Modern songs with an 80s sound

[Cassius Clay]

[Cassius Clay]

[Cassius Clay]

[Cassius Clay]

[Cassius Clay]

[Gendo]

I was quite surprised when I learned that this song did not come out 30 years ago.

[Ptolemy_Banana]

[Cassius Clay]

Nice

[Unvoiced_Apollo]

I was quite surprised when I learned that this song did not come out 30 years ago.

I was going to post this one.

[Cassius Clay]

[maz89]

I heard the first one in its entirety. Absolutely sublime.

[Eva Yojimbo]

Probably my favorite contemporary pop band is Paramore, and their newest album, After Laughter, is a complete 80s throwback. For a band that started out as fairly conventional (but catchy-as-hell) pop punk, I think they pulled it off remarkably well.




In retrospect, Ain't It Fun--which may be my favorite pop song of the last 10+ years--off their last album was already pointing in that direction:

[maz89]

^Will check those out although Paramore's latest songs haven't quite been working for me as much as some of their older output.

[Eva Yojimbo]

^ I love their older stuff as well, but I think there's only so far you can go with that pop-punk sound before it starts to get very samey. Really, I think their primary strength has always been in the "pop" element anyway, their ability to craft really catchy hooks, especially vocally. By comparison, their guitar riffs and bass/drum beats were rarely as memorable or outstanding. While I'm more innately drawn to the rock sound than the 80s/poppier stuff they're starting to explore, I actually think the latter fits what they do a bit better.

[maz89]

Oh, well, I checked those tracks out. They were cool, even if not on the level of Decode.

I had heard Ain't It Fun before but the name must have slipped my mind (which is a weird excuse). Catchy.

[maz89]

Resurrecting this thread for this:

[maz89]

And another:

[Gendo]

[Cassius Clay]

Not modern but this is the most 80s thing I've ever heard, and I can't stop listening to it.

[Cassius Clay]

[Eva Yojimbo]

Besides Paramore, my other favorite modern pop band is The New Pornographers, and I finally got around to their latest album Whiteout Conditions, and it's very 80s:



Great album, too. Probably only behind Twin Cinema and Together as my favorite from them.

[Eva Yojimbo]

Anyone still reading this?

Anyway, last few weeks I kinda took to exploring the last ~20 years of mainstream pop that I've mostly ignored and I was surprised by just how widespread the 80s comeback was. Here's some (just some!) highlights:


^ This may seriously be my favorite Beyonce song. It's unbelievable to me that, one, this wasn't released as a single and, two, it didn't even make it onto the actual album (it's a bonus track). It's a perfect pastiche of late 80s Whitney Houston sound-wise, but is unmistakably Beyonce in attitude and performance.


^ Is that... Prince? No, it's Janelle Monae, but it's seriously the closest thing I've heard to Prince since the Purple One himself. Was awesome to see her perform this at the Grammys (that said, her first album blows her newest album out of the water... which is more a comment on how great her first album is than how bad her newest one is, because her new one is actually damn solid).

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giPa88X ... DybGE4SzWL[/youtube]
^ The entire 1989 album is a spectacular ode to the 80s but complimented by Taylor Swift's distinct songwriting and several more contemporary touches. Not sure if I could pick one favorite as it's pretty much a perfect pop album, but Style is perhaps the most 80s thing here.

Side note: Really can't believe it took me this long to realize how great she is... but, hey, every now and then the world of 13 year old girls get it right and this generation's best songwriter just happens to appeal to their tastes. Yeah, trust me, I'm stunned myself that I'm here proclaiming T Swift as the best songwriter of the last 20 years, but I don't think it's close.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE2qEpk ... xSBy4rpIJZ[/youtube]
^ OK, this is the mother-load, the ultimate, absolute, pinnacle, epitome of 80s pastiche albums. So much so that if you had handed this to me and said "this is a lost pop album from the 80s" I would've believed you. It's also a damn great pop album at that. Endlessly and effortlessly catchy. It lacks the subtlety and substance and artistry of Swift's 1989, but it's even MORE 80s sounding. If you can tolerate bubblegum pop and love the 80s, definitely pick up this album.

[maz89]

We've already spoken about the other artists, but just wanted to acknowledge that Janelle Monae number. So cool! That's a sexy, groovy track. Her first album goes on the must-listen list. Maybe I should actually dive into Prince while I'm at it...

[Eva Yojimbo]

We've already spoken about the other artists, but just wanted to acknowledge that Janelle Monae number. So cool! That's a sexy, groovy track. Her first album goes on the must-listen list. Maybe I should actually dive into Prince while I'm at it...

You will drown! LOL. He's a guy like Dylan that if I do a marathon I can ONLY listen to his stuff because it takes me about a week to get through. Especially in the 90s he was just nutty prolific (two different 3-disc albums!) with no filter, and it wasn't all gems. If you're going to dive into Prince, here's the cream:

Purple Rain - his magnum opus

Sign o' The Times
Parade

^ Many would argue Sign o' The Times is his best, and while I do think it's the best showcase of his versatility it's not as consistent as Purple Rain. Parade is awesome because it perfected his pop-psychedelic sound.

Dirty Mind
1999
Love Symbol Album
Gold Experience

^All solid, excellent albums, but not quite as great as the above.

That's a good start. There's some good stuff outside them but it's all over the place. Two of my favorite Prince songs are on his second album: Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad and Bambi. If you listen to them you can probably guess what I love about them. ;)

Glad you like the Monae! I'm definitely psyched to watch her development. Of all the pop I've recently heard she definitely has the most unique, distinct style.