My Gen X Playlist: Discovering KROQ – My Early 80’s Pivot

I discovered KROQ in the early 80’s and I was literally blown away. Prior to that, I mainly listened to soul music’s cool sounds and funky beats. I remember turning the radio dial and hearing Only a Lad by Oingo Boingo and Boys Don’t Cry by the Cure for the first time and I was hooked. I was never going back.

Early 80’s KROQ was fun. The cool thing about KROQ back then was that there really wasn’t any rules and I was catching many of the bands before their mainstream influence. While they played my favorite 80’s anthems like The Ghost in You by the Psychedelic Furs and Melt with You by Modern English, KROQ also mixed in a variety of music just because they were different and cool. If you ever heard or seen the B52s Private Idaho, your initial reaction is “What the hell?”. But then you listen to Kate Pierson’s and Cindy Wilson’s amazing harmonies at the end and you really appreciate their talent. How can you not be enthralled by Bow Wow Wow’s mohawked Anabella Lwin or raise an eyebrow to Adam and the Ants singing about Antmusic? What in the world is Antmusic anyway? One Step Beyond by Madness was basically a sax solo and a bunch of guys dancing – but it was cool. Girl bands like the Go Go’s and the Bangles’ debuted albums using more guitar before they softened and became mainstream pop. The Violent Femmes’ Blister in the Sun was the perfect sound blasting while driving to the beach on a hot summer’s day. We rolled down all of the windows and left behind the cares of the world. All the while, KROQ would pepper in reggae, ska, punk and rockabilly into the mix for additional flavor. It was a potluck of different sounds, but it worked.

Now, I know that I may get a little flack for not mentioning Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and other similar 80’s groups. Yeah, they were good, too. But when I look back at the bands and songs that made me pivot to new wave and ultimately towards alternative and college rock, I think back to the early fun 80’s groups before they became mainstream for the masses. It was a good time to be a kid back then. It was the perfect mix of youth and good music.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.