Tag: life

A Good Thing Takes on…Godflesh

by KevinLeave a Comment on A Good Thing Takes on…Godflesh

The Best Record of 1989, Day 59: #27 Fine Young Cannibals, The Raw and the Cooked vs. #102 Godflesh, Streetcleaner

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at records from Fine Young Cannibals and Godflesh

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d occasionally write some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

KA—

Fine Young Cannibals, The Raw and the Cooked

Going into this review, my biggest question was, “Is it any good?” I knew the ubiquitous “She Drives Me Crazy” and “Good Thing.” I also vaguely remembered “I’m Not Satisfied” and “Baby Don’t Look Back” and vaguely recalled liking them.

My biggest question afterward was, How do you classify this record? And why had I not bothered with it all these years? Okay, that’s two questions, but both fair ones. Honestly, I have zero idea how to classify this album. There’s ska, Motown-era influence, a Buzzcocks cover, and everything in between.

FWIW, that cover was featured in the movie Something Wild, and a few other tracks were featured in other films. Even the band name was taken from a movie title.

Fine Young Cannibals — which included former members of The Beat, Andy Cox and David Steele, and vocalist Roland Gift — weren’t exactly straight out of central casting when it came to hit makers, but here we are. Steele and Cox had already cracked the chart code before with tracks like “Mirror in the Bathroom” and “Save It for Later,” but it turns out what would be their biggest hit almost didn’t happen.

Producer David Z explains:

The Cannibals—Roland, Andy and David—sent me songs through email for a few weeks and we decided on a list.”

One song was titled “She’s My Baby,” which David Z loved. The band, however, appeared less than enthused: “When they said it was rubbish and they wanted to throw it away, I told them I wouldn’t want to work with them unless we did that song,” Z said, “They reworked the lyrics and came up with ‘She Drives Me Crazy.’ Everyone I know could feel that way—and has.”

Lucky for us, it was released. With that sharp snare hit, a stripped-down arrangement, and Roland Gift’s now-iconic falsetto, we got the sort of right song at the right time that comes along about every 10 years or so.

The much more straightforward “Don’t Look Back” peaked at #11, while the fifth and final single, “I’m Not Satisfied,” only reached an anemic #90. Shame, really, as it deserves to be heard by a much wider audience.

This would (more or less) mark the end of the line for the band; they split up a few years later before recording a follow-up LP. But before that, we got the Raw and the Cooked- a record that is, well, a good thing (sorrynotsorry)

Don’t be me: If you haven’t checked out The Raw and the Cooked yet, do yourself a favor and give it a listen. Albums that nail that perfect mix of art and pop, old school and new school, don’t come around too often.

Godflesh, Streetcleaner

Oh, hey, sludgy riffs and ghoulish vocals labeled as “post metal.” Fun! Man, what a letdown after listening to FYC. I hope whoever nominated this got the help they needed.

Okay, that’s maybe a bit unfair. I can appreciate the way they blend metal and industrial genres here, and they’ve done well to paint a dystopian hellscape, but this feels like something a SWAT team would play on a loop to coax a suspect out of a house. Hard pass.

My vote: Ever fallen in love with a record you hadn’t heard in a while? You can never have too much of a good thing. I’m not gonna look back when I vote for FYC.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

One of These Albums Changed Music Forever – The Other Didn’t

by KevinLeave a Comment on One of These Albums Changed Music Forever – The Other Didn’t

The Best Record of 1989, Day 57: #6 Nirvana, Bleach vs. #123 The Rolling Stones, Steel Wheels.

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at records from Nirvana and The Rolling Stones

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d occasionally write some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

KA—

Note: Today’s piece draws heavily from anarticle I wrote in April of last year marking the anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s passing.

Nirvana, Bleach

It’s weird to find myself at an age where I can start a story with “I remember when” without irony.

Nirvana and Kurt Cobain are no exception. I recall with razor-sharp clarity how hearing ‘Negative Creep’ live off “their upcoming record” felt like a kick to the head. It was amazing, and everyone in the crowd that night knew we were at the starting line of something special.

Barreling to my local Tower Records in a car whose steering wheel I couldn’t see over to get Nevermind? Yep. That too.

They played great music, no doubt. But their relatability was magnetic. Come for the music, stay for the down-to-earthiness. Krist Novoselic always struck me as the proverbial older brother of my friends. The one who was either an upperclassman in HS, or went to Reed. An itinerant presence, but one that always came with a smile and cool records.

Cobain was something else. I think what made Cobain so relatable was the feeling that he was one of us. Aberdeen Washington isn’t that close to where I grew up, but people tend to generalize the entire Pacific Northwest as where they’re from.

Different license plates be damned; he was one of us.

There’s a great line early on in Michael Azzerad’s recent article about his time with the musician where he says :

…and two things struck me instantly. The first was: oh, wow, I know this guy. He wasn’t some sort of rock-and-roll space alien—he was actually like a lot of the stoners I went to high school with.

Reading that 30+ years later hit me the same way ‘Negative Creep’ did all those years ago. I “knew” that guy, too. In a lot of ways, I was that guy.

Back to the record:

Before Geffen, Smart Studios, Courtney Love, or even Dave Grohl, there was Bleach. Nevermind’s time stamp marks the group as a ’90s band, and it’s close, but the reality is they were tearing the roof off of clubs and upstaging headliners well before that. My words above weren’t meant to be hyperbolic; we really did feel like we were witnessing something amazing. A lot of bands back in the day were awesome, but not like this. Even in the early days, Nirvana was extraordinary.

This was even before picking up their music at Tower Records. They were on Sub Pop, and I have no idea about any distribution deals, but I can tell you I picked up my copy of Bleach (on cassette, thankyouverymuch) at a place called Locals Only Records in Beaverton. That wasn’t false advertising; they only sold music by artists from the Pacific Northwest. Aberdeen counts.

If Nevermind is mentioned in the same breath as Pearl Jam, Bleach deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as (relatively) lesser-known Seattle bands like Tad and the Melvins. It’s heavier, with sludgy riffs and a chugging rhythm section (Chad Canning and Dale Crover were on drums here).

“Negative Creep” is like standing in front of a blast furnace, and for my money, it is still one of the best tracks they ever put on tape. “Love Buzz” puts a fantastic spin on the Shocking Blue track and, dare I say, bests it. Opener “Blew” is a maelstrom.

Kurt Cobain gets an early chance to show off his songwriting here. Tracks like “Floyd the Barber” lean toward the absurd, but he truly shines on “About a Girl.” It turns out he’s got some chops. It was not always the easiest thing to hear behind the wall of fuzzed-out stoner rock we were getting, but it was there, just waiting for us.

Cobain’s untimely death and the band’s relatively short lifespan mean that they are often lionized (see also Joy Division). That’s fine. I think it’s safe to say that Nevermind changed the world—it’s a record that rearranged plenty of minds. But that momentum starts with Bleach. “Negative Creep” walked so that “Smells Like Teen Spirit” could run. I’m just glad I was there to see it.

The Rolling Stones, Steel Wheels

If you ever want to get the prototypical “music guy” (and they’re almost always guys) to launch into a stemwinder about how music today sucks, say something mildly negative about the Stones…or say something like Undercover has a couple of good songs. Or just leave ’em out of your Top 100 albums altogether. Trust me; it’s like moths to a flame. Just give your inbox a heads up about what’s comin’.

So, at the risk of taking a swing at that hornet’s nest, I’ll say this: Steel Wheels is an incredibly mediocre record. It’s home to one of their best tracks (“Mixed Emotions“) and forgettable tracks like “Hold on to Your Hat.” It also has an “Almost Hear You Sigh,” which is somewhere in the middle. A serviceable enough ballad, but one weighed down by too many coats of polish. I’m sure in ’89 some people wore out this cassingle during a break up or whatever, but are we sure this is the same band that put out tracks like “Gimme Shelter?’

Steel Wheels served as a reunion record of sorts, with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger burying the hatchet and laying some tracks down. That’s all well and good—it ensured another 30+ years of tours where they played the hits—but it would’ve been nice to see something novel come out of this reconciliation.

My vote: Look, I get why people have an affinity for the Rolling Stones. We tend to latch onto bands we first heard in our youth. I feel the same way about Nirvana- it would be hypocritical of me to say anything otherwise. That said, the Stones’ records of yore are not the same ones they released mid-career. The edges have been sanded off. There’s not a lot of ‘there” there. It’s commercially viable, but also the stuff of commercials. Bleach is a record whose edges are impossible to wear down. Love it or hate it, it’s one of the first green shoots of what was to come. And what was to come was incredible. My bracket pick and vote will both be going for Nirvana.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

The Best Record of 1989: Day 56: #46 Steve Reich, Different Trains vs. #83 Concrete Blonde, Free

by KevinLeave a Comment on The Best Record of 1989: Day 56: #46 Steve Reich, Different Trains vs. #83 Concrete Blonde, Free

Insert catchy subtitle here.

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at records from Steve Reich and Concrete Blonde

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d occasionally write some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

KA—

More than once during this series, I have hit the keyboard with no idea what I’m going to type out. Maybe I don’t know the record…maybe I’m agnostic toward the band…whatever the reason, there’s not a clear/cut direction mapped out ahead of time.

For me, that’s part of the fun. Can I make this work? Can I sculpt these random thoughts into something both entertaining and informative for anyone on the other side of the screen? We’ll find out before too long, but I’ll tell you this for free: if any record’s gonna pressure test that ability, Steve Reich’s Different Trains is it. I’d never heard of either him or the record. Because I’m a chaos agent, I like to be spontaneous, so I decided to go cold without doing any research first. If you are familiar with this record, you’ve probably already sussed out the ending by now and can skip ahead to my thoughts on Concrete Blonde. For everyone else, let’s see where this ride takes us…

Pulling it up, I see it’s Steve Reich and Kronos Quartet. I only vaguely know the latter name, and if pressed to name a single piece of work by them, I would fail. This clearly is something not in my wheelhouse, either now or in 1989. But it’s also seeded relatively high, so I’m hoping that it’ll be interesting even if it isn’t something appealing to me. Mostly, I just want something tangible or an interesting angle.

The short version is this: there are three songs, er, “movements,” and the intensity ramps up with each successive track. There are voice snippets here, each growing ever shorter until they simply become notes in the work(s) themselves. There are also on-brand sounds such as steam trains, whistles, brakes, etc. It all makes for work that leaves the listener disoriented. It’s pretty intense—and I like me some intense. Once I learned the backstory, it became even more so.

Reich, as it turns out, was a child of divorce. His parents split early, and he spent a lot of time riding the rails across the country between his mom’s new home in LA and his dad’s in New York. Later, it would dawn on him that at the same time he was criss-crossing the US, other kids his same age were riding trains with much uglier destinations; Auschwitz, Dachau, etc. A real case of “there but for the grace of God, go I.” The voices we hear on the record are from his governess, a porter on the trains Reich regularly rode, and three holocaust survivors. Different Trains is intense before you know the backstory. It becomes downright harrowing once you do.

I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately- how where/when you ‘re born is the structure to your life’s story. I’ve been viewing it through the eyes of a middle-aged dad who spends a lot of time wondering how he got here (and where his glasses are). But at the same time, how fortunate a hand I was dealt. I was the right age at the right time to be one of the first to see more than one band that would change the world (more on that tomorrow!). My parents’ decision to buy a home where they did meant proximity to kids who would also be music nerds, and of course, the wonder that is Oregon1. Mt. Hood? Way good.

And so too is this record. I don’t have the technical savvy to discuss the specific elements of the record (the cello is nice, I guess?), but I can definitely vouch for this being a ride that’ll leave you more than a little shaken. It’s one you don’t easily forget. In 2025, “Never forget” seems more imperative than ever.

Please don’t be the one with Joey on it
Please don’t be the one with Joey on it
Please don’t be the one with Joey on it

~Me, pulling this record up to play

My not-at-all-subjective take on Concrete Blonde going in was this: I don’t like “Joey.” Like, at all. I love “Still In Hollywood.” Like, unequivocally. “Bloodletting” (the song) is cool in a sort of sleazy way. Everything else is up for grabs.

About four tracks in, I feel a strange sensation come over me. Do I…do I like this record? Yes, yes I do. Time to tear up my old thoughts on the band, and at a minimum, carve out an exemption for this record.

So “Joey wouldn’t” come for another year (yay!), and in the meantime, we get a gritty, just sleazy enough record packed to the gills with chunky riffs and Johnette Napolitano’s voice. There are some who’ll tell you she can’t quite stay on key. Doesn’t matter. The sheer force of these pipes is something to behold. And the list of people who sing worse is a mile long. More importantly, it feels purpose-built to match the music here. It’s something you hear in impossibly hot clubs with low ceilings and bathrooms that qualify as Superfund sites. It’s delicious. Put together, the record feels perfect to soundtrack the side of LA tour buses that don’t take you through. The world of dive bars, out-of-this-world Mexican food that never gets Instagrammed, and the sorts of unforgettable characters that make for great song lyrics.

My vote: I would love to say that Steve Reich’s record is now hopelessly quaint. An anachronistic recording of an event that could never possibly happen again, but we’d both know I was lying. At age 36, its lessons have more urgency now than they did when it was released. A record doesn’t have to be in your wheelhouse to tell a riveting, necessary story, and this one does.

Going the other way, Concrete Blonde delivers a snapshot of a very specific vision of Los Angeles that most people either never see or that has been lost to time and/or the clouding of memories. In this version, the beer is cheap, adventure plentiful, and things are just dangerous enough to get interesting. And that’s my kinda town. My vote’s for Concrete Blonde (not having “Joey” on the record also helps).

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

The Sugarcubes ‘Here Today…Tomorrow…Next Week!’ | What Could’ve Been, Would’ve Been…Should’ve Been!

by KevinLeave a Comment on The Sugarcubes ‘Here Today…Tomorrow…Next Week!’ | What Could’ve Been, Would’ve Been…Should’ve Been!

The Best Record of 1989: Day 54: #51 The Sugarcubes, Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week! vs. #78 3rd Bass, The Cactus Album

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at records from The Sugarcubes and 3rd Bass.

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d occasionally write some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

In case you missed any from earlier this week:

Camper Van Beethoven’s Key Lime Pie Record Is the Story of a Nation Crumbling Under Reagonomics

Was Blind Man’s Zoo the Last “Real” 10,000 Maniacs Record?

Is The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Automatic’ a…Dance Record?

Note: Thoughts on tomorrow’s match are below.

KA—

You know those clips on YouTube where they isolate the bassline from a hit song, or Michael McDonald’s voice from “Peg?” Imagine something like that, but where you could edit out an element.

Now, picture using the audio equivalent of Control + F to find/delete everything related to Einar Örn’s vocals from The Sugarcubes’ Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! You’d have a contender for record of the year, with fans split over whether it or Life’s Too Good is their best. I like Stick Around For Joy, but let’s be real—I might be alone on that.

Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week! should’ve been the album where The Sugarcubes leveled up by doubling down on what made Life’s Too Good so memorable. Instead, they ran with the one element that worked because it was restrained and put it front and center. Imagine being the producer and hearing, “More Einar everywhere!” Yeesh.

On Life’s Too Good, Einar appeared in just the right doses, playing something of a foil to Björk—it worked, because it was contained. Here, the leash is off, and his constant interruptions drag down nearly every track.

I don’t mean to pile on here, but at the same time I kind of do—especially since his trumpet playing is one of the things I like most about this record. Why couldn’t he have focused on that instead? What’s with wanting to be the North Atlantic version of Fred Schneider?

Meanwhile, Björk is in fine form, throwing herself into these songs with a fury that hints at her later solo career. You hear her pushing her limits. Just when you think, Yes! Yes!—Einar bursts in with more yelped nonsense, and all bets are off.

Musically, there’s a lean, angular energy, with tight, new wave-adjacent grooves and just enough pop sparkle to keep things moving. The horn sections shine, especially on songs like “Tidal Wave.” The rhythm section is locked in, pushing things forward nicely. It makes you want to like this record more than you do. Which again begs the question—why not steer Einar toward his strengths?

Back to YouTube: imagine you’ve erased Einar’s vocals and are listening to the improved version. The sound has evolved, and the grooves have more substance. It still tries to be a party record but is less about novelty and more about what the album could have been.

That’s the rub. The record succeeds in many areas: Björk shines, and the band delivers. So what happened? Did Einar have outsized sway, or did everyone agree? It feels self-sabotaging.

The other fault is that it drags on too long. It feels longer than Life’s Too Good, despite actually being shorter. Someone should’ve made the unilateral decision to cut “Hot Meat,” which feels like a Temu version of “Cold Sweat.”

Here Today…is a record that comes so close, but with Einar’s overwhelming presence, it ultimately misses the mark. Still, if you lean in close, you can hear real gold. Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week! is the band at a crossroads, unsure of what to keep or cut.

Sometimes it works—but more often, it’s just exhausting.

For the third Bass, I had to phone a friend. I had a feeling that we liked a couple of tracks, but otherwise, we spent most of our time pointing and laughing at MC Serch and Pete Nice. Turns out my memory failed me (quelle surprise!). My buddy texted back within minutes, saying, “The Cactus Album is a Classic.”

Okay, so that’s sorted then.

Listening to the record, I’m surprised at how well it’s held up and the creativity of the samples used. I wasn’t expecting a Blood Sweat and Tears track sample here, but it’s also possible I memory-holed it like everything else. I did remember “Gas Face,” and it’s as fun now as it was then. Does 50-year-old me find the same appeal that teenage me did? Apparently, yes. Same story with “Steppin’ to the AM” (home of the sample mentioned above). Do two tracks a record make? No, but this was a nice enough way to soundtrack part of my shift at work.

My vote: Took the easy out here, and went with The Sugarcubes. For all its faults, this is still a Sugarcubes record and Björk’s on it. That’s some gravitational pull. Also, another example of the performative voting we’ve seen previously (and will see again).

Ask yourself: Who’s cooler: Bjork or MC Serch? Exactly.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

P.S. Tomorrow’s Match Up features #19 Neneh Cherry’s Raw Like Sushi taking on #110 Don Henley’s End of the Innocence.

One I’d never heard before now, and one I’m ambivalent (at best) towards. Decided to punt on this one and give myself a pass on writing it up. My bracket pick and vote will both be going to Neneh Cherry.

Is The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Automatic’ a…Dance Record?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Is The Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Automatic’ a…Dance Record?

The Best Record of 1989 Day 53: #14 Jesus and Mary Chain, Automatic vs. #115 Kitchens of Distinction, Love is Hell

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at records from Jesus and Mary Chain and Kitchens of Distinction

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d occasionally write some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags and hot takes are welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

KA—

The first of what would be many trips to Portland’s Pine Street Theater was marked by a beer bottle winged from the stage, whizzing inches from my head. It turned out fine; this became an anecdote I’ve shared many times. A ha-ha moment that was very close to having a very different ending.

The band playing? The Jesus and Mary Chain.

I don’t think people thought this record was a joke, but I do remember many people lamenting that it wasn’t another Psychocandy. The band also got some flak for using drum machines and synths (there’s no bass guitar on the record). You can argue for each of those points, but I think they were saying that the record might be too poppy for their taste.

Ultimately, though, Automatic gets a largely undeserved bad rap.

The album followed 1988’s Barbed Wire Kisses and would be followed by the ’92’s Honey’s Dead. In other words, you’ve got my favorite on one side and a solid outing on the other. But Automatic’s importance in the Jesus and the Mary Chain discography shouldn’t be questioned. Like Darklands, it has been a sleeper that has risen in reputation as time passes.

The album was produced by the Reid brothers and recorded at Sam Therapy studios in West London. It would give us two hit singles: “Blues From a Gun” and “Head On,” the latter being the poppiest thing they ever made this side of “Sometimes, Always.” The album reached #11 on the UK album charts but only managed #105 on the US charts.

At the time of its release, the reception was lukewarm, but in some circles it was shit hot. “Head On” got a lot of airplay on the likes of MTV’s 120 Minutes, and no less than Pixies wound up covering it. It also caught the eye of my then-girlfriend, which meant that I had a willing partner in crime to make the cross-town trek to Pine Street.

Possible hot take: If Barbed Wire Kisses was an homage to surf rock, Automatic was a nod to dance music writ large. “Blues From A Gun” has a swagger that’ll get your hips moving, “Head On” has one of the most glorious choruses of the year, and the druggy “Here Comes Alice” is all dark sugary goodness. None of these are dancefloor fillers in the traditional sense, but all make it hard to stay still.

The Jesus and Mary Chain never made the same record twice. Each has a unique style (or vibe) and sound, leading to some red lines being drawn among the fanbase. Some people liked the fuzzed-out/tripped out nature of Psychocandy. Others, the more accessible sheen of Darklands. Some loved the heavy gauged riffs of Barbed Wire Kisses. Automatic had a little something for all three camps.

What I think everyone could agree on was just how far upfront the drums and sequencers were compared with their other releases. The programmed bass gave the album a relentless pace and feel, as if it was daring all of us to keep up.

Automatic is a rock & roll record that tapped into what was going on around it—and the band—at the time. While I’m not entirely sure it understood the assignment, I’m positive it’s held up over the ensuing years.

Perhaps the biggest reason time has rehabbed its reputation is this: at its core, this is a (maybe the only?) JAMC record you can dance to.

Which is exactly what I was doing when that bottle flew by.

The nicest thing I can say about Kitchen’s of Distinction’s Love is Hell is that “Prize” is a great song. Really. I listened to it, like, 3 times in a row. That it took ‘til track 4 to get to it is a story for another day. I’m usually all in on dream pop, but this just didn’t anything for me. Maybe it’s a record that asks you to listen a couple of times before you get it? I dunno.

My vote: JAMC is one of my all-time favorite bands, which means Kitchens of Distinction never really had a chance. A record full of tracks like “Prize” might’ve given me a moment’s pause, but my bracket pick and vote were never really in doubt.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

Was Blind Man’s Zoo the Last “Real” 10,000 Maniacs Record?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Was Blind Man’s Zoo the Last “Real” 10,000 Maniacs Record?

The Best Record of 1989: Day 52: #35 10,000 Maniacs, Blind Man’s Zoo vs. #94 Michael Penn, March

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at records from 10,000 Maniacs and Michael Penn

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d occasionally write some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

KA—

I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve always associated 10,000 Maniacs’ very specific, very literate sound with universities. And not just any university, but somewhere like Dartmouth (sorry, Hurricane fans). It’s a sound that, to me, has always felt more at home on a campus with a vibrant field hockey program than on the Billboard charts.

The short version of these earlier records is this: a bit of well-styled jangle pop coupled with Natalie Merchant’s gorgeous voice and thoughtful lyrics. That’s the upshot. The downside is that these often leave you feeling like you’re being lectured to. Merchant can come across like that neighbor who’s usually pretty cool, but will also tut-tut you for not composting enough or not having one of those “In This House We Believe…” signs1. Nice enough and well-intentioned, but it can wear thin.

Cueing this up, I wondered if I’d been remembering them in too harsh a light. After all, “These Are the Days” is a song I associate with travel and adventure, thanks to reading Jeff Greenwald’s “The Size of the World.” Maybe I’d been wrong?

The opening track, “Eat For Two,” is about teen pregnancy, so well, no. But that slick, made-for-radio formula is as delicious as I remember it.

Speaking of which, this is the last record that could be classified as janlge pop, and even here, it’s a stretch in places. This is really the jumping-off point for the more refined pop style of Our Time in Eden and everything that came after.

“Trouble Me” is a fine, if unremarkable, bit of ear candy, and I’m starting to wonder (again) if I’m being too harsh on the band. Those doubts vaporize pretty quickly with “You Happy Puppet.” Musically, it’s right up my alley. It’s polished with the sort of sunny grooves I buy in bulk.

And then I make the mistake of pulling up the lyrics, and well:

How did they teach you to be just a happy puppet dancing on a string?
How did you learn everything that comes along with slavish funnery?
Tell me something, if the world is so insane,
Is it making you sane again to let another man tug at the thread that pulls up your nodding head?

Same story with “Headstrong”…

…and “Poison in the Well”…

(sigh).

Stylistically, it is a great transitional record that does well to tie the two on either side of it together. With the benefit of hindsight, the signs are also all there that 10,000 Maniacs is increasingly becoming a Natalie Merchant backing band. Our Time In Eden would seal the deal, even if the timelines don’t match up perfectly.

A couple of songs feel like they go out of their way to be inoffensive (in the same way that same neighbor might start every criticism with something like “I feel like…”, but overall it’s not enough to sink the record. That title goes to the preachy and overbearing lyrics. Blind Man’s Zoo is a solid effort, but one best consumed in small doses.

I’ll be honest here: here’s everything I know about Michael Penn: His brother is Sean Penn (RIP Chris Penn). He’s married to Aimee Mann, and No Myth was inescapable when it came out. That’s it. He was almost a predecessor to Duncan Sheik, if you remember. All signs point to him being an artist I’d be more familiar with, but here we are.

All signs also point to him taking himself too seriously, but I don’t get that impression when I listen to the first few tracks. The ride takes us through a few folk-y ballads and a couple of up-tempo numbers. It’s all well done, but I’m not getting a particularly strong sense of FOMO here. It’s fine that I’ve waited 36(ish) years to hear this…

…and then we get to the closer, “Evenfall,” and man, talk about ending on a high note! This is a rollicking good time, with barrel piano and an ornate section that’ll have you moving in your chair. Now that’s how you close an album! Where was this in ’89?!

My vote: I have a feeling a lot of people are in the same boat as me here (10,000 Maniacs aren’t bad, have only heard the one song by Penn). I will vote mainly on name recognition and Merchant’s voice. I’m still in the bottom third of the rankings in this challenge, and the first rule of getting out of a hole is to stop digging. My bracket pick and vote will both be for Blind Man’s Zoo.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

Queen Latifah Shows She’s Here to Stay, and Violent Femmes Show They Never Left

by KevinLeave a Comment on Queen Latifah Shows She’s Here to Stay, and Violent Femmes Show They Never Left

The Best Record of 1989 Day 50: #62 Violent Femmes, 3 vs. #67 Queen Latifah, All Hail the Queen

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at records from Violent Femmes & Queen Latifah

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d occasionally write some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags and hot takes are welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

In case you missed any from earlier this week:

Day 46: The The’s Mind Bomb vs. the Record Matt Johnson Should’ve Made

Day 47: Grebo vs. Folk? 1989 Truly Had Something For Everyone

Day 48: Fast Jangle Pop Meets Fast…Everything

Day 49: Hey Buddy, Come Anytime

KA—

The pitch: After three years, the Femmes got back together and got back to basics. As good as Hallowed Ground and The Blind Leading the Naked may be, this is a band at its best when it’s stripped down to its core parts. Brian Ritchie’s bass, a quiet beat, and whatever of Gordon Gano’s neuroses he feels like talking about today.

3 (actually the band’s fourth record) starts strong with “Nightmares” and “Just Like My Father.” Deserved or not, Gano always seems like the type of guy we’ll hear about on the 6 o’clock news, invariably with a neighbor describing him as “…nice guy, kept mostly to himself.” Part of that is down to his habit of writing/singing songs from the perspective of some people with, well, some issues. The 1-2 punch of the first two tracks won’t do anything to disabuse people of those notions.

That theme keeps right on going on “World We’re Living In,” with Gano singing:

I can’t go out no more
I just better stay at home
I just better stay all alone
’cause what am I gonna do
if I see someone I’d like to do
something to

“Fool in the Full Moon” might just be the closest thing to a rock song the Femmes ever put to tape. But the rest of it is what most people would come to expect from the band: Gano’s nasally vocals, a mildly chaotic racket, and lyrics that’ll have you singing along until you realize what’s coming out of your mouth.

3 is a fun, enjoyable record. It isn’t quite up to the level of their band’s self-titled classic or even the maudlin atmosphere of Hallowed Ground, but it let everyone know the band was back, and that was enough.

I’ve mentioned it before, but the first time I heard Queen Latifah’s “Dance For Me,” it was thundering out of my friend Kiki’s Honda as he took the corner onto our block at an impossibly high rate of speed.

With A Tribe Called Quest and Jungle Brothers having already dropped releases, it only made sense that another member of the Native Tongues crew would come out, and it was never going to be anyone else but Queen Latifah. And that opening track put everyone on notice that she wasn’t going anywhere.

I’m sure the way I found the record has something to do with it, but to my ear, this LP had an urgency to it. DJ Mark the 45 King put his unique stamp on much of the record, diving deep into the crates, corralling some unruly sounds and reforming them as dance-floor fillers.

This was also the era when MCs became infatuated with house music—sometimes with mixed results. All Hail the Queen is no exception with “Come into My House.” A solid if unremarkable track. And it wouldn’t be a 1989 record without some friends coming along for the ride. Fellow Native Tongues De la Soul are here (“Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children”) as is KRS-One (“Evil That Men Do”).

The former has something like 14 samples in it-everyone from Otis Redding to Billy Squier. When I said Mark the 45 King dug deep, I wasn’t kidding.

As a whole, All Hail the Queen is solid, but standouts like “Dance For Me” carry a lot of the weight, and trimming a couple of tracks would’ve elevated this from good to great.

My vote: I’m a fan of the Femmes, and the fact that they’re from Milwaukee scores some points for them. Both records are good, neither is great. I went with a nod to my old neighborhood for the tiebreaker, and threw my vote to the woman known to the New Jersey DMV as Dana Owens.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

Hey Buddy, Come Anytime

by KevinLeave a Comment on Hey Buddy, Come Anytime

The Best Record of 1989: Day 49: #3 De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising vs. #126 Hoodoo Gurus, Magnum Cum Louder

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a quick look at records from De La Soul and Hoodoo Gurus

I should be mad at De La Soul—or at least annoyed. I have a particular distaste for the skits that litter so many hip-hop records, which can be traced back to the band’s 1989 record, 3 Feet High and Rising. That said, while those were often used as filler on other releases, they have a certain charm on this record. I’m still not sold on the idea, but they’re at least tolerable. If nothing else, they’re not distracting from the overall product.

Okay, so that’s the bad part out of the way. Now let’s talk about the good. We can talk about Prince Paul’s touch and how he helped sculpt this into something nothing like what we’d heard before. This and Paul’s Boutique ushered in a new era of layering samples like a collage. Now, instead of an MC and a breakbeat, we had soundscapes. Both of these records influenced countless crews that followed. Why one was a hit out of the blocks and took years to get its due is worth its own discussion.

We can talk about the stylings of Posdnous and Trugoy’s flow and the insistence on bringing concepts like peace and harmony back into the collective discussion. Maybe carve out some time to remember how fun “Me, Myself, and I” felt when it dropped. Posse cuts were de rigueur then, and “Buddy” is one of the best. All of those things are true, and each of them matters.

In our Top 100 series, Sam had this slotted in at #77.

My take then was:

Looking back through admittedly fuzzy memory, in the mid-to-late 80s, everyone I knew had three hip-hop records: Beastie Boys’ License To Ill, Run DMC’s Raising Hell, and this. Only one has a Steely Dan sample, and only one sounds as good now as it did then. “This,” of course, would be 3 Feet High and Rising. It’s the summer of love with some 808, and I’m here for it.

I still am.

I lucked my way into a group of avowed music nerds in school. Finding and sharing new (or at least new to us) music became our raison d’être. This is how Hoodoo Gurus’ Magnum Cum Louder first got onto my radar.

I don’t recall this becoming an obsession with any of us, but instead falling into the “it’s got a couple of great songs” purgatory. Those lucky few wound up circulating on mixtapes, with the rest of the tracks confined to the dustbin of history.

If you’re of a certain age, you know the deal; you bought a record on the strength of a good song over two, and hoped for the best with regard to the rest of the album. In this case, I wouldn’t have felt bad being out $8.99 or whatever the list price was, but I was also happy with just having a copy.

In Magnum Cum Louder’s case, that one good song is “Come Anytime.” About a minute in, I realized I was playing it loud and singing along at equal volume (note: If we happened to have been sharing the ordeal yesterday afternoon, I’m sorry you had to hear that).

It’s as good as ever. The hook…the sing-along chorus…all of it. It does well to set the stage for what’s to come. The next couple of tracks (“Another World,” “Axegrinder”) are also pretty good, even if they don’t quite meet that same high bar. They’re nice enough, but feel like a small step down. Get to about track six and realize it’s more of the same. It’s a nice “same,” —” Shadow Me” and “All the Way” in particular— but a same nonetheless.

Magnum Cum Louder is, of course, a play on the term Magnum cum laude, which is a fancy way of adding a “better than average” rider to a degree or diploma. It seems aspirational here, especially when stacked up against the rest of the discography.

A few tweaks here and there might’ve earned it a legit shot at that distinction.

My vote: 3 Feet High and Rising changed the game. Magnum Cum Louder barely caused a ripple in my suburban friend group. It’d be a much tougher call if we were going on the strength of “Come Anytime” alone, but we’re not.

It’s the D.A.I.S.Y. Age for the win.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

Grebo vs. Folk? 1989 Truly Had Something For Everyone

by KevinLeave a Comment on Grebo vs. Folk? 1989 Truly Had Something For Everyone

The Best Record of 1989: Day 47: #23 Indigo Girls, Indigo Girls vs. #106 Jesus Jones, Liquidizer

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at records from Jesus Jones and Indigo Girls

One of the fun things about this challenge is revisiting records I haven’t listened to since the first Clinton Administration and learning new things. It does a cynical heart good.

For instance, I had no idea that “Grebo” was a genre, with bands like PWEI, EMF, and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin. It also turns out I’m a fan of it. Who knew?

There’s also Jesus Jones- another band I listened to early and often back in the day, and then forgot about. Besides Right Here/Right Now (which you can hear on pretty much any ’90s hour on the radio), listening to anything else is something bordering on an annual event. Usually, that involves either “Trust Me” (from Doubt) or “Never Enough” (from this record) popping in my head, me thinking “Oh yeah, I should totally play that!,” doing so, and then forgetting it happened for another 364ish days.

So Grebo was a short-lived genre, and each of these tracks feels very much of that (narrow) place and time. The good news is that it was a thrilling time, and the sound here reflects that; it’s kinetic, busy, and confident. The songs all kinda sound alike, but it’s okay because the song rips. Check out “Move Mountains,” “Never Enough,” “All the Answers” and “Info Freako” if pressed for time.

Like PWEI, the sound can be summed up thusly: throw a bunch of genres (industrial, techno, power pop) in a blender. Set to puree. Add samples to taste. Serve immediately.

Mike Edwards’s full-throttle vocals can get old, but they seem oddly endearing in the context of the time. There’s maybe a “Yeaaaah!” too many in every song, but that’s okay. It’s been long enough between listens that I don’t mind it today. To my ear, the record itself holds up, but at least some of that is down to the influence of spins.

Nevertheless.

“Right Here Right Now” casts a long shadow and unfairly saddles the band with the one-hit-wonder tag. Liquidizer itself was unfairly cast aside, a victim of Doubt’s success. An innovative record at the time, it deserves more credit than it gets

This is Jesus Jones on the way up before peaking with Doubt and then crashing out in spectacular fashion with the god-awful Perverse. Liquidizer is their least polished and most alternative, and it’s all the better for that rawness.

Going from the kinetic chaos of Liquidizer to the soulful folk of Indigo Girls felt the way it does when you exit the freeway and go from 70-80 mph back to 35. I really should’ve given things a minute to settle instead of immediately jumping in.

The upside is that the first song is the sublime “Closer to Fine.” It’s also the only song I can credibly claim to have heard before this morning. Like Jesus Jones, the duo of Amy Ray and Emily Sailers have been unfairly cursed with one outsized hit overshadowing much of, well, pretty much everything they’ve done since.

This is their major label debut. It has a basic (not derogatory) sound and an earnestness worlds away from Liquidizer’s winking cynicism. Ray and Seiler’s voices blend beautifully, and the guitar work is clean and out front.

I was happily surprised to hear Michael Stipe providing backing vocals on “Kid Fears.” It turns out the other 3/4 of R.E.M. show up on “Tried to be True,” which unsurprisingly became my favorite track on the reocrd.

This record was more intense than I’d assumed it would be. There’s an occasional edge I wasn’t expecting. It’s nice to hear some drums, ya know? Overall, it’s a solid record, top-heavy with an opener that is still their biggest hit. One could do worse than having “Closer to Fine” as your legacy. But like Jesus Jones, Indigo Girls have made an impact far larger than you’d assume if only looking at their chart record.

My vote: My heart is all in on Liquidizer. My head thinks that people will only remember “Right Here, Right Now,” and “Closer to Fine,” and will choose the latter thinking it’s a better look. My bracket pick is for Indigo Girls but I will be once again voting against my own interests and going for Jesus Jones.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—

The The’s Mind Bomb and the Record Matt Johnson Should’ve Made

by KevinLeave a Comment on The The’s Mind Bomb and the Record Matt Johnson Should’ve Made

The Best Record of 1989 Day 46: #55 Pop Will Eat Itself, This Is the Day…This Is the Hour…This is This! vs. #74 The The, Mind Bomb

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at records from The The and Pop will Eat Itself

Note: As many of you know, I recently wrote about a Best Record of 1989 challenge and noted that I’d occasionally write some of these up.

I’ve started doing some quick hits of each matchup and posting them directly to the page. Some will be longer, some won’t, and some might just be a handful of sentences. There’ll probably definitely be some typos.

Check ’em out and let me know your thoughts! Chin wags & hot takes welcome! Sharing and restacks are always appreciated.

KA—

Let’s be clear: I love The The’s Infected. Anything after that was going to be measured against an unfairly high bar. That album was a brick thrown through the window of polite 1980s pop — angry, theatric, and intelligent. But this one? It’s less of an explosion and more of a slow burn.

There’s no denying Matt Johnson’s ambition here — it practically bleeds through the speakers. He’s reaching for something here, but that “something” is never really clear. Instead, we get an album that feels pulled in too many directions at once, as if Johnson’s trying to mesh together the raw energy of Soul Mining with the electricity of Infected.

Enter Johnny Marr, who finally joins Johnson after years of near-misses and what-ifs. This should have been a summit of two great minds. Instead, it often sounds like two auteurs trying not to step on each other’s toes. There’s tension, yes — but not always the kind that results in a better outcome. I can appreciate Marr being mindful that he’s a guest, but still…

And yet. And yet! The record refuses to be boring. The opener is a mission statement in miniature — nearly seven minutes long, stitched with the muezzin’s call to prayer, defiant in its refusal to meet the listener halfway. Elsewhere, an operatic chorus materializes, not so much sung as summoned. It’s a fever dream of a record.

But then come the two high points. With Sinéad O’Connor at her best, Kingdom of Rain is a slow-burn implosion — a duet that aches with every note. It’s the kind of song you don’t play often, not because it isn’t brilliant, but because you can’t bear it. This kind of track leaves you reaching for the rocks glass and staring out the nearest window. Then there’s The Beat(en) Generation, a near-perfect piece of pop cynicism. The message is one of glances askance: “The beaten generation/reared on a diet of prejudice and misinformation.” Ain’t that the truth! I know I just got done talking about how different it was from Infected, and how that might not’ve been a good move, but man, I loved this song. And at the risk of carbon dating myself, I bought it on cassingle. I think I still have it?

Infected was a declarative statement. This album is decidedly less so. Johnson may have been just as intent here, but things occasionally get lost in the delivery.

Some bands evolve. Pop Will Eat Itself detonated.

After Box Frenzy — a chaotic mess that sounded like PWEI cosplaying as the Beastie Boys, it would’ve been easy to write them off as a novelty act. But then came This Is the Day… This Is the Hour… This Is This! — and everything changed. Turns out the joke was on us.

The not-so-secret weapon here is Flood. Fresh from manning the boards for Depeche Mode and Nitzer Ebb, he turned PWEI’s unruly collage of pop culture fragments into something cohesive and forward-looking. This album doesn’t play like a follow-up — it plays like a totally different band.

I won’t pretend the members of PWEI had any kind of bars—half the time, they’re rapping like they’re on a sugar high, but that’s part of the charm. They weren’t trying to emulate U.S. hip hop; they were squishing it into their version of British pop with metal riffs, breakbeats, horror movie samples (and an LL Cool J sample, FWIW). The result is a record that feels like channel-surfing through the late ’80s zeitgeist.

The singles still hold up, but what really elevates the album for me is its surprising depth. Between the neon and noise, there’s hints of a darker, moodier version of PWEI. Tracks like “Inject Me” and “Wake Up! Time to Die” are definitely not party tracks, suggesting a band more self-aware than they were ever given credit for.

This is The Day… is the record Matt Johnson should’ve made. So yes, dig it out of the cutout bin and give it a spin. Honestly, it never sounded better.

My vote: I wanted to like Mind Bomb when it came out. I loved (!) The Beat(en) Generation, but there rest of it never really landed with me. As noted above, I’m sure some of that is the unfair comparison to Infected. It is what it is. Meanwhile, PWEI did the opposite; they followed up a mediocre record with one hitting on all cylinders. My bracket pick and vote will be going to PWEI.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!

Check out the full bracket here.

Info on the tourney, voting, and more is here.

As always, thanks for being here.

KA—