you did say it seemed futuristic – i was genuinely puzzled as to how it would seem so at the time – those videos I linked to – which, as you say, were then/are much more popular, expose it as not – but your explanation is kind of a relief and what I was expecting since I know you don’t suffer from the anti-populist bullshit that so many I know still seem to think passes for “taste”.

though I still disagree about that song – don’t think its got a riff at all…

Showing me stuff that has dated “better” is beside the point, since my heading right upfront tells you this has dated incredibly badly, which was my point — seemed so futuristic at the time, but ultimately was very much not. If you don’t see how it was, well — Matt got it, and so did kids like me at the time. Or so we thought.

The term “amazing” doesn’t necessarily denote “of most artistic merit” when I use it. The Room is one of my favorite movies to watch, for example, but it is absolutely not what it was intended to be. It is perhaps the funniest movie I’ve ever seen, but it is pretty objectively not the best-constructed comedy film.

As for obscure — this was top forty stuff when it came out – total one-hit wonder though. And it’s a song I enjoy, with a fairly memorable riff.

Why would I put up Youtube vids of Bowie and Talking Heads, etc., when everyone already knows who they are? I tend to put up stuff I grew up with that everyone has forgotten about, or weird stuff I just discovered. The blog is not the same as my personal CD collection.

Any anti-elitism coming from me comes from years of people judging my intelligence based on my personal tastes. I like stuff all over the spectrum, including cheesy stuff.

Also, your comment went into moderation because three or more links triggers it automatically.

– nothing to do with your childhood music = bad, mine= good – I know plenty of similarly crap music from the 50s 60s and 70s, before, during and after my childhood – I have hope that we can all separate musically duff stuff from what was inventive, original or at least fun.
Some of the music you like is exactly that, original, musical and inventive, so I assume you can differenciate.
…and arguing over tastes is fun too, we are not all supposed to agree, absolutely, but there is a kind of perverse anti-elitism as well as silly elitism that often creeps in to these arguments.

my question is whether the childhood early exposure to this example, and a few others, before musical taste has had a chance to develop, means that you are forever bound to see it as “amazing” when as an adult, judgment would surely reveal it to be well, not just dated but dull.
I can remember being impressed with “Jake the Peg” when I was about 9, but I wouldn’t have described it as amazing by the time I was 19…
if I saw a video of that now it might amuse me for 20 seconds I suppose, but not much longer than that.
that’s what I mean by the nostalgia element.

if you want an example of “futuristic music” that has stood up better than some to time passing I would suggest Kraftwerk, but other music that doesn’t TRY to be futuristic stands a much better chance. I really couldn’t see what was futuristic about that piece above at all – Duran Duran (and I didn’t really like them much) and a hundred others had already covered the same ground but with better tunes.

as for something that has dated better from the very early 80s, virtually any Queen – http://videos.sapo.pt/1h5KCaG18hmdOuPyvvgD
and most Bowie…
http://www.kewego.com/video/iLyROoaftMRb.html
Talking Heads…
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x20vxi_talking-heads-road-to-nowhere_music

and I would say that many of the hit British bands that I didn’t like – with that “sharp” 80s hair and clothes – still made much more memorable stuff than that TransX vid.
- so do you look for the obscure? and resist the popular? – David Byrne has a good take on folks who prefer obscure or “difficult music” on his web site – recommended.(I’m not saying TransX is “difficult”, just well below the bar)

“I am puzzled by this nostalgia for the worst of the 80s”
“It might have been futuristic if it had been made in 1965-70…Marc Bolan and a hundred or so others were way ahead of this in the 70s…”

In other words…had this been from MY childhood it’d be awesome…but because it’s from yours, and I was mature by then, it isn’t…

I don’t expect you to agree…but at least understand why the underlying assumptions in your argument don’t work for those born in different decades.