to recap what everyone else has been saying, the eighties were just as pioneering and influential to modern music as any other decade. without many eighties artists, we would not have Rap/Hip Hop, Alternative, Pop-Punk, Emo, Industrial, Electronica/Techno, etc... to dismiss the eighties because of viewing it as mindless, pop drivel is ignorant and narrow minded.
what was great about the eighties is there was a kaleidoscope of genres and styles that were becoming hugely successful, the public were feverishly buying records, and the top 40 radio stations were daring enough to mix things up. one could hear New Wave acts like Duran Duran along side Heavy Metal acts like Guns N' Roses with Rap artists like Run DMC and pop staples like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Journey on one radio station. you can't say that about today's radio stations, who airs endless playlists of the same boring stuff over and over again... maintaining their genre and format for their "target audiences."
many eighties artists were also daring to cross over to other genres. for example, an English cult band called New Order goes off to New York to collaborate for a hugely important and seminal club record called "Confusion" with Hip Hop pioneer Arthur Baker, who was instrument in writing and producing two important Hip Hop classics called "Planet Rock" and "Looking For the Perfect Beat" by Afrika Bambaataa. a duo of R&B/Soul producers named Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were looking for a hugely successful English New Wave act called The Human League to help them achieve mainstream success with a hit single called "Human" and a genre bending album called "Crash." if "Human" would not have topped the US Billboard Charts, who knows what would happen with other Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis legends like Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men, and Mary J. Blige. it's also important to note that The Human League's hits "Don't You Want Me" and "Keep Feeling Fascination" were in the Top Ten Billboard's R&B/Dance charts before going into the mainstream charts. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were inspired to to great things because of hearing "Keep Feeling Fascination." a Rap/Hip Hop group called Run DMC basically resurrected a legendary Hard Rock group called Aerosmith for a collarboration single called "Walk This Way." assuring Areosmith's comeback. the eighties were exciting times.
also, the synth wasn't a fad... it is unbelievable how important and influential the synth was for today's music. if Afrika Bambaataa have not heard synth pioneers Kraftwerk's songs "Trans Europe Express" and "Numbers," we would not have the Hip Hop classic "Planet Rock," which also was one of the first records to use a new technique called "sampling" to build new songs that endless Rap/Hip Hop artists use these days. if David Bowie have not heard Kraftwerk, he would not have the influence to record his Berlin Trilogy "Low," "Heroes," and "Lodger." if Trent Reznor did not hear two synth-pop classic album called "Dare!" from The Human League and "The Pleasure Principle" from Gary Numan, he would not have the influence to form his own electonic based act called Nine Inch Nails. if Gary Numan's song "Films" were not played in endless New York clubs, there wouldn't be countless Hip Hop DJs, producers, and artists. if two guys named Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons have never heard synth records from New Order being played in a club called The Hacienda in Manchester, they would have never formed The Chemical Brothers. if Billy Corgan didn't listen to Depeche Mode, New Order, and The Cure, he would never have formed The Smashing Pumpkins. no Underworld without Soft Cell... no Killers without Duran Duran... no Ladytron without The Human League... no Moby without Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark... no No Doubt/Gwen Stefani without Duran Duran and New Order, i could go on and on and on...
