80s music isn't so bad. 80s pop music out of Britain isn't so bad. Once you get past the depression, it's actually quite good. So which band is better? Not more popular mind you, just better in terms of musical composition and lyrical content.

^That be some apples and oranges right there.

lazycrockett said:

hey musically they sound alike to me. all that synth and drum machine. the falsetto voices. it's oranges and grapefruit.

i'll take them equally. tough call.

DesireeNevermind said:

okay? I would say that TFF had a much better development than HL. TFF's later stuff is actually amazing specially after the seeds of love. Then again the talented one got rid of the pretty one and basically went solo at that point.

lazycrockett said:

and the pretty one had the better voice IMO. friends....not friends.

ah but just as in TFF, where there was really one talented guy, we have the same thing with HL. It was always Philip Oakley. the girls were cute but their vocals could have used considerable improvement.

I like them both, but The Human League wins this hands down for me. The twisted and warped "Being Boiled" is something I don't think Tears for Fears could top. Plus, Dare! is absolutely perfect, and other singles like "Human" and "Heart Like a Wheel" are phenomenal.

Big TFF fan here....
Don't know anything about Human League, other than the songs on the radio.

But I love me some Tears for Fears!
I've even been getting more into "Raoul & the Kings of Spain" lately- the album that Roland did after Curt left...

Hmmm... Let's see.

Given that Human League were complete and utter garbage, I think I'll choose Tears For Fears.

..Wait, was there a 3rd option?

TFF had a few great songs and a couple of good singles, but for me, they were never really fully formed.. they never actually got there as a listening experience for me.

The Human Leagueon the other hand, up until Dare, were genuinely influential and were/are criminally under-rated.

That is their own fault though, for following up Dare with a pitiful album (hysteria), then going to the US to play second fiddle to Jam/Lewis on their own record which, although resulting in a hit single, killed off all residual fan support the band had somehow retained after Hysteria.

TheSkinMechanic said:

Could you explain? I don't understand that statement.

TFF is better than HL but I like ABC more than both.

chocolate1 said:

Ah, I thought I deleted that bit, lol. I can only explain it by saying that I don't think the records were
realised all that well. I can hear some great ideas in them but they seem to be buried under cliche and IMO poor production (despite using big name producers at the time).

TheSkinMechanic said:

Oh, okay. Thanks.

First of all, music is purely subjective,that said...
Tears For Fears. Hands down.
Sowing the Seeds of Love is a great album.
Though I might like Everybody Loves a Happy Ending even better.
Songs From the Big Chair also good.
I really think TFF expanded their sound and vision more so than HL.
Just my opinion.

I love them both, hard for me to choose one or the other. The Hurting and Songs from the Big Chair are both incredible records, but I also adore Travlogue, Dare and Hysteria. The Human League has had some killer singles throughout their career, and TFF got a little too pompous for my taste on Seeds of Love. But then again, the HL was capable of some real throwaway material... so I dunno.

If I had to choose one, I guess I'd go with Human League.

Gotta be Tears For Fears 4 me. Their music got me thru a lot of long winters.








[Edited 1/18/10 10:11am]

I like them both equally but my favorite song
between them is Head Over Heels.

Great then, still great now

Early Human League is amazing. Dare, also, is on an entirely different artistic level than anything TFF ever did.
[Edited 1/18/10 17:12pm]

Tears for Fears are genius and very underrated as most artists are from that time period (listen to the new Howard Jones to hear a genius on piano) but Human League never grew, they were straight up new wave and didnt develop mainly because they were just not a strong unit a few catchy tunes a good album but nothing in the ball park of tears for fears.

lastdecember said:

Apples and oranges definitely... They may have had similar sounding records in the early-mid 80s, but TFF has expanded far beyond synth-pop. And, correcting an earlier post: "Elemental" was the first record released post-Curt Smith. Not disparaging HL, by the way...

lazycrockett said:

Sorry you disagree but those on here who preach about piano players and those who write on piano, this dude is a genius on it, and no conversation about piano that he isnt part of is a complete one, second to Harry Connick as best i have heard in the last 20 years overall

lastdecember said:

Oh no I totally agree with you that's the touched icon, so i thought it was a good sign. Jones is amazing.

lazycrockett said:

oh ok my apologies... his newest album (through his site) is one of his best ever

kevinpnb said:

If you were referring to my post, I realize that... (trust me, I KNOW my TFF), but on earlier threads, I have spoken against "Raoul...", complaining that Roland had lost it. I was just admitting that I'm FINALLY getting into it.

chocolate1 said:

"Sorry" on that record is the shiznit for me and has been since day one. "Elemental" is still my favorite of the 2 albums but "Raoul" has some absolutely stellar moments.

lastdecember said:

My thing with latter-day Tears for Fears is that they seemed to go in a very MOR direction. All the songs started blending together.