In which ways did 80s music sound different?

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This thread is kind of influenced by the 80s revival. With electroclash, and the sound of electroclash influencing even mainstream pop acts such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue (both survivors from the 80s btw, but not from the early 80s stuff that has influenced electroclash).
What this thread is devoted to, however, is to point out how 80s music sounded different than even the most obviously 80s influenced current stuff does. I will list some points, and then others may add some points too. Note that this goes for differences that you can actually hear. The fact that the synth sounds of the 80s were created by synths while today they are created by synthesized waveform samples isn't particularly relevant when you have to be an expert to hear the difference anyway.

Anyway, here are some differences, a few of them rather obvious:

- One has to admit that electronic drum sound technology has improved somewhat, to say the least :-)
- 80s music came from only two directions, while current music comes from four (stereo vs. surround)
- Almost all of the early 80s synthpop had male singers, while today, female singers tend to be in a majority
- Writing songs seemed to be more important to the 80s people. While today's electroclash often have traditional tunes, with verse and chorus and all, those tunes still tend to suck.
- There is considerably less hiss on today's recordings :-)
- Octave bass hasn't become fashionable again
- The groove of 80s synthpop was almost always a very plain one, bass drum on one, snare drum on two, bass drum on three and snare drum on four. Today breakbeats and other "imaginative" grooves are more usual.
- 80s synthpop was mainly a UK thing, while electroclash started in the US

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 2 November 2003 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

The need in rock/pop songs to co-opt the trappings and shenanignas of hip hop wasn't as ubiquotous as it is today.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 2 November 2003 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

God-damn those weevils.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Sunday, 2 November 2003 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow, two posts and no one's mentioned gated drums (I'm looking at you, Mr. Phil Collins), orchestra hits, or the omnipresent Yamaha DX7 sound.

― d.w., Sunday, 2 November 2003 17:44 (twenty-two years ago)

The hair sounded different.

― jazz odysseus, Sunday, 2 November 2003 17:46 (twenty-two years ago)

chorus pedals.
almost no sampling technology.
reverb on everything.
splash cymbals.
what d.w. said.

― joni, Sunday, 2 November 2003 17:53 (twenty-two years ago)

There was a semblence of interest in writing a good lyric in the '80s.

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Sunday, 2 November 2003 18:02 (twenty-two years ago)

- 80s synthpop was mainly a UK thing, while electroclash started in the US

No, Larry Tee is from the US and pretends to have started the genre. That doesn't mean there weren't bands doing the same thing years before that had nothing to do with him, or did but predated him.

As for the Madonna connection ... Tee's a pop producer. I don't think Madonna picked up a Magas record and went "I want to sound like this!" She could probably give two shits about whatever dance fad is there.

Bpitch has it up on IDG anyway. Hooray for electropop.

― Xii (Xii), Sunday, 2 November 2003 20:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Aphex Aural Activators all over everything as some sort of bargepole of rich you are, Ampeg Tape and no other brand ever, the Alesis Quadraverb (and Midiverb), those headless guitars, Pearl Exports (preferably silver), Trace Elliot amps with too many controls for something thats just going to get shunted through the PA anyway, the second pick-up position on a Strat through some sort of Chorus effect rackmount that cost you 15 grand (in fact only you and Quincey Jones own one), some equally expensive set of drum pads which don't work because you headbutted them whilst on speed after going to see a Hue and Cry gig, a copy of Face magazine, 2 tickets to Comic Relief and an AIDS ribbon.

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Sunday, 2 November 2003 20:20 (twenty-two years ago)

oh and that Palladino smackhead on bass

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Sunday, 2 November 2003 20:22 (twenty-two years ago)

the second pick-up position on a Strat

this is so spot on its almost scary

― jonique, Sunday, 2 November 2003 21:23 (twenty-two years ago)

That reverb thing was particularly evident on more guitar based stuff. I mean, those U2, Big Country and Smiths albums from the 80s (and even the Stone Roses debut) virtually drowned in reverb.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 2 November 2003 23:43 (twenty-two years ago)

digital = bad sounds
analog = good sounds

― A Nairn (moretap), Sunday, 2 November 2003 23:48 (twenty-two years ago)

But those emulated analog sounds you have now don't sound particularly different from the analog sounds of the early 80s. Digital synth sounds was very 1987, and it sounds more dated today than analog ones do.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 3 November 2003 00:09 (twenty-two years ago)

- One has to admit that electronic drum sound technology has improved somewhat, to say the least :-)

is this a joke?

- 80s music came from only two directions, while current music comes from four (stereo vs. surround)

Quad was around in the 60s and no-one uses it now so what are you talking about?

- The groove of 80s synthpop was almost always a very plain one, bass drum on one, snare drum on two, bass drum on three and snare drum on four. Today breakbeats and other "imaginative" grooves are more usual.

but the electroclash stuff is still pretty straight up.

++ the 80s stuff was often faster (135-145)/ rock styled with more guitar action than any of the stuff people generally associate with the revivalist.

++ accents have changed

― Savin All My Love 4 u (Savin 4ll my (heart) 4u), Monday, 3 November 2003 06:50 (twenty-two years ago)

the coke was purer.

― hstencil, Monday, 3 November 2003 06:51 (twenty-two years ago)

I was much younger.

― Prude (Prude), Monday, 3 November 2003 07:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Everyone used drum machines...and far too loud in the mix. Listen to ABC's Lexicon of Love - at the time it sounded like an orchestral masterpiece, now it's all drums.

― Jez (Jez), Monday, 3 November 2003 09:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Quad was around in the 60s and no-one uses it now so what are you talking about?

The Orb to thread

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 3 November 2003 12:40 (twenty-two years ago)

That Eighties Drum Sound

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 3 November 2003 13:03 (twenty-two years ago)

80s: Boy George
90s: RuPaul
00s: Peaches

Pop music went to the dogs after "The War Song".

― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Monday, 3 November 2003 14:28 (twenty-two years ago)

hmmmm, something about choruses being more suited for fist-pumping and chanting along to?

― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Monday, 3 November 2003 15:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Drum recordings from 80s rock/pop records = over-gated.
Drum recordings from 00s rock/pop records = over-compressed.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 3 November 2003 15:37 (twenty-two years ago)

there's no such thing as over-compression!
haha, I'm so looking forward to stumble upon this thread in 10 years time!

― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Monday, 3 November 2003 15:46 (twenty-two years ago)

'Pop music went to the dogs after "The War Song".'
i really hope you meant that "the war song" was the last great pop song and not that it started a wave of shitty pop that hasnt let up.

― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, 3 November 2003 22:18 (twenty-two years ago)

"The War Song" and "great" in the same sentence just doesn't fit. The song was a complete disaster from the beginning until the end, and was followed by the even more complete disaster that was the "Waking Up With The House On Fire" album.

"From Luxury To Heartache" was actually a huge improvement, but, by then, people had already lost interest.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 3 November 2003 23:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Rock sax
Unbridled passion in rock singing (I just heard "Urgent" on the radio a few hours ago -- good Lord!)
Click tracks out the wazoo
Dare I say more intricate vocal melodies overall? Not to mention more unexpected chord changes and modulations
Less self-conscious and history-hampered?

― Clarke B. (stolenbus), Tuesday, 4 November 2003 00:57 (twenty-two years ago)

"There was a semblence of interest in writing a good lyric in the '80s.
-- J0hn Darn1elle (edito...), November 2nd, 2003."

This seems debatable, I'm surprised this went by unchallenged... Are we talking just mainstream pop here, or are we including hip-hop? Cuz I would definitely say that hip-hop has largely hijacked pop's affinity for doing interesting things with language/lyrics. But apart from hip-hop, I think there has been a precipitous decline in lyrical quality since, oh, the mid-80s when the first wave of synth stuff started to die down. I can't remember the last time some Top 40 single had some weird narrative angle (see the "One Night in Bangkok" thread or any Tears for Fears hit. Hell, even Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" has a bit of something behind it), or even a particular point of view. There have been hits that have done the "story in song" routine - "Sk8r Boi" springs to mind - but the subject matter is very run-of-the-mill. I'm not sure why this is, or even if this estimation is correct...

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 4 November 2003 01:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Geir wrote:

- 80s synthpop was mainly a UK thing, while electroclash started in the US

I liked your post Geir but I wanted to query this one. It seems like a lot of the current crop either came from Berlin or were heavily inspired by the Deutstche Neue Welle of 1978-83ish. I only know this because my German teacher at school was a huge fan of Der Plan, Ideal, DAF, Malaria et al, and basically was a total Crepuscule head - even Daniel Miller (The Normal) and John Foxx had obviously been listening to the Germans, and said so in many an interview. There really isn't that much of an advance from that era except in terms of the things you pointed out (esp. the production). Even all the cabaret visuals are totally Weimar Republic cabaret. Poor old Germany never gets enough credit!

Of course one wouldn't want to minimise the influence of Grace Jones either...

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 4 November 2003 01:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I would say there is a difference between synthpop and synthrock...

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 4 November 2003 01:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I go with Geir: "I Wear My Sunglasses at Night" vs. "The Lebanon".

― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Tuesday, 4 November 2003 04:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Geir, much of that early 80's German stuff was ridiculously, over-the-top poppy. But it was German, so it sounded bizarre anyway.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Tuesday, 4 November 2003 04:58 (twenty-two years ago)

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