In a musical sense spent the day listening to music that brought back memories like
the Pet shop boys, Human league, Thompson Twins, Abc, Depeche mode, Big country and
Simple minds to name a few.  I know a waste of a post but it was nice to reminisce about a
happier time in my life.

that was the 80s? yeah, i remember that. mick jagger, elton john, madonna, elvis, sinatra, sammy davis - all the greats.

Ahh the 80's - the decade that taste forgot :) - Anyone remember RaRa skirts ?

(j/k incase anyone missed the smiley thingie)

I can totally relate!

Yesterday before Physio I burned a CD of MP3's so that I could work along with the music of my choice:

Simon and Garfunkel
Sarah Brightman
Smokey Robinson
Enya
Whitney Houston
Tom Paxton
Temptations
Stones (not the Rolling Stones....just "Stones")
Slade
White Snake
Rick James
Skid Row
Rick James
John Denver
Metallica!!!!
Madonna
Kokia
Kim Larsen & Gasolin
Gary Moore
Slade
Glass Tiger
Janis Joplin
Cline Dion
Big Fat Snake
Air Supply
Journey
ACDC
Annie Lennox
Alannah Myles
Evanescence
Sarah Brightman
Sarah McLachlan
Wham
Kate Bush
Elton John
Aerosmith

Back when music was pleasant to listen to? When rap hadn't taken over MTV, AND the radio?

I must be getting old, because I seem to dislike a lot of the current musical trends. yeah there are a few asrtists I still like to hear new stuff from, but it seems if there isn't some angry rapper or an angry metal screamer, that it isn't music any more...

BRING BACK CAPTAIN AND TENILLE!  ;)

Music-wise, the beast decade was the 70s

Quote - Music-wise, the beast decade was the 70s

Nah, I'm gonna say the best time period for music was from...about 1930 to 1955 ;)  :lol:

I do love my 80's music, though.  When ranting about music, I'm often ranting that nothing decent's been released since 1998.

There are still some great musicians producing great stuff.. I enjoy stuff from almost any era.

I just seems we went from enjoyable fun music to urban aggression music in the last 15 years.

Beach Boys; Peter, Paul, & Mary; Hermen's Hermits, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Bee Gees.
DPH

My parents were from the big band era I so do adore that music as well. The late 60's, 70's and 80's were my years.

well, if we're talking older music too, then the 30s and 40s were pretty good. Jimmie Rodgers is one of my favourites, also the Carter Family, Bob Wills, etc

Quote - Music-wise, the best decade was the 70s

A few years ago I would have argued with you, but I have come around to include the 70' and some of the 80's.

I do love my mid 50's and 60's era music as well. And don't forget the JAZZ!

Thanks to my 19 and 21 year old daughters, I'm aware that the music doesn't end with hiphop and rap, I think every era has its trash but even today there are still new bands and artists who make remarkably good music. On the other hand, I always was a big fan of symphonic rock music, from bands like: Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Genesis in their old days, Jethro Tull, a dutch band called Earth and Fire and more. They made very thematic albums with songs of 12, 15 minuts with wonderfull arrangements ( to my opinion anyway) I'm afraid there is no band at moment who can compete with that.

regards,

Bopperthijs

80's!!! been there, done that... got the t-shirts (yeah, I still have them, I just can't wear them... they all seem to have shrunk)  Music from the mid 70's matured in the 80's.  Kate Bush, Mike Oldfield, Kraftwerk.... got their foothold in the 70's became the kickass acts of the 80's.
of course there was this punk stuff, which mercifully put disco out of our misery   (right... here's a chord... here's another chord.... go form a band!)

WhatchootalkinboutWillis?

Disco lives (like Dracula) FOREVER!

Quote -
Disco lives (like Dracula) FOREVER!

I LOVE Disco!!!  I wasn't quite old enough to go to clubs at the height of the Disco Era in the late 1970's but I went anyway,  hehe

I'm with Wheatpenny on this; the 70s were definitely my decade for music.  

That said, I like a lot of stuff from most genres and eras.  Even a lot of rap has its merits.

Acadia, you must be a close age to me...

Bring back Doo-Whop!!!! Great vocalization without annoying instruments :) One of the lesser know groups from that era..Jive 5.

I was a teenager in the 80's so I'm totally hip to PaganArtists jive!!  LOLZ!! 

I'm completely stuck in the 80's and early to mid 90's music wise!!!

The Cure
Siouxsie & The Banshees
The Smiths
Dead Can Dance
Manic Street Preachers
Depeche Mode (Before they started to SUCK in the 90's!!)
Nirvana
NIN
Madonna (really!!  And I'm straight!!!  LOLZ!!)
Kate Bush

Wow...  I could sooooo go on!!  The above are staples in my mp3 player!!!  The only recent (newer) band I like is Metric!

Gerard

One problem with modern music is that overzealous compression of dynamic range makes much of it physically difficult to listen to, regardless of its musical merit.
 
During the '90s, as digital compression became ubiquitous, record companies and artists demanded that mastering engineers make their records physically louder, which led to the "volume wars" that still rage today. Phyically louder records mean very little dynamic movement, with the meters often pinned, and this on a recording medium with the most available dynamic range ever!

The psychoacoustic fallout of this move is decreased perception of stereo image and listener fatique, which is why many modern records sound crappy.

If you have a waveform editor, pull up an old Who song, or some other classic '70s recording, and look t the wave. It breathes! Now, pull up a modern rock track, and you'll notice the wave pretty much smacks the ceiling all the way through. Ugh. And people wonder why record sales are in the toilet.

70's had it's good points but the 80's was my main decade.   I was listening to Book of Love at work today working on my  last client.  He was like " I know that song".  Yea, from the group "Book of Love" from the 80's.  Next hit came on and he remembered that one too.  Funny, we forget how much we love some music and then years later realize how much we missed some of thos "old days" .  Music is as personal as ones faith I think and we all are right in what we think is the best of the best because it is so personal. 

I love lots of music from different decades including songs from the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's and up but the 80's was a time of growth for me and a time where I was totally independent and learning to deal with the world, myself and a time when I partied like there was no tomorrow and danced like a fool when ever I could.  Thompson Twins, Book of Love, Peter Gabriel, Thomas Dolby, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and the list goes on and one and on!! 

There's good music produced every year, it's just actually finding it that's the problem.
I know a lot of people don't like MySpace, but I've found some amazing artists there that I'd never have got the opportunity to hear otherwise, plus a lot of my old "heroes" from the biz.
I try to put the occasional recommendation in the Music Room forum over at PlanIt 3D.

you wouldnt believe the mp3's I have on my puter.....LOL.....Everything from the 50's to todays music....son is a rapper and quite the celebrity in his circle on the net.....He does some amazing work on his puter....but my fav time for music was the 70's and early 80's......
and Im going to see 1 of my favs at the end of the month........Kenny Loggins!!!! Can't wait!

Nancy

Minnie Riperton
Barbara Streisand
Cindy Lauper
Mellisa Manchester
Linda Ronstadt
Mireille Mathieu
Jane Oliver

Frank Sinatra
Robert Goulet
Tony Bennett

MadMaxh, I concurr. Have you also noticed the squeezing of the vocal range? Girl singers in pop don't have to go up to "D" anymore in chest voice. Far from it. Brittney, and in country Shania Twain have made it possible for a female tessitura to stay above middle C and less than seven or eight half-tones above it. Martina McBride is the exception.

:::::: Opera ::::

I also get into aussie country, something which is completely unavailable in the US. I have to order my CDs online from Australia. My favourites are Slim Dusty, Sara Storer and John Williamson (he sang at Steve Irwin's memorial on TV)

Quote - Acadia, you must be a close age to me...

I'm 45. You?

I'm 46 and closing in on 47 rapidly!! LOL

Quote - One problem with modern music is that overzealous compression of dynamic range makes much of it physically difficult to listen to, regardless of its musical merit.
 
During the '90s, as digital compression became ubiquitous, record companies and artists demanded that mastering engineers make their records physically louder, which led to the "volume wars" that still rage today. Phyically louder records mean very little dynamic movement, with the meters often pinned, and this on a recording medium with the most available dynamic range ever!

The psychoacoustic fallout of this move is decreased perception of stereo image and listener fatique, which is why many modern records sound crappy.

If you have a waveform editor, pull up an old Who song, or some other classic '70s recording, and look t the wave. It breathes! Now, pull up a modern rock track, and you'll notice the wave pretty much smacks the ceiling all the way through. Ugh. And people wonder why record sales are in the toilet.

Correct-a-mundo!  And that's one of the reasons why I like to make use of dynamics in my own music.  Gives the loud bits much more impact.  OTOH, the average listener is quite happy to be led by the nose anyhow.  The music industry is just that, more than ever, an industry.  It took the majors a long time to get up to speed with the marketing, compared to other forms of entertainment but they finally managed it, to the detriment of everyone's listening pleasure.

My one hope is the backlash that seems to be coming, brought about by the likes of Prince and Radiohead.  I think more artists will follow suit and as they do, the music company majors will be having conniptions.

Excellent point operaguy.  I think the vocal range in modern "pop" music is so compressed because of the lack of emotional content in the lyrics in a lot of cases, or certainly a lack of interpretation of the emotional content when there actually is some.

Ah, bring back the days when I had to beat the idea of a high D into our lead singer when performing Unrestrained Monotony...err...I mean Unchained Melody.

slinger, have you heard Cyndi Lauper's Unchained Melody? She's a little too nasal, but the emotion and interpretation....wow.

IMO the best rendition of that song, ever. I have her on DVD in live performance of it. 

::::: Opera :::::

Nope, never heard it...in fact I've never really considered Cyndi as a "singer" so I guess that's what comes of only hearing her chart stuff.  It's pleasant enough, but it didn't exactly rock my world.
You can be sure I'm going to track some of her stuff down now though.  Thanks for the tip.

To follow up on the point about emotional content.
I have my favorite. She is from the '60s....but she is still from today (still recording love songs.)

Warning: "Old School" ahead!

Here are two happy songs from Mireille Mathieu
They are about the memory, return and joy of love.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=h-UaXFjeGC4&mode=related&search=
or.....
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8CvqMEI5Ck0&mode=related&search=
The last note, in this case, is not "D". It is C-sharp. She has a "D" of course.

Here is the "D" (near the end). This is the 'tragic' side....
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PasexigzLLM
PaganArtist, if you are looking to be cheered up, you might not want to click on the above link.
The 'hook' of this song does not translate well; she means
"Say the truth you are thinking."
(I know it. You know it. It is over.)
For me, this is the line with the most pathos in the song.
"I often cry when you are asleep, and you...you think it is the wind."

But then... the thrilling realization that love has arrived....
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uTkzg-GwYpg
The look of love
Is in your eyes
The look your smile cant disguise
The look of love
Is saying so much more
Than just words could ever say
And what my heart has heard
Well it takes my breath away

I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you
Now that I have found you

Youve got the look of love
Its on your face
A look that time cant erase
Be mine tonight
Let this be just the start
Of so many nights like this
Lets take a lovers vow
And then seal it with a kiss

I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you
Now that I have found you
Dont ever go

I can hardly wait to hold you
Feel my arms around you
How long I have waited
Waited just to love you
Now that I have found you
Dont ever go
Dont ever go
I love you so

OG, The Look of Love is an outstanding song.  Great fun on guitar, too.  Burt and Hal, IIRC.  They could bash out a pretty good tune.

The song has an interesting tonal structure....

It is a song about having found love.....but it is in a minor key. This saddened key contrasts with the jubuliant lyrics.....until the end.

You hear the transition to major key right near the end. There is a tremendous emotional lift. Suddenly the sun comes out.

::::: Opera :::::

Quote - Music-wise, the beast decade was the 70s

Yeah......the 1670's.

The music industry is blaming the current -- rather substantial -- decline in music sales on illegal downloading.  And thus: the industry's current lawsuit campaign.  However, a few of us believe that they've got it all wrong: the reality is that they are selling junk, and the public simply ain't buyin' their stuff in the numbers that they used to.

The #1 rated radio station in my local area plays 80's music all of the time.

LOL. I was musing to myself the other day that things haven't really changed in the music scene at all. 95% of the music produced is complete crap, and has been every decade since I was born. It's just that when we look back, obviously we remember the good stuff, and forget the crap.

It's the musical equivalent of the "The phone always rings when I'm in the bath!" syndrome. Of course it doesn't, but who remembers - or counts - the times that they've bathed uninterrupted, or answered the phone when it wasn't inconvenient?

For the Brits here, you might be interested in this link:
http://theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_songs.php?show=3
Not only does it confirm that a good 50% of the number one singles throughout the years were junk, but you can also see what was number one on the day you were born. To my everlasting shame, I was born to the winsome strains of *Tie A Yellow Ribbon (Round The Old Oak Tree).

I can't believe you lot forgot Adam & the Ants & The Art of Noise.

KROQ Pasadena(they pronounced it Pasaaaadenaaaaa 'cause they were funny like that heh), The DJ's, The Poor Man, Richard Blade, Dusty Streets, Jed The Fish,... Now all of a sudden these names of bands just started leaking from my head(I don't even remember what some of them sounded like sheeeeesh). Dead Kennedy's, Fishbone, Flock of Seagulls, Soft Cell, Billy Idol, The Cure, Oingo Boingo, Adam And The Ants, Bananarama, Tears for Fears, The Bangles, The Psychedelic Furs, B52's, Berlin. (plugs leak before to much more stuff leaks out)

One of my favorite bands in recent years is My Morning Jacket. They have that 'big' sound that's almost completely absent in most modern music. Here they are on Letterman with the Boston Pops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjLFG0i2_AE.
Jim hits some high notes towards the end of this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3ddIrrEAQI (no, it's not trance; wait a few seconds)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfoxXxBHTak is just a good song :)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that Wheatpenny said beast decade..;)

A few years back, a comic editorialist in Florida did a column to vote the worst songs in the world, figuring he'd get maybe 200-300 replies. He got 40,000...;) The Winner was 'Macarthur Park', followed by something I don't remember, but heartily agreed with, and 'You're having my Baby' as #3...;)  All 3 were written in the 70s...;)

I do have a lot of vinyl from the 70s, but I liked the 80s better, and the 90s better than that. It was only when I got married (again?!), that I got stuck listening to rap and country (don't ask..;)
Aside from Coldplay, I haven't heard anything from the 21st Century, which kinda annoys me.

I'll have to look around at the above suggestions, because even at my advanced age, I still want to hear something new and interesting...;)

"In a musical sense spent the day listening to music that brought back memories like
the Pet shop boys, Human league, Thompson Twins, Abc, Depeche mode, Big country and
Simple minds to name a few.  I know a waste of a post but it was nice to reminisce about a
happier time in my life."

Boy, did that not just hit it right on the head???  Here I am listening to Loverboy, thinking about the way Miami looked back during Miami Vice...wishing I had those days back and this post!

Quote - I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that Wheatpenny said beast decade..;)

A few years back, a comic editorialist in Florida did a column to vote the worst songs in the world, figuring he'd get maybe 200-300 replies. He got 40,000...;) The Winner was 'Macarthur Park', followed by something I don't remember, but heartily agreed with, and 'You're having my Baby' as #3...;)  All 3 were written in the 70s...;)

I do have a lot of vinyl from the 70s, but I liked the 80s better, and the 90s better than that. It was only when I got married (again?!), that I got stuck listening to rap and country (don't ask..;)
Aside from Coldplay, I haven't heard anything from the 21st Century, which kinda annoys me.

I'll have to look around at the above suggestions, because even at my advanced age, I still want to hear something new and interesting...;)

Coldplay? Wash yer mouth out.  Radiohead did it first and did it better.

Ooooh, forgot about mentioning Radiohead & Coldplay...  I personally don't really lump them together as Radiohead seems more "Alternative Rock" and Coldplay have more of an easy listening "Adult Contemorary Rock" thing going on.....    that's just me but i quite like them both too....  Though being a Canuck, I've always been quite the Anglophile musically!!!! 

Gerard

Oh some Erasure , Pet Shop Boys ,Sandra , Chris de Bourgh , Depeche Mode , Enigma
Some nice souvenirs for me too !

Quote -
For the Brits here, you might be interested in this link:
http://theofficialcharts.com/all_the_no1_songs.php?show=3
Not only does it confirm that a good 50% of the number one singles throughout the years were junk, but you can also see what was number one on the day you were born. To my everlasting shame, I was born to the winsome strains of *Tie A Yellow Ribbon (Round The Old Oak Tree).

• 

Useful link this; thanks.

I see my daughter was born to the strains of "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" - but so was every child born in the UK that summer...

Oh please don't remind me of that one.

I was attending Donington festival that year and someone came out on stage and said that the bloody thing had stayed at number one again and so it was the longest-running number one ever in the history of the charts. I think it might have been James Hetfield from Metallica. Yeah I guess it was because they were the second-to-last act, ACDC were headlining, so that would have been around 7pm. Anyway, the sound of 70,000 metal fans all shouting "FUCK BRYAN ADAMS" was pretty awesome, heheh.

I still have nightmares about donnington '88

I wasn't at that one, but a couple of kids died, didn't they?

yup.. crowd surged as G'n'r were playing
I only just got out of there

Scary shit. 'Course if I had been there I'd have been running away from the stage anyway, I could never stand Axl's whiny voice... that's one band I don't miss.

Iron Maiden though... ho yes.