80s music

The 80s were chockful of New Wave power ballads, synthesizers, drum machines, and no shortage of Madonna and Michael Jackson.

The Art of Feeling Hollow
Oh, those bittersweet teenage years...so long ago; yet hearing a song from the 80's will snap me back in a blink of an eye. Finding a tune that spoke to you was practically the be-all and end-all of living at that age. I was lucky to have a musically adventurous older sister to introduce me to many off-the-beaten-track musicians, which has fueled my search for great artists throughout my life. (Without a little direction I probably would have spent my high-school years listening to KQRS out of Minneapolis, and I would never have found alternative musical avenues.)
By Juliette McCoy Riitters5 years ago in Beat
Musical Diary of a Misfit Kid
Feeling like a misfit, misunderstood and generally wishing you were anyone else in the world aren't exactly novel emotions for a teenager, but it seemed, at least for me, to be particularly acute. I really WAS a misfit and I really WAS misunderstood and I was very aware of just how different I was. And often, I really DID want to be anybody but me.
By Misty Rae5 years ago in Beat
Video Killed The Radio Star
Teenage angst? Are you kidding me? I must be old because I didn't have a walkman, iPod, or ear pods. I HAD BOOMBOX AND MTV! I was alive for the very first MTV music video: Radio Killed The Radio Star! Try as I might, memories of my teen years are a blur. The brand new cable channel had excellent music and exciting visuals that always had the right mood for the moment. And oh. My. God. Like, for sure, Punk Rock and new wave were my shit! Adam Ant, Blondie, Joan Armatrading, Heart ( later, Stevie Nicks, solo), Rod Stewart, The Clash, The Talking Heads, Eurhythmics, Duran Duran, Twisted Sisters, Reo Speedwagon, (Genesis and later on Phil Collins, solo), Huey Lewis And The News, Eagles(later, Glen Frey, solo), Culture Club(then Boy George, solo), Wham! (then, George Michael, solo) and Journey. And a special shout out to Toni Basil's "Hey Mickey!" because I had a boyfriend named Rickey(close enough).
By Sandra Anglade5 years ago in Beat
The greatest vocalist of the 80s
I don't know if you ever listen to music with the window open but it does test your faith in the songs you listen to. I was sitting happily in the bath, listening to a playlist of random 80s songs when on came 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight' by Tight Fit. Unable (or unwilling) to get out of the hot water to find my phone and skip the track, I listened through, half-hoping there was nobody passing outside who would judge my taste in music and half-loving the song which was a massive number 1 hit in 1982.
By Peter Nuttall5 years ago in Beat
An Album You Should Know
Now, everyone is well aware of who Steven Van Zandt (aka Little Steven, Miami Steve Van Zandt) is. Thanks to his decades-long career in music, serving as rabble-rousing counterpart to Bruce Springsteen’s “The Boss” in The E Street Band, and of course, as Tony Soprano’s consigliere, Silvio Dante’, from HBO’s iconic The Sopranos. He may not be a household name, but he is a recognizable face.
By Keith R. Higgons5 years ago in Beat
Why the 1980s had the best music
I am a 90s kid, but I would have loved to have grown up in the 1980s. Whether it was the wacky hairstyles, vintage clothing and the movies, being in the 1980s would have been incredible. To add the cherry on top, the best thing about the 1980s: Music. Oh my God, the music! To be alive in the 1980s where you had musicians like Michael Jackson, Prince, George Michael, Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder and Madonna just to name a few. Even though most of these musicians actually started before the 1980s, I felt that their best work occurred during this era that makes every generation have a connection to the song. It was not just pop music that was incredible, but of course rock and R&B music that just gave a sex appeal and excitement to the era. Here are some of the examples of the songs that I will list from musicians and certain genres with their songs.
By A.A.C.5 years ago in Beat
My Mix Tape From The 80s
My first job was at McDonalds when I was 14 and 9 months. That was the age that you could get a job in Australia in the 80s. My parents were divorced, probably the first amongst the parents at my school, but no-one seemed to care. A nurse, a full-time working mother, she couldn’t afford to give us much pocket money so we made do with what we had and since I loved a good bargain and a mooch around second hand clothes stores it didn’t really phase me. The only thing I missed was having my own tape player.
By Melanie Charles5 years ago in Beat
BWIM: A Salute to the Party!
Party Hardy! Is what they used to call me. I am an Old School R&B party girl. The Eighties was my turf. Going to the Club was an Art to me. It could have been a science too. I would either go with my sister DD and my brother-in law, Steven and Tina, Diane and E-Fraj. That was the older crew. Then I had my crew - Terri, Nadine, DD and myself. Oh, these two crews were exclusively the Weekend. During the week I would party with Michelle. Michelle and I worked across the street from each other and after work we would hit the club usually on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
By Simone Hardy 5 years ago in Beat
Lost And Found
Lost and Found Manicured lawns and Trimmed hedges was all Rich could think about. A chance to get out of the neighborhood was a dream everyone on Meadow Street dreamed of. This dream became reality for some, others this dream remained a topic of discussion with no answer to the questions at hand.
By Antwan5 years ago in Beat
I Want To Dance With Somebody
Growing up in a small coal mining town in western Pennsylvania there was never much to do so music was very important. One thing I can vividly remember are the weekly dances at an area church hall. I think that was the highlight of the week back in the early eighties. To be honest, I hated those dances! I went for a few years but finally I couldn’t pretend that I enjoyed them anymore so I mustered up enough nerve to tell my best friend I wasn’t going anymore. I was afraid that she would be mad at me and although I don’t think she was mad, our friendship did sort of fizzle out after I stopped going. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like to dance but I got bored going to the same place week after week. Considering how I felt about these dances it is sort of funny I am writing about a song called I Want to Dance with Somebody.
By Margie Anderson 5 years ago in Beat
Shake Your Thang
The word kismet in Turkish means fate and sometimes it means chance. The only word to describe Salt ‘N’ Pepa’s breakout success, ‘Push It’, is kismet. That does not mean they were lucky, fate involves a lot of hard work and determination. It involves vision and the ability to take control and the ability to see what you want and grab it. There is definitely an element of all the right pieces coming together at exactly the right time.
By Tom Brad5 years ago in Beat
Down to Earth
“Look it happens, you have fallen off the treadmill of this pretend normal life. There are so many cracks in this delicate, false reality that it’s easy to fall through one if you’re not careful. Suddenly, right now, you can’t find any meaning or value. This for you is the first time you have discovered that the life you’re living sucks, but you are lucky because most of us have always known that. You can just as easily have everything you ever wanted except now you know it has absolutely no meaning. You may feel these enormous waves of sadness, emptiness, futility, and terror. You might look around and wonder what you’re doing here. You suddenly don’t feel a connection to anything. Nothing gives you pleasure. You think nothing ever will again. There is nothing to strive for, nothing you can get or experience to fix it. The pointlessness of it all is crushing. Now you have two choices you can keep following that lie you have told yourself forever. About having to always be ‘the best’, where you follow the standards of everybody else. Or you can make yourself answerable to no one but yourself, always striving forward and only striving to ‘be better’.”
By Tom Brad5 years ago in Beat