Saturday, May 21, 2011

Top 5 80s Bands


A friend of mine, James, and I were having a discussion the other day over a couple drinks about 80s music. He seems to like and enjoy all of it, whereas I have a very specific taste for the 80s. He then asked me to name some bands I liked from the 80s, and, embarrassingly, I couldn't - because I didn't know what bands started when and who could be classified as "80s". So, off the top of my head, without knowing if these are actually bands from the 80s, also without knowing if there are other bands that I love more, but don't know they're from the 80s, here are my top five 80s bands.

5. Genesis


Sure, Genesis actually started in the 70s, but they got their mainstream success in the 80s, and their music is deliciously 80s, so I'm calling them 80s. I don't know what it is about Phil Collins, but he's got charisma and I've got a bit of a musical crush on him. All of their songs so easily slot in as background music in a pub or at a party, and enough people will know the words well enough to sing along and make dicks out of themselves.

4. Tears for Fears


I've got a bit of a soft spot for love songs with beautiful lyrics, and also, men with bad hair. I like a lot of Tears for Fears songs, and a lot of them I liked without even knowing that they sang them. They have a genuinely 80s sound - you can imagine them playing at the prom in a Molly Ringwald movie - but they are also almost timeless, in that I am pretty sure "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" played at my prom.

3. The Cure


(Actual music video is here, I suggest you watch it instead because it is much better. Robert Smith is such a sweet wee thing, and he kind of looks like my friend's ex)

I like The Cure. I liked their early years. I liked their gothic stuff. I liked it when they started to go a little pop. I just like The Cure. And I like that they occasionally sing about cats.

2. Pixies


This is my favourite Pixies song, but strangely it isn't on my favourite Pixies album (Surfer Rosa, if you're asking). Anyway, I like the Pixies because their sound was always interesting - they had their own take on alternative rock, in my opinion, and they portrayed it in even more different takes. I mean, listening to "Broken Face" followed by "Where Is My Mind?" followed by "Buick Is Red" followed by "Gigantic" followed by "Caribou"... you'd think you were listening to entirely different bands, if it weren't for Black Francis' distinguishable voice.

1. UB40


There's always a very special place in my heart for UB40. It's that kind of music that everyone knows, everyone loves, everyone wants to hear and will be forever. It's kind of impressive that they managed to keep that sound going for as long as they did - it's hard to please everyone forever, you know? Yeah.

1 comment:

  1. Great selection, brah. Red Wine, Head over Heels and Invisible Touch are also personal favourites, as you know ;)

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