65. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Punch the Clock (1983) As he did from time to time, Elvis Costello decided he wanted to make an album with broader appeal. Following the critical drubbing and commercial disappointment of his 1981 country … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #65 to #63
The band Drugdealer, which is mainly an outlet for Los Angeles singer-songwriter Michael Collins, manages to make it seem like the pop-rock music of the nineteen-seventies never really went away but remaining in a blissful state of perpetual, gentle revision … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Drugdealer, “Lip Service”
THE WAEVE The Waeve (Transgressive) — Maybe no one out there was wishcasting into being a pairing of mad-genius musician about town and former Pipette Rose Elinor Dougall, but their debut together under the name the Waeve is pretty persuasive … Continue reading Medium Rotation — The Waeve; New York City
These posts are about the songs that fell just short of crossing the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. After being raised in Brooklyn, New York, … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Superman”
68. The Bongos, Numbers with Wings (1983) The Hoboken, New Jersey band the Bongos spent years toiling away without much attention from the music industry at large. They’d manage to release music on a couple small labels, including the U.K. … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #68 to #66
Back Earth, Wisconsin is a village located in the western portion of Dane County, around twenty-five miles from the state capital. The 2010 census tallied the population at just a few dozen residents over thirteen hundred. It is the home … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Ratboys, “Black Earth, WI”
71. Eurythmics, Be Yourself Tonight (1985) After achieving international pop chart success in the first half of the nineteen-eighties, Eurythmics experienced their first real career stumble with the album 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother). The duo, comprised of … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #71 to #69
As Dollar Stores Proliferate, Some Communities Say No by Michael Corkery Reporting for The New York Times, Michael Corkery writes about local governments rejecting the incursion of predatory discount shops that underpay employees and strategically drain the local economy, by … Continue reading Outside Reading — Bottom Dollar
My intention with these recurring posts under the This Week’s Model banner is to always highlight my favorite new song released during the preceding seven days, but there are a few sub-rules I try to follow. For instance, in order … Continue reading This Week’s Model — boygenius, “Not Strong Enough”
74. Hoodoo Gurus, Mars Needs Guitars! (1985) After A&M Records blundered through the North American release of Stoneage Romeos, the debut album by Australia’s Hoodoo Gurus, the band and their homeland label, Big Time Records, initially decided to take matters … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #74 to #72
Coffee for Two 