Dyelirium

So, I have been feeling a bit nostalgic lately with regard to music. Although I am still in constant search for new tunes to listen to, lately, I find myself falling back into the comfort of the music that is familiar and, let’s face it, old. I’m talking about the 80’s. As a teenager in the 80’s, I feel I was privileged to be there while the music in the 80’s was happening. The music was carefree, for the most part, and it seemed to just be…fun.

Having been so into the music at that time, I can’t tell you how disheartening it was to also witness its collapse. I saw the emergence of Indie music and the rise of Grunge kill my beloved happy, rockin’ and sometimes just plain silly favorite bands, with only a handful surviving the aftermath.  It had to happen. The late 80’s saw the oversaturation of Hair Metal acts drowning all that was good in rock, making anything metal seem cartoonish in nature. The age of synth-laden acts such as Erasure and New Order were rapidly becoming passé. Times were also changing. The economy was headed south and teens at the time didn’t really see a bright future ahead of themselves. Who really wanted to hear the sticky sweet teen laments chirped by Tiffany and Debbie Gibson wannabes or the soulful androgynous crooning of Boy George & Culture Club?

The 90’s did to the 80’s what the 60’s did to the 50’s. What was once all about having fun and dancing like nothing was ever going to go wrong was put to rest by new bands’ growing social awareness and willingness to take a creative chance and slap us all back into reality. The evolution of music is necessary and that is what makes it o fascinating to me. To never change is boring! Can you imagine music becoming routine and uninteresting? The thought makes me cringe.

I will always, however, have a soft spot in my cold black little heart for the music of the 80’s.I will now share with you my top 5 bands of the 80’s. To narrow it down to five was very tough, considering how much there was, but these were my constants in that decade. Before I go on, I wanted to let you know that I asked people what bands they were into in the 80’s, and the responses I got made me smile. Here’s a sampling of the responses I received: Cyndi Lauper, OMD, Scorpions, Rick Springfield, Depeche Mode, Judas Priest, Guns n’ Roses, Prince, Madonna etc. Ok, here we go!

Duran Duran: This was the first band I was fangirl crazy about! I pinned up every pic I could find of them that adorned the pages of Tiger Beat magazine. The dreamy Birmingham-based poptastic “Fab Five” ruled both the airwaves and MTV. I remember the first song I heard by them was “Is There Something I Should Know?” After that, I was hooked. They were a visually stunning band. By that, I mean the videos. These guys went all out when it came to videos. You always seemed to be taken away to a tropical paradise in their videos for “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Save a Prayer”. They also made mini movies! There was film noir panache in the video for “New Moon on Monday” and a touch of post-apocalyptic flash for “Wild Boys”. The visual aspect of the band kept you waiting for more. Of course, it helped that they were just about the prettiest group of guys around. I was smitten like a kitten for bassist John Taylor. At 13 years old, he was definitely the first guy I found totally hot! He was tall, lanky  and rocked the guyliner. In the end, when all the glitz was taken away, the music was good. I mean, c’mon! I think we all know and dig more than one Duran Duran song Needless to say, my Junior High years were ruled by them, and I still find myself wondering what it means to be “dancing on the Valentine.”

The Alarm: I stumbled upon this North Wales band by chance at a time when I was seriously getting into heavy metal. A high school friend was into them – mainly due to her older brother’s influence. They were anything but metal. I went over to her house one day and she played me the song “The Stand” from the album Declaration (1984). It was unlike anything I had ever listened to. It was definitely the first band I had been exposed to that was rock with a heavy dose of folk influence. There was a great deal of acoustic work and harmonica in their work. They often built a song from an easy beginning to a rollicking chorus. What hooked me, however, was what the songs were about. It was also the first time I found myself honestly paying attention to all of the lyrics. This band definitely had a conscience and told a sad story or two about life. It wasn’t all partying and rocking. It was sad and the rigors of society would always try to keep you down, but you did have the power to overcome it. Well, that’s what I heard at least. I could not get enough of the powerful single “The Spirit of ‘76” off of Strength (1985). “You see some nights when I can’t sleep I still think of you And all the promises, all our dreams we shared I know those lights still call to you I can hear them now…”  To this day, it is still one of the best stories set to music that I’ve ever heard.

Def Leppard: Anyone who reads this that knew me back in the day will confirm that Def Leppard was just about my favorite band as a teenager. I was obsessed the working class quintet out of Sheffield I have vivid memories of seeing the video for “Photograph” off 1983’s Pyromania on MTV’s Friday Night Video Fights with my sister, and we both were just like “Whoa…” That album was absolutely huge, and it was easy to see why. This band had mastered the art of writing arena rock anthems that you just couldn’t help singing along to at full volume. Who didn’t want to scream “I want rock and roll!” along with the bombastic “Rock of Ages”? In my opinion, everything they put out was pure genius, and it was obvious that they should be the kings of the rock/metal scene. 1987’s Hysteria was an absolute monster garnering seven charted singles, and I bought into it hook, line and sinker. It was impossible to escape the pop metal masterpiece “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. I saw them live four times while they toured on that album. This band was a perfect example of pure fun rock which still has staying power. I even caught them live just this past summer, and the music was just as much fun as it was when I was seventeen.

Iron Maiden: I was introduced to the awesomeness of Iron Maiden by my best friend when we were just 15 years old. She always leaned toward the heavier sounds of metal and insisted that I listen to what she thought was the best record she had ever heard. So we traipsed up to a secluded hill with our “boom box”, a pack of cigarettes and the cassette of 1982’s The Number of the Beast, which a friend of hers copied for her. We laid back and listened to that bad boy from start to finish without saying a word. When the tape stopped, she looked at me and asked me what I thought. What did I think? Was she kidding? I couldn’t think. My senses were on overload! The music was almost oppressively heavy and the imagery was massive. The next day we were at the record store purchasing our own copies of the record. When I saw the cover of that record the image of the band’s mascot Eddie jumped out at me. The scary zombie-like, jeans and t-shirt wearing monster was just about the coolest thing I had ever seen. At that time, the band had just released 1986’s Somewhere in Time, and it was decided right there that we going to go see that concert. The trick? Getting our parents to let us go to the show. It was determined that if my parents were ok with it, then her parents would be ok with it. I was racked with nerves when I asked my dad if I could go. He asked to see the record. I was certain one look at Eddie and it would be a solid “No way!” I was shocked when he said yes. I haven’t missed seeing this band live since. That is 20+ years of devotion. To me, everything this band has released has been worth it. They have a style and a sound that is all their own, and I’m still in as much awe of it as I was in 1986. It is probable that I will be 80 years old and still rockin’ out to “Hallowed Be Thy Name” and being the bane of the nursing home screaming “Up the irons!”

Cheap Trick: Looking back on the last few bands, I realize that this is the only American band I’ve chosen for my five. If there has been one band that has been a constant in my life, it has been Cheap Trick Although most would say that Cheap Trick would likely be considered a 70’s band based on the songs “I Want You To Want Me”, “Surrender” and “The Dream Police”, they were very crucial to me in the 80’s. I was introduced to them in the 70’s, but I really got into them in the 80’s. They released seven albums in the 80’s. The two most memorable were 1985’s Standing on the Edge and  1988’s Lap of Luxury. The first of the two contained the single “Tonight It’s You”, which I was mad into, and I played it until friends were ready to grind the cassette into dust. The second of the two contained their  huge hit “The Flame”, which is also probably one of the most “un-Cheap Trick” – like songs they have in their arsenal. I was high on “If You Want My Love” from 1982’s One on One, an underrated album, in my opinion. Critically, they hit some lows in the 80’s and I just couldn’t see why. Throughout that decade, I always felt like this band never got the respect they deserved. I always made sure I included the Trick’s music on all mix tapes I made. There was an endearing quality and even silliness about their music that I just always gravitated back to. They didn’t seem to fit into any specific genre at the time, and they still really don’t. I guess I feel that they’re the last of the straight up rock and roll bands left out there. They’re still constantly touring and recording simply because that’s just what they do.

Well, there you have it. My top 5 bands of the 80’s. You may agree. You may not, and that’s fine. I don’t expect you to. If you didn’t listen to one or more of these bands, check ‘em out. You never know. You may like what you hear. What I would really like is to find out what you were into during the Decade of Decadence, so please comment and let me know!