960. Plasticland, Wonder Wonderful Wonderland (1985) It’s treacherous to draw heavily drawing on distinctive rock subgenres layered with dust. By the time Plasticland formed — as the nineteen-eighties dawned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — the version of lush, layered psychedelic rock … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #960 to #957
964. Sid & Nancy soundtrack (1986) I haven’t done the research to confirm my theory, but I believe Gary Oldman is the first and only winner of the Academy Award in the best actor in a leading role category who … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #964 to #961
968. Jorma Kaukonen, Barbecue King (1981) Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen was carrying a sturdy rock legacy with him when he recorded the album Barbecue King. He was also toying with that storied reputation, which might very well have been the album’s … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #968 to #965
972. Dave Edmunds, Twangin… (1981) Dave Edmunds was already a longterm veteran of the pop music salt mines when he delivered Twangin…, his sixth proper solo album and one more paver stone in a path of rock ‘n’ roll proselytizing that … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #972 to #969
976. Madness, One Step Beyond… (1979) The band Madness essentially began in 1976, as a group called the North London Invaders. There were lineup changes of the course of the next couple years — including the entrance, exit, and then … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #976 to #973
980. Iggy Pop, Party (1981) Arista Records executives held onto some bizarre ideas about which performers were likely to stride purposefully into sudden crossover commercial success. As I noted a couple weeks ago, the label badgered Lou Reed through the … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #980 to #977
984. UB40, 1980-1983 (1983) The early nineteen-eighties was a good time to be dishing out gentle, reggae-influenced pop in the U.K. The band UB40 started germinating around 1978, when Ali Campbell took the compensatory award he received after enduring a … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #984 to #981
988. Jefferson Starship, Modern Times (1981) It’s easy — and given the inferior quality of the latter iteration — to view Jefferson Starship as the inconsequential afterthought of Jefferson Airplane, but that group lasted longer and released more albums, even … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #988 – #985
992. T Bone Burnett, Proof Through the Night (1983) In the early nineteen-eighties, T Bone Burnett was a musician of high regard who hadn’t yet broken through. A few years earlier, Burnett earned his keep as a guitar-slinger on Bob … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #992 – #989
996. Boz Scaggs, Middle Man (1980) “Say, what do you think/ Of gentlemen wearing mink?,” Boz Scaggs croons on “Jojo,” the lead track on and first single from Middle Man. That’s suitably emblematic of the affected prestige and classiness of … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #996 – #993
Coffee for Two 