The 80's were a time of a wide variety of songs that became mainstream. It used to be that popular music was rock or disco. That was becoming passe' as the underground and urban music began moving more into the mainstream. Back in 1980, even country music hit the charts of popular music with the hit movie "Urban Cowboy" and "The Gambler". MTV was emerging as a medium for new artists to promote their music in a new format, now they could be seen. Creativity was the theme of many early music videos.

Why were the 80s songs so cheesy? Primarily to capture the new medium of music video. While music videos have actually been around since the 60s the full potential has been realized by MTV. In order to appeal to the television audience, more attention had to be focused on appearance over quality. More money was spent in budgets to create massive filming productions. Costumes, plots and scripts were now just as important, if not more so, than the song itself. It was through the music videos that sold the songs. The video was looked at as a big comerical for the album.

In those early days of music video, it was mostly a bunch of unknowns. And it was also, prodominately white. That was until MTV. They commercialized the format of music video and pandered toward what was popular, period. Then along come Micheal Jackson. A figure from the 70's whom by his own merits was already a big time pop star. It took awhile, but MTV dropped down its own guards with the old way of thinking, that a minority would make the audience tune out. Much to their surprise, he was a big time hit and he helped their ratings by reaching an audience that was once alienated from their demographics.

Then around 1983, "urban music", which referred to break dancing, hip hop, rap, salsa,... anything minority started to go over into the mainstream. Although much of this music was cleaned up for those who would have otherwise tuned out, it has increasingly become more graphic in the mainstream to the disdain of many concerned parents who have blanketed all such music as potentially dangerous to their children. Although this really isn't the case, a few rap artists have made their names by being as ugly and in your face as the way they see their own realities.

Then towards the mid 80's, a new form of music emerged that really didn't need instruments, "techno". It involved the use of synthesizers and computerized music with an occasional dubbing in of the beats of other songs (also a trend in rap music).

By the late 80's, it what was once considered "alternative" has now come full force into the mainstream. Bands such as Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys, U2, INXS, were all alternative and mostly played among certain clubs and college stations. Today's definition of "alternative" does not come close to matching what it used to be. Band Green Day and Sonic Youth are too mainstream by the old definition of the term to be called alternative. But that shows you how fast music can and does evolve.

Only time will tell what the future of music will bring us. But for those of us who cling to the safety and security of the 80's "because we feel that music today is too scary and we no longer understand it."