You Must Suffer and Cry for a Longer Time: Best of the Aging '80s Alternative Rockers (and Elmo, Too)

You Must Suffer and Cry for a Longer Time: Best of the Aging ’80s Alternative Rockers (and Elmo, Too)

By Cindy Davis | Seriously Random Lists | October 20, 2011 | Comments ()

By Cindy Davis | Seriously Random Lists | October 20, 2011 |

Lately, there seem to be as many '80s acts out on the road as there were in that decade itself. In particular, a lot of New Wave, Synth and Alternative Rock bands (some of whom have never stopped making music and/or touring), have put out new CDs out and gone on tour, with plenty of acts selling out venues. And you know what--some of them don't look half bad. I give them credit--after this many years in the business--a musician's life isn't all about groupies, sex and drugs. These people didn't get their careers handed to them after an appearance on a reality show or a YouTube video gone viral, they're (some of) the old schoolers who scraped and scrambled for every dime they've gotten. A lot of them have been doing this for upwards of thirty years and they're still traveling, putting out new music and maybe just learning the art of self promotion; the way the industry has evolved, many bands/artists have only themselves to rely on to get their music to the masses.

Andy Bell, 47; Vince Clarke, 51 (Erasure):