65. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Punch the Clock (1983) As he did from time to time, Elvis Costello decided he wanted to make an album with broader appeal. Following the critical drubbing and commercial disappointment of his 1981 country … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #65 to #63
68. The Bongos, Numbers with Wings (1983) The Hoboken, New Jersey band the Bongos spent years toiling away without much attention from the music industry at large. They’d manage to release music on a couple small labels, including the U.K. … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #68 to #66
71. Eurythmics, Be Yourself Tonight (1985) After achieving international pop chart success in the first half of the nineteen-eighties, Eurythmics experienced their first real career stumble with the album 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother). The duo, comprised of … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #71 to #69
74. Hoodoo Gurus, Mars Needs Guitars! (1985) After A&M Records blundered through the North American release of Stoneage Romeos, the debut album by Australia’s Hoodoo Gurus, the band and their homeland label, Big Time Records, initially decided to take matters … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #74 to #72
77. Culture Club, Kissing to Be Clever (1982) Malcolm McLaren knew this young bloke named George had the makings of a pop star. The cunning impresario recruited the androgynously styled club kid to share lead vocalist duties in a new … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #77 to #75
80. That Petrol Emotion, Babble (1987) Following the breakup of his band the Undertones, guitarist John O’Neill initially thought he was done with the music business. The punk group’s splitting had been acrimonious, in part because he and his brother … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #80 to #78
83. Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Armed Forces (1979) On his first two studio albums, Elvis Costello wanted to keep everything lean and simple. Partially, he was adhering to the punk rock ethos that was prevalent among upstart music acts … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #83 to #81
86. INXS, Listen Like Thieves (1985) Chris Thomas introduced himself to INXS by telling them they were recording their music all wrong. When the Australian band played the Palladium in Los Angeles during the tour to support their 1984 album, … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #86 to #84
89. The Police, Zenyatta Mondatta (1980) On the strength of their sophomore album, Reggatta De Blanc, the Police were a major rock act. That was undeniable. Even so, the band’s label, A&M Records, wasn’t satisfied. Although the trio had already … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #89 to #87
92. The Smithereens, Green Thoughts (1988) “When people write about things for a living, you like to write about them in a way that people understand them,” Pat DiNizio, the frontman and principal songwriter of the Smithereens, noted shortly after … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #92 to #90
Coffee for Two 