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Things everyone considered terrible in the 90s, almost universally: disco, and by association much of the 70s; 80s fashion across the board. The music and movie

Things everyone considered terrible in the 90s, almost universally: disco, and by association much of the 70s; 80s fashion across the board. The music and movies and such of the 80s were still regarded as OK.

PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago
Sorry, but this just seems utterly wrong, certainly for music. The 1970's gave us band after band, performer after performer who are still revered today. Who is the 1980's example of, say, Led Zeppelin? Or the Mahavishnu Orchestra? Now, I will concede that in the 90s people did not see the 70s in this way (at least not in general) - not long enough had passed, I think. That's why I suspect that any notion of the 80s being a culturally rich decade comes from the fact that it is now 30-40 years ago, rather than just 10 as it was at the start of the 90s. This sort of view doesn't have much to do with anyone's experience of the decade as it happened, and I think it doesn't have a lot to do with what actually happened, because in any given decade, there will always be a rich and diverse set of amazing cultural creativity. It comes mostly from time passing, and a new assessment blending with nostalgia for the culture that surrounded as we reach certain ages.
- renaudg 7y ago
  > The 1970's gave us band after band, performer after performer who are still revered today. Who is the 1980's example of, say, Led Zeppelin? Or the Mahavishnu Orchestra? I think the hint is in the examples you're giving : the 1970s were the heyday of progressive and what is now called "classic" rock, and that particular genre seems to be your frame of reference. Whereas for us Euro synth folks, the 70s was the age of early pioneers like Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre (I suppose that's where rock music was in the 50s) And the 80s are THE golden age of synthpop explosion that put us on the map, with legends like : New Order, Yazoo, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, Bronski Beats, Eurythmics, Jean-Michel Jarre, a-ha, Tears for Fears. Our 80s are rock music's 60s (think Beatles & Rolling Stones). The 80s are so revered that for the past 5-10 years there's been a whole music genre ("Synthwave") dedicated to reproducing its aesthetics with a contemporary twist. It's even been preempted by mainstream pop recently with The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" single. Our own Led Zeppelins are 90s kids Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim. In the 2000s, we took over for good and mostly killed any remnants of rock music's mindshare in Europe, and the US followed in the 2010s with the "EDM" mainstream pop flavor of our stuff. In other words, it's all a matter of which bubble you're living in !
  - PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago
    I was a Euro-synth person. I never liked classic rock (which to my chagrin I am (re)discovering in my 50s and thinking that the best of it is really pretty amazing). It's true that the 80's "gave us" synthpop, and although I'm aware of the new level of reverence for some of it, I don't detect the more critical younger minds regarding it with the same level of awe that is now accorded to what happened to rock in the 1970s. My sense is that people like the sound, find it sort of fun-nostalgic, and are recreating it. Nobody views any of the bands you mentioned (I have the first singles by all of them, by the way, on vinyl) as truly ground breaking. I could be wrong. Personally, I went from Euro-synth stuff into ECM, improvised music, indian classical, progressive house and downtempo :)
- karatestomp 7y ago
  Of course, the music of the 70s was much stronger than the 80s so far as rock and related genres go. There’s a big ol’ lull in high-quality recordings until the tail end of the decade. Very noticeable. But if you mentioned 70s culture during the 90s people’d reliably go “ugh disco what were they thinking?”
- scruple 7y ago
  The Led Zeppelin of the 80s? IDK, any of Guns and Roses, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, RHCP, etc...

PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago

Sorry, but this just seems utterly wrong, certainly for music. The 1970's gave us band after band, performer after performer who are still revered today. Who is the 1980's example of, say, Led Zeppelin? Or the Mahavishnu Orchestra? Now, I will concede that in the 90s people did not see the 70s in this way (at least not in general) - not long enough had passed, I think. That's why I suspect that any notion of the 80s being a culturally rich decade comes from the fact that it is now 30-40 years ago, rather than just 10 as it was at the start of the 90s. This sort of view doesn't have much to do with anyone's experience of the decade as it happened, and I think it doesn't have a lot to do with what actually happened, because in any given decade, there will always be a rich and diverse set of amazing cultural creativity. It comes mostly from time passing, and a new assessment blending with nostalgia for the culture that surrounded as we reach certain ages.

renaudg 7y ago
> The 1970's gave us band after band, performer after performer who are still revered today. Who is the 1980's example of, say, Led Zeppelin? Or the Mahavishnu Orchestra? I think the hint is in the examples you're giving : the 1970s were the heyday of progressive and what is now called "classic" rock, and that particular genre seems to be your frame of reference. Whereas for us Euro synth folks, the 70s was the age of early pioneers like Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Jean-Michel Jarre (I suppose that's where rock music was in the 50s) And the 80s are THE golden age of synthpop explosion that put us on the map, with legends like : New Order, Yazoo, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, Bronski Beats, Eurythmics, Jean-Michel Jarre, a-ha, Tears for Fears. Our 80s are rock music's 60s (think Beatles & Rolling Stones). The 80s are so revered that for the past 5-10 years there's been a whole music genre ("Synthwave") dedicated to reproducing its aesthetics with a contemporary twist. It's even been preempted by mainstream pop recently with The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" single. Our own Led Zeppelins are 90s kids Daft Punk, Chemical Brothers, the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim. In the 2000s, we took over for good and mostly killed any remnants of rock music's mindshare in Europe, and the US followed in the 2010s with the "EDM" mainstream pop flavor of our stuff. In other words, it's all a matter of which bubble you're living in !
- PaulDavisThe1st 7y ago
  I was a Euro-synth person. I never liked classic rock (which to my chagrin I am (re)discovering in my 50s and thinking that the best of it is really pretty amazing). It's true that the 80's "gave us" synthpop, and although I'm aware of the new level of reverence for some of it, I don't detect the more critical younger minds regarding it with the same level of awe that is now accorded to what happened to rock in the 1970s. My sense is that people like the sound, find it sort of fun-nostalgic, and are recreating it. Nobody views any of the bands you mentioned (I have the first singles by all of them, by the way, on vinyl) as truly ground breaking. I could be wrong. Personally, I went from Euro-synth stuff into ECM, improvised music, indian classical, progressive house and downtempo :)
karatestomp 7y ago
Of course, the music of the 70s was much stronger than the 80s so far as rock and related genres go. There’s a big ol’ lull in high-quality recordings until the tail end of the decade. Very noticeable. But if you mentioned 70s culture during the 90s people’d reliably go “ugh disco what were they thinking?”
scruple 7y ago
The Led Zeppelin of the 80s? IDK, any of Guns and Roses, Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, Slayer, RHCP, etc...