what were early '80s fratboys listening to?

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CKB: what never makes sense is WHY an early 1980s Tom Cruise character would be listening to Bob Seger in the first place
CKB: even then it was old people's music
JBR: right. wouldn't he be listening to loverboy?
CKB: correct
JBR: what were early '80s fratboys listening to?
CKB: loverboy, journey's _departure_ album

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Mid-80s, but... "NO... SLEEP... 'TIL BROOKLYN"

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:35 (twenty-two years ago)

a lot of van halen, i'm assuming.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:35 (twenty-two years ago)

let's stick to early '80s please.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:35 (twenty-two years ago)

loverboy, journey, reo speedwagon, classic rock (beatles/stones/who/floyd). the slightly-weird frat guys MAY also have liked the ramones or elvis costello.

i'm trying to remember from my older sister's college days.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Blues Brothers, surely.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:42 (twenty-two years ago)

maybe even some bauhaus

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

That's one hip frat, then.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:44 (twenty-two years ago)

by 1985 fratboys were listening to: Mr Mister, Go West, Dire Straits, Stryper, Honeymoon Suite, Night Ranger etc

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:49 (twenty-two years ago)

stryper?!?

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:51 (twenty-two years ago)

"bible belt" fratboys obviously

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Mr Mister, Go West, Dire Straits, Stryper, Honeymoon Suite, Night Ranger etc

That's all mid-80s though. We're talking early 80s. Stuff like ZZ Top's Eliminator, Quiet Riot, Tattoo You, etc.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Tattoo You

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Styx's "The Best Of Times" was the power ballad of choice.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:54 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah, that one.

also -- how could i forget -- BILLY SQUIER!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

billy squier was MADE for early 80s frats ... parachute pants and all.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

in the UK in 1985 we had a music program called "No Limits" produced by Johnathan KIng - it would be full of ghastly hair metal/ AOR tripe.

Plus we had syndicated Casey Kasem in a jumper running down the US charts.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:56 (twenty-two years ago)

is that the "love and pride" king guy?

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:56 (twenty-two years ago)

no !

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Tattoo You

Oh yeah, I forgot that was the one with "Start Me Up" on it. Ugh ugh ugh UGH.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

this plank

www.kingofhits.com/

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Err... we don't have "fratboys" in the UK, Martian.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Sunday, 23 May 2004 21:02 (twenty-two years ago)

you call 'em LADS

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 21:03 (twenty-two years ago)

i never said we did, i am playing the quessing the game: what did fratboys listen to based on my knowledge of the types of US/ corporate rawk made at the time.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 21:04 (twenty-two years ago)

more guesses: Toto, Chicago, Foreigner, Reo Speedwagon, Whitesnake, Journey and Meat Loaf !

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 21:07 (twenty-two years ago)

"Bat out of Hell" every fratboy must have had that album !

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 21:08 (twenty-two years ago)

AC/DC... Keep in mind that AC/DC's popularity in America sprung forth bigtime with Back in Black in 1980 and didn't really die down until the 90s broke. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap was finally reissued in the U.S. in 1981 (although with an oddly mutated and redundant track listing), and '74 Jailbreak was an oddities EP released in 1984. To most frat boys, it was more AC/DC, so Fuckin' A, broheems!!

― donut bitch (donut), Sunday, 23 May 2004 21:17 (twenty-two years ago)

pat benatar

― keith m (keithmcl), Sunday, 23 May 2004 21:58 (twenty-two years ago)

DB and keith OTM

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:01 (twenty-two years ago)

krank up that karaoke machine:

We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises, no demands
Love Is A Battlefield
We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long, both of us knowing
Love Is A Battlefield

You're beggin' me to go, you're makin' me stay
Why do you hurt me so bad?
It would help me to know
Do I stand in your way, or am I the best thing you've had?
Believe me, believe me, I can't tell you why
But I'm trapped by your love, and I'm chained to your side

We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises, no demands
Love Is A Battlefield

We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long, both of us knowing
Love Is A Battlefield

We're losing control
Will you turn me away or touch me deep inside?
And before this gets old, will it still feel the same?
There's no way this will die
But if we get much closer, I could lose control
And if your heart surrenders, you'll need me to hold

We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises, no demands
Love Is A Battlefield

We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long, both of us knowing
Love Is A Battlefield

We are young, heartache to heartache we stand
No promises, no demands
Love Is A Battlefield

We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long, both of us knowing
Love Is A Battlefield

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:07 (twenty-two years ago)

'Honeymoon Suite'
YYYYYEEEESSSSSSS
i think in the early 80's it was still like the 70's really, in youth culture terms. what is now termed 'classic rock' was still perfectly recent to immediately enjoy it seems like. it's the "older brother's albums" meme's finest hour then, isn't it? so i say they listened to 70's shit like Deep Purple and Zep and maybe even the Who (AFTER ALL LOOK AT THE LIMP BIZKIT COVER)

― duke kappa, Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:08 (twenty-two years ago)

bob marley, gratetul dead, led zep. and hell yeah they listened to the who. i believe it smelled like teenage wasteland spirit back in those days.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:09 (twenty-two years ago)

did "Doro" [German Hard rawk singer with Warlock] reach US shores?

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:11 (twenty-two years ago)

by 'love is a battlefield' they were probably off pat but 'hit me with your best shot'-era for sure. what was the 80s equivalent of dave matthews? that is all frat boys listen to now.

― keith m (keithmcl), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:15 (twenty-two years ago)

The first band that came to mind for me was the Who, actually. And Springsteen.

Then they'd get all drunk and weird at parties and play "Dance This Mess Around" or "Rock Lobster".

I think "The Breaks" was popular, too. This was an NYU frat, though.

― Arthur (Arthur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, god, I just remembered--the Go-gos were huge with frat boys! They'd have Go-gos theme parties and come dressed in towels and turbans, what a riot.

― Arthur (Arthur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Dave Matthews of the 80s ..Tom Petty?

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes!!!

― Arthur (Arthur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

john cougar mellencamp?

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:23 (twenty-two years ago)

tom petty is probably still popular at the frathouse.

― keith m (keithmcl), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh duh... J. Geils' Band Centerfold was everywhere.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:27 (twenty-two years ago)

other likely fratboy faves:

"The Cars - Drive"
Men At Work - that big bit..do you come from a land of downunder

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Also Ozzy's first solo album,

The Police were the "approved" new wave band

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Van the Man, now & forever.

― Arthur (Arthur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Eddie Money

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:31 (twenty-two years ago)

The Wall was the "approved" difficult album.

― Arthur (Arthur), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Billy Joel and Billy Ocean

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Nobody's said Hall & Oates yet?

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:33 (twenty-two years ago)

"Huey Lewis and the News" they named an album: Sports? and had a track it's hip to be square.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:34 (twenty-two years ago)

The Beach Boys greatest hits/ best of compilation

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:36 (twenty-two years ago)

did "Doro" [German Hard rawk singer with Warlock] reach US shores?

Yes, but an abject failure more solidly to the mid-and-late 80's. Like all woman-fronted underground-over-sideways-down metal bands
(see also Bitch, Femme Fatale, late Legal Weapon, others), the young men who bought the genre feared and actively shunned bands with women they thought might be capable of hitting their extended dicks with a ballpeen hammer.

― George Smith, Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Addendum: Pat Benatar and her handlers understood this phenomenon and deftly avoided it through a variety of means.

― George Smith, Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:51 (twenty-two years ago)

"[Frat boys]'d have Go-gos theme parties and come dressed in towels and turbans, what a riot.

You would have enjoyed the cover photo of a recent Los Angeles Times feature section story: a band of fattish young gay guys, made up like the Go-Gos' first album, in publicity for a performance of their Go-Go's tribute band.

― George Smith, Sunday, 23 May 2004 22:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Dave Matthews of the 80s ..Tom Petty?

i'm not entirely sure what that even means, but i am entirely sure that the answer is no.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Sunday, 23 May 2004 23:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Most of the bands mentioned on this thread so far are great.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Sunday, 23 May 2004 23:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Flash and The Pan
Stray Cats
Warren Zevon
and the dreaded Knack

― jim wentworth (wench), Monday, 24 May 2004 01:34 (twenty-two years ago)

i imagine that the greek geeks gave bowie's let's dance a spin or two.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 24 May 2004 01:36 (twenty-two years ago)

DM's "People Are People" when they were trying to get chicks to come to the frat house, I suspect.

― j.lu (j.lu), Monday, 24 May 2004 01:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Not in the L.A. area.. Depeche Mode, Yaz, Dead Or Alive, etc. were all "fag" bands to frat boys.

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 24 May 2004 02:23 (twenty-two years ago)

in the NJ and PA frat parties i went to, they played "you spin me right round" and "brand new lover." but that was the late eighties.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 24 May 2004 02:26 (twenty-two years ago)

if you're saying they really listened to pat benatar, wouldnt they also be listening to joan jett too ? also didn't everyone listen to beat-it era michael jackson after that thug-video of his ?

― Vic (Vic), Monday, 24 May 2004 02:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Bruce Springsteen owns this thread.

― donut bitch (donut), Monday, 24 May 2004 02:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Scandal (featuring Patty Smythe) "The Warrior" especially
Kenny fuckin' Loggins
Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
"That's Why They Call It The Blues" era Elton John
The Thompson Twins
Oingo Boingo
Jackson Browne
Van Halen - Jump
Prince - Purple Rain
Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
Madonna
Duran Duran (but in secret like)

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 24 May 2004 03:54 (twenty-two years ago)

the same that fratboys in the 90s and 00s listen to: THE CLASH.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 24 May 2004 03:59 (twenty-two years ago)

if you're saying they really listened to pat benatar, wouldnt they also be listening to joan jett too ?

"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" only if someone had the single, or a tape of it. Compared to Pat Benatar, Joan Jett was a weak sell. The Blackhearts were at best a solid movie theatre-sized venue headliner, support band for everything else. Benatar went rapidly to headliner after second album came out. There was much more radio presence for Pat Benatar. Plus, the phenom of woman who looked like she might hit your dick with a balpeen hammer was definitely in place for Joan Jett.

― George Smith, Monday, 24 May 2004 05:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Bruce Springsteen owns this thread.

I'd haveta say that's about right having been at the Spectrum and been showered with beer from the upper decks for about four hours during a Springsteen landing.

― George Smith, Monday, 24 May 2004 05:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Judas Priest became a juggernaut for fratboy rock. "Headin' Out to the Highway," "Livin' After Midnight" (Loaded! Loaded!), "Breakin' the Law." Easily as big a deal in the arenas as AC/DC.

― George Smith, Monday, 24 May 2004 05:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, major action with the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself." Much less with "Battleship Chains" and then pfffft.

― George Smith, Monday, 24 May 2004 06:03 (twenty-two years ago)

--That one Aldo Nova song
--Rush's "Moving Pictures"
--"The Tide Is High" or "Call Me" (at parties, for the chicks)
--The Lynyrd Skynyrd best-of (came out '79, was still in heavy rotation by the time I got to college in '87)
--I guaran-damn-tee that "Don't You Want Me" got heavy rotation at frat parties -- perfect for drunken-couple lip-synching.
--BOC
--Def Leppard's fratboy reign started with Pyromania in '83 and carried right on into the '90s

(And Tom Petty was not the Dave Matthews of the '80s. He was the Tom Petty of the '80s, which is much, much better.)

― spittle (spittle), Monday, 24 May 2004 06:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, major action with the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself." Much less with "Battleship Chains" and then pfffft.

The Georgia Satellites are 1986 though. The thread is about early 80s

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 24 May 2004 06:25 (twenty-two years ago)

In heavy rotation in every frat house in 1982...

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002U90.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Monday, 24 May 2004 06:28 (twenty-two years ago)

In central Indiana they were listening to "Stroke Me".

― kwhitehead (stephen schmidt), Monday, 24 May 2004 18:26 (twenty-two years ago)

OINGO BOINGO

― Shakey Mo Collier, Monday, 24 May 2004 18:27 (twenty-two years ago)

I bet their parties, like probably many other parties of the same era spanning a variety of subcultures, featured at least one good spin of "Burnin' Down The House".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 24 May 2004 18:38 (twenty-two years ago)

In the mid-80s I personally witnessed frat boys standing on tables and singing along to "You Shook Me All Night Long." I would guess that since frat guys are often a bit behond the curve, 70s stuff like the Doobie Bros, Eagles, Foreigner, and Grand Funk Railroad would still have been getting mad play circa '82. Wonder if Bob Marley had the Greek stamp of approval at that point?

― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 24 May 2004 18:48 (twenty-two years ago)

SAGA

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 24 May 2004 18:52 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.lib.jmu.edu/special/SCPix/home/home06.jpg

― kephm, Monday, 24 May 2004 18:56 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.lib.jmu.edu/special/SCPix/home/home07.jpg

― kephm, Monday, 24 May 2004 18:57 (twenty-two years ago)

these pics are what oswald saw when he shot jfk

― kephm, Monday, 24 May 2004 19:45 (twenty-two years ago)

In the midwest and south, you'd probably get a pretty big playing of Hank Williams Jr for hardcore drinking festivities...all my rowdy friends, family tradition, etc...

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 24 May 2004 19:56 (twenty-two years ago)

my mid-thirties neighbor extolled the virtues of back in black when I was playing it the other night. thus, db OTM wawaaay upthread.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Monday, 24 May 2004 23:58 (twenty-two years ago)

oooo we missed an OBVIOUS one ... billy idol's "mony, mony" (and the "get fucked!" chorus)

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 25 May 2004 00:52 (twenty-two years ago)

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