The Final Countdown (Again)
I discovered music after the 80′s, but there’s part of me that’s starting to love it. The hair, the screeching guitars, the high pitched screams. Now I know there’s probably a lot of you out there that are 80′s music fans and most likely it’s just what we all grew up on. I mean, you might think Pearl Jam sounds like a pissed off teenager singing to the sound of a refrigerator hum, but to me, it’s when represents music made for my generation. But I think today’s music is taking a shift back to the 80′s but without the annoying vocals. You know the vocals I’m talking about don’t you. How many 80′s band lead singers sounded the exact same as this guy?
What I love about this song though, is that keyboard riff. Seriously, who can’t love that? Doesn’t it make you want to climb a mountain or something? Da Da Daa Dun, Da Da Da Da Duh, Da Da Daa Dun, Da Da Dun Da Da Duh Da. It’s great. And no, it’s not from a Rocky movie, but maybe it should be. The cool thing about today’s music is that it’s taking everything that is cool from a song like this, (ie. that sweet keyboard), adding to it, and giving it a fresh sound. New drums, new vocals, and new grooves. So, maybe the 80′s are coming back a little, and I’m cool with it. In fact I love it.
So let’s hear it. What’s your jam? Name one of your favorite high school bands. What will you look back on and always remember as the time you discovered that there was music made for you?
Ready. Go.
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My favorite band in high school was Creed, which is odd because I can’t stand any band that sounds like Creed now (Nickleback, 3 Doors Down, Todd Agnew…) I think it was the return to “big” guitar that made me enjoy them.
As for the 80s, I’ve been pretty clueless as to who sings what, but I think I like most of the pop-synth sort of stuff like Duran-Duran and the Eurhythmics (sp?) I definitely hear a lot of that sound in new bands like the Killers, Phoenix, and The Bravery.
Rage Against the Machine. I first heard these guys in high school and still love every minute of them. They were truly a unique sound.
The Cure, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Erasure… That’s ONE cup of my tea.
Then there’s my “other side”
Guns’n'Roses, Poison, Motley Crue, Metallica, Skid Row, etc.
I still love it all!
My sister (born in ’79) and I (born in ’78) were just laughin’ about this yesterday. Def Leppard is coming to town with Poison and my brother-in-law was saying how he wanted to go (except for the fact that the tickets he was gonna get are like $200 – yikes). Anyway, both my sis, Amanda and I started sharing of an experience we’d each had (seperately) of hearing “Pour Some Sugar On Me…” and how we were like, “Who is that?” Basically, all eyes bugged out, heads whipped in our direction, and everyone said, “You don’t recognize this song!? It’s Def Leppard.” To which we had each responded, “Def who?” We weren’t allowed to listen to much of anything outside of Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Carmen
and maybe DC Talk. Lol.
So, after we were older teenagers and finally (WAY after everybody else knew them by heart) stumbled upon the likes of Metallica, Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and so on… well, you can imagine our surprise (and admittedly – our delight, tee hee).
Ahh, Europe. I own this record. In fact, I listened to this song only a few days ago. The keyboard riff is pretty awesome, even if the rest of the song (indeed, the whole album) sounds like it could have been any of a dozen groups.
I was big into ’80s music, and the ’70s rock that lead into it. Kansas, Boston, Chicago. (uh, can I name a non-geographically named group?) The Talking Heads, The Cure, The Police / Sting.
The Beatles. All 60′s music. I really dated myself huh???
Um….the Backstreet Boys. LoL! I think I’m gonan get stoned by everyone here, but that was my era. They were the first musical group I ever listened to in English and actually got me into music. I know, I know, now I just lost all my credability, but what can I do? It’s the truth!
I can’t name just one. My top 3 were Duran Duran, Bon Jovi & U2. Of the 3 today, I still love Bon Jovi! They’ve gotten better with age.
Just this morning I had The Boss’s Glory Days rippin’
Good times…
oh by the way… I can’t hear your song without think about Job Bluth.
Magic!
Depeched Mode, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure…I was more on the punk side of things in my youth.
Thanks Brody and Luke for making me feel OLD! I graduated from high school in ’88 so my faves were Bon Jovi, Scorpions, & VAN HALEN! More of the Classic Rock than Hair Bands. And, of course, the Beatles, but not the Stones. You should have a survey on Beatles vs. Stones…
It seems Creed was big was while I was in college, or after. My husband and I were talking about Creed yesterday, that their sound was so cool, until everyone else started sounding just like them.
Disco was the music during my high school years and of course I liked the Bee Gees. However, my all time favorite music is from the 80′s. I was a huge Journey fan, much in the same way that I am a MercyMe fan today. I loved the big, messy, permed hair and the screeching guitars as well as the keyboards. Some of my favorites were Def Leppard, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, Guns N’ Roses and way too many more to mention. I also like some of the newer bands today like Nickelback, Lincoln Park and Puddles of Mudd.
I was into Nirvana, Aerosmith, Alanis Morisette, No Doubt, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bush, and popier stuff like Mariah Carey, TLC, Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight, Lauryn Hill, Shania Twain, Dixie Chicks, Jewel…your standard mid to late 90′s fare. The only Christian music I listened to back then was DC Talk, Third Day, Switchfoot, and All Star United.
I still love to listen to all of that stuff, along with all the great music I’ve discovered since then.
Hmmm, I graduated in 1999. It was Christian music that really got me into music… there was a day when all I knew was Audio Adrenaline, DC Talk, and Newsboys… and thankfully Jars of Clay eventually came along with their first album.
Other than that, in the 90′s I remember listening to Bush’s 16 Stone (mainly just for “Glycerine”) and Matchbox 20′s “Yourself or Someone Like You”… I think that was the album title anyway. Also Alanis’s “Jagged Little Pill”… stuff like that.
Allison don’t feel old-I also graduated in 88′. My favs REO Speedwagon, Styx, Journey, Foreigner, Duran Duran. I have seen many of the 80′s bands again in concert in the last 2 years and I find that the fans are mostly my age and love them. Many of these bands have replaced original members-but the fans don’t seem to care-they still remain faithful to bands and the music they fell in love with when they discovered music.