512. Depeche Mode, Music for the Masses (1987) For Music for the Masses, Depeche Mode’s sixth studio album, the band was in search of a new approach in the studio. Since their first recordings for Mute Records, Depeche Mode always … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #512 to #509
Buzzy guitars, a relentless beat, keening vocals racing through intricate lyrics, an irresistible hook that somehow gives was to another hook and maybe yet another hook, a squalling guitar solo, a false ending, and it’s all over in just over … Continue reading This Week’s Model — The Beths, “I’m Not Getting Excited”
These posts are about the songs that just barely failed to cross the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. Little Richard was like no one else. … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “Baby Face”
516. Ian Hunter, You’re Never Alone with a Schizophrenic (1979) As so often happens in rock ‘n’ roll, Ian Hunter’s career trajectory was hampered by ugly business entanglements. The former Mott the Hoople frontman developed a modest but noticeable presence … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #516 to #513
Now this is the sort midlife pining for past glories that speaks to a sad sack such as myself. Christian Lee Hutson has been kicking around as a singer-songwriter for a few years now, but his star took a turn towards … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Christian Lee Hutson, “Get the Old Band Back Together”
Fiona Apple’s Fetch the Bolt Cutters is a deafening thunderclap of album. The music’s not loud, but the sentiments roar. There’s too much life in Apple’s art to think of the album as a culmination, but it feels like an … Continue reading The New Releases Shelf — Fetch the Bolt Cutters
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. Realistically, I should have known I’d want more remnants of my time in college radio than I … Continue reading Radio Days — 90FM’s Top 35 for May 6, 1991
520. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Dazzle Ships (1983) “It sounds strange, I know, but we had been trying to change the world,” Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s Andy McCluskey explained to The Guardian several years after his band experienced … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #520 to #517
“Just Like Kids,” the new single from Hinds, is sunny, shiny, and beautifully bratty at the same time. With a punk-cool underpinning and a touch of the pop-turned-inside-out wild invention Wayne Coyne employed during the heyday of the Flaming Lips, Hinds directly addresses the condescending nonsense they regularly endure as a rock band populated exclusively by women. Making music is their job and their art, but that doesn’t stop unduly confident fools from stepping forward as unwanted consultants. “Can I tell you something about you and your band?/ Cause I’m sure you’d love to listen to my advice,” the song opens, and … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Hinds, “Just Like Kids”
These posts are about the songs that just barely failed to cross the key line of chart success, entering the Billboard Top 40. Every song featured in this series peaked at number 41. When Sam Cooke entered RCA Victor’s Music … Continue reading Top 40 Smash Near Misses — “It’s Got the Whole World Shakin’”
Coffee for Two 