Homosapien
Pete Shelley
Arista AL 6602
1981
Here is my belated tribute to Pete Shelley who passed away in late 2018. His band the Buzzcocks were easily my favorite of the first wave of British punk bands after the Clash largely because they were just as much power-pop as they were punk and looked more like new wavers than punks not unlike the Jam (another big favorite of mine back then.) I bought this album after hearing the title track on the radio. I was surprised when I first played it because it sounded so unlike the Buzzcocks aside from Shelley's distinctive vocals. It is basically dance-friendly synth-pop with a slight edge. It lacks the intensity and energy of the classic Buzzcocks songs but after a few spins it grew on me and I like it even better now since I have developed an appetite for synth-pop that I totally lacked in my youth. The record opens with "Homosapien" which is an extremely catchy ode to homosexual seduction. It was provocative back in 1981 but seems tame to me today although the line "homo superior in my interior" is fabulous. Shelley always had a gift for hooks and whenever I play this album this song is stuck in my head for days. In "Yesterday's Not Here" Shelley looks back at the past with disdain and unhappiness. The music throbs with a sensuous groove that I find enticing. "Love in Vain" was not on the U.K. version of the album, it was the B-side on the "Homosapien" single. In the song Shelley worries that his love is unrequited. It has a soulful sound to it. "Just One of Those Affairs" as you might guess is about sex - lots of it. It sounds very poppy with a very pronounced beat and an enthusiastic vocal from Shelley that reminds me of Graham Parker. Side one concludes with "Qu'est-ce que c'est que ça," which despite the title is mostly in English, in which Shelley wonders vaguely about life and relationships. It is a highly propulsive track with a wall of synthesizer sound that gets me bopping. It is one of my favorite cuts. Side two opens with "I Don't Know What It Is" which is a banal song about how one experiences love. The lyrics may be bland, but the music is exciting driven by an insistent staccato riff with waves of sound layered over it and a charged vocal from Shelley. It reminds me of Berlin trilogy Bowie. It is another one of my favorite tracks. "Witness the Change" is another B-side that was not on the U.K. edition of the record. It features a compelling melody driven by funky percussion and a powerful vocal from Shelley. In the song Shelley expresses optimism about the potential of love despite bad experiences in the past. "Guess I Must Have Been In Love With Myself" is a charming love song in which a self-centered guy changes when he finds love. Unlike his punk peers Shelley was not bashful about being a romantic. In keeping with the lyrics the music is highly melodic with a soaring chorus. It is easily the prettiest song on the record. In "I Generate a Feeling" Shelley uses his feelings of love to escape and find bliss. The music is jerky with a taste of funk to it and Shelley's vocal has a drone like quality. The album concludes with "In Love With Somebody Else" which was a single that was not on the British pressing of the album. The song examines the duality between the ideals and realities of love. It has a poppy ebullient melody that gives the album a joyful finish. Unlike many records from this period, this album has aged extremely well. It would probably make for a delightful party soundtrack with its relentlessly upbeat sound and insistent beat but I find it strong enough for concentrated listening as well. It stands out with its intelligence and sweeping musical density. Shelley was a very talented guy whose music has given me much pleasure through the years. I am going to miss him. Recommended to romantic Talking Heads fans.
Two Steps From the Middle Ages
Game Theory
Enigma Records 7 73350-1
1988
I only recently learned of Scott Miller's death last year from a fellow blogger (thanks, reselect.com.) If there was any justice in pop music, Miller would have been on the cover of "Rolling Stone" when he died. I think he was one of the great talents of his generation and his bands Game Theory and the Loud Family made a lot of music that I treasure and which hardly anyone ever heard. Game Theory's album "Lolita Nation" got great reviews but it didn't sell much and as a result became a pricey rarity for power pop aficionados. Miller never got his due, on this record you might notice that it is producer Mitch Easter whose name is on the promotional sticker on the cover of the album. I myself did not discover Game Theory until the 1990s by which time they had broken up. This was the first Game Theory album that I bought (on CD) and later I was lucky enough to find a sealed copy on vinyl. It was the final Game Theory album and some fans dismiss it as being weaker than the others, but I'm not in that camp. Sure it is not as great as "Lolita Nation" but what is? This album thrilled me when I first heard it and I still love it. The album kicks off with the high energy "Room for One More, Honey" which is driven by a big drum beat and jangly guitars in the best power pop tradition. It is sung by Miller and guitarist Donnette Thayer whose voices complement each other well. The song takes place on a plane with a couple immigrating to Asia and wondering what lies ahead. "What the Whole World Wants" sounds very 80s with its big drums and synth sound. Miller's sneering vocal expresses dissatisfaction with everyday life and its expectations. "The Picture of Agreeability" is a short song featuring only piano and synthesizer in which Miller expresses a desire to conform and not be viewed as a disappointment. "Amelia, Have You Lost" is a beautiful song in which Miller describes a disintegrating relationship. His high, sensitive vocal is extremely expressive. The man was a terrific singer with a voice that conveys sadness as well as anyone in alternative rock. There are some lovely guitar lines in this song as well. Next is the wonderfully titled "Rolling with the Moody Girls" which is a supremely catchy and poppy song, one of my favorites on the record. Miller sings about the rich girls of the title who are home from boarding school ready to make trouble. A verse from the song provides the album with its title. "Wyoming" is another one of my favorites, actually one of my favorite Game Theory songs period. It is an evocative bit of jangle pop sung as a duet by Miller and Thayer. The lyrics examine the complex relationship between growth and missing what one leaves behind. I love the line "I know that every night you lie and stare at the ceiling till you start believing it's the sky." Among his many talents, Miller was also an outstanding lyricist. The side ends with the infectious power pop song, "In a Delorean." This fast-tempo tune gets me bopping big time and the chorus is pure pop bliss worthy of the Go-Gos. The lyrics examine youthful folly and learning from one's mistakes. This track is also one of my faves. Side two features more bouncy power pop with "You Drive" which is a song about lost youth and growing up. "Leilani" name checks Donovan, Douglas Fairbanks and Clint Eastwood in a song about a girl living a theatrical, make-believe life. It is a slow jangle pop song with a Beatlesque feel to it. "Wish I Could Stand or Have" expresses conflicted feelings about being dependent on a lover. The song features acoustic guitar prominently in its sound and a raga rock guitar solo that makes it stand out among the 80s style music on the rest of the record. It is another one of the best tracks on the record. The synthesizer and big drums are back for "Don't Entertain Me Twice" which dissects a troubled relationship with a deceitful, thrill-seeking woman. The bitter invective and word play in the lyrics are worthy of Elvis Costello. Organ drives "Throwing the Election" instead of the usual synthesizer much to my approval. It is a brilliant song in which Miller uses an array of metaphors to convey disillusionment with his lot in life and a messed up relationship. Great stuff. The album ends with "Initiations Week" which features just acoustic guitar and a high, quavery vocal from Miller. It is quiet, delicate music in counterpoint to lyrics expressing seething resentment and rebellion. This is such a terrific record, it is smart, charming and endlessly appealing musically. Miller could toss out hooks with seemingly effortless ease and invested his music with genuine emotion. In a crappy musical decade that featured a lot of formulaic music, superficial glitz and crass commercialism, Game Theory's music shines like a beacon with its intelligence, integrity and insight. Recommended to fans of the dB's and Let's Active.
Talk Show
The Go-Go's
IRS SP70041
1984
I saw the Go-Go's play at the Hollywood Bowl last summer. It was the classic line-up minus Kathy Valentine who had injured her wrist and could not perform. Alas since then she has been kicked out of the band. It was a terrific show, I had a great time but I was disappointed that they only did one song from this album, "Head Over Heels." I can't blame them for concentrating on their first two albums for their set list, they were the two that were big hits. I think this album, their third, is their best one though. I was not initially a fan of the band. When "Beauty and the Beat" was released and "We Got The Beat" was all over the radio, I dismissed them as bubblegum. My sister loved them though and bought the album. I heard her playing it and I started to like it. Soon I was a fan too. What was there not to like? Five attractive women playing uptempo New Wave flavored power pop with clever lyrics, that was right in my wheelhouse. I bought and enjoyed their first two albums, but this was the album that really made me fall for them, just in time for them to break up unfortunately. "Talk Show" impressed me immediately with its rocked up sound while still retaining the band's pop sensibility. It is loaded with hooks and musical appeal. It always makes me happy when I listen to it even though it is easily the most unhappy album they ever made. It kicks off with Charlotte Caffey and Kathy Valentine's "Head Over Heels" which was the big hit single off the record. It is a sparkling tune driven by an insistent keyboard riff and a hard driving bass line with noisy guitars on top. It is loaded with pop appeal but the lyrics are dark and express confusion and desperation which seems an accurate reflection of the group's state of mind at the time with the band heading for a break up and drug problems taking their toll as well. It is my favorite Go-Go's song, I played it over and over when I bought this record. Caffey and Jane Wiedlin wrote "Turn To You" which was the other top 40 single on the record. It is another riff-driven rocker with an urgent, rough vocal from Belinda Carlisle with catchy back-up vocals from the group. It has a relentless beat that gets me bopping and features one of the best guitar solos in the band's catalog. It is another big favorite of mine. Despite its hard rocking sound, the song is a poignant plea to a lover to let her into his heart. The big beat continues with Gina Schock and Valentine's "You Thought" which has that synth with big drums sound so popular in the 1980s (much to my chagrin) but fortunately it also has loud guitars too. The song is about communication problems in a deteriorating relationship and it demonstrates the group's growth as lyricists with a lot of evocative imagery. The communication breakdown persists with Valentine and Wiedlin's "Beneath the Blue Sky" which features the great line "I think we're sharing the same lies." This song features another terrific guitar solo on top of a soaring melody that makes this song a real winner for me. Side one concludes with Wiedlin's moody "Forget That Day" which is about being deceived by a lover who loves someone else. Carlisle's plaintive, heartfelt vocal is very expressive. Side two opens with the powerful guitar riff and crisp drumming that drives "I'm the Only One" which Valentine wrote with Carlene Carter and Danny Harvey of the Rockats. This high energy song features more delightful vocal harmonizing from the band in support of Carlisle. It is another song about misunderstandings in a love affair. "Yes or No" is a collaboration between Wiedlin and Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks. The song was released as the third single off the album but it flopped, although not for lack of musical quality. It has a hooky bass line and a catchy chorus that has hit single written all over it. Lyrically it recalls the earlier Go-Go's records with its love 'em and leave 'em ethos as the narrator tries to get a guy to dance with her no strings attached. Wiedlin's optimistic "Capture the Light" is about trying to stay positive and avoiding dark thoughts. Once again jangly guitars and tight drumming result in a very appealing musical concoction. Schock and Wiedlin's "I'm With You" is about the unhappiness of being away from the one she loves presumably because of a tour. Carlisle sings the words with a lot of feeling and the group substitutes a steady groove in place of the rocked up sound on most of the record to reinforce the desperate sadness that permeates the song. The album concludes with Wiedlin, Valentine and Caffey's remarkable ballad "Mercenary." It opens with martial drumming and delicate guitar strumming gradually picking up steam as it builds to the emotional chorus. It is a heart-breaking song about a girl who uses a guy and his unhappiness as a result delivered by Carlisle in one of her best ever vocals. It gives the album a moving finish full of depth and tenderness. Scoff if you will, but I say this is one of the best albums of the 1980s. It obliterates the persona of the Go-Go's as cartoonish party girls with its sensitivity and heartfelt honesty. Its powerful rock sound displays the group's punky roots and musical chops. This album sounds great and it has hardly aged a bit. I find it endlessly appealing and stimulating. Recommended to Bangles fans who wish they weren't so hung up on the 1960s.
Mesopotamia
The B-52's
Warner Bros. MINI 3641
1982
I was at a Key Losers show in January and at the end of the set, Katy Davidson plugged her Ipod into her amplifier and started blasting "Mesopotamia" while dancing and singing along with it. That was a lot of fun. I hadn't heard the song in many years and had forgotten how good it was. I don't really listen to any of my B-52's albums much any more, but there was a time when they were one of my favorite bands. When I was at Cal, you couldn't go to a party without hearing them at some point on the stereo. There was even an elaborately stupid dance that was created for "Rock Lobster." They always were a great dance band, but I mostly dug them for their twangy guitar sound, vocal harmonies and sense of humor. I don't recall anyone ever playing this album at a party though and I even remember some of my acquaintances complaining about it. I never understood that because I thought it was wonderful, as good as anything they had ever done. It was produced by David Byrne and reportedly the band clashed with him over the direction of the album which is why it is a mini-album rather than a full length. Despite the friction, I think the collaboration is a big success, the surf/retro dance music of the group is augmented by an emphasis on percussion and funkiness with stunning results. The driving beat of "Loveland" with its powerful rhythm section anchoring Cindy Wilson's soaring vocal gets me hopping. "Deep Sleep" goes exotica even featuring a sample from Martin Denny. Kate Pierson delivers the dreamy lyrics over a hypnotic beat. Side one ends with the title track where Fred Schneider finally makes his appearance at the mike. It is classic B-52's with its hilarious lyrics, Schneider's mannered vocal supported by some creative background singing from Pierson and Wilson, and a relentless dance groove. One of my all time favorite B-52's songs. Side two starts with "Cake," another classic. The ladies lasciviously croon about making cakes while the horns and rhythm section deliver another funky foundation for their verbal hijinks. It is great fun and more than a little sexy. "Throw That Beat In The Garbage Can" is about an irresistible beat that is driving Schneider crazy. I can see why as the music backs him up with another powerful dance groove driven by some great bass riffs. I just can't sit still while it is playing. The album ends all too soon with Cindy Wilson belting out "Nip It In the Bud" over more kinetic funk. It is another hyper-propulsive song that gets me twitching and shaking like I'm having a seizure. It is really a shame that this project was cut short. Judging from the six outstanding songs it produced, it had the potential to be the best B-52's album ever. Despite it's brevity it is among my favorites of all their albums. Recommended to people whose favorite Talking Heads album is "Remain In Light."
Pearl Harbor and the Explosions
Pearl Harbor and the Explosions
Warner Bros. BSK 3404
1980
The Bay Area had a pretty lively punk/New Wave scene while I lived there, mostly centered around the Mabuhay Gardens club in North Beach. It was largely ignored by the local mainstream media, but the local PBS station used to cover the avant-garde art scene and occasionally included the music scene as well in some late night programs which is where I first saw video art and where I also saw a few New Wave videos. One of them featured a video from this local band. I was enamored of all things New Wavy and was taken by the video, particularly the charismatic lead singer, Pearl E. Gates. They performed their song "Drivin" which became a local hit. The band never really made it nationally and fell apart a few years later and I ended up buying their album as a cutout. At the time I was so naive that I thought of this as cutting edge, but listening now it sounds pretty tame. The group was a lot more pop than punk, although the sound is very New Wave with the propulsive beat and Gates mannered singing style. They remind me of some of the funkier New Wave groups like Pylon or the Talking Heads. "Drivin'" was a great single. It has an irresistible bass riff worthy of Tina Weymouth and a fun, hiccupy vocal from Gates. "You Got It (Release It)" is a soaring power pop song with nice guitar licks from Peter Bilt. "Don't Come Back" with its martial drumming and jerky rhythms and "Keep Going" with its quirky inspirational lyrics sound like outtakes from "Talking Heads 77". "Shut Up and Dance" is one of the harder rocking songs on the album, it reminds me of the Knack. It will definitely get you moving. Side one is one bouncy tune after another, perfect for a dance party. Side two is not as much fun. "The Big One" is tedious, once the beat slows down you notice how repetitious and simplistic the lyrics are. "So Much For Love" sounds like the Talking Heads doing a disco song. "Get A Grip On Yourself" is so David Byrne-like that it borders on plagiarism. The side ends on a high note with the fast tempo "Up and Over" which gets me bopping big time although it drags on a bit too long. This album has its flaws, it is derivative and the lyrics are bland to the point of being mundane, but as far as New Wave records go, you could do worse. There are real drums and no synths and Gates is an engaging singer. It is not pretentious and it is full of energy. Recommended for Talking Heads fans who wish David Byrne wasn't so weird.
Call of the West
Wall of Voodoo
IRS SP70023
1982
I saw a Stan Ridgway show over the summer. I was actually going to see Michelle Shocked who was opening for him but I stuck around to check out his act. I've never been a fan, in fact I used to find him kind of irritating so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed the show. He is an entertaining, even compelling performer. So I dug out this record and gave it a spin. Basically the only reason I have it is that I was a big fan of IRS Records back in the New Wave days and I would buy practically any record they put out. I bought this but didn't like it all that much, mostly because I was annoyed by Stan, or as he called himself back then Stanard, Ridgway's voice which I would describe as a cross between David Byrne and Fred Schneider filtered through Ian Curtis. I find as he has gotten older the voice suits him or maybe I'm just more open to his mannered style of singing. This record appeals to me now, I have a bigger problem with the 80s synth pop sound on it than I do Ridgway's singing. The best song on the album is the most famous song in his repertoire, the New Wave classic "Mexican Radio." Like many of the songs on this album, it has a bit of a film noir feel to it which has been a popular motif with Ridgway throughout his career. This song is insanely catchy, hear it once and you will hear it forever. The film noir influence is very pronounced on "Lost Weekend" which sounds better live where Ridgway gives it a more dramatic interpretation than on this album. Like a lot of Ridgway's best songs it has a strong narrative, his music has a cinematic feel to it. This is particularly true of the excellent closing song, "Call of the West." This epic song is influenced by westerns and also captures the desolation of the Southern California desert were Ridgway was born. It features one of Ridgway's best vocals. The western influence is very strong on the instrumental "On Interstate 15" which is the road that goes from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It sounds like a psychedelic western soundtrack. "Factory" opens with a howling harmonica reminiscent of a Morricone spaghetti western soundtrack, but the song that follows is a dark tale of modern life, part film noir and part suburban nightmare. "Hands of Love" reminds me of the Talking Heads, a bouncy observation of ordinary everyday weirdness. "Tomorrow," "Look at their Way," "Spy World" and "They Don't Want Me" are lively tunes with that big New Wave beat but full of atmosphere and sardonic lyrics, intelligent music you can dance to. This record sounds better than a lot of records from that era and I think Ridgway deserves credit for that. He has so much enthusiasm and drama in his singing style, it gives feeling and resonance to his synth pop. The band is strong as well, they play with taste and restraint, virtues in short supply in the pop music scene in the early 1980s. Recommended for Talking Heads fans who dig Sergio Leone.
War
U2
Island 90067-1
1983
I recently saw U2 play at Anaheim Stadium as part of their 360 tour. It was a spectacular concert, I enjoyed it more than I expected. I was a big U2 fan when I was younger but over the years I lost interest in them. I went to this show because my son wanted to see it and I'm glad we went. There was a moment in the concert where I was reminded of when I started to lose interest in the group. It occurred when they performed "Sunday Bloody Sunday." Here I was in the heart of conservative Orange County surrounded by beer swilling party people bellowing out the lyrics to the song including the doofus who had been yelling at Bono to stop talking and start singing earlier in the show. The song is a heartfelt cry for peace that references the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, yet the happy drunks around me might as well have been singing "Louie, Louie." The irony of this reminded me of when I was in college. I had the first three U2 albums and they were one of my favorite bands. I deeply respected their willingness to express strong political and religious opinions in their songs, I thought of them as cutting edge artists. I was walking along Fraternity Row in Berkeley when I came across a loutish bunch of frat boys sitting on their lawn and blasting from their stereo was "New Year's Day" my very favorite U2 song. I was horrified and it was never the same after that. U2 skyrocketed in popularity and my interest in them waned accordingly. I'm embarrassed to admit that a lot of that was snobbery on my part, like many indie rock fans I don't like it when my pet bands become famous. I've gotten better about that now, I like obscure bands and famous ones as well. Also I've come to realize that perhaps U2's greatest virtue is being a massively popular band that still has something to say. A bunch of idiots in Anaheim were lectured by Bono about Aung San Suu Kyi and the civil rights situation in Myanmar. Even if only a few of them learned anything from what he said, it is still more than there were before the concert. Bono has been given the gift of a platform and he has consistently used it for good. Kudos to him and U2 for maintaining their integrity all these years. My favorite U2 album is this one, "War." I bought it in Berkeley and played it all the time for awhile. It is a concept album about armed aggression. It is very much a record of its pre-Glasnost era, when the world was unstable and full of conflict. With a trigger-happy cowboy in the White House and gunboat diplomacy the order of the day, the feeling of Armageddon and doom that permeates this album was definitely shared by myself and a lot of my peers. The lyrics on this album express confusion and disgust with the violence and injustice in the world and emphasize the power of uniting against oppression as well as the redemptive power of love. You can call Bono a silly romantic, but I prefer his idealism to the cynicism that is so prevalent in so much modern music. There isn't as much religion on this record as there is on the first two U2 albums, aside from "40," but it still has an evangelical flavor to it, particularly on "Drowning Man" and "Like A Song." I don't think that is a bad thing. One of the things I like best about Bono is that he is such a passionate believer in things. Musically this is an incredibly powerful record, it is far more muscular than most "New Wave" albums with their fake drums, jangly guitars and synthesizers. U2 championed traditional rock and roll values: loud guitars, heavy bass lines, big drums and powerful vocals. Unlike punk rock though, U2 played with grace and skill, this record is full of beautiful instrumental passages - despite the harshness of the lyrics, it is a pleasure to listen to. There is a wide variety of music offered - passionate anthems like "New Year's Day," "Like A Song" and "Two Hearts Beat As One" which soar and lift the spirit. "The Refugee," "Surrender" and "Seconds" have a funkiness to them that reminds me of the Clash. "Red Light" is soulful, it even has a trumpet solo. I can imagine someone like Otis Redding singing it. It displays Bono's chops as a vocalist as does the powerful ballad "Drowning Man." "40" is a mournful tune with a touch of gospel. The militaristic sounding "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is in a class by itself. It is such a powerful song, I think it is one of the great protest songs of its era. Listening to this record 28 years after its original release I'm impressed by how vibrant and exciting it still sounds. Let the bells ring out - long live U2, a band that still matters. Recommended for people who still believe that music can make a difference.
Armed Forces
Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Columbia JC 35709
1979
I initially thought that Elvis Costello was a punk. I first saw him on "Saturday Night Live" delivering a blistering version of "Radio, Radio" and in a promotional video for "Pump It Up" which featured him spastically stomping his way through the song apparently seething with anger. "Aha," I thought, "so this is punk rock." Of course if I had heard his debut album "My Aim Is True" first, I would have realized how wrong I was - he may have been angry but he was no punk. EC was a classic power popper just like his comrade Nick Lowe which I found out when I bought this shortly after its release in 1979. This album is just as scathing and bitter as "Never Mind the Bollocks," but EC's commitment to pop craftmanship is evident throughout - no 3 chord primitivism for him. For me that is a good thing, I listen to this more than my Ramones, Sex Pistols or Damned records. It never gets boring. "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" was the hit single, but if you changed the words to be about romance, it is not all that removed from the music of the Ronettes or Bruce Springsteen, dramatic mainstream pop delivered with a wall of sound. My favorite song on the album is "Green Shirt" with it's sustained tension and drumbeats that rattle on my skull like a billy club. The underlying violence in the song reappears throughout the album whether involving romance in "Accidents Will Happen," geopolitics in the brilliant "Oliver's Army," careerism in "Senior Service," or education in "Goon Squad." The flip side to all this hostility is that Costello's attitude towards love and human relations is decidedly misanthropic, bordering on misogynistic. The original title of this album was "Emotional Fascism" which would be an apt title for a record that so blatantly views relationships in terms of power and control. Costello's sardonic perspective is pretty harsh even for a pill like myself, but it is easy for me to cut him some slack because he writes such amazing lyrics, his love of word play and his sarcasm are enormously appealing to me. I consider him the best lyricist of his generation. This is a gloomy record but it is also lots of fun and musically it is very compelling. It is my favorite Elvis Costello record and one of the very best records of the late 1970s. It was the record that got me excited about the New Wave. I didn't believe in punk, I liked the excitement but thought it was regressive and a dead end. Listening to "Armed Forces" in 1979 I recognized that it was a departure from the 1970s AOR stuff I was used to hearing - Boston, Aerosmith, Eagles, and so on, yet it was not all that different than the Beatles - Costello even quotes the closing riff from "You Never Give Me Your Money" at the end of "Party Girl." Costello was taking the musical values of the 1960s and building on them with a modern sensibility. This was progress and it got me interested in modern music and the future of rock again. Recommended to sociopathic Paul McCartney fans.
Chronic Town
R.E.M.
I.R.S. SP 70502
1982
Discovering college radio was a big deal for me. Even in the relatively hip San Francisco Bay Area, the commercial radio stations were not playing a lot of New Wave music. You'd hear an occasional track by the Clash or Blondie, but you'd have to hear a bunch of songs by the likes of the Eagles or the Doobie Brothers too. College radio stations not only played cutting edge New Wave stuff but well-curated oldies as well, you'd hear the 13th Floor Elevators or the Chocolate Watchband just as much as the Damned or the Ramones on some stations. I heard a lot of new music this way, that hasn't changed - I still mostly listen to college radio stations even though I'm long out of college. It was through a college radio station that I discovered R.E.M., my favorite 1980s band. I heard "Wolves, Lower" and it floored me. It sounded like the perfect song, the jangly guitar, the relentless hooks, the evocative yet mysterious vocals, the driving beat. I loved it, but I missed who the artist was. I heard it again a few weeks later and again I missed who it was or maybe I just didn't understand the name - what kind of band names themselves R.E.M.? The song stuck with me and I would look through new records looking for a song called "I'm Sailing Over" which is how I misheard "House in order" from the song's chorus. A few months later I heard "Radio Free Europe" which blew me away and this time I heard that the artist was R.E.M.. I bought "Murmur" the next time I went to the record store and loved it. I kept buying the I.R.S. albums as they came out but ignored the funny EP with the gargoyle on the cover because I didn't buy EPs or singles, I just wanted full length albums. Finally I broke down and bought it when I saw a used copy. I put it on the turntable and was flabbergasted to hear that great song I never forgot about. "Wolves, Lower" thrilled me then and it thrills me now. I still consider it my favorite R.E.M. song. Spinning the rest of the EP I realized that I had heard "Gardening at Night" and "1,000,000" before on the radio as well. After that I lost my prejudice about EPs. The early R.E.M. were often criticized for their inscrutable or incomprehensible lyrics not to mention Michael Stipe's disinterest in enunciation, but I considered that a virtue. Among the five tracks on this record, there is not a single song that I really know the meaning of, heck there isn't even one I can understand without a lyric sheet. There are no love songs, there are no obvious statements of any sort. I just pick up stray sentences and phrases, all of which I find striking and compelling. As befits the band's name, I view the end result as dreamlike and poetic. There are thousands of pop albums full of silly love songs, it is nice to have one that is different. Just looking at the titles of the early R.E.M. songs is more like looking at a filmography for an experimental filmmaker than a discography. How many other records before 1982 would have titles like "Wolves, Lower" or "Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)." I can only imagine what your typical AOR radio station programmer of that era would say if someone asked him to start playing a song called "Gardening at Night." I greatly admire Stipe's unusual vision and use of language. I play this record all the time and I never get tired of it. All five songs are terrific. I consider R.E.M.'s period of time at I.R.S. records to represent one of the most significant bodies of work in the history of American rock and this is an essential part of it. It is the sound that launched countless other college rock bands - the chiming guitars, obscure lyrics, moaned vocals, straight ahead rhythms, and lack of solos and other rock star posturing - they basically invented a whole school of alternative rock. Recommended for Byrds fans who dig surrealism.
Talking Heads: 77
The Talking Heads
Sire 6036
1977
It was the New Wave that got me interested in modern music again after several years of obsessing over the 1960s. I didn't go for it right away. I heard the Ramones and thought they were silly (I've since changed my mind fortunately) and I thought the Sex Pistols were incompetent hucksters (changed my mind there too.) I was always lukewarm about punk, I was alienated by that scene for the most part. I liked the Clash, Elvis Costello and the Talking Heads, they were smart and had something to say. The Heads especially appealed to me - they looked like me and my friends and seemed more like college kids than rock stars. When I saw them on "Saturday Night Live" in 1979 performing "Take Me To The River," I became instantly smitten with them. I went out and bought this, their debut album, along with Elvis Costello's "Armed Forces" which was my first foray into the New Wave. This album amazed me. It was probably the most avant-garde record I had ever heard, not musically but lyrically and conceptually. My taste was pretty mainstream, I had yet to hear the Velvet Underground or Roxy Music or the weirder side of David Bowie. I loved David Byrne's geeky persona and his seemingly normal yet off-kilter statements, I pored over the lyric sheet marveling at his inventiveness. "The Book I Read" was a song that seemed to come right out of my own head as if I'd written it myself (I wish.) I wasn't used to pop songs speaking so directly to my own feelings and experiences. Unlike most rock stars of the 1970s, I could relate to David Byrne. He had so many interesting observations and wrote about mundane topics in a fascinating way. What classic rock act could have come up with a song like "Don't Worry About the Government" in which Byrne sings an ode to the building he lives in and praises civil servants? That song astonished and delighted me when I first heard it. Though I can no longer hear it without thinking parody, "Psycho Killer" at the time impressed me greatly with its deranged point of view. "No Compassion" has some really funny lyrics - "they say compassion is a virtue, but I don't have the time" is one of my favorite lines. It also features some fun tempo changes like many of the songs on the record. I also particularly like the manic "Pulled Up," and the funky "Uh-Oh Love Comes To Town." I really dig Tina Weymouth's bass playing, I'm a sucker for a catchy bass hook and she whomps them out with the best of them. Most of the songs by the early Heads are driven by her. This album is so propulsive and compelling, it never quits. Smarts, goofiness, hooks and a big beat - that almost guarantees a record that will spend a lot of time on my turntable as this one has for 30 years. It is still where I go when I feel like hearing the Heads. Recommended for energetic nerds and twitchy art students.
Pointed Accounts of People You Know
Game Theory
Rational Records ONA-004
1983
I picked this up in a terrific record store in Boulder a couple of years ago. I am embarrassed to admit that I was not aware of Game Theory when they were still an active band back in the 1980s. I don't know how I missed them. It is true that I was still obsessed with the 1960s back then, but I followed the New Wave and I was a fan of the "Paisley Underground" with which this band is sometimes associated. When I finally did pick up on them, I fell hard. They are one of my favorite 1980s bands. A lot of the stuff that I liked back then disappoints me now - the ubiquitous synthesizers, the drum machines, that big 80s sound just seems ugly to me and a lot of that music feels superficial, unoriginal and derivative. Game Theory though holds up pretty well. Side one of this mini-album is classic Game Theory - clever and unusual lyrics sung in Scott Miller's high almost sugary voice backed by 60s inspired power pop loaded with hooks. Miller's style is so distinctive, you know it instantly whenever you hear it whether it is Game Theory or the Loud Family. The guy is a master of his idiom right up there with Robyn Hitchcock, Alex Chilton, Michael Quercio and Nick Lowe. As far as I know he has never made a bad record or even a mediocre one. Side two varies from the formula somewhat. Two of the songs are by the band's original bassist, Fred Juhos and sound nothing like Miller's work. "I Wanna Get Hit By a Car" sounds like a New Wave novelty song, it resembles a blend of the B-52s and Oingo Boingo. I hated it the first time I heard it but it grew on me and now I kind of like it although I'm not all that happy with Juhos' vocal. It is followed by Miller's contribution to the New Wave, "Life In July" with a cheesy 80s synthesizer sound, big drums, a bouncy beat and a vocal by keyboard player Nancy Becker. It is a catchy song but I'd like it better without all the New Wave cliches. The album finishes with Juhos' "37th Day" which is another departure from the classic Game Theory sound, it is a jangle pop ballad that evokes early Jefferson Airplane or Love without being explicitly retro. I like it a lot but I'd like it better if someone else was singing it. If you are a power pop fan, this record is well worth seeking out. Recommended for Big Star fans looking for solace after Alex Chilton's premature departure from this earth.
Waves
Katrina and the Waves
Capitol ST-12478
1986
I found this in a box of records abandoned in the alley behind my home. The records were mostly 1970s singer-songwriter crap like James Taylor and Jackson Browne which I left in the alley, but this one I nabbed. I liked their major label debut as well as one of their Canadian albums that I have. This was their second Capitol album (fourth overall) and it has the reputation of being a flop. I beg to differ. No record with Kimberley Rew on it is ever going to be a stiff. True there is no hit single and no song as good as "Going Down to Liverpool" like its predecessor had, but it is still very listenable and pleasant. It sounds a lot like the earlier album, kind of a new wave flavored bubble gum. Normally I dislike that sort of thing, but Katrina Leskanich has a great voice and the songwriting is better than average. I particularly like the lovely vocal on "Sleep On My Pillow", the hard rocking "Money Chain," and the punchy, soulful "Is That It?" It is not a classic by any means, but it is consistently fun and you could do a lot worse than this picking up records from 1986. Recommended for Bangles fans who find Susanna Hoffs irritating.
