I was talking about this with Marty, and what are some examples of "socially conscious" songs, TV shows, and movies in the range of the late '80s? The whole social consciousness revival and late '60s revival probably started in its earliest form around 1985 (with the "We Are The World" single and Prince's Around the World in a Day, and bands like the Bangles coming out), and went to about 1993 or 1994 (when the socially conscious era in TV ended with the debut of shows like Frasier and Friends.) Some products are definitely the invention of the bobo, the socially conscious sitcom, and movies like Wall Street, the revival of "serious movies" in general with Schindler's List and such, etc. In retrospect, the whole era can be seen as a slow revival of the late '60s-mid '70s, especially in film and TV (with all the serious movies and TV then.)

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I was talking about this with Marty, and what are some examples of "socially conscious" songs, TV shows, and movies in the range of the late '80s? The whole social consciousness revival and late '60s revival probably started in its earliest form around 1985 (with the "We Are The World" single and Prince's Around the World in a Day, and bands like the Bangles coming out), and went to about 1993 or 1994 (when the socially conscious era in TV ended with the debut of shows like Frasier and Friends.) Some products are definitely the invention of the bobo, the socially conscious sitcom, and movies like Wall Street, the revival of "serious movies" in general with Schindler's List and such, etc. In retrospect, the whole era can be seen as a slow revival of the late '60s-mid '70s, especially in film and TV (with all the serious movies and TV then.)


Yeah, even up to 1994 or so, there seemed to be a "seriousness" in music and even TV shows (i.e. Roseanne, Full House and even occasionally The Simpsons, while "comedic", did tend to often have serious themes or life lessons in some episodes).

It was more prevalent in TV and movies from 1988-94/95 and in music from Summer '85-91. Other songs offhand:

Fast Car, and Talkin' Bout a Revolution - Tracy Chapman
Alot from John Mellencamp from or after the Scarecrow album (i.e. Paper in Fire, Small Town)
Another Day in Paradise - Phil Collins
Janie's Got a Gun - Aerosmith
Heal the World - Michael Jackson
Almost anything from U2

Yeah, even up to 1994 or so, there seemed to be a "seriousness" in music and even TV shows (i.e. Roseanne, Full House and even occasionally The Simpsons, while "comedic", did tend to often have serious themes or life lessons in some episodes).

It was more prevalent in TV and movies from 1988-94/95 and in music from Summer '85-91. Other songs offhand:

Fast Car, and Talkin' Bout a Revolution - Tracy Chapman
Alot from John Mellencamp from or after the Scarecrow album (i.e. Paper in Fire, Small Town)
Another Day in Paradise - Phil Collins
Janie's Got a Gun - Aerosmith
Heal the World - Michael Jackson
Almost anything from U2


Also, alot of the beginnings of the female singer-songwriters had 'em. Tracy Chapman had that, Suzanne Vega's first couple of albums (such as a song like "Luka", about spousal abuse), and Tori Amos' "Me and a Gun" from 1991, a graphic a capella account of rape were all "socially conscious songs." Why do you think it came in starting in 1985? I think part of it was the growing sort of internal contradiction over Reagan. On one hand, people didn't want to give up materialism and the excesses of the '80s, but there was also growing guilt over it. It's similar to the beginning of the wave of socially conscious movies like Syriana around 1995. Here're the lyrics of Prince's "Sign O'The Times" from 1987, BTW:

Sign O' The Times

Oh yeah
In France a skinny man
Died of a big disease with a little name
By chance his girlfriend came across a needle
And soon she did the same
At home there are seventeen-year-old boys
And their idea of fun
Is being in a gang called The Disciples
High on crack, totin' a machine gun

Time, time

Hurricane Annie ripped the ceiling of a church
And killed everyone inside
U turn on the telly and every other story
Is tellin' U somebody died
Sister killed her baby cuz she couldn't afford 2 feed it
And we're sending people 2 the moon
In September my cousin tried reefer 4 the very first time
Now he's doing horse, it's June

Times, times

It's silly, no?
When a rocket ship explodes
And everybody still wants 2 fly
Some say a man ain't happy
Unless a man truly dies
Oh why
Time, time

Baby make a speech, Star Wars fly
Neighbors just shine it on
But if a night falls and a bomb falls
Will anybody see the dawn
Time, times

It's silly, no?
When a rocket blows
And everybody still wants 2 fly
Some say a man ain't happy, truly
Until a man truly dies
Oh why, oh why, Sign O the Times

Time, time

Sign O the Times mess with your mind
Hurry before it's 2 late
Let's fall in love, get married, have a baby
We'll call him Nate... if it's a boy

Time, time

Time, time

Also, alot of the beginnings of the female singer-songwriters had 'em. Tracy Chapman had that, Suzanne Vega's first couple of albums (such as a song like "Luka", about spousal abuse), and Tori Amos' "Me and a Gun" from 1991, a graphic a capella account of rape were all "socially conscious songs." Why do you think it came in starting in 1985? I think part of it was the growing sort of internal contradiction over Reagan. On one hand, people didn't want to give up materialism and the excesses of the '80s, but there was also growing guilt over it. It's similar to the beginning of the wave of socially conscious movies like Syriana around 1995.

Forgot about "Luka", but that's a prime example, too (its sorta hidden beneath the breezy pop/wave beat, as was the case with alot of the socially concious '80s songs, but in a lyrical sense, I think they all kinda pointed towards what '90s music would become. That just became darker, so it sounded more serious or angry, too).

That makes sense, btw. I think the "excessive" period of the '80s kinda peaked around '85 or '86 actually, but probably as a collective "last gasp before we settle down" by the yuppies.

I think more things started to be exposed on the news c. 1985, such as AIDS (the very beginnings of it being known, at least), or the famine in Ethiopia, as well as some people becoming more disapproving of Reagan (Run DMC for example, were against him for not paying attention to the crime and poverty in inner cities, which again, was a theme of early rap).

P.S. I've never heard "Sign O the Times" before that I know of. Powerful sounding song, though and very accurate for its era.

Forgot about "Luka", but that's a prime example, too (its sorta hidden beneath the breezy pop/wave beat, as was the case with alot of the socially concious '80s songs, but in a lyrical sense, I think they all kinda pointed towards what '90s music would become. That just became darker, so it sounded more serious or angry, too).

That makes sense, btw. I think the "excessive" period of the '80s kinda peaked around '85 or '86 actually, but probably as a collective "last gasp before we settle down" by the yuppies.

I think more things started to be exposed on the news c. 1985, such as AIDS (the very beginnings of it being known, at least), or the famine in Ethiopia, as well as some people becoming more disapproving of Reagan (Run DMC for example, were against him for not paying attention to the crime and poverty in inner cities, which again, was a theme of early rap).

P.S. I've never heard "Sign O the Times" before that I know of. Powerful sounding song, though and very accurate for its era.


Part of it might also have been rap's seriousness in its early years. I do dislike Public Enemy for certain reasons (well, they did say that Jewish people are responsible for all the evil in the world or something to that effect), but I respect what they said about the inner cities.

The yuppies were still excessive up until the recession, I think they sort of turned into what they are today (greedy, but at the same time guilty in terms of being bobos-yuppies with a touch of green.) Maybe some of it had to do with alot of the peak yuppies born in the '50s settling down and having kids in the last half of the '80s, and becoming increasingly nostalgic for the '60s. Though, then and again, alot of yuppies settled down, but never gave up their views (or else alot of the kids in my generation wouldn't have turned out as they have.)

By the way, here's the music vid for the song if you want to hear it. I also think the animated video is very "cutting edge" for 1987, if you know what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B55sNrO3jWE

There was also Man In The Mirror from Michael Jackson, and Ship Of Fools by World Party.

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