So, in some thread somewhere, someone said something about music in the 80s sucking.
I really must disagree. But rather than spend a lot of time breaking down the cultural and music environment of the music scene in the US circa 1980-1989, I figured I'd post a shitload of you tube links, along with a brief description of why I like these songs. This isn't a music history thread, nor does it have any kind of arc; rather, it's just a bunch of songs that I really like that were released in the 80s. And for the hell of it, I organized it by the year the album came out. So, we begin.
1980
Public Image Limited released their second album in 1980, and it's a mind-bendingly uncomfortably brilliant record. Turning away from the Pistols' bombast, they anchored everything with an almost-reggae bass. And then shoved knitting needles in your ears with shrill guitars winding through the whole thing. Johnny proves himself a more nimble and ambiguous lyricist, as well. For your consideration: Poptones (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQtO6R4qkg0) and Albatross (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEToKGfjlmM)
We also see the Cure's first album. The piercing sound of this album seems remarkable when you think about what they really became famous for (later in this decade, actually. We'll get there). Boys Don't Cry is one of those "missing link" albums that easily demonstrates how Goth music came from Punk culture. Songs: Plastic Passion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVb4BERxyMc)(with bonus Bettie Page), and Object (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRmQ5EHUt74)
Speaking of punk, Stiff Little Fingers released their second album, Nobody's Heroes this year. If you don't know who these guys are, they're pretty much Green Day's cooler grandfathers. Much cooler. Gotta Get Away (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uDLjxyZGI0), At The Edge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll8KTae3AA0)
Just to make sure I don't forget that music was made that appealed to a lot more people, Judas Priest released British Steel in 1980, and pretty much blew the doors off the metal scene. Also, listening back to the tracks knowing Halford was totally queer makes tracks like Grinder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yjbg_Rfka58) hilariously awesome.
While that was happening, Robyn Hitchock was doing his thing with The Soft Boys, which no one ever heard, but influenced so much of the Athens, GA scene a few years later it's not even funny. If you're the kind of person who thinks Robyn got a bit too twee with his solo stuff, check out Insanely Jealous (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j45sakJOj_E) and Positive Vibrations (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Alh34O8xbv8). Also, if you just don't like his voice, there's always You'll Have to Go Sideways (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moB9kn3kTb0)
"But LMNO," you say, "what about bands we actually know about?" Well, how about Devo? "You mean that silly New Wave band?" Um, no. I'm talking about the band that took satire to the fucking wall and then slapped you with it, only the public in 1980 had no idea what was going on. I'm talking about Freedom of Choice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVGINIsLnqU). 'Nuff said.
Too cheerful for you? Do you feel like wallowing in existential angst and despair? Lucky for you, Joy Division's last album came out. If you only know that song about love tearing you apart, and maybe the Nine Inch Nails cover of Dead Souls, it, um, gets even more bleak than that. First, the JG Ballard-inspired The Atrocity Exhibiton (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AqeqAQ1ILI) (by the way, if you've never read that book, shame on you), and then The Eternal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcKGqgwLzjA). If you'll excuse me, I have a date with a length of rope. All the same, it's a really beautiful album.
Ok, ok. I like dark music. And 1980 had its share. Siouxie and the Banshees released Kaleidoscope, and songs like Red Light (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xigcAOUWL5c) seemed as if it was made for overly romanticized nerds who think nightclubs should be filled with smoke and eyeliner. And Happy House (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeBMHnJqAvM) is filled with so much snark, it's dangerous.
You know what? Fuck it. Let's keep going with this. You want some anger to go with your moping? Try Killing Joke's eponymous album. Eventually, dozens of more famous bands would cop to this style, but this was one of the first albums to have the harsh, cold, unrelenting razor blade guitar as the focal point. Check out The Wait (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f42MLoLbnnQ) and War Dance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JUFdQ2p6Gg). Try not to look so uncomfortable.
Then there's Bowie, because Bowie. Ashes to Ashes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-IkC3isMoc).
Aaand back into punk territory. Dead Kennedys shoved Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables into America's face in 1980. Do I have to tell you of the importance of this band? Even if Jello Biafra turned out to be kind of a tool? California Uber Alles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW8UlY8eXCk) and Holiday in Cambodia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KTsXHXMkJA) are two songs that you must absolutely have in your memory banks.
I really can't decide what tracks off of Talking Heads' Remain in Light to post. The whole album is really great. But a track you may not remember is Listening Wind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEluoeMLTCI), a song about a terrorist bomber. How oddly relevant. It also may have been a while since you heard The Great Curve (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW1IqW6kNdU), so you're welcome.
Hey, you know who else was around in the 80s? The mothefucking Clash, that's who. Sure, Sandanista! was a self-important car crash, but did you know Black Market Clash came out the same year? If you haven't heard their cover of Armagideon Time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAM7dnEcptg) or the oddly inspiring Bankrobber Dub (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVFedI8pqTk), now you have.
Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want fucking weird oddball concept music? Well, you can't go wrong with The Residents. The Commercial Album (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlKPTfVCAkc&list=PL2BAD3B0710BD3AA9) is forty one-minute songs, constructed as perverted and corrupted jingles. Yes, I linked to the whole album. Sue me. Listen anyway.
Oh, hell. Why not? Art-Punk Gothers Bauhaus released their debut album in 1980, and Daniel Ash was a lot more pissed off than you'd think. And Peter Murphy was, well, just as Peter Murphy as he became, only more so. In the Flat Field (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwgNe1yVlVY) and Double Dare (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBxaFZq1Y5M)
Dude, do you realize that Ace of Spades was released that year? One of the best albums anywhere, anytime. Much like no punk band could match Iggy's Funhouse, released in 1970, no metal band can match Motorhead, who have always said they're just playing rock and roll. Title track, obviously (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KysKdijAhJI), but The Hammer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLAPk1-XeZw) is fucking awesome, too.
Ok, now we get personal. The Birthday Party. Their albums were a big part of my late teen/early twenties soundtrack, especially the "year off between colleges" period. I was completely hooked (oof. Bad heroin pun) from the first time I heard Harvey and Howard's squalling guitars. And, of course, Nick. There was a lot more anger and pain in his voice back then. Sometimes it bordered on savagery, but his images and use of language were still spot on. Most of the time the songs sounded like they were teetering on the verge of collapse, and that tension, that uncertainty, gave the music a life that isn't easy to find. Their first album was released in 1980. Anyway, here's a huge influence on the way I think about music: The Friend Catcher (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byz2F78fUqg) and Happy Birthday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKv1JPq3q5w).
Another awesome band from across the pond, Gang of Four released an untitled yellow EP called, creatively, The Yellow EP. Sure, these songs would appear on Solid Gold, but this is like, now, man. So listen to indictments of society such as Outside the Trains Don't Run On Time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLkRqD4HZ-4) and He'd Send In The Army (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St-c1JJ4TGc)
And then, and then... Hoo boy. The number one band of my life. Seriously. More than Iggy, more than Nick Cave, more than Brian Eno (I know, I know...). The Minutemen. Their first EP, Paranoid Time, was released in 1980. When I first heard them, I didn't realize music could be written this way. Angular. Minimal. Compelling. Political. I mean, holy shit. Fuck it, I'm linking the whole EP (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY6B4_kShvg). I'm not much of "that kind" of music guy, but I have this 7" on green vinyl, and fuck you. It's worth it just for "Joe McCarthy's Ghost", but "Definitions" and "Paranoid Chant" are mind-blowingly good.
So, yeah. All of that, that was in one year of the 1980s. Ok, fine, I looked ahead, and it got a bit more sparse, but there's equally good stuff happening throughout, nevertheless.
1981 next.
As a point of reference, I figure I'd also let you know which songs "topped the charts" that year.
In 1980, we had Billy Joel's "Still Rock and Roll to Me", "Do That to Me One More Time" by Captain and Tennile, the motherfucking "Piña Colada Song (Escape)", Christopher Cross' "Sailing", and "Lady" by Kenny Rogers.
Perspective. Is a bitch, no?
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 18, 2013, 09:26:29 PM
As a point of reference, I figure I'd also let you know which songs "topped the charts" that year.
In 1980, we had Billy Joel's "Still Rock and Roll to Me", "Do That to Me One More Time" by Captain and Tennile, the motherfucking "Piña Colada Song (Escape)", Christopher Cross' "Sailing", and "Lady" by Kenny Rogers.
Perspective. Is a bitch, no?
And in 1985 we had
Take Me Out Before You Go-Go and
Like a Virgin and that miserable fucking
Everybody Wants to Rule the World.
ETA: And
Sussudio.
The 80s should be buried under a radioactive slag heap.
Except for the Pointer Sisters and Aretha Franklin. They can stay.
Hey, don't you be hatin on Wham!
lol
Hate to know this, but it's "wake me up" before you go go. Like, "you just fucked me, and now you're leaving?" Which would have been a much better title, IMO.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 18, 2013, 09:31:37 PM
Hey, don't you be hatin on Wham!
lol
Hate to know this, but it's "wake me up" before you go go. Like, "you just fucked me, and now you're leaving?" Which would have been a much better title, IMO.
I can't remember details, I was high, for fuck's sake. All I remember is a great voice but lyrics that made me want to fire a bazooka into an old folk's home.
The 80s were grim all around. Horrible people, horrible politics, and culture to reflect it. Mind you, I haven't looked at your links yet, but the Billboard Top 100 for 1985 was a litany of horror.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 18, 2013, 09:28:27 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 18, 2013, 09:26:29 PM
As a point of reference, I figure I'd also let you know which songs "topped the charts" that year.
In 1980, we had Billy Joel's "Still Rock and Roll to Me", "Do That to Me One More Time" by Captain and Tennile, the motherfucking "Piña Colada Song (Escape)", Christopher Cross' "Sailing", and "Lady" by Kenny Rogers.
Perspective. Is a bitch, no?
And in 1985 we had Take Me Out Before You Go-Go and Like a Virgin and that miserable fucking Everybody Wants to Rule the World.
ETA: And Sussudio.
The 80s should be buried under a radioactive slag heap.
Except for the Pointer Sisters and Aretha Franklin. They can stay.
You awful evil heap of shit DOUR. Do you have ANY FUCKING IDEA how many FUCKING YEARS it took me to forget about that?
No, you don't. You insenstive horrible purveyor of jazz mags. I hope Collins moves to Tucson. Real close.
LMNO - Liking this. A few bands I've not touched in years and others I've never touched at all. Thanks!
Quote from: Junkenstein on November 18, 2013, 10:10:44 PM
No, you don't. You insenstive horrible purveyor of jazz mags. I hope Collins moves to Tucson. Real close.
Good luck sleeping tonight. That jackass is YOUR FAULT, English.
The Pixies, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, OMD, and so on. I can't remember all of them, but damn there were some good bands.
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 18, 2013, 10:16:19 PM
The Pixies, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, OMD, and so on. I can't remember all of them, but damn there were some good bands.
Stop being so Nigel. I can't remember any of that shit, because hair metal poisoning.
(Confession: I never listened to The Pixies until they were talked about here 6 months ago. Though I did always like Kirsty McColl.)
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 18, 2013, 10:15:25 PM
Quote from: Junkenstein on November 18, 2013, 10:10:44 PM
No, you don't. You insenstive horrible purveyor of jazz mags. I hope Collins moves to Tucson. Real close.
Good luck sleeping tonight. That jackass is YOUR FAULT, English.
That's besides the point. We don't mention him. Every time some says his name the fucker churns out another greatest hits album.
One day, soon, he'll need money badly enough that I'll be able to afford to book him. Then you'll be fucking sorry. Oh yes.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 18, 2013, 10:17:56 PM
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 18, 2013, 10:16:19 PM
The Pixies, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, OMD, and so on. I can't remember all of them, but damn there were some good bands.
Stop being so Nigel. I can't remember any of that shit, because hair metal poisoning.
(Confession: I never listened to The Pixies until they were talked about here 6 months ago. Though I did always like Kirsty McColl.)
:lulz:
I like Kirsty MacColl, the lady was a hell of a songwriter.
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 18, 2013, 10:18:39 PM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 18, 2013, 10:17:56 PM
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 18, 2013, 10:16:19 PM
The Pixies, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, OMD, and so on. I can't remember all of them, but damn there were some good bands.
Stop being so Nigel. I can't remember any of that shit, because hair metal poisoning.
(Confession: I never listened to The Pixies until they were talked about here 6 months ago. Though I did always like Kirsty McColl.)
:lulz:
I like Kirsty MacColl, the lady was a hell of a songwriter.
Kite was all I had to cling to during the Grunge years.
Quote from: Junkenstein on November 18, 2013, 10:18:34 PM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 18, 2013, 10:15:25 PM
Quote from: Junkenstein on November 18, 2013, 10:10:44 PM
No, you don't. You insenstive horrible purveyor of jazz mags. I hope Collins moves to Tucson. Real close.
Good luck sleeping tonight. That jackass is YOUR FAULT, English.
That's besides the point. We don't mention him. Every time some says his name the fucker churns out another greatest hits album.
One day, soon, he'll need money badly enough that I'll be able to afford to book him. Then you'll be fucking sorry. Oh yes.
He'll club you to death with his awards. The man is not to be fucked with, under any circumstances. Sure, he LOOKS decrepit, but he's the man that killed Peter Gabriel with his very own teeth.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 18, 2013, 10:17:56 PM
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 18, 2013, 10:16:19 PM
The Pixies, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, OMD, and so on. I can't remember all of them, but damn there were some good bands.
Stop being so Nigel. I can't remember any of that shit, because hair metal poisoning.
(Confession: I never listened to The Pixies until they were talked about here 6 months ago. Though I did always like Kirsty McColl.)
Don't worry, they were just a rip-off of Nirvana anyway.
I got so wasted and so laid in the 80's that it's a miracle I didn't end up dead or pregnant or both! All the music from the 80's (even the fucking terrible shit) fills me with a good feeling when I hear it.
LEAVE MY HALCYON DAYS ALONE YOU FUCKS :argh!:
Also, magnificent OP, I can't wait to read about 1981! I was six!
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on November 18, 2013, 11:01:58 PM
I got so wasted and so laid in the 80's that it's a miracle I didn't end up dead or pregnant or both! All the music from the 80's (even the fucking terrible shit) fills me with a good feeling when I hear it.
LEAVE MY HALCYON DAYS ALONE YOU FUCKS :argh!:
Jesus, how'd you keep from thinking about Thatcher?
(Pixie is a genius)
Did I mention "wasted"? For all I know I probably banged thatcher at some point :lulz: :eek: :horrormirth:
1981
Ok, so this year had a few surprises. One of the first was the collaboration between Brian Eno and David Byrne, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. There really aren't vocals, they decided to use samples taken from other sources. They were one of the first ones to do this, and presaged a lot of electronic music in the process. The Jezebel Spirit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k20qAQtse_k) and Mea Culpa (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52-zmNmplRQ). What the hell, I'll throw in Qu'ran (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-U2nKMGTHY), as well.
While we're in the realm of electronic music, Kraftwerk released Computer Love. I've never been quite certain how something so cold could also have such a groove. What's undeniable, though, is that it's more fun to compute. Numbers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YPiCeLwh5o) and Pocket Calculator (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSBybJGZoCU)
And now for something completely different. Five minutes of violence from Black Flag in the form of The Six Pack EP (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zFK6hdKRd8). Satire? Poe's Law? Autobiography? Who cares, just punch the person on your left. Later this year, they would release Damaged, which has since been hailed as one of Hardcore Punk's foundations, which you can see on Rise Above (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHR-rzUjCzU) and Depression (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dFqjAZG-Mw).
After that, knock back a few more and listen to the first record from Minneapolis' inebriated heroes, The Replacements. Far from the crafted songwriting of Hootenanny or Let It Be, their initial offering in 1981 was Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash, and for me, it's one of their drunken best. Customer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLb_0h7ldDM), I Bought a Headache (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmcbFSlSzQI), I Hate Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFeS0VstOdE), and I'm In Trouble (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d9nJekP2qE)
Once you've sobered up, go ahead and put on your thinking caps, because Robert Fripp is in town. King Crimson's Disclipline is equal parts bombast and math equation. If sheet technical skills turn you on, the title track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO2BIf12xnQ) is for you. A five-note repeating pattern, but then one of the guitarists adds a few new notes to the riff, shifting the groove and the harmony, and then more time signatures start flying around, all while the drums play 17/16 rhythms. If you're feeling more chaotic, Indiscipline (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D76x0Vtb_Zc) (clever titles, no?) would be your style. Say what you want about the self-indulgence of Art Rock, these songs are work.
Ok, enough intellectualism. Or, at least, let's get less technique driven, and more philosophical. Einsturzende Neubauten decided that they had enough of music, and did their best to destroy it on Kollaps. No shit, that's really what they were trying to do. Don't believe me? Listen to Schmerzen Hören (Hören mit Schmerzen) (Hearing Pain (Listen With Pain) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qd6luAaojSs). Hey, don't look at me. They're the ones who recorded it. But they're not entirely without compassion. They want to make you dance! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFfGfHIWiNc) But really, not (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDwY92R8WAw).
And then the freshly-shaven head of Minor Threat rose up, and weren't going to take any shit. I Don't Wanna Hear It (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KeplwDwEB4) is a great middle finger to The Man, but his Guru status kicked in almost immediately with Straight Edge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMybxAoSvS8). So it goes.
Fine, let's reel this back in. We've already talked about these artists, as they released tracks the previous year:
Gang of Four released Solid Gold. Paralysed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Sacqq20B0) and Cheeseburger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okHKfqgcJrM).
The Birthday Party released Prayers on Fire. Zoo Music Girl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDbfJJUGElw), Just You and Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQlUaXRjTsk)
Killing Joke: The Fall of Because (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBEFFiBZyEk)
Devo decided to be through being cool (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_HH_jher3c).
Dead Kennedys had something to say about Nazi punks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MkRuV0aCcI).
And the Minutemen released a couple (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnotsklv1bI) more EPs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xYHzC_yYTk).
So, what was at the top of the charts in 1981?
Kim Carnes – "Bette Davis Eyes"
Soft Cell – "Tainted Love"
Phil Collins – "In the Air Tonight"
Eddie Rabbitt - "I Love a Rainy Night"
REO Speedwagon - "Keep on Loving You"
Rick Springfield - "Jessie's Girl"
Diana Ross & Lionel Richie - "Endless Love"
Christopher Cross - "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" Olivia Newton-John - "Physical"
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) link=topic=35820.msg1312853#msg1312853And now for something completely different. Five minutes of violence from Black Flag in the form of The Six Pack EP (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zFK6hdKRd8). Satire? Poe's Law? Autobiography? Who cares, just punch the person on your left. Later this year, they would release Damaged, which has since been hailed as one of Hardcore Punk's foundations, which you can see on Rise Above (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHR-rzUjCzU) and Depression (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dFqjAZG-Mw).
Okay, I'll give you Black Flag.
QuoteKing Crimson's Disclipline is equal parts bombast and math equation. If sheet technical skills turn you on, the title track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO2BIf12xnQ) is for you. A five-note repeating pattern, but then one of the guitarists adds a few new notes to the riff, shifting the groove and the harmony, and then more time signatures start flying around, all while the drums play 17/16 rhythms. If you're feeling more chaotic, Indiscipline (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D76x0Vtb_Zc) (clever titles, no?) would be your style. Say what you want about the self-indulgence of Art Rock, these songs are work.
Music for musicians, here.
Quote
Eddie Rabbitt - "I Love a Rainy Night"
HE DOESN'T COUNT. :argh!:
Absolutely, music for musicians. But hey, this entire thing is YMMV. Just wait until the goth stuff really starts.
But I have a feeling you'd rather listen to King Crimson than our man with the plan, Phil Collins.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 19, 2013, 04:19:00 PM
Absolutely, music for musicians. But hey, this entire thing is YMMV. Just wait until the goth stuff really starts.
But I have a feeling you'd rather listen to King Crimson than our man with the plan, Phil Collins.
I would subject myself to Tower of Power before I listened to that bastard.
And Tower of Power is basically music written by congress.
I will admit, the next few years have some slim pickings, but there was at least one phenomenal record per year. It picks up again in the latter part of the decade, as a new artform from the gritty urban streets takes hold of the industry...
This thread is great. It's also reminding me of how much top 40 radio sucked ass in the 80's. :lol:
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 19, 2013, 04:29:36 PM
This thread is great. It's also reminding me of how much top 40 radio sucked ass in the 80's. :lol:
For those of us that were stuck in the corn belt, that's all there was.
AC/DC songs still make me throw up what are probably vital organs.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 19, 2013, 04:30:40 PM
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 19, 2013, 04:29:36 PM
This thread is great. It's also reminding me of how much top 40 radio sucked ass in the 80's. :lol:
For those of us that were stuck in the corn belt, that's all there was.
AC/DC songs still make me throw up what are probably vital organs.
No wonder you think 80's music sucks, if you were stuck with that. It was awful.
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 19, 2013, 04:59:06 PM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 19, 2013, 04:30:40 PM
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 19, 2013, 04:29:36 PM
This thread is great. It's also reminding me of how much top 40 radio sucked ass in the 80's. :lol:
For those of us that were stuck in the corn belt, that's all there was.
AC/DC songs still make me throw up what are probably vital organs.
No wonder you think 80's music sucks, if you were stuck with that. It was awful.
"Hey, let's play
Bad Company again!
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 19, 2013, 04:59:47 PM
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 19, 2013, 04:59:06 PM
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 19, 2013, 04:30:40 PM
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 19, 2013, 04:29:36 PM
This thread is great. It's also reminding me of how much top 40 radio sucked ass in the 80's. :lol:
For those of us that were stuck in the corn belt, that's all there was.
AC/DC songs still make me throw up what are probably vital organs.
No wonder you think 80's music sucks, if you were stuck with that. It was awful.
"Hey, let's play Bad Company again!
(http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/shivers.gif)
I can't believe no one's thrown death threats my way for reminding them that "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)" exists.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 19, 2013, 05:07:09 PM
I can't believe no one's thrown death threats my way for reminding them that "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)" exists.
Luckily, I have no idea what that is!
AKA "Between the Moon and New York City".
Soft Cell – "Tainted Love" singlehandedly justifies the entire decade!
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 19, 2013, 05:07:09 PM
I can't believe no one's thrown death threats my way for reminding them that "Arthur's Theme (The Best That You Can Do)" exists.
Is that the "moon and New York City" song? If so, I can stand it.
Still no fucking idea what you're talking about and I think I'd like to keep it that way
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on November 19, 2013, 05:14:43 PM
Soft Cell – "Tainted Love" singlehandedly justifies the entire decade!
True story: I once queue'd that up 20 times in a biker bar and fled for my life.
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on November 19, 2013, 05:16:46 PM
Still no fucking idea what you're talking about and I think I'd like to keep it that way
Yeah, there's a reason I don't link those songs in my posts. Though out of morbid curiosity, I did just listen to it.
It's a horrible nothingness. There's no
there there.
Be still my twitching google fingers
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 19, 2013, 05:18:19 PM
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on November 19, 2013, 05:16:46 PM
Still no fucking idea what you're talking about and I think I'd like to keep it that way
Yeah, there's a reason I don't link those songs in my posts. Though out of morbid curiosity, I did just listen to it.
It's a horrible nothingness. There's no there there.
It brings back pleasant memories of my youth... Never underestimate the power of nostalgia. I have no opinion on its musical merits, or lack thereof.
Having said that, I also enjoy We Built This City.
:ducks:
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 19, 2013, 05:21:20 PM
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on November 19, 2013, 05:20:51 PM
Be still my twitching google fingers
IT'S SHINY
OH MY GOOD LORD JESUS SHITTING FUCK!!! :argh!:
I'd repressed that memory for good reason
:troll:
Quote from: Hoopla on November 19, 2013, 05:21:49 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 19, 2013, 05:18:19 PM
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on November 19, 2013, 05:16:46 PM
Still no fucking idea what you're talking about and I think I'd like to keep it that way
Yeah, there's a reason I don't link those songs in my posts. Though out of morbid curiosity, I did just listen to it.
It's a horrible nothingness. There's no there there.
It brings back pleasant memories of my youth... Never underestimate the power of nostalgia. I have no opinion on its musical merits, or lack thereof.
Having said that, I also enjoy We Built This City.
:ducks:
You are a Canadian. These things are to be expected.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 19, 2013, 05:27:10 PM
Quote from: Hoopla on November 19, 2013, 05:21:49 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 19, 2013, 05:18:19 PM
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on November 19, 2013, 05:16:46 PM
Still no fucking idea what you're talking about and I think I'd like to keep it that way
Yeah, there's a reason I don't link those songs in my posts. Though out of morbid curiosity, I did just listen to it.
It's a horrible nothingness. There's no there there.
It brings back pleasant memories of my youth... Never underestimate the power of nostalgia. I have no opinion on its musical merits, or lack thereof.
Having said that, I also enjoy We Built This City.
:ducks:
You are a Canadian. These things are to be expected.
Yeah. It's all BNL here, all the time. How can I be expected to remain sane?
I Have The Touch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlo70hRMP3I)
Teenage Wildlife (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9pByyFqrFI)
Love Will Tear Us Apart (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ums0mMvjUtE)
LMNO - Will you be including early industrial as you continue? Ministry, KMFDM and a few other mainstays will be coming up shortly.
Some, but this is pretty much a YMMV thread, and most industrial doesn't/didn't do much for me. Might have some Psychic TV, though.
No problem, I was guessing Black Metal isn't exactly your bag either and I'd bet Twid/Waffles could round out that stuff. I can think of a couple offhand. Will chip in when relevant if that's OK/anyone cares?
Maxine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfbJXyP2GOw)
Quote from: carnival on November 19, 2013, 07:28:27 PM
Maxine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfbJXyP2GOw)
Get out.
:lulz:
Especially as we're nowhere
near 1988 yet.
Quote from: Junkenstein on November 19, 2013, 07:26:23 PM
No problem, I was guessing Black Metal isn't exactly your bag either and I'd bet Twid/Waffles could round out that stuff. I can think of a couple offhand. Will chip in when relevant if that's OK/anyone cares?
If you want. I know I've passed over some Iron Maiden, and some other Priest albums, etc etc. If you want to add some commentary, please do, but make sure there's actually some commentary there. Otherwise, it's just another "What are you listening to" threads. Which pretty much suck.
Eh, seeds come before '88. I'll be sure to add appropriate historical commentary and colour.
oh, the 88 reference was to carnival posting a Travelling Wilbury's track.
Looks like I had some time in a phone conference to bang out another year.
1982
Well, look. I have to be honest. This year wasn't very prolific when you want to talk about good music. But maybe, just maybe, that's because the collective psychic creative energies had been sucked up by these albums:
1) Make way for Bad Brains. Their ROIR (cassette only) release of Bad Brains is fucking amazing. Songs like Banned in DC (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnWKhq8l_5c), Big Takeover (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mhP4zfa3qc), and I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60INbL_wScg) are amazingly well balanced by honest to Jah reggae like I Luv I Jah (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFm5fx80o44). Yeah, that's right: The fastest, hardest punk band of the 80s were a bunch of stoned Rastas. Listen to this album three times in a row, and you will hate Sublime, if you don't already.
If Bad Brains was the newcomer, The Clash's Combat Rock was clearly the mark of the seasoned veteran. Coming out the gates with Know Your Rights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lfInFVPkQs), they take a turn to less aggressive sound with Car Jamming (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CkF60_n8RY) and Ghetto Defendant (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raGsgsuPFAw) (with guest vocals by Allen Ginsberg!). But the jewel in the crown has to be Straight to Hell (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkyCrx4DyMk), with it's haunting drone and mournful lyrics.
If you shift about 180 degrees, you'll find Big Science, Laurie Anderson's debut. This is a weird album, but it kind of sticks with you. Minimalist as hell, but that sparseness allows for the dreamlike quality of her voice. Known best for O Superman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GAGFngepGA) (and rightly so), tracks like Born, Never Asked (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsMFwnxFv1E) and Let X = X (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmLjVD2VAws) are also fabulous. If you can't get into it, it's at least ambitious, and like nothing you've ever heard. It always sounds forlorn, and can instantly put me into a wistfully nostalgic mood.
Ok, that was a nice palette cleanser. Back to the noise. 1982 saw the first EP by Sonic Youth, and introduces all of us to the NYC No Wave scene. Heavily experimental, with odd sounds and obscure sonic jabs to the face, the importance of the scene is underscored by how tracks like Burning Spear (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQQ-D7yrej8%5B/url) and I Dreamed a Dream (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQQ-D7yrej8) sounds current these days, and almost underwhelming. Don't worry, we'll see them again later this decade.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, interesting things were happening. Fear were known as the hardcore band that got kicked off of Saturday Night Live, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUxkFCBPgx4) but if you listen to The Record, it's kind of weird. Odd rhythms (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGAdrqubsv8), saxophones (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QPoBHX82uw), messed up lead lines (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLKPCDojlU4), and even a song about breaking up with your girlfriend. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE5kAzTJa2M) Sure, they were also really great at pissing people off (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO5KoBHto80) and kinda being dicks about it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4yPyGmLuZ4), but let's face it, as far as trolling goes, they were pretty damn good at it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ACKEGCvLtI).
At the same time, X was shifting onto higher ground, with an album produced by Ray Manzarek, no less. Under the Big Black Sun is a magnificent snapshot of a band climbing out of the punk scene and trying to write something different. The energy behind Hungry Wolf (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLzQ-v0C8CA) is different than Bad Brains or Fear, but the urgency is compelling. There's a rockabilly sound going on in Because I Do (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMXn9YHNf3o), and Blue Spark (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAicrYOC3fQ) almost croons. This is one of those classic albums that, once it gets in your head, it will stay with you.
Oh, and The Birthday Party did something amazing. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYoKqfo5jck) Again.
And what did Top 40 give us?
"I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" – Daryl Hall & John Oates
"Centerfold" – The J. Geils Band
"I Love Rock 'N Roll" – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
"Ebony And Ivory" – Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder
"Don't You Want Me" – The Human League
"Eye Of The Tiger" – Survivor
"Abracadabra" – Steve Miller Band
"Hard To Say I'm Sorry" – Chicago
"Jack And Diane" – John Cougar
"Up Where We Belong" – Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
"Truly" – Lionel Richie
"Mickey" – Toni Basil
"Maneater" – Daryl Hall & John Oates
also in 1982:
Ice Cream For Crow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb9AU6_pTv4)
Yeah. Not my favorite Beefheart, but I suppose honorable mention is needed.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 19, 2013, 09:09:36 PM
Yeah. Not my favorite Beefheart, but I suppose honorable mention is needed.
Not mine either, but if I had to listen to that or Up Where We Belong...
Quote"Mickey" – Toni Basil
Guilty pleasure. Like - war criminal - guilty. Like - blowjob from god - pleasure.
No shit, srsly, I fucking love this track. For no discernable reason :oops:
The 90's were a lot worse than the 80's. The 90's were what made me stop listening to the radio forever.
Youre just saying that to make me do this another 10 times, arent you?
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 20, 2013, 03:56:51 AM
Youre just saying that to make me do this another 10 times, arent you?
Busted. :lol:
ETA: 90's radio really sucked, though.
Quote from: Tiddleywomp Cockletit on November 20, 2013, 04:16:09 AM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 20, 2013, 03:56:51 AM
Youre just saying that to make me do this another 10 times, arent you?
Busted. :lol:
ETA: 90's radio really sucked, though.
I think it's fair to say the vast majority of radio music, in general, sucks.
Don't underestimate "Eye Of The Tiger" until you've driven slowly behind a jogger with it blasting from your car.
I hate Captain Beefheart.
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 20, 2013, 06:19:36 AM
I hate Captain Beefheart.
Everybody does. It's just some of them refuse to admit it
Which now makes me want to compile the most accessible Beefheart tracks. Or, just revisit "Safe as Milk".
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 20, 2013, 01:25:16 PM
Which now makes me want to compile the most accessible Beefheart tracks. Or, just revisit "Safe as Milk".
The song or the album? And yeah, everyone thinks Trout Mask Replica is the entire catalogue.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 19, 2013, 03:31:08 PM
Devo decided to be through being cool (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_HH_jher3c).
I may have gone with Beautiful World myself as the DEVO song as I think it made perfect use of the emerging music video medium.
Also curious as to who remebers this:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v713/PopeTom/Night-Flight-TV-series-title-screen_zps3eed6c4b.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/PopeTom/media/Night-Flight-TV-series-title-screen_zps3eed6c4b.jpg.html)
As Night Flight gave me my first exposure to DEVO beyond the song Whip It as well as The Church of the SubGenius.
1983
Ok, fine. 83 mostly sucked as far as new music. Sonic Youth released Confusion is Sex, but it honestly wasn't that great. Minor Threat had Out of Step, but even at that time, it was starting to sound tired. Hüsker Dü was stepping out with Metal Circus, but they hadn't hit their stride yet. Minutemen kept rolling along with What Makes a Man Start Fires? and Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat, which are pretty damn great, but do you all really want this to be the "Minutemen are the awesomest" thread, or do you want something new?
Fine. Neubauten released Zeichnungen des Patienten O. T., which is just about as fucked up as you'd think (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaXjqeZsWc8), but if you listen closely, they're starting to reconstruct music in their own image (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZkqwFXK7Lw), although it will take another album or so for that to emerge fully.
But you know what was wonderful about 1983? A crooner, who had previously worked the lounge scene style with strings and all the rest, got weird. That's right kids, Tom Waits generously gave us all Swordfishtrombones. From the opening track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciBAMhLiwyQ), you can tell something's going on here. All that unusual music that's been bubbling up the last few years seems to be getting processed through a mad scientist who has an unusual sense of songwriting and aesthetics. And then he brings the groove (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdgpvwAKS2I), and that's it. He's won everything. His rhythms are created from some random assortment of leather, wood, and steel, and the harmonies are just off enough (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEc-nQbi8lA) to keep things unstable. And then, when it just can't get any better, he starts riffing and ranting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I9GqxDA4ac), and you're not sure if you're in the past or the future. Just to finish you off, he throws in a drunken ballad that's as beautiful as it is sorrowful. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpv2tMpMYgI)
Honestly, if an album like that gets made, I'm good for the rest of the year. See you all in 1984.
RAH!
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 20, 2013, 01:25:16 PM
Which now makes me want to compile the most accessible Beefheart tracks. Or, just revisit "Safe as Milk".
I won't listen to them.
I had a boyfriend (still a good friend) who LOVES Captain Beefheart. He has absolutely everything by them ever. I have heard just about enough.
Ok, fair enough. Saves me the effort.
Quote from: Rex Bologna on November 20, 2013, 04:54:53 AM
Quote from: Tiddleywomp Cockletit on November 20, 2013, 04:16:09 AM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 20, 2013, 03:56:51 AM
Youre just saying that to make me do this another 10 times, arent you?
Busted. :lol:
ETA: 90's radio really sucked, though.
I think it's fair to say the vast majority of radio music, in general, sucks.
The 90's was when the rock stations (BCN, yeah, you're in this) went to this thing that rivals "Muskrat Love" for sheer tedium and making me want to smash things (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihUIPlLw2ZE) and conservative talk radio.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 20, 2013, 01:25:16 PM
Which now makes me want to compile the most accessible Beefheart tracks.
I'd be interested! Not that it matters. :)
I forgot to add some of the hits of 1983:
"Africa" - Toto
"Come On Eileen" - Dexys Midnight Runners
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" - Irene Cara
"Maniac" - Michael Sembello
"Tell Her About It" - Billy Joel
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Bonnie Tyler
"Islands in the Stream" - Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton
"Say Say Say" - Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
1983 sucked.
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 20, 2013, 11:45:14 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 20, 2013, 01:25:16 PM
Which now makes me want to compile the most accessible Beefheart tracks. Or, just revisit "Safe as Milk".
I won't listen to them.
I had a boyfriend (still a good friend) who LOVES Captain Beefheart. He has absolutely everything by them ever. I have heard just about enough.
Totally fair, I never try to push the Beef on people. Still I say: bah. But, with love.
Quote from: holist on November 21, 2013, 06:26:23 AM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 20, 2013, 01:25:16 PM
Which now makes me want to compile the most accessible Beefheart tracks.
I'd be interested! Not that it matters. :)
I'm suddenly considerably
less interested than I formerly was.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 21, 2013, 01:59:31 PM
I forgot to add some of the hits of 1983:
"Africa" - Toto
"Come On Eileen" - Dexys Midnight Runners
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" - Irene Cara
"Maniac" - Michael Sembello
"Tell Her About It" - Billy Joel
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Bonnie Tyler
"Islands in the Stream" - Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton
"Say Say Say" - Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
1983 sucked.
Let's consider some other albums and then this statement again.
1983 also saw the birth of Metallica with Kill em all. Also the formation of Megadeth.
I'll try that again.
1983 saw the foundation of Death and the release of Diamond head's "Canterbury" which was yet another solid NWOBHM album though nothing compared to some of the stuff before/after.
Pantera released "Metal Magic". That's quite special and most amusing for anyone who thought Pantera's first album was "Cowboys from Hell"
Ozzy churned out "Bark at the moon" and people seemed to like it.
1983 really did suck.
Quote from: Junkenstein on November 21, 2013, 03:15:43 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 21, 2013, 01:59:31 PM
I forgot to add some of the hits of 1983:
"Africa" - Toto
"Come On Eileen" - Dexys Midnight Runners
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" - Irene Cara
"Maniac" - Michael Sembello
"Tell Her About It" - Billy Joel
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Bonnie Tyler
"Islands in the Stream" - Kenny Rogers with Dolly Parton
"Say Say Say" - Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
1983 sucked.
Let's consider some other albums and then this statement again.
1983 also saw the birth of Metallica with Kill em all. Also the formation of Megadeth.
I'll try that again.
1983 saw the foundation of Death and the release of Diamond head's "Canterbury" which was yet another solid NWOBHM album though nothing compared to some of the stuff before/after.
Pantera released "Metal Magic". That's quite special and most amusing for anyone who thought Pantera's first album was "Cowboys from Hell"
Ozzy churned out "Bark at the moon" and people seemed to like it.
1983 really did suck.
1983 was the year I played a lot of Def Leppard on the jukebox, not because I particularly liked Def Leppard, but because everything else was either Duran Duran or Dolly Parton and blew goats.
Hey now... no need to diss on Dolly.
Quote from: Rex Bologna on November 21, 2013, 03:46:42 PM
Hey now... no need to diss on Dolly.
Yes there fucking is.
Hard Rock Candy Christmas.
:tgrr:
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 21, 2013, 03:47:25 PM
Quote from: Rex Bologna on November 21, 2013, 03:46:42 PM
Hey now... no need to diss on Dolly.
Yes there fucking is. Hard Rock Candy Christmas.
:tgrr:
If I started knocking back Jim Beam shooters at about 3 PM,
Islands In The Stream was usually tolerable by 8 or 9 PM. But NOTHING worked on
Hard Rock Candy Christmas.
Quote from: Dirty Old Uncle Roger on November 21, 2013, 03:47:25 PM
Quote from: Rex Bologna on November 21, 2013, 03:46:42 PM
Hey now... no need to diss on Dolly.
Yes there fucking is. Hard Rock Candy Christmas.
:tgrr:
That's like blaming Anne Murray for her
Hippopotamus in a Bathtub album.
Oh wait, I've done that.
Dammit.
1984
Well, it looks like everyone was waiting to see what 1984 had to bring. And things were brought. Let's get this one out of the way, so it doesn't trample everything else. Run D.M.C. was released, and changed the game pretty damn hard. I don't think I need to repeat how important It's Like That (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hN1SKVx31s) and Rock Box (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GND7sPNwWko) are to the music scene in general; it's in about every documentary about hip hop ever. I just wanted to point out the date it was released.
But I wasn't listening to that at the time. What made this year great for me was the release of three albums.
First, The Minutemen released their greatest work, Double Nickles on the Dime. A double album, 45 songs in 81 minutes, and holy crap does it go all over the place. Here's the full album (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVCk0XWKtbM). From the languid drum opening on It's Expected I'm Gone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmFWCb06LQc) to the churning Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxjEi4tgvU0), and the sardonic Maybe Partying Will Help (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7C9RQiUdXc), the album is funky, angular, oblique, political, fierce, and altogether wonderful. Songs like This Ain't No Picnic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGCTZQV-6nQ), a middle finger to middle management, nestle up to the contemplative brooding of Do You Want New Wave Or Do You Want The Truth? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_MhC4mQaGc) D Boon sums it up best on History Lesson, Part II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZvsAh5VFRw). "Our band could be your life/Real names be proof... Punk Rock changed our lives." This album is on my Top 10 of all time list. Easily.
Part of what inspired them to make a double album is because earlier that year, Hüsker Dü released Zen Arcade, which was also a double album, only instead of the outwardly political, notebook-poetry explorations of Nickels, Bob Mould and company created a bleak and harsh universe of a young outcast trying to make sense of uncaring world. Seeing as how Bob was a young, mostly closeted gay man in the heart of the hardcore punk scene at the time, an album like this can be considered slightly autobiographical. The album starts with Something I Learned Today (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_wChlU_S6I), and almost never lets up from there. The mixture of thrashing guitar assaults with social isolation on songs like The Biggest Lie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMGRYWFD-2A) and Pride (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WAYHr_RlNY) are heartbreaking, and make the ray of light at the end of it all, The Tooth Fairy and the Princess (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3olGcwsA_qc) more of a possibility of hope rather than hope itself.
The first album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, From Her to Eternity, does away with that possibility entirely. They start with a cover of Leonard Cohen's Avalanche (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPPO2zdPxyU), which was a bummer to begin with, but now there's a greasy layer of junk-sick seeping into its bones. Just by looking over the titles, like Well of Misery (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiSpXLkjIOY), or the ever-inspiring Wings Off Flies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfOcn6-pKXI), you can tell that Nick isn't feeling so hot. The crowning gem on this album, even though some argue is the epic Trashed Americana poem Saint Huck (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af275kF9DQM), for me it has to be the pulsing title track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPDvaxGH4wI), also used in Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire. A desperate tale of a man obsessed with the woman upstairs who is always weeping. It's haunting, powerful, and when I saw them play this live, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Hmm. Can you tell I was really into depressing music back then?
Three more records came out that year of note, for one reason or another.
The Smiths dropped their self titled album, with all that entails (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0TZZZcC9l4).
Skinny Puppy made what's largely considered the first techno-industrial album, so you can go ahead and blame them if you want. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYUpRfgl_ug)
Spinal Tap went (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMMy9t0TJNE) up (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8yA2iLE15g) to (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXHmWXPwol0) eleven. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyWo6Y-i-U0)
And for the rest of the charts...
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" Yes
"Karma Chameleon" Culture Club
"Jump" Van Halen
"Footloose" Kenny Loggins
"Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" Phil Collins
"Hello" Lionel Richie
"Let's Hear It for the Boy" Deniece Williams
"The Reflex" Duran Duran
"Ghostbusters" Ray Parker, Jr.
"Missing You" John Waite
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" Stevie Wonder
"Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run)" Billy Ocean
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" Wham!
"Like a Virgin" Madonna
I relistened to "Karma Chameleon" a few years ago, and was surprised by how good it was. Somehow, I seriously underrated it, probably because it was presented in the shit showcase of pop top-40 radio when it came out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmcA9LIIXWw
It does appear we are entering territory that many clubs stripmine when they're doing an "early 80s" night. Pop music certainly was changing since the beginning of the decade, some would say for the better. Some.
The smiths. Goddamnit, the smiths. On one hand you have Johnny Marr doing something godlike on a Rickenbacker and on the other hand you have fucking Morrisey making me want to grind his smarmy pretentious shit under the biggest, spikiest boot I can fit on the end of my leg :argh!:
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on November 21, 2013, 10:19:58 PM
The smiths. Goddamnit, the smiths. On one hand you have Johnny Marr doing something godlike on a Rickenbacker and on the other hand you have fucking Morrisey making me want to grind his smarmy pretentious shit under the biggest, spikiest boot I can fit on the end of my leg :argh!:
Morrisey should have been sewn in a sackful of cats and thrown in the river.
Huh, I always assumed LMNO and I were roughly the same age... I turned nine in 1984, and was listening to... not much really. Some Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, and the Eurythmics. Also, speaking of Leonard Cohen, his album Various Positions came out in 1984... if you can at all stand him and his voice, I think it's a great album.
Quote from: Rex Bologna on November 22, 2013, 12:04:34 AM
Huh, I always assumed LMNO and I were roughly the same age... I turned nine in 1984, and was listening to... not much really. Some Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, and the Eurythmics. Also, speaking of Leonard Cohen, his album Various Positions came out in 1984... if you can at all stand him and his voice, I think it's a great album.
I think LMNO is my age, or maybe a couple years younger.
I love Leonard Cohen!
K.I.S.S.
Also 80's Black Sabbath and Priest kicked fucking ass.
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 22, 2013, 12:50:51 AM
Quote from: Rex Bologna on November 22, 2013, 12:04:34 AM
Huh, I always assumed LMNO and I were roughly the same age... I turned nine in 1984, and was listening to... not much really. Some Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, and the Eurythmics. Also, speaking of Leonard Cohen, his album Various Positions came out in 1984... if you can at all stand him and his voice, I think it's a great album.
I think LMNO is my age, or maybe a couple years younger.
I love Leonard Cohen!
I realize now that I worded that strangely. I think it's a great album whether you can stand him and his voice or not... but if you can, you may like it too. :wink:
Quote from: Mrs. Nigelson on November 22, 2013, 12:50:51 AM
Quote from: Rex Bologna on November 22, 2013, 12:04:34 AM
Huh, I always assumed LMNO and I were roughly the same age... I turned nine in 1984, and was listening to... not much really. Some Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, and the Eurythmics. Also, speaking of Leonard Cohen, his album Various Positions came out in 1984... if you can at all stand him and his voice, I think it's a great album.
I think LMNO is my age, or maybe a couple years younger.
I love Leonard Cohen!
LMNO has the magical ability to be the same age as anyone who looks or even thinks about.
It's another small part to his spectacular sexual power.
(FTR, Alphapance is actually my age)
For the record, I'm 12. But mom says I'm very mature for my age.
Sorry kids, 1985 will have to wait until Monday. Shit's been kind of crazy, today.
It'll keep. :)
I just thought of one other group other than the Talking Heads that made the 80s bearable.
Belinda Carlisle/the Go-Gos.
What? She has an awesome voice. Fuck you.
:lulz:
When you say things like that, it makes me think you haven't checked the links.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 23, 2013, 04:38:12 AM
When you say things like that, it makes me think you haven't checked the links.
I haven't checked them all, LMNO. I can't at work, and I don't have much time at home. I mostly listened to stuff I've never heard before (the Minutemen, etc).
Reading that back, my tone of voice didn't shine through. I was making a light joke. There are so many links, if everyone clicked and listened, it would shut down the board. (Bonus question: would anyone notice a difference?).
Anyway, GoGos. Sure. But if you go to Belinda's "Heaven", we may have problems.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 23, 2013, 04:46:08 AM
Reading that back, my tone of voice didn't shine through. I was making a light joke. There are so many links, if everyone clicked and listened, it would shut down the board. (Bonus question: would anyone notice a difference?).
Anyway, GoGos. Sure. But if you go to Belinda's "Heaven", we may have problems.
Everyone bombs now and again. "Head Over Heels" is one of my guilty pleasures.
"Our Lips Are Sealed" is great. Especially the bridge.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 23, 2013, 04:55:03 AM
"Our Lips Are Sealed" is great. Especially the bridge.
Yes.
What's a bridge?
The part in the middle of a song that sounds really different than the rest of the song.
In this case, it's when Jane sang, "Hush my darling/Don't you cry..."
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 23, 2013, 05:00:07 AM
The part in the middle of a song that sounds really different than the rest of the song.
In this case, it's when Jane sang, "Hush my darling/Don't you cry..."
Oh, gotcha. That's gotta be descended from the blues, I'm thinking.
May I get pedantic?
Thanks.
In Western Music, it's really common. Back in Ye Olde Klassikal Musik days. There was a movement between movements that added something new.
You have your narrrative, then you Idea, then anotther narrative, then repeat your idea, then take a moment to comment on your idea, then say your idea twice. That's a pop song, right there.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 23, 2013, 05:15:48 AM
May I get pedantic?
Thanks.
:lulz:
QuoteIn Western Music, it's really common. Back in Ye Olde Klassikal Musik days. There was a movement between movements that added something new.
You have your narrrative, then you Idea, then anotther narrative, then repeat your idea, then take a moment to comment on your idea, then say your idea twice. That's a pop song, right there.
I wouldn't recognize a bridge in classical music if you held a gun to my head.
Thank goodness I'm in Boston then, with it's draconian gun laws, because I'd MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 23, 2013, 05:21:31 AM
Thank goodness I'm in Boston then, with it's draconian gun laws, because I'd MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
"WHAT'S THE BRIDGE, KENNETH?"
"wat"
"WHAT'S THE FUCKING BRIDGE?"
*bang*
A THEN FUCKING B THEN FUCKING A THEN FUCKING B THEN GODDAMN C.
HOW IS THAT SO FUCKING HARD, KENNETH!?
By the way, I love you for the Kenneth reference.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 23, 2013, 05:25:35 AM
A THEN FUCKING B THEN FUCKING A THEN FUCKING B THEN GODDAMN C.
HOW IS THAT SO FUCKING HARD, KENNETH!?
By the way, I love you for the Kenneth reference.
It was the first time I looked at a news item and horked coffee out of orifices not designed for horking.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 20, 2013, 08:52:40 PM
1983
....
But you know what was wonderful about 1983? A crooner, who had previously worked the lounge scene style with strings and all the rest, got weird. That's right kids, Tom Waits generously gave us all Swordfishtrombones. From the opening track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciBAMhLiwyQ), you can tell something's going on here. All that unusual music that's been bubbling up the last few years seems to be getting processed through a mad scientist who has an unusual sense of songwriting and aesthetics. And then he brings the groove (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdgpvwAKS2I), and that's it. He's won everything. His rhythms are created from some random assortment of leather, wood, and steel, and the harmonies are just off enough (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEc-nQbi8lA) to keep things unstable. And then, when it just can't get any better, he starts riffing and ranting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I9GqxDA4ac), and you're not sure if you're in the past or the future. Just to finish you off, he throws in a drunken ballad that's as beautiful as it is sorrowful. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpv2tMpMYgI)
Honestly, if an album like that gets made, I'm good for the rest of the year. See you all in 1984.
That is 200% right. I would also nominate Zappa's Baby Snakes soundtrack. Great film, great songs.
FUCK ZAPPA. In his denialistic homophobic sexist asshole.
Plus, that motherfucker was the worst composer of the 20th century.
Sorry, Hoops. We're here again.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 27, 2013, 05:48:38 AM
FUCK ZAPPA. In his denialistic homophobic sexist asshole.
Plus, that motherfucker was the worst composer of the 20th century.
Sorry, Hoops. We're here again.
Total control freak, yep. In denial about drugs, yep. Homophobic? Sexist? How so?
How could you listen to Joe's Garage and still find it in yourself to ask that question?
Oh, right. holist.
Never mind.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 27, 2013, 05:48:38 AM
FUCK ZAPPA. In his denialistic homophobic sexist asshole.
Plus, that motherfucker was the worst composer of the 20th century.
Sorry, Hoops. We're here again.
Since Holist approves, I'm now reconsidering my Zappa fandom.
"If you were to take all the lyrics I've ever written and analyze how many songs are about `women in demeaning positions,' as opposed to `men in demaning positions' you would find that most of the songs are about stupid men.
The songs I write about women are not gratuitous attacks on them, but statements of fact. The song ``Jewish Princess'' caused the Anti- Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith to complain bitterly and demand an apology. I did not apologize then and refuse to do so now because, unlike `The Unicorn', such creatures do exist - and deserve to be `commemorated' with their own special opus.
The basic function of any ethnic protective PR organization is to do what Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-California) suggested on the `Larry King show' - ``maintain the fiction.'' (He used it in context of protecting the Reagan administration during the Iran-contra scandal, suggesting it was our duty as Americans to support the President by looking the other way.)
Italians have an organization to `maintain the fiction' that no Italians are in the Mafia, nor do they sell drugs while engaging in murder for hire. If you want to believe that, fine - welcome to Fantasy Land. If you want to believe that wrestling is real, go for it - and if you want to believe that women are a wonderful species that: 1 never goes to the toilet; 2 can't possibly do anything wrong; 3 is completely superior to men, then believe it - whatever makes you feel good."
from The Real Frank Zappa Book, Chapter Am I A 'Sexist' - Or What?
I find that persuasive. How about you? Also, I would think you'd agree with quite a lot of the ideology of Joe's Garage (I mean the anti-cenzorship, anti-authoritarian angle and the to me hilarious lampooning of the powers that is the Central Scrutinizer), so what's your problem? Catholic Girls? (must admit, I never liked vol. 2&3, so please mention a more offensive song from vol. 1, if you can.) Or is it the song about VD? But it's all parody, is it not? Frank Zappa was of the opinion, I think, that practically everyone is full of shit, himself nominally included, though actually, the situation was somewhat different, which is, all things considered, pretty... Discordian. :lol:
Quote from: holist on November 27, 2013, 04:26:12 PM
"If you were to take all the lyrics I've ever written and analyze how many songs are about `women in demeaning positions,' as opposed to `men in demaning positions' you would find that most of the songs are about stupid men.
The songs I write about women are not gratuitous attacks on them, but statements of fact. The song ``Jewish Princess'' caused the Anti- Defamation League of the B'nai B'rith to complain bitterly and demand an apology. I did not apologize then and refuse to do so now because, unlike `The Unicorn', such creatures do exist - and deserve to be `commemorated' with their own special opus.
The basic function of any ethnic protective PR organization is to do what Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-California) suggested on the `Larry King show' - ``maintain the fiction.'' (He used it in context of protecting the Reagan administration during the Iran-contra scandal, suggesting it was our duty as Americans to support the President by looking the other way.)
Italians have an organization to `maintain the fiction' that no Italians are in the Mafia, nor do they sell drugs while engaging in murder for hire. If you want to believe that, fine - welcome to Fantasy Land. If you want to believe that wrestling is real, go for it - and if you want to believe that women are a wonderful species that: 1 never goes to the toilet; 2 can't possibly do anything wrong; 3 is completely superior to men, then believe it - whatever makes you feel good."
from The Real Frank Zappa Book, Chapter Am I A 'Sexist' - Or What?
I find that persuasive. How about you? Also, I would think you'd agree with quite a lot of the ideology of Joe's Garage (I mean the anti-cenzorship, anti-authoritarian angle and the to me hilarious lampooning of the powers that is the Central Scrutinizer), so what's your problem? Catholic Girls? (must admit, I never liked vol. 2&3, so please mention a more offensive song from vol. 1, if you can.) Or is it the song about VD? But it's all parody, is it not? Frank Zappa was of the opinion, I think, that practically everyone is full of shit, himself nominally included, though actually, the situation was somewhat different, which is, all things considered, pretty... Discordian. :lol:
Start a new thread, dickhead, don't shit this one up.
But, while I'm here, Crew Slut is a hell of a lot more sexist than Catholic Girls. And you didn't touch on the homophobia which drips all over Stick it Out and Syborg. Fucksack.
And hopefully, you can easily see through the argument of "since one person acts this way, it's fine to use stereotypes."
Once in a blue moon, Zappa would have an Important Idea. The bulk of what he did was crap. Kind of like a poor man's Crowley, IMHO.
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 27, 2013, 05:11:53 PM
And hopefully, you can easily see through the argument of "since one person acts this way, it's fine to use stereotypes."
It
is fine to use stereotypes. After all, we're mostly entirely stereotypical, and not
special snowflakes, right?
It's just not fine to overuse them.
More, please.
Quote from: holist on November 27, 2013, 09:17:48 PM
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on November 27, 2013, 05:11:53 PM
And hopefully, you can easily see through the argument of "since one person acts this way, it's fine to use stereotypes."
It is fine to use stereotypes. After all, we're mostly entirely stereotypical, and not special snowflakes, right?
It's just not fine to overuse them.
:lolchix:
Quote from: Hoopla on December 13, 2013, 04:59:44 PM
More, please.
You bet. It sucks how life can get in the way of these projects, y'know?
Quote from: LMNO, PhD (life continues) on December 13, 2013, 05:22:20 PM
Quote from: Hoopla on December 13, 2013, 04:59:44 PM
More, please.
You bet. It sucks how life can get in the way of these projects, y'know?
Oh I know... not cracking the whip, just making sure it stays in your mind and doesn't slip to page 5 or some shit.