A Century of Music

[Unsomnambulist]

1985 albums continue:

Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy (1985)
Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen (1985)
R.E.M. - Fables of the Reconstruction (1985)

Good revisiting these as I don't break them out too often. Steve McQueen particularly is such a good album - perhaps it's too chill to come to the forefront of my mind when I think of things to spin

I've said this before, but I'm always amazed at how many R.E.M. albums I own considering that, more times that not, they leave me cold

I'm loving 2 out of 3 selections, not your R.E.M. comment.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

I'm loving 2 out of 3 selections, not your R.E.M. comment.

Ha! I knew you'd feel that way - and hey I will fully embrace their importance and influence....and I do keep listening

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Sting - Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985)
The Waterboys - This is the Sea (1985)

Haven't listened to Sting's debut since (as last.fm tells me) 2011 (and that was probably the first time in 20 years)

This is the Sea is fantastic, but listening to it only makes me long for 1988 and one of my favorite '80s albums Fisherman's Blues

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston (1985)
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love (1985)
Dexys Midnight Runners - Don't Stand Me Down (1985)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Freaky Styley (1985)
The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace (1985)

Been awhile since I've had a day of such a wacky conglomeration of styles - Whitney's debut (which was all over the radio at the time and really ushered in an era of powerful, melismatic female vocalist that would continue in the 1990s with Mariah, Celine, Christina Aguillera etc), Kate Bush's critically acclaimed artsy vocals, and the post-punk weirdness of The Fall. Included are two albums I don't often break out by groups I enjoy a great deal. Freaky Styley is such an interesting album by the RHCPs - almost pure old school funk. Though the Chili Peppers were decidedly a 1990s group, many forget their first album was way back in 1984. I remember them in college in the late 80s especially when the Abbey Road EP came out with them famously sporting socks and nothing else.
Don't Stand Me Down is a really interesting album, seldom listened to even by Dexy's fans - panned and poorly selling when it came out (3 years after their biggest hit, the decision to not release a single was an interesting one), the bad had scaled down from 10 to 4 members and the songs were longer and less boisterous. But it's a pretty cool album, with the band tight and the songs more nuanced. One of those forgotten gems that has received more attention in recent years.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

LL Cool J - Radio (1985)
Run-DMC - King of Rock (1985)
The Hooters - Nervous Night (1985)
Prince - Around the World in A Day (1985)

Really enjoy the humor of mid-80s hip hop. Good stuff
Prince's Around the World in A Day got a raw deal critically when it came out (it did OK commercially with "Raspberry Beret" and "Pop Life") - it's only fault was coming out after Purple Rain
Had to include the Hooters - I saw them open for, I believe, Meatloaf a few years after this (and apparently saw them at the aforementioned Amnesty Intl concert that I only remember half of). I know @Nickyboy will appreciate him - if memory serves me right, he knew the guys in the band

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Two more to wrap up the week:

Phil Collins - No Jacket Required (1985)
Husker Du - New Day Rising (1985)

Couldn't forget Husker Du this year, but also wanted to include Phil's No Jacket Required because it was huge in 1985. I owned it on cassette in high school but haven't played it in years. I don't particularly remember it as very good album, and gack "Sussudio" is such a dopey song. So I was surprised when I looked it up on allmusic to find they had it as 5 stars. Hey, I am one who embraces pop music and the power of a foot-tapping 3 minute track, but really?!

Random "Sussudio" story though. Finally got to visit Europe for the first time 10 years ago in my early 40s and was in Venice at the Ferrari store and what comes on the store's speakers but "Sussudio". I remarked to my wife "Is this the best Italians can draw from American music, a 20 year old crappy Phil Collins track?"

 

[axolotl]

Random "Sussudio" story though. Finally got to visit Europe for the first time 10 years ago in my early 40s and was in Venice at the Ferrari store and what comes on the store's speakers but "Sussudio". I remarked to my wife "Is this the best Italians can draw from American music, a 20 year old crappy Phil Collins track?"

Did you ask this as a rhetorical question, or did she respond?

If she responded, what did she say? Was her answer in Italian?

Did she roll her eyes, and say, "You're such a Zeeb"?

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Did you ask this as a rhetorical question, or did she respond?

If she responded, what did she say? Was her answer in Italian?

Did she roll her eyes, and say, "You're such a Zeeb"?

I think she just had a perplexed look on her face that said "Why have I stayed with this man so long"

 

[axolotl]

I think she just had a perplexed look on her face that said "Why have I stayed with this man so long"

That could be dangerous in Italy.

Good for you, tho'.

 

[Nickyboy]

@Nickyboy will appreciate him - if memory serves me right, he knew the guys in the band

I do indeed. Our band jammed with them after a concert oft theirs at the local college one year. Also, my wife's best friend was in one of their videos. (yeah, you can all use that for bonus points at your local trivia contest. )

 

[Nickyboy]

That could be dangerous in Italy.

Forse non dovremmo parlarne adesso.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

Two more to wrap up the week:

Phil Collins - No Jacket Required (1985)
Husker Du - New Day Rising (1985)

Couldn't forget Husker Du this year, but also wanted to include Phil's No Jacket Required because it was huge in 1985. I owned it on cassette in high school but haven't played it in years. I don't particularly remember it as very good album, and gack "Sussudio" is such a dopey song. So I was surprised when I looked it up on allmusic to find they had it as 5 stars. Hey, I am one who embraces pop music and the power of a foot-tapping 3 minute track, but really?!

Random "Sussudio" story though. Finally got to visit Europe for the first time 10 years ago in my early 40s and was in Venice at the Ferrari store and what comes on the store's speakers but "Sussudio". I remarked to my wife "Is this the best Italians can draw from American music, a 20 year old crappy Phil Collins track?"

I don't think I noticed No Jacket Required in 1985. I was listening to Sonic Youth and punk.

 

[axolotl]

I don't think I noticed No Jacket Required in 1985. I was listening to Sonic Youth and punk.

I was somewhere in the midst of my last year in law school. I was fearing the upcoming Bar exam and listening to New Age via Windham Hill.

 

[Unsomnambulist]

I was somewhere in the midst of my last year in law school. I was fearing the upcoming Bar exam and listening to New Age via Windham Hill.

And watching The Paper Chase on PBS?

 

[axolotl]

And watching The Paper Chase on PBS?

Through this method of questioning, answering... questioning, answering... we seek to develop in you the ability to analyze... that vast complex of facts that constitute... the relationships of members within a given society.

Nyet, Comrade. My school was not Harvard, but the pressure was thick enough already without artificially adding to it by watching someone else fidget and squirm under stress.

Oh yeah, I had also been married for about a year in 1985. I don't know what I was thinking, or even which brain was in charge.

 

[Nickyboy]

I don't know what I was thinking, or even which brain was in charge.

You're a good actor.

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Yes, amidst the crazy weather down here, I have been going (a bit slowly) through 1986 music this week
Perhaps more about Monday's playlist of singles later
Here are the albums from yesterday:

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead (1986)
Peter Gabriel - So (1986)
Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)
Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

And today's albums:

Beastie Boys - Licenced to Ill (1986)
Run-DMC - Raising Hell (1986)
Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet (1986)
The Smithereens - Especially for You (1986)
R.E.M. - Life's Rich Pageant (1986)

 

[Zeeba Neighba]

Today's albums:
XTC - Skylarking (1986)
Janet Jackson - Control (1986)
Prince - Parade (1986)
Madonna - True Blue (1986)

 

[JazzyRandy]

I was clearly influenced by her sexually rolling around on a street in her "Burning Up" MTV video.

Me too. It should be a crime to be able to so easily manipulate teen age boys.

Despite frequently spinning Billy Joel's four albums from Turnstiles to Glass Houses, never break out An Innocent Man. Always thought his homage to doo wop was a bit too contrived, but today, for whatever reason, really enjoyed it.

I was on the opposite end of the spectrum. I knew who Billy Joel was before this, but An Innocent Man was the first time I recognized an album of his. I loved every single from that album, and each time one played on the radio, it was be-quiet-and-listen time for me. It was only later, many years later, that I heard his previous albums in whole.