--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being a man of taste and sophistication…" description: "\"Being a man of taste and sophistication, the 80s were objectively, quantifiably, empirically, diagram-it-on-a-blackboard the worst decade in the histor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/steve-erickson-9119_80s_being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication_2266765.png" --- # Being a man of taste and sophistication, the 80s were… ![“Being a man of taste and sophistication, the 80s were objectively, quantifiably, empirically, diagram-it-on-a-blackboard the worst decade in the history of recorded music.” quote by Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/steve-erickson-9119_80s_being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication_2266765.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/steve-erickson-9119_80s_being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication_2266765.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/steve-erickson-9119_80s_being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication_2266765.png) > “Being a man of taste and sophistication, the 80s were objectively, quantifiably, empirically, diagram-it-on-a-blackboard the worst decade in the history of recorded music.” [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The 1980s produced music that, by many metrics, is considered the worst era for recorded sound. **In simple terms:** The 80s music is often seen as low quality. Key Takeaway Question the era’s influence on modern music. Themes culture music history subjectivity nostalgia Mood nostalgic critical Type analytical historical When to use this quote - DJ sets - music streaming playlists - retro parties - music criticism Key Concepts aesthetic decline technological impact commercialization Questions to Reflect On - What defines “worst” in music? - Can a decade be both influential and flawed? A Different Perspective Taste is subjective; some cherish the era’s innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [80s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-80s-1090/) [80S Objectively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/80s-objectively-5237313/) [Blackboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackboard/) [Blackboard Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blackboard-worst-5237315/) [Decade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decade/) [Decade History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decade-history-3490872/) [Decades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decades/) [Diagrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diagrams/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Recorded music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recorded-music/) [Sophistication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophistication/) [Sophistication 80S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophistication-80s-5237314/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Worst Decade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst-decade-1824811/) ## Related quotes > [People clinging to job security, savings, retirement plans, and other relics will be the ones financially-ravaged from 2010-2020, the most volatile world-changing decade in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/people-clinging-to-job-security-savings-retirement-plans-and-other/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [For many people in the U.N., the 1990s was the worst decade the organization experienced. 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DJ culture is the embodiment of all genres and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-d/hip-hop-is-a-part-of-rock-roll-because-it-comes-from-dj-culture-dj/) [Chuck D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-d/) > [Since the traditional recorded-music business models have drastically changed, there is truly diminished income derived from recorded music by artists - both current and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-azoff/since-the-traditional-recorded-music-business-models-have-drastically/) [Irving Azoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-azoff/) > [By the mid-'60s, recorded music was much more like painting than it was like traditional music. When you went into the studio, you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/by-the-mid-60s-recorded-music-was-much-more-like-painting-than-it-was/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I started in a research lab for TV cameras, then I worked at a tape duplication facility. 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It commits its greatest treachery by surviving the love that was supposed to last forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/the-human-heart-commits-its-greatest-treachery-by-healing-it-commits/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [While a particularly deft sense of irony may be one of the tools of great storytellers, I think it's also true that if irony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/while-a-particularly-deft-sense-of-irony-may-be-one-of-the-tools-of/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [I believe novels can have secrets from their author, a notion I imagine would appall Nabokov.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/i-believe-novels-can-have-secrets-from-their-author-a-notion-i/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [“The Movies have always been here. The Movies were here before God. Time is round like a reel of film. God hates the Movies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/the-movies-have-always-been-here-the-movies-were-here-before-god-time/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [When L.A.’s schizophrenia between Dreamland and Utopia was becoming socially manifest, the United States, which was always a place, went to war with America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/when-l-a-s-schizophrenia-between-dreamland-and-utopia-was-becoming/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) [Explore all 74 Steve Erickson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) ## More 80s quotes > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [As an actor I kind of do. I started out doing voice overs in the mid 80s when I was in grad school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-haden-church/as-an-actor-i-kind-of-do-i-started-out-doing-voice-overs-in-the-mid/) [Thomas Haden Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-haden-church/) > [It's nice to have been around long enough to be a part of people's lives. A lot of people who come to my show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-easton/it-s-nice-to-have-been-around-long-enough-to-be-a-part-of-people-s/) [Sheena Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-easton/) > [ It was a very economically depressed time \[the 80s\] and because of that, there was a lot of space. Everything was relatively dilapidated, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/it-was-a-very-economically-depressed-time-the-80s-and-because-of-that/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [If for no other reason than it's just fun to watch people age, and it's fun to watch what happened to '80s hairdos and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-borstein/if-for-no-other-reason-than-it-s-just-fun-to-watch-people-age-and-it/) [Alex Borstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-borstein/) > [I don't dislike rappers or hip-hop or people who like it. I went to the Def Jam tour in Manchester in the '80s when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-don-t-dislike-rappers-or-hip-hop-or-people-who-like-it-i-went-to/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [Since I was gay and loved disco music, it was kinda pre-programmed that my first experiences with house music and acid - which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-kohncke/since-i-was-gay-and-loved-disco-music-it-was-kinda-pre-programmed/) [Justus Kohncke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justus-kohncke/) > [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [When I was coming up in the '80s television, if you were on television that meant either you were a young actor just coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/when-i-was-coming-up-in-the-80s-television-if-you-were-on-television/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [My fashion was not the best in the '80s. I looked crazy as hell. I used to wear my pants tucked into my socks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-cole/my-fashion-was-not-the-best-in-the-80s-i-looked-crazy-as-hell-i-used/) [Deon Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deon-cole/) > [Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/bin-laden-was-though-a-product-of-a-monumental-miscalculation-by/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [When someone asks if you're a god, you say YES!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/when-someone-asks-if-you-re-a-god-you-say-yes/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [His (Lloyd Kaufman) string of low-budget, lowbrow horror comedies stretching back to the ’80s has been cited as influence by Peter Jackson, the Farrelly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-lumenick/his-lloyd-kaufman-string-of-low-budget-lowbrow-horror-comedies/) [Lou Lumenick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-lumenick/) > [I have this obsession with the '80s because I missed all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-spektor/i-have-this-obsession-with-the-80s-because-i-missed-all-of-it/) [Regina Spektor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-spektor/) > [It was the case in the 70s and 80s that people believed music could change the world. But now people aren't making music because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-o-connor/it-was-the-case-in-the-70s-and-80s-that-people-believed-music-could/) [Sinead O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-o-connor/) [Browse all 488 80s quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-80s-1090/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being a man of taste and sophistication, the 80s were objectively, quantifiably, empirically, diagram-it-on-a-blackboard the worst decade in the history of recorded music.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Erickson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication-the-80s-were-objectively/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "80s" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication-the-80s-were-objectively/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/steve-erickson-9119_80s_being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication_2266765.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/steve-erickson-9119_80s_being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication_2266765.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/steve-erickson-9119_80s_being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication_2266765.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Being a man of taste and sophistication, the 80s were objectively, quantifiably, empirically…” — Steve Erickson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Steve Erickson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Being a man of taste and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication-the-80s-were-objectively/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/being-a-man-of-taste-and-sophistication-the-80s-were-objectively/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```