80's Revival? Staying Current..

[beachbum88]

There is constant talk on the Monday afternoon broadcasts about "staying current" with what is on the radio. I am not sure what sounds "current" anymore. Has anyone noticed that many of the "current" songs on the Billboard charts sound as if they are 80s songs? I wasn't sure since I am not that good at categorizing songs into their proper genre. However, I just read an article ( in which Avril Lavigne mentioned that many of the new songs on the radio (eg Katy Perry, Kesha, and Lady Gaga were mentioned) sound really 80s. The first time I've listened to songs like "California Gurls," "Hot and Cold," "Wake Up Everybody," it sounded to me as if an overwhelming number of elements in the songs sound as if they are from what Monday afternoon guests would call "dated" recordings. Perhaps my listening skills are not sharp enough to differentiate.

I was just wondering what you all thought since whenever I try to bounce music/song ideas off of friends and family here, they look at me as if I were a martian!

[Ajetpackoperation]

What can I say? Synths are cool again - which is great and all but I've heard it all before. For those in the know, there had already been an 80s revival; it was called Eelectroclash and it happened ten years ago with bands like Ladytron, The Faint, and Freezepop. Everyone seems to like ripping off Daft Punk nowadays also for some reason.

Sure, switch on the radio and listen to what's currently movin' the masses @sses, but just as important in my opinion is keeping an eye on the horizon. There's a lot of music happening just below the radar that the mainstream will probably only catch on to years down the road from now. Bottom line: being current is great, being a couple steps ahead is even better.

[cardell]

Yes, I've noticd this too.

The 80's were bad enough the first time around...

Stuart

[mojobone]

There's nothing wrong with your ears, nor Jetpack's. Cool thing is that most of the old synths are pretty well implemented as VIs, now, and with expanded polyphony and features; it's a great time to be a musician!