Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1984 - (page 198)

The question is is there any other out and out genres of music left to cover after Hip Hop or are they just sub genres?
You could talk about electronics but we are talking about mid 70s there.
No. You are correct, everything had been done by the 1970s and anything "new" was just a variation of that, sometimes with weird hair.
 
No. You are correct, everything had been done by the 1970s and anything "new" was just a variation of that, sometimes with weird hair.

Once the 70s was consigned to the dustbin, and the straitjacket of four of five piece guitar based bands knocking out either misogynistic nonsense or tolkienesque drivel was discarded, music got much more creative and interesting.
 
Indie.

Genre on it's own or a sub division of rock?
Probably the latter. This how the lines get blurred.
I used to think Indie was very much a UK thing but I was listening to Hatful Of Hollow and the song These Things Take It and was amazed how much it sounded like Murmur era REM especially the guitar. Maybe Buck was the original indie guitar hero not Johnny.

What's your taken on this Bob?
 
Once the 70s was consigned to the dustbin, and the straitjacket of four of five piece guitar based bands knocking out either misogynistic nonsense or tolkienesque drivel was discarded, music got much more creative and interesting.
Some would disagree with that.

Misogyny aside, you could argue that by and large the music was better in the 70s, and the 80s just allowed a load of lightweights through the door.

I mean, I'd take Tolkienesque drivel over atonal vocals and cheap Casios any day.
 
Some would disagree with that.

Misogyny aside, you could argue that by and large the music was better in the 70s, and the 80s just allowed a load of lightweights through the door.

I mean, I'd take Tolkienesque drivel over atonal vocals and cheap Casios any day.

I just assumed with your post it was fishing friday so I thought I'd bite :-)

Though I notice I've managed to get my foot in the door with the misogyny bit so maybe I should keep pushing and before we know it I'll have you in an androgynous outfit in front of a Casio (we really shouldn't knock them all, the CZs used some very clever ideas developed with Tomita to make them affordable). We can put stickers on the keys too if that helps
;-)
 
I’m a 70’s as any remotely observant reader of these music threads would know but I do have a great fondness for the 80’s, part of which is probably nostalgia. After that, not so impressed although I did buy a fair number of 90’s releases I think at the time (I’ll have a better view on that when we get there).

Rolling Stone just published a 250 best songs of the current century and I don’t even recognise the names of many artists and only know a small number of the tracks included well. Part of it is me getting old and it is hard to untangle that and I imagine that most people tend to love the music they grew up with the most or are strongly influenced by that in terms of their musical taste, but I believe it is more than that.

Anyhoo, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
 
I have no picks left but a 1982 playlist about the evolution of rock must in my humble option have a tune from Thriller, Michael Jackson. I am not a fan, guy was nuts and a nonce, but this is the best selling record of all time. We have to acknowledge that. Can somebody please nominate something?
 
I’m a 70’s as any remotely observant reader of these music threads would know but I do have a great fondness for the 80’s, part of which is probably nostalgia. After that, not so impressed although I did buy a fair number of 90’s releases I think at the time (I’ll have a better view on that when we get there).

Rolling Stone just published a 250 best songs of the current century and I don’t even recognise the names of many artists and only know a small number of the tracks included well. Part of it is me getting old and it is hard to untangle that and I imagine that most people tend to love the music they grew up with the most or are strongly influenced by that in terms of their musical taste, but I believe it is more than that.

Anyhoo, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Just had a look at that RS playlist, very them. The #1 is interesting will have to read the basis for it. But as you say let's not get ahead of ourselves.
 
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I have no picks left but a 1982 playlist about the evolution of rock must in my humble option have a tune from Thriller, Michael Jackson. I am not a fan, guy was nuts and a nonce, but this is the best selling record of all time. We have to acknowledge that. Can somebody please nominate something?

You're absolutely right, albeit I'm not using my last pick on him. Notwithstanding the artist himself and beyond the commercial success there is some artistic merit there and I remember reading something about the meticulous process they went through to create some of the sound of it. Where it sounds on first listen that you're hearing a single chord stab in reality it's actually made up of in some cases 15 separate tracks layered together each with a tiny role to play until it got the exact 'shimmer' or whatever feel Jones was wanting to achieve. Think there was a video on YT showing how what sounds like a single sound on Billie Jean is actually half a dozen tracks combined and the impact that has on the sound. Billie Jean would be what I'd nominate if I had a free hit.

Maybe an EVH fan will nominate Beat It on the basis that track is half his anyway?
 
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On the subject of omissions

No Psychedelic Furs yet.
Nothing from A Kiss In The Dreamhouse
No Costello/Young singing backing vocals on Black Coffee In Bed
Roxy signing off with the super smooth Avalon and a cover for More Than This that may or not have given Florence ideas (except I suspect she wasn't even born at that point - I feel very old)
Mad World ?
Pretenders
I thought Cleaners From Venus might get a mention (certainly Martin Newall needs a nod at some point but i'll wait till Number 13 in a few years)
The Birthday Party
I did wondered if at least one poster might show up to make mention of the near mythical Shonen Knife debut
And perhaps one of our US posters can explain the appeal of Flock of Seagulls who I think ended up more popular over there than they ever did here?
Finally, I thought someone might nominate Men Without Hats but then I am quite puerile - think he still makes a living out of that song, fair play to him.

Arrgggh I've just realised I can't count to four and I haven't got a pick left. Good job Randolph did the business with R< but it means that Mark Hollis or Bauhaus are going to have to wait for another day and that I've forever missed my chance to put The Kids From Fame forward, devastated :-(

 
On the subject of omissions

No Psychedelic Furs yet.
Nothing from A Kiss In The Dreamhouse
And perhaps one of our US posters can explain the appeal of Flock of Seagulls who I think ended up more popular over there than they ever did here?

I’ve been a little busy the past few days so happy fill in the gaps!

Yes wanted to write this and finally have time to do so.
1982 - another great year but this decade for me builds up with each year surpassing the previous one. Though 86 and 89 are the two twin peaks……..

1982 and I start following the Banshees around in an era when not too many fans did that.
Best gig was The Banshees with John Cooper Clarke at the Elephant Fayre in Cornwall in July, in a huge marquee.
Kiss in the dreamhouse was their album with Melt and Slowdive as the singles.
In October, I hadn’t missed a City game but the Banshees were playing at Birmingham Odean on a Saturday night while City were at Ipswich. No way would I be back in time so missed my first game of the season.
A midweek league cup game at Southampton had the Banshees playing Southampton Gaumont the same night. Losing 4-0 I left early and made my way to the venue. It was sold out so stood at the side of the venue where you could hear it all. As folk left I asked for their ticket and one lad gave me his but the bouncers wouldn’t let me in with it.
Obviously I’d missed the Special going back so slept on the train station and hitched back the following day as far as Banbury, where I jibbed a train to Birmingham and paid for a single to Manchester.

Other gigs was Altered Images / Flock of Seagulls at Warwick University.
In answer to the question above about Flock Of Seagulls, their popularity stems from MTV.
When it started in 81 or 82, very few Yank bands had made videos. A good deal of videos they showed were British bands videos or even TOTP performances.
It’s how The Police / Duran Duran / Howard Jones / Billy Idol - and a Flock Of Seagulls amongst many others became so big playing on heavy rotation. The Beat - known as The English Beat are in that group too. Def Leppard the same.

Other singles from 82.
Come on Eileen - yes it’s unbearable now but when it first came out it was fantastic and refreshing before it became a wedding dance around song.
New Order - Temptation - the first song I probably “danced” to as opposed to pogoing or shuffling around on the floor. It made the white boys dance!
Psychedelic Furs were really on my radar with Love My Way - another band who became huge in the States via the film Pretty In Pink of course.
Echo and the Bunnymen - Back of love
Tears for fears - Mad world
The Associates - Party Fears Two
Modern English - Melt with you
Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding
XTC - sends working overtime
the Cure - Let’s go to bed.

Soft Cell really played heavy on my gramaphone with Say Hello / Wave Goodbye and What? Both 12 inch versions.
So if I can from all of that select two for the play list

Soft Cell - What? (12 inch)
New Order - Temptation


My ticket to the Elephant Fayre
IMG_5281.jpeg
 
I'm an unrepentant fan of AOR, so make no apologies for my next choice! According to Dee Snider, they were right between Ozzy and Toto in style, so popular with both audiences, which is a good way of describing their appeal.

One of my all-time favourite bands, their debut album Dawn Patrol was released in '82, featuring future Damn Yankees bassist Jack Blades, who wrote this song:

Don't Tell Me You Love Me - Night Ranger
 
On the subject of omissions

No Psychedelic Furs yet.
Nothing from A Kiss In The Dreamhouse
No Costello/Young singing backing vocals on Black Coffee In Bed
Roxy signing off with the super smooth Avalon and a cover for More Than This that may or not have given Florence ideas (except I suspect she wasn't even born at that point - I feel very old)
Mad World ?
The TFF The Hurting album came out in 1983, so as still an album purist, I'll reserve the right to pick that or any other track I like better off of there (which is entirely possible) for that year.
Pretenders
I thought Cleaners From Venus might get a mention (certainly Martin Newall needs a nod at some point but i'll wait till Number 13 in a few years)
The Birthday Party
I did wondered if at least one poster might show up to make mention of the near mythical Shonen Knife debut
And perhaps one of our US posters can explain the appeal of Flock of Seagulls who I think ended up more popular over there than they ever did here?
I mean, it was OK, but you don't see me close to nominating anything from there. Maybe it was that synth intro (and the heavy MTV rotation!), but given the heavy diet I'm now seeing up close you lot had over in the UK by then, it probably was a shoulder shrug for you by then. ;-)

I'll have some snyths for you in my final track that will likely be largely underwhelming, but it hopefully will be new for most this side of OOB6.

And sorry on the EVH/MJ connection, but that song wasn't played at my first concert, so I've got nothing for you there either!
 
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One of the leading lights of the Power Pop genre who wrote ‘Till I hear From You ‘ by Gin Blossoms and Owen Paul’s ‘Your my Favourite Waste of Time’ Plus is a guest vocalist in The Smithereens .

Released his debut album in 1982
Marshall Crenshaw SOMEDAY, SOMEWAY
I knew if I JUST waited long enough, I would see you grab this before I HAD to.

Well done and now can be a contender for my Big Winner. ;-)
 
I'm an unrepentant fan of AOR, so make no apologies for my next choice! According to Dee Snider, they were right between Ozzy and Toto in style, so popular with both audiences, which is a good way of describing their appeal.

One of my all-time favourite bands, their debut album Dawn Patrol was released in '82, featuring future Damn Yankees bassist Jack Blades, who wrote this song:

Don't Tell Me You Love Me - Night Ranger
I’ve got a couple of Night Ranger albums but not this one.
 

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