Noted Creed apologist Joe Carter has assembled a list of the 80s’ essential but-not-too-obvious albums. I missed out on the decade, but I’ll go ahead and nominate The Replacements’ back catalog, The Cure’s “Disintegration,” The Pogues’ “Rum, Sodomy and the Lash,” and maybe a Tom Waits album or two.
Will
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Noted Creed apologist Joe Carter
I’ve started putting that on my CV. ; )Report
Ha! If you do, I’ll retire from blogging a happy man.Report
This would be to convince *my* kid the 80s had good music. The linked post has The Smiths at the top, which is a good sign.
Zen Arcade by Husker Du
Paul’s Boutique by The Beastie Boys
Synchronicity by The Police
Starfish by The Church
I Against I by Bad Brains
Collection I by The Misfits
Love by The Cult
Sweet Dreams by The Eurythmics
The Lion and the Cobra by Sinead O’Connor
…And Justice For All by Metallica
Doolittle by The Pixies
Double Nickles on the Dime by The Minutemen
Once Upon a Time by Simple Minds
The post is about “non-obvious” albums, I think the Smiths are pretty obvious so I just put the first stuff that came to mind.Report
I think the Smiths are pretty obvious too – but so are the Pixies and the Police (and arguably the Beasties, Husker, the Minutemen too).Report
Strongly agree with the Doolittle and Randy Travis shoutouts. And from the “so thats who ________ are ripping off” file, i’d suggest Operation Ivy’s Energy and Gorilla Biscuits’ Start Today.Report
Op Ivy and the Bad Brains are good picks. As a DC partisan, I’ll throw in Rites of Spring – given the rise of emo, I think they’re the most quietly influential band on this list.Report
DC area also warrants mentioning Minor Threat and Black Flag (not sure if either made the original list).Report
I didn’t want to go off the deep end with SST albums. Why Green Day got huge and Op Ivy didn’t is beyond me.Report
Hmm… Maybe Op Ivy didn’t get big because 2 of the members formed Rancid, who did become big?Report
Fair enough, just listened to some Rancid and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced quite such a disconnect between a band’s look and sound.Report
Yeah, Rancid were huge when I was a kid – Ruby Soho and Time Bomb were big radio hits.Report
Concrete Blonde got me through a rough evening or two.
As did Twisted Sister’s “Stay Hungry”… though those were different kinds of ‘rough’.Report
Okay. I’ll be honest.
Michael W. Smiths _The Big Picture_ was the only reason I made it through the 80’s at all.Report
I always liked “Tomorrow, Wendy”Report
Til Tuesday Welcome Home and Everything’s Different Now
The Psychedelic Furs Talk Talk Talk
Magazine The Correct Use of Soap
Japan Tin Drum
The Chameleons (UK) Script of the Bridge
and anything from Donnie Darko.Report
Also, props to Joe for putting Kate Bush on his list, she’s great. I get annoyed when people think “Running Up That Hill” is by Placebo.Report
Good call on Talk Talk TalkReport
Wait, when did Peter Gabriel, the Smiths and Dire Straits become non-obvious? Did I miss that conversation?
I’m going to have to go with Public Image, Ltd, Second Edition/Metal Box; Dinosaur Jr., You’re Living All Over Me; Spacemen 3, The Perfect Prescription; and They Might Be Giants, Lincoln, in no particular order.Report
Oh, and I completely forgot: Kraftwerk, Computer World. That album is unbelievable.Report
Oh those are all great! But yeah, I had that same reaction.Report
You know, while I agree in re P.G. and Dire Straits, I’m not actually convinced that, anymore, the Smiths are well-enough known not to be on the list. It’s a sad point, but, nonetheless, an accurate one, I fear.Report
Where do you draw that conclusion from?
I heard “How Soon Is Now?” at a college bar last night. And not an especially hipsterish one either, and it wasn’t 80s night.
I know kids still listen to them – if nothing else than thanks to the prominent role that their music still plays among those still alientated from their contemporary popular culture as I was. The Cure fall into that same situation – they’re still cult-popular.Report
Primarily from my own experiences, to wit, that outside of indie/hipster/scene kids, the Smiths are unheard of — excepting, perhaps, as you note, “How Soon Is Now?”. Whereas I’m in complete agreement regarding the Cure and the Pixies, I’m still not convinced about the Smiths. In 2005, when I was a senior in college, I saw all three (well, Morrissey, playing many Smiths tunes) over the course of four months. Aside from a few indie/hipster/scene kids (groups upon the fringes of which I found myself at the time), the crowd at the Morrissey show was noticeably older, but both the Pixies (at Chicago’s Aragon) and the Cure (at Curiosa) drew younger audiences.Report
The db’s – Stands for Decibels
The Fall – This Nation’s Saving Grace
Sonic Youth – Sister since Daydream Nation is pretty obvious
Fugazi – 13 Songs
Jesus and Mary Chain – Psychocandy
My Bloody Valentine – LovelessReport
Loveless was 1991. I thought about the MBV “You Made Me Realise” single, but it’s not really an album and their early album (“Isn’t Anything”) isn’t really essential. But My Bloody Valentine would be high on the list of bands I would introduce my children to.
Kudos on the Sonic Youth decision, I didn’t mention Daydream Nation for the same reason.Report
I think Psychocandy is as obvious as Daydream Nation – I’d go with Darklands.Report
Marillion (Fish era) was spectacularly good.
The quintessential “oh, *THAT’S* who sings that!” band.
Kayleigh, Punch and Judy, Sugar Mice… Don’t listen to this group when you’re drinkin’ unless you’re hoping to end up a moist puddle.Report
Kicking myself for not mentioning it in the first list:
Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion TechnicianReport
Not to mention Superfuzz Bigmuff by Mudhoney, although the issue with early singles released in 1990 is better.Report
Seriously, how does he not have the Cure on the list? We all know that “Disintegration is the best album ever!”
http://stereogum.com/4040/pete_wentz_meets_robert_smith/video/Report
I suppose a less obvious Cure album would be better fitting for the list.
I’d nominate The Head On The Door, though the recent Lady Sovereign hit “So Human” is based on a rerecorded sample of “Close To Me” so I don’t know if that counts either.Report
Wow, that was painful.Report
Yeah I should have put a warning on the link. I figured y’all would hate it.Report
You guys are old. When do we do the 90’s?Report
If this thread were about 90s music, there would be considerably more posts.Report
Old? I’m 25. Half this stuff was released either before I was born or when I was in diapers.Report
“You guys are old.”
Ha! You, too.
Last group of undergrads I taught were born AFTER Nevermind was releaed.
Not that they just don’t remember it. They did not exist.Report
I think we can all agree that they won’t be doing this with the naughts.Report
What about Cursive’s The Ugly Organ?Report
The Blood Brothers Crimes
Kenna New Sacred Cow
The Dears No Cities Left
Regina Spektor Soviet Kitsch
I can continue….Report
I’m going to have to dissent w/r/t Soviet Kitsch. I’ve never been able to articulate very well what my problem with that album is, but it just doesn’t work for me.Report
Okay, Songs then.Report
I totally could, so I imagine those at the opposite end of my generation could as well.Report
Ugly Organ is ok, but that doesn’t make it a best of the 00s.Report
No, but I’d suggest that it has a fair shot amongst the “but-not-too-obvious” ranks.Report
Had to look it up, but making it into the 80s by 6 months – Bleach by Nirvana.Report
Here’s a question, do you think Joy Division is essential 80s or 70s? They certainly came to prominence in the 80s, and Ian Curtis committed suicide in May 1980 so they didn’t make it far into the 80s. But their most listened to album is Substance which is a compilation released in 1988. I think it’s essential 80s, others?Report
Its a thorny issue, as the late 70s underground blends pretty seamlessly into the 80s – that’s also why I was unsure as to whether to include the original-lineup Human League’s Travelogue on my list above – it came out in 1980, and sounded little like when the reconstituted band would become famous for.
That said, given how many bands have been influenced by and/or ripped off JD over the last decade, and how they still consistently top critics lists (in the UK at least), I’d imagine they’re be filed under obvious either way.Report