80s Music History

The Berlin Wall had been in place for 26 years. Increasing unrest was occurring in Berlin, and at this crucial time Ronald Reagan, as several presidents had done before him, traveled to the Brandenburg Gate, seen by most as the symbolical center of the wall. On June 12, 1987, he then spoke of peace between the USSR and the Western world, while motivating Berliners to help take down the wall and come together as a nation once more. Throughout the speech “Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate”, by Ronald Reagan, he makes use of imagery as well as appeals to ethos and pathos to incite the German people to rise up and destroy the Berlin Wall, reunifying Germany.

Mtv also made way for many music shows. Because of its recognition, more music videos were being played by other stations. Some of these were HBO’s Video Jukebox, WTBS aired Night Tracks, ABC came out with ABC Rocks and VH1 got its start.

The transition from the multicultural era of the eighties to the postnetwork era of the nineties triggered abrupt changes in American media and culture. [6] From fashions to family life, relationships, and attitudes, many new cultural elements subsequently changed television portrayals of ordinary American culture within this time period. More specifically, the culture of the eighties is often characterized by the rise of MTV and megastars, techno music and club drugs, and popular fashions such as leather, leggings, and Ray Bans. Eighties culture can be described as the ‘bombdigity’ and nineties culture can be described as more toned down, moral, and ‘sweet’.

Rap and hip-hop first started to come together in the 1970 's, but didn 't really materialize and become popular until the 1990 's. With a huge surge in popularity and growth in the 1990 's, it seemed that rap and hip-hop had started a cultural phenomenon that still has noticeable effects easily seen today in music and also in pop culture. A cultural phenomenon is an idea, trend, or movement that shapes and defines that time period. During the 1990 's, rap and hip-hop spread like wild fire across the nation, from the inner cities to the suburbs to anywhere where you can find a radio. Rap and hip-hop brought a different kind of lyrical rhythms and upbeat, energetic music that most people weren’t too familiar with. This cultural

MTV, formally known as Music Television, is one of the most viewed networks on television today. Roughly thirty-three years old, it has changed the American culture drastically in more than just one way. Specifically targeting teens and young adults, the MTV network provides all of the most up to date gossip on celebrities, highlights the latest fashion trends, promotes versified lifestyles, and defines the music industry of our generation. However, this so-called “idolized network” has not always been this way. The American culture has been affected by MTV through the creation of the network, the transformation from simply just music television to inappropriate reality shows, and the promotion of inappropriate content.

In the 90’s, the concept of music was a huge explosion compared to previous years, though there were many more acts of creativity. Primarily, music played a huge part in society as apposed to other decades.

As America headed into the 1980s, two decades of social and political upheaval have left the nation rattled and the economy weakened. The Iran hostage crisis shook America's confidence and many looked for a new kind of leader to steer the country into the new decade. Ronald Reagan led America into a new era of prosperity leaving the soul-searching of the 60s and 70s behind. The nation was ready to enjoy itself and with plenty of new toys to play like VCRs and video games, Americans spent more time at home and soon something called cable TV would make it even harder to leave the living room. With the new innovation of the TV, one of the ideas for a channel was a marriage between music and television. This new idea for a channel devoted to something called music videos would end up revolutionizing and often scandalizing an industry that had no choice but to embrace the fact that music in the 1980s had to have a face with videos. By having these music videos, they would change the way we look at music and the way we look at the world. This cutting- edge idea was a new medium perfectly suited to a new generation and that idea was called, MTV. This leads to the question: How did MTV influence pop culture of the 1980’s? This topic is worthy of investigation because the coming of MTV has had a significant impact on the way people see pop culture. Before researching the topic, the writer had limited knowledge on MTV and only knew about the music itself. In the paper, the writer was

“Tear down this wall!” these were the inspiring and captivating words that came out of President Ronald Reagan’s speech at the Berlin Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987. Speaking to the Soviet leader Mikahil Gorbachev, Reagan was calling for the unification of East and West Germany. With the destruction of the wall, he believed it would bring not only Germany prosperity, but The Soviet Union as well. During this speech, President Reagan brings forth the benefits of tearing down the wall and unifying Germany once again. He introduces his strategies to create freedom, economic prosperity, and free trade to stop Soviet Expansion. On this day, President Ronald Reagan’s speech was classified as a heroic event. Why? He challenged the Soviet leader like no other president had before.

In 1981, Music Television, MTV premiered and provided a new avenue for music artists to express their creativity in the form of music videos. Two artists stood out during that time and made their mark on music: Michael Jackson and Madonna, also known as, the King and Queen of Pop. Even though they were both classified as pop artists, stylistically, the two couldn’t be more different. I am going to compare and contrast their music beginnings and discuss the impact the MTV had on each artist in developing their image and sound.

On June 12, 1987 President Ronald Reagan gave his speech “Tear Down this Wall,” in Brandenburg Gate West Berlin Reagan begins by discussing the purpose of the Berlin Wall and how the Communists in August of 1961 built it to keep the Germans from escaping Communist-dominated East Berlin into Democratic West Berlin, that this wall was more than just a wall; it was a stark symbol of decades of a Cold War between the United States and Soviet Russia only to stop short of actual warfare. By giving this speech Reagan had intended to rally the people of West Berlin so the people would accept the western democracy and oppose the Berlin Wall. Due to Reagan being president the words he said had so much impact, he was able to use these appeals towards the German people and provide a very convincing argument.

Music Television, a basic cable service known by its acronym MTV, remains the dominant music video outlet utilizing effective marketing and competitive business practices throughout its nineteen year history. The creation of the "I Want My MTV" marketing campaign and use of the campaign throughout the 1980's helped the cable outlet secure a substantial subscriber base. MTV dealt with competition from cable mogul Ted Turner's Cable Music Channel by creating a fighting brand, sister cable service VH-1, along with facing challenges by numerous other music video programming services. Through exclusivity agreements with record labels for music videos and limiting access to cable systems owned by MTV's

The 2000s started a change in music very different as the ones in past decades, since this was the year technology commenced rise importance in human life. Hence, the usage of auto-tune, pitch corrections and multimedia programmes started to be used in multiple songs of this decade, also YouTube will appear in the upcoming years as a way to share music videos, therefore, varied hits of this decade, like Hey Ya! From OutKast or Crazy in love by Beyonce have some of the new technological features and give videos a big importance. Under those circumstances, the differences between those 3 decades are that in the 1980s, music criticized people living situations, in the 1990s, music criticized mentality and the living generation and in the 2000s, music talked about the changes society was living. To sum up, music will keep changing throughout the years. In some years, some of the themes music can talked about are the continuous technological advances or how humans are ending themselves. Nevertheless, given the situations we’re living today, music could talk about the imminent wars that could

Music Television gave a generation a voice. With the awakening of MTV, 1983 was a golden age for music television. The inception of hip-hop music videos caused wardrobe to be an important part of an artists “armor”. Rappers used outfits for promotional purposes. Certain outfits would be worn in pictures, performance, and

The ‘80s was when the music was so new, fresh, energetic, but still so original. Artists in this time period were able to capture admiration and interest from many all over the world. There music had such energy and spunk, it created a sensation for many to dance to. Michael Jackson, Prince, and Bruce Springsteen, all held platforms that influenced many. This generation sprung a cultural change within music. We still see this change today, within some of the music produced today. For myself, I have grown to appreciate this music because these

MTV Networks launched MTV Arabia in a partnership with Arabian Television Network and as part of a global standard. On one side of the debate, proponents believed that introducing MTV to the region would provide more of an international connection to youth that is craving both information and participation from the West. On the other side, more conservative Islamic elements see the Western cultural influence as decadent and divisive. From a sociological point of view, the sharing of cultures as society becomes more global can only bring people closer together, binding them in the commonalities of music, dance, and the arts (The Arab World, 2007).