80's Sound & how to avoid it

S

Schmange

New member
People constantly keep telling me that my songs have an 80's sound to them.
Trouble is, I don't have a clue what the heck an 80's sound is and how to get rid of it.

Can somebody listen to these and tell me what the heck it is that makes them sound like 80's tunes.
And how to change them to bring them more up to date. Like, is it the drums or just the whole sound in general?




 
Those keyboards in Neon Lies definately have some cheese factor to them, alot of stuff like that is used slightly more tastefully in some of the more recent stuff (although not always by any means). Another thing is the real intense reverb that you have going on your vocal has a very 80s sound to it, especially on Goodnight, I would lighten up on it a little. That said, I think the productions are pretty nice even if they do sound a little dated to me.
 
It's really a combination of a few factors.

Like Zeppelin says, the use/abuse of the reverb really dates things. But I think the way your voice interacts with the reverb kinda' does the same thing. I mean, I instantly thought "Simple Minds" the second I heard Neon Lies, and it has a lot to do with your voice. And even without the reverb, I'm thinking David Bowie. Lots of Bowie going on with your vocal style -- and it's not so much the Ziggie Stardust or modern Bowie, but more the 80's "China Girl," "Modern Love" kinda' Bowie.

You might work on not "swooping" or scooping so much into your phrases . . . ya know what I mean? Your voice kinda' starts out with this low-pitched growl and then scoops in to the note at the beginnings of all your phrases. That, again, subconsciously makes people think of Bowie or Simple Minds, which makes them think of John Hughes films (and the Brat Pack) which makes them think '80s.

Finally, the keyboards have gotta' be updated. That's an obvious one. Also, try different drum samples -- preferably something a little more natural / believable sounding. And don't record your guitar direct, either. Stick a mic in front of a real amp. Does wonders.

Honestly, what I would do is work it. If people think you sound 80's, then make that your trademark. Start listening to more 80's records, and try to pick up on even more things. Make it your thing, dude. There's a lot of bands out there that are purposely trying to sound 80's and failing at it. You're already one up on them.
 
Like the other two said the reverb is a big thing, On "Goodnight" just try taking out the reverb expecially on the vocals and just put enough till you can barely hear it also use some pre-delay, and on the drums get them sounding more acoustic, I guess that's the biggest different...get things more "real", also the first thing I thought of was Bowie too, I really like Bowie...So I like your songs, but if you want to get away from it try singing in a higher key.

But you know as soon as you get rid of the 80's sound, then that's what will be mainstream again.
 
ok. first of all. i like your 80's sound. i wouldnt change it to sound more modern. i would change it to sound more 80's. well- actually i would change it to sound more "what-is-considered-cool-right-now" 80s and less "what-isnt-very-cool-right-now" 80's.

ie:

turn down the simple minds. turn up the joy division.

turn down the late psycedelic furs. turn up the early psycedelic furs.

specifically, there are a few things that stick out in your production as stuff that has been left in the garbage bin as opposed to the stuff that has become really popular again (after some 20 somethings in brooklyn dragged it out). the reverby scooped distortion wailing guitars for example- in other words the music that plays when something dramatic happens in 90210. that has not come back. i would avoid that.

the over-stiff, bad shuffle super white drum machine stuff i find to be pretty cool. i would turn down the realism knob. make it more hyper real. the 80s were all about fantasy and exaggeration. that is what you need- more exaggeration.

i dont mind your voice at all. i like it.

keep it up. the 80s are back (well, maybe they have come back and left again, but who cares). have you heard interpol? do you think their friends told them that they sound too 80's?

what kind of 80's music do you like? this might be your problem... you might need to spiff up your 80s music collection. give it all a good listen and come back.
 
I listened to Neon. What isn't 80's about that tune and production? lol. The whole 'dramatic synth song' is an 80's staple. If you want to sound modern you either need a real band or start rapping.

As a rule of thumb you can be super polished if you have a rock band but if you are doing synth stuff you need to rough it up a bit and give it more of an edge.

A good updated 80's sound would be David Bowie's stuff with Trent Reznor. "Im Afraid of Americans" and the tune he did for Lost Highway would be good ones to listen to.
 
eeldip said:
turn down the simple minds. turn up the joy division.

turn down the late psycedelic furs. turn up the early psycedelic furs.
Click to expand...

That's some great advice. Also, the 90210 comment nailed it. Eeldip pretty much said everything I was trying to say. Only he said it a lot better. Read his post carefully. Better yet, study it. Also what Tex said about the Reznor Bowie. Great stuff.
 
you know, if the songs are coming out the way you want them to, why would you care?


seriously, write songs for yourself and no one else. who cares what era they sound like they're from - if they are what you want them to be, then they're done, and they're good. the end.
 
chessrock, i was just working off of your "simple minds" reference... (as we pat eachother on the back)

anyway, next time you quote me. pick something without the glaringly misspelled words.

psychedelic!
 
You might benefit from the crticism Jello Biafra made of Joy Division in the DK's "Nazi Punks F%^K Off." You know, where he says "overproduced by Martin Hannet....take one." (Now there's some scary 80's references!) Seriously, one approach would be to simplify. Eliminate some sounds and shoot for something more basic. Your material seems well mixed but there is alot going on and each piece gives an additional "80's clue." I'm not saying that you should record all acoustic music, but some raw arrangments might really work with your voice. Remember, alot of simple stuff (Violent Femmes, Pylon) came out of the 80's in addition to the heavy synth-based english groups. Hell, if the early english stuff was raw--Echo and the Bunneymen before they got a drummer or Gang of Four when they found that essence rare and before they fell in love with a man in a uniform! I'll stop now.
 
Whoops! I forgot to mention the Fall. If someone has a problem with 80's music, tell them to go talk to Mark E. Smith!
 
You obviously are concenred that your sound should be 'contemporary', otherwise you would be content to sound as you sound and wouldn't have raised this as an issue.

So listen to and analise whatever contemporary music you like and see what's going on there. Maybe your friends are into guitar bands and find your stuff dated for that reason?

Remember though that today's contemporary is tommorrow's 80's !!

IMO You should try to do something which doesn't sound just like all the other stuff around at the moment, and remember if an 80's sound revival comes along you will be at the cutting edge!

Seriously though, for what its worth I listened to your song Neonlies. I like it. To me it sounds just fine. You have a good voice and can obviously write. So what do these people want you to do, start to sound like Nickleback or something? You must do what you do and keep on doing it. Be yourself. Don't follow fashion, because if you do you will always be playing catch up.

To me an 80s sound would be like early Depeche Mode twee synthesiser based stuff (which I really dislike) - now THAT is really dated. You don't sound like that at all. I didn't get that from your tune. I agree with the SimpleMinds analogy, but mainly because of the sound of your voice. But virtualy enveryone sounds a bit like someone else. Even applies to contemporary Justin Timberlake!!!

You should be proud of your music, if the track I hear is anything to go by. Good luck with it and keep on doing it - set the trend.
 
Man, this doesn't sound anything like Rick Springfield or Pat Benatar. Or the Waitresses. Or the Gap Band. Or Irene Cara (thank God!).

:D

Serious now - do what moves you. If this is it, keep doing it. If not, there's some good advice already on what to change.

I've played with some talented cats who tossed their vision for what sells. Can't do the rewind/replay thing to find out what would have happened if they stuck to their guns, but for one of them, he made it long enough to have somebody dredge up his old cool work, and turn him into a star at 70. I know it sounds corny - but follow your star!

Daf
u
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dafduc said:


Serious now - do what moves you. If this is it, keep doing it. If not, there's some good advice already on what to change.
Click to expand...

yeah I agree, there's so much BS out there these days, its worse than ever. now will some A+R fool take a chance on this stuff, probably not, but he's a fool chasing his and everyone elses tail anyway. its indeed a sad state of affairs. probably more the reason you should keep doing what you're doing.

I got no problems with it, but then again I came from the 80's!..you are who you are man, just embrace it!

you should hear the album I released a few years ago, yall would run me right out of here. Not a lot of Journey style fans around here I'm sure!
 
There you have it

Be true to yourself and produce the music YOU enjoy and feel comfortable with. Don't try to do what is 'current' if it's not treally you. Remember there are thousands of acts out there trying to copy the current sound in order to get signed.

There's nothing wrong with the tune I heard from you.

BTW I am an old git who first got into music in the 60s as a child - so take what I say in that context. I might also add that on balance the 80s was definitely the worse decade and the low point in popular music (Duran Duran - I rest my case).

For the record I rate the decades as follows:
50's - OK, the seeds are planted
60's - Excellent (explosion of freedom, new talent and sound)
70's - The best (the explosion becomes mature and defined and disco arrives, not forgetting glam) music is FUN, remember fun?
80s - rubbish (the parties over but the drunks won't leave and insist on boring everyone with their synthesiser noises)
90's - good (it's the dawn and everyone's got their guitars out again to play)
Noughties - not bad so far, technology opens up new frontiers

Just my tongue-in-cheek take on things!
 
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well. this really should be a new topic but here i go:

the 50's: most experimental, most rigorous. people smashing together traditions that had never met before. audiences accepting music that came from worlds away. black people listening and loving white music and making music about it (chuck berry) and the opposite (lots of the sun records artists). when country met western, when blues met country etc. emphasis on technique and playing. best singers, best guitarists, best bands. james brown does some great stuff, shows off his amazing voice.

the 60's: refinement and integration into more mainstream pop. expansion out of the US. american rock n' roll meets british music hall (british invasion). playful experimentation (the who). still very fresh, but in a more middle class way. integrated touring bands didnt have to worry about getting lynched as much as they did in the 50's- it takes the edge off the music. still great though. james brown is kicking ass making r+b that will last forever.

the 70's: great time for intellectual music. krautrock, prog rock, jazz rock, electronic music. pop music gets worse though (harder to get something very revolutionary in the top 40). as the music business gets more corporate- the underground forms. the corporate appropriation cycle begins (disco for example: has brief creative period of great music, then gets swallowed by the machine). punk forms, is interesting, then gets boring. james brown does some of his best work, invents funk.

the 80's: sadly, james brown is spent. the corporate cycle gets faster, but the underground reacts and creates interesting music to try to beat it out. bruce springsteen hangs out at CBGB's and thinks suicide is the best band ever. kraftwerk hammer out the genre of electronic music. hip hop goes through a silver age and a golden age (which extends into the 90's) Top 40 is still terrible, worse than in the 70's maybe- with exceptions like michael jackson who, with off the wall and thriller, makes some of the best Top 40 music ever. corporate music seems tired of dealing with the interesing stuff in the underground, in the later years tries to create a more static pop music that it can more easily market- setting the stage for the undergound to flourish getting ready for....

the 90's: corporations fully market "cool". marketing gets more advanced- trendspotting and so on gives corporations the ability to market more fluidly, no longer needing a static core like they did in the 80's. hip hop and underground and electronic get hopelessly intermeshed into corporate music. sucks out the creativity. alternative becomes a proper noun- "Alternative"- and ceases to be an alternative to anything. decent underground bands get some money, rehash some stuff that other people did before and sell a lot of records ("nevermind is just a pixies rip-off"- kurt). nothing really groundbreaking happens, but a lot of nice little music finds a place in the cracks.

the aught's: nothing to report here.
 
You're right, this should be a new thread elsewhere.
Very interesting.

The only thing I'd add is something I've observed.

When I was young (19) there's no way I'd have rated my parent's generation music from 20 years previously as cool (Glen Miller, Sinatra, Perry Como, George Formby etc).

Today, many kids think my generation's music (Beatles, Stones Hendrix, Doors) from 30 years ago is still cool.

(And accordingly I now appreciate Sinatra, Glen Miller, etc !!!)

Go figure.
 
eeldip: That's a large chunk of musical history. Now give your tree some musical "roots" and you will really have something. And you forgot to add James Brown's live performance on the day MLK died, his arrest record, and the year that Tom Tom Club recorded that song with the refrain "James Brown!."

Glynb: I can't really condem any particular decade. There was a lot of crap during the 80's but the same is true for the 90's, the 70's, the 60's, and so on. Our culture produces good music, bad music, and evil music at about the same rate, despite the relative influences of the mass media infrastructure.
 
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