I can almost always tell an '80s song from a '50s, '60s, '70s, '90s, or '00s song.

Why?

It's not keyboards, the '60s, '70s, '90s, and '00s have synths.  It's that hollowish snare, if you know what I mean.  Think of "Drive" by The Cars, you know that heavy drum?  That's in just about every 80s song.

I always confuse late 70's music with early 80's, and I confuse late 80's with early 90's.

The best way I can date a song is by remembering where I was living and who I listened to it with... then I can usually figure out what grade I was in, and roughly what year it was.

I'm really bad at dating music just by the sound.

I always confuse late 70's music with early 80's, and I confuse late 80's with early 90's.

The best way I can date a song is by remembering where I was living and who I listened to it with... then I can usually figure out what grade I was in, and roughly what year it was.

I'm really bad at dating music just by the sound.


Beginning in about 1987 the drum machine sort of had a "jungle" sound, if you know what I mean, the whole New Jack thing of 1986-1996.
The late '70s and early '80s are weird.

The whole late 70's, early 80's thing confuses me too.  Mostly with hits of 1979, depending on what country you are in, they could be 1979 hits or 1980 hits.

Most notable the song "Video Killed the Radio Star".  It's often associated as an 80's song, but it charted in 1979

Wasted On The Way by CSNY registers in my mind as a 1970's song... as does On The Radio by Donna Summer.  Both are actually 80's.

Just The Way You Are by Billy Joel registers as early 80's, but is actually 70's. :P

[quote author=whis

Oddly enough, the '80s/'90s boundary actually seems like a fusion of '80s and '90s, rather than a "dead zone" the way the late 70s and early 80s are. 1979-'81 is weird, even 1982 still has some of that "non-decade" feeling.

Wasted On The Way by CSNY registers in my mind as a 1970's song... as does On The Radio by Donna Summer.   Both are actually 80's.

Just The Way You Are by Billy Joel registers as early 80's, but is actually 70's. :P


"On the Radio" just sneaked in.  It peaked on January 12, 1980, which means it debuted in the charts in '79.  It's technically 70's, but officially 80's.  It could qualify as both :)

1979 and 1980 are like the same year.

The odd thing about them too, is that 1979 seems like the '70s with an '80s mindset, while 1980 seems like it's not even in a decade. 1981 seems like very primitive, embryonic '80s. But, some of the most "80s" songs, such as Devo's "Whip It", the Head's "Once in A Lifetime", and Split Enz's "I Got You" came out in '79-'80.


I like the early 80's music alot...it still had a bit of the disco influence even up to Madonna's "Holiday".  I think the Duran Duran era was where the sound really started to change... I know there was true 80's sounding stuff before Duran Duran became so popular... so they weren't really the pioneers, but after Rio it seems like it all started to change... and the disco influence was completely gone, replaced by New Wave.

[quote author=whis

I like the early 80's music alot...it still had a bit of the disco influence even up to Madonna's "Holiday".  I think the Duran Duran era was where the sound really started to change... I know there was true 80's sounding stuff before Duran Duran became so popular... so they weren't really the pioneers, but after Rio it seems like it all started to change... and the disco influence was completely gone, replaced by New Wave.


Actually, Duran Duran kinda have a '70s funk tinge to them I think.  When I think '80s (New Wave, that is) I think of hard snares, pulsing bass lines and high-pitched synths.

Actually, Duran Duran kinda have a '70s funk tinge to them I think.  When I think '80s (New Wave, that is) I think of hard snares, pulsing bass lines and high-pitched synths.


I don't get any 70's influence out of Duran Duran at all...except maybe White Lines which I believe was originally a 70's song...  I think their sound was kind of post-pop/pre-new wave if that makes any sense.  I could maybe say the same about Culture Club.

Keyboards and synths were biggest in the 80's, but I see what you mean. Many times, when I'm listening to, say rarer bands, album tracks or soundtrack songs from the 80's and I haven't heard them before, I can still tell it's an 80's song.

Maybe it's the way the synths mix in with the drumming and permeate the music itself. Let's also not forget -- guitar solo's (in every 80's song pretty much! I love 'em too). ;)

BTW, I always thought Thriller was the beginning of 100% "80s" music, but even that had a vague late 70's influence, as did Prince's "1999" and Madonna's debut album.

On the other end of the spectrum, I'd even say the 80's started making its way in as early as 1978. The Cars' "Just What I Needed" sounds kinda like an 80's song to me, as does Foreigner's "Double Vision" and The Police's "Can't Stand Losing You".

But 1979 was the only 70's year that had a distinct "80s-ness" to it. The midpoint year was 1981 I'd say.

I like that fake "whip" sound.
it went well with the 'swing side to side white guy dance"

Keyboards and synths were biggest in the 80's, but I see what you mean. Many times, when I'm listening to, say rarer bands, album tracks or soundtrack songs from the 80's and I haven't heard them before, I can still tell it's an 80's song.

Maybe it's the way the synths mix in with the drumming and permeate the music itself. Let's also not forget -- guitar solo's (in every 80's song pretty much! I love 'em too). ;)

BTW, I always thought Thriller was the beginning of 100% "80s" music, but even that had a vague late 70's influence, as did Prince's "1999" and Madonna's debut album.

On the other end of the spectrum, I'd even say the 80's started making its way in as early as 1978. The Cars' "Just What I Needed" sounds kinda like an 80's song to me, as does Foreigner's "Double Vision" and The Police's "Can't Stand Losing You".

But 1979 was the only 70's year that had a distinct "80s-ness" to it. The midpoint year was 1981 I'd say.


It's similar to the 80s/90s border, but 79-80 is kinda a "dead zone" while 89-90 seemed like late 80s with a 90s tinge to them.

It is kinda weird how 1989 was the last and most brutal year for music in the 80's.  It truly was the end of the decade as hair metal bands got out their last balllads (eg.  Sheriff and Bad English) and we saw the likes of Milli Vanilli, New Kids in the Block, and Martika.  The only thing more brutal than 1989 was 1990 when Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, and Vanilla Ice all appeared.  The 80's definitely did have an undefinable vibe to it and that's what makes it so memorable.  I don't think that can be said of the music of the 90's or 00's. 

It is kinda weird how 1989 was the last and most brutal year for music in the 80's.  It truly was the end of the decade as hair metal bands got out their last balllads (eg.  Sheriff and Bad English) and we saw the likes of Milli Vanilli, New Kids in the Block, and Martika.  The only thing more brutal than 1989 was 1990 when Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, and Vanilla Ice all appeared.   The 80's definitely did have an undefinable vibe to it and that's what makes it so memorable.  I don't think that can be said of the music of the 90's or 00's. 


Actually, I think 1990 was the last cry for the '80s.  Vanilla Ice has an '80s look to him and sampled Queen's "Under Pressure".  Mariah was actually a slow start, not really being fully accepted until the end of 1990. 

Milli Vanilli, New Kids, and Paula Abdul all carried into 1990, and none sounded drastically different (actually, MV and Paula were still making success in '90 from their '89 albums, although MV may of been '88).  "The Simpsons" I don't believe took off until the second season of '90-'91, although I may be mistaken there. 

About the '90s and '00s having no discernable vibe, I think the lack of vibe was the '90s vibe; the '00s vibe is Rap, Reality TV, Emo, Paris Hilton, The American Idiots, and '90s leftovers.  Neither decade is definable the way the '80s are though and are very sameish in many ways; even the '60s and '70s aren't as much a decade :)