920. Robert Plant, Pictures at Eleven (1982) Realistically, there might not have been much time left for Led Zeppelin, even before tragedy arrived in the form of drummer John Bonham’s demise. Although the band released albums at a steady clip … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #920 to #917
924. The Nils, The Nils (1987) Formed in Montreal in the late nineteen-seventies, the Nils were perfectly poised to infiltrate college radio when their self-titled debut album was released. With nearly ten years under their guitar straps, the Nils had … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #924 to #921
928. John Cale, Honi Soit (1981) “Among the True Perverts of Rock, John Cale has always been the most persistently wanton,” Boo Browing wrote in The Washington Post around the time Cale released the album Honi Soit. I believe it … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #928 to #925
932. Rush, Signals (1982) I think the prevailing opinion is that the nineteen-eighties demolished the prospects for classic rock bands, especially as MTV took almost complete control over determining which songs were worthy of upward chart movement. There’s some truth … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #932 to #929
936. Skinny Puppy, Cleanse, Fold & Manipulate (1987) It bizarre for me to think of industrial titans Skinny Puppy as edging towards cuddly mainstream acceptance, but that’s arguably what was happening around 1987, the year the Canadian released their third … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #936 to #933
940. Dead Kennedys, Frankenchrist (1985) Frankenchrist, the third album from Dead Kennedys, should have been a celebratory return to recording for a band that helped define hardcore punk. The group had withdrawn from active engagement with making their own music, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #940 to #937
944. David Johansen, Here Comes the Night (1981) Being a legend is nice, but alone it doesn’t keep the debt collector satisfied. As the frontman of the New York Dolls, David Johansen could lay a claim to being among the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #944 to #941
952. Paul McCartney, Tug of War (1982) Although it obviously caused far less fan trauma than the band dissolution that took place roughly a decade earlier, the breakup of Wings should probably be seen as one of the pivotal career … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #952 to #949
948. Fishbone, Fishbone (1985) “Party at Ground Zero” stands as one of the greatest opening declarations of artistic identity in all of college rock. It’s probably not wholly correct to assert that no one sounded like Fishbone before the Los … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #948 to #945
956. Velvet Elvis, Velvet Elvis (1988) Velvet Elvis formed in Lexington, Kentucky, largely because aspiring singer-songwriter Dan Trisko needed an outfit to deliver the tunes he was cranking out with admirable efficiency. The band played through the reasonably robust club … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #956 to #953
Coffee for Two 