In writing about Ash & Ice, the new album from the Kills, I was prepared to be fairly tough. I’ve been enamored of the duo’s music for some time. Every one of their prior four full-length studio releases has a … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf: Ash & Ice
187. X, “4th of July” As a band, X were in a state of flux when they went to record their sixth album, See How We Are, which was released in 1987. They were coming off of one of the strongest commercial successes, with 1985’s Ain’t Love Grand and its hit single, “Burning House of Love” (though “hit” is a decidedly relative term in this instance). But they were also continuing the process of figuring out how to persevere as a unit following the breakup of key band members John Doe and Exene Cervenka, a situation that was only complicated by … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 187 – 185
And now today, on the first sweltering day of summer in the northern state where I currently reside, my mind casts back to similar seasons past, landing inevitably in 1989. That was my first summer at the college radio station, which felt like the true and proper beginning of my adulthood. The whole school year prior, living in a residence hall and going to classes, was still somehow an extension of what I’d always done, just with an odd sleepover component. But that first summer, I lived in an apartment, figured out my own meals, and balanced the competing schedules of a … Continue reading One for Friday: Hoodoo Gurus, “Where’s That Hit?”
190. X, “Burning House of Love” While some of the most fervent fans of the Los Angeles punk band X cast reflexive aspersions on the 1985 single that became the group’s biggest commercial success, bassist and singer John Doe considered it something of a breakthrough. At the time, he contended, “It’s taken me about 15 years to be able to write a song that’s as simple and direct as ‘Burning House of Love.’” Later, though, Doe largely came around to agreeing with the more negative assessment of the song, at least as it was recorded and released. For X’s fifth album, See How We … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 190 – 188
Paul Kelly was a major figure for me during my inaugural year at the college radio station. His was a name I carried in with me, largely because a couple of his albums made unlikely appearances deep in the album review section of Rolling Stone, well past the point most readers had probably determined the artists and titles were getting too obscure to bother with and flipped the magazine closed. (I can’t find digital versions of those reviews, but there’s some circumstantial evidence that the column inches were courtesy of the championing of David Fricke, who still takes every reasonable … Continue reading One for Friday: Paul Kelly and the Messengers, “You Can’t Take It with You”
193. Blue Öyster Cult, “Burnin’ for You” Naturally the process of trekking through a two hundred and fifty songs was going to lead to a few discoveries that would have been useful for me earlier. Almost exactly two months after retiring the “Top 40 Smash Taps” feature on this site, acknowledging that my collection of posts was probably not comprehensive (but was also “good enough, to be sure”), here I find another one that meets the qualifications for inclusion. “Burnin’ for You,” the lead single from the Blue Öyster Cult’s Fire of Unknown Origin LP, became their second to cross … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 193 – 191
Like a lot of other DJs at my college radio station, I gravitated to covers. It was commonplace in the nineteen-nineties, which is part of the reason labels we’re always pushing artists to include revamps of familiar songs on their albums. In a crowded marketplace, it was one of the surest ways to grab the fickle attention of student broadcasters. With limited spots on a playlist, anything with a whiff of the familiar held an appealing safety. And yet I didn’t actively chase covers, not until years later. That’s when my splendid partner-in-all-things made it clear that she found covers … Continue reading One For Friday: Kasey Chambers, “Better Be Home Soon”
196. The Psychedelic Furs, “All That Money Wants” Richard Butler intended “All That Money Wants” to be his closing statement on the Psychedelic Furs. The song was written as a direct response to his dismay over the heavy commercial push given to the band’s 1987 album, Midnight to Midnight, which Columbia Records touted as “The Psychedelic Furs’ Masterstroke” in advertisements. Throughout the supporting tour, Butler found that he was growing increasingly detached from the lyrics he was singing onstage. In explaining “All That Money Wants,” Butler said, “It was about the success of Midnight to Midnight and how people began to look … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 196 – 194
Every college radio station has its own set of “hits,” those songs that barely nuzzled the public consciousness elsewhere, but absolutely dominated the airwaves stewarded by one particular set of junior broadcasters hovering around the age of twenty. “Onion Skin” … Continue reading One for Friday: Boom Crash Opera, “Onion Skin”
199. Joan Jett, “Bad Reputation” While it’s hardly the most pertinent detail to share about the life and career of Joan Jett, the fact that I’m typing this out while seated in a coffee shop in Wisconsin’s capital city makes me feel obligated to begin with the following: Jett is a lifelong Green Bay Packers fan. She reported falling in love with the team as a kid, based almost entirely on the image on a Sports Illustrated cover. Her affection for the Baltimore Orioles was even more pronounced, leading her to add a liner note dedication to the team when she reissued … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 250 Songs, 1979 – 1989, 199 – 197
Coffee for Two 