For a good couple of years now the ’80s have had one of the strongest comebacks in music history. And when you dig deep in its progression over time, it never really went away. Sure, it grew and diminished in mainstream attention but it’s always been a genre and sonic typology that had loyal fans. Read below to discover the 7 solid reasons ’80s music will never go out of style.
7. It belonged to an era that very many people can still relate to.
It was THE era of baby boomers. They had the safest economic growth and vast opportunities. They became extremely concerned with material goods and this influenced how music videos were portrayed. Luxury became the epicenter of the music business and that mentality, come to think about it, was not only passed on to future generations but got multiplied by a million due to social media.
6. It birthed the first true megastars.
Prince, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Eurythmics, Aerosmith, and Whitney Houston, all come from the same decade! The ’80s. The craziest part is that even Gen Zers know exactly who these people are. When a decade succeeds in spanning mega stars, the echo reverberating those times continues to this day. There was no period in history as focused on popular culture prior to the ’80s nor was ever one after. So far.
5. The genre is universally defined.
The Yamaha DX7 synthesizer straight up carried the ’80s on its back and everyone was happy with it. Singers never blended the ’80s pop sound to the point that it became unrecognizable like today with Rap, Trap, Hip Hop, and Drill. Despite many modern artists hating the idea of boxing their genre, that’s how that decade of musicians WON. They willingly and happily boxed their sound and image and remained forever impregnated in the memories of all those who lived at the time and even after thanks to the internet. So when a new artist like Dua Lipa creates a whole album in the ’80s style, she goes straight into that box that is guaranteed to sell in mass. The exact same success will be possible 10, 20, 30 years from now.
4. The unmistakable sound is easy to recreate.
Unlike opera, rock, or dubstep, the ’80s sound is easy to produce. That makes it a super viable option for music heads around the world. Just think about it. When you have a dark chocolate bar and a milk chocolate bar, knowing that the milk one will guaranteedly sell and is the easiest to produce, why would you even waste time on the dark one? That is how efficient crafting a song in the ’80s style is.
3. The lyrics are basic.
Whether it’s about dance, love, friendship, fun, and partying, the ’80s lyrics are nothing short of complete, absolute simplicity. It also is the only genre that accepts and welcomes uncomplicated words and rhymes. If you were to apply the same concept to Rap music, you’d get egged on. Accordingly, the lyrics are easy to understand, memorize, and repeat. That never goes out of style.
2. The aesthetics are unique to the sound.
That’s when music videos really started to matter. Prior to it, it was all about the audio only. In the ’80s visuals blew up and bright colors and weird fashion pairings were the norm. In 2021, unless you live in LA, you will be looked at pretty funny if you dress in neon colors. Some cosplay girls do it but that’s about it. Well, guess how Gen Z is rebelling? They attribute their fashion choices and hipster tendencies to their love for the ’80s. Another generation 20 years down the line will do the same. The ’80s are a great excuse for non-conventionalism.
1. Gen Zers and everyone else in between have idealized the ’80s era.
When time passes, our brains become rather unreliable. As human beings, we’re flawed. Very flawed. But our memories tend to hold on to the positive aspects of a toxic relationship, the few moments we smiled in a passive-aggressive friendship, the bakery smell in a low rent apartment in NYC, the few times we afforded to go shopping while struggling with our first jobs etc. And we all did exactly that, collectively, with the ’80s. Ask those who were in their 20s at the time. There’s plenty of things they didn’t like but don’t talk about. Everyone wants to remember only the fun thus the idealized decade that in actuality, was no more, no less, the same as each decade before and after. Well… maybe better than Covid. Wait, no. They had mass fear of AIDS and plenty of misinformation.
Just like the ’50s are considered the Golden Age of Hollywood, ’80s Music will forever be the Golden Age of Pop Music.
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