[Tokyo Jihad]

My fiance skipped through the songs on my car stereo when a song by Spiritualized started up. The very first line of the song was "Sometimes I wish that I was dead." She nearly busted with laughter at how predictable it was that a song like that would be on my mp3 player. "Crooney tunes" are what she calls them, or as they were precisely described in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, songs that made you "think about death and feel sad and stuff." What I most grappled with during my week of listening strictly to music from the year 1986 was how goddamn happy everything sounded. It has been said by people snobbier than me what American culture regressed in the 1980's after the gritty 70's -- going from All in the Family to Archie Bunker's Place. How I rationalize this is the baby boomers were adults now, they had children, and wanted to paint the world as some whimsical, merry, and safe place. These were people that only ever knew the chilling "Mutually Assured Destruction" reality of the Cold War, which at this point was winding down. There was enough to be optimistic about, and enough reason to oversell the idea. Superficial harmony and contentment don't yield the kind of "crooney tunes" a guy like me tends to look for. Pretty much every record I listened to this week took until the second spin to shake off all the sugar and glitter.

I don't claim to be an expert on the year in music of 86, I could only listen to so many records. Also only so many times, there are some records that likely do need more time to grow on me. Overall, this was a fun, if perplexing, experiment. What follows is a recap of what I listened to, in order, and brief thoughts.


Coil - Horse Rotorvator: I'm not really sure what possessed me to start here. Maybe because looking at other reviews and thoughts, this seemed like the least stereotypically 80's album that I nabbed. I thought this was a pretty cool listen, like a less intense Swans. Burbling brass and weird electronic sounds, as well as some musique concrete elements layer in these gloomy atmospheres. I set up how happy 86 music was and yet I started with an album where there is little happiness expressed. I suppose it did cause me to re-adjust my expectations.

XTC - Skylarking: Took Tesla's recommendation and put this near the top of the queue. I think because I listened to this immediately after Horse Rotorvator, it took me a day or two to come around to this record. I hear a lot of sounds that remind me of a proto-Arcade Fire, very big, operatic baroque pop. Absolutely love the song "Another Satellite."

Sonic Youth - EVOL: A few bands that would soon release monster records released albums in 86 that would prove to point to their future. Sonic Youth would release Daydream Nation in three years, but Evol was the left turn road that would lead them there. Evol was certainly an easier listen for me, but it's clear Sonic Youth was still a year at least from tying their sound together.

Paul Simon - Graceland: After toying around with the least 80's sounding records I could find, I jumped in to the pool and spent all last weekend on Graceland. This era of Paul Simon always reeked of off-white walls with framed pictures of flowers and tan couches. "You can call me Al" was the soundtrack to a dull yuppie Saturday night. The inclusion of Ladysmith Black Mambazo seemed like a forced and superficial sense of culture. (And another case of whiter-than-white folk co-opting another culture's traditions.) Of course these are all ideas I had as a little (and apparently cynical as fuck) kid, without listening to the music much. While I still feel it gets too goofy for it's own good at times, this must be a case of the "Seinfeld is Unfunny" trope. Too dethatched from the original context. Graceland is very crisp, catchy, and inventive (even it seems like a trite and worn path today.) The title track is beautiful, also a big fan of the closing track.

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead: The Smiths were always one of those revered bands that I never took time to get into. This album was far more twee than I expected. Some great, rolling pop songs. More "Blur" than "Oasis" on the brit-continuum. This is one of the albums I feel like needs more listens than allowed, I expected a little more bite, like the title track, and less kisses.

R.E.M. - Life's Rich Pageant: This was the most forward thinking album of the week. That is to say, the most 90's. The album that most sounded like my youth. Needless to say, I loved every minute of it. R.E.M. was a band I frequently neglected apart liking basically all of the songs I heard. This became my first full introduction. Dug the heck out of it. Possibly my favorite of the week.

Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill: Obviously, I don't have the original context for many of these albums, but the one that suffered the most on first listen was this record. All I heard, every song, was Lonely Island. Like I mentioned in regards to Paul Simon, in 2012, Beastie Boys and Licensed to Ill has been an influence on so many things and is such a root, it is hard to listen on it's own. It just sounded like goofy rap-rock music, but I forget -- the hip-hop world was vastly different in '86.

Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring: The year Sonic Youth started to become more accessible, Talk Talk moved away from accessibility. Not to say The Colour of Spring is a very tall hurdle, but the new wave synth was out and more complicated song structures and organic sounds were in. The closing track, "Time it's Time" is killer, it is poppy, has a daring arrangement, and takes it's time to develop. Really like that song, same can be said for the rest of the tracks, but that was my stand out.

Peter Gabriel - So: I was on board by the second half of this record. From "Big Time" on, this is no regular pop album. "We do What We're Told" and "The Big Picture" could pass for Talk Talk songs or Berlin-era Bowie. While the more straightforward songs sound exactly like the kind of crisp, polished, manufactured pop sound I associate with the 80's, coming back around it's clear these are the songs of an actual artist in the form of an 80's pop song. (And who doesn't love "Sledgehammer"? Not this guy.)

Metallica - Master of Puppets: This was the album I was last looking forward to. I've come so far without ever having to say I've listened to a Metallica. This is no longer true, but I'm thoroughly surprised at how much I liked it. I really shouldn't be though, Master of Puppets has been so assimilated (ala Licensed to Ill) in rock music that now I hear all the influences that I never before thought about. Dug the heck out of the pure rock that is "Orion".

Run D.M.C. - Raising Hell: This came cross much more immediately than Licensed to Ill did. So many great rap songs that I had picked up via osmosis throughout the years without realizing it was Run D.M.C. Even the obvious "Walk this Way" didn't seem so corny in the context of the album. Great flow, gotta love it.

Talking Heads - True Stories: This album was way more straightforward than I was hoping. I was also surprised at how melodramatic and sappy this was. Not that there weren't some really good songs on here. Very eccentric pop, like you'd expect from David Byrne.

Afrikaa Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force - Planet Rock: The Album: More hip-hop pioneers, but this time with a heaping helping of funk. This album was a party without feeling dated and too goofy. (Well it is a little goofy.) Unlike with Run and Beastie Boys, the real stars of this album are the instrumentals. Holds up stellar today.

That concludes my week stuck in 1986. There were unfortunately some albums I didn't get to that I wanted: Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus for one. It was a big year for metal and I wanted to round out my swatch of metal, but just ran out of time. What I've heard though, makes me wish I had gotten to it. Missed out on Yo La Tengo's Ride the Tiger and Depeche Mode's Black Celebration. Of course there's nothing stopping me from being a normal person and listen to them when ever I feel like it. I'll probably never fully overcome my 80's discrimination, but with just week I understand things a little better, and even see how it kinda sorta maybe at least a little bit contributed to the 90's and after's music I enjoy. Which in and of itself is a big deal.

Now I can be more informed in answering this question. My favorite album of 1986 is probably R.E.M.'s Life's Rich Pageant, closely followed by Run D.M.C.'s Raising Hell.