197. The Bongos, Beat Hotel (1985) RCA Records thought this new band they signed held some promise of crossing over. There were already some little inklings that the Bongos had the makings of mass appeal. Two of the singles from … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #197 to #195
200. Los Lobos, By the Light of the Moon (1987) “We were trying to take it somewhere else — a step further or something, just to not repeat what we’d done,” David Hidalgo, guitarist and vocalist of Los Lobos, later … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #200 to #198
203. JoBoxers, Like Gangbusters (1983) Subway Sect was a band that spun like a revolving door. Their first single, released in 1978, featured them playing with fervor and fury. By the early nineteen-eighties, their sound shifts entirely to lounge-tinged pop … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #203 to #201
206. Kate Bush, Hounds of Love (1985) After releasing four studio albums in the span from 1978 to 1982, Kate Bush was conspicuously absent. Following the release of her 1982 album, The Dreaming, Bush retreated to the countryside, in part, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #206 to #204
209. Yes, 90125 (1983) As work commenced on the album 90125, Yes was no more. The venerable prog rock band, already unsettled by lineup changes and other internal complications, decided to call it quits after the tour in support of … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #209 to #207
212. M+M, Mystery Walk (1984) Like John Mellencamp finally completing the long, compromise-laden transition away from the unwanted performing pseudonym that stuck him with Cougar as a moniker for more than a decade, Martha Johnson and Mark Gane were finally … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #212 to #210
215. Mighty Lemon Drops, World Without End (1988) “We have found ourselves musically,” David Newton, guitarist for the Mighty Lemon Drops, told Sounds shortly before the release of the band’s third LP, World Without End. “With this album, our influences … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #215 to #213
218. Golden Palominos, Visions of Excess (1985) “Everybody on the record is a favorite musician of mine, and they also happen to be my friends” Anton Fier said of the fluctuating Golden Palominos lineup on the album Visions of Excess. … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #218 to #216
221. UB40, Labour of Love (1983) “The area we all come from is a slum — southeast Birmingham,” UB40 guitarist Robin Campbell told Spin in 1985. “The farther out you get from the city, the nicer it gets. But towards … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #221 to #219
224. Siouxsie and the Banshees, Hyæna (1984) Siouxsie and the Banshees were in a sort of limbo for a time before the recording and release of their sixth studio album, Hyæna. They hit a crisis point not long after the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #224 to #222
Coffee for Two 