OT: Singers or Bands That Define a Decade

Submitted by mGrowOld on

Happy Sunday everyone.  Kinda of a slow morning what with Harbaugh not able to land any new commitments in the past several hours (slacker) and no new developments on the completely idiotic VERY IMPORTANT subject of air pressure in footballs so I thought I'd pose a question to the board.

If I was to play word association with you on which singer or band immediately comes to mind for a particular decade what would you say?  For me the 50's - 80's is pretty easy but then in the 90's and beyond it becomes a bit harder to just pick one.  Here is my list - what's yours look like?

1950's - Elvis

1960's - The Beatles

1970's - The Bee Gees

1980s -  Michael Jackson

1990's - Nirvana (small portfolio-big impact)

2000's - Eminem

2010's - Kanye West, Rihanna, Katy Perry?                                          (This decade has me stumped)

 

MGoBoard

pinkfloyd2000

January 25th, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^

There's been a TON of good music made from 2000 to the present.

Now, certainly, mainstream music is bad, and (at least in my opinion) "pop music" in 2015 is complete and total horseshit compared to what "pop music" was, say, in 1984.

But that said, there's plenty of good music being made these days. You won't hear much, if any, of it on terrestrial radio -- but it IS out there.

Just a few examples of some bands and albums released since 2000 that are mind-blowingly good:

 

  • Radiohead: Kid A (2000) and In Rainbows (2007)
  • The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002)
  • Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) and Sky Blue Sky (2007)
  • Sufjan Stevens: Illinoise (2005)
  • Sigur Ros: ( )  (2002)
  • Elbow: Build A Rocket, Boys! (2011)
  • Steven Wilson: The Raven That Refused To Sing (And Other Stories) (2013)
  • Porcupine Tree: In Absentia (2002) and The Incident (2010)

 

Just a taste. For what it's worth, I think that older artists such as Rush and Bob Dylan have released some of the strongest albums of their career in the 2000s.

And, I'm biased as hell (go figure), but Pink Floyd's swansong, The Endless River, just released at the end of last year, is amazing.

So hey -- good music today, it's out there. You just gotta look a little harder to find it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ray

January 25th, 2015 at 10:29 AM ^

I'd add David Bowie and the Stones for the 70s; Talking Heads, Eurythmics, Depeche Mode for the 80s.

My wife and I had kids in the 90s, therefore I stopped listening to new music after that time and started yelling at people who were on my lawn.

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Jack Harbaugh

January 25th, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^

You almost have to stop at ~1995 because of the artist turnover these days. That being said, from '95-'00 it's NSYNC or BB. '00-'05 I'd say Eminem. '05-'10 is Kanye and I'm not even sure for since then, Bieber maybe? Not that these are my personal choices, just the impact they've had on the culture.

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Go Blue Eyes

January 25th, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^

I think my avatar had a pretty amazing 1950's and 1960's and was still a major concert draw up until the early 90's (I saw him at a sold out Sports Arena in San Diego - from the front row once - twice in the 90's).

The great thing about Sinatra was that his career was much longer than most of the acts you listed (Elvis, dead at 42, Beatles around for 10 years, Kurt Cobain, dead at 27, Michael Jackson, dead just after 50, etc).

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RGard

January 25th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^

I like your list and would add Glenn Miller for the 30s & 40s.  His impact is late 30s into early 40s. 

One to ponder from the decades you list:

1970s - Led Zeppelin

The Stones belong somewhere on the the list, but maybe we can't fit them into one decade due to the length of their success covering several decades.

 

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Young John Beilein

January 25th, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^

He was quite popular from 2004 on.  In fact, many might say his best music was from before the years you outlined:

Singles from The College Dropout
  1. "Through the Wire"
    Released: September 30, 2003
  2. "Slow Jamz"
    Released: December 2, 2003
  3. "All Falls Down"
    Released: February 24, 2004
  4. "Jesus Walks"
    Released: May 25, 2004
  5. "The New Workout Plan"
    Released: August 31, 2004

 

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Prince Lover

January 25th, 2015 at 11:52 AM ^

There is a reason they called Dylan (the greatest American poet) the voice of a generation. Can't argue with the Beetles due to the popularity for their sugar coated crap, and they did take their music away from the 2 minute radio pop. But they weren't labeled a voice of a generation. Also for the 80s, I understand MTV crammed the king of pop down our throats, but nobody, and I mean nobody ruled higher than Prince. His hits were tops not to mention the songs he wrote but didn't perform. We're talking Manic Monday by the Bangles, Nothing compares to you by Sinead OConnor, I feel for you by Shakka Khan, all of Moris Day and the Times' songs, Tevin Campbell got his start with Prince. He owned the decade!! But that's like, just my opinion man.

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Blau

January 25th, 2015 at 10:42 AM ^

50's - Chuck Berry

60's - Velvet Underground

70's - Led Zeppelin

Late 70's/Early 80's - The Clash

90's - Sublime

2000's - Outkast

2010's - Pretty Lights? - Living in Denver, Pretty Lights is the hipster-EDM everyone has loved since I graduated in 2010. 

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Clarence Boddicker

January 25th, 2015 at 1:21 PM ^

Yup--I'm from NYC and was a kid in the City then. Donna Summer was Queen of Nightclubs. I just picked up the Best of D.S. so I could listen to "I Feel Love" on my stereo now instead of whatever I had to listen to it on then. You mention punk too--I probably should have listed the Sex Pistols (or the Ramones) under the 70s too.

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bronxblue

January 25th, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^

I'm a bit younger, so the 50's, 60's, and 70's are basically the same except I'd replace the Bee Gees with Queen because I more identify with Mercury, but that's subjective.

80s are both Michael Jackson and Madonna  from a pop perspective - I can't think of either without thinking of that era.  For me as a fan of rock, though, it's R.E.M. in a walk.

90s is probably Green Day, though from a pop culture standpoint you'd have to think it's some combination of boy bands/Britney/Xtina and Dre/Snoop/Tupac/Biggie.

00s is Eminem for white kids like me in the suburbs, and the early 00s was full of that nu-metal Limp Bizkit/System of a Down/Evanescence/Nickleback music that founds its way into WWF wrestling CDs like Forceable Entry.  Beyonce also started to sneak in.  Also, being in and out of graduated schools bands like the White Stripes, Arcade Fire, The Shins, etc. were kinda big.  

10s is, I agree, Kanye, Rihanna, Katy Perry are huge names, along with Taylor Swift and Beyonce.  Seems like most stars burn out quicker now than they used to, so pop artists like Arinna Grande and Justin Bieber seem almost fading out despite only being around a couple of years.  Personally, the sound of this decade so far has been The Black Keys, Arcade Fire, and despite growing old, a band like fun. had a nice little run.

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powhound

January 25th, 2015 at 10:43 AM ^

50s - Johnny Cash
60s - The Beatles
70s - Bob Marley and The Wailers / Stevie Wonder
80s - Bruce Springsteen
90s - U2 / Green Day
00 - Wilco / Old 97s
10 - Mozart

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Seth

January 25th, 2015 at 10:45 AM ^

You've got a good list for pop. Here's rock, for a given definition of "the band that almost every band alludes to in describing their sound (par ejemplo: We're ManBall. We're like a Beatles meets Tool meets Radiohead meets the Strokes kind of sound)"

1960s: Beatles

1970s: Led Zepplinn

1980s: Guns 'n Roses

1990s: Nirvana

2000s: Tool

2010s: Still up in the air, so far the Black Keys are winning, since all the garage and southern rock bands that dominate rock right now claim them in their meeting.

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alum96

January 25th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^

Motley Crue was the biggest hit of the 1980s (Def Leppard gives them a run for their money) but that is sort of due to when they started and when they petered out.  Both of those bands went off in the early 80s and petered out around 91-92.

You could argue that GNR had the higher ceiling then either of those 2 bands (although Def Leppard during Hysteria was huge - I think Pour Your Sugar on Me was like #1 on TRL for half a year haha) but for a shorter period and it was mixed over 2 decades (late 80s to early 90s).  For 3-4 years GNR was the biggest band on the planet.  They went out on tour with Metallica on tour (88? 89?) as an opening act and half way thru that mega tour they had become the act people were going to see.

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Eck Sentrik

January 25th, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^

Motley Crue was always in the mix after 83 but didnt really see huge commercial sucess until Dr Feelgood in 89 and faded from there. I always viewed them as another version of KISS, disposable music but OMFG did you see that live shows.

 

Anyone else going to All Bad Things at the Palace in August?

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Gonechickin

January 25th, 2015 at 11:35 AM ^

I agree Alum that Def Leppard was right there with Crüe. GNR was one of the greatest bands ever. But was right at the end of the 80's when they blew up. I actually drove from Ohio to Orlando to see the GNR and Metallica show. I went and saw the Crüe on their final tour last summer and am going to go in august to see them again here in Cincy.



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