That doesn't mean there aren't very talented niche bands out waiting to burst on to the scene and be given a chance by a major record label. It's just that Sony would rather sign an X Factor act. Money or not, the 80s was a better era than we have now from the likes of Bieber and Sheeran.

It depends what artists want, if they are happy to manufacture themselves for the masses and money - then that is their decision but some do it for the pleasure. Capitalism has destroyed the soul of so many things and I would love to see a return to socialism or a more communist stance on things.

Take it from someone who remembers the 80s: it wasn't a better era, there was plenty of crappy pop music then just like there is now.

Yer we had some great pop music here in the UK in the 1980s and these artists were big as well. Give me Bieber anytime.


Joe Dolce - shaddap your face. 1981 - YouTube


Flying Pickets - Only You - YouTube


Chas & Dave - Rabbit 1981 - YouTube

I think anytime a band manages to dominate the entire frickin' world and do it again and again and again, like Abba or the Carpenters or even (Gulp) U2, respect must be paid. There is definite talent there that shouldn't be dismissed just because the music isn't your particular cuppa. Personally, I can't listen to the Carpenters because I find the sadness in Karen's voice just a bit too unrelenting, but I have mad respect for them. And Abba, sheesh, they still dominate. Benny and Bjorn were pop monsters in their day. Some bands just have their fingers on the proverbial pulse.

It's interesting (and undeniable) that people who actually lived in a certain time period have a different (clearer) perspective of how the music was. My parents remember the 80s as being mostly a dull and somewhat annoying decade, mostly because the big hits that are nostalgic now were either overplayed to death at the time, or interspersed between low-quality songs with horrible lyrics and boring guitar solos.

I sure remember the '90s (having lived most of the decade) differently than how a lot of young teenagers romanticize it. No matter what the times or the trends, people will always either follow the herd or cherry pick the gems.

And to those who really loathe the current decade's music, there seems to be a history of the masses outright rejecting the creative output of the previous decade. I remember how embarrassed of the 80s people were in the 90s; and the whole "death of disco" thing was pretty intense.

there were good and bad in those days

some of the big hits were pretty good

...after I reread my post, I realize that I gave the impression that there weren't any good big hits in the 80's (My all-time favorite decade for music). What I meant was that the really good hits did exist, but on certain stations you had to listen for a while until they played (according to those who actually lived through that time).

I had a discussion with someone I work with quite a while back about the general state of the UK singles chart (this took place before downloads were taken into consideration).

I made the argument that the 80's charts contained a higher percentage of quality acts than they do now, that yes there was ten-a-penny pop tat, but there was some excellent artistes as well. He disagreed, stating that it was the same today and that my opinion was merely based on the 'it was all much better in my day' mentality.

It was an interesting point to make, even if it did make me feel old. :rolleyes:

Mainstream music sucks, at least it was tolerable in previous generations. But there's some pretty wicked music in our day-to-day, you just have to delve deeper away from the mainstream bs.

This was a #1 hit over here in 1966: