42. Government Cheese, Three Chords, No Waiting There are a few ways to gauge how serious a band is about truly honoring the gods of rock ‘n’ roll each and every time they step on stage. If one of the … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 42 and 41
44. R.E.M., Green When R.E.M. released the album Green in 1988, fans immediately took note of the greater directness to the songs, especially when it came to some of the political messages the Athens band was trying to convey. It even marked the first time the band included printed lyrics with the packaging of the album, although it was only for one song, the potent “World Leader Pretend.” With that in mind, one of the interpretations of the album’s title is that its a reference to the environmental movement that several of the band members were becoming more deeply involved … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 44 and 43
46. Slammin’ Watusis, Kings of Noise Some bands try to cultivate an air of mystery, intentionally remaining cryptic about the inspiration for their songs and sounds, insisting that they don’t want to influence the interpretations of individual fans or simply … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 46 and 45
48. F Machine, Here Comes the 21st Century That performer that goes by the moniker Simon F was part of the mid-eighties band Interferon, which had a minor success or two before parting ways. He proceeded to release a couple … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 48 and 47
50. Liquid Pink, Liquid Pink That cities that proved to be fertile group for college rock bands throughout the eighties often had characteristic sounds, whether the working class rock ‘n’ roll tinged with punk that marked the likes of The … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 50 and 49
52. The Tragically Hip, Up to Here Maybe it’s the fact that the character Mike Nesmith played on the Monkees always wore a tuque that drew the Canadian band The Tragically Hip to him. More specifically, the group with a … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 52 and 51
54. Dash Rip Rock, Ace of Clubs For a blazing, guitar-driven outfit from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dash Rip Rock seems a pretty fitting name. A quick listen to any of the scorchers on their sophomore album Ace of Clubs makes it seem like the band’s name might derive from the set of instructions they give themselves before manning their instruments. That may be part of the point, but the group is more specifically named after the hunky actor who spent some quality time with curvy Elly May Clampett in an episode of TV’s The Beverly Hillbillies. The real secret to … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 54 and 53
56. Neil Young, Freedom Through most of the nineteen-eighties, every Neil Young album was a surprise. He played with electronic weirdness on 1982’s Trans, dipped into retro rockabilly with 1983’s Everybody’s Rockin’, went with pure country on 1985’s Old Ways … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 56 and 55
58. Fire Town, The Good Life For most bands, getting that sweet major label deal is the dream. It’s theoretically the leap from dirty vans prone to breakdown and sleeping on the floors of new fans to tricked-out tour buses … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 58 and 57
60. Too Much Joy, Son of Sam I Am Too Much Joy’s second album comes with its on description in the liner notes. It notes that “This album contains no songs about: Jack Kerouac, TV evangelists, safe sex, how dying … Continue reading College Countdown: 90FM’s Top 90 of 1989, 60 and 59
Coffee for Two 