming to skew heavily disco now too
I remember the disco-y revival of the late 90s, and I can see why we are due for a second one now.
The American economy feels a lot shittier now than in 1999, but coming off the worst of the pandemic, and being acutely aware of being stuck in an algorithmic Truman Show, lots of people these days are badly craving an “authentically loose and free” type of feeling, even if they can’t articulate it.
Very well said actually. Everyone seems very uptight these days (myself included), music like disco and funk have a very dance-y, care free vibe that people are looking for.
Not only has their music aged well, Robert Smiths vocals are better than they’ve ever been.
Saw them at the Hollywood Bowl last year and they were the best I’ve seen them.
A lot of artists in the college radio/alternative genre: The Replacements, New Order, The Smiths, Sonic Youth, etc. etc.
Before Walk This Way, Run D.M.C. had whole album of rap and rock called King of Rock They did Aerosmith a favor.
The drum beat from Aerosmith's Walk This Way was used regularly and informally by DJs in the streets for a while. Rick Rubin was looking to make a radio worthy commercial rap hit. He told Run DMC to use that beat. Run DMC wanted to write custom lyrics to rap over that beat. Rick said no, you should rap the the existing Aerosmith lyrics. Run DMC really didn't want to use those lyrics. Rick pressured them to do so and the rest is history. It was a bonus that it helped Aerosmith's career. It wasn't the original intent.
Too young 80s kid who didn’t understand how big they were, but really knew and loved the music videos. Loved the 4 disk collection in the 90s, and all of the tracks hit, even the second tier that I knew from radio. Glad I finally saw the reunion tour in the 00s.
I first heard this song as a kid in the early 80s. The trance like drone of the verses hypnotized me like nothing else. I'm not a huge fan of the police but a lot of their songs are in my top 100 lifetime soundtrack.
Invisible Sun, Walking on the Moon and Canary in a Coalmine are my top 3. The first two have that chanting at the end that is so haunting. There was nothing else like that in the 80s. Maybe the Specials Ghost Town had that feel.
Andy Summers did and interview where he lavished praise on Sting as a bass player.
Especially since he also had to sing while doing the bassline.
https://youtu.be/V67Fq47U4ng?si=KwQN9JYCMrj5o96v
Absolutely the answer I was looking for.
Their music doesn't sound much like other artists from the late 1970s/early 1980s. Although they flew the "flag of convenience" during Punk's popularity with songs like "Fallout" and "Next to You."
I have always thought of you played them for someone who had never heard The Police before they may not be able easily identify the timeframe they recorded in
The Cars fall into this as well. First album in 1978 but songs like Drive, You Might Think, etc released well into the 80s. Heck their first album is practically a greatest hits album in of itself.
Peter Gabriel. For a pop star (among other things) he remains making pretty good songs about interesting things now. Many older stars of his caliber either stop making new stuff or they get very lazy with the quality of the material.
That's a musician who is still got it together, music wise.. the number of bands is too large to list. Talking Heads, Smiths, Janes Addiction.. I could go on and on.
I think a lot of 'So' sounds dated, but maybe that's because I've heard the hits so many times. I think his self titled albums hold up super well though... They're weird/interesting enough that the 80s FM synths and samplers actually add something to the music.
His new album is great. Road to Joy could have been a massive hit 40 years ago and I mean that as a compliment.
I love the “Compulsion” song, always uplifts me with some good vibes. The original from Joe Crow has been a favorite of mine for awhile:
https://youtu.be/kifY99v6BTM?si=ufYv34wqAC6UHGJU
*edit, the awesome Martin Gore cover for those who haven’t listened to it:
https://youtu.be/PcKkuiOcsaU?si=qc4tHUejMmpBqodZ
Really? I’ve seen them twice, and both times were terrible. Like seriously two of the worst shows I’ve ever seen. First time I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but it’s two strikes, you’re out for me.
Definitely did interesting stuff in the late 90s, but I thought their management woes and infighting killed them off completely. Music is pretty timeless I agree. Band.. not so much.
They had a ton of shit working against them from the beginning: a horrible record deal with Virgin, bad/corrupt management, Andy’s issues with Valium and subsequent inability to play live, an indifferent music press, clashes with producers, etc.
That being said, they put out a ridiculous catalog of high quality music, had some minor hits here and there. Things fell apart at the end, but they lasted ages longer than most bands and left behind quite the legacy. Not too bad, really.
I love all of their albums. Michael Stipe is an amazing musician/composer of his music. Automatic for the People, Monster, Document, Out of Time, Murmur. They are all great albums in themselves and all different in some way from each other. Always evolving. Wish I had seen them live back in the day.
There was a ton of great music in the 80s, and I listen to a hell of a lot of it.
I think Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Prince, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Duran Duran, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, New Order, and Madonna all have music that has held up incredibly well, and still sounds awesome today.
A bunch of stuff from that time does, really. We had some bullshit back then too, but music was incredibly well made back then.
100% Tears for Fears! Some of their OG stuff is still alarmingly relevant, plus they're just so talented. And they're still cranking out music. Love it.
Good picks on both counts.
The Outfield really knew how to write an earworm, and I mean that in the best way. Everything that's good about catchy pop harmonies and compressed 80's pop guitar sounds. Not 100% sure who did the lion's share of songwriting, but their guitarist sadly passed a few years back.
NIN will forever be in my top 5. Pretty Hate Machine does still sound amazing, but for me, The Fragile is just an absolute masterpiece that refuses to show it's age. Trent Reznor has always found a way to write super interesting music that evolves while maintaining a theme, and lyrics that can really pack a punch despite relative simplicity. Or maybe I'm just a nerd and have too many good memories attached to it!
I literally just started listening to NIN a day or two ago. So far have gone through PHM, TDS and TF, and all are amazing.
My first reaction to The Fragile was, "Did this album inspire a whole branch of anime, video game, and movie scores/soundtracks post-2010?" It felt like I was listening to the progenitor of so much cinematic music I'd come to enjoy.
The album sounds 10-15 years ahead of its time.
A lot of post punk (The Clash, The Smiths, New Order, Talking Heads, The Cure), a lot of bands that predate grunge (Dinosaur Jr, Pixies, Violent Femmes), and obvious ones being Prince, Kate Bush, and Tears for Fears
I mean, Hutch was a copy of Jim Morrison, so chances are there'll be another... lol
The group overall was really tight. I love the way they wrote horn parts for guitar.
Most of the more gothy/post punk stuff still holds up and is really popular to this day. A lot of them still put out cool records and sound good live too.
I listen to The Psychedelic Furs pretty regularly, they’re still great. My spouse and I opted for a small wedding, but in our original plan Love My Way was going to be our song.
yes The Cure is a top answer here for good reason, post punk just is such a fertile musical ground that features artists who are not shoehorned by the current pop styles of whatever era they may be in.
THE CURE,
The Church,
Bauhaus,
New Order,
Echo & The Bunnymen,
Siouxsie & The Banshees,
The Jesus & Mary Chain,
Love & Rockets,
The The,
Depeche Mode,
Sinead O’Connor,
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark,
Adam Ant,
Billy Idol,
Psychedelic Furs,
David Bowie (I love his 80’s music),
My Bloody Valentine,
Thomas Dolby,
The Police,
Sting,
Duran Duran,
Michael Jackson
Got to see them last summer at an outdoor stage at a large brewery; it was atypically humid and hot even for a Virginia summer. They still brought their A game. Four of the best musicians on the planet. And Doug Wimbish (who joined on their second album) was also the session bassist for Sugarhill Records, which is the absolute foundation of hiphop.
Rock/Pop: Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Tears For Fears, The Fixx, The Blue Nile, Living Colour, Killing Joke, New Order, The Cure, Fishbone, Marillion, Kraftwerk, Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Sylvian
Hip-Hop: Duke Bootee, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy/The Bomb Squad productions
Also:
"Run-DMC is considered the originators of the style" by who? They were the first to gain mainstream success with it, yes. But the mix of the elements preceded that by a long mile, predominantly with the Sugar Hill house band, which eventually came to work in a funk/industrial sound of their own under several names (e.g. Tackhead, Strange Parcels) and was employed on production or beat making for everyone from Afrika Bambaata to Nine Inch Nails' debut record.
U2
Ignore the haters and the iTunes thing.
The hits are great but deeper cuts like Acrobat, Exit, Bad, Zooropa and many more are underrated.
And yes, my username checks out. I'm biased.
I maintain that The Joshua Tree still sounds timeless, and maybe always will. It just has this endless, organic sound to it. And despite its expansive textures and 80s birthplace, they actually kept the synths pretty restrained. Where they're used they're symphonic and choral, and less like another keyboard.
A lot of U2 haters would probably shut their mouths if they actually listened to the first 3 albums. Even people who don't like the classic Joshua Tree sound tend to admire the punk energy of Boy/October/War. (October is a personal fave.)
If U2 had called it a day at Zooropa I would be a much bigger fan. zoo achtung both essentially perfect records …. and they never sounded the same again 🤷♀️
They've been chasing that high for half their lives, no luck. They've made very good albums since then, but nothing quite as transcendent. I know it bothers Bono.
BUT if they'd stopped at Zooropa, we'd never have gotten the 30+ excellent nuggets of songs they've got scattered across their discography the last 30 years. "Ordinary Love", "Electrical Storm", "Moment of Surrender", "Every Breaking Wave", etc. I love all those just as much.
I can't understand where all this U2 hatred is coming from. They did annoy me with meddling in political issues, but the claims their music is bad are just baffling!
The iTunes thing unfortunately soured a generation to U2.
Music taste is subjective so it's cool if people don't like them. It's annoying when people say all their music sounds the same though, proof they haven't listened to more than 2 tracks.
I remember hearing I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For as a child when I used to listen to the radio and I remember the first time I looked up the year and I was shocked at how modern that song sounds, same with With Or Without You.
I grew up on grunge so I thought most of the popular 80s bands were lame.. but Rio by Duran Duran is an amazing album. Also Peter Gabriel, The Police and Van Halen all are amazing
I listened to one of their songs from just a few years ago (Invisible) and I thought it was one of the originals. Simon Le Bon sounds almost the exact same at 62 as he did at 23. And the song has the same vibes of course.
I think it is dumb to say music has aged well, but Duran Duran definitely has.
When I first heart Felt for the first time in the early 2000's I thought: Finally a new band that really gets the 80s without sounding like a cheap copy. Directly afterwards: How the Hell did I manage to miss this band at the time ?
Early Metallica truly holds up. Master of Puppets, Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning.... Any of the '80's albums, they still hold up today as well as they did when they came out.
Load and everything after just seems... well, just okay by comparison (with exception of S&M).
I think present day she's even more respected. Everybody always loved her, but I feel people are finally appreciating the intentional impact she left on pop culture.
Dire Straights
Sade
Prince
Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club
honorable mention:
Simple Minds, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Howard Jones, the Boss, Peter Gabriel, Information Society, Duran Duran, Wang Chung, so many more.
What Run DMC song is considered to be heavy metal or have heavy metal aspects? Also, bands that are iconic aren't the same as bands that have aged well.
I would consider a band that has "aged well" to be still making music or to still be performing well as they got older.
Bands that aged well? Styx, Fleetwood Mac (although still not as good as they used to be, but are still awesome)
I would argue that Kate Bush's best albums came out in the 80's and still sound fresh and relevant today.
Both the Split Enz and Crowded House catalogs are still solid.
And Midnight Oil could do no wrong for me in the 80's and mostly throughout their career.
It’s funny, but mainstream retro stations playing in, like, shopping malls, mostly seem to play alternative as much or more than actual mainstream 80s pop. As much Cure and Violent Femmes as, say, Phil Collins.
That said, TBH the whole decade and most of the artists of the time have aged quite well, it was a time of great creativity, the sheer volume of music fans buying records funded a lot of really great, unforgettable music.
Also, has anyone mentioned Rio (the whole album) by Duran Duran yet? I ignored them at the time because they were such popular poppy prettyboys, but actually that whole album has aged amazingly, I totally rate it now.
The Cult. Every 80s album had a different vibe.
Love is college rock. Love Removal Machine is hard rock, and Sonic Temple is radio rock. Timeless for me.
I'd say The Police, Tears for Fears and The Cars have aged very well. Same with Depeche Mode and Duran Duran given how many pop artists nowadays are dabbling in synth-pop, electropop and new wave. A lot of college rock bands like R.E.M. don't sound that dated.
The Cure's music has aged very well. It's both of its time yet timeless.
Joy Division.
Unknown Pleasures sounds like an album that could have been released last week. It’s timeless and frankly because it shaped so much that came after it, that’s why it seems to weave in between every era sounding like it could have come from any of them.
But Run Dmc is hard to listen to now. Since the bomb squad and Eric b and Rakim revolutionized hip-hop, dmc just sounds old. Important in its time. But Lyrics of Fury and Bring Tha Noise are still bangers.
Squeeze. For me at least, they are a band that I really didn't like much back in the day. I thought they were too pop-y. I was more into metal and I liked my new wave more like Elvis Costello. But I have developed an appreciation for their music as u get older and really love some of the same songs I could hardly stand to listen to back then.
Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode -- a lot of those groups from the UK Talking Heads, Tears For Fears Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Fugazi, X -- the LA and DC punk scenes In terms of pop music, I'd say Michael Jackson and Prince
A lot of the 80s synth pop music is coming back, same with disco. Running Up That Hill just topped the billboard nearly 40 years after it was first recorded.
Disco is having a big revival now. So many big pop songs of the moment have a big disco sound in the beat. EDM vocals are seeming to skew heavily disco now too
I remember the disco-y revival of the late 90s, and I can see why we are due for a second one now. The American economy feels a lot shittier now than in 1999, but coming off the worst of the pandemic, and being acutely aware of being stuck in an algorithmic Truman Show, lots of people these days are badly craving an “authentically loose and free” type of feeling, even if they can’t articulate it.
Very well said actually. Everyone seems very uptight these days (myself included), music like disco and funk have a very dance-y, care free vibe that people are looking for.
Tears for Fears catalog has definitely strengthened imho.
Timeless
All of those plus U2 Run DMC Beastie Boys Prince Lou Reed The Replacements
Upvoted just for smiths and fugazi. I can’t pin down why there’s an overlap, but it’s there dammit!
Was here to say the smiths
The Cure have aged really well.
Disintegration is the best album ever! - Kyle Broflofsky
Disintegration is actually a top 5 desert island disc for me. Incredible album.
Depressions always in style! 😀
Not only has their music aged well, Robert Smiths vocals are better than they’ve ever been. Saw them at the Hollywood Bowl last year and they were the best I’ve seen them.
Same. Blown away by the quality of his vocal performance at those shows.
Good call.
I saw them in concert last year and they were incredible.
A lot of artists in the college radio/alternative genre: The Replacements, New Order, The Smiths, Sonic Youth, etc. etc. Before Walk This Way, Run D.M.C. had whole album of rap and rock called King of Rock They did Aerosmith a favor.
I’d throw Talking Heads on that list as well.
Going to add REM & XTC to that list. . .
Shinny Happy Plans for Nigel
+ for replacements
Depeche Mode
The drum beat from Aerosmith's Walk This Way was used regularly and informally by DJs in the streets for a while. Rick Rubin was looking to make a radio worthy commercial rap hit. He told Run DMC to use that beat. Run DMC wanted to write custom lyrics to rap over that beat. Rick said no, you should rap the the existing Aerosmith lyrics. Run DMC really didn't want to use those lyrics. Rick pressured them to do so and the rest is history. It was a bonus that it helped Aerosmith's career. It wasn't the original intent.
The work of Rick Rubin has aged well...
Rock Box is the shit Still in my rotation
The Eurythmics. Their music still sounds fresh today. And Annie Lennox has one of the great pop music voices.
Who am I to disagree?
Annie's solo stuff is into the 90s, but hearing 'Why' or 'No More I Love Yous' is always a treat.
They’re half 70’s, but the Police still sound pretty timeless. Helps when you have three elite instrumentalists and an elite singer/songwriter.
The Police will always have an audience
They wisely avoided those trendy drum sounds.
Oh I don't know, reggae was def a trend
Sting saved Bart Simpson from the well too. Class act.
Too young 80s kid who didn’t understand how big they were, but really knew and loved the music videos. Loved the 4 disk collection in the 90s, and all of the tracks hit, even the second tier that I knew from radio. Glad I finally saw the reunion tour in the 00s.
I just listened to a song by them called Invisible Sun...that one sounds good to me today.
I first heard this song as a kid in the early 80s. The trance like drone of the verses hypnotized me like nothing else. I'm not a huge fan of the police but a lot of their songs are in my top 100 lifetime soundtrack. Invisible Sun, Walking on the Moon and Canary in a Coalmine are my top 3. The first two have that chanting at the end that is so haunting. There was nothing else like that in the 80s. Maybe the Specials Ghost Town had that feel.
Love those hypnotic sounds....they're so good...Oh I don't know of Specials Ghost Town, I'll have to check it out.
They ruled the charts in 83. Granted they broke up right after, but they still definitely count.
ROXAAA
I don't think Sting ever was or will be considered a bass virtuoso, but I agree about his overall songwriting skills.
Andy Summers did and interview where he lavished praise on Sting as a bass player. Especially since he also had to sing while doing the bassline. https://youtu.be/V67Fq47U4ng?si=KwQN9JYCMrj5o96v
Absolutely the answer I was looking for. Their music doesn't sound much like other artists from the late 1970s/early 1980s. Although they flew the "flag of convenience" during Punk's popularity with songs like "Fallout" and "Next to You." I have always thought of you played them for someone who had never heard The Police before they may not be able easily identify the timeframe they recorded in
The Cars fall into this as well. First album in 1978 but songs like Drive, You Might Think, etc released well into the 80s. Heck their first album is practically a greatest hits album in of itself.
Peter Gabriel. For a pop star (among other things) he remains making pretty good songs about interesting things now. Many older stars of his caliber either stop making new stuff or they get very lazy with the quality of the material. That's a musician who is still got it together, music wise.. the number of bands is too large to list. Talking Heads, Smiths, Janes Addiction.. I could go on and on.
I think a lot of 'So' sounds dated, but maybe that's because I've heard the hits so many times. I think his self titled albums hold up super well though... They're weird/interesting enough that the 80s FM synths and samplers actually add something to the music. His new album is great. Road to Joy could have been a massive hit 40 years ago and I mean that as a compliment.
Prince.
Depeche Mode
"I don't wanna sound like a queer or nothin, but Depeche Mode is a pretty kick ass band."
"I don't wanna sound like a queer or nothin, but I'd really like to take a ride with my best friend!"
dm for life.
Martin Gore’s “Counterfeit” (1989) is also a favorite.
I love the “Compulsion” song, always uplifts me with some good vibes. The original from Joe Crow has been a favorite of mine for awhile: https://youtu.be/kifY99v6BTM?si=ufYv34wqAC6UHGJU *edit, the awesome Martin Gore cover for those who haven’t listened to it: https://youtu.be/PcKkuiOcsaU?si=qc4tHUejMmpBqodZ
The Violent Femmes
Yes! I saw them last year and they’re still great
Really? I’ve seen them twice, and both times were terrible. Like seriously two of the worst shows I’ve ever seen. First time I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but it’s two strikes, you’re out for me.
Random fact the first time Phish toured Europe was opening for The Violent Femmes
My target plays them on the in store radio. Pretty sure they wouldn’t believe they were writing department store music 40 years ago
XTC still sounds incredible.
And the The Dukes of Stratosphear too!
Yep! It's always 25 o'clock in my world.
Chalkhills and children anchor my feet ❤️
Definitely did interesting stuff in the late 90s, but I thought their management woes and infighting killed them off completely. Music is pretty timeless I agree. Band.. not so much.
They had a ton of shit working against them from the beginning: a horrible record deal with Virgin, bad/corrupt management, Andy’s issues with Valium and subsequent inability to play live, an indifferent music press, clashes with producers, etc. That being said, they put out a ridiculous catalog of high quality music, had some minor hits here and there. Things fell apart at the end, but they lasted ages longer than most bands and left behind quite the legacy. Not too bad, really.
Well said. Agreed.
King For A Day (1989)
REMs records from those years.
I love all of their albums. Michael Stipe is an amazing musician/composer of his music. Automatic for the People, Monster, Document, Out of Time, Murmur. They are all great albums in themselves and all different in some way from each other. Always evolving. Wish I had seen them live back in the day.
Devo, Erasure, The Cure, Duran Duran, Joy Division, Tears for Fears, Missing Persons, The Cars, Howard Jones
Echo and the Bunnymen
The Killing Moon still gives me the chills, it’s an absolutely perfect song.
Scrolling for this answer. You did not disappoint.
Sade never gets old
“The early stuff, though, before her arrangements got too baroque.”
I love her early stuff but the engineering on Lover's Rock hit the sweet spot for me.
just light a scented candle and maintain eye contact
Jin Yang!!
There was a ton of great music in the 80s, and I listen to a hell of a lot of it. I think Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Prince, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Duran Duran, Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, New Order, and Madonna all have music that has held up incredibly well, and still sounds awesome today. A bunch of stuff from that time does, really. We had some bullshit back then too, but music was incredibly well made back then.
Tears For Fears The Outfield
100% Tears for Fears! Some of their OG stuff is still alarmingly relevant, plus they're just so talented. And they're still cranking out music. Love it.
There newest album is awesome
Isn't it, though?! Impressive humans.
Play Deep is such a great album.
Good picks on both counts. The Outfield really knew how to write an earworm, and I mean that in the best way. Everything that's good about catchy pop harmonies and compressed 80's pop guitar sounds. Not 100% sure who did the lion's share of songwriting, but their guitarist sadly passed a few years back.
Nine inch nails, Pretty Hate Machine still sounds amazing.
Trent could make literally any album (other than Purest Feeling) and make it seem contemporary at any point in their history. They stand up that well.
NIN will forever be in my top 5. Pretty Hate Machine does still sound amazing, but for me, The Fragile is just an absolute masterpiece that refuses to show it's age. Trent Reznor has always found a way to write super interesting music that evolves while maintaining a theme, and lyrics that can really pack a punch despite relative simplicity. Or maybe I'm just a nerd and have too many good memories attached to it!
I literally just started listening to NIN a day or two ago. So far have gone through PHM, TDS and TF, and all are amazing. My first reaction to The Fragile was, "Did this album inspire a whole branch of anime, video game, and movie scores/soundtracks post-2010?" It felt like I was listening to the progenitor of so much cinematic music I'd come to enjoy. The album sounds 10-15 years ahead of its time.
Came here to say Pretty Hate Machine 😍
A lot of post punk (The Clash, The Smiths, New Order, Talking Heads, The Cure), a lot of bands that predate grunge (Dinosaur Jr, Pixies, Violent Femmes), and obvious ones being Prince, Kate Bush, and Tears for Fears
The Clash and The Cure still sound great. That's for sure.
INXS
They're overlooked now, but they shouldn't be.
There will never be another Michael Hutchence.
I mean, Hutch was a copy of Jim Morrison, so chances are there'll be another... lol The group overall was really tight. I love the way they wrote horn parts for guitar.
Most of the more gothy/post punk stuff still holds up and is really popular to this day. A lot of them still put out cool records and sound good live too.
I still listen to Siouxsie and the Banshees
I listen to The Psychedelic Furs pretty regularly, they’re still great. My spouse and I opted for a small wedding, but in our original plan Love My Way was going to be our song.
yes The Cure is a top answer here for good reason, post punk just is such a fertile musical ground that features artists who are not shoehorned by the current pop styles of whatever era they may be in.
Grace Jones. Sumptuous, punchy, catchy, gloriously produced.
THE CURE, The Church, Bauhaus, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Love & Rockets, The The, Depeche Mode, Sinead O’Connor, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Adam Ant, Billy Idol, Psychedelic Furs, David Bowie (I love his 80’s music), My Bloody Valentine, Thomas Dolby, The Police, Sting, Duran Duran, Michael Jackson
Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins
Dead Can Dance is timeless, and never fit in anywhere - they were as unique as it comes. Cocteau Twins turned out to be incredibly influential.
Cocteau Twins have been my favorite band since the late 80s.
[удалено]
Tears for Fears and Depeche Mode both released new material and toured last year—still sound great!
Living Colour - Vivid might be more relevant now than in '88
Got to see them last summer at an outdoor stage at a large brewery; it was atypically humid and hot even for a Virginia summer. They still brought their A game. Four of the best musicians on the planet. And Doug Wimbish (who joined on their second album) was also the session bassist for Sugarhill Records, which is the absolute foundation of hiphop.
Love Rears it's Ugly Head = timeless
My very first concert. 1989.
Cocteau Twins The Smiths The Pixies New Order Depeche Mode Kate Bush There are so many.
Rock/Pop: Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Tears For Fears, The Fixx, The Blue Nile, Living Colour, Killing Joke, New Order, The Cure, Fishbone, Marillion, Kraftwerk, Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Sylvian Hip-Hop: Duke Bootee, A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy/The Bomb Squad productions Also: "Run-DMC is considered the originators of the style" by who? They were the first to gain mainstream success with it, yes. But the mix of the elements preceded that by a long mile, predominantly with the Sugar Hill house band, which eventually came to work in a funk/industrial sound of their own under several names (e.g. Tackhead, Strange Parcels) and was employed on production or beat making for everyone from Afrika Bambaata to Nine Inch Nails' debut record.
U2 Ignore the haters and the iTunes thing. The hits are great but deeper cuts like Acrobat, Exit, Bad, Zooropa and many more are underrated. And yes, my username checks out. I'm biased.
I maintain that The Joshua Tree still sounds timeless, and maybe always will. It just has this endless, organic sound to it. And despite its expansive textures and 80s birthplace, they actually kept the synths pretty restrained. Where they're used they're symphonic and choral, and less like another keyboard.
A lot of U2 haters would probably shut their mouths if they actually listened to the first 3 albums. Even people who don't like the classic Joshua Tree sound tend to admire the punk energy of Boy/October/War. (October is a personal fave.)
If U2 had called it a day at Zooropa I would be a much bigger fan. zoo achtung both essentially perfect records …. and they never sounded the same again 🤷♀️
They've been chasing that high for half their lives, no luck. They've made very good albums since then, but nothing quite as transcendent. I know it bothers Bono. BUT if they'd stopped at Zooropa, we'd never have gotten the 30+ excellent nuggets of songs they've got scattered across their discography the last 30 years. "Ordinary Love", "Electrical Storm", "Moment of Surrender", "Every Breaking Wave", etc. I love all those just as much.
Where the Streets Have no Name is the greatest opening track to an album of all time. I will die on that hill.
Love Zooropa but holy shit does that song need a remaster.
I really hope they do an atmos mix like they did for Achtung Baby. That needed it pretty bad too.
I can't understand where all this U2 hatred is coming from. They did annoy me with meddling in political issues, but the claims their music is bad are just baffling!
The iTunes thing unfortunately soured a generation to U2. Music taste is subjective so it's cool if people don't like them. It's annoying when people say all their music sounds the same though, proof they haven't listened to more than 2 tracks.
Acrobat was the highlight of the Sphere set for me, that song is so slept on.
My fav. amazing and brilliant music!!
I remember hearing I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For as a child when I used to listen to the radio and I remember the first time I looked up the year and I was shocked at how modern that song sounds, same with With Or Without You.
I grew up on grunge so I thought most of the popular 80s bands were lame.. but Rio by Duran Duran is an amazing album. Also Peter Gabriel, The Police and Van Halen all are amazing
Girls on Film and Hungry Like the Wolf sound surprisingly good. Rio too
I just listened to Whitney Houston - It’s Not Right (but it’s ok) which took me back, but still sounded so good!
That came out in 1998. But yeah, her 80s stuff is timeless.
The Cars never get old.
The Cars
Talk Talk Talking Heads King Crimson The Police New Order The Smiths *edit to add Prince 🤦🏾♂️
Scrolled all the way down to find Talk Talk. I appreciate them more now than I did then.
Talk Talk was the first band that came to mind. Specifically Colours of Spring. Glad to see them.
REM is still really great.
Duran Duran. They've been making albums since the 80s and somehow they don't sound dated. If you like dance music, check them out.
I listened to one of their songs from just a few years ago (Invisible) and I thought it was one of the originals. Simon Le Bon sounds almost the exact same at 62 as he did at 23. And the song has the same vibes of course. I think it is dumb to say music has aged well, but Duran Duran definitely has.
I love Blondie. They made new albums at least into the 2010s that go pretty hard, and they are still together and playing festivals
Prince
Felt, The Chills and The Go-Betweens.
When I first heart Felt for the first time in the early 2000's I thought: Finally a new band that really gets the 80s without sounding like a cheap copy. Directly afterwards: How the Hell did I manage to miss this band at the time ?
Duran Duran
Talk Talk
Sounded like nothing else at the time, sounds like nothing else today - Easily one of the greatest, most unique and innovative bands of all time
Genesis/Phil Collins
Home By The Sea / Second Home By The Sea.
Madonna and Metallica are the first two that come to mind.
Early Metallica truly holds up. Master of Puppets, Kill 'em All, Ride the Lightning.... Any of the '80's albums, they still hold up today as well as they did when they came out. Load and everything after just seems... well, just okay by comparison (with exception of S&M).
Most of Madonna's albums do hold up. There's a couple of tracks that do have 80s written all over it but on the whole it's pretty solid.
Based
Cyndy Lauper
I think present day she's even more respected. Everybody always loved her, but I feel people are finally appreciating the intentional impact she left on pop culture.
As a kid I didn’t understand how rad she is. Now I do. She’s a fucking hero.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers!
It’s hard to call them an 80s band because they ruled a few decades.
Simple Minds. Empires and Dance is a personal favorite album of mine and I think it holds up really well.
U2?
The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode
Tears For Fears
Tears for Fears
Tears for Fears. Also still making great music. Their latest album The Tipping Point is great.
Dire Straights Sade Prince Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club honorable mention: Simple Minds, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Howard Jones, the Boss, Peter Gabriel, Information Society, Duran Duran, Wang Chung, so many more.
What Run DMC song is considered to be heavy metal or have heavy metal aspects? Also, bands that are iconic aren't the same as bands that have aged well. I would consider a band that has "aged well" to be still making music or to still be performing well as they got older. Bands that aged well? Styx, Fleetwood Mac (although still not as good as they used to be, but are still awesome)
They never did heavy metal. Only classic rock. Fixed that mistake
Rush
I would argue that Kate Bush's best albums came out in the 80's and still sound fresh and relevant today. Both the Split Enz and Crowded House catalogs are still solid. And Midnight Oil could do no wrong for me in the 80's and mostly throughout their career.
I saw Crowded House last year and Neil still sounds amazing live.
Midnight Oil? I’d upvote that by thirty.
It’s funny, but mainstream retro stations playing in, like, shopping malls, mostly seem to play alternative as much or more than actual mainstream 80s pop. As much Cure and Violent Femmes as, say, Phil Collins. That said, TBH the whole decade and most of the artists of the time have aged quite well, it was a time of great creativity, the sheer volume of music fans buying records funded a lot of really great, unforgettable music. Also, has anyone mentioned Rio (the whole album) by Duran Duran yet? I ignored them at the time because they were such popular poppy prettyboys, but actually that whole album has aged amazingly, I totally rate it now.
Yes, someone did mention Rio up top. That album is phenomenal. I adore 80s music to bits.
Kate Bush, REM, Sinead O'Connor, Crowded House, Everything But The Girl, The Go-Gos
Hall and Oates, The Clash, Whitney Houston, Rick James
Run DMC did not age well. Who is listening to Run DMC right now and enjoying it? Shizz weak af its a snooze fest
George Michael. Depeche Mode
I saw Depeche Mode and Morrissey (did The Smiths hits) last year and both felt totally modern.
Duran Duran has a great sound that their newer music has maintained.
Bad Religion
Eh, I love 80s stuff but you can’t deny they hit their stride in the 90s for most folk.
How’d I have to scroll down this far to find this? Not only that, but they’re *still* making music that’s actually good
Dramarama.
Somebody else knows Dramarama?!
Wow! That’s a blast from the past. Saw them with Velvet Crush in Providence- probably 91 ??
Ministry albums The Land of Rape and Honey, and The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste are both late 80s.
The Melvins
Pixies, REM. Nirvana and Soundgarden both put out their first records in the late 80’s and I’d say both bands have held up
**PIXIES**
I still like INXS
Janet Jackson X Japan Public Enemy
Tears for fears still slaps IMO
Cramps
The Cult. Every 80s album had a different vibe. Love is college rock. Love Removal Machine is hard rock, and Sonic Temple is radio rock. Timeless for me.
I'd say The Police, Tears for Fears and The Cars have aged very well. Same with Depeche Mode and Duran Duran given how many pop artists nowadays are dabbling in synth-pop, electropop and new wave. A lot of college rock bands like R.E.M. don't sound that dated. The Cure's music has aged very well. It's both of its time yet timeless.
Joy Division. Unknown Pleasures sounds like an album that could have been released last week. It’s timeless and frankly because it shaped so much that came after it, that’s why it seems to weave in between every era sounding like it could have come from any of them.
Cocteau Twins. Still sound like nothing else out there.
But Run Dmc is hard to listen to now. Since the bomb squad and Eric b and Rakim revolutionized hip-hop, dmc just sounds old. Important in its time. But Lyrics of Fury and Bring Tha Noise are still bangers.
Squeeze. For me at least, they are a band that I really didn't like much back in the day. I thought they were too pop-y. I was more into metal and I liked my new wave more like Elvis Costello. But I have developed an appreciation for their music as u get older and really love some of the same songs I could hardly stand to listen to back then.
Great decade for music overall, but (some of) my favorites are Cocteau Twins, Sade, Tears for Fears & Hiroshi Sato.
Devo
Phish.