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Ah, the eighties. The decade of big hair, videogames, teen cinema, fear of the mushroom cloud, and some of the most diverse music of any era. Being a teen in the eighties, sure I was caught up in the awful fashion (some of the most outrageous looks, in my opinion), and looked forward to every John Hughes movie, but it was the music that really made this period special. I was one of those kids who was glued to the TV on August 1, 1981 to watch the launch of MTV, and I was hooked! My sisters and I would watch for hours eagerly anticipating what Martha or Alan would play next. Growing up in the suburbs, the airwaves were flooded with top 40 hits. This was fine until I got a glimpse of the Split Enz, The Pretenders, David Bowie, The Specials, Kate Bush, etc. To be clear, the early years of MTV were pretty eclectic and there seemed no rhyme or reason to what they threw up on the screen, but it was the new wave and synth bands that grabbed my attention and never left.

As the decade wore on and videos became more mainstream, I rarely missed an episode of 120 Minutes to get my fill of alternative music. Bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, R.E.M, The Smiths, The Cure, and Concrete Blonde filled my tape case. I thought I was pretty well-versed in the new wave, synth, and alternative genres until I recently started scouring the internet for lost and overlooked gems of the eighties. After having spent several nights and countless hours going down the rabbit hole that the internet can be, I found there was much to explore and discover about this decade I thought I knew so well. The intent of this blog is to be a place where I can share some of these overlooked songs, revisit some classics that deserve some renewed attention, and share news on current happenings from bands/artists from this unique period in time.

I hope you enjoy!

Here’s one of the few photos that survived showing me in all my ’80s glory. What was I thinking?

Cindy

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