The 1986 Listening Post - Horse Rotorvator - Coil

Horse Rotorvator - Coil

#345/2025

August 1986

Coil

Horse Rotorvator

Genre: Post-everything

3.5 out of 5

Sounds of children laughing, yelping in the background as pounding industrial sounds pound and a vocalist sings about the….checks notes…”The Anal Staircase”. 

Ok, then.

This is the child of ex-Throbbing Gristle members. It’s perfect Gristley. 

“Circles of Mania” with it’s homage to “Ring of Fire” while also being a monologue of self destruction is sort of compelling spoken word that I would not have minded seeing in person. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/horse-rotorvator/1245310052

The 1986 Listening Post - Balaam and the Angel - The Greatest Story Ever Told

Balaam and the Angel - The Greatest Story Ever Told

#344/2024

August 1986

Balaam and the Angel

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Genre: Celtic Arena

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Slow Down

The Wave

There really isn’t much else to say about this. It’s nice enough. Pretentious. Uninteresting. That mid-tempo lush 80s arena sound. In other words…Jangle Goth. 

That said, it’s not terrible. It’s exactly what it’s supposed to sound like. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-greatest-story-ever-told/714333344

The 1986 Listening Post - Died Pretty - Free Dirt

Died Pretty - Free Dirt

#343/2023

August 1986

Died Pretty

Free Dirt

Genre: Alternative

3.25 out of 5

More Aussie rock. This time of the 80s-influenced-by-the-60s Psychedelia. Like…Garage Psychedelic. With…a saxohophone. 

It’s a big sound that I would bet hard earned money has never ever ever shown up on an 80s retrospective radio station. 

Like “80s Deep Cuts” on Sirius (if that exists) doesn’t even know about this band. 

It was right around “Through Another Door” that I thought, “this sounds like a pretty solid set of musicians and I could absolutely see them playing and looking at each other as Vocalist Brett Myers warbled off-key, rolling their eyes and thinking, well, it pays the bills.”

Except for, say, the bass player, who thinks the singer’s the shit. 

He’s not. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/free-dirt/1033829846

The 1986 Listening Post - Camper Van Beethoven - Camper Van Beethoven

Camper Van Beethoven - Camper Van Beethoven

#342/2022

August 1986

Camper Van Beethoven

Camper Van Beethoven

Genre: Alternative Folk

4 out of 5

Highlights:

Good Guys and Bad Guys

We Saw Jerry’s Daughter

Shut Us Down

Requisite 80s cover:

Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive”, of which I am wholly unfamiliar. 

It feels like the only way this band is going to get any pay is to have people figure out they need to come to them and not the other way around because I do NOT get the sense that CVB would ever compromise their idea of musical fun and lunacy for anyone but also that they aren’t going to go away.

There’s a goddamned song called “Lulu Land” and they get a point for that. Also for it’s calliope of lunacy.

It gets a bit hoe-downy here and there. It’s borderline “rock”, tbh. 

CVB is their own thing and I love it. 

Again.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/camper-van-beethoven/1169804685

The 1986 Listening Post - Paul McCartney - Press to Play

Paul McCartney - Press to Play

#341/2021

August 15 1986

Paul McCartney

Press to Play

Genre: MOR

2.75 out of 5

In 1983 Paul McCartney released Pipes of Peace. And it wasn’t very good. 

In the same year, Paul Simon released Hearts and Bones and it was not bad. Not great. But better than the other Paul’s offering.

Imagine releasing this treacle on the same DAY as Paul Simon’s masterpiece, Graceland. 

The American songsmith of the 60s vs the British songsmith of the 60s put out music 20 years later and one guy sounds like his platter is dripping in schmaltz and the other is a masterpiece. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/press-to-play/1440939212

The 1986 Listening Post - The Johnnys - Highlights of a Dangerous Life

The Johnnys - Highlights of a Dangerous Life

#340/2020

August 1986

The Johnnys

Highlights of a Dangerous Life

Genre: Roots Rock

4.25 out of 5

Highlights:

The Day Marty Robbins Died

Move It

Slip Slap Fishin’

So, here’s an Aussie band that sounds like it would never have gotten out of the land down under inasmuch as it doesn’t really explode in a way that would ignite the eardrums of 80s kids but it’s a rock solid set of roots rockers that got my feet tapping and body swaying in my seat. 

The could just as easily fit into the Acid Revival category or Psychobilly. I would expect to find these on a Nuggets LP.

A bunch of fun this little spinner of pub rockers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U9b3szVRLY

The 1986 Listening Post - Status Quo - In the Army Now

Status Quo - In the Army Now

#339/2019 LISTENING POST ADMIN DISCOVERY

August 29 1986

Status Quo

In the Army Now

Genre: Glam Rock/Power Pop

4.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Rollin’ Home

In Your Eyes

In the Army Now

Dreamin’

Red Sky

REQUISITE 80S COVER:

Ian Hunter’s “Speechless”. A dynamite piece of Glam Rock. 

When this record fired up I was, first, struck by how much the opener sounds like Dave Edmunds. Until I read that it was written by John David, a frequent collaborator of Edmunds’. And Edmunds produced that track as well as the other David penned track, “Red Sky”.  So, that makes a lot of sense.

Then it hit me that I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Status Quo record. It’s like they don’t exist anywhere. Nobody writes about them. They don’t get any love. But…they are beloved. I know this because I kept hearing their name mentioned in conjunction with Queen. 

But they don’t sound like Queen. 

Except that they do! When Queen is at its most cheeky (Think: “Good Company”) they could be bill-mates with these guys.

AND they kind of remind me of The Bay City Rollers and I have a great deal of affection for those Scottish kids as well. And, of course, early Sparks.

How did these guys escape me? 

No idea. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o3GSAG-HOw&list=PLBJ7ztNazTVB7ksm8D_mnP71tByNBLZ2D

The 1986 Listening Post - Paul Simon - Graceland

Paul Simon - Graceland

#338/2018

August 25 1986

Paul Simon

Graceland

Genre: Rock

5 out of 5

Highlights:

Not a bad track on it. Every single one is an example of an expert songsmith at the height of his craft.

If you were ever wondering how or why this group was started, it’s because of this album. 

Well, not just this record. I was listening to the albums of 1983 by myself and heard Duck Rock by Malcolm McLaren and posted something about how he was there first with the African Rhythm appropriations and Paul Simon owed him royalties. 

I’m sitting on my bed in my dorm room. It’s early 1987. My roommate and I are just hanging out. We don’t really listen to a lot of music together, really. For some reason I put this cassette into the player and fired it up. We just sat there, listening. At the end of the first side we both marveled as I turned the cassette over at just how remarkable this record was. 

Is. 

“She comes back to tell me she's gone

As if I didn't know that

As if I didn't know my own bed

As if I'd never noticed

The way she brushed her hair from her forehead”

Kills me every time.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/graceland-25th-anniversary-deluxe-edition/581741456

The 1986 Listening Post - Everything But the Girl - Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Tonight

Everything But the Girl - Baby, the Stars Shine Bright Tonight

#337/2017

August 25 1986

Everything But the Girl

Baby, the Stars Shine Bright

Genre:  What hath Style Council wrought?

3.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Sugar Finney

Once again we find ourselves on a tributary veering away from the mission statement. The jangle is gone from EbtG and what remains is the plaintive wail of Thorn’s voice and the lushness of the arrangements with strings and horns and big echoes. If there were coffee shops in the 80s, this would be playing in them. I’m fairly sure there’s a barista out there who is making hearts leaves in someone’s morning joe as I type this.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/baby-the-stars-shine-bright/1290178970

The 1986 Listening Post - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Kicking Against the Pricks

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Kicking Against the Pricks

#336/2016

August 18 1986

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Kicking Against the Pricks

Genre: Alternative

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:
I’m Gonna Kill That Woman

Why did Cave follow up two great albums with a dank, dust bowl David Lychian collection of covers sometimes so somnambulant it feels like even he and the Bad Seeds fell asleep while recording them?

It’s a shame because it starts off really strong, with great promise, like a Tom Waits Off-Broadway Musical.

And then we get to a cover of “All Tomorrow’s Parties” and I’m torn. It’s plodding and could be a soundtrack to a flogging but I still prefer the original and am unsure as to why the world needs this. 

The brilliance of the first two NC&tBS records set my expectations pretty high. This album didn’t quite meet them. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/kicking-against-the-pricks-2009-remastered-edition/1143242434

The 1986 Listening Post - Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet

#335/2015

August 18 1986

Bon Jovi

Slippery When Wet

Genre: Rock

4.75 out of 5 (I admit that I got lost during a couple tracks)

Highlights:

You Give Love a Bad Name

Livin’ On a Prayer

Social Disease

Wanted Dead or Alive

I’d Die for You

I’ve talked before about my theory that Bon Jovi is a great appropriator of contemporary popular motifs. He’s doing here in spades. But what he and Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock have done is synthesized the Def Leppard stadium rock sound and wrapped it around some delectably infectious Rawk songs. 

It’s impossible to hate (for me at least) the monster track "You Give Love a Bad Name" which ws was originally written for Bonnie Tyler under the title "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" with different lyrics. Remember that? Yep. Child new it was a hit and rewrote his own track to make it this Godzilla tune. 

I do not begrudge anyone trying to sell records and I’m not cynical enough to trounce those who do it in a way that makes me want to air drum in my car on the freeway. 

Did Jon take the Springsteen story song idea and craft it into a global phenomenon? Yes. Is it a party on a 45? Yes. If you can hit those notes, Karaoke night is yours. If you can’t it’s all laughs til the next person gets up to warble. 

I am an unapologetic lover of this made to be played in front of 30,000 people record. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/slippery-when-wet/1422954626

The 1986 Listening Post - Toto - Fahrenheit

Toto - Fahrenheit

#334/2014

August 15 1986

Toto

Fahrenheit

Genre: MOR

2 out of 5

When I was younger I bought a couple of Hydra by Toto. I have no idea why. How it ended up as a purchase by me but there’s no accounting for taste. Maybe it was the guy in the 80s misty blue shadows dragging a broadsword. 

Maybe it was that there was a song called “99” which, although I learned much later, was inspired by THX-1138, I thought it was an ode to Agent 99 from Get Smart. 

Anyway, that was it for Allen and Toto. 

Sure, I heard the singles. But I was never gonna buy another album by them.

And then there was this project and, shit I’ve heard a lot of middle of the road quasi-rock by terrific studio musicians. 

Not one of them has engendered anything other than a 3 or 2.5 from me. They are just terrible. Music for your mother’s aunt. 

This is a new low for the boys. 

This is terrible, ballad stuffed crap. That Dune Soundtrack must have taken its toll. Or provided them with so much blow and swimming pools that they lost the will to be interesting. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/fahrenheit/200597956

Thomas Keller's Perfect Chicken

Thomas Keller Simple Roast Chicken

YIELD

 Makes 2 to 4 servings

---

INGREDIENTS

• • One 2- to 3-pound farm-raised chicken
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons minced thyme (optional)
• • Unsalted butter
  • Dijon mustard

---

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken, then dry it very well with paper towels, inside and out. The less it steams, the drier the heat, the better.
  2. Salt and pepper the cavity, then truss the bird. Trussing is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it's a good technique to feel comfortable with. When you truss a bird, the wings and legs stay close to the body; the ends of the drumsticks cover the top of the breast and keep it from drying out. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly, and it also makes for a more beautiful roasted bird.
  3. Now, salt the chicken—I like to rain the salt over the bird so that it has a nice uniform coating that will result in a crisp, salty, flavorful skin (about 1 tablespoon). When it's cooked, you should still be able to make out the salt baked onto the crisp skin. Season to taste with pepper.
  4. Place the chicken in a sauté pan or roasting pan and, when the oven is up to temperature, put the chicken in the oven. I leave it alone—I don't baste it, I don't add butter; you can if you wish, but I feel this creates steam, which I don't want. Roast it until it's done, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove it from the oven and add the thyme, if using, to the pan. Baste the chicken with the juices and thyme and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cutting board.
  5. Remove the twine. Separate the middle wing joint and eat that immediately. Remove the legs and thighs. I like to take off the backbone and eat one of the oysters, the two succulent morsels of meat embedded here, and give the other to the person I'm cooking with. But I take the chicken butt for myself. I could never understand why my brothers always fought over that triangular tip—until one day I got the crispy, juicy fat myself. These are the cook's rewards. Cut the breast down the middle and serve it on the bone, with one wing joint still attached to each. The preparation is not meant to be superelegant. Slather the meat with fresh butter. Serve with mustard on the side and, if you wish, a simple green salad. You'll start using a knife and fork, but finish with your fingers, because it's so good.

The 1986 Listening Post - T.T. Quick - Metal of Honor

T.T. Quick - Metal of Honor

#333/2013

August 25 1986

T.T. Quick

Metal of Honor

Genre: Disciples of Priest/DC/Snake

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Asleep at the Wheel

Requisite 80s Cover tune:

The Dave Clark Five’s “Glad All Over”. It almost works but…the band sounds like they are in pain, not like they are glad…anywhere.

It’s a “Metal” of honor. Not a “medal”. Get it? GET IT?!? Cuz they are a metal band. 

Do 

You 

Get 

It?

This time it’s a metal band that is much more blues-y than the others and that adds a tad more surprise.

Didn’t hate!

https://music.apple.com/us/album/metal-of-honor/932623237

The 1986 Listening Post - Warlock - True as Steel

Warlock - True as Steel

#332/2012

August 18 1986

Warlock

True as Steel

Genre: Make It Stop

3 out of 5

Look, I know that in all things pop culture when something works you make copy after copy until no one wants it anymore. That’s how you get body switch movies and Star Wars…anything. 

But, come the fuck on. These songs ALL SOUND EXACTLY THE SAME! Surely they all knew this in the studio, right.

“Well, no, man. We have Doro! A female lead singer. We are different!”

“Um…but ALL those other bands’ lead singers all sound like they are trying to sing as high as they can so they sound JUST. LIKE. DORO!”

This is intensively boring metal. 

There’s more of this to come. 

Shoot me. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/true-as-steel/1442215246

The 1986 Listening Post - Helstar - Remnants of War

Helstar - Remnants of War

#331/2011

August 16 1986

Helstar

Remnants of War

1.75 out of 5

Lowlights:

Face the Wicked One

I always chuckle when Metalheads put some classical or faux-classical pieces on their albums. Helstar opens with some synths. “Hey, bro, Beethoven would’ve been into metal if he was alive today!” they always argue. Are they right? Maybe. Who knows. He’d probably be caught up in samples and synthetic everything.

This is so dull. 

I’ve never done this before but I totally agree with this user on Allmusic:

“For their second album, Helstar pump up the volume and bring some Thrash Metal fuzz with them. As a result, the band sounds even more derivative than before. Prepare yourself for 38 minutes of bore here.”

Yep. It’s dull as an unsharpened barber’s blade after decades of use. 

I almost liked “Dark Queen” but I just couldn’t bring myself to Highlight it.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/remnants-of-war/1005186956

Sword The 1986 Listening Post - Sword - Metalized

Sword - Metalized

#330/2010

August 12 1986

Sword

Metaleizd

Genre: Heavy Metal

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Stuck in Rock

This was a strange experience for me. As I had it on I found myself checking out and doing other stuff. But then I would check in and catch tracks like “Dare to Spit” and I would bang my head. And then I could check out again. And then “Runaway” would start and I’d key back in and then be back out again. 

It’s perfectly metal for 80s metal. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/metalized/295429161

The 1986 Listening Post - Cirith Ungol - One Foot in Hell

Cirith Ungol - One Foot in Hell

#329/2009

August 12 1986

Cirith Ungol

One Foot in Hell

Genre: Yawping Metal

1.25 out of 5

Lowlights:

Chaos Descends

100 MPH

Cirith Ungol is not good. 

They weren’t good last time around.

I’ve got less patience for this garbage. 

I got all the through it, cuz that’s the task but man do I want these guys to go away.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/one-foot-in-hell/56578433

The 1986 Listening Post - Abattoir - The Only Safe Place

Abattoir - The Only Safe Place

#328/2008

August 9 1986

Abattoir

The Only Safe Place

Genre: Speed Demon Metal

4.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Bring on the Damned

Back to Hell

All hail Chuck Rosa. After listening to 2 poorly mixed, most likely cocaine influenced metal records, here comes Abattoir. 

It seems, with Poison, Vinnie Vincent, Cinderella, Ratt, Motorhead and now this (and the coming Cirith Ungol and Sword and others) that the summer of 86 was the summer that Devil Horn Metal stepped into the spotlight in a big way. 

Now, look, I was in the minority on Abattoir. I gave 4.5 stars to their first record and I’m of the mind to do the same here. 

The title track is the stuff of metal nightmares. A hacksaw of terror worthy of Merciful Fate or Iron Maiden. 

This is it for Abattoir. Two and through. But what a terrific pair. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-only-safe-place/980766494

The 1986 Listening Post - Motorhead - Orgasmatron

Motorhead - Orgasmatron

#327/2007

August 9 1986

Motorhead

Orgasmatron

Genre: Metal

4.5 out of 5

Highlighs:

Deaf Forever

Ain’t My Crime

Claw

Doctor Rock

I read that Lemmy hated the mix on this record and, you know what? I can’t say I blame him. Despite the mud and the mess there are moments of classic brilliance in here. “Claw” is a fucking freight train of rock and a worthy successor to “Ace of Spades”.

Damn the crappy production, otherwise this would melt your brain. 

I know this is considered lesser Motorhead but, imo, if this was mixed better it’s a classic. Is it as great as Ace of Spades or Iron Fist? Um…sure. Why not? I was only introduced to Lemmy and the band in this project having mistakenly eschewed them, thinking they were a scuzzy metal band. They are so much more than that. They are the biker gang of rock. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/orgasmatron-bonus-track-edition/1142275554

https://music.apple.com/us/album/orgasmatron-bonus-track-edition/1142275554

The 1986 Listening Post - Ratt - Dancing Undercover

Ratt - Dancing Undercover

#326/2006

August 9 1986

Ratt

Dancing Undercover

Genre: Glam Metal

3.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Body Talk

Remember when Ratt went on tour with Poison and it was the Ratt/Poison tour? Funnier and more apropos, genre-wise, than Black Sabbath & Blue Oyster Cult’s “Black and Blue” tour. The 80s, man…someone had a sense of humor. Who would you pair like that today? I couldn’t even hazard a guess.

I liked Ratt’s big hit “Round and Round” as much as anyone else, it’s a groovy piece of pop metal, but sometimes it feels like that’s the only gear Ratt can run. “One Good Lover” and “It Doesn’t Matter” are a prime examples of them repeating the same motif with diminishing results. 

Why oh why is Steve Pearcy’s vocals mixed so deep in the pile? He sounds doubled AND echoed which takes away from his vocals more than help. But, then again, maybe he’s not that great to begin with, eh?

This is an album that could have used a requisite 80s cover. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/dancin-undercover/300980733

The 1986 Listening Post - The Rainmakers - The Rainmakers

The Rainmakers - The Rainmakers

#325/2005 LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

August 6 1986

The Rainmakers

The Rainmakers

Genre: Rock

4.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Rockin’ at the T-Dance

Downstream

Let My People Go-Go

Drink’ On the Job

Who?

Listen to that title track and tell me that that doesn’t sound like what Neil Young SHOULD have sounded like in the 80s. Bob Walkenhorst has the same nasal warble as Neil but he’s also got a sold rockin’ lunacy to him that propels the songs. 

Until this very moment I had never even heard of The Rainmakers. Anyone know them? I feel like I did when I heard Webb Wilder for the first time. 

These are just terrific songs played well. They aren’t “of” any time. It’s just good old rock and roll.

There's a whole lot of places that I ain't been

A whole lotta things that I ain't seen

A whole lotta things I'll never be

The generation that would change the world

Is still looking for it's car keys

Awesome.

What I’m left with is the thought that, if you loved David + David and/‘or Webb Wilder, you would also love this. 

I did. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-rainmakers/1480898526

The 1986 Listening Post - Vinnie Vincent - Vinnie Vincent Invasion

Vinnie Vincent - Vinnie Vincent Invasion

#324/2004

August 2 1986

Vinnie Vincent

Vinnie Vincent Invasion

3 out of 5

Highlights:

Boyz Are Gonna Rock

When I did the first Listening Post I covered Kiss. I called it The Kissening Post. Look how clever I am. 

That meant not just covering all the studio albums but also the live ones, the solo records and the records by peripheral members of the band. Like this one. 

I was curious to see if 10 years and thousands of albums later I would feel differently than my initial review, about which I wrote, “This is as generic a late 80s metal album as you'll ever hear, Bereft of subtlety, absent style, lacking song-craft, any one of the tracks could have fallen off a teen-comedy soundtrack. Probably did. This record was made for frustrated, parking lot dwelling, 15 year old zitheads. These people are now 40 and part of the ruling class. Any wonder we're in the shape we are?”

Those people are now 50 somethings, by the way.

Vinnie can play and he really wants to show you that he can shred with the best of them. But the songs are all just pedestrian hard rock, ala Whitesnake but not as good, and why should they be? They are just filler to showcase Vinnie’s prowess. I did like “Animal” more today than I did 10 years ago…hrmmm….

This album is packed with unfulfilled promise.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/vinnie-vincent-invasion/724359876

The 1986 Listening Post - Cinderella - Night Songs

Cinderella - Night Songs

#323/2003

August 2 1986

Cinderella

Night Songs

Genre: Hard Rock

3.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Shake Me

Is it providence to have had to listen to this RIGHT after Poison’s debut? 

I wasn’t keyed in to much of these bands at the time, being more of an indie-Violent Femmes-REM kid. 

Has anyone made a comment at how this sounds less like the aforementioned Poison (Or Crue) and more like a Glam version of AC/DC (A great example is “Hell on Wheels”)? Tom Kiefer is doing his best Brian Johnson impression and the rhythm section is Malcom all the way. 

Why would you put these guys on tour with Bon Jovi when it’s obvious who their target audience should be? Just because you dress them up like Ratt? Wait, I just read that Jon discovered them so, there’s that. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/night-songs/1440494441

The 1986 Listening Post - Poison - Look What the Cat Dragged In

Poison - Look What the Cat Dragged In

#322/2002

August 2 1986

Poison

Look What the Cat Dragged In

Genre: Glam Metal

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

I Want Action

Talk Dirty to Me

I’ve never heard this record. For the record. ;)

If I had I would know that it opens with a 60s Supreme/Shirelles beat that suggests “Please Mr. Postman” but merges that with crunchy guitar and shiny production and I would have hated every second of it…in 1986. 

Today?

It’s like listening to a Jolly Rancher. 

You know what this sounds like??? A hybrid of Def Leppard and Motley Crue. Except for “Talk Dirty to Me”, which is Def Leppard meets The Ramones…it’s the big hit that The Ramones should’ve had but never could have. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/look-what-cat-dragged-in-20th-anniversary-edition-remastered/716014118

The 1986 Listening Post - Skinny Puppy - Bites

Skinny Puppy - Bites

#306/941

August 1985

Skinny Puppy

Bites

Genre: Industrial/Dance

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Assimilate

Basement

I never went to The Limelight. I don’t know why. Pyramid Club, either. I did walk around Palladium once. But it was barren by the time I got there. The same with Area. Although rumor had it Michael Stipe was seen shooting up in a bathroom at Area. Someone took my picture there while I was wearing the leather jacket my girlfriend gave me. She wanted to charge me $10 for the print the next day. I think she was stunned that I showed up. I didn’t pay for it. Probably should have. Went to Nell’s a couple times. Eh. Tunnel was fun but that’s because it was in an actual tunnel. And that was a sort of cool novelty. Had more fun at some dive bar we used to hang out at on the west side. Can’t recall the name. We used to all hang out outside.

This is the music from all of those places. None of them were really that satisfying. But they served their purpose for a couple hours on a Saturday night I guess.

They do this very very well. But, like anything of this ilk, it wears out its welcome about 2/3 the way through. But, who’s gonna listen to this straight through? I mean, ya gotta break it up with, I dunno, suicide attempts, right?

The 1986 Listening Post - Daryl Hall - Three Hearts in a Happy Ending Machine

Daryl Hall - Three Hearts in a Happy Ending Machine

#321/2001

August 1 1986

Daryl Hall

Three Hearts in a Happy Ending Machine

Genre: Rock

2.5 out of 5

What did John Oates do, really? This doesn’t sound much different from the direction DH&JO we’re headed in the 80s, really. 

The lead single is standard contempo-Rock with a terrifically catchy chorus and not much else. 

And every song was over 60-90 seconds before they finally pulled the plug. 

There’s a lot of forgettable wannabe soul that, to be honest, I think producer Dave Stewart can and has done better with his own band. This is just dull. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/3-hearts-in-the-happy-ending-machine/408513303

The 1986 Listening Post - Toy Dolls - Idle Gossip

Toy Dolls - Idle Gossip

#320/2000    LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

August 1 1986

Toy Dolls

Idle Gossip

Genre: Hilari-punk

4.5 out of 5 

Highlights:

Idle Gossip

Do Ya Wanna Be Like Dougy Bell

PC Stoker

The Dolls are back and this time it doesn’t sound like they recorded it on their lunch hour. What this sounds like is like…NOFX with a British accent and a lot more snot. 

It’s close to Oi but it’s more like melodic punk and I am always happy when I hear them. 

In fact I would say that you should put this into any playlist that contains The Rezillos/Revillos or the like. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/idle-gossip-bonus-tracks-edition/1141515331

The 1986 Listening Post - Crowded House - Crowded House

Crowded House - Crowded House

#319/1999

August 1 1986

Crowded House

Crowded House

Genre: Rock

5 out of 5 ( I can not be objective, it’s delicious)

Highlights:

Mean to Me

World Where You Live

Now We’re Getting Somewhere

Something So Strong

I Walk Away

Gawd, I played the shit out this thing. I don’t know how it entered my life but this was part of the soundtrack of transition. I know I had it in New York but I really spun it in Los Angeles.

My roommate and I weren’t supposed to live together. We were just driving across country together, he and I and his friend who were the actual names on the drive-away car. I was the stowaway. The guy in the backseat who smoked a lot and was responsible for the ash burns in the back seat. 

But, sometime in Williams, Arizona, my roomie realized that living with his best friend might not be the best idea so he and I decided to get a place. And the friend crashed with us. 

Our apartment was empty. Like, nothing. My “bed” was a borrowed air mattress, until I managed to get a real one and I propped it up on milk crates. 

In one room of this basement place we made furniture out of other milk crates and threw a party. We made flyers and walked around the Beverly Center handing them out. Dozens of strangers showed up at our place and we were all trashed. I woke up in the backseat of my car, a beat up Volkswagon FastBack that I bought for $75 and it crapped out in 2 weeks. 

But we were young and the world was in front of us. It was all hope. And dreams. 

And that’s this record. 

This kind of sound will be HUGE in a few years with Aimee Mann and Michael Penn and Matthew Sweet but Neil was there before any of them.

I believe “I Will Love You Forever” is written about his brother, Tim, who sucks and is nowhere near this thing. Which is why it’s great.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/crowded-house/1440822690

The 1986 Listening Post - Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry - Paint Your Wagon

Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry - Paint Your Wagon

#318/1998

1986 Housekeeping

Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry

Paint Your Wagon

Genre: Post-Rock/Goth

4.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Last Train

Mescal Dance

Take Katrina and her Sunshine walk and throw it in a blender with Joy Division and that’s the opening track from Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry’s Follow up to the terrific Talk About the Weather. 

And much how the first one was a surprise in 85 this one is equally surprising. 

One of the things I learned about myself throughout this project was just how much I like that plodding, minimalist Joy Division, post-rock sound. I didn’t really explore it in my youth and it more often that not makes me happy.

This is one of those cases. It gets a little derivative at times (“Save My Soul”, for example) but, for the most part, I dig. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/talk-about-the-weather-paint-your-wagon/202906307

The 1986 Listening Post - Little River Band - No Reins

Little River Band - No Reins

#317/1997

1986 Housekeeping

Little River Band

No Reins

Genre: Rock

2.5 out of 5

I’ve said this before, I will say it over and over until they stop: I always think Little River Band is a country outfit ala Alabama and .38 Special. But they aren’t. They surely aren’t. I mean, they would probably put out a C&W album if they thought it would move units. But there are tons of bands who would do that, right?

This is just another in a long series of LRB albums that are merely ok. Standard late 70s, early 80s rock stuff. Just a touch of rhythm to overwhelm the “rawk”, of which there is almost none. 

The title track is the best thing here and it’s not that great. Faux white boy R&B influenced wanna be mid temp rock.

You can listen to this record while making breakfast for your kid and listen to him ramble on about some mysterious secret he and his best friend have while your wife is blow drying her hair and not miss a thing.

I know. I did. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/no-reins-remastered/721665631

The 1986 Listening Post - The Bevis Frond - The Bevis Frond

The Bevis Frond - The Bevis Frond

#316/1996

1986 Housekeeping

The Bevis Frond

The Bevis Frond 

Genre: Psychedelic Lo Fi

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

She’s in Love with Time

Ride the Train of Thought

Here’s a thing about me that I only learned this year:

I don’t really have a high end to my hearing. Apparently, I never have. I have ALWAYS turned the treble way up and the bass way down because my ears are searching for the high end and it’s not there. 

This means that I have saved a lot of money on woofers and sub woofers but also I think some sound systems are better than others when others find them too tinny. 

This album is too tinny for me. That should be saying something. 

Who knows this band? I mean, anyone? They are STILL making records! 

Who is Nick Saloman?

For the genre this is actually perfectly Strawberry Alarm Clock. 

I wonder about guys like this. And Bobb Trimble. And Martin Newell. And the Freeze Dried Mice or whatever they are called. 

Are they like Harvey Pekar? Do they all have day jobs as office clerks and this is their hobby? 

That’s gotta be it, right? Passion projects? Gotta be. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/miasma/1115768387

The 1986 Listening Post - Venom P. Stinger - Meet My Friend, Venom

Venom P. Stinger - Meet My Friend, Venom

#315/1995

1986 Housekeeping

Venom P. Stinger 

Meet My Friend Venom

Genre: Noise Punk 

1.75 out of 5 

Just because you can...

Sometimes I think the worst thing to happen to this project was the ability to discover music from other countries that didn’t make it to Second Coming Records or Bleecker Bob’s or Sounds. Because then we wouldn’t be saddled with crapola like this, a post punk, noise rock vanity project that is fairly devoid of surprises or interesting ideas. 

I’ve never wanted a record to end as much as this. That includes Death in June. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/meet-my-friend-venom/686574814

The 1986 Listening Post - The Lucy Show - Mania

The Lucy Show - Mania

#314/1994 LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

1986 Housekeeping

The Lucy Show

Mania

Genre: Rock

4.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Land and the Life

View from the Outside

New Message

Woah.

Talk about shifting gears.

I really liked that first album but this is a 180 turn from that moody Joy Division-esque stuff. It’s like the doors blew off and The Lucy Show walked in, saying, “Really, U2?? U-fucking-2???? Here!”

And threw down an explosive record that is a harbinger of what’s to come from those Bauhaus kids in a couple years with one of my faves of the era by Love & Rockets.

It’s not just the original Bauhausians that turned their frowns upside down and found the beat but even the kids who were influenced by them.

Everything that REM would be doing and L&R and others is already being attempted by this band.

And then they broke up, apparently.

Great album. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/mania/86514201

The 1986 Listening Post - The Cleaners from Venus - Living with Victoria Grey

The Cleaners from Venus - Living with Victoria Grey

#313/1993 LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

1986 Housekeeping

The Cleaners From Venus

Living with Victoria Grey

Genre: Charmingly Weird Curio

4.5 out of 5

Highlights:

Victoria Grey

Stay On

The Mercury Girl

Requisite 80s Cover:

Andy Partridge’s “Pearl”. I don’t know if the original was ever fully formed but, in Martin Newall’s hands, it’s along lost Beach Boys classic. 

 Everything about this shouts “vanity project”. I mean, it’s really just one guy, right? 

Thing is, he’s got his own voice and he writes interesting, if not sometimes compelling and hilarious tunes. “Ilya Kurakin Looked at Me”???? I’ve never heard another song with a Man from U.N.C.L.E. reference. I even don’t mind the programmed drums, they actually make the whole thing charming, in a The Cars sort of way (“The Mercury Girl”).

I’m really glad that, through this project, I’ve had the chance to hears something like this, an album by a guy who can write good songs, play in a variety of styles, never once crack into the pop culture consciousness and yet, lives on in the streaming world. 

This isn’t going to change your life and you will find yourself reaching for other, better practitioners, like Elvis Costello or, even, The Cure, or the Beach Boys, but you could do worse than giving this a shot. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/living-with-victoria-grey/1479314999

The 1986 Listening Post - Savage Grace - After the Fall from Grace

Savage Grace - After the Fall from Grace

#312/1992

July 1986

Savage Grace

After the Fall From Grace

Genre: Power Metal

3.5 out of 5

Highlights:

After the Fall From Grace

Destination Unknown

Apparently this band’s name was suggested by none other than Randy Rhodes, whose older brother was the guitar player until he wasn’t. And he didn’t record with them. But they kept the name. 

This is only slightly better than their first. It’s devil horn metal, baby! And we have way too many of them anyway. 

And this is recorded in a bathroom. Or sounds like it. 

Why are there so many power metal albums, which feature such massive instrumentation, but are crushed under the weight of shitty production? How did that happen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PixxTC8Acgk

The 1986 Listening Post - Cryptic Slaughter - Convicted

Cryptic Slaughter - Convicted

#311/1991

July 1986

Cryptic Slaughter

Convicted

Genre: SpeedMetal/Punk

4.25 out of 5

Highlights:

Lowlife

Rage to Kill

Nation of Hate

Is it Metal? The songs have actual groovy structure that pokes out every once in a while but, then…is it punk? Because it’s all screaming and thrash for the sake of thrashing? 

I think they are trying to be something new and I’m all for that. But…listen to “Lowlife” and tell me that it’s not two genres fighting each other for dominance. 

But, I also sort of like it. 

I can’t recall anything moving this fast. I don’t know if they invented this sound but they are surely the godfathers of it if anything. 

Okay, I just read up on these guys and…holy hell, they formed the band 2 years before when the oldest was 17. The drummer was 14. The guitarist was 15??! So, when they recorded this record only one of them was over 17 years old or something like that.

That’s fucking amazing. 

This is a pretty relentless assault, better suited to an EP but, for what it is, it’s terrific. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/convicted/192495802

The 1986 Listening Post - Van Morrison - No Guru, No Method, No Teacher

Van Morrison - No Guru, No Method, No Teacher

#310/1990

July 1986

Van Morrison

No Guru, No Method, No Teacher

Genre: Soft…rock?

2.5 out of 5

Highlights:

In the Garden

When do we get to take Van off this list? 

If you are new here you will come to learn that I talk about my youth a bit. Mostly about summers I spent in Bar Harbor, Maine. Truly the most indelible and excellent part of my young existence. It’s there that I learned about love, requited and unrequited (on my and her part, truly). I made life long friends, although I haven’t been there for over 30 years. I might never go back, since I don’t want to spoil the memories. 

It’s there my father died suddenly, away from all of us. It’s a memoir in the wings. 

I spent spare time sweeping up the local movie theater, for which I was compensated in movie passes. 

The rest of my time was spent working in the store my parents managed. 

I used to say they “had a store there” because I was embarrassed that my father was just the manager of a tchotchke store and a T-Shirt place. But that job put me through college (sorry for wasting your money, dad). And it taught me about retail and people. Tools I have used my entire life. 

In any store I would try as hard as I could to get music played that interested me. Queen II was on the turntable when I worked there, putting decals on plain T’s. The Clash. X. But that usually chased customers away and we were forced to play local radio which, in the early 80s was all soft rock and gentle, inoffensive pap. 

That’s this record. You could easily make purchase decisions with this thing on in the background and not get too distracted.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/no-guru-no-method-no-teacher-bonus-track-version/1030930341

The 1986 Listening Post -R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant

R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant

#298/1423

July 28 1986

R.E.M.

Life’s Rich Pageant

Genre: Retro Paisley Revival

5 out of 5

Highlights:

Begin the Begin

These Days

Hyena

I Believe

Swan Swan H

Requisite 80s Cover:

Superman by The Clique. Who? Yeah. This is how you do a cover. Bring something to the world that we either know and need to hear with different ears or unearth a hidden gem.

4th year of college my roommate and I had separate rooms in the new dorms on 3rd ave. He painted the walls with images and drawings and I think he had a friend come and do some murals. The entrance to my room was stenciled with the lyrics to “I Believe” from this record. Our answering machine message were lyrics we wrote to accompany the first 30 seconds of “Underneath the Bunker”. (“we’re not home right now…you can leave a message….talk to the box…for Richard and Allen.”)

It might have been the most important record (to me) in that year. 

You can actually hear and understand Stipe and he sounds great. After listening to so much new Paisley music I hear the Byrds influences as I never did before. “Fall On Me” fell out of 1968, no? The album is grown from the moss of late 60s rock and yet, it’s something else. It’s aggressive and staunch and political in a way that we desperately need today. It’s weird how this album, along with others, ushered in the “alternative” sound when it’s really so steeped in classic 60s Americana.

One only needs to listen to “Hyena” to realize just how important Bill Berry was to this band’s success. Without him…well…maybe we’ll get there.

After this it was all afterthought for REM in my life. And we will get to those. This was their penultimate record for IRS. But it feels like the climax to me. Everything from their EP to their groundbreaking debut to the second chapter follow up to the often misunderstood third brings us to this, an album about which I once wrote “Seemingly to atone for the shite that was their previous record, REM brought in rock producer, Don Gehman, got their Cause celebre on and gave their fans the album we had been waiting for. The anthem for our generation. We almost didn't get it. U2 decided to be the GREATEST ROCK BAND IN THE WORLD. REM decided to be artists. And a great rock band. And, oh, yeah, the voice of an entire generation. Pissed at the way the native Americans were treated. Pissed at pollution. Pissed at Reagan. Just pissed. And LRP expressed that. In bloodlettings like "These Days" and "Hyena" and "Just a Touch" they proved they had the chops and they could chop hard. In conscience tracks like "Fall on Me" and "Cuyahoga" they proved they had something to say and mumbling wouldn't cut it anymore. They had the balls to record a cover, "I Am Superman". They even had a sense of humor, "Underneath the Bunker" and "I Believe”.

On Life’s Rich pageant, REM proved that they could do it on a stadium level. That's what's most important about LRP. It jettisoned REM from Leaders of the Alternative Pack to actual stadium rockers. With light shows and courage and anthems. They were OUR heroes. Our Springsteens. Our Zeppelins. Generation X finally had their own idols and could consign those others to "classic rock" radio.”

I (still) believe.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/lifes-rich-pageant/861053308

The 1986 Listening Post - Bananarama - True Confessions

Bananarama - True Confessions

#309/1989

July 1986

Bananarama

True Confessions

Genre: Pop

3.75 out of 5

Highlights:

In a Perfect World

Venus

Requisite 80s Cover:

Venus. Their biggest hit. 

I was really looking forward to this one because of the massive success of “Venus” but it takes a long slog through some smooth jazz to get there. 

The entire first side is pleasing enough, but amounts to not much more than pristine harmonies in near Muzak form. However, it does end on a dark and dour track, “In a Perfect World” and I get the sense that the buoyant bubblegum of the past is just that. The Bananas have experienced more of the world and this is their reaction to it. 

But then there’s Side Two, the one with the massive hit and I am really curious as to why they didn’t choose to open the album with it. I was so bored by the end of the first half that I wished I could just dump out. Save the serious, dark stuff till you have them hooked. 

Oh, well. The Second side is nice, bouncy pop fun. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/true-confessions-collectors-edition/1299157371

The 1986 Listening Post - Spacemen 3 - Sound of Confusion

Spacemen 3 - Sound of Confusion

#308/1988

July 1986

Spacemen 3

Sound of Confusion

Genre: Psychedelic Shoegaze

3.75 out of 5

Is it just me or does this remind anyone else of Galxie 500? With more edge, you know? No? Just me? Ok. My brain is fried. Not just because I’ve listened to close to 2000 records in, like, a year and half, but also cuz….

No…wait. That’s exactly why.

The covers of “Mary Anne” by Juicy Lucy and “Little Doll” by the Stooges are really the best stuff here. 

It’s almost really good but it feels like they haven’t figured it out yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8BPG4C_ZmM

The 1986 Listening Post - Elixir - Son of Odin

Elixir - Son of Odin

#307/1987

July 1986

Elixir

Son of Odin

Genre: Metal

3.5 out of 5

Guy, we don’t need another Maiden. There’s a Maiden. And a Mercyful Fate. And a bunch of other bands like that and pssst…..that’s not what’s happening in Metal, really, anyway. Chukka-chukka has given over to thrash and you’re not bringing anything new to the party. 

Zzzzz…..

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-son-of-odin/218247911

The 1986 Listening Post - Peter Murphy - Should the World Fail to Fall Apart

Peter Murphy - Should the World Fail to Fall Apart

#306/1986

July 1986

Peter Murphy

Should the World Fail to Fall Apart

Genre: Post-Rock

3.5 out of 5

Requisite 80s covers:

Magazine’s “The Light Pours Out of Me” and Pere Ubu’s “Final Solution. 

Real Life is a great album but nothing really struck me as fantastic. Murphy puts a nice spin on it. 

The latter track is a PU song that I’ve never heard but I’ve heard OF. It’s probably the most engaging track on this record. 

I really really really really didn’t care for Dali’s Car so I have to wonder what this will be like. 

First thing that jumped out at me:

That bassline on the opening track is right out of Gary Numan’s Dance album. “Slower to China”, if I’m not mistaken. 

Murphy’s voice sounds less like what I recall and more like someone trying to ape…well…Bowie. But weren’t they all? Only he sounds more like Russell Sparks channeling Bowie.

In the early 00s I recall listening to Sea Change by Beck and being really pissed off because the songs were lovely but Beck insisted on putting computer gleeps and the like on it so it would have requisite weirdness and Murphy is doing that here. I think he’s fine without the synthesizers that sound like kazoos, if we’re being honest. 

Somewhere between lesser Peter Gabriel and Barely tolerable Gary Numan lies this record.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/should-the-world-fail-to-fall-apart/3023055