Which 80's Songs Were Featured in Miami Vice and Back to School?

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Discussion Overview

The thread explores favorite songs from the 1980s, particularly those featured in the context of popular culture, such as Miami Vice and Back to School. Participants share personal favorites and discuss the broader landscape of 80s music, including various artists and genres.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express a general enjoyment of 80s music and share personal favorites, including artists like Abba, Michael Jackson, and Fleetwood Mac.
  • Others highlight specific songs and bands, such as Mission of Burma, Talking Heads, The Smiths, and Bruce Springsteen, noting their significance during the decade.
  • A few participants mention the influence of earlier decades on 80s music, suggesting that many artists active in the 80s had roots in the 70s.
  • There are differing opinions on the quality of 80s music, with some participants feeling that the new music of the decade was disappointing compared to previous eras.
  • Some participants argue that the independent music scene of the 80s produced significant but overlooked talent, contrasting with mainstream perceptions of the decade's music.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a love for 80s music, but there are multiple competing views regarding the quality and impact of the music from that era. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the overall significance of 80s music compared to other decades.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference specific songs and their release years, while others discuss the influence of earlier music on the 80s scene. There is a lack of consensus on what constitutes "80s music" and how to evaluate its significance.

  • #31
Evo said:
Good Ones Francis!

Thanks Boss. :cool:I forgot these...

Naked Eyes, "Always Something There"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMAe31FFHbo&ob=av3e The Cars, "Shake it up"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq-yoorI7lo The Cars, "Drive"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFZmRVjUJnY&feature=related Pat Benatar, "Love is a battlefield"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGVZOLV9SPo&ob=av2n Cyndi Lauper, "Time After Time"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdQY7BusJNU&ob=av2e Blondie, "Call Me"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StKVS0eI85I&ob=av2n
The Monroes, "What do all the people know"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2jRez9_mwE
 
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  • #32
Don't know how I skipped this ...


Oingo Boingo, "Weird Science"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm-upHSP9KU&feature=related
 
  • #33
Glancing through these quickly I don't think anyone has mentioned this song...
Evo stole my first choice of "The Promise."

OMD - If You Leave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPmTGFg06zA&ob=av3e
 
  • #34
Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpZ9gEKBoYI

Thompson Twins - Doctor Doctor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_66L4wdNXw

Sigue Sigue Sputnik - ATARI BABY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE6r8L-YrrM

Laura Branigan - Self Control

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKB1VMmazk0

Paul Young - Come Back And Stay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRMBlFGtVJw


I should stop now. I could add songs all night.
 
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  • #35
Axl Rose, Guns N' Roses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-AYAv0IoWI
 
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  • #36
1988

 
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  • #37
I have to admit I've heard 'Sweet Child O' Mine' quite a few times without knowing who did it. I honestly once thought the singer was a girl. Amy Winehouse had a deeper voice than that. I understand Axl Rose went into a hiatus after his first few years. I guess his voice changed. Anyway, it is a great rock song. Chronologically, it's late 80s, but musically, it's early 70s (which is good). (I'd better be careful. He might come after me and shoot me.)
 
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  • #38
Best satire...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJjMnHoIBI
 
  • #39
Inxs - Need You Tonight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Si2ZdcBz8Q

Madness - Our House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwIe_sjKeAY

Police - Sinchronicity II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbQd3jxth5k

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1tTN-b5KHg
 
  • #40
Berlin, "Take my breath away"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEOem7U2LPE


Foreigner, "I want to know what love is"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWXMtjUZWM&feature=related
 
  • #41
SW VandeCarr said:
I'm not sure how we're defining 80's music but some of these artists/bands made their mark in the 70's and earlier.
The OP said: "Don't we all enjoy the 80's?? What are some of your favorite songs from the time??"

So, I took "from the time" (ie. the 80's) to mean songs that were released and charted in the 80's. Of course, my selections don't really characterize the "New Wave" music trend that's seen by some as one of the "definitive genre's" of the 80's (to paraphrase Wiki).

Also, I think that at least one of my selections was actually a 70's song. The one by Stevie Winwood. But he did, iirc, release some high-charting stuff in the 80's, so just substitute something else of his for "Hold On".

SW VandeCarr said:
A number of older groups/individuals were still active in the 80's (Dire Straits, Jethro Tull, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and some others you mentioned). I do like these but, to me, they represent a particularly rich period from about 1965 to 1980 when a lot of great music was created. The new music of the 80's was a bit of a let down as far as I'm concerned.
I think there's been really good music in every decade, and, apparently with you, I do particularly like the stuff from 1965 to 1980. But also, apparently, my musical tastes aren't quite aligned with the mainstream pop music tastes of the 80's. And since I wasn't listening to that stuff, the music of the 80's (that I did listen to) didn't disappoint me.
 
  • #42
ThomasT said:
I think there's been really good music in every decade, and, apparently with you, I do particularly like the stuff from 1965 to 1980. But also, apparently, my musical tastes aren't quite aligned with the mainstream pop music tastes of the 80's. And since I wasn't listening to that stuff, the music of the 80's (that I did listen to) didn't disappoint me.

Yeah. You won't be disappointed if you don't listen. My approach was to identify the decade by when performer(s) first gained recognition. You could also say that some artrists are chronologically identified with one decade, but the their musical style is really reminiscent of an earlier decade. Guns N' Roses debuted in 1987, but to my ears, the breakthrough song "Sweet Child O' Mine" is reminiscent of the early to mid 70s (pre-disco). However I would still call them an 80's group because of the date of their debut album.

Like you, I didn't listen to many new artists in the 80's, including Gun's N' Roses. As I said in an earlier post, I only recently identified this song with Axl Rose. I have to admit, I liked this song at least.
 
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  • #43
SW VandeCarr said:
Yeah. You won't be disappointed if you don't listen. My approach was to identify the decade by when performer(s) first gained recognition. You could also say that some artrists are chronologically identified with one decade, but the their musical style is really reminiscent of an earlier decade. Guns N' Roses debuted in 1987, but to my ears, the breakthrough song "Sweet Child O' Mine" is reminiscent of the early to mid 70s (pre-disco). However I would still call them an 80's group because of the date of their debut album.

Like you, I didn't listen to many new artists in the 80's, including Gun's N' Roses. As I said in an earlier post, I only recently identified this song with Axl Rose. I have to admit, I liked this song at least.
In the 80's I was mostly listening to jazz fuzion and the contemporary instrumental stuff from, eg., the Narada and Windham Hill labels. I do remember hearing a string quartet version of "Welcome to the Jungle" by Gun's N' Roses that I liked.

Somebody posted "Love Shack", didn't they? I liked that. I liked Devo too. Were they 80's? Actually, I suppose if I spent enough time reflecting that there would be lots of mainstream or almost mainstream 80's stuff that I liked. It just wasn't my favorite.
 
  • #44
ThomasT said:
In the 80's I was mostly listening to jazz fuzion and the contemporary instrumental stuff from, eg., the Narada and Windham Hill labels. I do remember hearing a string quartet version of "Welcome to the Jungle" by Gun's N' Roses that I liked.

Somebody posted "Love Shack", didn't they? I liked that. I liked Devo too. Were they 80's? Actually, I suppose if I spent enough time reflecting that there would be lots of mainstream or almost mainstream 80's stuff that I liked. It just wasn't my favorite.

I probably missed some good stuff in the 80's and 90's because I was very busy and into other things. Chi Meson suggested looking into the alternative and "underground" bands of that era. Now that I have more time, I do listen to some alternative rock, but often they don't identify the band or when the band was active.

From what I have listened to, a lot of good underground music is based on metal and blues styles from the 60's and 70s. The electric guitar was the key technology that combined with 40s African American R&B to create rock in the first place. The grunge style of the 90s was, IMO a kind of moody metal sound not all that different from its predecessors.

Hip hop/rap was the big innovation of the 80s and I have to say, I don't like it in its minimal form. However, some artists have combined hip hop with more melodic styles like Lauryn Hill. Amy Winehouse also experimented with fusing hip hop with a soulful jazz style, particularly in much of her lesser known work.
 
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  • #45
Eighties where probably the best years in the history of the Polish rock. This is just a random sample.







6ESs93ypf-Q[/youtube] [MEDIA=youtube]SPnEpzUy2V4[/MEDIA]
 
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  • #46
ThomasT said:
In the 80's I was mostly listening to jazz fuzion and the contemporary instrumental stuff from, eg., the Narada and Windham Hill labels. I do remember hearing a string quartet version of "Welcome to the Jungle" by Gun's N' Roses that I liked.
During the 1980s, I listened (when I had the time) to a fair amount of jazz, blues, fusion, or otherwise the Windham Hill/Narada sound. One of my friends, who is a guitar player, was into that genre. I had an electric bass guitar, and I was interested in tunes with interesting bass lines.

Some of the groups were Spyrogyra and Weather Report, Chick Corea & Return to Forever, Herbie Hancock & Headhunters, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Pat Metheny Group, Spyro Gyra and the early 1970s Miles Davis electric bands. I also found Gerry Rafferty's 1978 album City to City, which had the hit Baker Street.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyro_Gyra#The_early_albums
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spyro_Gyra#1980s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Report

I saw Pat Metheny and Spyrogyra in concert a few times in the 70's and 80's.

I also spent the 1980's and 1990's buying CDs of my LPs from the 1960s and 1970s. The 1980s was when CDs started replacing vinyl LPs.

I discovered Windham Hill after discovering Michael Hedges and Ariel Boundaries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_Boundaries
 
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  • #47
Some favourites have already been mentioned, like the Pixies, the Smiths and Joe Jackson. Maybe I would have chosen a different Smiths song, or maybe I wouldn't have been able to decide which anyway.
The last time I linked something here was about the name "Shirley", so I've had this in mind. I'll think of more. Greetings to the New Year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gozdCwvHK6M
 
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  • #48
Borek said:
Eighties where probably the best years in the history of the Polish rock. This is just a random sample.[

I like some of the sounds and that last video (Lady Pank) has some nice visual aesthetics. I've often wondered how the language barrier segregates rock/pop. Maybe I'm imagining it, but I think I detect a bit of traditional Slavic, if not specifically Polish, influence in the fast paced evenly accented beat. The international chartists generally include Germany, France and other western European countries, but the charts are for songs in English. I don't know how to break down that barrier since a non English song has to be really exceptional to sell in the UK, US and other English speaking markets. Translations just don't cut it.
 
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  • #49
Time for the top shelf. :biggrin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY_Xs3sXQDg
 
  • #51
Astronuc said:
During the 1980s, I listened (when I had the time) to a fair amount of jazz, blues, fusion, or otherwise the Windham Hill/Narada sound. One of my friends, who is a guitar player, was into that genre. I had an electric bass guitar, and I was interested in tunes with interesting bass lines.
Me too, but I played along with my acoustic guitar, mostly, during that time. Thanks for the links.
 
  • #52
Rush - Red Barchetta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djVGhqvl_8A
 
  • #53
For me asking for the best songs from a specific decade means the genre that decade was known for.

Sure Classical music trancends all decades.

Hard rock, folk music, country and jazz crosses the decades, but they are not the genre that decade is known for.

The 80's is known for the disco beat, the big hair bands. There were a lot of dance songs. Those are the songs that should be posted here, not bands that also put out music from other decades.
 
  • #54
Evo said:
the big hair bands.

Yeah, Evo wants more Debby Boone music!

How about Cher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEszTzdUMcY
 
  • #55
Ack! Ivan, you know better!
 
  • #56
turbo said:
Ack! Ivan, you know better!

I think Cher is awesome! :-p

I think the first album I ever bought was a Sonny and Cher album.
 
  • #57
Here's one for Turbo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWz9VN40nCA
 
  • #58
Evo said:
The 80's is known for the disco beat, the big hair bands. There were a lot of dance songs. Those are the songs that should be posted here, not bands that also put out music from other decades.
micromass said:
Don't we all enjoy the 80's?? What are some of your favorite songs from the time??

Part of the reason that I enjoyed the 80's is because I didn't have to listen to the stuff that "defined the decade".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s_in_music
 
  • #59
ThomasT said:
Part of the reason that I enjoyed the 80's is because I didn't have to listen to the stuff that "defined the decade".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s_in_music

My roommate around 1980 pretty much lived at the Whiskey, and the Roxy, in Hollwood. He and I were worlds apart in musical tastes. We had a good bit of crossover, but neither of us could stand the more extreme music that the other liked.

Listening to the Phantom would have been nothing short of torture, for him. And I couldn't stand the metal bands emerging.
 
  • #60
Songs like this were common ground

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-1RNVvTThg
 

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