In overall presentation and style, today's music does have common denominators with the 80's. Some of it is quite different too.

Of course it would depend on the person, but the typical Top 40 fan into Journey for instance, could get turned off by it. However, I could see it maybe appealing to the crowds who liked goth, punk, edgier new wave, etc.

Averagely though, I think they'd be confused and annoyed with bling bling/gangsta rap. Same with emo and nu metal. They might dig some of the pop-minded stuff (i.e. Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway") or mainstream rock (Green Day's "Holiday"). Some of the pop/punk songs they might find to be humorous and fun too.

I think some of the techno/dance tunes that are popular overseas would fit right into the mid-late 80's dance scene.  But as for the R&B, Rap and Alternative stuff ... It would be nothing but noise to someone in the 80's  :-\\

I think Black Eyed Peas would go over well in the 80's, and so too would Nickleback. The funny thing is that if the biggest seller of the 1980's, Michael Jackson, released some of his later albums, such as Invincible, back in the 80's, it wouldve went over like a lead zeppelin.  I also think that Madonna would not have a hit with Hung Up.







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Some groups would have no problem fitting in, given that most of their songs are covers of 80s ones

Emo/Pop-punk: Mild receptance, although too guitar-oriented
Post-grunge/nu metal: Noise
Rap: late '80s might dig some, early '80s wouldn't buy it
Teen/grunge pop: some yes, some no


I think the '00s is musically more agreeable with the '80s than most of the '90s (about summer/fall 1991-spring '01).  It's more pop-oriented than the '90s (although not hugely so, it's very R&B hip-hop dominated), but fans of '80s music typically would dislike most of today's music because it's still so '90s-esque.

'80s music - mostly the popular, I'm talking about, not the fringe-paraded-as-top40 - was generally energetic, "happy", dance-oriented music, more staccato and tight.  The '90s-up is mostly lethargic, depressing, nasally, and "grungy" - continuous chords w/o ends w/strings sounding like they're being scraped w/a hoe (and that's the prominent sound of the pieces).  Of course, that's just the white-guy stuff.  The rap might fit in better - the '80s started it and some of it was nasty, just like now.  Altho maybe it's more depressing now than it was, in tone and feel.

No, I see a world of difference on average between the real '90s and the real '80s, as if it was all just "rebellion" to give yet another decade in this technological age of instant information a different culture.  Not that some wouldn't fit in, but most - no way.  The nasally whining (girls) and I-gotta-sore-throat yakking (boys - it ain't singing at all) is vastly different in itself from the tighter voices and instruments back then.  That really turns me off.

The only saving grace is "R&B", which generally doesn't change too much and in any case, is still pretty good.  As long as it doesn't include rap/hip-hop.

I think musical 'fashion' only goes so far in determining a particular kind of musics' appeal, and those who appreciate real music are not constrained by the whims of the time. The 80s scene, it seems to me, was dominated by synthesised music, so the techno stuff would be well received. Many of todays bands are so highly influenced by the 80s (e.g. British second progressive rock wave.etc) that for someone not familiar with them, they could easily mistake them for 80s songs.

I think musical 'fashion' only goes so far in determining a particular kind of musics' appeal, and those who appreciate real music are not constrained by the whims of the time. The 80s scene, it seems to me, was dominated by synthesised music, so the techno stuff would be well received. Many of todays bands are so highly influenced by the 80s (e.g. British second progressive rock wave.etc) that for someone not familiar with them, they could easily mistake them for 80s songs.

The Killers, The Postal Service, and Franz Ferdinand are all New Wave '80s bands caught in the early 21st Century.