Jason Stanfield Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I'm going through an 80s synth-rock listening phase right now and looking for more music along the lines of: - Kevin Gilbert / Giraffe - 1978-81 era Genesis - Vince Dicola (yes, of 1984 Transformers and Rocky IV soundtrack fame) I can't quite put a name to the style I'm looking for, but what I like from the above is polychordal/Dave Stewart-esque synth work & harmony. I keep using online databases that are supposed to find other stuff I might like. They all send me to mainstream acts like Devo or Nine Inch Nails or Human League, but I don't want cheesy synth pop, industrial, or New Wave ... I want more of that late-70s, early-80s, well-written, harmonically interesting, synth driven, dense je ne se quoi that I was too young to know when it was around ... stuff like (mind the hair): [video:youtube]T4I5SKrlzTs Any suggestions? Jason Stanfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 You can always try some Talk Talk, Icehouse or Ultravox for starters. Just a few of my favorite 80's bands. When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Stanfield Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Yeah, Icehouse is close ... also Simple Minds gets close to what I'm looking for. I may be limited to more obscure music such as movie soundtracks, but I'm looking for more of that dense synth-based polychordal stuff for writing inspiration. Jason Stanfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Mr. Mister? [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHXgHjDOxUM&feature=related A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Cutting Crew? [video:youtube] A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Alan Parsons Project? [video:youtube] A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABECK Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 How about Level 42? Not sure if that's really the same genre, but it's 80's, pop and held together quite nicely by the keyboard player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Tears For Fears? [video:youtube] (Tell me if I'm in the ballpark anywhere here...) A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboK Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Any Depeche Mode. Maybe not rock, but still must listen stuff for 80's synth. Korg Kronos 2 61, Kronos 1 61, Dave Smith Mopho x4, 1954 Hammond C2, Wurlitzer 200A, Yamaha Motif 6, Casio CDP-100, Alesis Vortex Wireless, too much PA gear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Pet Shop Boys? Or is that too new-wavy [video:youtube] A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Three very different suggestions: David Sancious and Tone - Matter of Time [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwcwczwR9rE&feature=related Happy the Man - Service with a Smile [video:youtube] Thomas Dolby - Airwaves [video:youtube] .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Stanfield Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Mr. Mister & Cutting Crew are too pop. I like Alan Parsons, but not quite it, either. Tears For Fears, Level 42, and Pet Shop Boys are much closer. Jason Stanfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Yazoo/Yaz? Human League? Heaven 17? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 This is almost as bad as AnotherScott's "name that song" thread. http://planetsmilies.net/tongue-smiley-8876.gif "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Well that gives me a direction, anyway. Eurythmics would be an obvious choice - particularly the very early stuff like: [video:youtube] A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Berlin might be a bit too poppy, but I figured I'd throw it out there... [video:youtube] A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 And let's not forget Siouxsie and the Banshees [video:youtube] and Echo and the Bunnymen... [video:youtube] and the Furs... [video:youtube] and Joy Division [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ELYnSU8EC8&feature=related A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Speaking of Psychedelic Furs and Simple Minds...Two of my favs by them: [video:youtube] [video:youtube] Griff mentioned Joy Division - early New Order would be be along the same lines. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Stanfield Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 This is almost as bad as AnotherScott's "name that song" thread. http://planetsmilies.net/tongue-smiley-8876.gif Yeah, I know ... but I thought there may be someone here who could put a name to what I'm listening for. I appreciate all the suggestions, though - it's giving me a lot to look into that I missed the first time around, or only heard the radio hits. Jason Stanfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 My favourite recs have already been listed, but I also like the ones the OP dissed. :-) Tears for Fears is touring currently and I plan to look up info on who is with them. They have the most diverse catalogue of any of the acts associated with that style, never really repeating themselves. Some of their early songs like "Change" still send shivers down my spine due to the harmonic progressions. Don't forget Missing Persons, and the one-off Yes/Buggles album "Drama". On the quirkier side, give Lene Lovich a try, and some of Nina Hagen's post-punk offerings. Perhaps overly affected at times, Heaven 17 has interesting harmonies and arrangements, but their material is very variable in quality. One of my favourites is The Associates. Billy Mackenzie committed suicide during an especially dark and long winter in Northern Scotland a decade or so ago, sadly. I think his mother and his Afghan Hounds died within short order and he was very depressed. Siouxsie Sioux was very close friends with him and put out a single to raise money for a suicide prevention charity right afterwards. You can hear the melancholy in his music but it is hauntingly beautiful, and what a voice! Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Some of the artists with Pop songs have some pretty good stuff that never made it to radio. Soft Cell's stuff is nothing like Tainted Love. Most of it is much darker. Pet Shop Boys (already mentioned) also falls into that category. Other bands that come to mind are Naked Eyes, Howard Jones, Aha, and Icicle Works. Surprised nobody's mentioned The Cure. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 The Buggles did some really cool stuff. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Mr. Mister back in the day. They were really good. Steve Farris is a Hell of guitar player. I don't even remember who they opened for. Mr. Mister must have kicked their ass. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Van Halen? A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 and the Furs... [video:youtube] Definitely a favorite here as well. When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Van Halen? They are really good but getting the tab for I'll Wait is kind of difficult. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 The Fixx, Flock of Seagulls, The Vapors Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CEB Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Yes! I saw the Phantoms tour. The Fixx kicked ass. "It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne "A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!! So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Yeah, I know ... but I thought there may be someone here who could put a name to what I'm listening for. The reason why it's so hard to put a name to it is because that was a magic little pocket of bands that happened during a period where technology was changing and the industry was in a "throw it at the wall and see what sticks" mode. The music you're looking at has elements of art rock, prog, new wave, punk, and a whole lot of other flavors. I don't think they really came up with a "genre" name to fit it - only the dominant styles that rose out of it (like synth pop, Brit pop, etc) A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Schmieder Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Don't forget The Cure! http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2012/05/26/cure-pinkpop-video-setlist-reeves-gabrels/ Very excited by the news of Reeves Gabrels joining the band on guitar. Reeves is a great guy; I used to talk with him at shows in Boston when he was still on the local scene -- always in bands that were on the verge of going big time nationally. Then Bowie hired him, and after that he did soundtrack and games music. Make sure to watch the phenomenal video of 35 minutes of concert footage from this tour. Lots of Schecters on stage, of course, and a Motif XF6 mated with a Kurzweil PC3K! I hadn't seen Reeves in awhile and didn't realize he'd gone white and partially bald. He still looks cool though; a man at peace with himself and those around him. A good match for the band. The Cure are a great example of how to have guitar rock that is synth-laden, where neither fully dominates. Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1, Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I agree with the previously mentioned Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones, Duran Duran... The Who and Pete Townsend have, in my opinion, always been underrated and under the radar, when it comes to incredible memorable and original synth parts in rock (Who Are You, Baba O'Riley, Won't Get Fooled Again, Eminence Front, You Better You Bet, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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