18. The Smiths, Rank Here is the sound of contractual obligation in the college rock world. By the fall of 1988, the Smiths were over as a going concern, the longtime fractious relationship between lead singer and Morrissey and guitarist … Continue reading College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, 18
This another of my contributions to the central Florida publication The Independent. I’ve had such a difficult time lately finding the time and energy to write full-length record reviews (despite very different ambitions, I’ve only managed two reviews in the past three months) that I may need to employ some variation on this hit-and-run kind of take. Just over 200 words, and I really did say everything I felt obligated to say about the album. Super Furry Animals is one of those bands that tries to do a little bit of everything and winds up doing nothing particularly well. There’s … Continue reading From the Archive: Phantom Power
There was a stretch during the mid-to-late-eighties when I gently transitioned myself from the sort of stuff played on album rock radio stations to the material that had a more comfortable home at the left end of the dial. It helped that I had a hometown radio station that was a weird hybrid of the two, embracing select college radio artists (R.E.M. chief among them, but also the occasional Camper Van Beethoven or Robyn Hitchcock song) even as it leaned most heavily on the rootsy classic rock likes of Bruce Springsteen, Little Feat, and the seventies output of the Kinks. … Continue reading One for Friday: Peter Wolf, “Can’t Get Started”
19. That Petrol Emotion, End of the Millennium Psychosis Blues In my memory, End of the Millennium Psychosis Blues sounds a little different. That’s because I have one particular track off the album that I faultily use to define the … Continue reading College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, 19
I have my prejudices when it comes to music. For one thing, I’ve long resisted any reunions of bands, even those who I once loved. I still stand by my aversion in many cases, especially in those instances when the reunion is basically in name only. I’m not quite sure why anyone musters up overt excitement about what is essentially a new Frank Black solo album just because he’s worked it out to stamp the name “Pixies” on the front. There are plenty of instances where bands have gotten back together for drab efforts after solo projects and spinoff bands … Continue reading One for Friday: The Go-Betweens, “Surfing Magazines”
These posts are about the songs that can accurately claim to crossed the key line of chart success, becoming Top 40 hits on Billboard, but just barely. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 40. This is what Billboard wrote about Kay Starr’s “Second Fiddle” upon its release in May of 1956: “Miss Starr renders a poignant ballad in a warm and fetching style. The tune itself has much of the of ‘Tennessee Waltz’ and ‘Rock and Roll Waltz,’ and figures to be a highly successful follow-up to the latter.” “The Rock and Roll Waltz” (which sounds like … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Taps: “Second Fiddle”
20. Joy Division, Substance In the fall of 1987, New Order released a compilation entitled Substance. Designed as a collection of all of the band’s singles up to that point, including the B-sides, the album served as a means for the band to provide greater distribution for some tracks that were fairly hard to get, especially on this side of the Atlantic. It also provided an opportunity for some light revisionism, with the band remixing or even full-on rerecording several of the songs, making the album a different sort of “greatest hits” release. It wasn’t merely an appraisal of who … Continue reading College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, 20
It’s been a long time since it’s happened, but I’ve seen my fair share of Wilco shows. I have a beloved cadre of friends that has a hearty representation of Uncle Tupelo devotees, and I spent a few evening hours during the mid-nineties watching the bands built from the splinters of that seminal alt country group. At least initially, Son Volt was the group that garnered the most acclaim, and I think they were the band my friends favored too. For me, the choice was always Wilco. To be thorough in this reportage, I wasn’t especially fond of Uncle Tupelo, … Continue reading One for Friday: Jeff Tweedy with Jay Bennett, “Listen to Her Heart”
When the task of counting down a chart is complete, I’m always left with the perplexing question of where to go next. For one thing, I don’t exactly have an abundance of options with suitable and satisfying college charts a … Continue reading College Countdown: Rockpool’s Top 20 College Radio Albums, November 1988, An Introduction
With the caveat that every college radio kid probably overinflates the greatness of the music released in their first year behind the board, I’ve long championed the spring of 1989 as a pinnacle mini-era of college rock. I’m quick to … Continue reading One for Friday: Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, “Pirate Radio”
Coffee for Two 