Some videos: In 1985, Tipper Gore's PMRC released a list they called the "Filthy Fifteen," detailing what they believed to be the fifteen most objectionable songs of the time, and the reason they felt each song should be censored... [more inside]
posted by the_bone on Jan 3, 2009 - 120 comments

Hey, what ever happened to Julie Brown? ( not that one) She was a hit in Earth Girls Are Easy with her number, Cause I'm a Blonde. She had another hit with the Dr. Demento staple The Homecoming Queens' Got a Gun! Then she faded into the cultural-artifact twilight ... [more inside]
posted by The Whelk on Dec 30, 2008 - 37 comments

A-Ha's Take on Me, but done literally with lyrics changed to describe what was happening in the video, instead of the head-scratcher of a 80s video having nothing to do with the song. Also? A-ha still exists and the lead singer still looks the same. This meme of doing new lyrics to go with old videos is novel, previously people made videos to match the lyrics literally.
posted by mathowie on Oct 6, 2008 - 168 comments

80smusicvids.com - Like totally bodacious collection of over 1000 music videos from like the raddest decade. Choice. [more inside]
posted by carsonb on Sep 6, 2008 - 61 comments

If adventure has a name, it must have an electric violin solo!
posted by dhammond on Aug 26, 2008 - 23 comments

Vaughn Toulouse was not born Toulouse. He was born Vaughn Cotillard on the island of Jersey on this day in 1959. In the summer of ’78, he left home to tag along on tour with the Clash, which he chronicled in an early issue of The Face. Thus inspired, Toulouse formed a series of bands of his own including Guns For Hire and Department S, which scored a big hit with Is Vic There? (TOTP, Cheggers) and a lesser one with I Want. [more inside]
posted by grounded on Jul 30, 2008 - 5 comments

Y'all think whatever you want about Michael Jackson now, knaamean? But on this day back in 1983, Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever was being taped before a live audience. Since he was no longer contractually tied to Motown, MJ planned to attend but not perform at the function; he was finally able to negotiate a solo spot singing a non-Motown song. Thriller had been released more than a year prior; Billie Jean had been the Number One single on Billboard's Top 100 for two weeks. It was time for a Pop Culture "Do you remember where you were when...?" moment. And then came the moonwalk.
posted by t2urner on Mar 25, 2008 - 82 comments

Go way back into time with a deliciously analog collection of mastermixes from 1980s-era soul radio from London. [more inside]
posted by dhammond on Feb 29, 2008 - 3 comments

Something to Hüsker : Bob Mould, Grant Hart and Greg Norton live with Joan Rivers on the Late Show. Also live versions of the Byrds' Eight Miles High, The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill/I Apologize, Pink Turns to Blue, Every Everything, Makes no Sense at All, Ticket to Ride, New Day Rising, These Important Years, Every Everytime, and a video for Don't Want to Know if You Are Lonely.
posted by psmealey on Sep 21, 2007 - 68 comments

ITV Chart Show Indie Charts 1989-1994 on Youtube
posted by srboisvert on Aug 20, 2007 - 16 comments

On the cusp of DEVO's first tour of Europe since 1990 , it's become clear that, though largely cast aside after their 1980 hit "Whip It", DEVO's influence is finally being felt on modern audiences, around the world. DEVO has inspired tribute bands, some traditional, some not. They've also spawned new bands, domestic [MySpace link], and Foreign like Japan's POLYSICS [YouTube], and Germany's Mutate Now [YouTube]. With musical inspiration like this, can't we forgive such missteps as Devo 2.0?
posted by SansPoint on Jun 15, 2007 - 55 comments

Happy Birthday Ric Richard Otcasek turned 58 today. It's All Mixed Up, I had no idea he was so old. Well, no matter how old you are, you still need to let the Good Times Roll, so Let's Go wish him our very best, since it's pretty much Touch and Go for any rock star approaching age 60. Though many of the Cars hits where sung by the late, great Ben Orr, Ocasek was one of the more recognizable front men of the 1980s. So distinctive that, on April 18, 2006, he was ranked number 50 in The Boston Phoenix list of "The 100 unsexiest men in the world." Ocasek has had a low-key, but reasonably successful career as a solo artist, written a book of poetry and had a cameo role in the John Waters feature film Hairspray. He also appeared on the Colbert Report where he volunteered to lead a commando mission to "rescue" Stephen Jr., the baby eagle at the San Francisco Zoo. Ric also is notable as a producer, though he is probably best known (or infamous in indie circles) for producing Guided by Voices' much maligned Do the Collapse. As for my own personal connection, the first time I saw him was in 1984, when the Cars played a show with Wang Chung and the last time was when I stood next to Ric at Luna's Farewell show at the Bowery Ballroom, a well known Nightspot. Nice guy, he let me buy him a beer. It was, he said, Just what he Needed.
posted by psmealey on Mar 23, 2007 - 61 comments

For most musicians, it's difficult to pinpoint a particular event that forever sullied their image and destroyed their popularity. For 80's rocker Billy Squier, however, the reason is clear. [YouTube]
posted by starkeffect on Aug 11, 2006 - 79 comments

Gloria Estefan and Mylo [warning: eighties]
posted by Pretty_Generic on Sep 11, 2005 - 35 comments

Ever notice a little too much sax in 80's music? (Warning: Slow loading page---lots of embedded Quicktime.)
posted by tss on Jan 27, 2005 - 38 comments

1980s Vinyl Multimedia In the 1980s UK, artists were busy embedding multimedia-enabling compiled computer code into the locked grooves of their vinyl releases (and some cassette tapes). Who knew?
posted by meehawl on Mar 19, 2004 - 28 comments

An 80s band hires a much younger group of musicians to lipsync in their new video - and it becomes a hit. It's a good thing the music industry isn't all about image...
posted by chumptastic on Feb 23, 2004 - 24 comments

Yes, We're The Mini*Pops! For a few brief, shining years in the 80s the Mini*Pops were the ne plus ultra of every pre-adolescent's rock star fantasies. From the classic Mini*Pops, to the haunting Mini*Pops Let's Dance, to everyone's seasonal favourite Mini*Pops Christmas, the Mini*Pops embodied the hopes and dreams of pedophiles children everywhere. Of course, no retrospective of the Mini*Pops would be complete without listening to their bastardization of tribute to Abba.
posted by filmgoerjuan on Sep 28, 2003 - 12 comments

Today, the music critics at pitchfork.com posted the first half of their "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s" feature.
posted by Pinwheel on Nov 18, 2002 - 51 comments

80's ROCK IS DEAD (LONG LIVE 80'S ROCK) Holy crap, I saw an ad on the teevee for a new BOSTON album called Corporate America. A new Boston album! A self-described "in your face" indictment of big business and what it is doing to our world. You'll be comforted to know that the music is still way overproduced and the political content has all the impact of Mike + the Mechanics "Silent Running." In other words — don't change a thing! It turns out all the big 80's rockers have 2002 albums, even the little king himself: Phil Collins. Testify. I'll be damned if one of his new songs doesn't sound like "Take Me Home (Redux)." Def Leppard's "X"? Same. Poison's "Hollyweird"? Same! Poison even does a party rock version of The Who's "Squeeze Box." Wonderful. Bon Jovi, Rush, Robert Plant — what year is this again? Who cares. Let's rock. As soon as this Family Ties is over.
posted by Dok Millennium on Oct 31, 2002 - 36 comments

Like, Omigod! Rhino Records' latest orgy of nostalgia, The '80s Pop Culture Box, arrived in stores this week. The package boasts seven disks, 142 songs, and an impressive array of extras, including liner notes by Jamie Malanowski of Spy magazine, so this may be all that you need to become an instant '80s expert. If the $99.98 sticker price is too steep for you, and you're already an expert, though, you can try their contest for a chance to win a set (and a whole bunch more!) Gag me with a spoon!
posted by yhbc on Jul 22, 2002 - 47 comments

How do you prove you're not crazy? Adam Ant would like to know. He has shown himself to be a little nuts in a recent interview, but isn't that what we expect from our washed-up stars of yesteryear who wore tights and streaks of makeup under his eyes?

But really, how do you prove you're sane - especially if you're a preformer?
posted by tsarfan on Jan 16, 2002 - 15 comments

Big Country singer/guitarist Stuart Adamson found dead in hotel room in Hawaii. The Big Country singer had been missing for over a month. Big Country was one of my favorite bands in the 80s, though they continued making music together until just a few years ago. Adamson was a big influence on U2's Edge, among others. R.I.P. Stuart.
posted by sjarvis on Dec 17, 2001 - 27 comments

My brother just purchased "Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd" and it's isn't. Neither is the best of Jethro Tull, or Add it up - "The Best of the Violent Femmes." Is there any band from the 70's or 80's that has actually put out a"best of" album that isn't at least 30% poop? What's the worst "best of" album you've bought?
posted by Samsonov14 on Dec 4, 2001 - 92 comments

Take the 1980s Music Quiz (via Net Buzz). Guess the song and artist of each. Hint: No two songs are by the same artist, and all were produced between 1980-1989. 222 lines from 222 songs from 222 different artists. This is quality time-wasting.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet on Nov 27, 2001 - 10 comments