Rembering the 80s: College Rock


For those too young...a brief history...before indie and alternative rock...there was college rock...an 80s genre that was simply named after what college radio stations were playing at the time...as a former college DJ...I have a soft spot for the genre...it was a fun time...and a simpler time... with a laid back vibe and a diversity of artists ranging from the Smiths, Bad brains, to Love tractor...U2,.Rem, and the cure all got their start during thus era...and were the few bands that broke out and penetrated the mainstream...a few like Sonic Youth and the Flaming Lips flirted with the big time...but most like Lets Active, Dumptruck, and Christmas had minor careers which is not a knock...just facts...MTV also played a role with their show 120 mins...the genre included seminal artists like Husker Du, Replacements, the Church, the Fall, Echo and the Bunnymen, Jesus and Mary Chain, Wedding Present, Meat Puppets,etc...anybody have any faves or college radio stories to share?
phasecorrect

Showing 8 responses by phasecorrect

Before everyone maligns the 80s it also spawned hip-hop, house, acid jazz, and world beat movements...fwiw..."Mickey"is a somwhat loose interpretation of a 60s tune...by Chinn/Chapeman...pro writers of Sweet fame...its a great cover
House of large sizes played Fargo frequently...one of my favorite Midwest regional bands of this era was Mile One...their Direction Lp is an 80s classic...great live band as well...word us they cut some demoes for A&M back in the day...nothing came of it unfortunately....others include the Phones, the Wallets, Run Westy Run, Trip Shakespeare
Unfortunately college radio for money peaked in the 80s...and was one of the few positives of an at tims shallow decade... The good news... It was underground then and still underground now...most stations stream...and the programming...for better or worse...is very esoteric...I remember the Program Director at my small state school in the Midwest in the 80s attempted to "modernize" our college station by playing redundant playlists over and over...totally killed the vibe...thanks Gary!
Cool, thanks man!...a lot of the 80s alt hasn't aged well...dated production, etc...however when bands managed to get it "right' at times...it was a magical time that coincided with youth.
Anybody have the 2010 Disintegration remaster?...man, not sure went wrong here... Poor clarity, congested sound, little separation of instruments... Very dense recording...HOTD and Kiss Me x 3 sound very good...any thoughts?
Tried...never could get into Simple Minds...even more bombastic then U2, Alarm.And that takes work.