The Go-Go’s – Beauty and the Beat
There are truly very few songs for which I can absolutely remember the first time I ever heard them, but “Our Lips Are Sealed” is one. It was released in July 1981, the summer...
Category: ’80s
The Fuzztones – Monster A-Go-Go
Really, I should be a big Fuzztones fan. They’re right in my wheelhouse — American garage rock with its tongue in its cheek. A lot like The Cramps, but I think it’s more obvious...
Frontier Records — Diamonds at a Discount
This was an odd decision made at a house concert, where the host had brought in not only a an artist to play but a few small vendors, all of whom are friends or...
4 Out Of 5 Doctors — 4 Out Of 5 Doctors
This was one of those records that my roommate Danny brought back from a summer in Boston, a summer where he was suddenly exposed to a raft of cool music that we would never...
Ellen Foley – Spirit of St. Louis
Last time I talked of my long affection for Ellen Foley (despite the fact that the didn’t buy her debut album, “Nightout,” until last year (it’s a character flaw: see also, Karla Bonoff). While...
A Flock of Seagulls — Listen
Listen is exactly what I haven’t done, with regard to this album, in a very long time. This came out just a year after their first record, in April 1983 . . . the...
A Flock of Seagulls — A Flock of Seagulls
Spring of 1982. Junior year of college. We have an apartment of moderate squalor. We have an heirloom black and white cabinet TV. We have basic cable. We have MTV. So, yes, of course...
Peter Zaremba’s Love Delegation — Spread The Word
I’m not sure what engendered this 1986 side project by The Fleshtones’ Peter Zaremba, a mix of Zaremba-penned originals and covers like “After Midnight” and “Save Me.” When I borrowed my friend Dan’s Fleshtones...
The Fleshtones — Speed Connection Live in Paris ’85
Holy cats. You know how some with some bands, their studio work doesn’t really translate to live performance, and others can’t seem to capture their remarkable live performances in the studio? That is not...
Things We Said Today