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Remember the good old 1980s? (When things were so uncomplicated)

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I wish I could go back there again... 

ELO lyrics aside, One thing that has become increasingly clear as I've got older is that, broadly speaking, a lot of the music since the 80s sucks. Big time. Prior to the 80s it was pretty good, but the peak was definitely during that golden decade.

Annoyingly, that neat "best decade" argument isn't quite right for me. By the late 80s, with more hip-hop, rap, rave culture and shoegazing tunes coming in, the later 80s become patchier. A steady downhill slump was in progress, that continues to this day. There's still good stuff out there - just less of it.

Here's where it gets interesting, and I'd like to test a theory out with you. I was a teenager between 1980 and 1986, and that's pretty much the exact years my favourite music comes from. Ponder that for a second, and have a think about your own musical Golden Years - does that work for you too?

If pushed to make a call - and it is a tricky one - I'd go with 1985 as my ultimate year of musical nirvana overall... and the year I turned 18. Does the same maths work for you too?

Anyway, the reason for this sudden, self-indulgent, bout of nostalgia is the discovery of a series of amazing videos on YouTube. Those of you with long memories (or the misfortune to know me well) may remember my affection for mash-ups, where two or more songs are mixed together to make something new. The more the merrier, generally. Greater levels of thinking "that will surely be a disaster area" usually elicit the biggest thrill when they surprisingly work.

It's often true that, with most of these, there are moments where something isn't quite right - the vocals of one song are momentarily out of key with the backing from another. Something else just doesn't feel right. Even then, if technically perfect, it might not just have that vital emotional punch.

Every now and again something just clicks, and the component parts, already great, combine to make something that takes your breath away.

All time favourites include LeedDM101's "Radioactive Tubular Girls", which also had an fabulous video, sadly deleted from YouTube due to copyright violations. (Don't get me started on that, either - how does a piece of a song being used cause an issue for the artist? It's not being sold and, if anything, it's more likely to trigger interest from the viewer in the original tracks and artists - I know I've wound up buying music on the strength of a clip appearing in a mash-up and triggering the "Oh, God, I forgot about that great song!" response.)

Justin Kaye's brilliant The Ting Tings vs The Knack vs Toni Basil "That's Not My Name" is another favourite, whilst a recent discovery, "Ghostsaxters" by Shahar Varshal, features Fleur East, Ray Parker Jr, The Bee Gees and Michael Jackson and - apart from kicking butt - proves another point, namely that being introduced to new music that I hadn't considered before has the potential to produce sales, rather than steal them away.

So, my latest mash-up based revelation is not one, but eleven, perfectly honed pieces of art by The Hood Internet, each taking the form to the very pinnacle of perfection. There's a video for each of the years from 1979-1989, and each is a neat three minutes long, but with the challenging remit of fitting 50 songs from each year into that tight time-frame. Each is accompanied by a fantastic video incorporating clips of all the artists involved.

There are many moments of pure genius, from sections where multiple elements of songs are all in play simultaneously, incredible use of lyrics to create new call and response moments, blissful use of the same words appearing in different songs playing off each other, to pulling together spoken or whispered elements. 

My brain went into meltdown on first listen, and continues to do so each time I wattch these, as it desperately tries to process everything going on and identify the often tiny snatches of a song that pop in and out of your consciousness in a beat. My only (extremely minor) issue is that it's an American take on the hits of each year, so there are occasional songs which are less familiar to listeners in the UK - it's not a flaw as such. In reality, it would have simply have made perfection even better if you reside on this side of the pond.

They're glorious - all of them. I urge you to find a quiet spot, pop your headphones on, and fill half an hour with something truly breathtaking.

Of course, if you're not the same age as me, you'll probably be wondering why I'm so excited about a load of old songs by people with bollocks hairstyles, dated beats and highly questionable fashion. This isn't for you. Only a few will understand.

In a world currently overflowing with sadness, grief, fear and anger, it's wonderful to have a brief escape of joyous nostalgic pleasure. 

Click Play. Relax. DO do it...



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