Monday, July 20, 2009

Music Magazine 80’s List


7-20-09 Music Magazine 80’s List


I recently picked up the May ’09 issue of “Music Magazine”, from Japan. The cover shows Joe Strummer, Musrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pricne and David Bryne – and the feature article is “Album Ranking Top 100 1980 – 1989” – in other words, “The Best albums of the 80’s”.


I just love Japanese music magazine lists, as you may recall. So, right to it, here’s their 1980’s Top 20 albums:


1. Talking Heads – Remain In Light (1980)

2. The Pop Group – For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder? (1980)

3. The Clash – Sandanista (1980)

4. Prince & The Revolution – Purple Rain (1984)

5. Donald Fagen – The Nightfly (1982)

6. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – En Concert A Paris Vol. 1 (1987)

7. Lou ReedNew York (1989)

8. Eiichi Ohtaki – A Long Vacation (1981)

9. King Sunny Ade – Synchro System (1983)

10. U2 – Joshua Tree (1987)

11. Prince & The Revolution – Parade (1986)

12. Steely Dan – Gaucho (1980)

13. Linton Kwesi Johnson – Bass Culture (1980)

14. Style Council – Café Bleu (1984)

15. Beastie Boys – Licensed To Ill (1986)

16. Public Image Limited – The Flowers of Romance (1981)

17. Joy Division – Closer (1980)

18. Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)

19. Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation (1988)

20. Scritti Politti – Cupid & Psyche ’85 (1985)


In this Top 20, I own only #20. Never even heard #6, #8, #9. I do not like #10, #14, #15, #17, and #19. The rest are a matter of indifference for me, I’m afraid.

Other notable titles in their top 100 are Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five – The Message (1982; #25), Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (1985; #30), Gang Of Four – Entertainment (1979; #40 – hey, I thought this was 80’s only!), Serge Gainsbourg – Love On The Beat (1984; #48), Y.M.O. – Technodelic (1981; #52), Pizzicato Five – Couples (1987; #61), Phew – Phew (with Holger Czukay, 1981; #64), XTC – Black Sea (1980; #78), Robert Wyatt – Nothing Can Stop Us (1982; #84), Peter Gabriel – Peter Gabriel (#3) (1980; #90), David Byrne & Brain Eno – My Life In The Bush of Ghosts (1981; #95), The The – Infected (1986; #99) and Les Negresses Vertes – Mlah (1989, #100) – all of which I own – most on CD and LP – and very much enjoy.


I just love the Japanese ‘take’ on lists of this nature!


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I certainly rate "Remain In Light" as the best Talking Heads record. The first four are incredible. Each one is better than the last. After that, I really don't care. I read a fantastic Eno biography that mentioned something brilliant about the song "The Overload" on "Remain In Light." Apparently, the band's idea for the song was taken from the idea of Joy Division that they gleaned from reading about this band, whom they'd never heard! That is to say, they imagined what Joy Division sounded like from reading about them and used that impulse as the basis for the track! How cool is that?

Ron Kane said...

Never really did TH - I like #2 the best, in 2009. Good Eno story.