Hip Hop was really taking off I think

Avoiding the obvious classics that most of you have heard (Nothing's Shocking, Surfer Rosa, and Daydream Nation, and... others of that ilk.):


While the followup - The Reality of My Surroundings - seems to have the edge as critic's choice for Fishbone records, this is a much more focused (read: shorter) album. The hits come fast and furious, each one kicking your ass. Starting with a metallized cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead", there is not a single weak song on the album. And Norwood Fisher proves that he can out-Flea Flea on the mind bending slap funk bass breaks on "Bonin' in the Boneyard". It's everything that you wanted the Chili Peppers to be, but couldn't.
Plus, they were one of the greatest live bands of all-time ever, around this time, too.
Sometimes the social commentary gets a little heavy-handed, but this is still a great record by a great band at the peak of their powers.

Another great band at the peak of their powers:

None other than Joe Strummer said of the title track, "It's a song that requires me to sing along to. I have no choice." I agree. But probably the best-known song on there is the now-classic Christmas duet "A Fairytale of New York". It breaks my heart every time. And, I still cannot sing the last lines without choking up. You need this.

Ciccone Youth: The Whitey Album

The folks from Sonic Youth plus guest spots from the likes of Mike Watt and J. Masics combine forces to release this mix of noisy guitars and dance music samples, featuring a couple bizarre versions of Madonna songs. Actually, this is one of my favorite Sonic Youth things around.

Eric B. and Rakim - Follow The Leader

Elvis Hitler: Disgraceland

These guys went on to release some real crap, but this debut was some pretty damn fine garagey rockabilly punk. They got some play with the cover of Purple Haze on here with the lyrics changed to the Green Acres theme song, but take that off and you're left with a lot of smokin' music. The instrumental title track is killer.

Social Distortion: Prison Bound

After a five year break, this was the first real style change for these guys. Left behind was the older straight ahead punk style and in came a lot of roots music influences and more attention to songcraft. I like this album for how it serves as a nice bridge from their earlier work to the more radio-friendly stuff they would get into next. This one still has a bit of the energy and roughness of their earlier ones but with a bit of the craft of their later album. Kind of a sweet spot in between.

Tons of great somewhat more obvious stuff as well like Run DMC's Tougher Than Leather, Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions, Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation, The Pixies' Surfa Rosa, the Adventures of Slick Rick...

Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden

just finished playing that Talk Talk album, really so damn good. it's a shame some will never even give it a shot based on only knowing "Talk Talk" or "It's My Life".

now playing from '88:


probably my favorite album from an incredibly consistent band.

The following three received a lot of play in '88.





I like these as well....





and don't be putoff by this or the thin production. If you like Aimee Mann, you need this.

+1 on Starfish. one of the first cassettes that i just simply wore out in the old VW Rabbit.

also:



edit: fuck, "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste" needs to be included in every "best cover song" conversation.

completely agree on that Pogues, Go Betweens, The Church, Waterboys, and Steve Earle. some of my faves.

and

I'm not the world's biggest Soul Asylum fan, but this album does have some of Pirner's best melodies. In fact, they're so good, they just about make up for his insipid lyrics. And then, there is the best song that Dan Murphy ever wrote -- "Cartoon." That one song, alone, is enough to make this album worth listening to at least once. It's one of those songs that sounds like it aspires to be a "song that changed my life." And, for some people I know, it succeeded.
Not quite that revelatory for me, but when the mood hits me just so, it can take me somewhere else.


EDIT: Just listened to that song for the first time in a long time, and, fuck that's a great song.

Superb. I'll add:

The Wild Swans - Bringing Home the Ashes

This is Paul Simpson's (of Teardrops Explode) band. Very 80's sound with shimmery guitars. I played the hell out of this. I still like it a lot but I'm not sure it would hold up that well for someone coming to it fresh today. RIYL: The Ocean Blue

Not my link:




Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation

Doubt I really need to say much about this one. Maybe their best album unless you prefer the noisely feedback sound of their earlier stuff (which I don't at all).



Camper Van Beethoven - Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart

Their best album and it still sounds great today.



I stopped listening when they went Electronica but their earlier stuff is all pretty good. This one is my favorite.



Morrissey - Viva Hate

I was a huge Smiths fan and this is the one Morrissey album which is of comparable quality.



James - Strip-mine

This is the only James album that I really like all the way through. Most of their albums have one or two songs and a ton of filler. I probably put half of the songs on here on mixes in college.



King Missile - They

I'm not a big fan but this is worth hearing if only for "Doublefucked by Two Black Studs" which never fails to crack me up.

There's actually a lot I like from this year. I'll post more if others don't post 'em.

the one CD i have the most regret about selling used (especially since it was before the days of MP3 backups):



austin twang rockers with an edge

great stuff

"Reptile" is probably one of my 3-4 favorite songs from the '80s.

$15.07 on amazon but i'm sure you don't have 2 nickels to rub together.

i might could manage that...thanks for the tip, jb

surprised it took so long, but then again...maybe not.
i like this one so much more now then i did when i first heard it after Loveless being my entry point. held on it's own, this is a fine album. i might even like it more than Loveless these days.

i'm looking for downloads of it for you but having no luck so far.

Some great stuff in this thread already. I think those Wild Swans and James albums are often overlooked. Here's another:



Close Lobsters - What Is There To Smile About

The Close Lobsters were a C86 band full of pop goodness. This is still my favorite release of theirs (although many probably like Foxheads Stalk This Land --their debut-- better). It's 6 songs full of pop hooks and jangle. This was my introduction to them, and every song on this release is aces.

Death fucked me insane that year.

Another year with too many to recommend.



Sons of Freedom - Sons of Freedom
Superimposed over a snarling dog on this album's cover are the words "never retract, never retreat, never apologize, just get the thing done and let them howl", and it's as much a statement of purpose for the band as advice to the listener. Sons of Freedom's thick, oppressive rock was heavier than metal, yet cleaner than the grunge revolution it preceded by mere months. Jim Newton's borderline whine stood in front of guitarist Don Harrison's bullying wall of volume and the sledgehammer throb of the rhythm section, all made even more intimidating by Matt Wallace's clear-eyed production. Neanderthal opener "Super Cool Wagon" is followed by the pounding "The Criminal", and from there on in the album doesn't let up until the six minute plus closing sludgefest of "Alice Henderson". A lost, minor classic.



Mary Margaret O'Hara - Miss America
With the exception of her work with the Henrys, this was Mary Margaret O'Hara's only transmission. The music is as oddball charming as she is - a very personal melding of pop, folk, and art rock - and, fortunately, her concept of melody is considerably more concrete than her lyric concerns. The hit, for what it was, was the song called "Body's in Trouble", which probably never made it much further than the MuchMusic airwaves. Still, an album that has stuck with me for over two decades now.



After All - How High The Moon
After All only released the one album, then lost their vocalist and splintered into the band Pure. How High the Moon is totally '80s in the best way: the sound is a sort of refined jangle. Fans of the Church or the Icicle Works will find a lot to enjoy here.



Forgotten Rebels - Surfin' On Heroin
Highly melodic, completely sociopathic punk rock. "Bomb the Boats (Feed the Fish)" is as offensive a screed about unwanted refugees as it is funny, and the title track is an undeniable classic.



Weddings, Parties, Anything - Roaring Days
Australian answer to the Pogues, took their name from Joe Strummer's ad lib at the end of "Revolution Rock", and turned out to be great songwriters in the classic sense. Not sure if this album ever made it to digital, but it's worth tracking down if it did.



Keith Richards - Talk Is Cheap
Easily the best Stones album since Black and Blue or, depending on your disposition, Some Girls.