The Top Ten Albums of the 1980s

Same rules apply as the 1970s list: one album per artist unless it cannot be avoided, and of course, all selections are strictly opinion. Now, the list:

10. AC/DC: Back in Black
AC/DC is famous as a band that really only has one trick up its sleeve. Well here was where that trick was at its best. After the death of Bon Scott, few would have expected the band to rebound in such a way. Brian Johnson's voice was fresh on Back in Black, and hadn't yet devolved into the frightening-sounding caricature it would later become.
 Essential tracks: ''Hell's Bells, " "Shoot to Thrill."

9. Metallica: Ride the Lightning
In the decade in which metal as we know it was largely invented, it seems necessary to give a spot to the decade's most influential, and best, metal band. And though many prefer Master of Puppets, I believe Ride the Lightning was the band's best achievement; their sound was never fresher, or heavier, than it was here.
Essential tracks: "Fade to Black," "For Whom the Ben Tolls."

8. David Bowie: Let's Dance
This is far from Bowie's best--he was on an all-time roll in the mid-'70s--but when Bowie decided to try his hand at Nile Rogers-produced dance music, there was no way it couldn't work. And while Let's Dance has some clunkers, it's also home to some of Bowie's best-ever songs, which is really saying something.
Essential tracks: "Let's Dance," "Modern Love."

7. REM: Document
REM's fifth album was the first one that set them on the path to greatness; everything that people love about this band today--the lyrics, the jangly guitars, the band's songwriting prowess--can first be traced back to this album.
Essential tracks: "The One I Love," "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."

6. Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair
The most '80s-sounding album ever is also one of the decade's best efforts. if it weren't for the fact that it really only has six worthwhile songs--subtracting "Broken," which is one minute long, and "Listen," which is an eight-minute sound collage--this album would rank much higher. No other album captured so perfectly the sound of a decade, and Big Chair also contained some of its best songs, while perfectly capturing the excesses and flaws of the '80s as well: just look at that album cover.
Essential tracks: "Head over Heels," "Everybody Wants to Rule the World."

5. Michael Jackson: Thriller
Come on. There's no way a top '80s albums list could leave this one off. The album that basically invented modern pop music as we know it, Thriller catapulted Michael Jackson, who was still probably best known as the 5-year-old singer from the Jackson 5, to a level of superstardom that no one in music has matched since. Quincy Jones' production is excellent here too.
Essential tracks: "Billie Jean," "P.Y.T."

4. U2: The Joshua Tree
This was before Bono really became Bono, and before a million Coldplays and Travises started mimicking U2's style, making it ubiquitous and bland. This was when U2 was writing killer songs like "With or Without You," and aided by Brian Eno's production, became the rock stars we know them as today. U2 wouldn't be able to charge $300 a ticket in 2014 without an album as good as this in their past; after all, it's not like people go to their shows to hear "Vertigo."
Essential tracks: "With or Without You," "Where the Streets Have No Name."

3. Joy Division: Closer
After a crucial member of a band dies early, that band's last album becomes overrated in retrospect in many cases. This is not one of those cases. Closer is a brooding, dreary masterpiece, as well as the most depressing album ever to make such heavy use of synths. But when the remaining members of Joy Division formed New Order after Ian Curtis' death, it wasn't the songwriting that was missing; it was his lyrics, which become even more haunting knowing now what was soon to happen to him.
Essential tracks: "Isolation," "Heart and Soul."

2. The Clash: London Calling
OK, OK, so maybe this is cheating a little bit. After all, London Calling was actually released in the UK in late December of 1979. But it was released in the US in 1980, and most people heard and enjoyed it in the '80s, so I decided to include it here. (And hey, it's not that easy to find top albums from the '80s. I needed this). The Clash were one of the earliest punk bands, and yet many will argue that London Calling isn't a punk album at all. And you know what? They'd be right. But here's the thing: it's better for it. After all, the mid-'70s incarnation of The Clash never wrote a song as good as "Train in Vain." Or "London Calling," which has survived being included in seemingly every movie or TV show where a character goes to London. The Clash needed to move beyond punk to string together an album as good as this extra-long masterpiece.
Essential tracks: "Train in Vain," "London Calling."

1. The Smiths: Meat Is Murder
It's my belief that no band sums up the '80s quite as well as The Smiths. The songwriting was incredible, but the production decisions would only have occurred in the '80s, and really bring some of the songs down. (Really, does there need to be a mandolin in "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want?" Really?). But that's all OK, because a vocalist like Morrissey only comes along once in a decade. Ditto for a pair of songwriters like Morrissey and Johnny Marr. And this album, which kicks off with their best song, is their high point, and consequently, the high point of the decade.
Essential tracks: "The Headmaster Ritual," "How Soon Is Now?"

The Top 10 Albums of the 1970s

This is strictly opinion, of course. I should note that I tried to mainly keep it to one album per artist, unless they had two that just had to be on the list. And the '70s were home to many of the greatest albums of all time, which means plenty of all-time classics will be sadly unrepresented on this list. But let's get started:

10.Elvis Costello: Armed Forces
While My Aim Is True sounds like the '50s, Armed Forces is where Elvis Costello really developed and grew into his own signature sound. I actually prefer the overall sound of this one over My Aim Is True; that being said, it just doesn't stack up with it on a track-by-track basis. Still a classic, though.
Essential tracks: "Accidents will Happen," "Goon Squad,"

9.Marvin Gaye: What's Going On
For the most part, disco, funk, and soul (three of the premier genres of the '70s, tended to be singles-based and were rarely able to string together great full albums, This is the exception. Here, Marvin Gaye really had something to say (rhyme unintentional, I swear), and with that voice, the world was listening.
Essential tracks: "Mercy Mercy Me," "What's Going On."

8. Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures
Joy Division served as the precursor to many of the great '80s alternative groups (and arguably invented alternative music itself) by proving here that music could be dance-y and mopey at the same time. This album is notable in how unique it was; nobody sounded like these guys in 1979.
Essential tracks: "Shadowplay, ""She's Lost Control. "

7. Blondie: Parallel Lines
there is a tendency to dismiss Blondie that existed both then and now,and it exists because the group decided to name themselves Blondie, a mistake which would have really hurt their chances of being then seriously - if their music didn't sound as good as this, that B. A phenomenal power-pop masterpiece, Parallel Lines has also aged remarkably well.
Essential tracks: "One Way or Another," "Heart of Glass."

6. Boston: Boston
This album sold very well, but for some reason, perhaps because of the nature of its recording, Boston is not afforded the respect that most of the other albums on this list receive now, But it should: This album is classic cock in at its absolute peak, from the soaring vocals of Brad Delp to the harmonized guitars. And besides, who doesn't love them some "More Than a Feeling?"
Essential tracks: "Peace of Mind," "More Than a Feeling"

5. Fleetwood Mac: Rumours
Never has a band in such turmoil came off sounding so good. By this point each member of Fleetwood Mac had basically slept with all the others, but it didn't matter when they got to the recording studio. Lindsey Buckingham's ability to write quality songs is first-rate, and that was on full display here. A doesn't hurt that this album contains my all-time favorite song,"Go Your Own Way."
Essential tracks: "Go Your Own Way," "The Chain. "

4. Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin IV
An album that has been in the news recently thanks to a (very timely) lawsuit against "Stairway to Heaven," Led Zeppelin IV has often been overshadowed - that is, until people listen to it again, and they forget all about everything surrounding it,and just listen to one of the forest albums ever assembled. Led Zeppelin was a very polar band; when they were bad, they were truly awful, but when they were good, no one could touch them. And this is their one album without a single misstep.
Essential tracks: "Black Dog," "When the Levee Breaks."

3. Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True
Rarely does an artist kick off their career so well. My Aim Is True is the '50s personified, and yet updated for the new decade. And like many of the mid-'00s '80s style bands, you can easily make the argument that this is the better than any of the '50s artists it was emulating. Plus, none of those bands wrote a song like "Watching the Detectives."
Essential tracks: "Watching the Detectives," "Miracle Man."

2. Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
Epic is definitely the only word I can use to describe many of these songs--"Born to Run," "Thunder Road," "Jungleland;" all of these are epics, but they don't come off as pretentious or heavy-handed. Bruce Springsteen pulls them off with aplomb, and manages to make each of them feel important, and at times, genuinely moving.
Essential tracks: "Born to Run," "Thunder Road."

1. David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust*
*Yes I know its full name, but when you name an album something that long I reserve the right to never, ever call it that.
Forget about the storyline; the storyline is dumb. Forget about the rock opera aspects of this album, or the fact that Bowie for some reason decided to throw a Kinks cover in there, when it would be perfectly fine without it. Few artists, from any time or any decade, have managed to string together a succession of songs this good. So many times I have been listening to a song off Ziggy Stardust, say, "Lady Stardust" for example, marveling at how good it is, and then been blown away when I realize that it's the seventh best song on this album. Ziggy Stardust isn't perfect, but it's better than any rock opera about a space being named "Ziggy Stardust" has any right to be, and it's the best album of the 1970s.
Essential tracks: Everything but "It Ain't Easy."

Update

So, this blog has unfortunately been dark for a while. There was just a lot going on and I couldn't find the time to continue updating it for a while there. I'm sure this disappointed my legions of readers, but fear not, legions (who totally exist), this week we return with a series on the best albums of each decade. And, of course, a picture of Jeff Ament wearing a ridiculous hat:

Fitz and the Tantrums: Pickin' up the Pieces

One of the best experiences I've ever had with the first time hearing a song was when i heard Fitz and the Tantrums' "MoneyGrabber" for the first time. I was blown away by that song, which sounds like it was ripped straight out of the early '70s, and it remains one of my favorite songs today, a (unofficial) list on which it is joined by several other songs from Pickin' up the Pieces.

Pickin' up the Pieces came out in 2010, but on first listen you might swear it was straight from 1972. It's that rare retro album that perfectly embodies the spirit of the genre it is trying to emulate- half the time, that is.

And that's the problem with this album. On the one hand, it contains a murderer's row of fantastic soul songs: "MoneyGrabber," "Pickin' up the Pieces," "Breakin' the Chains of Love," "Don't Gotta Work It Out" are all songs that would find their way on to the aforementioned (and as of now non-existent) favorite songs list. On the other hand, this album contains some real clunkers, like "Dear Mr. President," that really bring it down.

So this isn't quite an "A" album due to the hit-and-miss nature of its tracks; that being said, it is still highly recommended just for the great songs that populate it. It may not be amazing back-to-front, but four amazing songs and 2 good ones isn't a bad deal.

Grade: B+

Video: "MoneyGrabber"

AFI: The Art of Drowning

AFI is always one of those bands that I feel like I have to justify liking. They fall into the "but seriously!" group. As in: "But seriously, later Incubus ditched the nu-metal stuff and got pretty good!" or "but seriously, early Muse was really good!" That kind of thing.

That's how it's always been for AFI. They're a group that a lot of punk purists consider a sellout, and not without reason: they went from a hardcore '90s punk band to releasing the cash-in emo single "Miss Murder" in 2006. But that doesn't mean they are without quality work in their back catalog, which brings me to their 2000 album, The Art of Drowning.

AFI's brand of punk rock in 2000 was faced-paced and furious, with Davey Havok's unique, high voice standing out most. And liking The Art of Drowning depends a lot on whether you can tolerate his voice or not; many can't, and it's probably the deciding factor for many listeners of this album.

This album's highlights include fast-paced opener "The Lost Souls," lead single and best track "The Days of the Phoenix," and the mournful ballad "Morningstar," which is sort of a cousin of "God Called In Sick Today" from their previous album, only without the heavy chorus.

If you are a fan of '90s punk rock a la Bad Religion, The Art of Drowning is probably something you'll enjoy very much. The shame of it is that it's become hidden in the past of a band that has gone on to be far more popular, yet far less good.

Grade: B

Video: "The Days of the Phoenix"

The War on Drugs: Lost In The Dream

On March 18, The War on Drugs released Lost in the Dream, an album which was preceded by a strong lead single, "Red Eyes." Personally, I had never had much reason to listen to this band (which is mostly the work of Adam Granduciel), as their previous effort, 2011's Slave Ambient, was a record I thought was very average. That changed with Lost in the Dream.

The obvious highlight of the album is its first single, "Red Eyes." It's a reverb-filled, synth-heavy and just plain fun jam that's probably the best song of the year so far. The other songs on the album tend to be longer, slower extended jams like the opening track, "Under the Pressure." The nice thing is that these longer songs never drag: they're exactly as long as they should be.

I can only think of one complaint for this album, and that's that at times it is more along the lines of background music than something that commands your attention. This is especially true considering the length of the songs. This is not necessarily a bad thing though; it's just an album meant more for the background, rather than one that commands your attention.

Lost In The Dream is an excellent ambient album that draws on the sounds of the '70s and '80s. The best way I can describe it is that it's as though "Dancing in the Dark"-era Bruce Springsteen was putting out an album in 2014. So if that sounds like your thing, this album comes highly recommended.

Grade: B

Video: "Red Eyes"

The 5 Most Hilarious Music Videos of the '80s

Pretty much everything I've posted here so far has been an album review. But not today. Today it's time to delve into that goldmine of comedy: the '80s music video. There are tons and tons that could have made the list, but here I've listed my five personal favorites.

Pat Benatar, “Love is a Battlefield”

This one is like a five-act play, all on its own.

Most of these videos keep the action separate from the song. The video for “Love is a Battlefield,” however, actually interrupts the song with dialogue. In the opening scene, Pat is getting kicked out of her house. The scene goes like this:

Pat (singing): We are strong!

Pat’s Father (speaking): You leave this house now!

Pat (singing): No one can tell us we’re wrong!

Pat’s Father (speaking): And you can just forget about coming back!

I don’t know about you, but if I was getting kicked out of my house, I’d certainly put up a bigger fight than singing things that have nothing to do with what’s actually going on.

She then looks up longingly at the window, where a young man looks out. This is presumably supposed to be her boyfriend. But why is her boyfriend in her house? Who knows. Maybe it’s her younger brother, although that would make the longing look she gives him much creepier.

With nowhere to go, Pat decides (naturally) to become a prostitute. Later in the video, she and her fellow dancers are being harassed by a creepy man with golden teeth. As dancing is their main skill, they deal with this problem by banding together and literally dancing him out of the building. After this ordeal, Pat sets off on the road again, leaving us wondering what would happen to her afterwards. I guess we’ll have to watch the “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” video to find out…

Judas Priest, “Breaking the Law”

If you’re a metal band trying to make a video of your song called “Breaking the Law,” I imagine your natural idea would be to combine the concepts of metal and law-breaking. Judas Priest carries that out with this video, in which they rob banks solely by using the power of metal. Can you beat that?

Journey, “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”

The scene: an abandoned shipyard. Suddenly the members of Journey appear out of nowhere, playing invisible instruments. Then just as suddenly the instruments appear in front of them! There’s no logical conclusion to draw, other than the fact that these guys are clearly wizards.

We then cut to a very '80s-looking woman, walking down the boardwalk. The Journey members’ instruments have disappeared, so they are miming again. Steve Perry begins to sing, sporting a mullet and wearing what may or may not be a woman’ one-piece bathing suit under his jeans. We continue to cut back and forth between the woman and the band, whose instruments continue to disappear then reappear. Now these wizards are just showing off. We also get close-ups on Steve Perry’s face from a variety of different angles. Perry is really acting his heart out in this video. The members of Journey continue to sing near and around this mysterious woman, though she gives no sign that she can see or hear them. Maybe they’re not wizards, but ghosts?

This one just has to be seen to be believed.

Rick Astley, "Never Gonna Give You Up"

I couldn't possibly have left out this classic, which features a lot of random dancing in front of brick walls, and Rick Astley looking extremely awkward and roughly 12 years old. (Side note: Is that his real voice? How does a 12-year-old have a voice that deep?). He's not the only one dancing either; the video features a variety of bizarre five-second cameos from various people doing weird dances. This is a true gem, and soooo '80s.

Stevie Nicks, “Stand Back (with commentary)”

It wouldn't be a list of ridiculous things from the '8-s without Stevie Nicks. The video is pretty funny by itself, but the commentary by present-day Stevie Nicks adds a lot to it. It’s great to hear one of these videos commented on by the artist today, as Stevie lays into her own video. saying things like, “I can’t remember what the hell my idea was” and “it looks so completely stupid.” She even criticizes her own lyrics: “’take me home,’ what the heck does that mean?” The basic idea of the video is a rough Gone with the Wind theme, but carried out in a very over-the-top 80s style. Though she spends most of the commentary making fun of the video, present-day Stevie still gives us plenty of reasons to laugh at her, providing transitions like “and now, we’re in the Civil War” and “suddenly my house is burning down.”