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What were the 80s really like?


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Right. There is very little comparison of the corporate music industry of 1964 to the one of today. The Bealtes didnt know what they were doing. They werent even 21 when Beatlemania started going wild. Plus they didnt have all of the examples of how the corporate music industry screwed over Rock musicians that artists of today have. Artists of today have no excuse for being ignorant of the evil of the corporate music industry.

Meh. I'd like you to name your top ten favorite bands. I bet they're all part of the corporate music industry.

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Right. There is very little comparison of the corporate music industry of 1964 to the one of today. The Bealtes didnt know what they were doing. They werent even 21 when Beatlemania started going wild. Plus they didnt have all of the examples of how the corporate music industry screwed over Rock musicians that artists of today have. Artists of today have no excuse for being ignorant of the evil of the corporate music industry.

You seem to imagine, (pardon the pun), that the Beatles ran their own business affairs. Where does that come from? The were managed and manipulated as a product, the same as any other band.

They Beatles did not appoint George Martin as their producer for example, Martin was head of Parlophone and he went looking for a pop band to fill a market and interviewed them! It was he and Epstein who did the deals. From the very beginning, the Beatles were the subjects of a corporate marketing strategy.

The increasing ownership of television sets at that time also created the most massively persuasive media platform ever. Easily exploited by Martin with his background and contacts.

There really is no difference between the goals of; Martin/Epstein, Stock Aitken & Waterman, Malcolm McLaren, Coca Cola, Ben and Jerrys or Bill Gates.

Identify a market > Produce a product > Market the product > distribute the product > Generate a Ca$h profit. (Then do it all again).

Lennon was so naive he famously thought he was conning the guy out of free beer when they permitted him to record the "Hamburg Tapes" He believed it was impossible for someone to "own a song". He would have died a pauper with that level of understanding if it were not for his 'corporate handlers'.

Mind giving me your take on just what Apple Corps is, if not a corporation?

You seem to make some caveat around the sophistication and effectiveness of the 'corporations' I don't think McCartney et al continued to build and maintain their massive wealth by busking at the weekends.

No, they are managed by hugely effective corporations is why.

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You critise Jacksons Company for exploiting Beatles songs for commercial purposes.

It is hardly as though the Mop tops were averse to a bit of commercial exploitation themselves is it?

Try looking on eBay or Google for Beatles memorabilia and look at the range of tat they were happy to align themselves with.

I wonder who dealt with all that image rights management. Paul? George? or maybe it was a corporate thing. ;)

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Hair Pomade

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Novelty Comb

The-Beatles-Beatle-Ring-356915.jpg

Bad@$$ Bling

The-Beatles-China-Plate-356941.jpg

Something for Mum

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The Bealtes didnt know what they were doing. They werent even 21 when Beatlemania started going wild. Plus ....

It's all very well excusing The Beatles for their wholesale enslavement by the corporate music industry on account of their youth and naivety. This whole tangential discussion began with your comments about Michael Jackson. Now just how youthful and naive was he when the music biz dug its grubby claws into him?

It might not appear so, but I too find many aspects of the global corporatisation of music / music media distasteful and counter-productive to creativity and artistic integrity.. But we live in a capitalist world; it's gonna happen y'know? Thankfully there are plenty of alternatives nowadays to the mainstream/major label hegemony; those who are genuinely interested in music will tend to seek these out. Those who are content with what MTV et al spew out maybe won't. However even the most "purist" of alternatives whether it be indie/specialist labels, independent radio, distribution networks, etc. still have to operate as businesses in a competitive market-place. It's not as straightforward as "four legs good, two legs bad" ("Animal Farm", George Orwell).

So, did you really want to talk about the 1980s, or what?

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Meh. I'd like you to name your top ten favorite bands. I bet they're all part of the corporate music industry.

I'm not really into to top 10 lists, I mean ranking bands doesnt seem very productive to me.

But I can tell you that very few of them would be a part of the Corporate music industry past the 1980s--which is when all the corporate buy outs and conglomeration got out of hand. When magazines, radio stations, record companies, cable tv stations, etc all started falling under the rule of parent companies. It was at this point that the corporate music industry really becaem the evil animal that it is today.

What bothers me is that so called 'independent' msuic critics will rave on about some new band, but what they dont say is that that band is on the record label of the parent company that owns the magazine that this so-called 'independent' music critic is working for. Crap like that has made the corporate music industry loose all credibility in my eyes.

In tonights prayer, I'll ask the lord to please kill me if I ever use 'meh' in a message board post in an attemtp to be flipant...

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It's all very well excusing The Beatles for their wholesale enslavement by the corporate music industry on account of their youth and naivety. This whole tangential discussion began with your comments about Michael Jackson. Now just how youthful and naive was he when the music biz dug its grubby claws into him?

Surely you can tell the difference between the corporate music industyr of 1963 and the corporate music industry of 1986. In 1963 there were maybe 3 tv stations--there was no cable tv. There were no entertainment conglomerates run by parent corporations. The Rock PR and marketign fields were infants. I mean coudl you imagine a hto new band out today telling the press, "Sure we take acid and smoke pot" or "Were bigger than Jesus right now"? I mean comparing the corporate msuic industry of 1963 to the corporate music industry of today is sorta like comparing Barry Bonds to Babe Ruth...

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It might not appear so, but I too find many aspects of the global corporatisation of music / music media distasteful and counter-productive to creativity and artistic integrity.. But we live in a capitalist world; it's gonna happen y'know?

That doesnt mean that I cant strive to get rid of it. I mean if you were living in Nazi Germany would you just say, 'oh well, we live in a fascist world, its gonna happen..." or would you do something to undermine the effort?

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I'm not really into to top 10 lists, I mean ranking bands doesnt seem very productive to me.

But I can tell you that very few of them would be a part of the Corporate music industry past the 1980s--which is when all the corporate buy outs and conglomeration got out of hand. When magazines, radio stations, record companies, cable tv stations, etc all started falling under the rule of parent companies. It was at this point that the corporate music industry really becaem the evil animal that it is today.

What bothers me is that so called 'independent' msuic critics will rave on about some new band, but what they dont say is that that band is on the record label of the parent company that owns the magazine that this so-called 'independent' music critic is working for. Crap like that has made the corporate music industry loose all credibility in my eyes.

In tonights prayer, I'll ask the lord to please kill me if I ever use 'meh' in a message board post in an attemtp to be flipant...

As for your last paragraph, I wasn't portraying flippancy, I was portraying my disenchantment with your stupid opinions on corporate music. But whatever.

Anyways, if you are saying you have a distaste for mainstream since the 80's...that's fine I guess. Most of my favorite bands since the 80's are alternative as well. But if you are bashing all music since the 80's and calling it all "corporate rock" then you, good sir, are a fool.

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But if you are bashing all music since the 80's and calling it all "corporate rock"...

You´re more than right, Batman. The independent labels started to be important in the 80s and became a good choice for musicians. Maybe some of them became majors after some time (like Virgin, for instance) and maybe others had to sell their contracts to majors too, but 80´s rock isn´t the best example for what you call "corporative rock".

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I think the question is what was good about the 80's? Of course it had it's fads....I think Rubik's Cube may have been one of the bigger fads. Then there were the hairstyles, especially the mullet and big hair! Hair also started to come in all different colors from neon green to bright orange.

MTV aired in the 80's changing forever the way music is marketed. Rap music, though born in the 70's still had an untapped market that came to prevalence in the 90's.

Fashions were weird. I think of the woman's power suits and other woman's fashions with shoulder pads that made them look like linebackers.

On television the prime time soap appeared with the likes of Dallas (late 70's), Falcon Crest, Dynasty and The Colbys. The A-Team used more bullets and bombs than any other show on TV but noone was ever killed! Thursday night belonged to NBC with their comedy lineup including Cosby, Family Ties and Cheers.

In the movies the Brat Pack and Stephen Spielberg ruled. The trilogy became common practice with movies like Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Back To The Future. Who can forget the lovable, most endearing alien E.T.?

Some of the big news events were the assasination of John Lennon, Reaganomics, Mt. St. Helens volcano eruption, the Space Shuttle tragedy and the Iran-Contra affair.

Lastly, I was married in 1983 and though later on ended in divorce my two sons were born in 1985 and 1988. Those are my two dearest memories of the 80's.

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Unless of course he has been watching the Public Broadcasting Station for the Mentally Challenged. ;)

PBS hasn't changed that much since the 80's

They still play Sesame Street, except Elmo's the star now & not Big Bird

They also used to air "After School Specials"; which would teach teenagers the consequences of peer pressure...

  • Seven Deadly Sins for a Teen
  • sports-related injury
  • pregnancy
  • STD's (aids, herpes, cancer, etc.)
  • drunk-driving
  • over-dosing
  • gluttony / weight-control / dieting
  • listening to teenie-bop pop music

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