I picked up this box set, not because I loved Fleetwood Mac, but because, growing up, their music was ubiquitous, everywhere, all the time, and I hated none of it, and in 2019, felt someobligation to have them in the collection. Having owned as a youngperson none of their records, I neverthelessknew almost every songContinue reading “#704: F is for Fleetwood Mac”
Tag Archives: 80s music
#697: F is for The Fixx
The Fixx stands near the top ofmy list of the greatest 80’s bands, in part because their music doesn’tsound dated–there are no dumbdrum machines, no easily identifiablesynthesizer cliches or sequencers. Their timelessness comes from the key instrumental fact that they were a rock band. They stand outbecause each player, not just oneor two, had aContinue reading “#697: F is for The Fixx”
#695: F is for Fine Young Cannibals
I wondered why they buried the single, then I realized that “She Drives Me Crazy”is not on this album. Instead, we’ve got a collection of debut tunes from this Fine Young band of Cannibals, wildly unique in their era, making a kind of soul music featuring one of the most distinctive singers of theday, anContinue reading “#695: F is for Fine Young Cannibals”
#693: F is for Ferry, Bryan
Here’s a super groovy late 80’s album for you. I think I heard Bryan Ferry on the Roxy Music Avalon album and I didn’t even make the connectionbetween this guy and “Love Is The Drug.” And while I loved that Roxy Music album,I have never taken the plunge into Roxy Music’s back catalog, which goesContinue reading “#693: F is for Ferry, Bryan”
#649: The First Record I Listen To In 2026 Is a New Old Record and Out of Alphabetical Order
I didn’t listen to a single record on the first two daysof 2026, but in the car yesterday, driving across town to have breakfast with a dear friend, I listened to a downloaded album of Nine Horses, a studio project put togetherby two brothers with different surnames, DavidSylvian and Steve Jansen, who, more than fortyContinue reading “#649: The First Record I Listen To In 2026 Is a New Old Record and Out of Alphabetical Order”
#645: C is for The Cars
I have fired my alphabetizer. Despite the fact that when these albums were brand new, I bought onlythe first two, both masterpieces in the blend between new wave and top 40 rock. Could therebe a more perfectdebut album, for example, a record where nearly everytrack became a single,or at least, got radio action?I’m hard pressedContinue reading “#645: C is for The Cars”
#625: B is NOT for Blake, Sexton, a.k.a. Sexton Blake
Because the band is named after a literary person, a fictional British detective, and not a real person, I’ve discovered I have misfiled Sexton Blake in the B’s. Needless to say, I did not listen to this record from Sexton Blake after finding the mistake, and filed Plays the Hits, a collection of 80’s cover tunes, post-haste,Continue reading “#625: B is NOT for Blake, Sexton, a.k.a. Sexton Blake”
#613: B is for the B-52s
One of the greatestnerd-rock bands ever, The B-52s arrived in 1979with this gem of a debut.They were not accomplished musicians, but these spirited performances completely overshadowed what they may have lacked in precision, or what the serious musicians might have called “chops.”I might have been one of those dismissive listeners. I can imagine myself sayingContinue reading “#613: B is for the B-52s”
#593: A is for A-ha
I I never leave the shrink wrap on an album I’ve purchased, but I left the plastic on this first A-ha album, purchased used within the last several years, because the original price tag was still there, $6.99 new at Tower Records, 1985.I did some thinking about thisrecently, about the price of a new recordContinue reading “#593: A is for A-ha”
On the Fifteenth Day of 2025…
. . .You decide to write about yourself in the second person. You realize that’s an odd thing to do, even though, as most things a writer can do, it’s been done before hundreds of times. You’re mostly curious about how it feels. You’ve tried the first and the third, the first being the mostContinue reading “On the Fifteenth Day of 2025…”
michael jarmer 