80's Rock Music - What happened?

What teenage girl did not think about making out with Joe Lynn Turner of Rainbow when he sang "Stone Cold" on MTV? Or pretend that Mike Reno of Loverboy was singing specifically to me during "When It's Over." Certainly not this one. I don't care what you say, Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) was definitely looking at me during the "Foolin" video. I remember those days of just watching MTV and listening to the radio while I was lying on my bed pretending to do homework and just drifting off into fantasy land. Those poor boys who really wanted to go out with me never stood a chance. After that initial crush wore off, however, I still loved that music genre. The heavy beat of the drums, the loud bass riffs, acoustic and rythm guitar melodies. Ah, the good old days. I'm not ashamed to admit it, I still listen to my 80's music and love it. I am pretty sure the other drivers who see me singing and dancing while I drive (an hour each way) to and from work do not enjoy it as much as I do, but I gotta say, I have just as much fun listening to and singing these songs as I did 30 years ago. Just saying.

Mr. Dylan certainly said it best (if not first). I still can't believe that all of these songs and bands that I loved no longer get airplay. Wait, I take that back. I do believe the other day I heard "Jump" by Van Halen on the oldies station. Yes, the oldies station. These were songs that rocked the two main radio stations of the Philadelphia area, WMMR (93.3) and WYSP (94.1). Even those two stations used to fight it out over which one played more rock music. I always preferred WYSP. They would play the newest song from your favorite band's new album that you waited a year for to come out. You went to Sam Goody to get the album the first weekend it was released and hopefully, they had enough of them so you didn't have to wait 3 months til they restocked. Now, there is no waiting for any such animal. It is the times of instant gratification. My kids will never know what it's like to wait for your band to tour to promote their newest album. Waiting in line, in person, to get your tickets. Waiting in line, in person, to get into the stadium. Waiting in line, in person, to get your concert t-shirt to wear to school the next day. They can see their favorite bands and singers on late-night TV, on the internet and God knows where else, pratically every day of the week. So spoiled. Just saying.

Back in the day, heavy metal meant Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Metallica and Megadeth. Now those bands are considered hard rock. Heavy metal today means Lamb of God, Cattle Decapitation, System of a Down, Alice in Chains, and Slipknot, to name a few. I can't name any more because I don't really listen to this latest generation's heavy metal. At least we could understand the words and lyrics to my favorite heavy metal music maker, Ronnie James Dio. Today's heavy metal sounds like a tornado ripping through your home, not to insult a tornardo or anything. Just saying.

I remember my father telling me to quit watching MTV and turn it down or I would go deaf. (Actually, Dad, I will probably go deaf from turning my car radio up to its highest level while I am driving to work and singing like a maniac at 48 years old.) But, whatever. There were times when I thought "how could everyone not love these bands and songs?" But now that I'm a parent, I can certainly see why not. Sometimes when my kids listen to their music on their iphones and I can hear it, I think to myself, "Dear God, what the hell are they listening to?" I immediately think of my father and can only imagine him thinking the same thing. Now I get it. I distinctly remember my father liking two of "my songs." (Or so he thought.) Not that I didn't like them, I just didn't love them as much then as I do now. One was the "Rock this Town" by the Stray Cats and the other was "Centerfield" by John Fogerty. Of course, they were not heavy metal bands by a long shot, but it was music I liked and it was the 80's. He even liked The Hooters song "All You Zombies" because it had a religious theme. So at least he didn't hate ALL of my music, just most. I definitely can say that I definitely hate all my kids' music. Just saying.

I often wonder if anyone else feels like I do about the 80's music scene. I mean, I am sure they do, but are they as passionate about it as I am? I know I can't be alone in this melancholy longing because I've seen That Metal Show which is as close to what I am thinking as I probably will ever get. Who has to sign the petition to get other shows on TV or the radio to bring back our favorite genre all the time on one station. Just one teeny, tiny, little station. Is that asking too much? It could be called "The 80's Didn't Suck, So There." I would love to hear from others to see if they feel the same way. I am pretty sure if you went to high school anytime from 1982 through 1989, you could not have avoided these bands and their music. And why would you want to? Just saying.

Well, I had fun travelling down memory lane in the 1980's. I wish I could afford Sirius radio because they have a great station called "Ozzy's Boneyard." I had a rental car last year and it had Sirius radio in it. It was the only thing I liked about the rental. My car is a lease, so unless my next leased vehicle comes with Sirius, I have to make do with the once-in-a-while throwbacks I get on the radio to hear my favorite genre. I know when I hear a familiar riff which starts off a song from my past, I immediately turn up the radio and shout out the song's title and band as if I am on Jeopardy and they asked me to name it. Then I quickly look around to see if anyone saw or heard me do that. So embarassing. But do I really care? Nope. Just saying.