what music did you turn to in the late 80's?

[bpdp3]

No question about it, something had changed by the late 80's - if you'd spent the early to mid 80's grabbing every great release in OUR CHOSEN(SUPERIOR)GENRE like myself, you probably noted the shift in the musical landscape. It was subtle and difficult to quantify, but apparent.

At that point I was looking for something new and different but still part of the "underground culture" I felt most of the bands I loved came from.

For me, it started in probably '88, reading an article about the hot new 'acid house' movement in England (which probably actually originated in hip gay clubs in the states). It had synths and electronic drumbeats so it wasn't too far removed from synthpop, and it wasn't mainstream - I immersed myself in it (without ever being in a club that played it).

From there, I went to Todd Terry's 12" singles then to the NYC hip hop. Some of the greatest rap records of all time were made in '88 and guess what - very little swearing, use of the 'n' word, etc....alot of them were topical, like the Clash and Gang of 4 had been for me (to me, rap went to hell in the 90's with very few exceptions).

Certainly there were extensions of new wave - I consider the whole Stone Roses/Happy Mondays/Primal Scream era an extension of it.

The other thing I did, oddly enough, was start trying to appreciate so much of the corporate/classic rock I'd dismissed all during the 80's. It took some doing, but I can now listen to the 1st Boston lp without twitching....!!!

What did you do?

[tomfin2000]

By the late 80s, mainstream music had become heavily influenced by House, R&B, and Hip Hop, so I just started listening to the radio and watching MTV and VH1 again. Meanwhile I kept digging deeper and deeper for New Wave gems that I had missed the first time. Since I never lived in a city with a KROQ or a WLIR and there was no internet, there was plenty to discover.

That's more or less where I'm at today: Listening to mainstream music and looking for burried New Wave treasure!

The worst period for me was late '85 to early '87 when I first moved to South Florida. All you could hear down there at the time was crappy synthetic dance music (Cover Girls, early Expose, etc.) and MOR stuff like Gloria Estefan, Elton John, and Phil Collins. I couldn't even find a decent R&B station to listen to!

[Frau_Blucher]

You pretty much nailed my experience bpdp3. It was around college graduation and the peak of clubbing, so there was lots of house and stuff that I wouldn't normally sit and listen through like I did with new wave. It was definately a sort of lost era musically - some aimless drifting and searching. Todd Terry was indeed big as was that trio of SR/HM/RS. There was also a lot of fun silly stuff like De La Soul and Dee-Lite, some adult light pop like Sade, Matt Bianco and EBTG, some new age like Vangelis and Jim Chapell with the appropriate mushroom or bud. I also took the time to really get into Jazz and back to Classical. I had played classical piano for 10 years from 4 to 14 but spurned it in high school only to go back and explore some more contemporary stuff like Bartok and Goreki.

It was a weird "blirry" era. [;)]

[geoffolehane]

I'd say I went more techno...or at least more synth-based stuff.

In the late 80's I really loved [b]808 State[/b] (and still do). Kon Kan was another band I thought was pretty good.

But I also started to shift to mellower but still synth-based stuff...what we now call Dream Pop. Some of those type of performers I bought in the late 80's were Julee Cruise, Cock Robin, and Frazier Chorus.

[Synthpopfan]

In 88' I was listening to Camouflage, Gangway,OMD,& the list goes on. I felt the late 80`s was my best music buying spree.[:p]

On my local New Wave Modern Rock Radio, The DJ (Steve Masters) would put on his Techno, Industrial,& New Wave mixes that were always great & covered just about everything. LOL, I use to spend hours recording them on a crappy tape.

[WolverineSyr]

Like bpdp3 & Blir, I really got into the acid house & early techno stuff - Wee Papa Girls, New Beat Stuff,etc. I was also listening to a lot of standard club stuff from about 85 & on (prince, Alexander O'Neil, Gap Band, Cherrelle.) I listened to KISS-108 in Boston & that was primarily a dance station.

Besides some industrial & goth dance, or the Replacements and Smithereens, I didn't hear much alternative, or rock stuff that I liked.

It really was a lost era for music wasn't it? I think the only cds I have from that time are probably Anita Baker's first release & a couple of Sade's.

[bpdp3]

good god, I thought I was the only person on this planet who knew the Wee Papa Girls. In my mind "Wee Rule" was an astounding mix of dub, hip hop and the interesting new English dance music.

...but of course, at one point I also thought "Right here, right now" by Jesus Jones might be the second coming of the messiah.....

[pinkyblue82]

I just cried and continued to listen to my 1977-1987 music collection.

[birdmadgirl]

Oh, I'll fess up. I still loved New Wave, but when I started high school in 1989, it started a long period of loving hair bands--Motley Crue, Ratt, Ozzy, Guns and Roses, etc.

No, I don't know what came over me. And to tell the thruth, I still like some of it.

Go ahead and laugh [:I]

[Bitter Almonds]

Rap[}:)]

[fritzb]

[quote][i]Originally posted by birdmadgirl[/i]
<br>Oh, I'll fess up. I still loved New Wave, but when I started high school in 1989, it started a long period of loving hair bands--Motley Crue, Ratt, Ozzy, Guns and Roses, etc.[/quote]I too listened to a lot of hair bands and metal too, mainly because a good friend I hung out with was a lifelong headbanger.

I also listened to a lot of Freestyle and old school Rap, which after a trip to Paris in 1989, led me to House and Techno. From 1989 to 1992 I worked the local clubs as a DJ. I particularly loved the afterhours scene where I could let loose with my own flavor of synth-driven Euro House. I never gave up my New Wave / Synthpop roots. [;)]

[Bitter Almonds]

Oh yeah! Freestyle! Johnny O, Timmy T, and even famous groups, like Expose and The Cover Girls[:D]

[bigwavedave]

I think there was a lot of cool music flying just under the mainstream radar in the late 80's:

REM "Document" and "Green", 10,000 Maniacs, New Order "Technique", Simple Minds "Street Fighting Years", Echo and The Bunnymen self titled 1988 album, Deacon Blue "Raintown", China Crisis, Icehouse, Crowded House, The Cure "Dinintegration", Warren Zevon "Transverse City" and "Sentimental Hygene", Graham Parker "The Mona Lisa's Sister", Tracy Chapman debut album, U2 "The Joshua Tree", The Alarm "Rain In The Summertime", Underworld "Underneath The Radar", and probably still my favorites, The Church "Starfish" and Pet Shop Boys "Actually".

And hey, some of the mainstream such as G 'n R, The Cult and Def Leppard weren't so bad either!

[bigwavedave]

Oops, I should have probably slotted U2, and maybe REM into the "mainstream" paragraph. Either way, I think it actually was a really good period for post new-wave music. Oh, also throw in Husker Du, Billy Bragg and the Replacements!

[obs]

I wasn't into House so much, although I did like a few artists (including Wee Papa Girls ... Inner City's Good Life is great!) and picked up a couple of those Deep Heat compilations. I was into Depeche Mode and Industrial/Body Music, so I got into the shortlived New Beat/Hard Beat (Rhythm Device's Acid Rock), and then Hardcore Techno when it later mutated into that in the 90s.

PS. Anyone got Wee Papa Girls on CD? Was it even released on CD? I'm also looking for a digital version of this Hard Beat (on Komplete Kaos) compilation:
http://www.discogs.com/release/208742