December 22, 2021 by A.S. Van Dorston

Yeah, I know everyone is gearing up to revisit 1972 on it’s 50th anniversary, and 1982 and 1992. But just a friendly reminder, the universe gives zero fucks about our artificial system of tracking time, and round numbers. So let’s take a break from the tyranny of 50 year anniversaries, and just talk about whatever hell we want.

Some crappy holiday movie where they karaoked to The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” reminding me that I hadn’t listened to the entire If I Should Fall From the Grace of God in decades. So I did, and it was great. And the songs that used to bug me no longer did. That was fun, so I put together a mix of other stuff I listened to in 1988. Coincidentally the crappy Netflix movie we watched last night, 8-Bit Christmas with Neil Patrick Harris, also took place in 1988, though apparently these 11 year-olds had not yet discovered music, so the only non-Xmas song was a Steely Dan tune in the car. That’s lame, as 9-11 is usually when most kids develop their first meaningful connections to favorite artists. That’s when I went from digging my mom’s Elvis and Beatles 45s to becoming obsessed about ELO, Queen, Styx and Rush.

1988 was my freshman to sophomore years in college. I had a radio show that transitioned from new indie rock and punk, to older punk and post-punk that I was hearing for the first time. At the time, many of my previously favorite bands were either dormant/between albums (XTC, Bad Brains, The Cure, The The, The Replacements, Easterhouse, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel), in distressing decline (Talking Heads, Rush, Echo & the Bunnymen, X, Screaming Blue Messiahs, Hunters & Collectors, U2, Judas Priest, Shriekback, Violent Femmes), or just broken up (Hüsker Dü, The Smiths, Big Black, The Chameleons, The Lucy Show, Translator). It was a good time to consult my bible (The Trouser Press Record Guide) and plow through the radio station library and friends’ music collections to catch up on what I’d missed, though there were certainly a few artists working at their peak (Sonic Youth, Slayer, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Public Enemy, The New Christs, Dinosaur Jr., Talk Talk, The Pogues) and newcomers making waves (Pixies, Fugazi, The House of Love, Mudhoney) or being largely ignored (Eleventh Dream Day). Other bands were rapidly building their fanbases into something truly global (Iron Maiden, Metallica, R.E.M., Jane’s Addiction), but I had mixed feelings about the albums.

Genre

Psych Prog was still in the middle of a 30 year hiatus before it was revisited. Grunge, Stoner Rock, Shoegaze, Doom Metal, Death Metal and other extreme variations like Black Metal and Grindcore were still in their early days, so not a ton of choices yet, though certainly some exciting, trailblazing albums. Noise rock & pop was having a heyday with Sonic Youth at their towering peak, Dinosaur Jr., and while My Bloody Valentine still sounds incomplete in retrospect after Loveless (1991), they were still developing. After Big Black, Steve Albini had not yet started his woke journey, naming his next project R@p*man (my alteration cuz that name is terrible) with members of Austin noise rockers Scratch Acid. David Wm. Sims went on to pay bass in the amazing The Jesus Lizard. Albini formed Shellac and mellowed with age.

Comeback

I had to think about this, because in 1988, not many musicians had disappeared for a decade plus and come back yet. Leonard Cohen had four years between albums, which was an eternity back then. I’m Your Man was also his best since New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974).

Debut

Debut full length of 1988 was The Pixies’ brilliant Surfer Rosa. Their EP Come On Pilgrim (1987) was very promising and fresh sounding, so I had already been anticipating this, and even snuck into a show to see their feral, whirling dervish show live. Close behind for me was Chicago’s Eleventh Dream Day, who had also released an EP, and blew away all expectations with Prairie School Freakout, an amazing combo of Gun Club’s garage noir, X’s off-kilter harmonies and Crazy Horse’s guitar freakouts.

Memoriam

Andy Gibb (30, Bee Gees), Dave Prater (50, Sam & Dave), Nico (49, The Velvet Underground) , Hillel Slovak (26, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Robert Calvert (43, Hawkwind) and Roy Orbison (only 52!) all died way too young.

Underrated

Eleventh Dream Day went through the whole major label wringer a bit before a lot of other bands experienced the corporate grinder, signing with Atlantic that year, and getting neglected for the next few years. But unlike many bands, they didn’t let it affect their love of making music, and kept putting out indie albums ever since, growing their fanbase, at least around Chicago, incrementally over the years. Still, when I saw them at 7th St. Entry in 1989, they should have been headlining First Avenue at least.

Disappointment

So many things! 40 years later I’m still kicking myself for the fact that Talking Heads’ Fear Of Music (1979) was one of the first albums I owned, yet somehow it took me until college to finally hear their greatest album, Remain In Light. Perhaps I need to have a separate section called Regrets. 1979-82 was such a busy, vibrant era for post-punk, and I was too young to experience it. I’d started buying records in ’79, but I just didn’t have access to most of the UK stuff yet. The creative peak declined in 1983-85, but the year 1986 was pretty special to me, as I was by then dialed in to the new music coming out in real time, and the intersection between indie, post-punk and psychedelia. Then things seemed to dry up again through the late 80s, with a handful of exceptions. There was a lot of garbage being released in 1988, more so it seemed than ever before. Much of it I could ignore — I was in college, I didn’t have to listen to corporate radio or watch MTV. But some of my favorite bands were also affected.

I had pretty high expectations for a lot of bands back then. R.E.M. were still a favorite, despite the fact that each of the six albums they released after Murmur (1983) was worse than the previous one. I liked Document (1987), but several songs got pretty old. And in an interview before the release of Green, Pete Buck said his goal was was make a classic guitar album that held up to some of his favorites. Sounds good Pete, let’s do this! Imagine my disappointment when I think the first single I heard from it was “Stand.” W.T.F. One of their worst songs. It turns out that what R.E.M. would excel at was pretty, melancholy folk pop like “You Are The Everything” and “Hairshirt,” the template they took to the bank on their next two albums. I’ve grown to accept that and appreciate Green more over the years, but yeah, I was was disappointed in them back then.

Surprise

Lots of new things were happening. Moving on from the hardcore punk of Minor Threat, Ian MacKaye’s new band Fugazi sounded amazing, inspire sub-genres like post-hardcore and emo. Mudhoney pretty much perfected grunge before it even had a name. Public Enemy took hip hop to densely furious new heights. I didn’t know what to make of Talk Talk’s new album, but Spirit of Eden went on to be credited as a major influence on post-rock. Switzerland’s Coroner took thrash to it’s logical extreme with technical thrash metal, while Florida’s Death were death metal pioneers. Napalm Death had introduced grindcore in the previous year’s Scum (1987), but From Enslavement to Obliteration perfected it.

Fester’s Lucky 13 – The Best Albums of 1988

1. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (Blast First)

Sonic Youth skulked in the periphery of my consciousness for a number of years. I heard “Death Valley ’69” on college radio when it came out and thought it was intense but partly irritating, due to Lydia Lunch’s guest vocals. Soon after starting college I promptly taped Bad Moon Rising (1985), EVOL (1986) and Sister (1987), and “Catholic Block” made repeat appearances on my radio show. It definitely felt like the NY noise rockers were on a creative run and building toward something truly mind blowing. When I saw them live for the first time, the band invited all the opening bands to set up and join them for an encore of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and Thurston Moore hyped the audience by muttering, “Aw yea, this is gonna fuck you up. FUCK YOOOO UP!” I was totally feeling that in the month leading up to the October 18 release date, and it did not disappoint. It felt like the album was scientifically engineered to hit all my pleasure buttons, between their most melodic on “Teenage Riot,” propulsive (“Silver Rocket”) and sprawling, luxurious pools of distorted guitars layered on more guitars. The band flirted with mainstream success on Geffen without truly achieving it, and their art suffered, never reaching these heights again. But that’s totally okay, because Daydream Nation’s money shot was that satisfying. | Bandcamp

2. Pixies – Surfer Rosa (4AD)

While the Boston band were signed early on to the hip British label 4AD, known for ethereal goth pop and post-punk, Pixies sounded like no one else. The combination of originality, stark black and white dynamics of the recording with Steve Albini and the off the cuff feel of Black Francis’ feral screams and outbursts of Spanish as if he’s possessed by an angry Latino demon, and the contrast of Kim Deal’s deceptively sweet vocals, was truly an example of catching lightning in the bottle. The band may have reached a larger audience with Doolittle (1989), but it failed to match the fresh vitality and power of Surfer Rosa. Arguably, the same goes for bands that cited Pixies as an influence, even Nirvana. | Bandcamp

3. Eleventh Dream Day – Prairie School Freakout (Amoeba)

Eleventh Dream Day had me at the first guitar tone. While dual guitars were common enough in metal, not so much with indie rock. Their full-length is a hundred times improved from their first EP because they managed to successfully get the sound of their live show down, and the nasty, serrated, distorted guitar sound, expanding their Gun Club garage noir into sprawling jams. The solos veer into Sonic Youth territory on “Tarantula,” and while I love the mournful, expressive solo on “Among the Pines,” I also love Rick Rizzo’s ridiculous imagery (“His head felt like a loaf of bread with the crust peeled off/Sandwiched between the shower stall and purgatory”) But when rock ‘n’ roll is this great, the slightly silly becomes completely perfect. | Bandcamp

4. Slayer – South of Heaven (Def Jam)

When Slayer’s classic third album Reign In Blood (1986) came out, I wasn’t quite ready. I was on board with Metallica and Megadeth in high school, I had a bit more living, and suffering to do before I could handle Slayer. By the time of South of Heaven, Slayer were no longer the most brutal band around, with several more extreme branches of black, death and grindcore metal having been spawned. But to my ears, this was by far the best sounding metal album of the year, a fine balance of slavering misanthropic range, with precisely controlled musicianship, and another spot-on production from Rick Rubin. It’s too bad Metallica didn’t work with him, as perhaps he would have slapped some sense into them when they shot themselves in the foot by obscuring Jason Newsted’s bass just to haze the new guy. So stupid. But that’s metal for ya \../

5. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tender Prey (Mute)

From The Birthday Party through his first four albums with The Bad Seeds, and a cameo in arguably one of the greatest movies ever, Wim Wenders’ Wings Of Desire, it seems Nick Cave could do no wrong. Well, half the material of his first band Boys Next Door is pretty janky, but we’ll allow it. Our very own goth art punk Elvis may have arguably peaked with Your Funeral . . . My Trial (1986) before the garage noir pioneer started dabbling in commercial sounds (“Deanna”), Leonard Cohen style ballads, Brazilian bossa nova and such, but mostly everything Cave does is great. It kicks off with the colossal “The Mercy Seat” from the man on death row trying to convince himself that he’s not afraid to die. It’s hard to recover from that one, but the rest of the album is nearly as great.

6. The New Christs – Divine Rites (Citadel)

Technically this is a singles compilation, but as the only documentation of the first eight years of this brilliant off-shoot of Radio Birdman, it’s as essential as Buzzcocks’ Singles Going Steady or The Who’s Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy. Ridiculously, it was never released in the U.S., so millions were robbed of some of the best Aussie garage noir ever. Named to take the piss out of Rob Younger’s former band’s revered legacy, they recorded the rare “Waiting World”/”Face a New God” single in 1981. After recording a live album with supergroup New Race (with The Stooges’ Ron Asheton and Dennis Thompson of MC5), he was dormant until Iggy Pop wanted him to open for him on his 1983 Australian tour. Not one to deny the Godfather of Punk, he assembled a band consistently of mainly The Hitmen and Kent Steedman of The Celibate Rifles (later replaced by Richard Jakimayszyn of the Lime Spiders). That lineup only lasted a year and recorded two singles. Younger also started doing production work for the likes of the Celibate Rifles, the Hard-Ons, Screaming Tribesmen, Hoodoo Gurus, Died Pretty and Lime Spiders. The next, completely different lineup formed in 1987. Arguably the most powerful incarnation of the band, they supercharged Younger’s seething anger on the singles and then the Distemper (1989) album into something truly menacing.

7. Fugazi – Fugazi EP (Dischord)

It’s weird to think how a band can be great, yet never match their first release. I talked about that with R.E.M., and similarly, Fugazi arguably never surpassed their first EP. Yes, they experimented and challenged themselves and their audience, and were always great, but the initial burst of energy and creativity on this EP is simply unmatched. | Bandcamp

8. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam)

In terms of cultural impact and importance, Public Enemy’s second album is absolutely #1, and possibly still the best hip hop album ever. I was taping Sugarhill Gang and Run-D.M.C. from the radio, but Public Enemy was the first to truly blow my mind. Chuck D might not have the natural, effortless flow of Rakim, but here he gives one of the most masterful MC performances on any album, dense with information, memorable lines and righteous rage. Equal stars of the show is Terminator X, elevating the art of turntablism to a new level with the help of the Bomb Squad, the production dream team of Hank Shocklee and Eric Sadler who can be thanked for matching and surpassing the energy levels of any punk or metal album from that decade, while also pushing forward with truly groundbreaking avant garde techniques of sampling, sequencing and arranging. Truly a masterpiece.

9. Dinosaur Jr. – Bug (SST)

I remember reading a zine interview with one of the dudes who run the Sub Pop label, and he was asked what bands he’d want to sign if he could get them leave another label. Before they could even finish the question, he simply said, Dinosaur. Once upon a time, Dinosaur’s only goal was to get signed to pioneering punk label SST. Having achieved that, and slapping on a Jr. on the second printing, Dinosaur Jr. released their masterpiece with You’re Living All Over Me (1987). Bug doesn’t quite reach that level, despite their definitive single “Freak Scene,” because it kind of peters out in the end with “Don’t” where Lou Barlow appears to be trying to ruin the album by screaming the question why his bandmates don’t like him. Probably cuz of tantrums like that, oof. They became kind of the poster children of emotionally constipated slackers in the 90s, all the more remarkable that they reunited and stayed together a decade later. This is a reminder that they once strove to be, and nearly became, without irony, true rock gods. | Bandcamp

10. Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden (Parlophone)

It’s amazing to think this band was derivative of Duran Duran and Depeche Mode in 1982. Talk Talk’s evolution was striking, but didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s My Life (1984) was a solid album that added some sophisticated art pop to the synthpop, and on The Colour of Spring (1986) pushed the boundaries of prog pop and art pop. On Spirit of Eden, however, they went ahead and invented a whole new sound, one that no one had a name for until Simon Reynolds came up with the term post-rock six years later. It pretty much took me that long to fully absorb this album and its follow-up Laughing Stock (1991). Whatever you call it, the music is undeniably gorgeous and compelling.

11. The Pogues – If I Should Fall From The Grace Of God (WEA)

The third album of the flawless run of Celtic punk classics from The Pogues, If I Should Fall From The Grace Of God is their peak thanks to the powerful songwriting of Shane McGowan. “Thousands Are Sailing” has literally haunted my dreams — I feel like that song has played in my head more than any other song. And of course there’s the novelty of “Fairytale of New York” that people have relished shocking friends and co-workers for their Christmas karaoke with the sweary third verse. But the optimistic romanticism in the end is enough to burst the blackest, and drunkest of hearts. 262 million streams and counting from binge drinkers around the world can’t be wrong. The greatest celtic punk album ever, that has spawned many imitators like The Dropkick Murphys, Ferocious Dog, and Swedish pirate obsessed Ye Banished Privateers.

12. The Feelies – Only Life (A&M)

I was obsessed with the legend of The Feelies’ debut album Crazy Rhythms (1980) when I discovered them in the mid-80s. The band were regulars at CBGB’s, and then famously only played shows on holidays. Brian Eno may have produced a demo, but the legend gets fuzzy in my memory. I love the pastoral, Pete Buck produced The Good Earth (1986) almost as much. Given the six year gap between album, I was totally surprised by the release of their third album. It was a totally welcome one, of course, but did take some getting used to, as it was as stiff as their first album but less frenetic. After the first two were remastered, this one is hopefully next. | Bandcamp

13. Naked Raygun – Jettison (Caroline)

Possibly the best representation of fist-pumping, whoa-ohing Chicago post-hardcore punk. I’ve gone back and forth between whether Throb Throb (1984), All Rise (1985) or Jettison (1988) is my favorite. This one is currently, as it’s the most consistent and heartfelt, including “Walk In Cold” and straight up love song “Vanilla Blue.” Steve Albini is nostalgic for the band’s early shows when they were more experimental, which I get. But when I saw them in 1989, their finely honed piledriving yet melodic attack was one of the best shows I’d ever seen. | Bandcamp

Spotify Mix

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (Enigma) | USA | Bandcamp
Pixies – Surfer Rosa (4AD) | USA
Eleventh Dream Day – Prairie School Freakout (Thrill Jockey) | USA
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tender Prey (Mute) | Australia
Dinosaur Jr. – Bug (SST) | USA | Bandcamp
The Beatles – Past Masters: Volume Two (Capitol) | UK
The Beatles – Past Masters: Volume One (Capitol) | UK
Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (Capitol) | UK
Talk Talk – Spirit Of Eden (EMI) | UK
Slayer – South Of Heaven (American) | USA
The New Christs – Divine Rites (Citadel) | Australia
Fugazi – Fugazi EP (Dischord) | USA | Bandcamp
The Feelies – Only Life (A&M) | USA
Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam) | USA
The Pogues – If I Should Fall From The Grace Of God (WEA) | Ireland
The Go-Betweens – 16 Lovers Lane (Capitol/Beggars Banquet) | Australia
Naked Raygun – Jettison (Caroline) | USA | Bandcamp
And Also The Trees – The Millpond Years (Reflex) | UK | Bandcamp
For Against – December (Chameleon /Words On Music) | USA | Bandcamp
Death Of Samantha – Where The Women Wear The Glory And The Men Wear The Pants (Homestead) | USA
Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff EP (Sub Pop) | USA
The Smithereens – Green Thoughts (Enigma) | USA
My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything (Creation) | Ireland
Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll (4AD) | UK
Metallica – …And Justice For All (Elektra) | USA
The Sun And The Moon – The Sun And The Moon (Geffen) | UK
EPMD – Strictly Business (Sleeping Bag/Fresh) | USA | Bandcamp
The Jungle Brothers – Straight Out The Jungle (Warlock) | USA
N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton (Ruthless) | USA
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – Globe Of Frogs (A&M) | UK
Joy Division – Substance (Factory/Rhino) | UK
R.E.M. – Green (WB) | USA
Bored! – Bored! EP (Glitterhouse) | Australia
The Church – Starfish (Arista) | Australia
Government Issue – Crash (Giant) | USA
Ed Kuepper – Everybody’s Got To (Hot) | Australia | Bandcamp
Coroner – Punishment For Decadence (Noise) | Switzerland | Bandcamp
The Jazz Butcher – Fishcotheque (Creation) | UK
The Dream Syndicate – Ghost Stories (Enigma) | USA
Ultramagnetic MCs – Critical Beatdown (Next Plateau) | USA
The Mighty Lemon Drops – World Without End (Sire) | UK
Crime & The City Solution – Shine (Mute) | Australia
Ups And Downs – Underneath the Watchful Eye (Mushroom) | Australia
Kreator – Terrible Certainty (Noise) | Germany
Soul Asylum – Hang Time (A&M) | USA
Dead Can Dance – The Serpent’s Egg (4AD) | Australia
Throwing Muses – House Tornado (4AD) | USA
Siouxsie & the Banshees – Peepshow (Polydor) | UK
The Wild Swans – Bringing Home The Ashes (Sire/Wounded Bird) | UK
Lowlife – The Black Album (LTM) | UK | Bandcamp
Riot – ThunderSteel (Epic) | USA
Voivod – Dimension Hatröss (Noise) | Canada
The Essence – Ecstasy (Midnight) | Netherlands
Chastain – The Voice of the Cult (Leviathan) | USA | Bandcamp
Bruce Hornsby & The Range – Scenes From the Southside (RCA) | USA
Passion Fodder – Love, Waltzes and Anarchy (Beggars Banquet) | France
The House Of Love – The House Of Love (Creation) | UK
My Bloody Valentine – You Made Me Realise EP (Creation) | Ireland
Boogie Down Productions – By All Means Necessary (Jive) | USA
Graham Parker – The Mona Lisa’s Sister (Elektra) | UK
Danzig – Danzig (American) | USA
Camper Van Beethoven – Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (Rough Trade) | USA
Green River – Rehab Doll (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
Peter Murphy – Love Hysteria (Beggars Banquet) | UK
Thin White Rope – In The Spanish Cave (Frontier) | USA | Bandcamp
Manilla Road – Out Of The Abyss (Black Dragon) | USA
A.R. Kane – 69 (Rough Trade/One Little Indian) | UK
Candlemass – Ancient Dreams (Enigma/Peaceville) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Pink Turns Blue – Meta (Fun Factory!) | Germany | Bandcamp
Loop – Fade Out (Chatper 22) | UK
Helloween – Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Part II (Combat) | Germany
A.R. Kane – Up Home! EP (Rough Trade) | UK
Straightjacket Fits – Hail (Flying Nun) | New Zealand | Bandcamp
Caspar Brötzmann Massaker – The Tribe (Rough Trade/Southern Lord) | Germany | Bandcamp
R@p*man – Two Nuns And A Pack Mule (Touch And Go) | USA
Felt – The Pictorial Jackson Review (Creation) | UK | Bandcamp
The Mission – Children (Mercury) | UK
Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime (EMI) | USA
Death – Leprosy (Combat) | USA | Bandcamp
The Ex – Aural Guerrilla (Ex ) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Wire – A Bell Is A Cup Until It is Stuck (Enigma) | UK
The Cynics – Twelve Flights Up (Get Hip) | USA | Bandcamp
Lyres – A Promise Is A Promise (Ace Of Hearts) | USA
The Steppes – Stewdio (Voxx/Delerium) | USA
The Brilliant Corners – Somebody Up There Likes Me (McQueen) | UK
Fishbone – Truth And Soul (Columbia) | USA
Weddings Parties Anything – Roaring Days (Cooking Vinyl) | Australia
The Pedaljets – Today Today (Twilight) | USA
Patricio Rey y Sus Redonditos de Ricota – Un baión para el ojo idiota (Del Cielito) | Argentina
Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man (Columbia) | Canada
Ozric Tentacles – Sliding Gliding Worlds (Dovetail) | UK | Bandcamp
The Sugarcubes – Life’s Too Good (Elektra) | Iceland | Bandcamp
Half Japanese – Charmed Life (10,000 Watts) | Canada | Bandcamp
Shack – Zilch (Ghetto) | UK
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Nothing Wrong (Situation Two) | UK
Stump – A Fierce Pancake (Chrysalis) | UK
Game Theory – Two Steps From The Middle Ages (Enigma) | USA | Buy
It Bites – Once Around the World (Virgin) | UK
Flotsam and Jetsam – No Place For Disgrace (Metal Blade) | USA
Rigor Mortis – Rigor Mortis (Capitol) | USA

See full list here.

Breakdown: Genre Lists

As always, you can deep dive any of these these genres with the list search. While previously I had limited an album to one genre list, it didn’t accurately reflect the multi-genre nature of many of these albums. So this year an album will show up in multiple lists. I have a widget that automatically pulls from the database, so as albums are added and moved around in the future, this will reflect it.

Psych

After three of the best, and most under rated post-punk albums in 1983-86, The Chameleons seemed to be done. Mark Burgess did a one-off album with The Sun And The Moon, and while not reaching the peaks of The Chameleons, it continues that mix of post-punk, psych, jangle pop and dream pop that I can’t get enough of. I still greatly prefer The Church’s Heyday (1986), but Starfish has gradually grown on me over the years. The Mighty Lemon Drops may sound like Echo & the Bunnymen Mk. II, but their first two albums do sound like the follow-up to Ocean Rain (1984) that the Bunnymen couldn’t pull off. | Buy

Bubbling under: More Experience, Goat, Papir, The Babe Rainbow, Hooveriii, Electric Orange, Trees Speak. | More

The Sun And The Moon – The Sun And The Moon (Geffen) | UK
The Church – Starfish (Arista) | Australia
The Mighty Lemon Drops – World Without End (Sire) | UK
A.R. Kane – 69 (Rough Trade/One Little Indian) | UK
Loop – Fade Out (Chatper 22) | UK
A.R. Kane – Up Home! EP (Rough Trade) | UK
The Steppes – Stewdio (Voxx/Delerium) | USA
Ozric Tentacles – Sliding Gliding Worlds (Dovetail) | UK | Bandcamp
The Sugarcubes – Life’s Too Good (Elektra) | Iceland | Bandcamp
Galaxie 500 – Today (Ryko) | USA | Bandcamp
The Bevis Frond – The Autie Winnie Album (Reckless/Fire) | UK | Bandcamp
The Black Watch – St. Valentine (Eskimo) | USA
Butthole Surfers – Hairway To Steven (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp

Psych Pop & Prog Pop

Jeff Conolly has ruled the Boston garage/psych/surf scene since 1976, first with DMZ, then the Lyres. Their third album may not have as many earworms as the first two, but honestly the competition was not that stiff. | Bandcamp

The Beatles – Past Masters: Volume Two (Capitol) | UK
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – Globe Of Frogs (A&M) | UK
R.E.M. – Green (WB) | USA
Thin White Rope – In The Spanish Cave (Frontier) | USA | Bandcamp
Loop – Fade Out (Chatper 22) | UK
Lyres – A Promise Is A Promise (Ace Of Hearts) | USA
The Steppes – Stewdio (Voxx/Delerium) | USA
14 Iced Bears – 14 Iced Bears (Thunderball) | UK | Bandcamp
The Green Pajamas – November (Green Monkey) | USA | Bandcamp
The King Of Luxembourg – Sir (Strange Days) | UK
Paul Roland – Happy Families (New Rose) | UK | Bandcamp
The Wylde Mammoths – Things That Matter (Crypt) | Sweden

Noir (Folk, Garage, Psych, Punk, Surf)

Considered part of California’s Paisley Underground when they formed in 1981, Thin White Rope developed their own unique style of garage noir that touches on post-punk, psych and cowpunk. | Bandcamp

Eleventh Dream Day – Prairie School Freakout (Thrill Jockey) | USA
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tender Prey (Mute) | Australia
The New Christs – Divine Rites (Citadel) | Australia
Ed Kuepper – Everybody’s Got To (Hot) | Australia | Bandcamp
The Dream Syndicate – Ghost Stories (Enigma) | USA
Crime & The City Solution – Shine (Mute) | Australia
Thin White Rope – In The Spanish Cave (Frontier) | USA | Bandcamp
Run Westy Run – Hardly Not Even (SST) | USA
Inca Babies – Evil Hour (Communion) | UK
Snatches Of Pink – Send In The Clowns (Dog Gone) | USA | Bandcamp
Beasts Of Bourbon – Sour Mash (Red Eye) | Australia
Dead Moon – In The Graveyard (Tombstone/Music Maniac) | USA | Bandcamp
Legal Weapon – Life Sentence To Love (MCA) | USA

Prog

There’s not a lot of straight up prog from the 80s that I really dug, but it was cool that metal bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica and Voivod were dipping their toes in the prog waters. I was massively disappointed by Somewhere In Time (1986) when it came out, and at the time I only found Seventh Son of a Seventh Son to be a slight improvement, as ambitious as it was. Too many songs dragged and were boring, a problem that Metallica also had. I was amazed when I met many Maiden fans in subsequent years who cited their 7th album as their favorite. I thought they were insane. They are insane, as it just lacks everything that I love about Piece of Mind (1983). But in hindsight, with what happened in the 90s (let’s not talk about that), this album does look to be the last of a pretty amazing seven album run.

Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (Capitol) | UK
Metallica – …And Justice For All (Elektra) | USA
Voivod – Dimension Hatröss (Noise) | Canada
Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime (EMI) | USA
Deathrow – Deception Ignored (Noise) | Germany
Mekong Delta – The Music Of Erich Zann (Aaarrg) | Germany
Crimson Glory – Transcendence (Roadrunner) | USA
Dark – Tamna Voda (CMP) | Germany
Cardiacs – A Little Man and a House and the Whole World Window (Alphabet) | UK | Bandcamp
King Diamond – Them (Roadrunner) | Denmark | Bandcamp
Blue Öyster Cult – Imaginos (Columbia) | USA
Ruins – Ruins III (Trans) | Japan | Bandcamp
Fates Warning – No Exit (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp

Punk & Post-Punk

Post-Punk in 1988 was quite different and more diverse than the bands in the 2000s that drew more direct inspiration from the class of 1978-84. It was too recent, and members of The Bad Seeds, The New Christs, The Pogues, The Church, The Banshees had been involved in the scene the first time around. So it’s understandable that they would want to stretch and expand the boundaries of post-punk beyond recognition. Great case in point was My Bloody Valentine. When they first started recording EPs in 1984, they started as an odd mix of post-punk, goth and psychobilly (!). They were hit, mostly miss until the Strawberry Wine EP (1987) that they locked onto a mix of dream/noise/jangle pop, with just enough fragmented remnants of post-punk, to inspire shoegaze. They weren’t all the way there with their first full-length. Isn’t Anything has some moments that are still a bit too lo-fi and twee, before they would fully blossom, but it was a fairly groundbreaking start.

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (Enigma) | USA | Bandcamp
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tender Prey (Mute) | Australia
The New Christs – Divine Rites (Citadel) | Australia
Naked Raygun – Jettison (Caroline) | USA | Bandcamp
And Also The Trees – The Millpond Years (Reflex) | UK | Bandcamp
For Against – December (Chameleon /Words On Music) | USA | Bandcamp
Death Of Samantha – Where The Women Wear The Glory And The Men Wear The Pants (Homestead) | USA
My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything (Creation) | Ireland
The Sun And The Moon – The Sun And The Moon (Geffen) | UK
Joy Division – Substance (Factory/Rhino) | UK
The Church – Starfish (Arista) | Australia
Government Issue – Crash (Giant) | USA
Ed Kuepper – Everybody’s Got To (Hot) | Australia | Bandcamp

Garage Rock

When Green River split in January of that year, members went on to form Pearl Jam and Mudhoney. Talk about opposites. Pearl Jam would take time to gestate, and would always keep one foot in polished classic rock that made them hugely successful, and to me, unbearably dull. After this EP, Mudhoney stuck to a fairly uninspired garage punk template themselves, but for one glorious moment, they had caught a cherry bomb explosion in a paper bag. It’s like they emptied all their angst and frustration all at once on Superfuzz Bigmuff (named after their fuzz effects pedals) and the accompanying singles, and had nothing left for themselves. It was up to other bands to carry on the legend and develop the grunge subgenre (a label the bands scoffed at, but still works with bands over 30 years later), and to some extent, stoner rock. | Bandcamp

Eleventh Dream Day – Prairie School Freakout (Thrill Jockey) | USA
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tender Prey (Mute) | Australia
The New Christs – Divine Rites (Citadel) | Australia
Death Of Samantha – Where The Women Wear The Glory And The Men Wear The Pants (Homestead) | USA
Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff EP (Sub Pop) | USA
Bored! – Bored! EP (Glitterhouse) | Australia
Ed Kuepper – Everybody’s Got To (Hot) | Australia | Bandcamp
The Dream Syndicate – Ghost Stories (Enigma) | USA
Crime & The City Solution – Shine (Mute) | Australia
Thin White Rope – In The Spanish Cave (Frontier) | USA | Bandcamp
The Cynics – Twelve Flights Up (Get Hip) | USA | Bandcamp
Lyres – A Promise Is A Promise (Ace Of Hearts) | USA
The Steppes – Stewdio (Voxx/Delerium) | USA

Hard Rock

I’ve always gone back and forth with Jane’s Addiction. Their music reeked of a cheap, gaudy mix of patchouli, incense, bad weed and liquor, thanks to their outdated references to watered-down goth and The Doors and never letting go of the douchey version of frat funk inherited from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Yep, they were totally an L.A. band. But there’s no denying the majesty of those power chords 20 seconds into “Ocean Size,” the big riffs of “Mountain Song,” and the surprising empathy in “Jane Says.”

Fugazi – Fugazi EP (Dischord) | USA | Bandcamp
Naked Raygun – Jettison (Caroline) | USA | Bandcamp
Government Issue – Crash (Giant) | USA
Soul Asylum – Hang Time (A&M) | USA
Danzig – Danzig (American) | USA
Green River – Rehab Doll (Sub Pop) | USA | Bandcamp
R@p*man – Two Nuns And A Pack Mule (Touch And Go) | USA
Patricio Rey y Sus Redonditos de Ricota – Un baión para el ojo idiota (Del Cielito) | Argentina
Masters Of Reality – Masters Of Reality (American) | USA
Bitch Magnet – Star Booty EP (Communion) | USA | Bandcamp
Kix – Blow My Muse (Atlantic) | USA
NoMeansNo – Small Parts Isolated & Destroyed (Alternative Tentacles) | Canada
Blind Idiot God – Undertow (Enemy) | USA | Bandcamp

Heavy Metal

As you can see elsewhere, it was impossible to talk about metal in the 80s without mentioning the 800 lb gorilla, Metallica. After a groundbreaking trio of albums that defined thrash metal, and forever placed them in the pantheon of the greats, the anticipation was overwhelming for this album. This is despite the fact they suffered a crippling blow of losing beloved bassist Cliff Burton in a road accident in September 1986. Jason Newsted (Flotsam & Jetsam) was a fine replacement, and had they worked with him properly rather than wasting the energy hazing him and sabotaging his bass in the mix, their fourth album could have been better. It’s Metallica, and they were getting a little proggy, which I mostly dug, so there’s a lot of great moments. But there’s still a question of what might have been, one that they missed the opportunity to address on the 2018 remastered deluxe reissue. They could have fixed the bass in the mix, but those arrogant motherfuckers refused to acknowledge that they made a mistake in the first place. Ugh, rock stars. They went on to greater success as a mainstream hard rock band (people blame grunge for making metal unfashionable, but Metallica kind of played a role in that too), but I’ll still take this album over the self-titled black album any day.

Bubbling under: Manowar, Riot, King Diamond, Blind Guardian, Manilla Road, Megadeth, Overkill, Ozzy Osbourne, Virgin Steele, Anthrax. | More.

Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (Capitol) | UK
Metallica – …And Justice For All (Elektra) | USA
Riot – ThunderSteel (Epic) | USA
Voivod – Dimension Hatröss (Noise) | Canada
Chastain – The Voice of the Cult (Leviathan) | USA | Bandcamp
Danzig – Danzig (American) | USA
Manilla Road – Out Of The Abyss (Black Dragon) | USA
Candlemass – Ancient Dreams (Enigma/Peaceville) | Sweden | Bandcamp
Helloween – Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Part II (Combat) | Germany
Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime (EMI) | USA
Flotsam and Jetsam – No Place For Disgrace (Metal Blade) | USA
Rigor Mortis – Rigor Mortis (Capitol) | USA
Testament – The New Order (Megaforce) | USA

Power Metal, Epic Adventure & Symphonic/Dark Romance Metal

Germany really ran with the power metal concept, and my only surprise is how many American bands are here, as in later years this list would be nearly exclusively European, especially when symphonic metal flourished, much like symphonic prog was favored in Germany and Italy in the 70s. I listened to the Queensrÿche at the time but could not get on board with the lush production then, and it took me decades to circle back to these. Helloween’s third album is the most satisfying for me, and I liked subsequent band Gamma Ray even more.

Bubbling under: Virgin Steele, Anthem, Fates Warning, Vicious Rumors, Liege Lord, Scanner, Adramelch, Attacker. ” More.

Riot – ThunderSteel (Epic) | USA
Chastain – The Voice of the Cult (Leviathan) | USA | Bandcamp
Manilla Road – Out Of The Abyss (Black Dragon) | USA
Helloween – Keeper Of The Seven Keys, Part II (Combat) | Germany
Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime (EMI) | USA
Helstar – A Distant Thunder (Metal Blade/Roadracer) | USA
Running Wild – Port Royal (Noise) | Germany
Manowar – Kings Of Metal (Atlantic) | USA
Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force – Odyssey (Polydor) | Sweden
Crimson Glory – Transcendence (Roadrunner) | USA
Brocas Helm – Black Death (Gargoyle) | USA
Liege Lord – Master Control (Metal Blade) | USA | Bandcamp
Cloven Hoof – Dominator (HR) | UK

Metal

1988 may be the first year that I could fully populate a lucky 13 of metal’s more extreme subgenres, even if you removed thrash titans Slayer, Metallica and Testament. Coroner were on to something with their precise, Swiss brand of technical thrash metal on their debut R.I.P. (1987), which they would fine-tune here and on No More Color (1989) and Mental Vortex (1991) which introduced more prog.

Bubbling under: Realm, Bathory, Pestilence, Destruction, Holy Terror, Sabbat, Carcas, Sadus, Razor, Forbidden. | More.

Slayer – South Of Heaven (American) | USA
Coroner – Punishment For Decadence (Noise) | Switzerland | Bandcamp
Kreator – Terrible Certainty (Noise) | Germany
Death – Leprosy (Combat) | USA | Bandcamp
Deathrow – Deception Ignored (Noise) | Germany
Bathory – Blood Fire Death (Maze/Kraze) | Sweden
Napalm Death – From Enslavement To Obliteration (Combat) | UK | Bandcamp
Godflesh – Godflesh EP (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp
Destruction – Release From Agony (Profile/Steamhammer ) | Germany
Overkill – Under The Influence (Megaforce) | USA
Zeni Geva – Vast Impotentz (Nux) | Japan
Morbid Saint – Spectrum Of Death (Grind Core) | USA
Realm – Endless War (Roadracer) | USA

Avant, Experimental, Post-Rock, Modern Classical, Drone

Despite being reissued in 2007, the second and best album from Edinburgh’s Cindytalk, In This World, is again out of print, forgotten, and for some reason excluded from Spotify and other streaming services. It’s worth seeking out, an intriguing piece of the puzzle of how post-punk, noise rock and industrial crossbred and spawned the likes of Nine Inch Nails.

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (Enigma) | USA | Bandcamp
Talk Talk – Spirit Of Eden (EMI) | UK
Caspar Brötzmann Massaker – The Tribe (Rough Trade/Southern Lord) | Germany | Bandcamp
Half Japanese – Charmed Life (10,000 Watts) | Canada | Bandcamp
Tom Waits – Big Time (Island) | USA
Flipper – Sex Bomb Baby! (Subterranean/Infinite Zero) | USA
:zoviet*france: – Shouting at the Ground (Red Rhino) | UK
Butthole Surfers – Hairway To Steven (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Cindytalk – In This World (Midnight) | UK
Dark – Tamna Voda (CMP) | Germany
Last Exit – Iron Path (Venture) | USA | Bandcamp
Foetus Interruptus – Thaw (Some Bizarre) | Australia
Dagmar Krause – Tank Battles (Antilles) | Germany

Industrial & Noise

German industrialist behemoths Einstürzende Neubauten were between albums, so Caspar Brötzmann Massaker picked up on a thread of experimental noise that they would improve on with their next album, but it was a pretty fascinating start to their career. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Skeptics, Foetus Interruptus, Die Kreuzen, Membranes, Edward Ka-Spel, Bailter Space, Zeni Geva, Cosmic Psychos, Band Of Susans, Butthole Surfers, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Ministry, World Domination Enterprises, Stretchheads, Test Dept., Universal Congress Of, Nice Strong Arm, feedtime, CTI, Head Of David. | More

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (Enigma) | USA | Bandcamp
Dinosaur Jr. – Bug (SST) | USA | Bandcamp
Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff EP (Sub Pop) | USA
Caspar Brötzmann Massaker – The Tribe (Rough Trade/Southern Lord) | Germany | Bandcamp
R@p*man – Two Nuns And A Pack Mule (Touch And Go) | USA
The Ex – Aural Guerrilla (Ex ) | Netherlands | Bandcamp
Half Japanese – Charmed Life (10,000 Watts) | Canada | Bandcamp
Ministry – The Land Of Rape And Honey (Sire) | USA
Bitch Magnet – Star Booty EP (Communion) | USA | Bandcamp
NoMeansNo – Small Parts Isolated & Destroyed (Alternative Tentacles) | Canada
Godflesh – Godflesh EP (Earache) | UK | Bandcamp
God – Rock is Hell EP (Au-Go-Go) | Australia
Blind Idiot God – Undertow (Enemy) | USA | Bandcamp

Dream Pop & Shoegaze

Dunadin, New Zealand band Straightjacket Fits was a perfect example of the diversity of the “Dunadin Sound” mainly documented by the Flying Nun label. Stretching beyond the signature jangle pop sound of The Clean, The Bats and Verlaines, bands like The Gordons, Skeptics and Bailter Space, along with these guys, ventured forth into No Wave, Noise Rock and Art Punk. | Bandcamp

For Against – December (Chameleon /Words On Music) | USA | Bandcamp
My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything (Creation) | Ireland
Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll (4AD) | UK
The Sun And The Moon – The Sun And The Moon (Geffen) | UK
The Church – Starfish (Arista) | Australia
Lowlife – The Black Album (LTM) | UK | Bandcamp
The Essence – Ecstasy (Midnight) | Netherlands
The House Of Love – The House Of Love (Creation) | UK
My Bloody Valentine – You Made Me Realise EP (Creation) | Ireland
A.R. Kane – 69 (Rough Trade/One Little Indian) | UK
Loop – Fade Out (Chatper 22) | UK
A.R. Kane – Up Home! EP (Rough Trade) | UK
Straightjacket Fits – Hail (Flying Nun) | New Zealand | Bandcamp

Ambient, Art Pop Goth, New Age & Sophisti-Pop

While I was onboard with Siouxsie’s relatively mainstream pop sounds of Tinderbox (1986), I had problems with “Peek-a-Boo.” But with all the shit I’ve heard in the 33 years since, that song is, relatively, a masterpiece. After seeing a great performance by The Creatures in Barcelona in ’99, I decided I need to have all the Siouxsie & the Banshees albums, and I’m glad I did. Her influence has continued to spread and I hear them in Savages, Lola Colt, Rosegarden Funeral Party, Mere Women and many other artists.

Bubbling under: Thomas Dolby, Everything But the Girl, Microdisney, John Surman, Sade, Luxuria, Red Temple Spirits, The Style Council, Fields Of The Nephilim, Marc Almond, All About Eve. | More.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Tender Prey (Mute) | Australia
The Beatles – Past Masters: Volume Two (Capitol) | UK
And Also The Trees – The Millpond Years (Reflex) | UK | Bandcamp
Joy Division – Substance (Factory/Rhino) | UK
Ups And Downs – Underneath the Watchful Eye (Mushroom) | Australia
Dead Can Dance – The Serpent’s Egg (4AD) | Australia
Siouxsie & the Banshees – Peepshow (Polydor) | UK
The Wild Swans – Bringing Home The Ashes (Sire/Wounded Bird) | UK
Lowlife – The Black Album (LTM) | UK | Bandcamp
The Essence – Ecstasy (Midnight) | Netherlands
Peter Murphy – Love Hysteria (Beggars Banquet) | UK
Pink Turns Blue – Meta (Fun Factory!) | Germany | Bandcamp
The Mission – Children (Mercury) | UK

Indie Pop & Jangle Pop

Something in my still teenage brain chemistry really, really hated the hits that formerly favorite bands had on “modern rock” radio, including “Under the Milky Way.” I still don’t love that song, but can sort of see it’s appeal. I’ve loved and listened to probably every other album The Church released before finally circling back and accepting Starfish. It was a long journey to enjoy it. Actually I’m kind of sick of it again. Back to Heyday and earlier stuff for me!

Bubbling under: The Jazz Butcher, 14 Iced Bears, The Woodentops, Morrissey, Vomit Launch, The Weather Prophets, The Cocteau Twins, Galaxie 500, A House, The Lilac Time, The Railway Children. | Mo r e.

The Feelies – Only Life (A&M) | USA
The Go-Betweens – 16 Lovers Lane (Capitol/Beggars Banquet) | Australia
For Against – December (Chameleon /Words On Music) | USA | Bandcamp
The Smithereens – Green Thoughts (Enigma) | USA
The Sun And The Moon – The Sun And The Moon (Geffen) | UK
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – Globe Of Frogs (A&M) | UK
R.E.M. – Green (WB) | USA
The Church – Starfish (Arista) | Australia
The Jazz Butcher – Fishcotheque (Creation) | UK
The Dream Syndicate – Ghost Stories (Enigma) | USA
The Mighty Lemon Drops – World Without End (Sire) | UK
Ups And Downs – Underneath the Watchful Eye (Mushroom) | Australia
The Wild Swans – Bringing Home The Ashes (Sire/Wounded Bird) | UK

Global, Reggae, Dub & Afrobeat

The marketing of “World Music” started in the 80s, but really got going in the 90s. Which is why a band from St. Louis is at the top of the list for it’s dabblings in dub.

Dead Can Dance – The Serpent’s Egg (4AD) | Australia
A.R. Kane – Up Home! EP (Rough Trade) | UK
King Sunny Adé – Destiny (Atom Park) | Nigeria
Blind Idiot God – Undertow (Enemy) | USA | Bandcamp
Mano Negra – Patchanka (Virgin) | France
Miriam Makeba – Sangoma (WB) | South Africa | Bandcamp
Chaba Fadela – You Are Mine (Mango) | Algeria
Blind Idiot God – Undertow (Enemy) | USA | Bandcamp
World Domination Enterprises – Let’s Play Domination (Caroline/Product Inc. ) | UK | Bandcamp
Cheb Khaled & Safy Boutella – Kutché (Stern’s ) | Algeria
UB40 – UB40 (A&M) | UK

Synthpop & Electropop

Aside from New Order, who did not release an album that year, synth/electropop was falling out of fashion, morphing into the inexplicable trend of Baggy/Madchester. In the U.S., places like the 7th St. Entry started hosting an acid house dance night, which was fun. I just wasn’t into listening to ’em sitting in my dorm. New wave style synthpop would become a mainstay again in a few decades. Leonard Cohen absorbed the genre and made it feel sophisticated in an arty, old-school bohemian kind of way. Cuz Cohen was a baller.

Leonard Cohen – I’m Your Man (Columbia) | Canada
Pet Shop Boys – Introspective (Parlophone) | UK
a-ha – Stay On These Roads (WB) | Norway
Ambitious Lovers – Greed (Virgin) | USA
Prefab Sprout – From Langley Park To Memphis (Epic) | UK
Scritti Politti – Provision (Virgin) | UK
Erasure – The Innocents (Mute) | UK
Thomas Dolby – Aliens Ate My Buick (EMI) | UK
Luxuria – Unanswerable Lust (Beggars Banquet) | UK
Mylene Farmer – Ainsi Soit Je (Polydor) | Canada
Marc Almond – The Stars We Are (Capitol) | UK
Johnny Hates Jazz – Turn Back the Clock (Virgin) | UK
Gary Numan – Metal Rhythm (I.R.S.) | UK

R&B, Soul & Funk

The Pale Fountains’ brothers Michael and John Head formed Shack, who supplemented their jangle pop with pop soul on the first album. I really, really grew to hate funk metal, but I really loved Fishbone at the time. They were kind of forgotten for some reason, but Truth And Soul holds up.

Fishbone – Truth And Soul (Columbia) | USA
Shack – Zilch (Ghetto) | UK
Ambitious Lovers – Greed (Virgin) | USA
Scritti Politti – Provision (Virgin) | UK
John Scofield – Loud Jazz (Gramavision) | USA
Universal Congress Of – Prosperous and Qualified (SST) | USA
Sade – Stronger Than Pride (Epic) | UK
Prince – Lovesexy (WB) | USA
Annette Peacock – Abstract-Contact (Ironic) | USA
Etta James – Seven Year Itch (Island) | USA
Ornette Coleman and Prime Time – Virgin Beauty (Portrait) | USA
Feargal Sharkey – Wish (Virgin) | UK
Defunkt – In America (Antilles) | USA

Hip Hop & Rap

The influence of N.W.A. has only grown over the decades. And the issues that both they and Public Enemy addressed with police brutality and racism have clearly not gone away 32 years later A hugely important and accomplished album. However, I listened to Eric and Parrish Making Dollars (EPMD) more than anyone other than PE. The groove, the funk, the boom bap. Irresistible. | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Ice-T, Run-D.M.C., Salt ‘n’ Pepa. | More.

Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jam) | USA
EPMD – Strictly Business (Sleeping Bag/Fresh) | USA | Bandcamp
The Jungle Brothers – Straight Out The Jungle (Warlock) | USA
N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton (Ruthless) | USA
Ultramagnetic MCs – Critical Beatdown (Next Plateau) | USA
Boogie Down Productions – By All Means Necessary (Jive) | USA
Eric B. & Rakim – Follow the Leader (Uni) | USA
Big Daddy Kane – Long Live the Kane (Cold Chillin’) | USA
Slick Rick – The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (Def Jam) |
Marley Marl – In Control, Volume 1 (Cold Chillin’) | USA
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – He’s The DJ, I’m The Rapper (Jive) | USA
Biz Markie – Goin’ Off (Cold Chillin’) | USA
Stetsasonic – In Full Gear (Tommy Boy) | USA

Folk & Americana

One could live solely off the music of The Pogues, Tom Waits and Nick Cave in the 80s, at least for several months, as extensive and rich as those catalogs are. Waits was on fire ever since his wife spurred him to incorporate Captain Beefheart as an influence on Swordfishtrombones (1983). The live Big Time album is like a victory lap, also released as a movie. I never saw it, but I found a couple clips below.

The Pogues – If I Should Fall From The Grace Of God (WEA) | Ireland
Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians – Globe Of Frogs (A&M) | UK
R.E.M. – Green (WB) | USA
Graham Parker – The Mona Lisa’s Sister (Elektra) | UK
Camper Van Beethoven – Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (Rough Trade) | USA
Weddings Parties Anything – Roaring Days (Cooking Vinyl) | Australia
Cowboy Junkies – The Trinity Session (RCA) | Canada
The Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues (Ensign) | Ireland
Souled American – Fe (Rough Trade) | USA | Bandcamp
Green On Red – Here Come The Snakes (Restless) | USA
Lucinda Williams – Lucinda Williams (Koch ) | USA
Gear Daddies – Let’s Go Scare Al (Gark/Polydor) | USA
Paul Roland – Happy Families (New Rose) | UK | Bandcamp

Bubbling under: Mekons, Giant Sand, Michelle Shocked, John Hiatt. | More.

Country, Country Blues/Psych/Rock/Soul

In 1988 it seemed like everyone was listening to Cowboy Junkies. What’s not to like? They recorded their second album at Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto with a single ambisonic microphone. The somnombulent arrangements of classic country, blues and Americana were so chill and relaxing, like the rustic flipside of New Age music like Enya. Even college kids like me got into it, lured in by the cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane,” which is the exact same arrangement the band used on their Live 1969 album, complete with the extra “wine and roses” verse that The Dream Syndicate had also referenced a few years back. Three decades later, it still holds up, which is partly why it progressed from RIAA gold certification to platinum by 1996.

Cowboy Junkies – The Trinity Session (RCA) | Canada
Souled American – Fe (Rough Trade) | USA | Bandcamp
Green On Red – Here Come The Snakes (Restless) | USA
Lucinda Williams – Lucinda Williams (Koch ) | USA
k.d. lang – Shadowland (Sire) | Canada
Gear Daddies – Let’s Go Scare Al (Gark/Polydor) | USA
Nick Lowe – Pinker and Prouder Than Previous (Demon) | UK | Bandcamp
Steve Earle – Copperhead Road (MCA) | USA
Mekons – Honky Tonkin’ (Twin/Tone) | USA
Lyle Lovett – Cadillac (MCA) | USA
Giant Sand – The Love Songs (Demon) | USA
Dwight Yoakam – Buenas Noches From A Lonely Room (Reprise) | USA
Michelle Shocked – Short Sharp Shocked (Mercury) | USA

Jazz, Jazz Fusion

Various – Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music From Vintage Disney Films (A&M) | USA
Miriam Makeba – Sangoma (WB) | South Africa | Bandcamp
Felt – Train Above the City (Creation) | UK | Bandcamp
Dark – Tamna Voda (CMP) | Germany
John Scofield – Loud Jazz (Gramavision) | USA
Last Exit – Iron Path (Venture) | USA | Bandcamp
k.d. lang – Shadowland (Sire) | Canada
Steve Lacy Trio – The Window (Soul Note) | USA
Henry Threadgill – Easily Slip Into Another World (AristaNovus) | USA
Pharoah Sanders, John Hicks, Curtis Lundy & Idris Muhammed – Africa (Timeless) | USA
Mike Westbrook – London Bridge Is Broken Down (Virgin) | UK
Paul Bley – The Paul Bley Quintet (ECM) | Canada
Katsumi Horii Project – Ocean Drive (Air) | Japan

Bubbling under: Dave Holland Trio, The Art Farmer Quintet, Dave Murray Trio, John Zorn, George Lewis & Bill Frisell, Cheb Khaled & Safy Boutella.

Non-Metal For Metalheads

My theory is that Al Jourgensen was so embarrassed by his first phase of Ministry as a synthpop/new wave band, even though With Sympathy (1983), to be fair, wasn’t all bad, and only slightly worse than Talk Talk’s first album, that he spent the rest of his career overcompensating by getting addicted to heroin and living a depraved lifestyle 24/7. Diving right into metal-tinged industrial music on his third album, he’d perfect the formula next year on The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste (1989) before becoming a cartoonish parody.

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (Enigma) | USA | Bandcamp
Caspar Brötzmann Massaker – The Tribe (Rough Trade/Southern Lord) | Germany | Bandcamp
R@p*man – Two Nuns And A Pack Mule (Touch And Go) | USA
Half Japanese – Charmed Life (10,000 Watts) | Canada | Bandcamp
Tom Waits – Big Time (Island) | USA
Ministry – The Land Of Rape And Honey (Sire) | USA
Flipper – Sex Bomb Baby! (Subterranean/Infinite Zero) | USA
:zoviet*france: – Shouting at the Ground (Red Rhino) | UK
Butthole Surfers – Hairway To Steven (Touch And Go) | USA | Bandcamp
Cindytalk – In This World (Midnight) | UK
Stickdog – Human (Alternative Tentacles) | USA | Bandcamp
Dark – Tamna Voda (CMP) | Germany
Last Exit – Iron Path (Venture) | USA | Bandcamp

Labels

Virgin (11)
Enigma (9)
Rough Trade (9)
WB (9)
Flying Nun (8)
SST (7)
Sire (7)
Creation (6)
Touch and Go (5)
A&M (5)
American (5)
4AD (4)
Sub Pop (4)

Singles

Nah.

Videos

Shows

Most of the bands I saw that year were local, many playing at our college campus.

Sonic Youth, Die Kreuzen, Laughing Hyenas (First Avenue)
Pixies (Northern Lights & 7th St. Entry)
Soul Asylum
Run Westy Run
The Draghounds
The Funseekers
Cows
The Gear Daddies
The Wallets
Babes In Toyland
The Magnolias
The Bastards
The Blue Hippos

Movies

Growing up I was a latchkey kid and spent more time reading and listening to music than with people. I often imagined being able to evesdrop on peoples’ thoughts to see how they tick. The angels in Wings of Desire manage to do so with empathy, until one of them falls in love with a woman. Okay, that could get creepy, but Wim Wenders handles it beautifully. Possibly my favorite movie of all time.

Wings Of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) – Wim Wenders (drama)
La Lectrice (The Reader) – Michel Deville (drama)
Beetlejuice – Tim Burton (comedy)
The Serpent and the Rainbow – Wes Craven (horror)
Akira – Satoshi Kon (sci fi/anime)
The Lair Of The White Worm – Ken Russell (horror)
Dangerous Liaisons – Stephen Frears (drama)
The Unbearable Lightness Of Being – Philip Kaufman (drama)
The Last Temptation Of Christ – Martin Scorcese (drama)
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown – Pedro Almodovar (comedy)
A Fish Called Wanda – Charles Crichton (comedy)
Hairspray – John Waters (comedy)
Do the Right Thing – Spike Lee (drama)

Bubbling under: Big, Rain Man, Call Me, Frantic, Let’s Get Lost.

Television

I was in college and watched almost zero TV that year, with the exception of MTV’s 120 Minutes, hosted at the time by Dave Kendall.

Books

I used to read close to a hundred books a year as a kid, and the volume of what I read didn’t change, but my time was mostly spent on the piles and piles of reading requirements for my history, political science and gender studies triple major. I even read Noam Chomsky for fun. I needed help. Thankfully my old standby, science fiction saved the day, or at least my summer vacation, and I was treated to some top notch cyberpunk from the originators, William Gibson, Bruce Sterling and Rudy Rucker. Rucker’s name is not quite as recognized as the other two. I highly recommend you grab the Kindle version, just $7.95, of his five volume Ware Tetralogy immediately if you like those two, and Neal Stephenson, who’s second book was an environmental technothriller that anticipated themes he’d flesh out in the future, along with influencing solarpunk. I’d circled back and read Zodiac after his brilliant Snow Crash (1992).

More about Wetware, you can also just read that book as a standalone novel, as the tetralogy is only loosely connected. It’s much more whimsical and funny than most cyberpunk, introducing you to the world of meatbops (robot/human hybrids), moldies (a new race of sentient plastic), an AI steamboat, and humans getting “lifted” (yes, there’s drugs and weird sex).

Rudy Rucker – Wetware
Bruce Sterling – Islands in the Net
William Gibson – Mona Lisa Overdrive
Noam Chomsky – Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Anne Rice – The Queen of the Damned
Iain M. Banks – The Player of Games
Neal Stephenson – Zodiac
Douglas Adams – The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
J.G. Ballard – Running Wild
Neil Postman – Conscientious Objections: Stirring Up Trouble About Language, Technology and Education

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Tagged: Books 1988, Dinosaur Jr., Eleventh Dream Day, Fester's Lucky 13: 1988, Fugazi, Movies 1988, Naked Raygun, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Pixies, Public Enemy, Slayer, Sonic Youth, Talk Talk, The Feelies, The New Christs, The Pogues, Top Albums of 1988

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Stuff

April 13, 2026

Spirit Adrift – Infinite Illumination (20 Buck Spin)

Truckfighters – Masterflow (Fuzzorama)

April 6, 2026

The Big Wave: Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Cardinals, The Twilight Sad, Bad//Dreems

Spidergawd – VI (Crispin Glover)

Termination Shock – Neal Stephenson

Fester’s Lucky 13: 1988