Thursday, November 14, 2019

The 1986 Listening Post - World Party - Private Revolution

World Party - Private Revolution



#118/1283
March 1986
World Party
Private Revolution
Genre: Alternative
3.25 out of 5

If INXS was fronted by a bored Mick Jagger it would sound like this. 
Well, some of it. The rest of it might just feel like a desperate attempt to launch one’s self into a pantheon of importance by aping Lou Reed and Bob Dylan and coming nowhere near either.


The 1986 Listening Post - The Go-Betweens - Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express

The Go-Betweens - Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express



#117/1282
March 1986
The Go-Betweens 
Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
Genre: Alternative
4.25 out of 5



Highlights:
Spring Rain
The Wrong Road





Oh, man. I could just listen to Side One of this glorious recovery after their previous record over and over again. It’s lush and adorable and I just want to bask in it and light candles and snuggle up with my dog and watch children play in the park across the street and —
what they fuck was I saying?
I really liked this. 
Side two is more the herky jerky Go Between of yore but the album is boosted by the craft of the first side.


The 1986 Listening Post - The Divine Horsemen - Devil's River

The Divine Horsemen - Devil's River



#116/1281 LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
1986 Housekeeping
The Divine Horsemen
Devils River
Genre: Rock
4.5 out of 5



Highlights:
My Sin
Devil’s River
Tenderest Kiss
Love Call


Okay, Desjardins, much is forgiven. That first Divine Horsemen album was…not good. This is much much better. I don’t know what happened. I hated Time Stands Still AND that Flesh Eaters record. This sounds like when X hired a Rawk producer and shot for commercial success and just about got there. 
Chris D. is never going to have a “hit record”, he’s too determined to be the American Nick Cave to get there. 
Maybe Julie Christensen is a more musical influence than Exene cuz this is the dust bowl version of Ain’t Love Grand. 
And someone should introduce them to rhymes. 
Oh, and this album was excellent.


The 1986 Listening Post - The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional

The Triffids - Born Sandy Devotional



#115/1280
March 1986
The Triffids
Born Sandy Devotional
Genre: Rock
3.75 out of 5


Highlights:
Wide Open Road

This is kind of a remarkable thing that hasn’t happened to me before: You guys all know that there is a spreadsheet that contains all the previously listened to records as well as all the upcoming ones for the year, right? 
And on that sheet are the names of the records and the bands and links to their wikipedia pages and, if applicable, ratings (with links) from Allmusic, Pitchfork, Christgau and my own blog. 
I can safely say that Pitchfork and I often do not agree, that’s not a surprise. And sometimes Allmusic and I don’t see eye to eye. But, never before have I been befuddled as to why Allmusic would give an album that is fine but not one of the pantheon of greats 5 stars and I only gave them something like 3.75, tops. (It almost cracked 4 but the average, even when pulled up for production or general experience, just couldn’t get there)
Why 5? What is this record but a pretty good, not that catchy, sort of interesting, sweeping folk rock epic that isn’t as dynamic as INXS or Midnight Oil who hail from the same country? 
I don’t get it. 
It’s fine. 
It’s not as great as they seem to want it to be. 
It’s lush and very pleasant but I don’t feel like I missed anything by not ever hearing this one by The Triffids. Actually, when this sound morphs into the likes of Elbow it will be better. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/3rRwJuilJbZGV5VGfVXoCN?si=xzCyngavS6q5GWI5tfLYlQ

The 1986 Listening Post - Great White - Shot in the Dark

Great White - Shot in the Dark



#114/1279
March 1986
Great White
Shot in the Dark
Genre: Is this RATT?
3.25 out of 5


Highlights:
Is Anybody There?

Contained in this review: words about middling power chords, pentatonic scales and high pitched vocalists peacocking and epic lead guitar solos strung together in a way to make you understand what you are listening to and keep you from spending any money on it. 

WHY ARE METAL BANDS COVERING “GIMME SOME LOVIN’”?!?!?
This is the second one THIS MONTH. It’s just as bad. But it has more echo. 

I was really hoping this would give me a different reason to think about Great White. I’m beating them up here but this is really just pedestrian hair metal. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Flaunt It

Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Flaunt It



#113/1278
March 1986
Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Flaunt It
Genre: New Wave
4.25 out of 5


Highlights:
21st Century Boy
Sex Bomb Boogie
Teenage Thunder

Not only did I know the name but nothing else about this band. I don’t know why they escaped me but here’s a fact: This record was produced by Giorgio Moroder.
I haven’t seen Japanese glyphs on an album since 1974’s Hotter than Hell by Kiss. But this, absolutely, is not that. 
I also haven’t heard much of Moroder since his team up with Sparks in No. 1 in Heaven. And this is closely related to that. 
Weirdly, this doesn’t sound antiquated although it’s absolutely got more in common with Plastic Bertrand and The Rezillos than any of the New Wavers of the day. 
But, in the end, what it really sounds like is a video game soundtrack looking for a video game.


The 1986 Listening Post - Dayglo Abortions - Feed Us a Fetus

Dayglo Abortions - Feed Us a Fetus



#112/1277 LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
March 1986
Dayglo Abortions
Feed Us a Fetus
Genre: Hardcore Punk
4.5 out of 5



Highlights:
Stupid Songs
Dogfarts
Proud to Be a Canadian
Stupid World
Religious Bumfucks


*Notice! Canadian Punk!*

Really good hardcore requires (for me) humor. At the very least, sarcasm. I mean, if you’re gonna play this kind of music at ridiculous speeds you should at least be able to laugh.
Right off the bat, with “Stupid Songs” I hear a bunch of lunkheads having a good time. Maintaining that punk aesthetic and, while hyper aggressive, also sardonic (For me, “Argh Fuck Kill - Die Sinner Die" is a great example of this).
Yes, they sound like Suicidal Tendencies, perhaps they realized that, welp, no one’s really doing that very well anymore, guess we should. And we are better for it. 
I love the name of the band, the name of the album, and a ton of these tracks. Wish I heard of them sooner. I work in Canada and I have never come across them once…and they still play. Gotta keep an eye out. 
I’ve never ever ever heard this band but I swear I ripped off the riff for “Rubberburner” from “Stupid World”.



Monday, November 11, 2019

The 1986 Listening Post - American Girls - American Girls

American Girls - American Girls


#111/1276
March 1986
American Girls
American Girls
Genre: Pop Rock
2.25 out of 5

Highlights:
Sharkskin Suit


For a short while Daryl Hannah was in this band. 
Don’t @ me, that’s what the Wiki says.

I don’t know what they were trying to do here. This is some weird hodgepodge of late 70’s styling, 80s funk rock synth drums rhythms and it’s an all girl band that seems to want to capitalize on the space made by the Go-Go’s but it’s also not that and yet it’s not quite The Bangles, either. Maybe they want to be Heart. But they also want to be a dance group. But it seems to want to be all those things. They try mightily (“One Last Prayer”) but they never fully get there. 
Sigh. I had high hopes. One listen and you know why this project never went anywhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElLedHYDbQ4&list=PLBJ7ztNazTVC8So8huCbRVQrDdlZXAWKm 

The 1986 Listening Post - Culture Club - From Luxury to Heartache


Culture Club - From Luxury to Heartache


#110/1275
March 30 1986
Culture Club
From Luxury to Heartache
Genre: “Whatever happened to…?”
2.25 out of 5


Highlights:
I Pray


Lowlights:
Gusto Blusto

If you ever wondered what it sounded like to take all the pieces of a band and their oeuvre and then let aliens try to reassemble it, in the dark, without any real understanding of music, and that band was Culture Club, this is what it would sound like. 
I mean, you don’t really know that it’s CC until someone says, “Why are you listening to the worst Culture Club album?” and then you key in and you hear George O’Dowd. But the cheekiness is gone. 
They had an album called Colour By Numbers. They should have named this one Recorded By Numbers. 
Too bad. If they had their act together songs like “I Pray” might’ve been something. And “Come Clean” has a certain “Thank God It’s Christmas” by Queen quality. Not great but familiar. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E4wG3sG7pU&list=PLBJ7ztNazTVCON7RKI379r79fSvUcpiFE

The 1986 Listening Post - Skeleton Crew - The Country of Blinds

Skeleton Crew - The Country of Blinds


#109/1274
March 1986
Skeleton Crew
The Country of Blinds
Genre: Experimental
3.5 out of 5


Highlights:
The Border
Man or Monkey
You May Find a Bed


If you like The Residents you will like this album. I mean, it sounds just like them to the point that I had to wonder how they weren’t credited. 
Yes, Fred Frith did work with the eyeballs but this either points to the Venn diagram of him and them being a solid circle or they just were in such perfect sync that a collaboration would only make sense. 
The difference here being that they actually craft songs of a sort. Take “The Border”. It’s like 1979 Talking Heads produced The Residents. 


The 1986 Listening Post - The Bible! - Walking the Ghost Back Home


The Bible! - Walking the Ghost Back Home


#108/1273
March 1986
The Bible!
Walking the Ghost Back Home
Genre: Alternative
3.25 out of 5



Highlights:
Graceland



The first song on this album is “Graceland”. It’s not the Paul Simon song. But that song and album will come out the same year. Something in the water, I guess…
This is gentle jangle pop ala Let’s Active or Everything But the Girl (I think I’m simile-ing correctly. Feel free to check me if I’m off base here, my mind gets muddy on stuff like this on occasion and this is one of those days)
The Bible! might have sounded more like Psychedelic Furs if they were 5 years older than this but, instead it’s just wistful busking. 
Lovely but not entirely memorable. Hence why nobody talks about The Bible!. 
Is it me or do “King Chicago” & “She’s My Bible” sound like everything I wanted The Smiths to sound like but they couldn’t? But also, with horns. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Raven - The Pack is Back

Raven - The Pack is Back



#107/1272
March 1986
Raven
The Pack is Back
Genre: 80s Metal
2 out of 5



Sigh.
There was a time when Raven was actually fun. Back in the All for One days. Then they shot hard for that Ratt relevance and missed so poorly. And they are back trying for a big muscly metal sound and…you remember how disappointed you were with For Those About to Rock? It sounds like that. They are going for that big ring of metallurgy and it’s just a series of misses.
Not even the metal version of “Gimme Some Lovin’” can save this platter. And I really wanted to like “Hyperactive” with it’s horn section but, unlike “Staying Power” by Queen or “Friend or Foe” by Adam Ant, it just comes out sounding incongruous 
The Pack is Back is filled with testosteroney peacocking and every rock cliche that came out of the late 70s. 


The 1986 Listening Post - The Len Bright Combo - The Len Bright Combo Present The Len Bright Combo by The Len Bright Combo

The Len Bright Combo - The Len Bright Combo Present The Len Bright Combo by The Len Bright Combo



#106/1271 LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
March 1986
The Len Bright Combo
The Len Bright Combo Present The Len Bright Combo by The Len Bright Combo
Genre: Garage
4.5 out of 5

Highlights:
You’re Gonna Screw My Head Off
Sophie (The Dream of Edmund Hirondelle Barnes)
Lureland

Since I’m not as up on my Wreckless Eric discography I really can only use this simile:
If Nick Lowe decided to hang out with a bunch of friends in a garage and record, live, into a four track, a bunch of song he had just whipped up, it would probably sound like this.
Which is to say, it’s chock full of great lo-fi garage tunes.
This album sounds muddy but it’s supposed to. It’s designed, I think, to sound like a band recorded live and immediate. It also harkens back to the mono era of early rock and roll. Quite a statement given the era of overproduction.


The 1986 Listening Post - A Flock of Seagulls - Dream Come True

A Flock of Seagulls - Dream Come True



#105/1271
March 1986
A Flock of Seagulls
Dream Come True
Genre: SynthPop
1.75 out of 5





Why are they playing violins on the cover? Do they think we will all forget that they are the quintessential representation of 80s synthetic music? 
The world is changing and the Seagulls aren’t able to keep up. Is this dance? Is it New Wave? 
This is insipid and trite and I really want Mike Score to go away.
If you get to the end you’ll hear what’s wrong with these guys. The last song “Whole Lot of Loving” sees them mining the same territory that has already been covered and left in the dust by Wham!. It’s second rate Wham. That’s never good. 


The 1986 Listening Post - King Kurt - Big Cock

King Kurt - Big Cock


#104/1270         LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
March 1986
King Kurt
Big Cock
Genre: Psychobilly 
4.5 out of 5

Highlights:
The Bowland Fen Decoy 
Road to Rack n Ruin
Mama Kurt
Big Daddy


Lux Interior paved the way for stuff like King Kurt but the Cramps could never get this psycho or this Billy. 
My brain doesn’t work properly for simile sometimes but I’m wracking it trying to recall if there was anything close to this that we’ve covered yet. Besides the Cramps, I mean. This is straight up Psychobilly. More so than that first Southern Culture on the Skids record or even Mojo. (Thank goodness for the genre data on the spreadsheet!)  It’s got that puffed up self-aggrandizement on Road to Rack and Ruin and it pays it’s devoted homage to Eddie Cochran as well as The Munsters but it’s not Stray Cats or the aforementioned Cramps. It points to the future of the Reverend Horton Heat and Nashville Pussy and Tiger Army and I freaking love it. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Prince - Parade

Prince - Parade



#103/1269
March 31 1986
Prince
Parade
3.25 out of 5

Highlights:
Kiss 

Are we really going to keep pretending that Prince didn’t want to be The Beatles? First the psychedelia off Around the World... and then this. 
Since our mandate is “rock” and other impactful work by notable artists of the era, I’m of two minds. 
This is NOT rock. It’s a baroque assortment of psychedelic jazz and funk influenced tracks... but it’s Prince. 
Ultimately, I was bored. 
I clued in to Prince with Controversy, a decidedly ROCK piece of non rock. I stayed for Purple Rain. He’s losing me with these last two. 
“Kiss” is the lure here. There’s nothing else nearly as good or interesting on this record. 


The 1986 Listening Post - M.O.T.O. - Bolt

M.O.T.O. - Bolt



#102/1268                     LISTENING POST DISCOVERY
March 30 1986
Listening Post Discovery
M.O.T.O
Bolt
4.5 out of 5

Highlights:
Dick About It
Boredom in Action
Living in A Catholic World
Destroy the Earth
I Fell Ill
Sickle Cell Express
Dear Mr. Buckingham


This is exactly what my fake band in college, The Yeast Infection’s follow up band should have sounded like. 
It was a lark and I was barely involved. 
The drums could be the same ones I bashed in our dorm room, a metal trash can. 
The difference between MOTO and The Public Hares is they listened to a LOT more Rolling Stones records. 
And took a lot of acid and then decided they loved Blotto and The Beach Boys. 
This low fi sound will be part of one of my favorite records of the aughts by Crocodiles. But also by The Drums. 
The cover looks like the logo for Jolt cola and there’s a good reason. This is audible Jolt cola. 
Oh. And it’s all one guy. 
I think I love MOTO. 
How much did future punk rockers like Green Day owe Paul Caporino?
These were random, disconnected notes I jotted down as I listened to this over the past few days, so I apologize that it isn’t better worded. 




The 1986 Listening Post - Graham Nash - Innocent Eyes

Graham Nash - Innocent Eyes



#101/1267
March 27 1986
Graham Nash
Innocent Eyes
Genre: Rock
1.75 out of 5


Lowlights:
I Got a Rock

I am woefully ignorant of Crosby, Stills and Nash (Young or no). But I can’t imagine that this is remotely close to what they ever sounded like. It’s just another example of trying to keep up with changing times and being too old to understand what the hell the zeitgeist really is. 
It’s all here: Syhtnesizers, monotone “melodies”, programmed drums, faux reggae…it’s just so uninspired.
Right around  “Newday” I realized that Graham Nash must think, in 1986, that The Police are a pretty current band. 


Friday, November 8, 2019

The 1986 Listening Post - Julian Lennon - The Secret Value of Daydreaming

Julian Lennon - The Secret Value of Daydreaming



#100/1267
March 24 1986
Julian Lennon
The Secret Value of Daydreaming
Genre: Rock
1.25 out of 5

Lowlights:
You Don’t Have to Tell Me
Want Your Body

Listen to that opening track and tell me Julian doesn’t sound like he’s trying to ape David Bowie MUCH more than his dad.
This is a lot more polished than his first, it also sounds about 4 years too late with it’s Robert Palmer circa Clues synths. 
This while thing sounds like it was made by a guy who listened to a lot of music and decided to make a record, having only learned from the crappiest of songs. 
It’s been a long time since I wanted a record to end this badly. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Pet Shop Boys - Please

Pet Shop Boys - Please



#99/1266
March 24 1986
Pet Shop Boys
Please
Genre: SynthPop
4.75 out of 5 


Highlights:
Two Divided By Zero
West End Girls
Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)
Suburbia
Violence
I Want a Lover


Here’s an admission: For no reason that I can ascertain, I have always gotten Pet Shop Boys confused with Haircut 100. 
This is a lot like when I heard Howard Jones’ Human Lib for the first time. I wasn’t expecting to like it. I was overwhelmed by how much I did, indeed, like it. 
It’s everything their last album Welcome to the Pleasure Dome was. 
What’s that?
Oh.
Wait, this isn’t a Marc Almond joint? 
Dang. 
It’s not Yaz? Really? Are you sure???
I still liked it. 
We are dangerously close to being afield from the “rock” mission but I’ll allow it only because, fuck, “Opportunities” sounded great blasting in my car’s immersive sound on the 10 freeway today. 


The 1986 Listening Post - The Rolling Stones - Dirty Work

The Rolling Stones - Dirty Work



#98/1265
March 24 1986
The Rolling Stones
Dirty Work
Genre: Rock
4 out of 5


Highlights:
One Hit (to the Body)
Fight
Harlem Shuffle



I was in Vancouver, staying at the company loft in Yaletown about 8 years ago. It was one of those rainy weeks in Canada where everything is grey and yet, gorgeous because even the way the grey reflects off the glass buildings is clean and crisp. 
I only had the opportunity to stay at the loft a few times and this one found me with a ton of down time. 
For a while I used the open space to rehearse my one man show but, that can only fill up so many hours of a rainy day. 
And that’s when I decided to listen to as much Rolling Stones as I could. I was going to start another Listening Post retrospective and they were to be the subject. 
I never got around to writing up my thought but, holy hell what a treat that was. 
See, I avoided the Stones in my younger days as I was always just trying to catch up on what was new and I never had the time plus they were one of those bands. You know…the pillars of rock. How could they ever live up to the hype?
omg, they lived up to the hype. I think we all agree that there were some hiccups in the early 70s but I blew past them and, before I knew it, I had to get to work and then never got back to writing about them. 
I liked this record. I even liked the latter-day Clash dub redux of “Too Rude”. It reminded me of everything liked about Black Market Clash and having it produced by Steve Lillywhite made it just that much better.



The 1986 Listening Post - Van Halen - 5150

Van Halen - 5150



#97/1264
March 24 1986
Van Halen
5150
Genre: Stadium Rock
3.75 out of 5


Highlights:
Why Can’t This Be Love
Get Up


Listening to Hagar choke out “Hello, Baby!” at the top of this record I can’t help but imagine how much better this would sound with Diamond Dave. Sammy is a perfectly fine vocalist for what he’s doing but he’s not Dave and it’s a different thing. And the “Hey, Waitress” stuff during “Good Enough” and “Inside” calls back “Hot for Teacher” in a way that seems to be simultaneously saying, “Hey, we didn’t forget what you loved about VH!” but also, “Fuck Dave, we can do this without him!”
Isn’t that what the title of “Good Enough” means? This version of Van Halen is “good enough” to sell records and t-shirts.
I actually like a lot of this record. I liked it when I did the first Van Halen retrospective and it’s perfectly acceptable rock-of-the-80s for me. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Husker Du - Candy Apple Grey

Husker Du - Candy Apple Grey



#96/1263
March 17 1986
Husker Du
Candy Apple Grey
Genre: Alternative
4.5 out of 5

Highlights:
Don’t Want to Know if You Are Lonely
Sorry Somehow
Too Far Down
Hardly Getting Over It
No Promise Have I Made


I’m writing this note before I sit down to listen to this album. Now, I’ve heard this record but never paid attention to who wrote what but Listening Posters will recall that I have a theory and I want to see if that’s borne out on this record.

Let’s dive in. 
Candy opens with a blistering track that sounds, to me, like a screamo metal band covering Sonic Youth. Then does a hard left turn to something more accessible and melodic, “Don’t Want to Know if You Are Lonely”. It’s interesting that I should be listening to this album at this point in time cuz I recently got on a mid-00s pop punk jag. Bowling for Soup, Teen Machine, We The Kings, Blink 182, Green Day, Fountains of Wayne, Nerf Herder. My son really likes it (especially “Girl That All The Bad Guys Want”) and, listening to this track, I hear all of that. Faster than expected rock bed coupled with percussive assertion and introspectively beta male lyrics. Am I right? Is this stuff the bedrock for a style that will take over the airwaves in 2 decades?
After that, we get the droning nasal vocals and melody similar to earlier Du songs. It’s not “bad” but it’s uninspired and too familiar. 
And, after thinking, yes, I’ve been proven right again: Grant Hart is the real genius here, Bob Mould is a one trick pony that got a lot of credit and has a really good PR firm behind him…”Too Far Down”.
If this album could have just been that single, dayenu. All of Grunge can be traced to this song. Do NOT listen to it on a bad day. 
But that’s okay, cuz you can turn the record over and listen to Mould’s let out more blood on “Hardly Getting Over It” and if you don’t want to kill yourself at this point, you sure want to find Bob and give him a hug and tell him it’s all gonna be okay, man. 
This is the first time I feel like Mould might be up to his reputation. 

Hard to imagine that this was the band’s first major label release. Something was changing at record labels and we were all better for it…for a while. 




The 1986 Listening Post - Joe Jackson - Big World

Joe Jackson - Big World



#95/1262
March 17 1986
Joe Jackson
Big World
Genre: Rock
4.5 out of 5


Highlights:
The Wild West
Right and Wrong
Precious Time
Fifty Dollar Love Affair
Forty Years
Home Town


A lot of hay was made at the time of this album, most notably that it was recorded live and the audience was asked to hold applause between songs. The audio fidelity was paramount to Jackson cuz this was his first album made for CD. And that makes it weird as hell cuz it’s all new music but it’s recorded like a live album and it sounds like it. But it also sounds fan-fucking-tastic. It’s alive and immediate. 
And the songs…
3 vinyl sides (the 4th side left blank cuz it was CD length) that are really a trip into the world as an American, ugliness and all. And boy does he think we are ugly (See “The Jet Set”). This is another angry aging musician who is pissed off at what he sees from governments and hypocrites and, dammit, I’m here for it. 
I’ve heard this album in 3 forms at 3 different times in my life:
First on CD when my brother, the audiophile early adopter of CD tech, had it and lent it to me and I listened to the crap out of it. 
Secondly, when I bought it on vinyl at Amoeba and then burned it to CD to play it in my car and listened to the crap out of it.
Third, today, as a streaming record from Apple Music. 
The first 1/3 is straight up rock, the second side…much more flabby, more middle aged. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s more like he’s dabbling in writing a Broadway score and while he’s mining the same French bistro territory that Elvis did on Punch the Clock, Joe is angrier and letting more blood (or just as much).
Once we get past the more solemn and melancholy odes to the post-war alliances, we get back to resurgent energy cuz our trip is coming to an end and Joe knows you can’t just peter out. You need to bring the audience home and THEN hit them with the coda. 
Let’s face it, this didn’t need to be an hour. But we are going to be saying that a LOT when CDs really start to proliferate. 
That said, I can’t be objective about this record. I really love it. And I always have. 




The 1986 Listening Post - Depeche Mode - Black Celebration


Depeche Mode - Black Celebration


#94/1261
March 17 1986
Depeche Mode
Black Celebration
Genre: SynthPop
3.5 out of 5


Highlights:
Black Celebration
Here is the House


Is it me or is this darker than the previous DM records? Try as I might, I just don’t get Depeche Mode. They are dance but not dance, industrial but not industrial. What am I supposed to get here? It plods and pounds but is it depressing enough to be the soundtrack to sadness or pound hard enough to be a backing track for sexual encounters? 
Only is some shitty Brian DePalma or Adrian Lyne movie. 
I appreciate the Philip Glass sounding “It Doesn’t Matter Two” but that’s only because I appreciate that Gore and Gahan like Glass. 
Why does this album take so long to get even remotely interesting?  And when it does, on Side Two, it just sounds like Gary Unman fans made a record.
I will never get these guys. 



The 1986 Listening Post - Voivod - Rrröööaaarrr

Voivod - Rrröööaaarrr



#93/1260
March 14 1986
Voivod
Rrröööaaarrr
Genre: Thrash
1 out of 5




No matter how many the number of umlauts, Voivod is just not good. This one sounds as much like someone having an attack of diarrhea and nausea at the same time and setting it to music. 
No one seems to be paying attention to each other and everyone just showed up to play whatever the hell they wanted and left after one take. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Obsession - Scarred for Life

Obsession - Scarred for Life



#92/1259
March 13 1986
Obsession
Scarred for Life
Genre: Screaming Metal
3.5 out of 5


Highlights:
Bang ‘em Till They Bleed (unfortunately titled track…I know)

There’s got to be a support group for high shrieking lead singers who were left with nothing to do and no place to go after the 80s were over. 
Where did these guys all come from? 
I blame Robert Plant. he’s the one they are all trying to emulate, no? First him then David Coverdale and then Bruce Dickinson and Die and then…poof. All gone. 
Sure, I bet there’s nostalgia concerts and “Monsters of Metal” and shit but, I don’t see these guys doing cruises or the like. 
Michael Vescera has the chops. A voice that is perfect for this.
Here’s a tidbit: These guys provided the songs for the Sleepaway Camp sequels. The first Sleepaway Camp has one of my favorite lines in the history of film: When Jonathan Tierstenresponds to “eat shit and die, Ricky!” with “Eat shit and live!”
I never forgot that line and was too star struck to ask him about it when it turned out he was in my dorm at NYU. I never saw him again after orientation at Brittany Hall. But, that moment of awe was struck in my brain forever. 
Eat shit and live, bro!


The 1986 Listening Post - Robert Tepper - No Easy Way Out

Robert Tepper - No Easy Way Out



#91/1258
March 13 1986
Robert Tepper
No Easy way Out
Genre: TV Theme Show Rock
2.25 out of 5


I want to like this kind of stuff but it’s just not in me. I mean the world has one John Parr. We don’t need any others. Hell, I’m not sure we really needed that one. This is that Bryan Adams lane. John Mellencamp’s. 
This is the stuff of 90s tv show theme songs. “Restless World” sounds at once like a rip off of “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” and also, like it could be the theme song to Party of Five. 



The 1986 Listening Post - Ministry - Twitch

Ministry - Twitch



#90/1257
March 12 1986
Ministry
Twitch
Genre: Industrial
3.75 out of 5


Highlights:
Just Like You
My Possession



This is nothing like the last Ministry album. Is this the sound they would be known for? Is this the first commercial industrial album? I don’t remember hearing one that sounded like it belonged on a disco floor before. Maybe I’m wrong but I think this is a nexus point for that sound. You just know that these guys heard Big Black and were moved by that thing. 
Anyways, I’ll be honest, I got a bunch of work done while it was on. So, there’s that. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Eric Johnson - Tones

Eric Johnson - Tones



#89/1256
March 12 1986
Eric Johnson
Tones
Genre: (Mostly) Instrumental Rock
3.5 out of 5


Highlights:
Zap


Who is Eric Johnson? 
No, I mean it. Who is this guy? His music is casual, beach combing Malibu rock. Lyrics and melodies hung on excuses for him to solo. He’s got the talent...much of this feels like a more skilled Christopher Cross. 
There are a lot of fantastic guitar players out there and Johnson seems to be up in that pantheon. It takes a while to really get there, though, but “Zap” is great. There’s is nothing else like it on the album, though. It’s a thing unto itself and feels like it should be the launching point, not the exception. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Neil Diamond - Headed for the Future

Neil Diamond - Headed for the Future



#88/1255
March 11 1986
Neil Diamond
Headed for the Future
Genre: Pop Rock…?
0.5 out of 5



Oh, dear. Remember when I talked about artists that looked at what was going on in the world and started to write albums that reflected their worldview? (See Jackson Browne)
Neil wants in on that. 
Only his approach is more “Uncool Uncle”. The synths…the over-wrought lyrics coupled with Schmaltz Rock vocals…it’s all in here. And it’s…not good. 
It’s not even “Turn on your heart light” bad. It’s just objectively terrible. 
And, yes, I listened to the whole thing. I hate myself just that much. 
And now Neil is going to get a royalty check for streaming for, like, $.00000001 cent and he’s gonna be like, “Who the heck listened to that thing?!”.




The 1986 Listening Post - Bourgeois Tagg - Bourgeois Tagg

Bourgeois Tagg - Bourgeois Tagg



#87/1254
March 3 1986
Bourgeois Tagg
Bourgeois Tagg
Genre: New Wave
3.25 out of 5

Highlights:
Heart of Darkness 

Man…remember when we were all into Bourgeois Tagg and we would greet each other with knowing sinks and refer to ourselves as “Taggies”? Not “Taggers” cuz fuck that noise. We didn’t care that it wasn’t a forward moving descriptor, it made us feel good when we all dance walked in jagged steps as we tried to emulate what it would like to look like 2 dimensional Picasso paintings.
Oh, youth. 

Who the fuck is Bourgeois Tagg????
This record is what you get when you give competent musicians studio time but ONLY if they are allowed to perfectly recreate the cliche of what everyone thinks 80s music is supposed to sound like. 
Take every band you liked in the 70s and remember what they sounded like when they tried to sound current in the mid-80s and that’s this record. 


 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITmnFi3MX4U&list=PLBJ7ztNazTVDywbH7kCVKRQDABAxP4ggk

Monday, November 4, 2019

The 1986 Listening Post - Ted Nugent - Little Miss Dangerous

Ted Nugent - Little Miss Dangerous



#86/1253
March 3 1986
Ted Nugent
Little Miss Dangerous
Genre: Radio Metal
2.75 out of 5


Highlights:
Little Red Book
Painkiller

I used to drive a 1962 Chevy Bel Air. The Year was 1983. It was my cousin’s grandfather’s car. I bought it for $75. It would stall out at stop lights because the filler w was so clogged and I couldn’t afford to get a new one or something. 
I had a boom box that I would place on the floor and blare home made mix tapes of stuff I recorded of the radio. 
Some of it was the radio Metal of the day like Billy Squier. And Toto, which isn’t metal but I liked it. 
I don’t know how I was fortunate enough to have avoided the Nuge. 
All of these songs sound like leftovers from a Motley Crue record. Except “Crazy Ladies” which is such a blatant rip-off off “Hot For Teacher” Ted should be ashamed. 
I will say the Partridge Family era David Cassidy sounding “Little Red Book” was a neat little surprise. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Death of Samantha - Strungout on Jargon


Death of Samantha - Strungout on Jargon


#85/1252
March 1 1986
Death of Samantha
Strungout On Jargon
Genre: Indie
3.5 out of 5


Highlights:
Simple As That
Conviction
Grapeland (I’m Getting Sick)

I hear Joy Division. Do you? I hear Sonic Youth as well. I also hear…King Missile…? 
I hear…
the 90s. 
“Simple as That” is the sound of change.
This whole DIY record is nothing great but it’s also fantastic. I keep coming back to this: The 80s were a time when everything changed and anything went. Get in a studio and bash out something. Get on stage and make some noise. The Sex Pistols proved that musical talent didn’t matter, in fact, it was a detriment to the roots of rock and roll. And Radiohead would soon crystallize the sentiment with “Anyone Can Play Guitar”. 
This is the nexus of those sentiments. 
I thought this was just the right amount of weirdness and fun. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhQ01WdqT9E


The 1986 Listening Post - Metallica - Master of Puppets

Metallica - Master of Puppets



#84/1251
March 3 1986
Metallica
Master of Puppets
Genre: Thrash Metal
4.5 out of 5


Highlights:
Master of Puppets
Disposable Heroes
Damage, Inc



In early 1988 I was living in a basement apartment off Sunset Blvd kitty corner from Tower Records. The payphone at Tower was my main source of communication with the outside world for the first few weeks while we got our telephone line installed. Above us was a psychiatrists office. We had no furniture. 
I slept on an inflatable air mattress and my roommate had our only TV. I was lucky if I got to watch reruns of Charlie’s Angels at 3 in the afternoon before I caught the bus to my telemarketing job at Factor Fox in Santa Monica. 
One day, after calling home from the payphone, I was wandering around Tower and grabbed a copy of the LA Weekly and, laying on the floor of the main room of this dwelling (the only place to actually sit was a giant chair I fashioned out of milk crates), popped on the Residents compilation, “Hell!” and opened the Weekly. 
There was an article about a burgeoning and explosive new music form that was bubbling up from the underbelly of metal. It was being led by an aptly named group called Metallica. I can not find that article in any archives but I remember it well. Mostly because I thought, “well, that doesn’t interest me but I’m sure my metal head friends would love it.” And I moved on.
Of course, I and everyone else would get caught up in the Metallica swirl a few years later with the black album but that was a lifetime away. 
All this to say: I never listened to Master of Puppets. 
Until today. 
It opens in the same way, with a tasteful acoustic guitar that belies what’s coming. And I’m okay with that trick again, since this is the first major label release and new audiences might not have heard that. 
Let’s just take a moment to realize that this album came out 33 years ago at this writing. When it came out “Rock and Roll” was not yet 33. Elvis was just 30 years before this. That boggles my mind. That Master of Puppets is older now than “Blue Suede Shoes” was when it came out…just weird, man.

Wow. 

Just…

Wow. 

But I’m gonna say this (and probably get killed for it): I liked Ride the Lightning more. I feel like it’s assault was more devastating and immediate. This is gigantic and great, but that was more of a surprise. 






The 1986 Listening Post - Stray Cats - Rock Therapy

Stray Cats - Rock Therapy



#83/1250
March 2 1986
Stray Cats
Rock Therapy
Genre: Rockabilly
3.25 out of 5



This is the sound of a contract obligation.
Brian sounds tired. He’s noodling his way through the 1-4-5’s and making vain attempts at howling but you can tell that his heart isn’t it. 
We’ve all moved on from the retro sound of 1981. 
Inoffensive but uninspired. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Jack Starr's Burning Starr - No Turning Back

Jack Starr's Burning Starr - No Turning Back


#82/1249
March 2 1986
Jack Starr’s Burning Starr
No Turning Back
1 out of 5

Highlights:
Fire and Rain (Just cuz…ya gotta here this thing)

This is an excuse to shriek like Dio and shred like Yngwie. But Jack Starr, while capable, is not RJD nor Malmsteen. However, he does have quite a vibrato. 
But, hey, James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” as a Heavy Metal Power Ballad ala Motley Crue? You know what? Sign me up for that stupidity. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Agent Orange - This is the Voice

Agent Orange - This is the Voice



#81/1248 LISTENING POST ADMIN DISCOVERY
March 1 1986
Agent Orange
This is the Voice
Genre: Paisley Punk
4.5 out of 5


Highlights:
It’s In Your Head
Fire in the Rain
In Your Dreams Tonight
Tearing Me Apart
This is Not the End


This is terrific. Twangy Byrds/Ventures like guitars with just enough snarl and drive to give contemporaries a run for their money. 
It’s not a revelation like Dramarama but it’s sure damned good. Take the edge off Husker Du and make it more melodic and that’s kind of what I hear here. 
Honestly, I thought Agent Orange was a hardcore band. I’m pleasantly surprised by the musicality and the stretch outside the genre. Green Day will be hailed for this exact type of stretching. They just did it better (and stole more unabashedly).
A great record. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Peter Hammill - Skin

Peter Hammill - Skin


#80/1247
March 1 1986
Peter Hammill
Skin
Genre: Art Rock
0.5 out of 5



So, one of the things about this project, and the primary driver of it, is the seeking out of material and artists that I may have missed out on during the years. It’s how it started out, at least. 
But, I am only human and, sometimes an artists completely skips my radar. Case in point: because I started the project in the year 1978 I completely missed Van Der Graff Generator. And, for some reason, I also never heard of Peter Hammier of said band. 
Now, because there is someone who is more skilled at compiling this list than I, I’ve now found Mr. Hammill and I really wish I hadn’t. 
This is the FOURTEENTH record by this guy. That means nothing to me having never heard any of them but, yuck. This is like someone listened to post-good Gary Numan and mixed that listening with the most unctuous David Bowie and went into the studio to see if he could out shine their horribleness. The single “Painting By Numbers” is ugly and it’s the best track here. 
This was terrible. 


The 1986 Listening Post - V. Spy V. Spy - Harry's Reasons

V. Spy V. Spy - Harry's Reasons


#79/1246
March 1 1986
V. Spy V. Spy
Harry’s Reasons
Genre: Important Rock
3.5 out of 5


Highlights:
Learn to Laugh
Harry’s Reasons

Like Midnight Oil, this seems to a rock band from Down Under with “important things to say”. Here’s a question, though. While later they called themselves Spy V. Spy, why did they start out as V. Spy V. Spy? What is that first V for? 
I really don’t care to know the answer, I’m just looking for something to say while I listen to this very middling, also competent offering of mid-tempo 80s rock. 
It’s all very Hunters and Collectors, you know? Put it on, I bet your forget you’re playing it but you won’t hate it. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Youth of Today - Break Down the Walls

Youth of Today - Break Down the Walls



#77/1244
March 1 1986
Youth of Today
Break Down the Walls
Genre: Hardcore Punk
3.5 out of 5


Highlights:
Stabbed in the Back


I’ll say this for this record, it’s short. The length would qualify as an ep but it’s not, because their songs are rapid fire little punk explosions. 
My connection to this genre dissolved decades ago and, you know what? It doesn’t really hold up. Not for me, at least. 
It always surprised me just how angry the straight edge bands were. They were so indignant about the “positivity” in their lives. But they all sounded like they wanted to rip your mother’s eyeballs from their sockets and force your dad to…well, you get the idea. Clean living!
It’s solid hardcore, played really well, calling to mind Suicidal Tendencies or an amped up Black Flag. Better than the latter, not as impactive as the former. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Shriekback - Big Night Music

Shriekback - Big Night Music


#76/1243
1986 Housekeeping
Shriekback
Big Night Music
Genre: Pop
4.5 out of 5


Highlights:
Black Light Trap
Running on the Rocks
Pretty Little Things
Sticky Jazz



I really like Shriekback. They have been one of the more interesting discoveries of this project. 
As opposed to some groups who arrived fully formed and then couldn’t last (as so many bands seem to) Shriekback has gotten better with each record. In this one they are shooting for commercial success and, dammit, I am there for it. 
A very rewarding spin that calls to mind Erasure at their most capable. Years later artists like Mika will mainstream stuff like “Cradle Song”.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1LJXQ8h8ls2MaEFauL608z?si=IK9wzxi1Q9SOy56txRA3cg

The 1986 Listening Post - Boys Don't Cry - Boys Don't Cry

Boys Don't Cry - Boys Don't Cry


#75/1242
1986 Housekeeping
Boys Don’t Cry
Boys Don’t Cry
Genre: SynthPop
4.25 out of 5



Highlights:
Cities on Fire
I Wanna Be a Cowboy


I wanna call this record “The Revenge of SynthRock”. Well, that first track, anyway. It’s filled with abandon and joy, it’s palpable. 
I even listened to the extended version of these because I couldn’t get my finger on what contemporary band they reminded me (this is something I struggle with and am always amazed when other people can just pull of comparisons with ease) and then it hit me: Neon Trees.
I was really late to Neon Trees but I finally succumbed just in time for them to stop recording. Pop Psychology was a devoted love letter to New Wave (even more and better than Dreamcar or Bleachers) and I loved it. 
Boys Don’t Cry is the unwitting grandfather of those records. 
You know these guys. They had a pretty big hit in “I Wanna Be A Cowboy”, a song which should have been the warning that “I’m Too Sexy” was on the horizon.
That said, this style is drifting afield from the mission statement more than a wee bit. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/2unvWXhYUVwQEhIpnwugch?si=5WJWXHv_Q4u--9QjpX71Sw

The 1986 Listening Post - Thelonious Monster - Baby...You're Bummin' My Life Out in a Supreme Fashion

Thelonious Monster - Baby...You're Bummin' My Life Out in a Supreme Fashion



#74/1241 LISTENING POST ADMIN DISCOVERY
1986 Housekeeping
Thelonious Monster
Baby…You’re Bummin’ My Life Out in a Supreme Fashion
Genre: Whatever the fuck they want to play, apparently
4.75 out of 5


Highlights:
Psychofunkindelic
Positive Train
Thelonious Monster
Joke Song
Life’s A Groove



Seriously. That’s the genre. It’s punk. It’s funk. It’s rock. It’s self-aggrandizing narratives. It’s joyous and weird and I honestly don’t know why this hasn’t been in my life. 
Some of it is awful and some of it is terrific. 
Thelonious Monster was a name I used to hear all the time in LA. Same with Fishbone. I never saw them but, what a fucking great name for a band. Also, Dread Zeppelin…boy was this shit weird. 
Is it funk? Yes. On the first track. 
But, wait…it’s punk! (“Yes Yes No”)
Hang on…it’s psychedelic garage (“Positive Train”)
WAITAMINNIT! It’s a blues jam! (“Let Me In the House”)
Spoken word? Sure. (“Joke Song”)


And that’s this record. It’s just a big honking piece of fun. It’s like kids who grew up listening and loving Zappa started a band and then it turns out they were better than Zappa ever could have hoped to be. 


Okay. I’ve read up on TM. Bob Forrest is the drug counselor who works with Dr. Drew and was on Celebrity Rehab?!?!? I love that guy. I had no idea that this was the same guy.
Fuck. What a talent. 

You know what? I’m gonna give this an extra 1/2 point for being a massive discovery for me. 


The 1986 Listening Post - Ut - Conviction

UT - Conviction


#73/1240
1986 Housekeeping
Ut
Conviction
Genre: Post-Rock
3.75 out of 5

Highlights:
Sick



Take that opening track, refine it, put Butch Vig on it and voila, Garbage. 
But then again, I don’t think the women of Ut would have allowed anything like that to happen to Ut. This is some challenging post-rock art project that is as defiant as it is ramshackle. Everything about is screams “ART PROJECT!!!” and I don’t mind that at all. In fact, that’s what makes me love it. 
This is one of those things that makes me say just because you can do some thing means you should do that thing. 
It serves no purpose save to be an updating of beat poetry, yelps, improvised semi-musicianship and I’m really glad you can listen to it on Apple Music.