The thing is, during the '80's, EVERYBODY was pretty much listening to the same music!!! I mean, it wasn't called POP music for nothing. Today, POP music no longer exists... it has been crushed on all sides by Alternative, Hip Hop, and Country, so there is no forum for a band making Pop music, unless it is to appeal directly to the bubblegum crowd (Backstreet Boys, Savage Garden)... During the '80's, it didn't matter if you were young or middle-aged, black or white, rich or poor, Urban or rural, American, British or Australian, we were all listening to the same artists... My mom and dad, for instance, loved Culture Club and Cyndi Lauper and U2, they actually bought their records!!! You could turn on the Top 40 radio station, and it would play a great mix of Pop (Duran Duran, Madonna, U2), Soul and R&B (Cameo, Ready for the World, Levert, New Edition), and the ocassional metal hit (Bon Jovi, Ratt, Twisted Sister). So there was a choice of what you wanted to listen to. I, personally, am do disassociated with the music of today, it's pathetic. I can't even remember the last time I purchased a new Cd from an artist. I am 26 years old, so if I'm NOT buying CD's, you know that the record industry is in trouble... The band's today simply do not have the appeal or popularity of the bands of the '80's. They are bleak and depressing, and they sing about bleak and depressing things. There is nothing that makes them distinctive from one another (with the exception of Marilyn Manson, and I'm sure he would admit that he wouldn't have a career without David Bowie, Boy George, and Pete Burns)... I couldn't tell you one interesting thing about any of the so-called popular bands from today, as they are so blended and homogenized, and they look exactly the same (and sound the same, too). You're right, there are NO bands from today that could draw the kind of crowds that U2 or Bruce Springsteen draw. It just wouldn't happen....

• The '80's Admiration Society

: The thing is, during the '80's, EVERYBODY was pretty much listening to the same music!!! I mean, it wasn't called POP music for nothing. Today, POP music no longer exists... it has been crushed on all sides by Alternative, Hip Hop, and Country, so there is no forum for a band making Pop music, unless it is to appeal directly to the bubblegum crowd (Backstreet Boys, Savage Garden)... During the '80's, it didn't matter if you were young or middle-aged, black or white, rich or poor, Urban or rural, American, British or Australian, we were all listening to the same artists... My mom and dad, for instance, loved Culture Club and Cyndi Lauper and U2, they actually bought their records!!! You could turn on the Top 40 radio station, and it would play a great mix of Pop (Duran Duran, Madonna, U2), Soul and R&B (Cameo, Ready for the World, Levert, New Edition), and the ocassional metal hit (Bon Jovi, Ratt, Twisted Sister). So there was a choice of what you wanted to listen to. I, personally, am do disassociated with the music of today, it's pathetic. I can't even remember the last time I purchased a new Cd from an artist. I am 26 years old, so if I'm NOT buying CD's, you know that the record industry is in trouble... The band's today simply do not have the appeal or popularity of the bands of the '80's. They are bleak and depressing, and they sing about bleak and depressing things. There is nothing that makes them distinctive from one another (with the exception of Marilyn Manson, and I'm sure he would admit that he wouldn't have a career without David Bowie, Boy George, and Pete Burns)... I couldn't tell you one interesting thing about any of the so-called popular bands from today, as they are so blended and homogenized, and they look exactly the same (and sound the same, too). You're right, there are NO bands from today that could draw the kind of crowds that U2 or Bruce Springsteen draw. It just wouldn't happen....

Yeah, my mom bought Culture Club and Quiet Riot.. now all she listens to is country, because the stations that would normally appeal to someone in her age group play such mellow crap, even she is repulsed to a certain degree. There is hope for some of the groups from the 90s, I know I bash them a lot, but I have to >grin<. Some groups still do interesting music, like Garbage for instance.

Top 40 is basically dead because in the late 80s, around 89 or so, SoundScan was introduced. They also changed how they rank albums. According to Rolling Stone last month, the Beastie Boys "Licensed to Ill" outsold there new album. Not by much, but it did. As a matter of fact, that's the scary thing. There are less people buying albums now than 10 even 5 years ago, and most aren't buying new albums. The only reason this isn't obvious, is because the album chart lists were seperated, there's a chart list for new albums (less than a year old) and older albums. Hence, Dark Side of the Moon remaining on the charts for 10 years couldn't occur in the 90s.

The fact that someone 26 isn't buying albums doesn't scare record companies. Their biggest sellers, and biggest profit makers are the under 20 crowd. These people are mostly into hip-hop and rap, and while that is selling fairly well, it's no where near the levels of the 80s pop sensations we all grew up with. Why do you think so many of these groups do covers? If it sold once, it stands a good chance of selling again.

Bleak and depressing sells too, the problem is that EVERYTHING is bleak and depressing in the 90s. The Cure and Depeche Mode should be considered gods by these new bands... the problem isn't so much there's depressing music, it's just that there's no cheerful music. "Walking on Sunshine" could never be released as a single today in any form (unless it's meaning is reversed, where's Marilyn Manson when you need him, huh?)

Ok, I've gone on long enough, but the final reason Top 40 is dead? Hip hop and R&B are now selling enough to make the top 40 a lot. The stations that used to play Casey Kasem, don't want to play that kind of music. Hence, there's no longer any kind of cross-section of music on a single station, and the reason we get such bland crap. Everyone has decided on the format they like best, and have called it quits. It's why the former lead singer from the Stray Cats (Brian Setzer) can play swing music and make a hit, people want something fun to dance to, that isn't hard to dance to.