Post-2000 Songs by Artists You Stopped Listening to in the 80s
They didn't stop recording great songs just because a lot of people moved on.
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In today’s Michael’s Record Collection, I’d like to talk to you about music from the 1980s, but also the music of the last two decades. More specifically, I’d like to talk about artists who were popular in the 80s who released some excellent music since the turn of the century — songs that are great, but underappreciated.
As an unapologetic child of the 80s, I love that decade. I love the big hair, the nonsensical clothes, and, above all, I love the music. Around the time that all the radio stations started playing the same playlists, there were still a few FM stations where the DJs played what they wanted, especially overnight. Moreover, the rise of Mtv gave kids in the United States exposure to bands from all over the world, which made for an eclectic pop chart for at least half the decade.
Like many of my friends, I was addicted to Mtv. I’m not sure our parents understood the appeal of watching music videos, but there were so many new bands suddenly showing up on my television from all over the world to keep me interested and occupied for endless hours. The fledgling network would play just about any video that bands or music companies sent in and it made for a varied playlist that enthralled me.
You’d go from something silly and fun like Blotto’s “I Wanna Be a Lifeguard” or Utopia’s “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now,” to the classic rock sound of Fleetwood Mac’s “Sara,” to hard rock and metal from emerging European bands, such as Def Leppard, Accept, and Krokus. There was excellent pop and AOR from Australia from the likes of Men at Work, Goanna, and Moving Pictures. The music was coming from all over the globe. New wave, punk, synth-pop, rock, and metal all rotated and fought for our attention 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The “VJs” interviewed these artists — weird-looking folk like Cyndi Lauper, Dale Bozzio from Missing Persons, Mike Score from A Flock of Seagulls, and Culture Club’s Boy George — and took us inside the music. They gave us background and told us what albums were coming out soon and when bands were going on tour. This was information previously unavailable on TV! And then Mtv News came along and gave us regular updates, providing even more information. It was an amazing time to be a music fan.
U.S. radio embraced some of these new rising stars from Mtv and helped make superstars out of them or even enhanced the image of older bands, taking them to new heights of fame and popularity. Duran Duran, Madonna, Def Leppard, the Police, Phil Collins, Journey, and Loverboy were ubiquitous.
Meanwhile, equally talented artists could never break into mainstream radio airplay in the U.S., despite their continuous output of quality music. Artists like A-ha, Big Country, and Tony Carey should have been on the radio regularly for years but mostly fizzled out after one song or an album or two. Some bands, like Scandal, fell to the side while their lead singer became the focal point. The progression from Scandal, to Scandal featuring Patty Smyth, to just Smyth herself was a bit of a sad one to me.
The music of the 80s was exciting and has provided many of us with the official soundtracks to our high school and college years. But time marches on and as one grows older, one loses touch with old friends. As such, many people lost track of some of their favorite artists of that decade — some of which had already risen to popularity in the 1970s and were able to adapt well to the Mtv era. After all, Mtv started changing before the 80s even ended. A game show here, a reality show there, and before anyone knew what was going on, no more ‘music’ in Music Television. Gone with it was all the music news we used to receive at the top and bottom of the hour.
Even a music nut like me can’t keep track of everything. I’ve only got so much time in my day that I can spend discovering new artists, albums, or songs. If I can’t keep up with what 1980s artists are doing, I assume that few people can. So, today I’m promoting a playlist of what I’m calling ‘modern’ songs (from the year 2000 or later) from artists that the majority of my friends and classmates probably stopped listening to around 1989 or 1990, except on 80s stations or shows.
Those artists weren’t trapped in amber, waiting for some mad scientist to clone them and turn them into amusement park attractions (although that would make for a cool park). They continued to write and record music, most of which was on smaller and smaller record labels with less and less promotional support, making it even more difficult for people to find and enjoy.
If you’re a Spotify user, you can simply use this link and go listen to my collection, “Post-2000 Songs by Artists You Stopped Listening to in the 80s.” Hit your shuffle button and enjoy newer songs from some old favorites. It’s surprising how well some of these voices have held up over the years.
Oh, and if you have some songs in mind that you think I should add, please let me know. Like I said, there is only so much time to go exploring.
If you don’t have Spotify, let me describe the list for you. It was created with a little over 50 songs from artists that were popular in the 1980s and had very few (if any) hits after we hit the 1990s.
I’ve already mentioned some of these bands — Duran Duran, Def Leppard, A-ha, Journey, and Loverboy appear on the list. You’ll also find Devo, the Bangles, the Go-Go’s, the Fixx, the Psychedelic Furs, Blondie, Howard Jones, the Outfield, Foreigner, Heart, Thomas Dolby, Patty Smyth (from Scandal), Tears for Fears, the Pretenders, Ratt, Dennis DeYoung, and Cheap Trick.
Non-Spotify users can use YouTube to track down post-2000 releases from the above bands and get a sense of what the playlist is about. Also, the full playlist can be found below, for easier reference. (Please keep in mind that there will likely be more songs added regularly to the list.)
Get out your Union Jack sleeveless T-shirt, parachute pants, and Member’s Only jacket; put them on; and enjoy!
Post-2000 Songs by Artists You Stopped Listening to in the 80s
The Bangles - Something That You Said
A-ha - Lifelines
A-ha - Velvet
A-ha - Living at the End of the World
A-ha - Riding the Crest
A-ha - Summer Moved On
A-ha - Minor Earth Major Sky
Devo - Fresh
Howard Jones - Hero in your Eyes
Howard Jones - Mother
Foreigner - Can’t Slow Down
Def Leppard - Let’s Go
The Go-Go’s - Stuck in My Car
The Go-Go’s - Club Zero
Duran Duran - Paper Gods
Duran Duran - What are the Chances?
Cheap Trick - No Direction Home
Journey - Never Walk Away
Journey - Like a Sun Shower
Journey - Faith in the Heartland
Journey - After All These Years
Journey - What It Takes to Win
Loverboy - Just Getting Started
Loverboy - Fade to Black
Loverboy - Back for More
Loverboy - The Real Thing
Loverboy - Fire Me Up
Dennis DeYoung - A Kingdom Ablaze
Dennis DeYoung - Damn That Dream
Dennis DeYoung - Unbroken
Ratt - Eat Me Up Alive
The Psychedelic Furs - This’ll Never Be Like Love
The Psychedelic Furs - No-One
The Psychedelic Furs - Tiny Hands
The Fixx - Anyone Else
The Fixx - Follow that Cab
The Fixx - Shaman
Pretenders - The Buzz
Pretenders - You Can’t Hurt a Fool
Howard Jones - Joy
Howard Jones - The Human Touch
Howard Jones - The One to Love You
Howard Jones - Transform
Thomas Dolby - Evil Twin Brother
Patty Smyth - Build a Fire
Patty Smyth - Drive
Blondie - Long Time
Blondie - My Monster
Tears for Fears - I Love You But I’m Lost
The Outfield - California Sun
The Outfield - Shake Your Thing
The Outfield - Disraeli Years
Heart - There You Go
Heart - Saffronia’s Mark
Toto and Billy Idol also have some good post-2000 stuff. "Burn" and "Orphan" by the former, and "Bitter Pill" and "Postcards From the Past" by the latter are very worthwhile.