Utter Trash--Reagan Era Rock

Reagan Era Rock: One Fan Looks Back

By Bob Ignizio

As the official history of rock would have it, the eighties was the era of disco's last gasp, punk's gradual shift into new wave and synth pop, and so-called "hair metal" bands. But that's only part of the story. Sure, most of the decade's best sellers fit those categories. However, as any high school physics student can tell you, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sickened by the mediocrity and crass commercialism of mainstream music, underground artists created a parallel music industry inspired by the DIY attitude of late seventies punk rock. It was a golden age for independent record labels and real experimentation in music that laid the groundwork for the alternative boom of the early nineties. While by no means a definitive overview of the decade, hopefully this article conveys at least some of the excitement I felt as a budding music fan.

No story of music in the eighties can be told without mentioning MTV. MTV was actually pretty interesting when it started. Devo, Judas Priest, Elvis Costello, The Clash, Iron Maiden, Wall of Voodoo, The Ramones, Madness, Ozzy Osbourne, Art of Noise, and The Pretenders were all in regular rotation then. There was a sense of discovery when you saw a video like Siouxsie and the Banshee's "Spellbound" or Killing Joke's "Eighties". You certainly didn't hear songs like that on commercial radio. Of course within a few years of its birth MTV would drift into the mainstream as superstars like Michael Jackson, Hall and Oates, and Duran Duran came to dominate their playlist. Thankfully around the end of 1984 I discovered college radio.

Living near Akron, it was no small feat to get WUJC (now WJCU) and WCSB to come in clearly. WRUW was impossible. I had to drape the power cord of my receiver in just the right position, but with trial and error it worked. The first time I did this I was rewarded for my efforts with Bill Peter's 'Metal on Metal' program (still on the air every Friday night), and I have Bill and other college DJs to thank for introducing me to Metallica, Slayer, Venom, Mercyful Fate, and others. The music was faster and more aggressive than the metal I was used to, but I quickly developed a taste for it.

Now that I had discovered these bands, the trick was to find their albums in the record stores. Metallica had been signed by Elektra records, so they were no problem, but most of the other artists I heard were on small independent labels and not likely to be found at the nearest K-Mart or Camelot Music. Fortunately a friend introduced me to the area's independent record stores. At the time, the best places to find indie releases in my area were Akron Records and Quonset Hut. Quonset Hut was a fairly professional operation, and though well stocked in independent releases carried just about everything. Akron Records, on the other hand, specialized in indies, imports, and collectibles from the 60's and 70's. The owner/proprietor was one of those guys who would make you feel like you were putting him out by even being in his store. Still, all I cared about was getting my hands on the music I craved.

It was after one trip to Akron Records that I was introduced to the state of punk in the eighties. I had returned from this excursion with the new Metallica record, 'Master of Puppets'. My friend had purchased the Dead Kennedys 'Frankenchrist'. The first time I heard them singer Jello Biafra's voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard, and I thought the guitar sound was thin and trebly. It took a while, but eventually the Kennedys grew on me and became one of my favorites. I started tuning in to the punk shows on college radio as well, and before long my record collection included Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Suicidal Tendencies, Day-Glo Abortions, Misfits, and others.

One thing that should be mentioned is that up to this time metal and punk fans tended to look down on each other. This changed a little in the mid eighties, with bands like Metallica name dropping the Misfits and Fear, and hardcore punk bands like Agnostic Front, Suicidal Tendencies, and Black Flag showing a definite metal influence. In reference to this "truce", the Dead Kennedys' Biafra penned the lyric "will the metal heads finally learn something, or will the punks lose all their education?" The jury is still out, with the brainless pop punk of Blink 182 and countless others on one side, and thoughtful, innovative bands like Rage Against the Machine and Tool on the other.

Although I preferred the metal and punk bands, there were other alternative sounds coming out as well. Post punk bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, and the Bauhaus created moody soundscapes with a pop sensibility. Industrial bands like Skinny Puppy, Ministry and Revolting Cocks paved the way for Trent Reznor with raw electronic sounds and heavily processed vocals. R.E.M.'s rootsy pop virtually defined the term "college rock", and along with groups like the B-52s and Dead Milkmen showed that the underground wasn't all doom and gloom. And of course there was also the unclassifiable Butthole Surfers, whose live shows were like a bad acid trip even without drugs.

If you were there, buying the records and going to shows at The Phantasy, Peabody's, Shadows, JB's or The Agora, you already know eighties rock was more than just Poison and Bruce Springsteen. Most of the artists who played those venues won't be inducted into the Rock Hall or included on one of Time/Life's "Best of the 80's" compilations. Most of them will probably never get a 'VH1 Behind the Music' special or have one of their songs used in a commercial, either. And you know what? That's just fine with me.

Bob's Top 25 albums of the 80's