Preview

Essay On 1980s Music

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
487 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On 1980s Music
1980s Music

The 1980s was a decade where things changed drastically. The music industry in the 1980s experienced major changes mostly due to the political and economic changes, and new trends and inventions.
In the 1980s, America was changed economically and politically. The terrible economy had a huge impact on American people. When president Ronald Reagan took over in 1981, the economy was in the worst condition since the Great Depression (Shmoop Editorial Team). Because of the poor economy the crime rate increased drastically. Violence, theft, and murder numbers increased significantly in areas where there were gangs and drugs. It was so bad that congress passed drug laws resulting in a rise in the number of U.S. prisoners (Woog pg. 74). The Vietnam War had a major effect on the 1980s. Most of the economical and political problems were because
…show more content…
The poor economy of the 1980s influenced new styles of music. Many musicians used their music to express their points of view and opinions about the war, and peace among the people of the U.S (Woog pg. 79). Drugs had a huge effect on music, influencing wild, risqué rock and punk styles that took over the music industry. The birth of new genres of music that expanded the social acceptance was so successful they still influence music today (Gelipter). Lastly, the new creations of MTV and CDs expanded the way music sounded and how it could be seen and heard. Drum machines and synthesizers could be added into the music on CDs, bringing a new, popular, original sound to the music industry, while MTV brought image and interpretation (Gelipter). Although the 1980s was a rough decade, the music industry benefitted from the vast changes. 1980s music was greatly impacted by many political and social changes, and new popular ideas . To sum it up, the rough decade of the 1980s affected music, and is still affecting music

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Around the years, music has matched the society of the time and has evolved with changes in the world. Not only does music change with society, the political and economic problems of each time but music has also changed with technological advances of each period. Let’s take a look of the most important changes that took place in the last one seventy years.…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Showtunes In The 60's

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many of my favorite musicals came out at this time; Phantom of the Opera, Into the Woods, Big River, and Dreamgirls. The showtunes of the 80s were of a huge variety. Broadway began to have something for everyone. With higher technology the orchestra size became smaller, except for Webber shows of course. Many surprising issues were now being shown and actors, even had more passion behind their voice. Broadway was showing issues such as slavery, gender rights, prostitution, and abduction. The eighties were a time for change on the Broadway…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1980s was a period of when the scandal, in which what was known as the Iran Contra Affair, had occurred. The situation of the Iran Contra Affair took place during President Ronald Reagan's second term of administration. In addition, the Iran Contra Affair besides the US, involved two other countries: Iran and Nicaragua. (Infoplease.com).…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One thing that was popular in the 1990s is the fashion, the 1990s had alot of different fashion in the decade. One of the most popular fads in the 1990s was grunge clothing…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sports In The 1980s

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The record breakers and history makers were the reason the 1980s were a memorable time. With National events occurring on the daily, many inventions and breakthroughs had been recorded for people in the times ahead to never forget. Occurrences like the creation of Steve Jobs amazing macintosh computer and the launch of windows for Microsoft. Sports in the 1980s had many great happenings that people still talk about today. For instance, Wayne Gretzky was and still is one of the best hockey players of all time, and the miracle on ice was even made into a movie that people still watch today. Also, sports in the 1980s coincided with other major non sporting events that created an abundance of historical records to be remembered always. The television is a great example of that for the reason that it influenced many sports and teams that did not seem easily impacted. Furthermore, the 1980s decade of wild occurrences in sports and historical circumstances in our world are what we should remember and cherish for the rest of our…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Rock and roll changed because the songs were changing. More artists and bands produced songs out of a studio…

    • 1793 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    1980

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In American politics the 1980s were the decade of Ronald Reagan, who was elected president in 1980 and succeeded by his vice president, George Bush, in 1989. Reagan's vision of the nation—and to a somewhat lesser extent his conservative agenda—shaped the economic and political fortunes of the United States for most of the 1980s.…

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Rock And Roll Outline

    • 3032 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Thesis statement: Rock and roll is not just any type of popular genre. Because of the rise of rock and roll, a statement has been made where rock and roll influenced the lifestyle, attitude, and fashion of the many individuals.…

    • 3032 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rock soon began to articulate that separate sensibility that youth wished to express, a world view that rejected the values of establishment and embraced a new. (Jennings Brewster 392) People wanted a change in the rules and establishment. But they believed things werent going to get any better. So they had to make them seem better, or completely forget about them. Thats where the drugs came into play. It was commonly believed that the governments drug enforcement apparatus was an instrument of repression and a truly democratic society would legalize drugs. (Brewster Jennings 392)The lifestyle of many musical phenoms resulted in tragic deaths (300) that had a huge impact on the listeners. Stars like Jim Morrison never even made it into their thirties. Because their rock…

    • 596 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 20’s were different than any other decade because it was a time for social and economic change. With those changes, many new inventions like the automobile and electricity were making productivity in the 20’s much higher. Money was being earned that changed how people interacted with one another, and how they spent it. Celebrities were becoming a thing that shaped the future of America, giving children someone to look up to.…

    • 734 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Music in the 1980's

    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The 1980s was a decade of revolutionary changes on the music scene. The two major developments were the advent of MTV and the compact disc. Music became more diverse, with new wave, heavy metal, rap, techno pop, alternative rock and the "new" country sounds. And music became a huge marketing tool as filmmakers, TV producers and manufacturers of everything from sneakers to soft drinks used hit songs and hot performers to sell their products.…

    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Harlem Renaissance

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Huge advancements in the music industry came about during the decade of the 1920s. The music industry grew larger as more citizens became more interested. The more popular…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Music is a mass market in the United States, resulting in a strong influence throughout the nation’s culture. Youth culture in particular has been impacted since the explosion of rock n roll in the 1950’s. As the market continues to expand with each generation, an increasingly wider demographic felt the impact of music on daily life. The introduction of new technology contributed as well with music becoming easier to obtain and distribute. As needs change in America so does the music with it. During the Civil Rights Movement, the music of the African American people became more and more popular, Gospel and R&B would tell tales of trouble in the African American communities. They would sing of their unfair treatments, of being poor, and of their dreams of change and freedom from hate. The 1950’s brought around rock and roll and challenged the acts of war and limitations. The music in the 1960’s and ‘70’s had a strong political sound that protested the wars and government of that time. This was especially true in the time of the Vietnam War. Songs rang of sounds of peace and love and the end of a war no one really thought we needed to be involved in.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By 1982, rock had stayed strong through the thick and thin. Rock survived everything from the initial shock of the first rock stars in 1950, the fall of rock and roll on the day the music died, and through the onslaught of subgenre phases such as the psychedelic era, disco fever, and the emotional punk days. By the early 1980s things were looking really good for the rock and roll music industry. By this time rock was not seen as a revolution, and it was thought to be mainstream. This thought brought the new era of alternative rock music. With every new musical era there are certain bands and artist that make a huge impact on the music world and everyone around them. For the alternative era the biggest influences were U2, R.E.M., and Bruce Springsteen.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1970's Music

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The chaotic events of the 60's, including war and social change, seemed destined to continue in the 70's. Major trends included a growing disillusionment of government, advances in civil rights, increased influence of the women's movement, a heightened concern for the environment, and increased space exploration. Many of the "radical" ideas of the 60's gained wider acceptance in the new decade, and were mainstreamed into American life and culture. Amid war, social realignment and presidential impeachment proceedings, American culture flourished. Indeed, the events of the times were reflected in and became the inspiration for much of the music.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays