"Thin Line Between Love and Hate" and "Stop Your Sobbing" by the Pretenders that fit into this category...

Most songs from Debbie Gibson

"Always Something There To Remind Me" by Naked Eyes has that feeling, to me...like it easily could've been a British Invasion mid-'60s hit in a devolved way. The same with some stuff by the Eurythmics ("Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves"), really anything by the Pretenders, some stuff by Pat Benatar ("We Belong", for example), "Gloria" by Laura Branigan in a de-synthed fashion, and anything by Hall and Oates.

"Thin Line Between Love and Hate" and "Stop Your Sobbing" by the Pretenders that fit into this category...


Stop Your Sobing was a 70s song

I think alot of them could have been '60s songs, actually. Or at least, if someone from the '80s made a mix tape of them and took it back to 1965, it would be well received by people there. I think alot of 1982-86 pop had that "girl group" vibe to it, late period rockablity, or Motown Soul.

Off my head:

Vacation, or We Got the Beat - Go Gos
Centerfield - John Fogerty
I Can't Go For That, Maneater, or Method of Modern Love - Hall and Oates
Tell Her About It - Billy Joel (the music video even took place on an Ed Sullivan-esque theatre soundstage in "1963" around the '50s/60s musical line)
Do You Really Wanna Hurt Me - Culture Club

Then, later in the decade, especially in the late 1986+ era, there was a definite revival in classic rock and a guitar sound, so there'd be tons (i.e. George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You", Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car").

I think alot of them could have been '60s songs, actually. Or at least, if someone from the '80s made a mix tape of them and took it back to 1965, it would be well received by people there. I think alot of 1982-86 pop had that "girl group" vibe to it, late period rockablity, or Motown Soul.

Off my head:

Vacation, or We Got the Beat - Go Gos
Centerfield - John Fogerty
I Can't Go For That, Maneater, or Method of Modern Love - Hall and Oates
Tell Her About It - Billy Joel (the music video even took place on an Ed Sullivan-esque theatre soundstage in "1963" around the '50s/60s musical line)
Do You Really Wanna Hurt Me - Culture Club

Then, later in the decade, especially in the late 1986+ era, there was a definite revival in classic rock and a guitar sound, so there'd be tons (i.e. George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You", Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car").


Yeah, Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" or Suzanne Vega's "Luka" could go in very well with the stuff Joan Baez and Bob Dylan were doing in the '60s. "When Tomorrow Comes" by the Eurythmics is quite '60s sounding, and "True Blue" by Madonna is literally an updated girl group song. Overall, I'd say more '80s music would fit in around 1966 than in 1976.

Very few 80s music would fit into that category. Maybe some of the garagier 80s rock/punk like the Dead Kennedys or Motorhead, but nothing much else apart from that.

Yeah, Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" or Suzanne Vega's "Luka" could go in very well with the stuff Joan Baez and Bob Dylan were doing in the '60s. "When Tomorrow Comes" by the Eurythmics is quite '60s sounding, and "True Blue" by Madonna is literally an updated girl group song. Overall, I'd say more '80s music would fit in around 1966 than in 1976.


Yeah, the '50s would be too early/conservative for much of it (we found that out from BTTF 1 ;) ), and the '70s would be too different (except perhaps for 1978 and '79), so the '60s sounds about right. I also believe that's why actually, alot of '60s music fans such as my parents, had no trouble getting into a good deal of '80s music.

Would you say there was a rise in "activism/political" type music in the latter half of the '80s? Probably from "Do They Know it's Christmas/We Are the World" through some of the more serious 1990ish pop songs like Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise", but it peaked around 1989.

Yeah, the '50s would be too early/conservative for much of it (we found that out from BTTF 1 ;) ), and the '70s would be too different (except perhaps for 1978 and '79), so the '60s sounds about right. I also believe that's why actually, alot of '60s music fans such as my parents, had no trouble getting into a good deal of '80s music.

Would you say there was a rise in "activism/political" type music in the latter half of the '80s? Probably from "Do They Know it's Christmas/We Are the World" through some of the more serious 1990ish pop songs like Phil Collins' "Another Day in Paradise", but it peaked around 1989.


Yeah, there was definitely a rise in "activism/political" type music c. 1989...I actually think alot of artists felt obligated to put that stuff on their albums...such as Madonna's "Why's It So Hard?" from the 1992 Erotica album, and Michael Jackson's song like that from Dangerous. Like Prince did "Sign O' The Times" (a very socially activist song) in 1987 and "Pop Life" in 1985, which is one of the first songs that strikes me like that. His whole 1987 Sign O'The Times album is quite '60s influenced and activist...like "Starfish and Coffee", an implicit anti-drug song with a psychedelic pop sound. It was part of the whole '60s revival of 1986-1992, I'd say, along with the classic rock/hair metal (to a certain degree) and the British "Summer of Love" (the '80s revival was stronger in Britain than the U.S.)

Yeah, there was definitely a rise in "activism/political" type music c. 1989...I actually think alot of artists felt obligated to put that stuff on their albums...such as Madonna's "Why's It So Hard?" from the 1992 Erotica album, and Michael Jackson's song like that from Dangerous. Like Prince did "Sign O' The Times" (a very socially activist song) in 1987 and "Pop Life" in 1985, which is one of the first songs that strikes me like that. His whole 1987 Sign O'The Times album is quite '60s influenced and activist...like "Starfish and Coffee", an implicit anti-drug song with a psychedelic pop sound. It was part of the whole '60s revival of 1986-1992, I'd say, along with the classic rock/hair metal (to a certain degree) and the British "Summer of Love" (the '80s revival was stronger in Britain than the U.S.)


Agreed. Prince's psychedelic period probably begun with Around The World in a Day (the big hit "Raspberry Beret" is more like his typical sound up till that point, but most of the other songs were in a slower/trippy 80s mode). Since that was still only '85, it was perhaps a little ahead of its time?

BTW, I'd say '80s pop has alot more in common with the '60s than '80s rock does. Even pop songs by former "60s" artists during that time tended to be very very "80s" (i.e. We Built This City, Some Guys Have All the Luck).

Agreed. Prince's psychedelic period probably begun with Around The World in a Day (the big hit "Raspberry Beret" is more like his typical sound up till that point, but most of the other songs were in a slower/trippy 80s mode). Since that was still only '85, it was perhaps a little ahead of its time?

BTW, I'd say '80s pop has alot more in common with the '60s than '80s rock does. Even pop songs by former "60s" artists during that time tended to be very very "80s" (i.e. We Built This City, Some Guys Have All the Luck).


Yeah, I'd agree with that, definitely. Rock songs from the '80s are quite '80s...part of the reason they always sounded sort of "old", even older than the '80s to me is that I associated them with "classic music", since I knew it wasn't quite up to date as a little kid, but it was still around, so it has that "classic sound" to me.

Yeah, Around the World in a Day was pretty ahead of its time, and his next couple of albums, even including Lovesexy to a degree, were sort of trippy. Parade was trippy in more of a "flowery, Euro way", and Sign O' The Times (IMO, his masterwork), was very '60s influenced, with all the classic soul ballads, psychedelic-influenced rock songs, and '60s style hard rockers like "Hot Thing" and jams like "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night", or trippy guitar pieces like "The Cross." Of course, this all sounded very updated and '80s, but the '60s influence was clear (and even a little ahead of its time)...

Yeah, I'd agree with that, definitely. Rock songs from the '80s are quite '80s...part of the reason they always sounded sort of "old", even older than the '80s to me is that I associated them with "classic music", since I knew it wasn't quite up to date as a little kid, but it was still around, so it has that "classic sound" to me.

Yeah, Around the World in a Day was pretty ahead of its time, and his next couple of albums, even including Lovesexy to a degree, were sort of trippy. Parade was trippy in more of a "flowery, Euro way", and Sign O' The Times (IMO, his masterwork), was very '60s influenced, with all the classic soul ballads, psychedelic-influenced rock songs, and '60s style hard rockers like "Hot Thing" and jams like "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night", or trippy guitar pieces like "The Cross." Of course, this all sounded very updated and '80s, but the '60s influence was clear (and even a little ahead of its time)...

I'm not too familar with his work after ATWIAD and before Diamonds and Pearls (except for "Kiss"), but that sounds right. On another note, it's interesting how he was, on quite a few occasions, a borderline hard rocker (he kinda evoked Jimi Hendrix on the ending solo of "Let's Go Crazy" IMO).

Yeah, in a way "Sharp Dressed Man" sounds more old and dated than "We Got the Beat".

BTW, what would you consider '80s heartland rock to fit into this equation (i.e. Jack and Diane, Against the Wind)? In a sense, they sound "older" but also semi '80s at the same time.

I'm not too familar with his work after ATWIAD and before Diamonds and Pearls (except for "Kiss"), but that sounds right. On another note, it's interesting how he was, on quite a few occasions, a borderline hard rocker (he kinda evoked Jimi Hendrix on the ending solo of "Let's Go Crazy" IMO).

Yeah, in a way "Sharp Dressed Man" sounds more old and dated than "We Got the Beat".

BTW, what would you consider '80s heartland rock to fit into this equation (i.e. Jack and Diane, Against the Wind)? In a sense, they sound "older" but also semi '80s at the same time.


I think stuff like "Jack and Diane" was about the '50s and '60s lifestyle, but was closer to the '70s and '80s in terms of the actual music...alot of '80s music evoked the '50s and '60s mood  but it was musically '80s.

Prince could definitely go into being a borderline hard rocker, more than any other non-hard rock '80s pop star. If you haven't heard "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night", it's a very stylish, but almost '60s Jimi Hendrix-like funk jam that verges on hard rock, and "Let's Go Crazy" and "Baby I'm A Star" are close to hard rock. "Little Red Corvette" sort of evokes the '50s and '60s in subject matter and guitar power pop in music. "Girls & Boys", if you've ever heard it, sounds like a combination of '50s or '60s jazz with a funk groove, with its tuba and saxophone and all. Between 1985 and 1992, his image changed alot. If you haven't heard SOT, it's definitely worth hearing...it's his best CD musically. After PR, I think he went through an identity crisis about superstardom and commercialism and went into all sorts of directions...like the psychedelia of ARTWIAD and the soft, jazzy '80s-styled pop of Parade, though he managed to score "Raspberry Beret" and "Kiss", two of his biggest hits, at the same time.

I'd say much of the first albums by the Bangles and Bananarama and what was mentioned about ATWIAD, also agree with Debbie Gibson, especially the first album.

"Always Something There To Remind Me" by Naked Eyes has that feeling, to me...like it easily could've been a British Invasion mid-'60s hit in a devolved way.

You do know this is a cover of a sixties song don't you?  Just maybe the reason it sounds 60s.

I'd say much of the first albums by the Bangles and Bananarama and what was mentioned about ATWIAD, also agree with Debbie Gibson, especially the first album.


Nah...I didn't know about "Always Something There To Remind Me." But thanks for informing me.

Yeah, All Over the Place by the Bangles has very much so a '60s feeling to it. They were part of the whole "Paisley Underground" movement in L.A. who earnestly wanted to bring back the music of the '60s...there's even a song on it called "Going Down to Liverpool."

Nah...I didn't know about "Always Something There To Remind Me." But thanks for informing me.

Yeah, All Over the Place by the Bangles has very much so a '60s feeling to it. They were part of the whole "Paisley Underground" movement in L.A. who earnestly wanted to bring back the music of the '60s...there's even a song on it called "Going Down to Liverpool."


Yeah, 'Always Something There To Remind Me' was a hit for Sandie Shaw in 1964 (I believe).

With some stretch of the imagination, early 80s punk like the Dead Kennedys and Motorhead could be mistaken for 60s garage rock (i.e. very late Stooges circa 1969). Some of Patti Smiths' stuff in the very early 80s could also have been made in the 60s. Ballads and stuff by Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, John Mellencamp, Bryan Adams - the mini folk/power rock of the early to mid-80s, and the later work of Elton John, Neil Diamond.etc were also very 60s in sound.

This Little Girl is Mine - 1981 - Gary US Bonds

Stop Your Sobing was a 70s song


...for The Pretenders, yes...

...but the original is from the 60s, as recorded by the Kinks

'Heartache Avenue' by The Maisonettes (1982) was a pretty good 1960s pastiche, along with Mari Wilson's 'Just What I Always Wanted' from the same year...

"Just What I Needed" by the Cars somehow has that Rolling Stones-esque "classic rock power single" vibe combined with new wave pop. Alot of bands had that in the '80s, I was trying to pinpoint it...sort of a combination of the Rolling Stones-type British Invasion early hard rock-guitar pop song with the post-punk/new wave stuff. Mostly artists like Elvis Costello and the Pretenders that never used synths, though the British Invasion was a big influence on all new wave, including synth pop (just listen to some of the slower songs from 1965 or so and compare them to "If You Were Here" by the Thompson Twins or "Be Near Me" by ABC, or even "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears), though that stuff was also influenced by early '60s teen pop and '50s heartthrobs. Alot of bands like the B-52s and the Talking Heads had surf rock influence. R.E.M's influence and the Replacements' influence from bands like Buffalo Springfield is pretty obvious...

I was thinking some more about this yesterday.  "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" always sounded a bit 60s to me.

Also Eloise by The Damned.  Though that might be a cover of a 60s original.

The Kinks influenced alot of '80s groups...like Squeeze (sorry, I know I talk about them too much, but it's true), with all the story songs and wordy lyrics. I think a core of alot of British-based new wave in the '80s was combining various '60s influences with stuff like funk, post-punk, and new wave.

The Kinks influenced alot of '80s groups...like Squeeze (sorry, I know I talk about them too much, but it's true), with all the story songs and wordy lyrics. I think a core of alot of British-based new wave in the '80s was combining various '60s influences with stuff like funk, post-punk, and new wave.

Yeah, the Kinks' own two "comeback" hits in '83 (Come Dancing, and Don't Forget to Dance) also sounded like alot of the bands they probably influenced.

"Just What I Needed" by the Cars somehow has that Rolling Stones-esque "classic rock power single" vibe combined with new wave pop. Alot of bands had that in the '80s, I was trying to pinpoint it...sort of a combination of the Rolling Stones-type British Invasion early hard rock-guitar pop song with the post-punk/new wave stuff. Mostly artists like Elvis Costello and the Pretenders that never used synths, though the British Invasion was a big influence on all new wave, including synth pop (just listen to some of the slower songs from 1965 or so and compare them to "If You Were Here" by the Thompson Twins or "Be Near Me" by ABC, or even "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears), though that stuff was also influenced by early '60s teen pop and '50s heartthrobs....

Would you include Tom Petty in that group too? I've heard him described in alot of genres, one being punk/new wave. I'd put "Refugee" for instance, in the same group of "Just What I Needed" or "Cruel to Be Kind"-esque songs - sort of beginner '80s but also very British Invasion classic rock influenced.

I was thinking some more about this yesterday.   "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" always sounded a bit 60s to me.

Yes...it certainly has the 'attitude' of a mid-60s US garage-punk band...

Mind you, The Clash could pop-up in any sort of guise...

Also Eloise by The Damned.  Though that might be a cover of a 60s original.


Yes again...originally performed by Barry Ryan in 1968...

It suited The Damned perfectly as a cover...all mean, moody and bombastic!