May 30, 2012

The Obligatory Music Arguement Post!

Over in some Fark thread a few days ago, someone suggested (perhaps in jest) that The Who's Eminence Front was the "quintessential '80s song."


Naturally, I took exception to this assertion, despite the fact that Eminence Front is my favorite song by The Who, mainly because of the keyboards and John Entwhistle's bass line.  No, I suggested that anybody who believes that Eminence Front is the quintessential '80s song is forgetting the only song that really qualifies for that title.

Seriously, when you throw the Miami Vice tie into the mix, is there really a song that screams '80s more than In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins?  Don't get me wrong, this is not a putdown in any way; I'm quite fond of '80s music in general.  It's just that nothing is considered too excessive for the recording, which is what makes it work, of course.  It's brilliant in that way.  It's also been overplayed to a hideous level, rendering it almost a parody of itself.

Of course, many would say that being the "quintessential '80s song" is something of a booby prize anyway.  To this I say "Feh."  FEH, I say.

Got an opinion on the matter?

Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:49 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 204 words, total size 2 kb.

1 What about Take On Me?  It's at least got my vote for "Best Music Video".

Posted by: Karl at May 31, 2012 03:02 AM (eiQvN)

2 I don't know; the quintessential 80s sound--to me--is synth-heavy and has a "bouncy" or "bright" feel.

The Human League's "Only Human" is the kind of song that comes to mind when I think about 80s music.  It's got a sound which is heavy on (to borrow a phrase) "Euro-syntho-drum-machine-overkill" and I think it typifies a lot of the popular music from that decade, especially the first half.

...and 1983 is about the time I stopped listening to popular music and got heavily into Alan Parsons, too.  I don't think it's a coincidence.

Posted by: Ed Hering at May 31, 2012 09:55 AM (lw0MQ)

3 I can't help you out. By the 1980's I had given up on rock entirely and started listening to jazz: Billy Cobham, Michael Franks, Pat Metheny...

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at May 31, 2012 01:02 PM (+rSRq)

4 "In the air tonight" always reminds me of the Train scene in Risky Business.  Unless my brain is scrambled.

Posted by: Mauser at June 01, 2012 01:51 AM (cZPoz)

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