An Ear For An Era: 1987

Those '7 years, man. Always a big deal it seems. The culmination of a decade and the promise of the following decade. I didn't think 1987 would be that way, but here it is. "College" rock and hip hop were in a very '7 way in 1987.

But let's get the boring mainstream stuff out of the way first.

One of the biggest album of all of the 80s was Guns N Roses' Appetite for Destruction. This happened to come on when my metalhead friend was in the car and he had to laugh a bit about it. So quaint in the metal scheme of things. I don't really care for most of the album but the hits are pretty undeniable. Welcome to the Jungle. Paradise City. Sweet Child O Mine.

And then U2. Boring. I like their singles ok kind of, but yeah. The Joshua Tree came on and it was all boring and stuff. Were they interesting ever? Was it all lost by 1987?

Just like in 1982, there were giant albums from the two pop giants. Michael Jackson put out Bad, which had a good number of hits itself (but there's no following Thriller), including one of my favorites "Man in the Mirror." Prince put out Sign 'O' The Times, a massive double album that I only have in vinyl format. But I have a couple singles, including my favorite "I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man."

Ok now to get to the interesting stuff. Not that Prince & MJ were ever not interesting. But looking to the future was hip hop, which was rapidly growing up. Boogie Down Productions' Criminal Minded came up and I was like "KRS One already??" because he has this flow about him, it's astonishing and so fast and beyond all the hip hop previously encountered in this project. It's like, an actual flow! The only problematic things are "The P is Free" (which kind of seems like it glorifies taking advantage of people's crack addictions in a very misogynistic way) and the whole bridge wars thing. When I read about the bridge wars to put some of these songs into context, it turns out it was really stupid because BDP kept saying "I can't believe you think hip hop started in Queens! You're so wrong!" and then Queens was saying "we didn't say that" and then BDP said "I can't believe you said hip hop started in Queens!" etc. I like Scott La Rock's DJing in a 1980s hip hop manner. He was pushing things forward.

But then I heard something that felt even more forward. An album that must have been one of the most influential albums for all the great early 90s golden era hip hop that I'm looking forward to exploring, I'm of course talking about Paid in Full by Eric B. & Rakim. Rakim's vocals just have this sound to them, something that just feels good. The laid back flow way beyond everything else. And Eric B. was sampling different things, soul things. In jazzy ways to complement Rakim's flow.

Eric B. & Rakim "As The Rhyme Goes On"

Ok now for my wheelhouse. I put "college" rock up there meaning indie rock as it was referred at the time. But I also consider all the post hardcore (mostly DC) developments to be a part of this even though I have no idea if Dag Nasty was played on college radio stations. But Wig Out At Denko's is some sort of indie classic. To me it sounds like a somewhat more technically advanced Descendents. The energy is similar and I think that's what I like about it. We're also approaching Fugazi but one of the essential pitstops on the way to that is Embrace, Ian's short-lived emo project. I only have a few songs off their album but "No More Pain" is kind of the quintessential example of early emo to play for people that don't get it. Guy Picciotto's band of this era was Happy Go Licky, who didn't officially record anything in a studio but a live show was recorded.

You know, I talked about the Descendents above so here is an awkward segue into The Descendents' (original) swan song, All. Kind of their most mature album, say an Enjoy! without (as many) fart jokes. Not that it took itself particularly seriously. Yes, there are some of their better pop songs on here ("Coolidge," "Clean Sheets," "Pep Talk") but there are their most experimental pieces as well. Jokey experimental pieces. Like "Van" about doing stuff in a van. "Impressions" about a journey. "Ice Man" about a crazy Ice Man that cometh! The almost 7 minute "Schizophrenia." And the manifesto.

The Descendents "All-O-Gistics"

Qua quaaaaaaaaaaa qua qua...

And Dinosaur Jr! You're Living All Over Me! Can we get more classic college rock than that? And by that I mean they are both classic and they are influenced by classic rock. But with such youth and vigor, because that's how it was back then. Those dudes were young once, it turns out.

In the same vein of people that are now old but have been doing great work forever...Yo La Tengo. New Wave Hot Dogs is the earliest instance of YLT I have in my collection and it's quite good. Lots of the atmospheric things they are now known for can be seen here, just in smaller bursts. None of their patented long songs just yet.

I was missing a good chunk of Sonic Youth records between their self-titled debut and Sister, because now they are suddenly at the top of their game. Melodic when they needed to be, insane when they needed to be, they were shaping the future man! The underground would never be the same. I'll share this track mostly because it's Ash Wednesday.

Sonic Youth "(I Got A) Catholic Block"

But the biggest college/alternative/indie/whatever album of all of 1987, the biggest deal at least, was an EP by an up and coming band called the Pixies. This blog will be obsessed with the Pixies for the next few entries and then they will disappear. So playful, such great screaming, such odd guitar licks, it was all there on their very first EP Come On Pilgrim. Even if all of that has disappeared on their recent EPs.

Pixies "I've Been Tired"

Should I put The Smiths down here? It looks like The Smiths broke up here, and this part is about the ends of journeys. 8 songs on that Louder Than Bombs collection are from 1987, the last hurrah. Including one of my favorite Smiths songs because it's pretty relatable, "Half a Person."

Another one of those bands were still around still doing very good work was The Cure, who put out one of their stronger efforts (in my opinion), Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. It's got some of my favorite hit songs of theirs ("Just Like Heaven" in particular), it's got a lot of Cure-sounding songs, and it has my favorite Cure song that doesn't sound so much like The Cure. Save this one for a special mixtape.

The Cure "Catch"

I guess that'll do it.

Also I may mention...

• Sinead O'Connor's The Lion And The Cobra played and it feels like a big influence on lots of the great female singer songwriters of the past 20ish years, such as Fiona Apple, Feist, Jesca Hoop, etc. that I dig because of how much creativity they push into a genre I would have otherwise assumed was just someone strumming a guitar.
• Fat Boys are very definitely a novelty act in 1987 with half-cover songs, a song with The Beach Boys, and a Chubby Checker featuring "The Twist (Yo, Twist!)"
• Operation Ivy had some undergroundish EPs in 1987 but I'll hold off talking about them until we at least get to the Hectic EP.
• One of Johnny Cash's lesser known lesser albums, Johnny Cash is Coming to Town, came up and I dig it because he covered an Elvis Costello song on it. And some cheesy love songs and other cheesy things.
• I also had the distinct pleasure of listening to the other half of The Pixies' "Purple Tape," which Come on Pilgrim was derived from. Mostly it's just interesting to hear early versions of songs that would make their major upcoming albums.
• R.E.M. was doing pretty good and starting to blow up thanks to their hit "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
• And just to clean up the last of the pre-Fugazi stuff in time for Fugazi, Rites of Spring had a 7" come out (even though they had been broken up a couple years) and it was fabulous.
• Big Black! Headache and Heartbeat!

What's Next??

1988 in punk/whatever: FUGAZI FUGAZI FUGAZI! Descendents turn into All! Big Black goes all out! An actual album by The Ex! Operation Ivy! Pogues! Shudder to Think! 

1988 in indie/whatever: Camper van Beethoven make their (here) debut! More Dinosaur Jr! Fishbone! Do My Bloody Valentine go here? One of the Two Best Pixies Albums! The Best Sonic Youth Album! 

1988 in singers or whatever: More Leonard Cohen! Traveling Wilburys! 

1988 in hippity hop: NWA! Ice T! (stuff's about to get profane!) Public Enemy! Slick Rick! Ultramagnetic MCs! 

...And another classic album from "Weird Al" Yankovic.

An Ear For An Era: 1986

How are we already past the halfway point of the 80s? I actually have surprisingly little 80s music relatively. Don't worry, we'll be slowing down soon. Here's 1986.

A big deal was the introduction to The Beastie Boys. License to Ill came out way back here! When hip hop was Run-DMC and Fat Boys. I don't know, I knew they were early but this is kind of crazy considering how long they stayed relevant. They like to say their names in their songs, don't they? It's hip hop for suburban white kids but it's done with passion and respect for the craft. Not that it was particularly more advanced than what Run-DMC was doing (this was the year of "It's Tricky") but they managed to keep their take on it cool for decades. Props for that.

You know who else has a band name of two B words? Big Black. I felt a little guilty listening to Big Black on an ipod but such is the nature of this project. Maybe I'll do a vinyl version one day. Anyhow, Big Black just killed it with intensity on Atomizer. Like, Kanye, Yeezus was a great album and I'ma let you finish...but Atomizer is the most intense industrial record of all time! Yes, the drum machine named Roland that sounded like a machine gun and guitars that sounded like they were being played with locomotives along with Albini's signature snarl, it's some heavy stuff man. Sorry I'm posting the most popular song in this case, but if that's what it takes to get converts so be it. Also sorry I'm posting a youtube instead of a physical record. Come over sometime and we'll listen to all sorts of Albini on wax.

Big Black "Kerosene"

Such a curiosity Enjoy! by The Descendents is. Two tracks are devoted to the most juvenile humor which I don't find enjoyable at all. There are some great pop songs on there though to balance it out. And then there are some kind of art punk tracks on here that just elevate it to such a different level. And I quite love those arty tracks (one is almost 8 minutes long!); it's just a weird collection.

I think The Edge Of The World is my favorite Mekons album. It recalls the Pogues in how the songs just beg to be sung along to. You just want to be with a big crowd of like minded people to sing these. The album has a lot of variety but that underlying aspect follows through the whole album. Listening to it, the word "shanty" came to mind. These songs are shanties. Appropriately enough, here's another song for my wake.

The Mekons "Shanty"

They Might Be Giants' self-titled debut is just so perfectly nerdy. If I ever have a child I'm going to play a lot of this band because that's the style of nerd I want to raise. A bit kitchen sink and very clever. The other thing to say about this album is that as much informed by the 80s as it seems, I'm having a hard time resolving in my head that this came out the same year as the other things. The other things are oldies. TMBG seem contemporary and/or timeless. Both.

Paul Simon. Graceland. One of those guys that you can just listen to and marvel at the lyrics. And it's pretty catchy. The appropriation of African musical styles seems a little less grating when Paul Simon does it than when Vampire Weekend did it, but I don't know if i have a justifiable reason for saying that. But you can be my bodyguard...

Nick Cave, post Birthday Party...he's got The Bad Seeds! Sure, it's album #4 with them, but I guess it's the first thing in my collection. Another glaring omission I'm sure some of those albums are. But Your Funeral...My Trial has to be one of the best. The creepiness and intensity from The Birthday Party is still there, just in a (very slightly) more subtle format. It kind of reminds me of Tom Waits' output from this era in its own odd way...just the circus and loopiness and intensity. The songs just create settings for a theatre bizarre thing to go down inside.

My favorite singer/songwriter of all time is still Elvis Costello. I haven't had much to say about his output of the past few years but boy did he turn it around in 1986. Two albums, vastly different, that happen to be my two favorite albums of his. First was King of America, notably missing the Attractions. In their place were some legendary American studio musicians that would be collectively known as The Confederates. But yeah, whatever. I don't need to re-hash the wikipedia entry here. This album is one of my favorites because I prefer his ballads and it hits all the right notes for Costello ballads while still being all over the place. The sorrow in hope. The romantic hopelessness. It's optimism about contradictions. It's also something about his delivery, the passion behind it. In 1986 you could feel every tear in his vocals (this is true whichever homonym for "tear" you use).

(If I could find a youtube video of the studio version of "I'll Wear It Proudly" it would be here. Find it on spotify or whatever because it's great!)

I don't want to be a gossip, but that passion had to have been at least partially inspired by some turbulence that was happening at the time...the break up of The Attractions paired with his blossoming relationship with/marriage to Cait O'Riordan. The best art comes out of turbulence. And Blood and Chocolate...that's turbulence. I guess it's kind of ironic that this is the album that reunited him with Nick Lowe as well as The Attractions, as it's nothing but tension and would be the last album with any of those parties for a while (not to mention his record label). Such a great break-up/kiss-off album that helped me through some tough times in college. There's fire here reminiscent of his early albums but with a wiseness that he couldn't have pulled off a decade earlier. But the wiseassness of those early days is there as well in songs like "I Hope You're Happy Now," probably the most helpful track of them all when dealing with a breakup. Even the ballads are either sarcastic (Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head) or downright creepy (I Want You). Those two tracks are back-to-back and will get the listener comfortable in their atmosphere before the jolt of "Honey, Are You Straight or Are You Blind?" (possibly the closest link to classic 70s Attractions) clears the palate for the brutal and confrontational back half. King of America might be my favorite 15-song-sequence but "Blue Chair" through "Next Time Round" is five songs of perfection. And all of this tension in the production of the album, the tension of what I assume was Elvis' mindset in these days, it all comes down to this song here. There were two very different takes of the track and rather than eventually pick one to put on the album they were spliced together in a not-so-subtle fashion. Two opposing sides. Forced together uncomfortably and...it just fits.

Elvis Costello and The Attractions "Battered Old Bird"

Other things:

• Kronos Quartet have also been around forever! They've gotten pretty cool with the indie rock kids these days, but even back in 1986 they were reaching out to the rock & roll audience with a cover of "Purple Haze" done Kronos Quartet style.
• More Scratch Acid! Their 1986 output was pretty varied stylistically. Lots of different things going on, almost to the point of being poppy at times. Only a few choice intensely hardcore tracks. It's an interesting progression. Of course I prefer the ones where they go all out like "Flying Houses"
• Last week while I was listening to 1986 there was some really really bad traffic due to snow and subzero temperatures. And then this song by Mojo Nixon came on and I just wanted to do exactly what he said in the song. (Damn it "Get Out Of My Way" isn't on youtube either!)
• The Dischord/DC scene was changing all the rules of hardcore these days, wasn't it? One Last Wish seemed to be Guy Picciotto's next band after Rites of Spring. And other Rites of Spring members. The 1986 EP (not actually released until 1999 but I figured I'd follow the recording date in this case) is full of short songs and matches the intensity of RoS. And short-lived Ian MacKaye project Egg Hunt put out a couple songs that serve as a pretty good bridge between Minor Threat and Fugazi without really sounding anything like either. And other bands were pushing things forward, but I don't feel qualified to fully squish all of that information here.
• You know who was probably a bigger influence on those emo whatever bands of the early 00s? The Smiths. Talk about whiny! But I still quite love a few of their tracks even if it took me a while to come around to them. The Queen Is Dead is the album of 1986 but of course my favorite track is non-album track from that Louder Than Bombs compilation "Ask." Probably because I have shyness and it's a comfort for that.
• A Kind of Magic by Queen is kind of a mix between their rock tendencies and pop tendencies. There seems to be a one, singular vision to this song, an overarching theme of oneness. Very cohesive.
• Ok maybe Polka Party isn't a Weird Al "classic" but I still have very specific memories about listening to the tape in my dad's truck. Listening now I'm a little less enthused about the majority of this album, but "Dog Eat Dog" may be one of his greatest songs. A Talking Heads style parody, it was my introduction to that legendary band and he gets it just right.
• One of my favorite Prince jams! Kiss!
• Another year, another great song from Carmel: "I'm Not Afraid Of You." Dark brooding music but hopeful and ultimately just a super strong anthem.
• David Bowie. "Magic Dance" from Labyrinth. This is where our culture was in 1986.
• Sonny Sharrock's "Broken Toys" is some great jazz guitar. Not that I know anything about jazz guitar besides Sonny Sharrock. 

Next Time 'Round...
Boogie Down Productions AND Eric B & Rakim! Hip hop's game keeps getting stepped up! Favorite Cure album! Dag Nasty. Dinosaur Jr. Appetite for Destruction. Operation Ivy stuff. Some band called the Pixies? I finally get to another Sonic Youth album? And who's this Yo La Tengo?? And no Weird Al album in 1987??

An Ear For An Era: 1982

And...we're back! 1982. The last year before me. The world would forever change (for me) in just one short year. So what kind of music was coming out? Lots of kinds at this point. Some great oddities, some of the biggest pop albums of all time, and some of my favorite albums of all time. It was a big year.

Let's start with the pop because my goodness was this album huge. I don't know if you've heard of Thriller, by young up-and-comer Michael Jackson, but it came out in 1982. I don't think much needs to be said about this. "The Girl is Mine" is pretty cheesy but besides that this album is just so full of gigantic pop anthems it's kind of ridiculous. "Thriller" is followed up immediately by "Beat It" and then "Billie Jean?" But it doesn't feel like it's all stuffed together because there are only 9 tracks and the hits just keep hitting? That's right, person with theoretical questions. That's right.

The king and the Prince. Both put out crazy big pop albums in 1982. Prince's 1999 is significant to me mostly because they played the crap out of that song on NYE 1998 and 1999 I think, both of those New Years Eves. But it's got other big awesome hits like "Little Red Corvette" and Prince's trademark sexiness in songs like "Let's Pretend We're Married."

How do I get from pop to punk? Billy Idol will do fine as a bridge here. His self-titled debut album is pretty hit-and-miss, but the hits are quite good. There's a certain musk to how he presents himself, it brings me back to my dancin' days of the early-to-mid aughts. Those 80s dance nights were a place to listen to "Dancing With Myself" and dance with a few people and show off the debauchery we were capable of, our flexibility, and whatnot. It was a big time for my social life and it was songs like this that made it happen (and people like Enoch; I miss you so much buddy!). As a wallflower, unable to talk to people I didn't already know, this is the music that allowed me to be social because I didn't have to talk.

Is this getting too personal? Too bad, pretty soon this blog is going to be focused on my personal experience with music instead of just a way to carry through the old stuff that happens to also tie me to a certain time/place in my life.

Punk continued to push forward on both coasts. I think I've already discussed how great the early 80s were for punk, but 1982 saw some big debuts and otherwise huge albums. There was The Vandals, whose EP Peace Thru Vandalism showed a band refusing to take itself seriously. Flipper brought all the attitude to punk rock but changed the approach by playing really slow/brooding songs. The Misfits used a lot of whoa-oh-ohs that would go on to be such an integral part of punk rock, and while I wasn't into them so much in high school I feel like if I had gotten this album back then it would have been pretty high in rotation. And then there was Bad Brains, one of the most ferocious punk bands when they played punk. Then one of the most soulful reggae bands to be heard outside of Jamaica when they played reggae. They played up that dichotomy in much more black-and-white terms than others that combined them.

The Clash blurred that line quite a bit with Combat Rock. Actually, they blurred it their whole career. I just figured this would make a good transition. I'm going to miss The Clash popping up here, because this is the last I'll be hearing from them. This is their poppiest album, their most successful financially, and includes such hits as "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" and "Rock The Casbah." Confession time: I never got this album until just a few years ago. I got to the point where I was embarrassed to pick it up because I didn't want people to know I didn't already own it. So I'm not as familiar with it as their other work, but I do like opener "Know Your Rights," and obviously I am a big fan of "Straight to Hell" (to later be sampled on a certain hugely successful M.I.A. song). That song and having a contribution from Allen Ginsberg keeps the cred here even if it sounds like they were starting to pursue that larger audience they were picking up. Still a worthy addition to The Clash's discography, and that's a pretty big compliment you can give an album.

And now we're really getting into the stuff that I have loved for years and years.

The Descendents' debut album (I just realized I missed their "Fat EP" here because I only have it on vinyl! D'oh!) Milo Goes to College might be my favorite punk rock album of all time. Or pop punk if that's the correct term. Back when pop punk wasn't an embarrassing term because all the "pop" meant was catchy. They sang about being kids. They perfectly encapsulated that time for me. I listened to some punk in high school but I wasn't a punk. I was just a "square going nowhere." They weren't afraid of singing about girls and even marriage in a genre that was mostly tough guys and political posturing. I got this album in my stocking one year for Christmas and I listened to it over and over again immediately that morning. Before this, I'd only heard their "new" stuff, Everything Sucks from 1996. This was so much rawer but so engaging...I don't think any initial listening of an album has stuck with me for so long, the experience of hearing these songs for the first time was ingrained into my being and this album will always be such a significant part of me. Every time I hear it, I'm taken back there, to those simpler times. I have to play the opening track because that's the first thing I heard that morning and even though I love all the tracks, this exemplifies the spirit: There's no reason for you to quit just because we try harder!

Descendents "Myage"

The Violent Femmes' self-titled debut is another one that, front to back, has always been a favorite. The lowest rated song on the album for me is "Blister in the Sun," their one big hit. It's okay. But when they really get going, when they express the personal so effectively through the combination of incredibly heartfelt lyrics and catchiness and a circus of sound coming out of a very simple setup (acoustic guitar, bass, a couple drums, maybe a xylophone or violin here and there) that builds and rises (and RISES AND RISES) and falls again, when all of it comes together, it hits you hard. Or me. I can't say what it does to you. I think next time I do karaoke, and if they have something besides "Blister in the Sun," I will have to sing some Violent Femmes. Here I 'd probably play "Confessions" or "Add it Up" to exemplify what I've described if I could, but I can't resist playing the closer. It shuts me down anytime I hear it, that's for sure. The circus isn't here but it's the prettiest ballad with some of my favorite lyrics ever: "laughing at the sunrise like he's been up all night." Everything that that implies, just puts me in a place that has been a long night that you didn't want to end and you're so tired...so simply put together in a few words.

Violent Femmes "Good Feeling"

Speaking of ballads, those are the reason that Imperial Bedroom is my third favorite Elvis Costello (and the Attractions) album. Actually 2nd favorite with the Attractions, because one of the other two is not an Attractions one. Where was I? Oh yeah, ballads. And Imperial Bedroom. The songs are just so personal and sad. With a couple strains of hope strung along throughout. The way "The Long Honeymoon" tells the tale of a wife freaking out about her husband being out late, the burdensome side of a line like "she never thought her love could ever be as strong as this" (on a bed of the most lovely piano playing by Steve Nieve) transitions into some brutal power chords and screaming that just jolts you into the song "Man Out of Time" that didn't really need that jolt, it's just a way to keep you on your toes (the song itself is again piano based, pretty light, just bookended by these power chords), taking you back down to "Almost Blue," another gorgeous soft ballad...it's a roller coaster but it's consistent. It goes like this for the full album. Lots of songs from women's perspectives, music that goes up and down (mostly down). It's a great showcase of Elvis' lyrics and Steve's virtuoso piano playing. (The Audrey Hepburn montage is just bonus).

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Almost Blue"

Another rock artist that put out a ballady collection was Bruce Springsteen. I can't claim a huge personal connection to this, but do you know how often Nebraska comes up when interviewing bands about their influences? Half of indie rock was influenced by this album! This is the side of Bruce that justifies all the hoopla he gets for his rock songs. It's the heart. It's just not disguised by synths and distorted guitars and stadiums. Stories of real people's real lives. Stripped down Bruce is the way to go.

Hip hop (that which I have in my collection at least) continued to be something of a novelty, as exemplified by this track from that Third Unheard comp I've discussed in the past. Willie Brown & Woodie recorded a track called "Ventriloquist Rap," because Woodie is a puppet. Of course. Dang it, I can't find it on youtube. Ask me to play it for you sometime because it's something else. Afrika Bambaataa had some great jams with Soulsonic Force. "Looking For The Perfect Beat" is good enough that it's the title to the collection of singles that I have. But "Don't Stop...Planet Rock" is just the song I have to put here. I just have to. It's officially a party here for the next 6 1/2 minutes.

Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force "Don't Stop...Planet Rock"

Now for the weirder stuff.

I don't remember how I first discovered Carmel, a jazzy soul band with one of the most unique and beautiful voices I've heard. I do know that it's hard to find anything by them anywhere, so any song I can pick up I will. I have a cover of "Tracks of My Tears" which is a great way to experience the voice in a somewhat familiar context (it's jazzy but it's the Smokey Robinson song) but just as a showcase of what I'm talking about here's the other song I have of theirs from 1982.

Carmel "Storm"

My dad introduced me to art rock. It was my dad. I've talked about how he got me into Nilsson and Kristofferson, but that wasn't enough. He introduced me to really really weird music. Music that is now on display at MoMA. I saw the video there as an art installation! Us kids really liked it when Dad put on this tape. Of weird talking and wolf howling. Have you guessed yet? Laurie Anderson! Big Science! It made us laugh at times, it was terrifying at others (and sometimes the same time), and we couldn't get enough. "I no longer love the way you hold your pen...and pen...cil." "We are all going down...put your head in your hands, put your hands on your hips, haha..." I bet this makes no sense to you if you haven't heard this album. You should listen to it. I can't really do it justice. Here's a taste, but really, hear the whole thing. Preferably in a small truck with your siblings and your dad.

Laurie Anderson "Sweaters"

And of course if I played Laurie Anderson now I have to talk about her husband Lou Reed. You may have heard of him. When he passed away last year I wasn't sure if I should try to write about him on this blog. But I didn't think I had the perspective needed to do anything of importance; other tributes were written beautifully so I didn't have anything to contribute. So I just put a few words on Facebook, knowing I'd soon get to some more Lou Reed on this here project.  The Blue Mask is a very good Reed album. It was just weird trying to listen to it subjectively because it's the first time he's come up in this since then. The weirdest thing about this was that the last couple tracks on here are pretty death-obsessed. "The Day John Kennedy Died" and "Heavenly Arms." I remember looking for a fitting song to play after his death and couldn't find a suitable one from Berlin. But this will be a good way to say goodbye (not really goodbye though, I have some more stuff because he did a lot between 1982 and 2013).

Lou Reed, "Heavenly Arms"

Other things to say things about/Other things about which to say things:

• How about other random pop songs that everybody knows and loves? Maneater by Hall & Oates? And "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye?
• Or what about the quintessential 80s/new wave/whatever jams that, yes, everybody knows and loves? "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Rio" by Duran Duran, and "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby. Is that enough of that?
• Speaking of Duran Duran, I also have the song "The Chauffer" thanks to the Greenberg soundtrack, and it is really something!
• Daniel Johnston put out some more greatness; I quite enjoy the song "Story of an Artist."
• Right now Sonic Youth will be in this miscellaneous category. The fact that they are part of the lexicon now changes everything, but I'll be writing about them a lot in the future. Their self-titled debut shows hints of what's to come but they weren't quite there yet. I like it but don't love it. It takes a bit more than an EP to change music forever.
• Queen fully embraced the 80s with Hot Space, a very poppy album from a band previously known for its emphasis on rock & roll and guitar solos. Lots of dance tunes here, including the always beloved "Under Pressure" featuring David Bowie. They do dance/pop well, it turns out.
• I'm not a big metalhead, but Iron Maiden's The Number of The Beast is very great. The title track is my go-to if I ever find myself in an air guitar solo competition. Love that solo.
• I didn't have a ton of two tone era ska from 1982 other than a Bad Manners album Forging Ahead (such an 80s sounding ska album!) and some Madness tracks including their big hit "Our House." It's good stuff.
• Remember that old Volkswagen commercial and that "Da Da Da" song? It's by a German band called Trio and that song came out in 1982. When the commercial was big my buddy really wanted the album that song came off of, and I ended up finding an import after much searching. There was a German version and an English version and the English version sounded goofy because I don't think they knew English that well. Anyway, it's the German version I have in my collection now.
• Always turn it up for a couple more Minor Threat songs. "12XU" is a cover but it's still one of my favorites.

Next Time...

The year that bore me! I'll totally remember picking up all these albums at the record store on release day from here on out because that's how with it I am. Ever since birth. Or not. But here's what's in store (alphabetical order). Billy Joel at his cheesy best, a full Daniel Johnston album, Bowie says Let's Dance! Duran Duran, Elvis Costello as usual, a Minor Threat album, Minutemen, New Order, Pulp (already??), R.E.M. (seriously??), Talking Heads Speak in Tongues, They Might Be Giants have some Early Stuff To Share Already, Tom Waits' crazy circus finally comes around in full with the brilliant Swordfishtrombones, and We Are Now Officially In The Era Of "Weird Al" Yankovic So Watch Out!

Thou Shalt Not Commit Adulthood

I was fortunate enough this weekend to witness a band I had finally started giving up thinking I'd be able to see. Despite coming of age as a punk rock kid in Fort Collins, my timing was just slightly off and I never got to see the great heroes of Fort Collins punk rock at home. Of course I'm talking about The Descendents.

Growing up I always imagined seeing them at the Starlight, a tiny venue of many punk shows in my day. Today, the Starlight is closed and I don't go back to Fort Collins very often.

So imagine my surprise when I found that The Descendents were playing a show in Denver, sort of a one-off thing, at The Fillmore, which is pretty much the opposite of The Starlight. I never thought they'd play a place like that.

Let me take a few sentences in the middle here to acknowledge the other band that played that night. Another band I missed seeing whenever they were in town despite being a fan about 10 years ago. Hot Water Music is currently working on their new album at Fort Collins' The Blasting Room so they got to play as well as another one-off show that's not part of a tour. They have a huge discography, and my time as a fan only spans a couple of their albums, so I only knew a few of the songs they played but they were still incredible. I may need to get back in touch with their music.

Now, when the great and powerful Descendents took the stage, the first thing I noticed was Milo's grey hair. For a band that prides itself on immaturity, it was quite striking.

But the music. Oh, the music. Every damn song was played with such a high energy level, such electricity and fervor, I almost forgot I was at a venue advertising a Creed concert in the coming weeks. For The Descendents' set, I know every word, every note and every chord was right, right on.

For the All-o-Gistics they brought a bunch of kids on stage. From my understanding, they are the band members' kids. They have kids? They have their own Descendents?? But the kids read off the All-o-Gistics. These kids are the future and if they live by these simple rules they don't have to worry about running out of energy and passion in their lifetime.

One strange thing happened. One of the biggest moments of excitement for much of the crowd was when they played "Nothing With You" off the strange second-reunion-album, 2004's Cool To Be You. It is probably one of the better songs off that album, but it's really got nothing on their 80s discography. I know a lot of kids probably got into the band with that album, but I certainly got into the band with their other strange reunion album, 1996's Everything Sucks but it didn't take me long to discover the beauty that is the band's 80s discography. So why people would particularly latch on to something from 2004 in 2012 when it's markedly inferior to the old stuff (this can't just be my opinion...right??) is a big mystery to me.

What other observations can I make? It was kind of funny when Milo sang "When I Get Old," and he even laughed a little bit at the beginning of the song, but I don't think he's really become his definition of old. Grey hair and whatever age number he has reached has nothing to do with that.

They played damn near every song on the classic Milo Goes to College and I went crazy screaming along to damn near every song they played. That's what's important. I finally got to see those local Fort Collins punk rock heroes live. It wasn't at a tiny, sweaty, smokey bar, but it was still everything else I would hope for. And soon I will be able to re-live the show (and you can see it too!) because it was being taped for some sort of video release. Can't wait!

One last thing. This whole post was about how they embrace immaturity, and how we love them for it, but there has always been one dark spot in one of their early songs, a song that is otherwise awesome and I still love, but it always makes me uncomfortable. "I'm Not A Loser" is a great anthem for punk rock types against jock types that will empower the outcasts of high schools for generations to come, but it happens to end with a bunch of homophobic slurs. These days, it is apparent which side of this ongoing battle of the outcasts vs the cool kids that homosexuals will tend to reside upon, and in this live rendition, this has been recognized, as the slurs were taken out of the song. Some things are worth growing up over, and I'm happy to see that they have become wise without losing their ability to declare "thou shalt not suppress flatulence." Amen to that.