764. The Icicle Works, If You Want to Defeat Your Enemy Sing His Song (1987) By most accounts, Ian McNabb was anxious for a hit when it came time to record the third album with his band the Icicle Works. … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #764 to #761
768. Romeo Void, It’s a Condition (1981) The foundation of Romeo Void was laid when Debora Iyall met Frank Zincavage, while both were attending San Francisco Art Institute. Iyall had recently been inspired by Patti Smith concerts and felt she … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #768 to #765
772. Van Halen, Van Halen II (1979) In the early part of their recording career, Van Halen moved quickly. The enormous sales of their self-titled debut and the similarly robust interest in the subsequent tour led the band to assess … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #772 to #769
776. Buzzcocks, A Different Kind of Tension (1979) Buzzcocks operated with a raw nerve openness (few other bands would be so brazen to release a single called “Orgasm Addict” in the nineteen-seventies), so it makes sense that their final album … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #776 to #773
780. China Crisis, What Price Paradise (1986) When China Crisis set out to record their fourth album, What Price Paradise, they were coming off a release that supposedly conferred upon them a sort of official endorsement from the upper echelon … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #780 to #777
784. Aerosmith, Night in the Ruts (1979) Well before their unlikely mid-nineteen-eighties comeback, Aerosmith was band that didn’t just court disaster. It got down to one knee and gave disaster a full-hearted proposal of marriage at first sight. The Boston … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #784 to #781
788. Stevie Nicks, The Wild Heart (1983) At the time Stevie Nicks recorded The Wild Heart, her second solo album, there was little doubt that she was emerging as the dominant member of Fleetwood Mac, the band that could still … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #788 to #785
792. Eric Clapton, Backless (1978) Eric Clapton’s career was on steady ground when he made the 1978 album Backless. He’d spent several years with essentially the same backing band, he was working on the second straight album with producer Glyn … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #792 to #789
796. The Motels, Little Robbers (1983) The Motels had their earliest rumbling in 1971. That’s the year a charismatic, distinctive singer and guitarist named Martha Davis connect with several other California musicians to form a band called the Warfield Foxes. … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #796 to #793
800. Cindy Bullens, Desire Wire (1978) There was a lot of slow build music business background preceding Desire Wire, the debut album by Cidny Bullens, then performing as “Cindy” while living apart from his true gender identity. Bullens was a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #800 to #797
Coffee for Two 