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I was listening to Pat Benatar's "Get Nervous" album this morning. I was around when it came out, around for MTV, so I know it's 80s music, but can one tell just by listening to it? In her case, I would say yes for there is a disco feel to it...........
...............but am I hearing the right thing? Or is what I am hearing is being misidentied and it is not disco, when did that die anyhow, but aerobics of leotards and leg warmers?
Is there a particular sound to popular music, decade to decade?
Can I ask what song on that album you think sounds like disco? To me Pat Benatar is 100% rock n roll, unless she has some songs that I'm not familiar with.
For what it's worth I have been buying a lot of CDs on eBay recently to improve my music collection by replacing MP3s with AIFFs and adding more songs from artists that I like. In doing that I have started to notice that a lot of what I have always thought of as 80s songs are actually from the 70s.
I think I'm coming to the conclusion that there is no such thing as 70s music. The early 70s music is the same pop-rock-folk music as the 60s. The late 70s is some carry over of that, with the introduction of disco and punk rock. This is the first time I have thought of there being a dividing line in the mid-70s.
P.S. Certain instruments being heard in the music is how I know what decade the music is from. Another way to know is how the song sounds in general. As time progressed the recording equipment only got better.
I think I'm coming to the conclusion that there is no such thing as 70s music.
There is DEFINITELY such a thing as "70s music." The 1970s was the era of ...
"Arena rock" --- Journey, Rush, Queen, Foreigner, Boston, Wings, etc.
The birth of "punk rock" --- A back-to-basics reaction against arena rock that was really interesting for about 5 minutes.
"Disco" --- Also known as Funk for white people.
The golden age of "folk rock" --- Jim Croce, John Denver, America, Paul Simon, Bread, etc. Yes, this had its roots in the '60s, but it was in the '70s when it went big-time mainstream.
It is a great song. But I'm pretty sure that aside from the vocals, every other sound in the song is out of a synthesizer. This was synth pop at its finest.
But I totally get the reaction against it. A lot of synthpop was no longer about being a great musician. It soon turned into being a great computer programmer.
There is DEFINITELY such a thing as "70s music." The 1970s was the era of ...
"Arena rock" --- Journey, Rush, Queen, Foreigner, Boston, Wings, etc.
The birth of "punk rock" --- A back-to-basics reaction against arena rock that was really interesting for about 5 minutes.
"Disco" --- Also known as Funk for white people.
The golden age of "folk rock" --- Jim Croce, John Denver, America, Paul Simon, Bread, etc. Yes, this had its roots in the '60s, but it was in the '70s when it went big-time mainstream.
Yeah, but that was my point. 70s folk rocks sounds just like 60s folk rock. Paul Simon started out in 1964.
Arena rock and punk rock reached peak popularity in the 80s. Disco not so much but it developed into 80s dance music.
When I'm trying to categorize 70s it seems easier to lump the early 70s into the 60s and and the late 70s into the 80s.
70s folk rocks sounds just like 60s folk rock. Paul Simon started out in 1964.
I'm not sure I agree. The folk revival (which actually started in the '50s) was pretty much straight-up folk music. New artists were just singing old songs as they had always been sung. Some artists (like Dylan, Donovan, Van Morrison, etc.) definitely started blending classic folk tunes with rock music, R&B, etc. in the '60s and had success, but the "folk rock movement" was very much a '70s phenomenon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz
Arena rock and punk rock reached peak popularity in the 80s.
They did. And punk would morph into "alternative" in the '90s. But both were born and had their heyday in the '70s.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz
Disco not so much but it developed into 80s dance music.
Disco was less about the music and more about the dancing. It had a distinct style (in both music and dance) in the '70s. You could still find discos in the '80s. You can probably still find them in some cities today. But as a culture movement, it was dead and done by '81.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz
When I'm trying to categorize 70s it seems easier to lump the early 70s into the 60s and and the late 70s into the 80s.
There is definitely crossover. Nothing is born brand new. Alternative and grunge in the '90s was just punk under a new name with a new attitude. Lots of disco music was just sanitized funk. Early '60s Beatles were just copying late '50s Buddy Holly. Yada-yada-yada.
I equate the 80s to synth-pop/drum machines and new wave i.e. The Police, The Cars, Talking Heads, B52s, Level 42, XTC, Billy Idol, Psychedelic Furs, Roxy Music, Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears and so on (although there’s plenty of pop/classic rock from that time as well).
I equate the 80s to synth-pop/drum machines and new wave i.e. The Police, The Cars, Talking Heads, B52s, Level 42, XTC, Billy Idol, Psychedelic Furs, Roxy Music, Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears and so on (although there’s plenty of pop/classic rock from that time as well).
Roxy Music released eight studio albums in a 10-year time span: six albums the 1970s, and two albums in the 80s, the last being Avalon in 1982.
That's why the only way to know if you're listening to 80s music or not is to look at the copyright date. Trying to pigeonhole music into tidy little categories just doesn't work.
80's music can be remembered for great compositions and highly talented artists, hampered by questionable mixing.
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