Hits and Misses in the 80s. Pt 1. Music

The 80s was a strange decade. Talking about it with some friends recently we came to the uniform conclusion that while not all great, it was certainly the most different, the one that stood out from the lump of decades that blended pretty seamlessly into one another.
For one thing there was the music, in my mind a miss. While it had its moments, and a good few musical milestones, what was popular is really the most thorough way to judge it.
It seemed to be an era of musical meaninglessness. Disco was in, and music as a personal expression was out. It was a time for fun, and that has its merits, and every cheesy bubblegum disco tune has its moment in time and memory to the people who were there, but to me what came out feels soulless.



This woman has no soul.

Hair metal was the quintessential superficial music. Each song meant exactly nothing, well not nothing all the time but a good majority of the time. Songs about shooting coke and crashing cars were the standards, and the image was for sale- having said that, I am a self-confessed hair metal maniac.


also, these guys...

Granted there was some exceptions, notably ‘London Calling’ and a lot of the Cures stuff, but for the most part, the things people recall when they recall the 80s is the bullshit.
Not to say it can’t be fun, but it just seemed plastic.


Genius.
Next up: 80s Movies.