'80s Music - The Great Influence

So... I love music. Really. I can't imagine life without it. Nicole asked me once, what would I choose... to lose my sight or my hearing.

Honestly, that is a tremendously hard question. To be unable to read or see color... yeesh... I am very visual in my life... but to be unable to hear music? No more drum beats or chord changes... no more heartfelt lyrics and angsty wailing... no more jangly guitars and synth wa-was... no more singer songwriter, twee, shoe-gazing, punk, alternative, emo, slowcore, indie, metal walls of sound?

That would probably kill me.

So... I'm always an '80's guy at heart, but I listen to a lot of new music as well... but sometimes, it is just necessary to indulge the drum machines and simplistic new wave keyboards and wincingly high falsettos... (can you tell that A-ha is playing "Take On Me" right now?)

What I find interesting is how much of the music... panned in the day... has become such an influence over the new music of the past five or six years. The post-punk new wave alternative of New Order, Depeche Mode, the Cure, R.E.M., Big Audio Dynamite, Yaz, The Church, XTC, World Party, Echo & the Bunnymen, Simple Minds, etc., have become the Post Post-punk, New new wave sounds of whole new swath of bands in the 2000's.

All of the following owe their sounds to the crazy, try-anything, coke and hairspray, anti-Thatcher/Reagan sounds that now counts as "classic" with the younger crowd.

Coldplay
Elbow
Gorillaz
Muse
The Coral
Interpol
Ballboy
Elefant
Leaves
The Postal Service
The Prids
The Stills
Vue
The Arcade Fire
Bell X-1
The Delays
Dogs Die In Hot Cars
Franz Ferdinand
Keane
The Killers (probably the kings of the new new wave!)
Pity Sing
Razorlight
Snow Patrol (especially Final Straw)
The Zutons
Black Tie Dynasty (a wonderful unknown band)
Bloc Party
The Bravery (painfully so!)
The Editors
The Futureheads
Imogen Heap (go listen to Laurie Anderson for the original!)
Maximo Park
The National
Pom Pom Diary
Rogue Wave (tremendous band... see 'em live if you can!)
Shout Out Louds
Whitey (wonderful synth pop electronica)
BLOW
Boy Kill Boy
The Changes
Dappled Cities
Explosions In The Sky (incredible instrumental pieces of New Wave rock)
The Grates (wonderful Aussie female punk band)
Headlights
The Honorary Title
Human Television
Love Is All
Mystery Jets
Only Son
The Oohlas
Rock Kills Kid (the perfect blend of '90s Punk pop and '80s alternative)
TAM
Turn Off The Stars
The View (nothing to do with Barbara Walters... I swear)
Zero 7
54 Seconds
American Babies
Apartment
Athlete
The Colour
Coulter (the best resurgence of the New Romantic sound)
Datarock (Devo meets Talking Heads!)
The High Strung
The Hoosiers
Klaxons
Shocking Pinks...

Well... I could keep going.

I guess I've more than enjoyed the resurgence of '80s influenced music in the past half a decade. If you like the '80s at all, try out some of the bands listed above. I think you'll be surprised... in a good way.