[omedon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mystyler Wasn't that Men Without Hats who did that?

That is what I thought too. I think it is just a mislabelled MP3 from the pre CDDB days.

 

[Ogdoaden]

I really can't stop listening to Marc Cohn and Michael Sembello. The latter's "Caravan of Dreams" is perfect for the modern soft man. 

 

[pigmode]

I'm going to cheat a little, but only to the same extent as a couple of Depeche Mode songs listed in the OP, as these are1990 but stylistically fits right on the threshold of both decades.
 
Jesus Jones - Who? Where? Why? and International Bright Young Thing

 

[batphink]

WARNING: Don't get remastered CDs.

From The Guardian:
Quote:

EMI defends Duran Duran remasters

Label has 'no plans' to recall CDs after complaints about the sound quality – including those from the band themselves

Duran Duran's recently remastered albums are "not necessarily wrong", EMI said this week, after months of criticism by fans and even the band themselves. Despite admitting at least one audio glitch, the label said it has "received both positive and negative comments about the mastering" and has "no plans" to recall the discs.

This spring, EMI released expanded, remastered versions of two of Duran Duran's early albums: the group's self-titled debut, from 1981, and 1983's Seven and the Ragged Tiger. But although these reissues included fancy deluxe editions with postcards, DVDs and rarities, there was one nagging problem: the music. Just days after the discs were released, Duranies were filling message-boards with criticism of the mastering, citing audio "level-bouncing" and other problems. "These new remasters have lost all of their dynamic range, have been compressed into a big brick wall of garbage, and the high range/treble's pushed so high that it's literally painful on the ears to listen to," wrote one fan on Amazon. "The special editions' content and packaging promised to be on the level with the well-known Duranies' passion, but it's no less stunning that someone proved so easy in publishing a flawed audio product on an historic album fans know since 1981," complained another, pushing for a full recall of the discs.

Not only were fans disappointed – the band were too. "I don't for one second believe [Duran Duran] would say 'That sounds amazing!!!', and I don't believe for one second that THEY would want their music destroyed like this," suggested one fan. It seems he was correct. On Twitter, Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor slammed the new releases. "Sounds like it was done down the pub," he wrote. "Permission will be buried in a 30-year old contract, but I can express my utter disgust & the remastering's crap." He also condemned EMI's decision to put Duran Duran demos as extras on the reissues. "Shame on all involved," he wrote. "They should be gifting them to fans after 30 years of support."

This week, EMI finally issued a statement addressing the criticism (via Slicing Up Eyeballs). "It has come to our attention that some fans have suggested that the mastering on the recently reissued [albums] is incorrect. Mastering is always subjective, and we acknowledge that the mastering on these versions is different to that of previous remasters, however that does not necessarily make it wrong," the label said. "We will always take on board constructive criticism and act upon it, where we believe it appropriate, and we respect the opinions of the fans."

Although EMI refuses to recall the CDs, it admits that fans have a point: the self-titled album has a definite glitch at the beginning of Girls On Film, which the label blames on "tape deterioration". EMI has also asked fans to stop complaining about the recording engineer who mastered the discs, calling these comments "highly offensive, wholly inappropriate and unjustified". Duran Duran may be asked to sit in the corner.

 
 

 

[Sordel]

Thanks for the heads-up, Batphink ... those would have been a present for my wife if I hadn't seen that article.
 
A cursory look at this thread leads me to believe that no Ultravox has been mentioned, which would be a pity.
 
I'm glad that people are getting nostalgic about an era that I am old enough to remember; what I remember about pop in the 80s though is how many one-hit wonders there were. "I'm In Love With A German Filmstar" was, as far as I know, completely forgotten by all but a few of us until Foo Fighters covered the original by The Passions. The Dream Academy's "Life In A Northern Town" is still kicking around, I think, but it was their only hit and a great song. There's a lot of unprospected gold from that era. Here's one I remember fondly::
 

 
 
It's also worth pointing out that although there are bands who are especially remembered for the 80s, the 80s were also a period when a lot of artists with much longer careers were actively involved with the pop scene. No review of the 80s would be complete without David Bowie's Scary Monsters and Super Creeps or Let's Dance, for example. Or Queen's The Works and A Kind of Magic. Roxy Music's Avalon was 1982, and a real "80s album". Fans tend to complain that the 80s were a time when their favourite recording artists did their least favourite music, but these albums were the musical style-setters of their time.

 

[batphink]

Of the Duran Duran remasters, the 3 disc box sets of Duran Duran, Seven and the Ragged Tiger, Notorious and Big Thing might be worth getting because the third disc are DVDs of the music videos, promo appearances and concerts.
 
Recently, the major labels have been issuing re-masters of popular '80s albums.  The audio quality is usually pretty terrible.  The only exception I can think of is the Talking Heads box set, Brick.  Compilations by Time-Life are o.k.  Stuff by Rhino is usually pretty good.  Japanese re-issues are also pretty good but expensive.  Whenever possible, try to get CDs that were released before 1997.

 

[andyalfa]

Talking of the "darker" side, try looking out for Spear of Destiny/Theatre of Hate, Sisters of Mercy/The Mission, Killing Joke, Bauhaus/Pete Murphy, PIL/Jah Wobble etc.
 
Quite liked the Cocteau Twins too, back in the day.
 
These days, my 80's listening revolves around Simple Minds, The Smiths, David Sylvian and the lighter side, most of which has already been covered.

 

[Sordel]

Speaking of remasters, the deluxe edition of Liverpool by Frankie Goes To Hollywood comes out next week. This album was absolutely crucified by the critics when it came out, but I actually thought that it had some pretty good songs on it.
 
Oh, and while we're talking about 80s albums produced by Trevor Horn, we should definitely be adding The Art of Noise, The Buggles and Grace Jones's Slave to the Rhythm to 80s lists.

 

[Kernmac]

Little known 80s band from Down under.  Only produced one album, but it was a great one.  MEO 245-Screen Memory
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L02WAtBS3E4 

 

[Sweden]

Few songs say it's time to have a good time like this one!

 
One of my favorite New Wave songs.

 
Can't stop listening to this 80s Swedish song called "Johan och Jag". It was a school band with 13 members and their music teacher as composer. The lyrics are really sweet but I guess it's a bit of language barrier.. Huge nostalgia.

 
Only thing more nostalgic would be this.

 
 
Quote:

Get Oingo Boingo. Start with the album Only A Lad, then move up to Nothing to Fear and Dead Man's Party.

 
Makes me think of this 

 

[skimminst]

What about Heaven 17?
They did a lot of nice electro pop albums in the 80’s:

_Penthouse and Pavement ---  _The Luxury Gap --- _How Men Are --- _Pleasure One --- _Teddy Bear, Duke & Psycho