I'm reading the insert from a 1999 Rhino '80s new wave compilation I'm playing at the moment, and it's saying how much the '60s and '70s are overrated by the "boomer-controlled media" as the most innovative periods of popular music, and the '80s are underappreciated. I'd say I agree. I mean, no other decade originated such a diverse array of styles as new wave, hardcore punk, old-school rap, freestyle, house, shoegazer, goth, noise rock, college rock, post-punk, and hair metal. They were much more varied than the '60s.

And don't forget the Paisley Underground, electrofunk, and lots of other smaller movements.

Without a doubt.

I agree with you about the '60s. As much as I love the '60s, they (and the '70s) get all the credit for everything.

Without a doubt.

I agree with you about the '60s. As much as I love the '60s, they (and the '70s) get all the credit for everything.


Also, the '60s are tired. Especially if you're the child of a boomer like myself. They're run into the ground at every opportunity. And the '70s are just pretty overrated but never get called for crap (like the crappy classic rock stuff, alot of it), and the stuff that isn't crap (good disco, Joni Mitchell) is misunderstood. I think the '70s and '80s are both quite misunderstood.

Musically, yes. As a New Wave/Synth music fan I felt this full force. Mags such as Rolling Stone excoriated the music I liked, and idolized Stones, Dead, Dylan.

Well, excuuuuse me for not being a hippie!

Musically, yes. As a New Wave/Synth music fan I felt this full force. Mags such as Rolling Stone excoriated the music I liked, and idolized Stones, Dead, Dylan.

Well, excuuuuse me for not being a hippie!


I think the whole shift of consciousness in cultural analysis will occur when the boomers really start losing control, like in the 2020s, and people see the innovations of the '80s and '90s as Gen X takes that "senior" position.

I believe the media underrate the 80's significantly, when they do mention the 80's a lot of time they seem to go with the extremes of the 80's such as fashion or words popular used during the 80's.

I notice the 80's nostalgia movement isn't anywhere close to being as big as the 70's nostalgia movement.  70's nostalgia in the 90's was huge.  Just look at the number of 90's movies that took place in the 70's.  It seems like 80's nostalgia isn't anywhere close to that level.  Could this be because of the Baby Boomers and their control over much of the media?

I think the whole shift of consciousness in cultural analysis will occur when the boomers really start losing control, like in the 2020s, and people see the innovations of the '80s and '90s as Gen X takes that "senior" position.


I don't like to think about the 2020s very much - after all, I'll be pushing onto my forties by then!!

Yes, it'll be interesting how the 80s and 90s will be viewed well into the Technological Age. I doubt they will ever receive the same veneration and be afforded the same status of 'mythology' as the 60s (particularly the late 60s, but also the early 60s of Hot Rods, J.F.K., Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and the Cold War), or even the 70s. There's just a certain 'oldness' (I forget the word) about the 60s and 70s which was never really re-captured in the 80s, save perhaps the gritty early 80s punk/noveau scene.

It is true that the 80s are derrided for everything from bad taste to political jingoism, and these largely stem from the fact Boomer's never really related to this generation (Except tail-end Boomers), as did the Early GenXers which lived and breathed 80s culture when they grew up.

I don't like to think about the 2020s very much - after all, I'll be pushing onto my forties by then!!

Yes, it'll be interesting how the 80s and 90s will be viewed well into the Technological Age. I doubt they will ever receive the same veneration and be afforded the same status of 'mythology' as the 60s (particularly the late 60s, but also the early 60s of Hot Rods, J.F.K., Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and the Cold War), or even the 70s. There's just a certain 'oldness' (I forget the word) about the 60s and 70s which was never really re-captured in the 80s, save perhaps the gritty early 80s punk/noveau scene.

It is true that the 80s are derrided for everything from bad taste to political jingoism, and these largely stem from the fact Boomer's never really related to this generation (Except tail-end Boomers), as did the Early GenXers which lived and breathed 80s culture when they grew up.




Boomers dominate American culture. Male boomers. For example, I think the Rolling Stone lists are overly dominated by white British guys from the '60s and '70s who your average 55 year old rock critic venerated back in the day, and don't include seminal modern and postmodern rock classics by R.E.M, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Pavement, Guided by Voices, Liz Phair, singles compilations by new wave/synthpop artists (the lists did include greatest hits), Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, the Flaming Lips, Beck, the Replacements, Husker Du, Jane's Addiction, Oasis, the Smiths, etc. at the level they should've been based on quality alone. And they don't even include older female artists like Joni Mitchell at the level they should...For example, my mother is a boomer who remembers feeling out of touch with culture for the first time in the early-mid '80s. I also think the "critical/artistic" establishment level of the boomers deride the '80s for being the decade the yuppie/materialistic element of the boomers took hold, whereas the yuppie boomers venerate the Reagan era.

Boomers dominate American culture. Male boomers. For example, I think the Rolling Stone lists are overly dominated by white British guys from the '60s and '70s who your average 55 year old rock critic venerated back in the day, and don't include seminal modern and postmodern rock classics by R.E.M, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Pavement, Guided by Voices, Liz Phair, singles compilations by new wave/synthpop artists (the lists did include greatest hits), Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, the Flaming Lips, Beck, the Replacements, Husker Du, Jane's Addiction, Oasis, the Smiths, etc. at the level they should've been based on quality alone. And they don't even include older female artists like Joni Mitchell at the level they should...For example, my mother is a boomer who remembers feeling out of touch with culture for the first time in the early-mid '80s. I also think the "critical/artistic" establishment level of the boomers deride the '80s for being the decade the yuppie/materialistic element of the boomers took hold, whereas the yuppie boomers venerate the Reagan era.


Remember Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums list?  Well, heres some statistics about that list:

Number of albums from each decade
1950s or before - 29 albums (5.8%)
1960s - 126 (25.2%)
1970s - 183 (36.6%)
1980s - 88 (17.6%)
1990s - 61 (12.2%)
2000s - 13 (2.6%)

Artists with the most albums in the list
1. The Beatles (11 with 4 in the top ten)
2. Bob Dylan (10 with 2 in the top ten)
2. The Rolling Stones (10 with 1 in the top ten)
4. Bruce Springsteen (8 )
5. The Who (7)
6. David Bowie (6)
6. Elton John (6)
8. The Byrds (5)
8. Led Zeppelin (5)
8. Neil Young (5)
8. Otis Redding (5)
8. U2 (5)

There is definitely a Boomer bias here.  Notice how the list has more albums from the 70's than the 80's, 90's, and 00's put together?  Also, just look at the artists who had the most albums on the list.  

On the note of Boomers, I'm glad both my parents are early Gen X (Dad born in 1965, Mom born in 1966, Me born in 1989).  What does it feel like to have a Boomer parent?  Do they shove the 60's and 70's down your throat a lot?

Remember Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums list?  Well, heres some statistics about that list:

Number of albums from each decade
1950s or before - 29 albums (5.8%)
1960s - 126 (25.2%)
1970s - 183 (36.6%)
1980s - 88 (17.6%)
1990s - 61 (12.2%)
2000s - 13 (2.6%)

Artists with the most albums in the list
1. The Beatles (11 with 4 in the top ten)
2. Bob Dylan (10 with 2 in the top ten)
2. The Rolling Stones (10 with 1 in the top ten)
4. Bruce Springsteen (8 )
5. The Who (7)
6. David Bowie (6)
6. Elton John (6)
8. The Byrds (5)
8. Led Zeppelin (5)
8. Neil Young (5)
8. Otis Redding (5)
8. U2 (5)

There is definitely a Boomer bias here.  Notice how the list has more albums from the 70's than the 80's, 90's, and 00's put together?  Also, just look at the artists who had the most albums on the list.  

On the note of Boomers, I'm glad both my parents are early Gen X (Dad born in 1965, Mom born in 1966, Me born in 1989).  What does it feel like to have a Boomer parent?  Do they shove the 60's and 70's down your throat a lot?


My parents are both born in 1955...they really don't "shove" the '60s and '70s down my throat that much, but I don't think of my parents as typical boomers, despite being probably of the "token" boomer year. My mom actively dislikes about 75% of '70s music, particularly crap like John Denver and stadium rock, and out of '60s music mostly likes soul/Motown and British Invasion. When I was growing up, my mom did play alot of Beatles and such, but she also likes '80s and '90s music. Though my parents do definitely have certain social views that are actively stuck in the '70s.

My parents are both born in 1955...they really don't "shove" the '60s and '70s down my throat that much, but I don't think of my parents as typical boomers, despite being probably of the "token" boomer year. My mom actively dislikes about 75% of '70s music, particularly crap like John Denver and stadium rock, and out of '60s music mostly likes soul/Motown and British Invasion. When I was growing up, my mom did play alot of Beatles and such, but she also likes '80s and '90s music. Though my parents do definitely have certain social views that are actively stuck in the '70s.


Yeah, I agree the 60s and 70s take the lion's share of the veneration in terms of music, culture.etc. While they are still far superior to the 80s, and about the same as the 90s, I think magazines like the Rolling Stones tend to focus on the best of the 60s and 70s while ignoring the really crappy stuff like...you know.