You are aware that pop music peaked in the early 80's to 1984, right?
Yeah, okay grandpa.
You are aware that pop music peaked in the early 80's to 1984, right?
You simply won't find a better era of pop music than the 80's.
I hate stuff like this. This notion that things were better back whenever is just false. With each generation of music there is a ton of bad and then some good that bubbles up to the top. The current generation of pop music is no different.
The crazy part is that it was more or less a consistent thing. EVERY year was like this. We can't sleep on the 90s either- This was 1990.
1 "Hold On"Wilson Phillips
2 "It Must Have Been Love"Roxette
3 "Nothing Compares 2 U"Sinéad O'Connor
4 "Poison"Bell Biv DeVoe
5 "Vogue"Madonna
6 "Vision of Love"Mariah Carey
7 "Another Day in Paradise"Phil Collins
8 "Hold On"En Vogue
9 "Cradle of Love"Billy Idol
10 "Blaze of Glory"Jon Bon Jovi
11 "Do Me!"Bell Biv DeVoe
12 "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"Michael Bolton
13 "Pump Up the Jam"Technotronic
14 "Opposites Attract"Paula Abdul and The Wild Pair
15 "Escapade"Janet Jackson
16 "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You"Heart
17 "Close to You"Maxi Priest
18 "Black Velvet"Alannah Myles
19 "Release Me"Wilson Phillips
20 "Don't Know Much"Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville
21 "All Around the World"Lisa Stansfield
22 "I Wanna Be Rich"Calloway
23 "Rub You the Right Way"Johnny Gill
24 "She Ain't Worth It"Glenn Medeiros and Bobby Brown
25 "If Wishes Came True"Sweet Sensation
26 "The Power"Snap!
27 "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection"Nelson
28 "Love Will Lead You Back"Taylor Dayne
29 "Don't Wanna Fall in Love"Jane Child
30 "Two to Make It Right"Seduction
31 "Sending All My Love"Linear
32 "Unskinny Bop"Poison
33 "Step by Step"New Kids on the Block
34 "Dangerous"Roxette
35 "We Didn't Start the Fire"Billy Joel
36 "I Don't Have the Heart"James Ingram
37 "Downtown Train"Rod Stewart
38 "Rhythm Nation"Janet Jackson
39 "I'll Be Your Everything"Tommy Page
40 "Roam"The B-52s
41 "Everything"Jody Watley
42 "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)"Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler
43 "Here and Now"Luther Vandross
44 "Alright"Janet Jackson
45 "Ice Ice Baby"Vanilla Ice
46 "Blame It on the Rain"Milli Vanilli
47 "Have You Seen Her"MC Hammer
48 "With Every Beat of My Heart"Taylor Dayne
49 "Come Back to Me"Janet Jackson
50 "No More Lies"Michel'le
51 "Praying for Time"George Michael
52 "How Can We Be Lovers"Michael Bolton
53 "Do You Remember"Phil Collins
54 "Ready or Not"After 7
55 "U Can't Touch This"MC Hammer
56 "I Wish It Would Rain Down"Phil Collins
57 "Just Between You and Me"Lou Gramm
58 "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven"Phil Collins
59 "Black Cat"Janet Jackson
60 "Can't Stop"After 7
61 "Janie's Got a Gun"Aerosmith
62 "The Humpty Dance"Digital Underground
63 "I'll Be Your Shelter"Taylor Dayne
64 "Free Fallin'"Tom Petty
Outside of the talent of the artists involved- look at how varied that list is. Michael Bolton. Tom Petty. Digital Underground. MC Hammer. Rod Stewart. The B-52s. Billy Joel. Sinead O'Connor. Poison. Wilson Phillips. Johnny Gill. Aerosmith. Mariah Carey. Luther Vandross.
That list hits basically every demographic from 8 to 80. Everyone was buying it. People don't understand how badly consolidation fucked over the kinds of music that got mainstream airplay. The 2010 list in comparison is super, SUPER narrow. If you're over 30, you're tuning that out.
You can't be serious. Eurodance was trash and everyone knows it.
For example, take something like Post Malone. He's the poster child of shallow and disposable pop music for a generation with non-existent attention spans. The use of hypnotic loops and catchy phrases uttered over and over again. The truth is that I Started a Joke by the Bee Gees demonstrates how they pioneered a lot of the techniques that shape modern pop all the way back in the 60s. But... notice how his voice cracks? Notice how he sings like a normal human being over the instruments?
Way back in the way, there wasn't a huge difference between a live performance and a studio recording. The other artists you mention such as Adele and Sam Smith are good vocalists who hold up well live. But they're cogs in a pop machine that has turned the human voice into this auto-tuned instrument that is digitally layered into the musical equivalent of soft serve ice cream. And that right there, when you think about it, is the biggest problem with modern pop. There used to be a jagged edge. There used to be chewy bits. There used to be strange flavours. There used to be genuinely ugly pop stars. But pop music has become stunningly homogenized, and cynically massaged into something that's sweet and easy to eat with a spoon. The way we consume music has changed, too. We burn out on songs way faster. We move onto the next thing. Hoping for that next high.
I hate stuff like this. This notion that things were better back whenever is just false. With each generation of music there is a ton of bad and then some good that bubbles up to the top. The current generation of pop music is no different.
The difference between then and now is that now there is even more diversity in music today but you dont have to rely on radio to find it so those who like certain genres never have to interact with radio. You had to actually listen to radio back then to find anything now the only people who touch radio are old people who are stuck in their ways. There's alot of popular music that never gets on radio but since record companies still want to pretend like they have any real control you'll never hear it unless you go online. Back in the day when DJs still controlled things you might have found alot of it on radio. If you wanna see what radio back then would have looked like with todays music look at official spotify playlists. Spotify playlists have weird experimental music mixed with pop music unlike radio now does.Nah, it's quite different today.
Yup, exactly. There was way more musical diversity in the charts back then - you'd have pop, metal, folk, soundtracks, reggae, instrumentals, country, adult contemporary, r&b, blues, new wave, etc. all sitting side-by-side in the charts. When we say "pop music" today it's a very particular dance/diva sound people think of and the charts reflect that today. Back then if you said you were a "pop" fan it rally could mean anything.
Yes. I'm glad his finally getting an audience even if his still a niche artist. His been on the road for 3 Years straightThis is your cousin? I've been listening to his album over the past few weeks and it's simply amazing!
The difference between then and now is that now there is even more diversity in music today but you dont have to rely on radio to find it so those who like certain genres never have to interact with radio. You had to actually listen to radio back then to find anything now the only people who touch radio are old people who are stuck in their ways. There's alot of popular music that never gets on radio but since record companies still want to pretend like they have any real control you'll never hear it unless you go online. Back in the day when DJs still controlled things you might have found alot of it on radio. If you wanna see what radio back then would have looked like with todays music look at official spotify playlists. Spotify playlists have weird experimental music mixed with pop music unlike radio now does.
Your welcome 🙂 SharE share share
The difference between then and now is that now there is even more diversity in music today but you dont have to rely on radio to find it
so those who like certain genres never have to interact with radio. You had to actually listen to radio back then to find anything now the only people who touch radio are old people who are stuck in their ways.
The difference between then and now is that now there is even more diversity in music today but you dont have to rely on radio to find it so those who like certain genres never have to interact with radio. You had to actually listen to radio back then to find anything now the only people who touch radio are old people who are stuck in their ways. There's alot of popular music that never gets on radio but since record companies still want to pretend like they have any real control you'll never hear it unless you go online. Back in the day when DJs still controlled things you might have found alot of it on radio. If you wanna see what radio back then would have looked like with todays music look at official spotify playlists. Spotify playlists have weird experimental music mixed with pop music unlike radio now does.
I don't know, I was a teenager in the 80s and those who were really into music hunted for records in the store and did not rely on radio. There was still a lot of anti-radio/MTV sentiment back then as well, with plenty of talented artists that were shunned by airplay. "Hunting" for your musical preference was still very much a thing back then. This idea that older folks had radio serve them up their tastes is a bit misleading.
I don't know, I was a teenager in the 80s and those who were really into music hunted for records in the store and did not rely on radio. There was still a lot of anti-radio/MTV sentiment back then as well, with plenty of talented artists that were shunned by airplay. "Hunting" for your musical preference was still very much a thing back then. This idea that older folks had radio serve them up their tastes is a bit misleading.
It may be shocking to find out, but record stores would routinely actually play stuff if you bothered to ask them to hear something, and give recommendations based on what you said you liked.
I told a guy once I was looking for Metallica and he whipped out bootleg versions of Garage Days from behind the counter that were completely out of print and damned near impossible to find in 1995.
Both true of course.Yup, blind purchasing was definitely a thing. There was a fantastic element of mystery and anticipation.
Yup, blind purchasing was definitely a thing. There was a fantastic element of mystery and anticipation.
You should be aware that I wasn't even born at that point before you throw out that defensive insult.
Yup. not even a debate. This is the top 60 from 1985:
1 "Careless Whisper"Wham!
2 "Like a Virgin"Madonna
3 "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"Wham!
4 "I Want to Know What Love Is"Foreigner
5 "I Feel for You"Chaka Khan
6 "Out of Touch"Hall & Oates
7 "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"Tears for Fears
8 "Money for Nothing"Dire Straits
9 "Crazy for You"Madonna
10 "Take on Me"a-ha
11 "Everytime You Go Away"Paul Young
12 "Easy Lover"Philip Bailey and Phil Collins
13 "Can't Fight This Feeling"REO Speedwagon
14 "We Built This City"Starship
15 "The Power of Love"Huey Lewis and the News
16 "Don't You (Forget About Me)"Simple Minds
17 "Cherish"Kool & the Gang
18 "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)"John Parr
19 "The Heat Is On"Glenn Frey
20 "We Are the World"USA for Africa
21 "Shout"Tears for Fears
22 "Part-Time Lover"Stevie Wonder
23 "Saving All My Love For You"Whitney Houston
24 "Heaven"Bryan Adams
25 "Everything She Wants"Wham!
26 "Cool It Now"New Edition
27 "Miami Vice Theme"Jan Hammer
28 "Loverboy"Billy Ocean
29 "Lovergirl"Teena Marie
30 "You Belong to the City"Glenn Frey
31 "Oh Sheila"Ready for the World
32 "Rhythm of the Night"DeBarge
33 "One More Night"Phil Collins
34 "Sea of Love"The Honeydrippers
35 "A View to a Kill"Duran Duran
36 "The Wild Boys"Duran Duran
37 "You're the Inspiration"Chicago
38 "Neutron Dance"The Pointer Sisters
39 "We Belong"Pat Benatar
40 "Nightshift"Commodores
41 "Things Can Only Get Better"Howard Jones
42 "All I Need"Jack Wagner
43 "Freeway of Love"Aretha Franklin
44 "Never Surrender"Corey Hart
45 "Sussudio"Phil Collins
46 "Strut"Sheena Easton
47 "You Give Good Love"Whitney Houston
48 "The Search Is Over"Survivor
49 "Missing You"Diana Ross
50 "Separate Lives"Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
51 "Raspberry Beret"Prince and The Revolution
52 "Suddenly"Billy Ocean
53 "The Boys of Summer"Don Henley
54 "One Night in Bangkok"Murray Head
55 "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"Sting
56 "Obsession"Animotion
57 "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)"Tina Turner
58 "Material Girl"Madonna
59 "Better Be Good to Me"Tina Turner
60 "Head over Heels"Tears for Fears
This was 2010:
1 "Tik Tok"Kesha
2 "Need You Now"Lady Antebellum
3 "Hey, Soul Sister"Train
4 "California Gurls"Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg
5 "OMG"Usher featuring will.i.am
6 "Airplanes"B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams
7 "Love the Way You Lie"Eminem featuring Rihanna
8 "Bad Romance"Lady Gaga
9 "Dynamite"Taio Cruz
10 "Break Your Heart"Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris
11 "Nothin' on You"B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars
12 "I Like It"Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull
13 "BedRock"Young Money featuring Lloyd
14 "In My Head"Jason Derulo
15 "Rude Boy"Rihanna
16 "Telephone"Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé
17 "Teenage Dream"Katy Perry
18 "Just the Way You Are"Bruno Mars
19 "Cooler Than Me"Mike Posner
20 "Imma Be"The Black Eyed Peas
21 "Empire State of Mind"Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys
22 "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love"Usher featuring Pitbull
23 "Billionaire"Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars
24 "Not Afraid"Eminem
25 "Replay"Iyaz
26 "Sexy Bitch"David Guetta featuring Akon
27 "Breakeven"The Script
28 "Your Love Is My Drug"Kesha
29 "I Gotta Feeling"The Black Eyed Peas
30 "Fireflies"Owl City
31 "Say Aah"Trey Songz featuring Fabolous
32 "Find Your Love"Drake
33 "Alejandro"Lady Gaga
34 "Ridin' Solo"Jason Derulo
35 "Just a Dream"Nelly
36 "How Low"Ludacris
37 "Like a G6"Far East Movement featuring The Cataracs and Dev
38 "Carry Out"Timbaland featuring Justin Timberlake
39 "Haven't Met You Yet"Michael Bublé
40 "Club Can't Handle Me"Flo Rida featuring David Guetta
41 "Down"Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne
42 "Bulletproof"La Roux
43 "Whatcha Say"Jason Derulo
44 "Baby"Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris
45 "Whataya Want from Me"Adam Lambert
46 "Mine"Taylor Swift
47 "Only Girl (In the World)"Rihanna
48 "Live Like We're Dying"Kris Allen
49 "Hard"Rihanna featuring Jeezy
50 "Young Forever"Jay-Z featuring Mr Hudson
51 "Blah Blah Blah"Kesha featuring 3OH!3
52 "Bottoms Up"Trey Songz featuring Nicki Minaj
53 "Do You Remember"Jay Sean featuring Sean Paul and Lil Jon
54 "All the Right Moves"OneRepublic
55 "According to You"Orianthi
56 "My Chick Bad"Ludacris featuring Nicki Minaj
57 "You Belong with Me"Taylor Swift
58 "Meet Me Halfway"The Black Eyed Peas
9 "Take It Off"Kesha
60 "Over"Drake
The quality drop is a very, very real thing. And you could do this for almost every decade in the 2000s.
edit: #29 is a personal favorite. I mean...holy shit. There's nobody out there like this anymore.
For sure, but at least it always taught you something and helped build your musical vocabulary in establishing what you do or don't like.Getting burned on CDs with exactly ONE good song is absolutely, positively not something i will miss. Especially when CDs were still $20+ due to price fixing.
The problem with the backlash sentiment is that it's a blanket statement too. You might be offended by the notion that popular musicians, on average, had more vocal talent in the 80's than what was popular in the 2000's.I hate stuff like this. This notion that things were better back whenever is just false. With each generation of music there is a ton of bad and then some good that bubbles up to the top. The current generation of pop music is no different.
This I can relate to.Getting burned on CDs with exactly ONE good song is absolutely, positively not something i will miss. Especially when CDs were still $20+ due to price fixing.
The last 2 definitely can't sing well.
Getting burned on CDs with exactly ONE good song is absolutely, positively not something i will miss. Especially when CDs were still $20+ due to price fixing.
The problem with the backlash sentiment is that it's a blanket statement too. You might be offended by the notion that popular musicians, on average, had more vocal talent in the 80's than what was popular in the 2000's.
However, if you paint it with the "the notion that things were better back whenever is just false" and "the current generation of pop music is no different" brush, you've basically both-sides'd the situation and dismissed everything with no evidence whatsoever.
Multiple people have been posting concrete examples in the thread of top-60 lists, people who weren't traditionally attractive yet were very vocally talented, the change in production, the change in media ownership, and so forth, contrasted to your claim that there's no difference.
The American media and popular landscape alone has MASSIVELY changed from 1980 to today, almost 40 years later. Technology has massively changed. Media and smartphones and the internet and everything else has massively changed. Are you truly suggesting that despite enormous upheaval over 4 decades, this ONE THING hasn't changed at all for some reason and remains the same over time? I'd say it is ludicrous to suggest that every generation is the same on average about almost anything. The world changes.
No. I think the problem is your not listening to the right people. Here is a song from my cousin j. S ondara.
Isn't that what's popular on the radio now? I basically hear Post Malone-ish stuff when I do listen to pop radio.Radio is less relevant now. Thank god, I'd much rather be drowning in wavy trap and angular guitars then 80's pop cheese
Third Stage was an awesome album. My favorite was Can'tcha Say (Still in Love)
Read the thread. Tons of examples.Oh another one of these old people threads.
We're getting dangerously close to someone saying "rap is crap," aren't we? I know some of y'all are thinking it but you know you can't say it.
Oh another one of these old people threads.
We're getting dangerously close to someone saying "rap is crap," aren't we? I know some of y'all are thinking it but you know you can't say it.
Third Stage was an awesome album. My favorite was Can'tcha Say (Still in Love)
I fondly remember listening to the whole album on repeat as I was drawing for this space opera anime (Macross/Robotech-esque) comic me and my friends were making in middle school. A lot of that 80s (and 70s) powerful music really got those creative juices flowing for me! Damn, good times!
Isn't that what's popular on the radio now? I basically hear Post Malone-ish stuff when I do listen to pop radio.
I read a theory years ago that pop culture is basically like xeroxing a xerox. And how each time you make a copy of a copy the quality gets a little worse.
80's artists grew up on power vocals of the 60's and 70's. And those men/women had grown up singing in choirs and jazz/blues clubs.
Multiple generations later you have artists who grew up listening to Britney Spears. Of course there are other factors and people who break the mold, but it seems plausible to me.
Oh another one of these old people threads.
We're getting dangerously close to someone saying "rap is crap," aren't we? I know some of y'all are thinking it but you know you can't say it.