812. China Crisis, Working with Fire and Steel (1983) It is probably a fair measure of the rather arch sensibility of the band China Crisis that the subtitle of their sophomore album is Possible Pop Songs Volume Two. In any … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #812 to #809
Thirty years ago, in the autumn of 1988, Irish band A House released their debut album, On Our Big Fat Merry-Go-Round. Formed in Dublin, largely by old school chums, A House had enough success in their local environs — including … Continue reading One for Friday — A House, “Call Me Blue”
I will admit upfront that I don’t quite know what to make of the 1975. Now three full-length albums into their career (with another promised within the next six months or so), not much music from the Manchester band has … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships
816. The Slickee Boys, Cybernetic Dreams of Pi (1983) Formed in Washington, D.C., in the mid-nineteen-seventies, the Slickee Boys took their name from slang used by U.S. soldiers to describe the local young black market peddlers in Korea that dressed … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #816 to #813
Thirty years ago, in the autumn of 1988, the Waterboys released the album Fisherman’s Blues. It was officially the fourth full-length studio release from the motley and ever-shifting crew of musicians Scotsman Mike Scott assembled around him, and it was … Continue reading One for Friday — The Waterboys, “And a Bang on the Ear”
At around the time several of her songs took off in unexpected ways that forecast the crazy land of viral popularity, it seemed Robyn was poised to become as big of a pop star as she wanted to be. Certainly, … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Honey
820. Bob Dylan, Slow Train Coming (1979) During his nineteen-sixties heyday, the most notorious moment of Bob Dylan’s career came at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, when he flouted tradition and took the stage with a full band plugged into … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #820 to #817
Thirty years ago, in the autumn of 1988, Cowboy Junkies released the album The Trinity Session. It wasn’t the Canadian band’s debut album (that was the provocatively titled Whites Off Earth Now!, issued two years earlier), but most of us … Continue reading One for Friday — Cowboy Junkies, “Misguided Angel”
I don’t think it’s simply a matter of longevity that gives the new Cat Power album, Wanderer, the feel of a classic. I’m referring less to the actual quality of the release — although it’s plenty strong — than the … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Wanderer
824. Minutemen, Ballot Result (1987) In December 1985, D. Boon, guitarist and vocalist with the punk band Minutemen, was feeling feverish while riding in the back of a van traveling down the Arizona highway. He was lying down, seatbelt off, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #824 to #821
Coffee for Two 