Kate Bush, N.W.A., Brian Eno, Madonna, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Sade, Sonic Youth, Janet Jackson, and the other icons who defined a decade Sometimes it feels like the neon thumbprint of the 1980s never went away. It’s arguably the defining throwback aesthetic of American culture today, from the TV series we reboot to the prints we wear. And when it comes to its music, well, that’s even more ubiq