392. R.E.M., Chronic Town (1982) As the nineteen-eighties dawned, R.E.M. couldn’t get a foothold like their fellow acts in Athens, Georgia. Driven in part by the breakout success the B-52’s enjoyed with their 1979 self-titled debut, there was keen interest … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #392 to #390
The Cosmic Journey of Kacey Musgraves by Alex Morris I feel unkind making this admission: I am intensely excited about the next Kacey Musgraves album because it is being written from a place of heartbreak. Dazzling as her two most … Continue reading Outside Reading — Sturm und Twang edition
Sometimes I can be made to believe that there are bands out there capable of reviving the bristling rock that dominated college radio a couple decades back, before the wonders of technology meant everyone could make lush pop and the … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Francis of Delirium, “Let It All Go”
395. Madness, Madness (1983) The ska band Madness delivered a series of Top 10 at home in the U.K., but that similar success eluded them on the other side of the Atlantic. After both their debut, One Step Beyond…, and … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #395 to #393
Live Venues In Long Line Awaiting Aid by Stacy Cowley Reporting for The New York Times, Stacy Cowley details the dire situation faced by performance venues across the nation, largely shuttered since last spring and without reasonable prospects for a … Continue reading Outside Reading —Till It’s Gone edition
I solicited assistance in selecting the track for this week’s edition of this modest celebration of new music, and of course my partner in all things instinctively advocated for the song that draws inspiration from the Italian horror films of … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Nun Gun, “Stealth Empire”
398. Yaz, You and Me Both (1983) If the old adage about books and their covers can be applied to albums, it’s also fair to remember that, as Rod Stewart once sang, every picture tells a story. In the case … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #398 to #396
A couple weeks ago, singer-songwriter cracked a good joke on Twitter: Because McRae knew her way around a guitar and a microphone, she followed up the next day with a “preemptive cover” of that imagined song, delivering fifty seconds of … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Jensen McRae, “Immune”
The members of Big Thief have apparently forged a secret pact a couple years ago, agreeing that not too much time would ever pass without at least one of them putting new music out into the universe. They notably delivered … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Two Saviors
401. Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Rattlesnakes (1984) In the midst of his eventually abandoned studies at Glasgow University, Lloyd Cole formed the band that bore his name. According to him, the original intent of Lloyd Cole and the Emotions … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #401 to #399
Coffee for Two 