You Pick The Decade(s)

[26 horses]

If there were people around who had read both Bret Harte and Mark Twain during the time they were writing, I would be more interested in what they had to say when comparing the two than I would random people on the street expressing their opinions on them now.

So then perhaps your musical ranking of decades grades via written reviews at the time, Billboard or Rolling Stone, or?

Really where we are on any of this is just what folks think now, an imperfect mechanism, but kind of the point where subjectivity is concerned.

Which is why I put something as "off the current milieu" as Nat King Cole up. Great song, fine writing, a known classic in its day, but I wager any millennial would bypass it swiftly.

[26 horses]

Surprisingly enough, a person doesn't have to be old to discern quality.  Thinking they know more than they do is a trait of youth though.

But quality is totally subjective where music is concerned - a person can be as taken with U2 as they can Garth Brooks, but have diametrically opposed feelings on both. That neither makes U2 less great nor Garth Brooks more great.

It's a tomato/tomahto analogy.

[26 horses]

Youth have no monopoly on that trait. In fact, it's likely inherited.

 

Well played.

[PB]

... So the subjectivity of this ranking leaves us with only opinions where music is concerned, imo. Maybe you have some thoughts on how decades can be graded?

Not really, I think folks should decide for themselves and listen to what they like

[26 horses]

Not really, I think folks should decide for themselves and listen to what they like

Ok, so it seemed like you weren't cool with that, did I misread you?

I like this thread btw, it has "possibilities"...

[Nucky Nolan]

Well played.

It's like that old joke from PB's era. Craziness is hereditary; you get it from your kids.

[PB]

A nod to Nucks, here are three of my favs from the 80s

Note:  A young RuPaul at 2:05

[Nucky Nolan]

A nod to Nucks, here are three of my favs from the 80s

Note:  A young RuPaul at 2:05

I would have chosen the Cars, the Police, Depeche Mode, and U2. I get why you hate the '80s now. 

[PB]

I would have chosen the Cars, the Police, Depeche Mode, and U2...

I know.  Don't forget The Smiths.  And those bands would have been completely overshadowed if they'd come around a decade earlier.

[Nucky Nolan]

I know.  Don't forget The Smiths.  And those bands would have been completely overshadowed if they'd come around a decade earlier.

I doubt it. Blondie and Talking Heads could tell you that.

[JUAN]

How about something from the 20s - 2018 style

[26 horses]

I know.  Don't forget The Smiths.  And those bands would have been completely overshadowed if they'd come around a decade earlier.

Dire Straits...REM...AC/DC - that'll work!

[FISH]

So what is good music? Each answer is personal. I tried to stay current with music over the decades. I got lost in the 90's.  In my city, we have a few college FM stations that plays good music. I am currently listening to live from "Mountain Stage" on a FM station.
One FM station has a show called LAND OF THE LOST. On the final Friday of each month lost music from the 80's is played. A mix of cult classics, new wave anthems, punk and alternative music is played for 4 hours. I enjoy LAND OF THE LOST.  Once a year, 80's music from the famous John Peel Sessions of the BBC is played. At one time, I was a huge fan of John Peel.  After his death, stories of his unusual sexual history came out.
WHY WHY WHY?
I can no longer watch or listen to Michael Jackson and music from the John Peel Sessions, without regret.

[Nucky Nolan]

So what is good music? Each answer is personal. I tried to stay current with music over the decades. I got lost in the 90's.  In my city, we have a few college FM stations that plays good music. I am currently listening to live from "Mountain Stage" on a FM station.
One FM station has a show called LAND OF THE LOST. On the final Friday of each month lost music from the 80's is played. A mix of cult classics, new wave anthems, punk and alternative music is played for 4 hours. I enjoy LAND OF THE LOST.  Once a year, 80's music from the famous John Peel Sessions of the BBC is played. At one time, I was a huge fan of John Peel.  After his death, stories of his unusual sexual history came out.
WHY WHY WHY?
I can no longer watch or listen to Michael Jackson and music from the John Peel Sessions, without regret.

I had no idea about John Peel. After the sordid revelations about Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson, it's tough being an '80s kid. What's next? Will Eddie Murphy turn out to be the third Hillside Strangler?

[26 horses]

I had no idea about John Peel. After the sordid revelations about Bill Cosby and Michael Jackson, it's tough being an '80s kid. What's next? Will Eddie Murphy turn out to be the third Hillside Strangler?

Eddie Van had his sordid moments too...

https://people.com/music/eddie-van-halen-valerie-bertinelli-early-days-brown-mms-new-book/

She was once America's sweetheart, jeeez...