40 / 124
By James
Turano
Despite some regrettable
hairdos, the 1980s
were more than
met the eye
Mullet Ove
,
,
the
s were
lled with
a
sole sequined
glove, Madon-
na lookalikes,
Brat Packers, break
dancing, parachute
pants, and synthesizer
bands.
And, in general, the
’ s
were
, like, “so bitchin’. ”
Now that ’ s music nostalgia has
become “most excellent,” the entirety
of this “choice” decade must get its due.
Not to be, like, a total bummer, or “gro-
dy to the max,” but the current revision-
ist history is selectively editing.
e Millennials may have been
minted in the ’ s, but Baby Boomers
and Gen-Xers lived them. is writer is
not aiming to “barf you out,” but rather,
pass along a fuller view of the decade.
Prepare for an ’ s music history lesson,
lled with some shock and “awesome.”
Ravinia is “fer surre” feeding the
ravenous ’ s music appetite. Upcoming
shows include the “Lost ’ s Live” tour
featuring A Flock of Seagulls, Naked
Eyes, Wang Chung, Animotion, and
others on July , and a gender-bending
bash with Culture Club, e B- s, and
the ompson Twins’ Tom Bailey on
August and September .
e ’ s were ooded with diverse
in uences, sounds, and milestones—
some new (new wave), some old (rock),
some remnants (punk), some holdovers
(heavy metal), some fringes (country),
some re-packaged (dance music), some
man-
ufactured
(boy bands),
and some glimpses
of the future (rap).
e decade began with
the nal ickers of the dom-
inating disco ball. e popular
dance craze had a stranglehold on
pop charts for almost ve years before
Chicago’s infamous “Disco Demoli-
tion” radio station promotion in
ceremoniously blew it up real good,
and claimed victory in the “rock vs.
disco” debate. Contrary to some recent
opinions, the “Disco Sucks!” sentiment
was not racist or homophobic. And it
was not a revolt against disco music
itself, but rather against the subculture
of gold-chained, dancing macho men
wearing unbuttoned polyester shirts
glori ed in the John Travolta/Bee Gees
star-making disco inferno lm
Saturday
Night Fever
.
However, if rock won the battle, disco
won the war. A few years later, disco
returned, retitled “dance music.” In
,
Michael Jackson’s, beat- lled
riller
album moonwalked and conquered, and
in
, style maven Madonna o ered an
image-de ning music video for “Holi-
day” that ordained a dance resurgence.
Regardless, rock reasserted its mus-
cle. In
, for example, Bruce Spring-
steen validated his ’ s hype with his
expansive, number-one double album
e River
. At the same time, many
American and English post-punkers like
Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, Blondie,
and e Ramones so ened their edges
and gained
newfound play
on FM rock radio
stations. Later, college
radio played a meaningful
role in breaking many “im-
port” and underground bands.
A burgeoning ’ s music rage
also erupted thanks to another Travolta
lm:
Urban Cowboy
. TV’s “sweat hog”
abandoned the
Odyssey disco for
Gilley’s country and western bar, me-
chanical bull and all. e lm rounded
up country music, steered it to the
mainstream, and laid the groundwork
for the genre’s current popularity with a
soundtrack featuring established coun-
try acts like Mickey Gilley, e Charlie
Daniels Band, and Kenny Rogers as well
as newcomers like Johnny Lee, whose
“Looking For Love” was among the
year’s biggest hits. Suddenly, country’s
long-pigeonholed stars, including Willie
Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and Dolly
Parton, received overdue mainstream
acceptance. It also nurtured new coun-
try crossover artists like Eddie Rabbitt
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JULY 23 – AUGUST 5, 2018
38