Musicwhore.org Music and memory

A decade ago, I wrote a series of entries ranking my favorite albums from 1985 to 2004. My collection has expanded greatly since then, particularly in the last five years. So I wanted to see what has changed in 10 years.

It shouldn’t be a surprise the largest expansion in my collection focuses on the late 1980s, i.e. my high school years. The Favorite 10 list from these years won’t see much change, as 1989 demonstrates, but the expanded lists risk becoming ridiculously long.

1. The B-52’s, Cosmic Thing
2. Camper Van Beethoven, Key Lime Pie
3. Julee Cruise, Floating Into the Night
4. Faith No More, The Real Thing
5. Steve Reich, Different Trains/Electric Counterpoint
6. Fugazi, 13 Songs
7. Emmylou Harris, Bluebird
8. Tears for Fears, The Seeds of Love
9. Madonna, Like a Prayer
10. Janet Jackson, Rhythm Nation 1814

Other favorites from the year:

• The Replacements, Don’t Tell a Soul
• Hoodoo Gurus, Magnum Cum Louder
• All About Eve, Scarlet and Other Stories
• XTC, Oranges and Lemons
• De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising
• Nirvana, Bleach
• Pixies, Doolittle
• Wayne Horvitz / The President, Bring Yr Camera
• John Zorn, Spy Vs. Spy
• Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir, Le Mystère de Voix Bulgares, Vol. 2
• Nakamori Akina, CRUISE
• Depeche Mode, 101

Fugazi displaces The Replacements, who made a shot for the charts by cleaning up their sound.

I saw this ad in Pulse magazine and scoffed at it:

Today, I nod my head and say, “Yeah, that’s about right.” But it took 30 years before I had enough life experience to understand how breathtaking 3 Feet High and Rising is.

Nevermind introduced me to Nirvana like the rest of the world, but I prefer Bleach.

The events in Nakamori Akina’s life at the time CRUISE was released overshadowed the maturity of the album. It’s not ground-breaking the way Fushigi is, but it’s an album that could have only been recorded after it.

I saw Depeche Mode in concert in 2017, and 101 ruined my experience of it. I had been listening to 101 in the weeks leading up to the concert, and understandably, the band stacked the set list more toward recent work than “the hits”.

Tags: all about eve, bulgarian state radio and television female vocal choir, camper van beethoven, de la soul, depeche mode, emmylou harris, faith no more, favorite edition, fugazi, hoodoo gurus, janet jackson, john zorn, julee cruise, madonna, nakamori akina, nirvana, pixies, rewind, steve reich, tears for fears, the b-52's, the president, the replacements, wayne horvitz, xtc