That first Boston album is butter.
Van Halen is a huge band that comes up when I think about that period
Id put The Cars and even Cheap Trick in there as an example of rock plus varying levels of New Wave - higher with former, a bit lower for the latter
OMG Talking Heads had mindshare among hipsters by the mid to late 80s; the weirdest punks in America
I see that studio belonged to the MIT grad in the band.
I think Eddie Van Halen's activities probably gave makers among musicians a boost as well. Can't think of a harder tinkerer. Maybe Robert Fripp?
