Like Totally '80s Playlist
I was 15 years old in 1980 and my favorite music included The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Who. This was music I called “rock.” A decade later I was a music director for a radio station that played The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Who. Music we called “classic rock.” As you might have summarized I did not listen to a lot of new music during the '80s. In fact, musically, I pretty much dismissed the entire decade as a waste of time.
So, imagine my surprise when a friend of mine told me he was going to have a '80s party and wanted me to hook him up with some “'80s music.” I resisted at first but decided that enough time had passed and perhaps it was a good time to revisit the music of my formidable years. Maybe the music wasn’t as bad as I thought.
The three months it took me to compile this list brought back a lot of memories. I came to the conclusion that I listened to this music a lot more than I thought I did during that time. I also concluded that aside from a few notable exceptions (Van Halen, Prince, Beastie Boys, and U2), '80s music still blows and can’t hold a candle to the grand masters: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Who.
Paul Altobelli circa 1985
As mentioned in the book High Fidelity, there is a certain art to making a great mix tape or CD. What songs you choose, and how you choose them, will largely affect how much your efforts will be appreciated. I believe the same can be said for the playlist - the modern-day mix tape. For this playlist I followed these rules.
- The song had to be released in the 1980's.
- The song had to had to have been played on mainstream radio during the decade.
- The song must be widely known by the majority not the minority.
This playlist is presented alphabetically by artist. I welcome your comments, suggestions, and questions.