Blast From The Past: The sound of 1978

Ten amazing tracks selected from some of the best albums of 1978, the year that defined the sound we would later call "post-punk":

The Jam - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight

Album: All Mod Cons

Elvis Costello & The Attractions - (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea

Album: This Year’s Model

Blondie - Hanging On The Telephone

Album: Parallel Lines

Public Image Limited - Public Image

Album: Public Image - First issue

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Metal postcard

Album: The Scream

X-Ray Spex - Oh! Bondage Up Yours! (Live At The Roxy)

Album: Germ Free Adolescents

Devo - Mongoloid

Album: Q: Are we not men? A: We are Devo!

The Saints - Know your product

Album: Eternally Yours

Radio Birdman - Aloha Steve & Danno

Album: Radios Appear

Magazine - Shot By Both Sides

Album: Real Life

The 7s, part 4: 1997

Since the beginning of the year, we have been revisiting some of our favorite albums and songs released in previous years ending in 7. So far we’ve listened to the punk sounds of 1977, the UK indie scene of 1987, as represented by the recent Cherry Red compilation C87, and the wonderful guitar noise emanating from the US underground of the same year. 

In the 4th part of this series, we are going twenty years back to 1997, a year that gave us plenty of great albums by the likes of Pavement, Spiritualized, Blur, The Verve, The Dandy Warhols, Cornershop, Wu-Tang Clan, Prodigy, Portishead, Foo Fighters to name just a few of the year’s high profile and critically acclaimed releases.

The seven albums that we have chosen to represent 1997 in this feature, include a few releases that have gained cult status over the years as the prestige of their creators has risen with each subsequent release, along with some more obscure choices which are just as dear to us and we think more people need to discover. In the first category there is Sleater-Kinney, Modest Mouse and Built To Spill, three of the greatest US rock bands to come from the Pacific Northwest really hitting their stride with their 1997 releases, and in the second there is the last ever albums in the brief but excellent discography of '90s cult heroes Helium and The Geraldine Fibbers, plus a couple of outstanding records by Swell and Prolapse, who were also at their very best around that time. Have a listen to the indie sound of 1997: 

Dig Me Out - SLEATER-KINNEY

 

Turn It On

The Lonesome Crowded West - MODEST MOUSE

Heart Cooks Brain

Perfect From Now On - BUILT TO SPILL

I Would Hurt A Fly

The Magic City - HELIUM

Leon's Space Song

Butch - THE GERALDINE FIBBERS

California Tuffy

Too Many Days Without Thinking - SWELL

(I Know) The Trip

The Italian Flag - PROLAPSE

Autocade

The 7s, part 3: US 1987

Some of our all-time favorite albums were released in years ending in 7. As we are waiting to see what 2017 has in store for us, we have already revisited the great punk rock debuts of 1977 and looked for obscure UK indie gems in Cherry Red's C87 compilation.

For the third installment of this series we are returning to 1987, but this time we are selecting tracks from 5 seminal albums that defined the '80s US alt. rock scene and greatly influenced what was to come in the next few years leading up to the grunge explosion that shook up the mainstream of the early '90s. Here is our US alternative rock Top 5 of 1987:

1. Songs About Fucking - BIG BLACK

Bad Penny

2. Sister - SONIC YOUTH

Schizophrenia

3. Warehouse: Songs and Stories - HÜSKER DÜ

Ice Cold Ice

4. Document - R.E.M.

The One I Love

5. Mirage - MEAT PUPPETS

Liquified

The 7s, part 2: 1977's Punk Rock debuts

Our time travel to past years ending in 7 continues: this time we're going back 40 years to 1977, the peak of the punk explosion, and we're selecting the Top 10 debut albums of that groundbreaking year for rock music:

 

Top 10 Debut Albums of 1977

 

1. Never Mind the Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols - THE SEX PISTOLS

2. The Clash - THE CLASH

 

3. Damned Damned Damned - THE DAMNED

4. Pink Flag - WIRE

5. Marquee Moon - TELEVISION

6. My Aim Is True - ELVIS COSTELLO

7. In The City - THE JAM

8. Talking Heads: 77 - TALKING HEADS

9. (I'm) Stranded - THE SAINTS

10. Young Loud and Snotty - DEAD BOYS 

A vintage year indeed, have a listen:

Click here for part 1 of our trip to the 7s for a taste of 1987.

The 7s, part 1: C87

As we are waiting to see what 2017 has in store for us, we are going to take a small trip down memory lane and listen again to some excellent music from past years ending in 7.

At first I thought of starting this time trip in the punk rock heaven of 1977 and working my way up to 2007, but since I just got in my hands the outstanding triple CD compilation C87,  released last year by Cherry Red Records to celebrate the 30th anniversary of C86, we'll start from 1987 instead.

The concept behind this compilation was to imagine what would have been the result if NME had decided to reconvene a year on from their original C86 cassette for a follow up. The resulting 70-plus tracks compilation, curated by one of the original C86 compilers, Neil Taylor, offers a 4-hour panorama of the new UK indie pop and rock scene of '87, featuring bands ranging from the well-known to obscurities making their debut on CD. 

All tracks come from the period just after C86, i.e. summer 1986 to the end of 1987, and features first recordings by names that later found chart success and became familiar to indie fans the world over, like indie legends The Wedding Present, The House Of Love or The Inspiral Carpets, and others who at best enjoyed cult status (for example The Boy Hairdressers, who evolved into Teenage Fanclub or The Vaselines who found fame after they were covered by Nirvana) or disappeared after a handful of excellent but hard to find singles. It's truly mind-blowing that all this was happening in the short period between 1986 and 1987 and no wonder it is still offering inspiration to new bands opting to create guitar music in the 21st century.

Here are just a few examples of the fine indie rocking happening in the UK of 1987, that you will find in the C87 compilation:

The Wedding Present - My Favourite Dress (the band's 5th overall single and first from their 1987 classic debut LP "George Best")

Talulah Gosh - Talulah Gosh (the 4th single by the cult band that later evolved into Heavenly)

The Flatmates - I Could Be In Heaven (their debut single - the above video was recorded live at The Tropic Club, Bristol, 31st August 1986)

The Sea Urchins - Pristine Christine (first ever single on Sarah Records)

I, Ludicrous - My Baby's Got Jet Lag (from their debut album "It's Like Everything Else")

Hits, Cult Classics & Obscurities: 1986

It's been a while since the last post in our "Hits, Cult Classics & Obscurities" series, so I'll start by reminding you that the simple idea behind it, is to pick a year and then select three great songs released as singles that fall in one of these three categories, based on the level of their critical and commercial success.

Last year, when we did our first post in this series, we started by going back 30 years to 1985. This is exactly what I'm going to do for the reboot: time for a flashback to 1986 for three, pretty "funky" songs; one that you definitely know, one that you probably do and one that the odds are you're hearing for the first time:

Run DMC - Walk This Way

The more than 27 million views of this video on YouTube really says it all about the level of success for Run DMC when they had the brilliant idea to cover Aerosmith's "Walk This Way" with the participation of its songwriters, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. The song became the first hip hop single to crack the US Top 5 and helped "Raising Hell", Run DMC's third LP, to achieve triple-platinum status and become the first rap album to reach Number One in the charts. This was not the first track to bring hip hop and rock together, but its unprecedented level of success birthed the rap-rock hybrid and opened the doors of the mainstream to hip hop music.

Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth

"World Shut Your Mouth" was the title of Julian Cope's first solo album in 1984, a few years after the demise of The Teardrop Explodes, one of the key bands of the post-punk Liverpool scene of the late '70s - early '80s era. The song of the same title surfaced two years later when it was released as the single to prepare the ground for Cope's third solo LP, "St. Julian", which followed in March 1987.

The upbeat single became Cope's biggest commercial success, reaching the Top 20 in the UK and even managing an entry into the US Top 100. The 12-inch version of the single is highly recommended as there you can also find a Trouble Funk remix of the title song, as well as two killer cover versions of the 13th Floor Elevators' "(I've Got) Levitation" and Pere Ubu's "Non-Alignment Pact", two of Julian Cope's favorite bands.

The Spikes - River of Love

I was pleasantly surprised to find that there is a video for The Spikes' 1986 single "River Of Love", as the band from Adelaide, Australia that was active between 1983 and 1986 never found much commercial success and an internet search of their name will not give you back many useful results (apparently there was also an Irish band with the same name in more recent years).

The Spikes made their debut in 1983, a fine era for Australian rock, with the excellent single "She’s Melting" which was released on Greasy Pop Records, a label founded by their guitarist Doug Thomas. After the 1984 mini LP "Six Sharp Cuts" and another single ("Bloody Mess") the next year, they released in 1986 their first and last album "Colour In A Black Forest", a great "lost" garage-rock gem of the '80s, which opened with the funky bass line of "River Of Love", also released as a 7-inch single. I could say that this was a track ahead of its time, as it was bringing together rock and dance grooves a few years before the rock-dance crossover started to rise in popularity in the UK indie scene of the late '80s - early '90s. Unfortunately the The Spikes were from a different continent and a few years too early for that, so they remained a name known only to those few who kept an ear to the underground Aussie rock scene of the '80s. Not that the rock-dance thing was their main style. Check out here "Colour In A Black Forest" to better understand why The Spikes deserved a wider audience.

Blast From The Past: The Long Ryders - Looking for Lewis and Clark

"Looking for Lewis and Clark" is one of the finest tracks recorded by The Long Ryders. It was released as a single in 1985 and was the lead track of their second album, "State of Our Union".

The Los Angeles based four-piece had made its debut two years earlier with the EP "10-5-60", mixing psychedelic and garage rock with country and folk influences. They were considered part of the '60s psychedelic-rock influenced Paisley Underground movement, along with fellow L.A. bands like The Dream Syndicate and Rain Parade. The strong country and folk rock elements of their sound makes The Long Ryders one of the key bands in preparing the way for the alternative country movement which flourished in the '90s.

Along with "State of Our Union", the band's discography includes two more excellent albums, 1984's "Native Sons" and 1987's "Two-Fisted Tales". All the material from these three LPs and the EP, as well as singles, demos and rare live recordings can be found in the new, 4-CD box set "Final Wild Songs", released a few weeks ago by Cherry Red Records. Highly recommended!

The Long Ryders -  Looking for Lewis and Clark

Check out The Long Ryders tour dates here.

Hits, Cult Classics & Obscurities: 1990

In the three previous editions of our latest series of posts, we've traveled back to 1980, 1985 and 1995 to remind you of some key tracks from these years that can be classified as hits, cult classics or obscurities based on their level of commercial success. Regardless of their popularity though, there is no doubt in my mind that the most appropriate label for all the song trios we've presented so far is Killer Tracks. Here's another killer trio, this time from 1990:

The early '90s was certainly a great era for the UK alternative music scene. Among the numerous new bands taking their first steps in that period were The Charlatans from the West Midlands, a band whose sound was quickly associated with the Madchester scene, and Ride from Oxford who soon became one of the pivotal bands of the shoegazing sound. 

"The Only One I Know" was just the second single of The Charlatans, released on May 14th, 1990, and it instantly became a big hit, landing at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart and also breaking into the Top 10 of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in the US. Here's our choice for hit single of 1990:

It would take Ride a little longer to have a similar hit in the UK (that would be 1992's "Leave Them All Behind", which also peaked at number 9), but there is no doubt in the mind of shoegaze fans everywhere that the string of EPs that launched the band's career in 1990 include some of their best and most influential songs. One of them is our choice for this year's cult classic: here's "Chelsea Girl", track 1, side A of their debut, self-titled EP released on January 15th, 1990 on Creation Records, the song that was my introduction to Ride:

Danielle Dax has created throughout the '80s some truly unique, inspiring experimental pop records, all released on small, independent labels. In 1990 she made her major label debut with the fine "Blast The Human Flower", produced by Stephen Street. Despite a more accessible sound and a very good cover of The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" which she released as a single, the record didn't find the success it deserved and after one more independent release in 1995, Dax retired from music to focus on other artistic endeavors including interior design. 

Have a listen to her cover of "Tomorrow Never Knows" below and make sure to check out her original compositions as well, not only on "Blast The Human Flower" but also on records like "Inky Bloaters", "Jesus Egg That Wept" or "Pop-Eyes".

Hits, Cult Classics & Obscurities: 1995

For the third installment of Hits, Cult Classics & Obscurities we are going back 20 years to 1995.

You can find all previous posts in this series here, so let's not waste time with introductions and go straight to the music with The Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". Released on October 24, 1995, it was the lead single off the band's third album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" and became their first Top 40 hit in the US, while also reaching the Top 20 in the UK:

San Diego's Rocket From The Crypt have given us several excellent albums and singles throughout the '90s and "Born in '69", the lead single off their major-label debut "Scream, Dracula, Scream!", is certainly among their best. Enjoy John Reis and company in top screaming form in our selection for the cult classic of 1995:

Scarce, the power trio featuring Anastasia Screamed singer/guitarist Chick Graning and bassist Joyce Raskin, could have easily found success on the strength of their astonishing debut album "Deadsexy", but a near fatal brain aneurysm stopped them in their tracks. Thankfully Graning was able to pull through, but the momentum for the band was lost and they eventually split up two years later without any more releases until their reformation in 2008. As luck would have it, without any promotion their excellent 1995 single "Glamourizing Cigarettes" as well as the album did not reach many ears, but those of us who own a copy of "Deadsexy" will always cherish it.

Hits, Cult Classics & Obscurities: 1980

Part two of our new, monthly series of posts where we pick a year from the '80s or '90s and present three favorite songs that fall into one of these three categories: Hit, Cult Classic or Obscurity.

Of course, it's not always easy to decide to which category a song fits in - surely, a hit cannot also be categorized as an obscurity, but it is possible that a song that had huge commercial success in one part of the world remained, at best, a cult classic in other territories.

This is exactly the case for the single I've chosen as my favorite hit of 1980: on March 10 of that year, The Jam released the double A-side 7'' single "Going Underground / Dreams of Children" which went straight to the top of the UK chart and remained there for three consecutive weeks. It was The Jam's first number one in their country (three more would follow before Paul Weller's shock decision to break up the band at the top of its popularity in 1982), but success for them never came on the other side of the pond, so, as far as North America is concerned, this one rather belongs to the Cult Classic category. No matter how you choose to categorize it, though, there is no doubt that "Going Underground" is one of the finest rock tracks of the '80s:

Choosing just one Cult Classic from 1980 is certainly a tough task. Just about any entry in our Top 50 Singles list of that year (apart from the few other obvious hits, of course) can be classified as a cult classic, so I could really just pick a random number and go with that one. Instead I'll break the tie with an obvious choice from one of the countless classics that The Fall have recorded throughout the '80s (and '70s, and '90s, and '00s, and so on) - here's "Totally Wired" from September 1980, released on Rough Trade as a 7'' single with "Putta Block" on the B-side:

Our final selection from 1980 was chosen as "Single of the Week" in all major British music newspapers in the spring of that year but failed to break into the charts. "Seven Minutes to Midnight" by Pete Wylie's Wah! Heat (one of his many Wah!-related incarnations) is undoubtedly a classic, but given that it is perhaps the least well-known track in my 1980's Top 10, I will pick it as the year's obscurity. On a positive note, its critical approval led to a contract with a major label where Wylie released the following year "Nah = Poo -The Art of Bluff", his debut album as Wah! (no more Heat, but not yet Mighty, if you know what I mean) which included this excellent song about the cold war and the era's nuclear paranoia:

On another positive note, Pete Wylie is preparing his first album in this century, titled "Pete Sounds" and you can help by pledging your support here.

Check out here the first part of Hits, Cult Classics & Obscurities with our selections from 1985.

Hits, Cult Classics & Obscurities: 1985

First edition of a new series of posts where we pick a year and choose three songs that belong in one of these three categories: Hits, Cult Classics or Obscurities.

The first category includes bona fide hit singles chosen among the year’s top-sellers in the US or the UK. The second includes songs that may not have found much commercial success when they were released, yet their lasting influence has given them cult status. In the third category there are songs that perhaps you've never heard before but among them there are plenty of hidden gems that deserve your attention.

For the premiere of Hits, Cult Classics and Obscurities we go back 30 years to 1985 and start off with Paul Hardcastle's UK Number One hit "19", an anti-war song released on February 17 inspired by a documentary on the Vietnam war and the electro sounds of Afrika Bambaataa:

The indie scene of 1985 has certainly plenty of cult classics to offer. Let's hear another release from February 1985, "Field Of Glass" by The Triffids, the title track of an excellent EP that the cult Australian band recorded at BBC's Maida Vale studios on November 6, 1984, produced by Mark Radcliffe - not one of their most known songs but undoubtedly one of their most powerful:

Last but no least, have a listen to "Chance", a post-punk roller-coaster ride by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, released as a single in 1985 but not included in the Leeds band's debut album of the same year "Talk About the Weather":

Blast From The Past: Babes In Toyland - He's My Thing

Babes In Toyland are back together again and the date of the first live show by Kat Bjelland, Lori Barbero and Maureen Herman since the mid-'90s is getting close (February 12 at The Roxy in Los Angeles). Time to dust off my purple vinyl copy of "Spanking Machine" and give it another spin!

Babes In Toyland - He's My Thing

1975 - 1979: Top 30 Albums of the Punk Era

Time for a flashback to the late ’70s, the era that gave birth to punk rock and all its various mutations that, in one way or another, have influenced all guitar music we’ve been listening to in the last 40 years.

The trigger for this flashback was the recent Soul Jazz Records compilation "Punk 45 - Kill the Hippies! Kill Yourself! The American Nation Destroys Its Young Vol.1 1973-1980" which chronicles the rise of underground punk in the USA with a series of excellent singles released between 1973 and 1980. The Punk 45 series continues with a new release this month with the self-explanatory title "Sick on You! One Way Spit! After the Love & Before the Revolution Vol.3: Proto-Punk 1969-77" (see also here).

Before we get our hands on that one as well, time to revisit our 30 favorite albums of the punk and post-punk years. By including only one album by each artist or band (and leaving out compilations or EPs), we came up with this formidable list:

1975 - 1979: Top 30 Punk & Post-Punk Albums

1.   Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols - THE SEX PISTOLS
2.   Live At The Witch Trials - THE FALL
3.   Unknown Pleasures - JOY DIVISION
4.   Entertainment! - GANG OF FOUR
5.   London Calling - THE CLASH
6.   All Mod Cons - THE JAM
7.   Ramones - RAMONES
8.   Fear Of Music - TALKING HEADS
9.   This Year's Model - ELVIS COSTELLO
10. Pink Flag - WIRE
11. Suicide - SUICIDE
12. Marquee Moon - TELEVISION
13. Second Edition - PUBLIC IMAGE LTD
14. The Scream - SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES
15. Damned Damned Damned - THE DAMNED
16. (I'm) Stranded - THE SAINTS
17. The Modern Dance - PERE UBU
18. Horses - PATTI SMITH
19. Parallel Lines - BLONDIE
20. Cut - THE SLITS
21. Germ Free Adolescents - X-RAY SPEX
22. Real Life - MAGAZINE
23. Three Imaginary Boys - THE CURE
24. Radios Appear - RADIO BIRDMAN
25. Young Loud And Snotty - DEAD BOYS
26. The Undertones - THE UNDERTONES
27. Drums And Wires - XTC
28. Specials - SPECIALS
29. The B-52's - THE B-52'S
30. Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! - DEVO

Listen to our Top 30 on Spotify:



What else should be in there? I leave the comments to you…

Blast From The Past Vol.5: 1995-1999

The search into the dustier parts of our record collection continues for the fifth installment of "Blast From The Past". The aim of this series of posts is to pick our 50 favorite albums from a different 5-year period each time. As a rule, only one album is permitted from each group or solo artist. This means that we also have to decide on the best release from each band in this 5-year period.

The focus this time is on the second half of the '90s, the post-grunge come down years. After the tragic end of the Nirvana story and the realization of the music industry that no more easy money could be made by signing up every new act with loud guitars, the gates of the mainstream started to close for decent rock music and the pop charts returned to their normal boring state. Once again, as it was the case in the ’80s, the most intriguing new rock sounds were created in the fringes.

Understandably, the late '90s were nowhere near as exciting as the first half of that decade. I mean, how often can you get albums of the caliber of "Nevermind" or "Rid of me" or "Dirty"? So, after the tidal wave of landmark rock records in the early ’90s, the second half seems poor in comparison, but there was still a great wealth of excellent music to be found as you can see in the Top 50 below.

This time there is no clear choice for the best album of this particular period. The three albums that I feel are the most deserving to occupy the number one spot of our list is "House of GVSB", perhaps the best album of the mighty fine Girls Against Boys (one of the best live acts I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness), "Celebrity skin", the third album from Hole, where Courtney Love set out to make a perfect sounding classic rock record and hit the bull’s-eye, and "The hot rock" by Sleater-Kinney. In the end, the group formed by Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein in Olympia, Washington, took the honor as it was probably the best new band of this period, showing tremendous progress in a short amount of time. Their fourth album from 1999 blends flawlessly the incendiary riot-grrrl sounds of their early work with an overwhelming pop sensitivity and truly brilliant melodies. Their previous album, 1997's "Dig me out" (their first with Janet Weiss as their drummer), is also highly recommended.

Top 50 Albums of 1995-1999

1. The hot rock - SLEATER-KINNEY
2. Celebrity skin - HOLE
3. House of GVSB - GIRLS AGAINST BOYS
4. 1965 - THE AFGHAN WHIGS
5. Deadsexy - SCARCE
6. University - THROWING MUSES
7. The magic city - HELIUM
8. To bring you my love - P.J. HARVEY
9. No joke! - MEAT PUPPETS
10. Scream, dracula, scream - ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT
11. White light white heat white trash - SOCIAL DISTORTION
12. Dust - SCREAMING TREES
13. Mellon collie and the infinite sadness - SMASHING PUMPKINS
14. Garbage - GARBAGE
15. New adventures in hi-fi - R.E.M.
16. A thousand leaves - SONIC YOUTH
17. The light user syndrome - THE FALL
18. Murder ballads - NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS
19. My brother the cow - MUDHONEY
20. Powertrip - MONSTER MAGNET
21. Acme - THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION
22. Hello nasty - BEASTIE BOYS
23. Foo Fighters - FOO FIGHTERS
24. Into the pink - VERBENA
25. The slow-motion world of Snowpony - SNOWPONY
26. The Italian flag - PROLAPSE
27. Too many days without thinking - SWELL
28. Do the collapse - GUIDED BY VOICES
29. The soft bulletin - THE FLAMING LIPS
30. Deserter’s songs - MERCURY REV
31. Keep it like a secret - BUILT TO SPILL
32. Madonna - …AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD
33. In the long still night - GALLON DRUNK
34. Brighten the corners - PAVEMENT
35. Urban hymns - THE VERVE
36. Butch - THE GERALDINE FIBBERS
37. One part lullaby - THE FOLK IMPLOSION
38. Cha Cha Cohen - CHA CHA COHEN
39. The Dandy Warhols come down - THE DANDY WARHOLS
40. I can hear the heart beating as one - YO LA TENGO
41. The Sebadoh - SEBADOH
42. Tales of great neck glory - SAMMY
43. Electriclarryland - BUTTHOLE SURFERS
44. Munki - THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
45. Cobra and phases group play voltage in the milky night - STEREOLAB
46. Maxinquaye - TRICKY
47. All eyez on me - 2PAC
48. Second toughest in the infants - UNDERWORLD
49. Whitechocolatespaceegg - LIZ PHAIR
50. Yield - PEARL JAM

And here's 20 more albums equally worthy of inclusion: End hits - FUGAZI, Sleepy eyed - BUFFALO TOM, Boss Hog - BOSS HOG, Debt and departure - THOSE BASTARD SOULS, Little plastic castle - ANI DIFRANCO, Odelay - BECK, It was written - NAS, Elastica - ELASTICA, (What 's the story) Morning glory? - OASIS, Without you I’m nothing - PLACEBO, Le Tigre - LE TIGRE, Wu-Tang forever - WU-TANG CLAN, The fat of the land - PRODIGY, Dig your own hole - THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS, The Contino sessions - DEATH IN VEGAS, Liquid swords - GENIUS/GZA, Blur - BLUR, Indoor living - SUPERCHUNK, Only everything - JULIANA HATFIELD, King - BELLY.

There are certainly dozens more of excellent albums to be considered for this Top 50. Even with the one LP per band rule, the original list had more than 100 albums, but the final cut has to be based on personal taste and vices. Objectivity, as I usually say, is out of the question! This doesn't mean that we wouldn't appreciate your comments on the albums that you think that should have been in here...

Blast From The Past Vol.4: 1990-1994

The fourth chapter of our music history course that we like to call "Blast From The Past" is here and this time the focus is on the first half of the '90s. Last year, with the first three volumes of this series of posts, we presented some of the best albums from 1975 to 1989. Each time we take a five year period and compile a list of our favorite albums from that era, allowing the inclusion of just one record per band or solo act (so that we have a greater variety in our selections).

Last time, in volume 3, we left off just as a little known band called Nirvana was releasing its debut album on a new Seattle label called Sub Pop. The press coined a name for the emerging American North West heavy and noisy guitar scene and so grunge was born. Of course this sound existed throughout the '80s (just listen to the Wipers or the Meat Puppets) and Kurt Cobain, to his credit, was always keen to acknowledge his influences and point his fans to the right direction. The fact, however, remains that thanks to Cobain's songwriting genius and the unforeseen, tremendous success of his band's era-defining major label debut "Never mind", this underground sound, however you choose to call it, suddenly took over the charts worldwide. This optimistic start of the decade for rock music didn't last long, but at least the brief rise of the so-called grunge scene gave the opportunity to new as well as older bands to reach a much wider audience than before.

Meanwhile, Sonic Youth - who one could make the case that they masterminded this whole underground rock invasion by using the modest success that came with "Daydream Nation" as the Trojan Horse that opened the doors of Major Labeldom for the likes of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam et all to take over (making them Ulysses to Nirvana's Achilles in the great Grunge War) - continued being brilliant, as well as our other all-time Hall Of Fame heroes, Mark E. Smith's ever changing-always the same The Fall (releasing 5 excellent albums in as many years - the 3 of them on a major label for the first and only time in their career).

Other important players of the early '90s underground rock invasion force (newcomers or '80s heroes with newfound audience) included grunge godfathers Mudhoney, Afghan Whigs, Screaming Trees, Meat Puppets, Butthole Surfers, Pixies, Throwing Muses, Sugar, Sebadoh, Pavement, Girls Against Boys, L7, Babes in Toyland and last but not least Courtney Love's Hole (she got her celebrity status for all the wrong reasons but the fact is that all three Hole records simply rock).

On the other side of the pond, Madchester and the rave scene initially took over (making for good party music but not so great rock) and when everybody's mind was finally fried, came Brit-pop with only a few memorable albums (Oasis' "Definitely maybe" being the best by far) and a lot of wind (as Mark Smith would say). There were of course a few bright exceptions operating beyond the narrow limits of the Brit-pop sound - for example My Bloody Valentine's unique "shoegazing" wall-of-sound, The Heart Throbs' and Blue Aeroplanes' underappreciated pop brilliance or Teenage Fanclub's back to basics earnest approach - but in the end, apart from The Fall, it was up to P.J. Harvey to give us something truly exciting from the British Isles. "Dry" was the first blast in '92 followed, a year later, by "Rid of me", the first masterpiece from one of the greatest talents of our time (with Steve Albini recording, but also in our Top 20 as a musician with the debut album of Shellac, his third band).

Top 50 Albums of 1990-1994

1. Never mind - NIRVANA
2. Rid of me - P.J. HARVEY
3. Live through this - HOLE
4. Extricate - THE FALL
5. Dirty - SONIC YOUTH
6. Siamese dream - SMASHING PUMPKINS
7. Fear of a black planet - PUBLIC ENEMY
8. Fontanelle - BABES IN TOYLAND
9. Trompe le monde - PIXIES
10. Every good boy deserves fudge - MUDHONEY
11. Too high to die - MEAT PUPPETS
12. Sweet oblivion - SCREAMING TREES
13. Henry’s dream - NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS
14. The real Ramona - THROWING MUSES
15. Slanted and enchanted - PAVEMENT
16. Copper blue - SUGAR
17. Definitely maybe - OASIS
18. Bakesale - SEBADOH
19. At action park - SHELLAC
20. Repeater - FUGAZI
21. Independent worm saloon - BUTTHOLE SURFERS
22. Gentlemen - THE AFGHAN WHIGS
23. New west motel - THE WALKABOUTS
24. Saturation - URGE OVERKILL
25. Cruise yourself - GIRLS AGAINST BOYS
26. Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury - DISPOSABLE HEROES OF HIPHOPRISY
27. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 chambers) - WU-TANG CLAN
28. Jehovahkill - JULIAN COPE
29. Blast the human flower - DANIELLE DAX
30. Cleopatra grip - THE HEART THROBS
31. Swagger - THE BLUE AEROPLANES
32. Submarine bells - THE CHILLS
33. Sack full of silver - THIN WHITE ROPE
34. Automatic for the people - R.E.M.
35. Bandwagonesque - TEENAGE FANCLUB
36. Loveless - MY BLOODY VALENTINE
37. Giant steps - THE BOO RADLEYS
38. Soundclash - RENEGADE SOUNDWAVE
39. Pills and thrills and bellyaches - HAPPY MONDAYS
40. 30 something - CARTER THE UNSTOPPABLE SEX MACHINE
41. O.G. Original Gangster - ICE T
42. The chronic - DR. DRE
43. Amerikkka's most wanted - ICE CUBE
44. Blue lines - MASSIVE ATTACK
45. Pod - THE BREEDERS
46. Hungry for sting - L7
47. Social Distortion - SOCIAL DISTORTION
48. Ritual de lo habitual - JANE'S ADDICTION
49. Let me come over - BUFFALO TOM
50. Come on feel the Lemonheads - THE LEMONHEADS

Another 10 albums equally worthy of inclusion: Ill communication - BEASTIE BOYS, Superjudge - MONSTER MAGNET, Beet - ELEVENTH DREAM DAY, San Francisco - AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB, Center of the universe - GIANT SAND, Park life - BLUR, Blood sugar sex magic - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, Gold mother - JAMES, Nowhere - RIDE, The low end theory - A TRIBE CALLED QUEST

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Hidden Bonus Track - 10 more records that you probably never heard before, but are well worth the effort to discover (start googling): Volume war - TRASH CAN SCHOOL, Full Isaac - LOTION, Laughing down the limehouse - ANASTASIA SCREAMED, Skiz - MUDWIMIN, Ventriloquist - VERTIGO, Perpetual motion machine - 13 ENGINES, Furthest from the sun - THE FAMILY CAT, Killing time - BLEACH, Pond - POND, Debut album - SAMMY

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Coming Soon: The second half of the '90s in "Blast From The Past" Volume 5 - stay tuned.

Blast From The Past Vol.3: 1985-1989

It's been a long time coming and, finally, the third edition of the "Blast From The Past" series is here! This time we take a look at the second half of the '80s and choose our 50 (plus 10) favorite albums released between 1985 and 1989, keeping in mind the rule of including only one album from each artist or band. The common perception is that the first half of the decade in question was richer in innovative, groundbreaking music and produced more classic albums that defined the indie-rock world and continue to be highly influential today. However it would be wrong to downplay the importance of the music that came out in the late '80s, since, one one hand, we had the continuous rise of the underground experimental guitar sound that culminated with the release, in 1988, of arguably the best album of the decade, Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation", and, on the other, this was the golden era of the hip-hop culture. Run DMC took the beat of the underground to the top of the charts and Public Enemy spearheaded politicized hardcore-rap, taking the rap game to another level. And let's not forget that at the tail-end of this period, a little known band called Nirvana released its debut album, recorded for about $600, on a hip new Seattle label called Sub Pop. And the rest is '90s history, coming in the form of a nice little list in the forthcoming "Blast From The Past, Vol.4".

Top 50 Albums of 1985 - 1989

1. Daydream nation - SONIC YOUTH
2. Surfer Rosa - PIXIES
3. This nation’s saving grace - THE FALL
4. It takes a nation of millions to hold us back - PUBLIC ENEMY
5. Songs about fucking - BIG BLACK
6. Psychocandy - THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
7. Meat is murder - THE SMITHS
8. Document - R.E.M.
9. Bug - DINOSAUR JR.
10. Warehouse: Songs and stories - HUSKER DU
11. Mirage - MEAT PUPPETS
12. House tornado - THROWING MUSES
13. Life’s too good - THE SUGARCUBES
14. Blood and chocolate - ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS
15. Gas, food, lodging - GREEN ON RED
16. Valley of rain - GIANT SAND
17. My invisible lantern - SCREAMING TREES
18. In the Spanish cave - THIN WHITE ROPE
19. The firstborn is dead - NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS
20. Isn’t anything - MY BLOODY VALENTINE
21. I - A.R. KANE
22. The Stone Roses - THE STONE ROSES
23. Bummed - HAPPY MONDAYS
24. Raising hell - RUN DMC
25. Criminal minded - BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTIONS
26. The House of Love - THE HOUSE OF LOVE
27. Tallulah - THE GO-BETWEENS
28. Calenture - THE TRIFFIDS
29. Wild weed - JEFFREY LEE PIERCE
30. Charm world - YO
31. Bedtime for democracy - DEAD KENNEDYS
32. Mudhoney - MUDHONEY
33. Bleach - NIRVANA
34. Byram lake blues - 13 ENGINES
35. Babble - THAT PETROL EMOTION
36. Paid in full - ERIC B & RAKIM
37. 3 feet high and rising - DE LA SOUL
38. Straight outta Compton - N.W.A.
39. Saturday night! The album - SCHOOLY D
40. Our favourite shop - THE STYLE COUNCIL
41. George Best - THE WEDDING PRESENT
42. The eight legged groove machine - THE WONDER STUFF
43. Desperate fires - THE JET BLACK BERRIES
44. Hope against hope - BAND OF SUSANS
45. Frequency and urgency - SALEM 66
46. Lysergic emanations - THE FUZZTONES
47. First and last and always - THE SISTERS OF MERCY
48. Low life - NEW ORDER
49. Around the world in a day - PRINCE AND THE REVOLUTION
50. Our beloved revolutionary sweetheart - CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN

And here is the "plus 10" part of the list; a selection of ten more albums that are equally worthy of inclusion, but will have to sit on the substitutes' bench for now: Mother Juno - THE GUN CLUB, Inky bloaters - DANIELLE DAX, Lick - THE LEMONHEADS, Buffalo Tom - BUFFALO TOM, The world by storm - THE THREE JOHNS, Let’s play domination - WORLD DOMINATION ENTERPRISES, Power - ICE T, Locust abortion technician - BUTTHOLE SURFERS, Land of the lost - WIPERS, The Young Gods - THE YOUNG GODS.

Blast From The Past Vol.2: 1980-1984

In the second installment of our "Blast From The Past" series we focus on the first half of the 80s and present our 50 favorite albums from that period. I remind you that the rule of including just one album per band still stands, otherwise there would be like 5 Fall albums in here, turning this list into the Best of Mark E Smith (perhaps the subject of a future post).

Top 50 Albums of 1980-1984

1. Perverted by language - THE FALL
2. Remain in light - TALKING HEADS
3. Closer - JOY DIVISION
4. The Smiths - THE SMITHS
5. Sound affects - THE JAM
6. Zen arcade - HUSKER DU
7. Fire dances - KILLING JOKE
8. Juju - SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES
9. Crocodiles - ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN
10. Murmur - R.E.M.
11. The days of wine and roses - THE DREAM SYNDICATE
12. From her to eternity - NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS
13. Over the edge - WIPERS
14. The fire of love - THE GUN CLUB
15. Violent Femmes - VIOLENT FEMMES
16. Before Hollywood - THE GO-BETWEENS
17. Playing with a different sex - THE AU PAIRS
18. Fresh fruit for rotting vegetables - DEAD KENNEDYS
19. Meat Puppets II - MEAT PUPPETS
20. Los Angeles - X
21. Pornography - THE CURE
22. Power, corruption and lies - NEW ORDER
23. Burning from the inside - BAUHAUS
24. Garlands - COCTEAU TWINS
25. The flowers of romance - PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED
26. Crazy rhythms - THE FEELIES
27. Damaged - BLACK FLAG
28. Double nickels on the dime - MINUTEMEN
29. Mommy’s little monster - SOCIAL DISTORTION
30. Let it be - THE REPLACEMENTS
31. Living in darkness - AGENT ORANGE
32. Atom drum bop - THE THREE JOHNS
33. Kilimanjaro - THE TEARDROP EXPLODES
34. The Pretenders - THE PRETENDERS
35. Psychedelic jungle - THE CRAMPS
36. Vs - MISSION OF BURMA
37. Hex breaker - THE FLESHTONES
38. Native sons - THE LONG RYDERS
39. Treeless plain - THE TRIFFIDS
40. Desire - TUXEDO MOON
41. Dare - HUMAN LEAGUE
42. After the snow - MODERN ENGLISH
43. The Psychedelic Furs - THE PSYCHEDELIC FUR
44. Get happy - ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS
45. World shut your mouth - JULIAN COPE
46. Underwater moonlight - THE SOFT BOYS
47. Solid gold - GANG OF 4
48. Junkyard - THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
49. Tocsin - X-MAL DEUTSCHLAND
50. The crackdown - CABARET VOLTAIRE

And here's ten more album that could have been on this list, if I was compiling it on a different day: My life in the bush of ghosts - DAVID BYRNE & BRIAN ENO, Sonic Youth - SONIC YOUTH, Sandinista - THE CLASH, Black sea - XTC, Computer world - KRAFTWERK, Sons and fascination - SIMPLE MINDS, War - U2, High land hard rain - AZTEC CAMERA, Gravity talks - GREEN ON RED, Curse of Zounds - ZOUNDS.