Do you notice any unifying lyrical themes which seemed prevalent in 80s music as a whole? E.g. the pursuit of wealth, environment.etc. The main one I notice is just an overall apathy - borne out of frustration - with the world, relationships.etc - the original 'emo' music typlified by the Cure, Tears for Fears, Smiths.etc. Another was the very real fear of a Nuclear Holocaust - whether serious or pernicious - that still loomed large in the twilight of the Cold War. The Plasticity of Hollywood was also attacked mercilessly (much more so than the 70s), but the main thing I notice is that the 80s airwaves weren't saturated with saccharine love ballads like the 60s, 70s and a lesser extent to 90s were. Of course there was still a fair deal of that (mostly at the very end of the decade), but it is one good thing that could be said about the 80s in general.

Another was the very real fear of a Nuclear Holocaust - whether serious or pernicious - that still loomed large in the twilight of the Cold War.


   The references to the Cold War and the ever present threat of nuclear war was reflected in the pop culture.  Tongue-in-cheek references.  Seemed amost mocking...

   Actually, my best example has nothing to to with the Cold War but of another constant threat - earthquakes in California.  Listen to "Earthquake Song" by the Little Girls...I picked up on that sort of "nuclear-war-break-out-the-weenies-and-marshmallows" attitude...

   I mean, seriously, the idea of the surface of the earth becoming an uninhabitable wasteland was difficult to comprehend...

  Edited: Typo...

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  The references to the Cold War and the ever present threat of nuclear war was reflected in the pop culture.  Tongue-in-cheek references.  Seemed amost mocking...


Funny part is, growing up in that era, I sorta looked at the NK test and figured "Hmm, 3 launches?  If the first ones aren't decoys (which it appears they were), that's about what an attack should look like.  Don't care what the news says, I'm waiting 20 minutes to see if a west coast city disappears.  No big deal either way, though.  Even if I end up sucking neutrons in 20 minutes, the country will brush it off the way we did Katrina.  Can't say the same for North Korea if they try it."

It takes a lot of bombs to lay waste to the entire habitable surface of the planet.  A USSR/USA global exchange would have sucked, and likely ushered in a new dark age for at least 100-200 years while civilization rebuilt.  Compared to that threat, the Chucks in Iraq, Iran, NK, or everyone else who's got a few nukes up their sleeve... are small potatoes.  A billion dead out of a population of 3.5B is the end of civiliation, but a few million dead out of a population of 6.0B  is a statistic.  Barely two Rwandas.  Most folks on the planet (and even in the US, assuming one of our cities was lost) wouldn't be materially effected.

Nuclear war used to be the end of civilization.  Now it's the sort of thing that could be done next Tuesday, and it'd only suck for the few million folks living downwind of the target areas.

Funny part is, growing up in that era, I sorta looked at the NK test and figured "Hmm, 3 launches?  If the first ones aren't decoys (which it appears they were), that's about what an attack should look like.  Don't care what the news says, I'm waiting 20 minutes to see if a west coast city disappears.  No big deal either way, though.  Even if I end up sucking neutrons in 20 minutes, the country will brush it off the way we did Katrina.  Can't say the same for North Korea if they try it."


  Heh, yeah quite right...

  The picture, as a kid, was of a sort of post nuclear Mad Max wasteland inhabited primarily by wayward marauding bandits...or of martial law with on-the-spot executions for stealing a loaf of bread...

  oh jeez...


It takes a lot of bombs to lay waste to the entire habitable surface of the planet.  A USSR/USA global exchange would have sucked, and likely ushered in a new dark age for at least 100-200 years while civilization rebuilt.  Compared to that threat, the Chucks in Iraq, Iran, NK, or everyone else who's got a few nukes up their sleeve... are small potatoes.  A billion dead out of a population of 3.5B is the end of civiliation, but a few million dead out of a population of 6.0B  is a statistic.  Barely two Rwandas.  Most folks on the planet (and even in the US, assuming one of our cities was lost) wouldn't be materially effected.

Nuclear war used to be the end of civilization.  Now it's the sort of thing that could be done next Tuesday, and it'd only suck for the few million folks living downwind of the target areas.


  FEMA: "Eh, just walk it off..."