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Thread: 80's Silly Rock

  1. #1
    Member Mythos's Avatar
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    80's Silly Rock

    The 80's had some awesome music, but it had some horrible trends as well. And although the bands below may have had some catchy tunes, some I might have even liked, I still would never buy any of their albums, nor ever go see them live, these bands that produced silly-rock!

    I liked alternative 80's rock, that was dark, loud, dreary and for the most part serious. So I had no tolerance for pop bands that wanted to be cute and funny...

    Silly Rock (in no particular order):
    Devo
    The Cars
    Oingo Boingo
    B52's
    Talking Heads
    Weird Al Yankonthis

    Am I leaving any bands out????


    The lone exceptions I can think of are Madness, but they were not pop, they were ska, and somehow the zany-ness worked for them. And the Ramones got pretty crazy, but they were punk and I loved both of these bands...

    Thoughts? or blast me, I don't mind...

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Devo - quite silly, but some OK songs if you just listen and don't watch them with the plantpots and such.

    The Cars - never thought of them as "silly", more close to bubblegum, though they could do a good song when they set their mind to it.

    Oingo Boingo - not familiar with them, don't think they are well known in this country.

    B52's - more "fun and party" than "silly". I much prefer them to Devo, with whom they are often compared.

    Talking Heads - can't stand them; one of the most overhyped bands ever.

    Weird Al Yankovic - he is what he is. Some of his spoofs are funny the first few hearings, but the Barron Knights did it much better. in any case comedy is not the sort of thing I buy to listen to repeatedly.

    Split Enz were rather ridiculous in concert during their early years, but thankfully by the time the 80's rolled around they had put away the silly hats and nose-cones and concentrated on being a band.

    It's possibly not what you wanted to hear, but I the fixation by certain bands on blood, gore, death, doom and Satanism quite silly - a tired joke that might have been amusing the first time around, which was probably Alice Cooper back in the early 70's.

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    From all those mentioned so far I liked and still like Devo and Talking Heads. Never liked the others, Oingo Boingo, The Cars, B52s, Weird Al, Split Enz I just found them pointless and annoying.

    I'd add the following to the list too:
    The Residents - a few good toons
    Stump - ditto

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mythos View Post
    The 80's had some awesome music, but it had some horrible trends as well. And although the bands below may have had some catchy tunes, some I might have even liked, I still would never buy any of their albums, nor ever go see them live, these bands that produced silly-rock!

    I liked alternative 80's rock, that was dark, loud, dreary and for the most part serious. So I had no tolerance for pop bands that wanted to be cute and funny...

    Silly Rock (in no particular order):
    Devo
    The Cars
    Oingo Boingo
    B52's
    Talking Heads
    Weird Al Yankonthis

    Am I leaving any bands out????


    The lone exceptions I can think of are Madness, but they were not pop, they were ska, and somehow the zany-ness worked for them.
    Lets correct this once and for all! Madness were NOT a ska band, they had a couple of ska tracks on their first album, that's it. They were a pop band, plain and simple.

  6. #6
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    Who did "Relax, don't do it?" Was that Frankie Hates Jazz, or something?

    S-I-L-L-Y.....

  7. #7
    Oingo Boingo and Split Enz were excellent. In fact, I'm shocked I forgot SE in the "bands that saved the 80s" thread.

  8. #8
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    isn't there a pleonasm in the thread title ?

    80's = silly (AFAIC anyways)
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  9. #9
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Never thought of The Cars as silly or bubblegum.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

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    No, because w/o the word silly, it would be 80s bands of all types and w/o the word 80s it would be silly bands from any period.

    ...but I enjoyed the comment

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    When you look back at the 60s and 70s it seems to me there was far more "silly output" from serious artists than came from serious artists in the 80s.

    Arthur Brown
    Capt. Beefheart
    Frank Zappa
    Spirit
    The Beatles
    The Kinks

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  13. #13
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PeterG View Post
    ...but I enjoyed the comment
    I knew you would..

    Quote Originally Posted by PeterG View Post
    When you look back at the 60s and 70s it seems to me there was far more "silly output" from serious artists than came from serious artists in the 80s.

    Arthur Brown
    Capt. Beefheart
    Frank Zappa
    Spirit
    The Beatles
    The Kinks
    well, in that case, while you're at it, you could include Gong and a lot of Canterbury humour
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

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    Absolutely, Gong was nothing if not a group of daft 'shroom toking nutters laughing their balls laugh!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Bails View Post
    Never thought of The Cars as silly or bubblegum.
    I think what stops some people from taking The Cars seriously is Ric Ocasek's voice or vocal style, which sounds an awful lot like some of those early 60's teen pop idols, eg. Neil Sedaka. They werre basically an unpretentious pop band, but good at it.

    Surprised no one has yet mentioned "Da Da Da" by Trio.

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    Member -=RTFR666=-'s Avatar
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    J Geils - Love Stinks or No Anchovies Please
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    Speaking of silliness, who knows the first UK band since the Beatles to hit No. 1 on the US Billboard chart with their debut single?

  18. #18
    Anybody who says the Talking Heads were silly has got to go through me. They were the best and most serious band to come out of the New York New Wave. Yes, their lyrics were occasionally a bit ... odd ... but at the same time they were often brilliant. ("Once in a Lifetime," "Found a Job," "Life During Wartime," "(Nothing But) Flowers," "Born Under Punches," "Don't Worry About the Government," to name just a few.)

    And their complexity on their peak albums (Remain in Light and Fear of Music) was up there with Gentle Giant. Seriously.
    Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    Speaking of silliness, who knows the first UK band since the Beatles to hit No. 1 on the US Billboard chart with their debut single?
    Would you by any chance be talking about Paper Lace?
    Cobra handling and cocaine use are a bad mix.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Sturgeon's Lawyer View Post
    Would you by any chance be talking about Paper Lace?
    No, much later - at least according to the Wikipedia entry on the act I am speaking of.

    Although I said "band", it was mostly a duo.

  21. #21
    If you want another band which could be silly, how about Haindling?

    b.t.w. discovered by Kevin Coyne.

  22. #22
    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    [Oingo Boingo - not familiar with them, don't think they are well known in this country.]

    Not sure what country you live in but in the US they are fairly well known in new wave, alternative and art rock circles. In fact their fomer lead singer and songwriter Danny Elfman is well known as a film soundtrack composer.

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    there is a fine line between silly and genuinely funny. Not long ago I acquired Sell-Out by The Who, and it was the first time I had heard the entire album through from start to finish. I was cracking up. not only that, but the music is great even considered in isolation from the lyrics. That's also one of the things I loved about gabriel-era Genesis. I could enjoy that music on multiple levels; I could just soak up the music without really listening to the words, or I could enjoy the constant wordplay.

    Humour DOES belong in music - but the music has to be there as well, otherwise it's just a novelty record.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bob_32_116 View Post
    Speaking of silliness, who knows the first UK band since the Beatles to hit No. 1 on the US Billboard chart with their debut single?
    Since no one else has come forward with a suggestion, the answer, according to Wikipedia, is Right Said Fred.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PeterG View Post
    Absolutely, Gong was nothing if not a group of daft 'shroom toking nutters laughing their balls laugh!
    Ah, very true ! At least it was intentional !! (But they sure could jam !)
    (Fanboy rant # 127)

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