1980s

In my memory this decade was dominated by my college years. Ah, the college years - that wondrous half decade in which a young man learns that his own shallow sadness is a signifier of intellectual depth. Nothing spoke louder to me in those years (and thusly this entire decade) than Ghost In The Machine by the Police. This was, finally, the sound of affluent white society plundering the music of every ethnic minority within reach - and how great it was! Sting's nutless yelp removed all the threat and soul from the originators, and guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Miles Copeland's nephew backed him up with the kind of polite, unobtrusive instrumentation that ensured your cocktail party went smooth. The Police really set the template for my life in suburbia.

Is he havin' a laugh?
ARE YOU HAVIN' A LAUGH?!?