For months now, this space on Sundays has been devoted to counting down the top 90 albums of 1989 on the college radio station where I made my home. I decided fairly early on that I wanted to write the … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, Interlude

22. Ramones, Brain Drain When the producers of the 1989 film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Pet Sematary were looking for a band to craft a theme song, they turned to some fairly unlikely suspects. Sure, The Ramones had a … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 22 and 21

24. Texas, Southside Yes, a cursory glance at the debut album Southside suggests that the band that released it is named after the rootinin’-tootinin’est state in the union, but that’s not quite right. The Scottish band that calls themselves Texas … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 24 and 23

26. Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, Mystery Road Any band leaning heavily on country music in building out their sound is going to rely fairly heavily on a few different well-worn themes. The band Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ decided to openly acknowledge that … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 26 and 25

28. The Smithereens, 11 The Smithereens picked up a lot of fervent followers on the strength of the smart, chunky guitar pop on their first two full-length albums, 1986’s Especially for You and 1988’s Green Thoughts. But even those who … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 28 and 27

30. Close Lobsters, Headache Rhetoric Sometimes a band’s back-story has an element so wildly perfect that anyone would be forgiven for suspecting that it’s made up. No one disputed that the Close Lobsters were formed in their homeland in Scotland, … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 30 and 29

32. Elvis Costello, Spike By the time Elvis Costello released he album Spike in the spring of 1989, his reputation and personality were already well-established within the music industry. Certainly, he had a vast array of smart, literate songs that … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 32 and 31

34. Dead Milkmen, Beelzebubba Given the remarkable and highly unlikely success of the video “Punk Rock Girl” on MTV, it’s worth noting that Dead Milkmen actually had a very difficult time with the cable network when they released the album … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 34 and 33

36. Adrian Belew, Mr. Music Head Listing off the bands and performers that Adrian Belew has played with during his career is like flipping through a cool kid’s record collection. David Bowie, Talking Headsand Frank Zappa all provided Belew a … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 36 and 35

38. Toad the Wet Sprocket, Bread and Circus The band Toad the Wet Sprocket doesn’t actually have a lead electric triangle player named Rick Stardust who had to have his elbow removed, although anyone who listened to the sketch “Rock … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 38 and 37