Unpopular Opinion/Argument about the 80s

As I observed, 80s is seen as a bleak era for prog rock. It is obvious that the digital innovation and the general atmosphere of that time conjured a different "progosphere" for prog rock. What is the cause of this drastic change, do you think? Of course there are some obvious things grounding this shift, like the digital sound innovation and a change in the general culture. Aside from these, do you have any other peculiar arguments to pin the inducements of this situation?

By my own account, it can be related to the gushing characteristics of the 80s atmosphere which might result in driving the musicians to have more fun, thus occlude their creative selves from projecting serious and sophisticated artistry. I think human psyche is more deedy in troubled times; and in the 80s people were having so much fun. I love 80s, anyway.

This is not a well-grounded intellectual argument, I know. Yet sometimes things can be simple.

BTW, I create this topic in order to have a better understanding and insight on the matter. So I'll be glad to be enlightened by your convictions, and accept to be falsified if I see better arguments.

Thanks.

Edited by Odvin Draoi - March 23 2019 at 05:20

A poor period for mainstream “prog”, but a great one for avant rock, post-punk, art pop and metal.

Hi,

2dogs wrote: BaldFriede wrote: The 80s had a few letdowns. The most horrible thing about the 80s is the invention of the drum machine. A lot of artists experimented with this device in the 80s (e. g. Peter Hammill, Mother Gong, Amon Düül 2), but the results were never convincing. A machine can not replace a human drummer. Drum machines are best used to make their own mechanical sounds as in Godflesh, Sisters of Mercy, Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come .

Edited by BaldFriede - March 23 2019 at 09:17

I didn't miss a plenty of the ones you put here. Plus I made it obvious that the "notion" is something out of my observations. I agree with it to an extent, but the idea is not really and solely mine.

I really do love the 80s europop and similar synth and electronic sound driven stuff, but generally I don't see 80s stuff as sophisticated as 70s, in prog. For example there are a bunch of Kansas songs that I like from the 80s, yet I don't see them in the same calibre of their earlier stuff in artistry. Either for commercial reasons, or a choice to adapt to the era's sound; they didn't retain their uniqueness. I don't complain, as I like 80s characteristics and soul.

Additionally, I opened this thread to see some controversial views as well. So far, so good I suppose. 

Edited by Odvin Draoi - March 23 2019 at 12:45

Mascodagama wrote: A poor period for mainstream “prog”, but a great one for avant rock, post-punk, art pop and metal.

Manuel wrote: I think the hippy movement helped the growth of progressive music because a lot of people loved to trip to the music, meaning they would sit and listen. ... so listening to music with complex arrangements, long pieces with lots of instrumental parts, odd meters, etc, is not appealing for people who want to dance, since al you need is a catchy tune and a nice, danceable beat.