I admit it: I’m an 80’s music geek. I hate to sound like those annoying old farts I grew up hearing who always said “Music was way better 20 years ago..”, but honestly, I do think music was better 20 years ago. The most innovative bands I hear today are bands that would have easily fit into the alternative rock scene in the 80’s. You have to admit that there’s a much bigger gap between The Rolling Stones and The Clash than there is between Joy Division and Interpol. What new has happened in the past 20 years?

All this is provided as background for the amazing archive I ran across the other day: the Kino Digital Video Portal. Most of these are Boston bands or bands that played Boston in the late 80s, and there are some incredible videos here. My faves:

Human Sexual Response – “Land of the Glass Pinecones”

The Specials: Too Much Too Young

XTC: Respectable Street

The Thrills: Hey

Cool thing is, I saw all these bands perform these songs at one point or another in Boston. I actually got to see the Thrills perform “Hey” at the Rat, which just shows you how freaking old I am.