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Post by riggers on Apr 21, 2023 15:21:32 GMT
1984 The Jesus And Mary Chain-"Upside Down"
At a time when most indie bands guitars tended to jangle, it was quite a jolt to hear the debut single by these East Kilbride bedroom dwellers, filtering Beach Boys type melodies through a wall of SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
This was no 60's freakout, vibrato mutating into a mellow, sustained feedback type stuff, nor was it Townshend style auto destruction and morse code, toggle switch acrobatics. It was far more unpleasant than that.
Even 'Never Understand' from the following year sounds relatively conventional by comparison, with it's Ramonesey pop smarts. The melody on this is almost buried beneath the earwax loosening assault that seeps malevolently in and out of it.
Oh, and the B-Side was 'Vegetable Man', first time I'd ever heard that, long before I managed to hear Syd's.
I saw them in '85 at the Hacienda, on a bill with The Weather Prophets, Meat Whiplash and Primal Scream and even then, the tabloids were onto them, due to the manufactured Pistols style mini riots that followed their snotty and detached 15 minute sets.
They were still pretty great that night, as was 'Psychocandy' when it came out, but it couldn't be anything but downhill afterwards. They peaked early, but what a peak.
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rayge
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Post by rayge on Apr 21, 2023 16:41:51 GMT
All the trouble I had choosing stuff for the mid-Sixties (nearly there by the way) had to do with the fact that those were my teenage years, when I heard all that I could, and everything was new (even the old stuff): when listening to other people's records, Top of the Pops and radio chart shows (often taped on a reel to reel and listened to over and over) were a thing, such that even today I recognize and know the lyrics to songs I never bought, or really liked very much. Everything I did like, or indeed love, became part of me, a precious work of genius (the records, not me). For some of them, the effects have faded, but others still transport me, trigger memories, or memories of memories.
I think that everything others picked in 1962-67 were at least known to me, and most I had a ready-made opinion about. By contrast, the majority of records others have picked for the early 80s (which were for most their years of teen/youth magic and discovery) I had never heard or forgotten - sometimes the artist was unknown to me. I was still 'into' records (man) in 1977-83, and there was again the same fever of acquisition, hours every day spent with my record player, a new set of friends to argue with and to turn me on to new sounds (along with the music weeklies), and a new record store (Rough Trade) to buy them in, but there was a big difference from the mid-Sixties. I turned 30 in October 1978, already had knowledge of 25 years of music from reading and buying singles on spec in thrift stores and comps of doowop and rock & roll. I recognised where 'new' music was coming from, and had set tastes and opinions about many artists and styles that led me to swerve whole genres as well as disappear down rabbit holes following things I did really like (a tendency that increased as years went by). There's a load of stuff I liked, and proselytized to my mates, but the intensity of my teen years just wasn't there any more, or was, it seems to me, confected. My long short lists for these years in the Canon were, instead of filled with essentials, crammed with the very good going on mighty fine, but there was little I was prepared to battle for. My list for 1981 included singles by Aztec Camera, New Order, Gun Club, Josef K, the Passions, Felt, Josie Cotton, Cramps, Vivian Goldman, Blue Orchids, Zounds, Fire Engines. I made a point of tracking down youTubes for every one of them, but still nothing screamed to be included (although there was a fair amount of screaming.
I know some of you think that our picks should be based on something other than personal preference - looking for game-changers, the historically important,making sure no artists dominate, and so on, but for me it's always been about a bunch of (more or less) enthusiastic individuals, wanting to share their personal highs with each other; not trying to produce anything definitive, or even representative, and certainly not, as certain elements on the SS have suggested, to show how 'cool' we are. I have never in my life aspired to, let alone attained, coolness. Although I keep the Archive, I leave that to my inner bureaucrat (he knows his place); for me, the final list isn't really the point.
So, anyways, 1982 had several things that really did deserve inclusion. Several of these were tracks from The Dancing Did album, And Did Those Feet..., and I hoped DF, who is another fan (the only one I know) of this wondrously wordy, rural gothy, and utterly strange masterpiece was going to pick something from it. But he didn't. So I'm going to reverse ferret on this and nominate for 1981 something that wasn't on my shortlist (but was equally worthy), a single by the Dids that had a more mainstream subject than usual, but still highlighted their way with visual imagery, rhythmic attack, a rousing chorus, sense of narrativew structure and utter Englishness. It never came near to being a hit, although its sentiments went down well with those who saw the gigs they played the following year during Thatcher's War with Argentina.
the dancing did - the lost platoon
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Sneelock
god
Better than Washington...
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Post by Sneelock on Apr 21, 2023 17:51:13 GMT
Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Tropical Hot Dog Night "Bat Chain Puller" was one of my serious contenders for the top slot, I actually wrote some text about it a couple of days ago, then changed my mind and didn't post. I reckon Shiny Beast is probably his best album, too. I've been listening to this.
Holy SHIT that band was white hot. people get so used to Beefheart blowing noisy horns that they forget what a fuckin' great musician he was. seriously, he plays that harp like Charlie Musselwhite or something. I forgot what a great album this is.
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Post by DarknessFish on Apr 21, 2023 20:19:47 GMT
1984
Danielle Dax - The Spoil Factor
An absolute one of a kind recording artist. Danielle started out in the wildly avant-garde Lemon Kittens, before forging a solo career that lurched from multi-cultural avant-folk brilliance to a thwarted attempt at major-label pop mega-stardom. This was the locked-groove closing track of her second LP, Jesus Egg That Wept, which was a genre-skipping work of genius, just before she started heading in a more conventional direction.
On this captivating minimalist track, it's largely just the thwub-thwub of a TR-808 backing her glorious voice, and it never fails to sparkle in this drab surround. I could listen to this on repeat for eternity and never tire of it.
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Post by oh oooh on Apr 21, 2023 20:26:35 GMT
Sexiest woman alive for a while
(sorry)
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Post by DayoRemix on Apr 21, 2023 20:52:50 GMT
1984
"So. Central Rain" REM
Ton of heavy hitters within this ridiculously great year..Minutemen,Husker Du,Fad Gadget,Smiths,Bronski Beat...Went with a song that was the epicenter for my love of REM..As a kid, there was just something about the tone of this song and the video that just hit a sweet spot. I had already heard the Murmur stuff and liked it very much, but this song connected on a higher level..
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Post by Stacy Heydon on Apr 28, 2023 7:16:22 GMT
1985
Probably the single greatest piece of music of the 80s
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fange
god
Listening to long jazz tracks
Posts: 4,559
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Post by fange on Apr 28, 2023 9:22:41 GMT
1984: FGTH - 'Two Tribes'
A kickass record in every way.
(hope it hasn't been picked)
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fange
god
Listening to long jazz tracks
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Post by fange on Apr 28, 2023 9:44:33 GMT
1985: Husker Du - 'Makes No Sense At All'
Still makes me wanna dance like a loon.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Apr 28, 2023 9:44:40 GMT
1985Probably the single greatest piece of music of the 80s A very BOLD thing to say
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Post by fearlessfreap on Apr 28, 2023 10:37:14 GMT
Model 500 - Night Drive
Early Juan Atkins number, probably a little busier than techno would get, but it sounded cool at the time.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Apr 28, 2023 10:45:14 GMT
1985
There's some records I like very much from this year and I was tempted by Whole of the Moon, Raspberry Beret and The Smiths but I went with this instead which I do think is one of the great debut singles and one of the decades defining records. At least in the UK anyway.
Context is everything and I can’t remember what it must have sounded like at the time but listening to West End Girls now it really stands out as one of the great, distinctive and ageless synth pop records of the 80s. Eschewing the usual tropes Tennant’s dry, very English monologue depicts a very different world to the plastic, mid 80s pop culture of the time. In fact, the world West End Girls inhabits sounds almost vaguely dystopian. A London where class tension, paranoia and envy constantly threaten to boil over into violence and confusing weirdness. Like I said on the lyrics thread, you can create something very evocative and powerful with not that much and Tennant does a great job communicating the darker side of big city life as well as skilfully touching on other things more profound (“how much do you neeeed?”) just enough to create something far and above the usual pop song, let alone some of the dreck of the mid-late 80s. I think West End Girls and their other classic hits place Tennant as part of an English pop continuum, a dispassionate chronicler of late 20th century English life really. In fact, the West End Boys/East End Girls metaphor is a genuine stroke of pop lyrical brilliance that Morrissey would have killed for.
Of course all of this would be nothing if the music didn’t stand up but it absolutely does. I only have to hear the opening high-hat, keyboard and That classic opening riff to get pop goosebumps and the record itself has this very tangible mood that perfectly compliments Tennant's lyrics. The unease and tension of the synths; the ghostly “how much do you need?” voice-of-your-conscious and the odd, processed vocals around 2.06 are all masterful touches. But then listen to the trumpet solo and general all-round sophistication of the damn thing and recognise that it adds a sublime touch of faded glamour and old-world elegance that lifts the record into the realms of an all-time pop classic. Clever fellas. They knew what they were doing.
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Post by blue on Apr 28, 2023 11:41:53 GMT
When the LP and single date are different, are we taking the single date or whichever came first? I can't remember.
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rayge
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Post by rayge on Apr 28, 2023 12:42:54 GMT
When the LP and single date are different, are we taking the single date or whichever came first? I can't remember. First release in any format, unless the track is rerecorded or significantly edited/altered
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Post by davey on Apr 28, 2023 14:54:05 GMT
1985
Hang Down Your Head - Tom Waits
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