In an act of rebellion, music listeners everywhere are turning their backs away from their own generation’s music and toward the danceable, upbeat songs of the 1980s. This strange phenomenon is going down at college campuses everywhere – even SF State.

Yet, the people shouting every word of that Prince or Pat Benatar song were probably sporting diapers when the song peaked; a whole generation seems to be nostalgic for something that is not technically theirs.

This phenomenon is particularly strange because nostalgia is usually reserved for old age, according to SF State humanities professor Saul Steier, who teaches a contemporary culture class. No prior generations have been more consumed with the past than today’s college population.

Steier, who was in his early 20s during the 1970s, noted that his generation was focused on moving forward and starting something new. He said they did not listen to music from the 1950s; they were creating some heavy jams and sticking it to “the man.”

Today, “the man” reigns the music that is supposed to be defining the generation of the new millennium.

“Major (recording) labels think that they have to play it safe to have huge broad appeal,” said Dean Suzuki, an SF State music history professor. “And music with huge broad appeal is typically not that good; it appeals to unsophisticated (musical) taste.”

Many groups or singers that are marketed specifically to adolescent girls, for example, yield some of the biggest numbers. Right now, the Spice Girls are the biggest-selling all-female group; Britney Spears has sold more than 85 million albums; and Hilary Duff’s “Metamorphosis” became one of 2003’s biggest selling albums in the United States. Their broad appeal equaled huge success, thanks to the musical taste of anyone preteen during these musicians’ heydays.

Fresh and innovative music typically does not have broad appeal; consequently, indie record labels are experiencing a boom because they cater to the music lovers who crave something fiercely original.

Many argue that most new music today is simply a revamp of what has already been done: singer-songwriters, power-pop bands, you name it. In other words, a band like Jet is just a 1970s rock band with a facelift.

“It’s really hard to be creative in rock because there’s such a legacy now,” agreed Suzuki. “The Beatles had a clean slate; they didn’t have much to look back on.”

While mainstream hip-hop gets more “hyphy” in the clubs, today’s newest rock genres seem to be taking a mellower approach. These latest rock styles are ambient and emo. Ambient is somber like the band Broken Social Scene, and emo is traditionally chill like the band Dashboard Confessional, yet the latter genre is becoming more and more commercialized.

So where do you go if you do not like commercialized rock or hip-hop? Apparently, you turn right back around and look no further than the 1980s.

“(Eighties music is) such a release from the current mainstream of music that is played today,” said SF State junior Andrew Calvi, a communications major.

There is no doubt that the 1980s music revival has national power: VH1 produced the TV show, “I Love the ’80s,” which was so popular that VH1 went on to create “I Love the ’80s Strikes Back,” and “I Love the ’80s 3D.”

Many clubs hold regular 1980s music nights to satisfy people looking for a fix of good old new wave and 1980s punk – most of these land on Thursday night which, coincidentally, is also known as the college student’s Friday.

On a recent Thursday night, partiers piled into the Cat Club for 1984, a 1980s dance-party revival.
The song “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by the renowned 1980s duo Wham!, is bumping and 21- to 25-year-olds dance in a style reminiscent of the 1980s: swinging their arms, rolling their heads, stomping their feet, all mixed with a little bit of today’s bump and grind.

SF State seniors Gevry Trunnell, 24, and Carly Goodwin, 25, make regular trips to Cat Club to shake it to some rad 1980s tunes.

“We know all the words,” they gushed. Trunnell and Goodwin said they like the music because they grew up with it. In fact, Goodwin’s first record – yes, record – was Debbie Gibson’s “Electric Youth.”

While the genre is not SF State psychology senior Cassie Lethin’s favorite, she heads to Cat Club most Thursdays for a girls’ night out.

“I like good dancing music that’s not demeaning to women,” Lethin said while boogying with her ladies.

Music is an expression of identity, said SF State biology junior and musician Mike Harms.

If that is true, consensus among college students seems to say that the identity of 1980s music is dance-filled happiness.

“We grew up with this music,” said Calvi. “Hearing music that was popular when we were 4 or 5 years old is a rush and it brings back memories. Now that we’re older, we can appreciate it for what it is.”

Clubs that host 80's nights:

Cat Club
1190 Folsom St.
Spend the night grooving in the cage or on the dance floor to some righteous 1980s tunes. Every Thursday is “1984” night.
$6 cover
(415) 703-8965

The Cellar
685 Sutter St.
Today’s club scene and 1980s flashback made a stellar mix every Friday night for “The Awesome 80s Prom,” where 1980s music rocks the main room and hip-hop is bumping in the red room.
$10 after 10 p.m.
(415) 441-5678

"New Wave City"
Once a month, twentysomethings prove that the 1980s never went out of style at this roaming dance party. At these monthly parties, hosts and DJs Skip and Shindog spin rad new wave music while vintage 1980s movies are projected and other images decorate the walls. New Wave City also holds special events like New Wave Prom and The Black & Black Ball.
www.newwavecity.com

Tainted Love
This 1980s cover band from San Francisco puts on stylized concerts.
www.taintedlove.com

Notorious
San Francisco based cover band, specializing in 1980s rock.
www.notoriousrocks.com

Cover bands like Wonderbread5, Pop Rocks and The Cheeseballs also maintain influences from the music of the 1980s.