Springsteen, Prince, Madonna, R.E.M....Veteran acts unleashed blockbusters while up-and-comers took over the world. 1984 set a new standard for pop music.
I was 19 in 1984 and spent all of my money that year from my first minimum wage newspaper job on music. It seemed like something great was coming out each week. Love that you put Los Lobos at the top of the list, and Songwriter is criminally underrated.
1984 is one of my favorite years for music, perhaps because I was 21 and entering my final year of college and moving into an apartment for the first time. For me it was the year of:
Private Dancer - Tina Turner
Breakout - Pointer Sisters
Madonna - Madonna (and then Like a Virgin at the end of the year)
I don't think I've ever stopped to think about how epochal 1984 was for music, and you've laid it out beautifully here. So many blockbusters, and such a seminal year for what became 'alternative' with the 'Mats, Husker Du, etc.
I've always felt that 1971 was the watershed year for 'classic' rock (detest that term), and looking at 1984 this way illustrates that it was equally important but in a very different way - genre hybrids and crossovers had really taken hold by the mid-'80s, with way less emphasis on what was 'black' or 'white' music, 'pop' or 'rock', etc. In 1971 a Beatles fan likely wouldn't be listening to Black Sabbath, but in 1984 it was par for the course to be just as excited about the Replacements as Prince, Tina Turner or Run DMC (at least in my world).
I think MTV had a lot to do with this - some great videos linked here, and in the early years MTV was so hungry for content they'd put just about any style or genre in rotation, with the unintended consequence of exposing us to artists we never would have heard in formatted radio playlists.
Great observations. I often lamented the cordoning-off of music by the early ‘70s, particularly by race, when even the culturally segregated ‘50s and much of the ‘60s saw more diversity on the radio than the ‘70s. FM’s popularity played a part in more adventurous formatting, but playlists suffered from musical segregation not seen since before rock’n’roll. You’re right - the ‘80s, thanks to MTV - helped remedy much of this, at least for a while.
(Oddly enough, I’m currently researching and writing about a lot of this very topic for my next book.)
I always considered ‘83 to be the year of Thriller. Remember it well (it was actually released at the end of ‘82) and Diamond Life, I admit, I had to check on and, sure enough, it was released here in the US in 85. But I definitely consider Diamond Life an all-timer!
I fell in love with this post right here: "Although Prince’s best album was still a few years away (1987’s Sign o’ the Times)." Not everyone recognizes the truth that Sign was his opus, not Purple Rain (unless you're allowed more than one opus, in which case he has like four)
I was 19 in 1984 and spent all of my money that year from my first minimum wage newspaper job on music. It seemed like something great was coming out each week. Love that you put Los Lobos at the top of the list, and Songwriter is criminally underrated.
My first concert was REM and the dB’s at Page Auditorium (Duke) in fall of that year!
The most 1984 concert possible!
Saw them together on the “Document” tour three years later!
1984 is one of my favorite years for music, perhaps because I was 21 and entering my final year of college and moving into an apartment for the first time. For me it was the year of:
Private Dancer - Tina Turner
Breakout - Pointer Sisters
Madonna - Madonna (and then Like a Virgin at the end of the year)
Heartbeat City - The Cars
Go Insane - Lindsey Buckingham
Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen
I don't think I've ever stopped to think about how epochal 1984 was for music, and you've laid it out beautifully here. So many blockbusters, and such a seminal year for what became 'alternative' with the 'Mats, Husker Du, etc.
I've always felt that 1971 was the watershed year for 'classic' rock (detest that term), and looking at 1984 this way illustrates that it was equally important but in a very different way - genre hybrids and crossovers had really taken hold by the mid-'80s, with way less emphasis on what was 'black' or 'white' music, 'pop' or 'rock', etc. In 1971 a Beatles fan likely wouldn't be listening to Black Sabbath, but in 1984 it was par for the course to be just as excited about the Replacements as Prince, Tina Turner or Run DMC (at least in my world).
I think MTV had a lot to do with this - some great videos linked here, and in the early years MTV was so hungry for content they'd put just about any style or genre in rotation, with the unintended consequence of exposing us to artists we never would have heard in formatted radio playlists.
Great observations. I often lamented the cordoning-off of music by the early ‘70s, particularly by race, when even the culturally segregated ‘50s and much of the ‘60s saw more diversity on the radio than the ‘70s. FM’s popularity played a part in more adventurous formatting, but playlists suffered from musical segregation not seen since before rock’n’roll. You’re right - the ‘80s, thanks to MTV - helped remedy much of this, at least for a while.
(Oddly enough, I’m currently researching and writing about a lot of this very topic for my next book.)
I've always said that 1984 was the best year for music. Let me add a few more for context.
The Smiths debut album
Michael Jackson, Thriller (technically came out at the end of 83 but all of those singles owned 1984.)
Stop Making Sense, Talking Heads
Age of Consent, Bronski Beat
Welcome to the Pleasuredome, Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Diamond Life, Sade
I totally get that. So many singles. It had a loooong shelf life!
I always considered ‘83 to be the year of Thriller. Remember it well (it was actually released at the end of ‘82) and Diamond Life, I admit, I had to check on and, sure enough, it was released here in the US in 85. But I definitely consider Diamond Life an all-timer!
My apologies, I misremembered Thriller. It really lived on. It was my very first album so I think I glued it to a specific memory.
I fell in love with this post right here: "Although Prince’s best album was still a few years away (1987’s Sign o’ the Times)." Not everyone recognizes the truth that Sign was his opus, not Purple Rain (unless you're allowed more than one opus, in which case he has like four)
I have always regarded this as my personal #1 touchstone year for music. I recently texted the following non-exhaustive list to a friend:
Reckoning - R.E.M.
Let It Be - The Replacements
Zen Arcade - Hüsker Dü
The Unforgettable Fire - U2
Purple Rain - Prince and the Revolution
The Cars - Heartbeat City
1984 - Van Halen
Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
Ocean Rain - Echo And The Bunnymen
Out Of The Cellar - Ratt
Double Nickels On The Dime - Minutemen
Learning To Crawl - The Pretenders
Grace Under Pressure - Rush
Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen
Private Dancer - Tina Turner
Ride The Lightning - Metallica
Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sparkle In The Rain - Simple Minds
Meat Puppets II - Meat Puppets
The Swing - INXS
Couldn't Stand The Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stoneage Romeos - The Hoodoo Gurus
Stone Age Romeos and Heartbreak City almost made the honorable mentions cut, too. I had to stop somewhere!
All your picks are excellent!
In fact, Heartbeat City may show up later in a piece I’m considering about Mutt Lang.
Holy crap! That WAS an amazing year! Thank you for this.
Glad I kept my VHS of SONGWRITER.
As did I! Taped it off HBO way back when.