This is undoubtedly an important record. It is possibly the most successful debut album by an all-female band, at least to this point and history and it might have also been the first all-female band album to hit US#1 (though I’m not 100% sure where I read that and can’t find it now). It’s trailblazing …
Tag: Second Wave New Wave
Duran Duran (1981)
Much like early U2 are the point at which British post punk and arena rock meet, early Duran Duran are the point at which British post punk meets pop.
Kings of the Wild Frontier (1980) Adam and the Ants
British new wave is nearly always less musically interesting and risky than American new wave. There are many reasons for that and I’m not going to go into them here. I just wanted to mention it because often a lot what passes for “innovation” in British new wave is attitude.
Pretenders (1980)
I avoided the Pretenders for so long for two reasons: when I was young, nothing about their hits appealed to me – nothing really grabbed me and told me I needed to listen to their records – but also Hynde did an interview for a documentary I watched about the New York Dolls which I …
The Age of Plastic (1980) by Buggles
This band and this record are known for one thing, their highly symbolic if not quite prophetic hit “Video Killed the Radio Star”. Funnily enough it had already been released by a former band member but we don’t know that version because there are no female backing vocals. Well, guess what? The rest of this …
Stealing Fire (1984) by Bruce Cockburn
I’m sure there’s a great songwriter under here somewhere.
Like a Virgin (1984) by Madonna
I think I agree with the general consensus that this record isn’t quite up to the standards of her debut, even if the two most famous songs here are two of her most famous songs of the ’80s.
Real to Real Cacophony (1979) by Simple Minds
How synthpop and the New Romantic movement evolved out of punk via post punk has always been one of the most confusing parts of recent popular music history, at least to me. But it’s records like this, caught somewhere in the middle (of punk and synthpop), that make that whole evolution a little more clear.
Junk Culture (1984) by Orchestral Manouvres in the Dark
This is my first experience of OMD but perhaps it is not the best place to start. This band was one of those that was so much bigger in the UK than North America, I don’t think I could even name their biggest hit. (I am trying right now, without looking it up, and I …
A Walk Across the Rooftops (1984) by Blue Nile
Many years ago, I learned that first impressions should be ignored and overcome as much as possible when it comes to music. There have been many days in my life I’ve been happy about doing that and today is one of them. Because my first impression of this record was not a good one, and …
Sparkle in the Rain (1984) by Simple Minds
What do you do when you’ve heard one band your whole life and not another, and then you hear the second band and they sound a lot like the first? But, the thing is, the second band was actually first, and really doesn’t sound that much like that first band.
Learning to Crawl (1984) by Pretenders
I never liked Chrissie Hynde. I don’t know why I didn’t like her when I was young – maybe I just didn’t have an opinion and don’t remember – but I know why I didn’t like her as an adult: I watched her and Morrissey shit on prog rock in New York Doll while I …
Colour by Numbers (1983) by Culture Club
I thought I hated Culture Club. And then I heard Kissing to Be Clever, which just shocked the hell out of me. Not the singles but the rest of the album, which was far more diverse and brave than I ever would have imagined from the singles.
You and Me Both (1983) by Yazoo
I went to review You and Me Both, having not listened to their debut, Upstairs at Eric’s, since 2017, and I found on RYM that a lot of fans regard this record as a “contractual obligation” album for Yazoo, and that they believe it’s obvious Yazoo weren’t into the recording merely from listening to this …
The Cars (1978)
The Cars’ debut album marks the point where, for better or worse, New Wave goes commercial. Basically very previous (American) New Wave album was too arty, too quirky, too herky jerky to connect with the average listener. But Ocasek and company found how to merge New Wave with that basic American need for big dumb …
Power, Corruption and Lies (1983) by New Order
I was pretty disappointed by New Order’s debut. If I can recall, I believe I was expecting something along the lines of the little I knew about New Order, and what I got was Joy Division minus Ian Curtis. Yes, that’s basically the band, but I was not expecting that. I was disappointed.
The Hurting (1983) by Tears for Fears
Like most people my age and younger, I first heard “Mad World” through a cover in a video game commercial. The song made a big impression, so much so that the first time I heard the original I was like “I don’t like this.”
Quick Step and Side Kick (1983) by Thompson Twins
Now this is more like it.
Brothers in Arms (1985) by Dire Straits
Ten years ago I wrote the following: This might not be so bad if they had actually hired a producer. It’s like Knopfler put a big stamp on this record saying “This album was recorded in the ’80s!” Knopfler’s production is the aural equivalent of those ’50s sci-fi films that imagined the “futuristic” ’70s and …