Yep. I picked up Forced Exposure back then too. They became a distributor instead of a magazine, and they still print a catalog regularly that’s interesting bathroom reading, even though (like any sales catalog) it tends to overhype every release.
That 1994 MRR ‘restrictions’ policy is kind of famous, I remember all the talk about it at the time. The whole “puritanical” argument cuts both ways: fostering a specific genre of music is A-OK, but it’s still kind of snobby and self-righteous and pigeonholing, and in truth I did get that vibe from classical magazines on occasion (to say nothing of all the jazz critics who caustically dismissed Miles’ 70’s electric period-- the whole “young lions” movement of early 80’s jazz made it a point to restrict their definition of jazz to “acoustic instruments” and “swinging rhythms” which I guess would mean funky organ trios weren’t jazz anymore.)
Ironically by promoting the whole DIY ethic, MRR eventually got swamped with so many self-released albums and tapes they couldn’t keep up with the reviews.
This video sort of hit on one note of the 80’s (that sort of rah rah good times note) and ran with it.
I’m not gonna argue that this wasn’t an aspect of the 80’s, but it’s pretty monotonal. For example, there’s a cut from Fame where everyone’s all dancing and happy, but the actual film is way grittier than that. It’s a bit like arguing that the soundtrack to it represents all of 80’s music, which is of course absurd.
Also - There was a hell of a lot of dancing in the 80’s. Movies about dancing, dancing in movies that have nothing to do with dance, dancing in music videos, dancing in TV shows.
Also - Also - Over 50% of the stuff shown was good then, and still good now.
Cherry picking is bound to be controversial: tons of bad and good in both the 70s and 80s. What matters is the distribution of suckiness. Anyone who has had to pull faux wood laminate panels off of the walls of their 70s house knows well that the 70s has the most sucky distribution in terms of taste. 70s estate sale vinyl anyone?
I had a group of friends in the mid to late 80’s that I used to drop acid with. We had some regular movies we always played. Liquid Sky was one of them. Since then, I rarely ever hear anyone mention Liquid Sky.
Other favorites (as best as I can recall): Re-animator, A Clockwork Orange, A boy and his dog, Fantastic Planet, … There were others but they elude my memory.
OK, in decor the '70s wasn’t a great decade. I have nightmares about kitchens with combinations of Harvest Gold, Avocado Green, (I Really Hope that’s Fudge and not Sludge) Brown, and whatever that neon Orange was supposed to be - I still have no idea. However, the music and movies more than made up for it.
Yeah, most everything in this “tribute” is very, very mainstream and MOR. Basically the stuff a lot of us (well, people I knew) consciously avoided. And we didn’t do so by sticking with oldies or something; there are always niches and countercultures for those who can bother with engagement. Recently, in another community, someone asked for a “great 80s dance” playlist, and almost nobody recognized the bands I listed, which used to pack dance floors in the kind of places I used to go (like Shriekback, Portion Control, Alien Sex Fiend, etc.). But no, people just think it’s all DX7 ring mod sounds and red leather.
Yeah, I read it with a silly accent in my head, because it’s my own self-deprecating humour. I kinda forgot that you don’t see me sending clowning around signals.
Keeping it as it is, because the damage is done. To myself, mostly. But hey, what else can you expect from a guy who was a teen in the 1980s?
