Rebellion Shown Through Music in the 80's by Madalyn Bertrand

Music has always been an expression of a person's inner most feelings. Song lyrics depict a certain story that the artist wants you to hear, and the music conveys the tone of the emotions the artist is feeling. In the 1980’s, in response to political actions and the want to be heard, rebellion music was the response. In this time, violence was present all over every part of the world. In the political realm certain events were taking place such as, the start of the Persian Gulf War, the Berlin Wall falling, and the end of the Soviet-Afghan War. In the early 1980's president Ronald Reagan was elected, and this election resulted in a tremendous military increase. Most rock artist did not appreciate the military increase because they were more wild and unruly.  It was in these moments that rock artists found the opportunity to express their opinions because the thought of a military increase brought feelings of confinement. Below is a video of rock artist, Bruce Springsteen, singing "Born In The USA". Springsteen debuted "Born In The USA" in 1984.

“Born In The USA” was written to display Springsteen's anger towards the United States because since the United States did not win Vietnam the veterans of Vietnam were ignored when they returned home, and in turn veterans of other wars were treated as heroes when they returned home. Although Springsteen's thoughts were clear when writing "Born In The USA", somehow his fans saw his song in a different light; “. . . ‘Born in the USA,’ ironically, became the nation’s adopted patriotic anthem . . .” (Raha 108). 

Above is the music video for "The Wall", by Pink Floyd. “The Wall” which was Pink Floyd’s album title, had numerous unruly political implications instead of him directly stating his rebellion. "The Wall" earned its name by the fact that Pink Floyd built a mental wall between himself and the rest of the world because he wanted to be isolate from the horrible struggles that life brings

To the left is the video of "Rock The Casbah" by The Clash. One of The Clash's singles, “Rock The Casbah”, on the album was about an Islamic ruler dictating a ban on rock music. Anyone who was in violation of this ban would be bombed. Hysterically enough, the pilots who were to bomb the violators ignored the orders and played rock music in their cockpits too. The 1980's was just the start of an aggressive sense of music; it would soon be followed by even more hostility and violence in the years to come. 

Works Cited

Raha, Maria. Cinderella’s Big Score. California: Seal, 2005. Print.

Reynolds, Simon and Joy Press. The Sex Revolts: Gender, Rebellion, and Rock ‘n’

roll. London: Serpent’s Tail, 1995. Print.

Urick, Brett. “An Introduction to The Wall.” Pink Floyd The Wall: A Complete

Analysis. 2006. 1 April 2008. http://www.thewallanalysis.com/.html

The Influence of Michael Jackson in the 80's by Benjamin Buster

Benjamin Buster

          Michael Jackson, one of the greatest pop stars of our time, emerged and reached the peak of his adult career during the 1980’s. Michael’s music that was released during this decade was a major influence on 80’s music and style. People around the world tried to mimic Michael in every way, from the moon walk in his performances to the gloves and jackets that he wore.  It was during the 80’s that The Jackson Five started to separate and the performers started seeking their own venues. Michael Jackson decided to emerge with a bad boy personality that became wildly popular during this decade. It can be seen in his album titled “Bad” which included songs such as “Bad” and “Smooth Criminal”. 

          One of the most famous Michael Jackson songs that shaped this decade was “Thriller”. Thriller was one of the few music videos that were around in all of music, and when it was released for the first time on TV it revolutionized the industry. This fourteen minute long video was watched by people all over and was an instant hit. Its popularity sparked an uncountable number of reenactments and is still being performed today by all of the Michael Jackson fans around the world. Its popularity is shown in this 1990’s newspaper article, “The world buys millions of copies of Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, thanks greatly to the gaining popularity of Music Television” (Resnick, 16).  After its release Michael continued to make Music videos that became some of the most watched videos during the 80’s. 

          Michael did not only break down music barriers, he also broke down racial barriers during his time. Michael was one of the few African American pop stars of his time and he used that to his advantage. His popularity allowed him to be one of the first black musicians on MTV and was one of the first African American artists to be globally known. This quote from David Berman in an 80’s newspaper shows Michael’s influence on society ,“Like Al Jolson, he’s bringing black music to a white audience. And like Jolson, he shows you can come out of the ghetto and if you have the energy, you can do anything. It’s the American dream” (Pareles, 11).  Many pop stars such as Usher, Ne-Yo and Kanye West, claim to be directly influenced by Michael’s work.  Michael Jackson single handily revolutionized the music industry and the racial view of society during the 80’s. Without his actions and performances the music/pop industry would not be what it is today.       

Works Cited

Resnick, Susan. "Flashback: A Video Tour Of the 80's." New York Times [New York] 7                Jan.1990, Sunday ed., L.I. sec.: 16. Print

Pareles, Jon. "Michael Jackson at 25: A Musical Phenomenon." New York Times [New                  York] 14 Jan. 1984: 11. Print.