For me, Tom Petty’s career was a recurring invitation of rediscovery. The Florida native delivered his first album with the Heartbreakers in 1976, which put him right on the cusp of artists who, in my perception, had simply always been … Continue reading Tom Petty, 1950 – 2017
2. R.E.M., “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” At the time R.E.M. released their fifth studio album, Document, in 1987, the little ol’ band from Athens, Georgia was still adamantly against a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 2
A couple of weeks back, a friend of mine was kind enough to share some airtime with me. After participating in the reunion weekend for my old college radio station two years runnings, I decided I was up for swinging … Continue reading From the Archive — Pleased to Meet Me
This is it, friends. This is exactly what 1980 sounded like. The single “Girls Are Always Right,” from the U.K. new wave band Any Trouble, has some Joe Jackson to it. And Elvis Costello, and Graham Parker, and Marshall Crenshaw. … Continue reading One for Friday — Any Trouble, “Girls Are Always Right”
3. Love and Rockets, “No New Tale to Tell” “This was our ‘getting it together in the countryside’ acoustic album,” David J wrote on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Earth, Sun, Moon, the 1987 release from Love and … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 3
When I spent time in the broadcast booth at various college radio stations, one of the finest gifts that came with it was the chance to flip through the ever-changing batch of new music that sat on the shelf. It … Continue reading One for Friday — The Magic Numbers, “This Love”
In the best way, Grizzly Bear makes music that nags at me. Although there’s the occasional track that is immediately arresting — “Yet Again,” from 2012’s Shields, for example — but my predominant experience with the group’s music is one … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Painted Ruins
4. Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House” The highest-charting single of the Talking Heads’ career came about because drummer Chris Frantz attended a Parliament-Funkadelic show at Madison Square Garden. Energized by the propulsive sound he heard coming from the stage … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 4
During my first academic year at my college radio station, from the fall of 1988 through the spring of 1989, there was one song I was desperate to hear, even as it remained agonizingly elusive. Before I showed up at … Continue reading One for Friday — Grant Hart, “2541”
5. The Smiths, “How Soon is Now?” “What is Johnny doing? That’s just noise.” Geoff Travis, the founder and chief of Rough Trade Records, wasn’t pleased with “How Soon Is Now?” when he first heard it. As lead singer Morrissey … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 5
Coffee for Two 