196 '80s Life: Music, MTV, Michael Jackson, The Sounds of Synth, Saxophones, and More

This is the fifth and final episode in a series on daily life as we recall it during a brighter, more hot pink time in America’s history.

In this episode, we riff off a list of ‘80s pop music trends, including MTV, the phenomenon of Michael Jackson, that ‘80s synthesizer sound, saxophone solos, big hair bands, novelty tunes, the rise of rap, and more.

Below is a bullet point list of the stuff we talk about, including links to articles we mention.

  • MTV & VJs

  • Melody-driven music. The Death of the Key Change is an data-based article about the decline of variance of pitch in pop hits. “…after 1990, key changes are employed much less frequently, if at all, in number one hits.”

  • The YAMAHA DX7 synthesizer: the sound of the ‘80s

  • Saxophone solos: Where Did All The Saxophones Go?

  • Novelty songs:

    • Ghostbusters

    • Don’t Worry, Be Happy

    • Thriller

    • Eat It

    • Walk Like An Egyptian

    • Sussudio

    • Din daa daa

  • Girl Groups:

    • Bangles

    • Go-Go’s

    • Bananarama

    • Salt-N-Pepa

  • Bubblegum Pop:

    • New Edition

    • New Kids On The Block

    • Debbie Gibson

    • Tiffany

  • Rap:

    • RUN DMC

    • Beastie Boys

  • Rock and Big Hair Bands:

    • Bon Jovi

    • Guns n Roses

    • Def Leppard

    • Aerosmith

    • we forgot to mention Van Halen

    • Pat Benatar

    • Joan Jett

  • Pop & R&B:

    • Madonna

    • Wham!

    • Prince

    • Janet Jackson

    • Michael Jackson

    • Whitney Houston

    • Anita Baker

    • we forgot to mention Culture Club

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