In 1987 the hip 80's were still awesome as the awkward transition to the cool 90's hadn't yet begun. By this point most rock 'n' roll sub-genres had reached their aesthetic peaks and the procreators of such were either just now easing into bland obscurity or, for better or worse, they were taking their art to the next level.
Although at the time I favored the music of Raffi over that of The Smiths, I've since come around, aged twenty-one years, grown a few feet taller, and have forgotten the words (though not the melody) to "Baby Beluga". The Smiths probably would've warped this five-year-old's mind anyway.
As much about re-discovery as it is about the regular sort of discovery, here are five kickin' songs from 1987. Reoccuring themes include life after punk rawk, bitter ends, and disturbing stories. Enjoy!
Husker Du - Ice Cold Ice
In January of 1987 Husker Du released Warehouse: Songs and Stories. In December of that same year the band unexpectedly broke up following a show in Columbia, Missouri. It was unexpected in the sense that they were in the middle of a tour, but drugs and strained relationships, those things that slowly wedge bands apart, things Husker Du had been trying to work through for years, finally culminated and destroyed the band. You'd never know that by listening to this album, though. They sound great. There's the odd 80's production that makes these songs feel a bit dated, but the tunes themselves are brilliant. As far as "Ice Cold Ice" is concerned, revel in the sweet melody, the desperate vocals, the harmonies... even some call-and-response. And underneath it all is the aggressiveness and attitude that made them such an awesome early 80's hXc punk band. By the way, if you turn the volume up to listen to the fade-out, watch out for that final chord. BWAAAAANG.
New Order - 1963
Murder you can dance to! The lyrical story is a bit vague, but evidently Bernard Sumner wrote this about the Kennedy assassination. The story goes that JFK hired Jack Ruby to take care of Jackie O. so that he and Marilyn Monroe could live together happily ever after. Ruby turned to Lee Harvey Oswald to make the actual hit. The hit was a miss and the bullet got JFK instead. Monroe, distressed that her lover had been killed, committed suicide. Ruby, miffed that Oswald screwed up the job, shot him in the stomach on national television. Obviously this isn't a story to be taken literally (Kennedy had been hit with two bullets, and Monroe died in 1962), so you can take the song to mean whatever you want. "1963" was released as a b-side to "True Faith" in July and appeared on the Substance compilation in August.
The Smiths - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Probably the most depressing song EVER. I don't know what's up with the intro at the beginning, but it sets a weird mood. Two minutes of piano and an angry mob(?) and orca sounds(???)... only to be crushed by a sudden wall of sadness when the real song begins. If it annoys you then pick up the 7-inch single, which omits the intro. But if you're a big enough Smiths fan to purchase vinyl singles then you're probably not going to care either way. This appears on the band's final studio album, Strangeways, Here We Come, and is in fact their final single (apart from re-issues, which obviously don't count). A downer song on multiple levels.
Rites of Spring - Patience
Time to get emo, but in the original post-hardcore definition of the word. Forerunners of the now-mislabeled genre, vocalist Guy Picciotto (later to join Fugazi) attacks and wrestles with the lyrics in a manner that is definitely reminiscent of punk and hardcore. The instrumentation, on the other hand, is almost subdued and even kind of jazzy. It all comes together, though, to create this brief and intensely emotional package. "Patience" appears on their 4-song All Through a Life EP, but you might as well get End on End compilation which contains the entire EP as well as their entire self-titled 1985 album. (Each of these releases, by the way, was produced by Ian Mackaye.)
The Sugarcubes - Birthday
You know what this post needs? More Bjork. Though this song appears on 1988's Life's Too Good, "Birthday" was released as a single in October of 1987. It was the band's first hit and was voted the #1 song that year on John Peel's radio show. It's got that doomy Icelandic feel to it, but this is most certainly a chipper pop song about love between a five-year-old and the... bearded guy... who lives... next... door... ew. If you don't want to admire the lyrics then you can admire Bjork's enormous pipes. She's, like, five feet tall but has a voice that can knock down a brick house.
Although at the time I favored the music of Raffi over that of The Smiths, I've since come around, aged twenty-one years, grown a few feet taller, and have forgotten the words (though not the melody) to "Baby Beluga". The Smiths probably would've warped this five-year-old's mind anyway.
As much about re-discovery as it is about the regular sort of discovery, here are five kickin' songs from 1987. Reoccuring themes include life after punk rawk, bitter ends, and disturbing stories. Enjoy!
Husker Du - Ice Cold IceIn January of 1987 Husker Du released Warehouse: Songs and Stories. In December of that same year the band unexpectedly broke up following a show in Columbia, Missouri. It was unexpected in the sense that they were in the middle of a tour, but drugs and strained relationships, those things that slowly wedge bands apart, things Husker Du had been trying to work through for years, finally culminated and destroyed the band. You'd never know that by listening to this album, though. They sound great. There's the odd 80's production that makes these songs feel a bit dated, but the tunes themselves are brilliant. As far as "Ice Cold Ice" is concerned, revel in the sweet melody, the desperate vocals, the harmonies... even some call-and-response. And underneath it all is the aggressiveness and attitude that made them such an awesome early 80's hXc punk band. By the way, if you turn the volume up to listen to the fade-out, watch out for that final chord. BWAAAAANG.
New Order - 1963Murder you can dance to! The lyrical story is a bit vague, but evidently Bernard Sumner wrote this about the Kennedy assassination. The story goes that JFK hired Jack Ruby to take care of Jackie O. so that he and Marilyn Monroe could live together happily ever after. Ruby turned to Lee Harvey Oswald to make the actual hit. The hit was a miss and the bullet got JFK instead. Monroe, distressed that her lover had been killed, committed suicide. Ruby, miffed that Oswald screwed up the job, shot him in the stomach on national television. Obviously this isn't a story to be taken literally (Kennedy had been hit with two bullets, and Monroe died in 1962), so you can take the song to mean whatever you want. "1963" was released as a b-side to "True Faith" in July and appeared on the Substance compilation in August.
The Smiths - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved MeProbably the most depressing song EVER. I don't know what's up with the intro at the beginning, but it sets a weird mood. Two minutes of piano and an angry mob(?) and orca sounds(???)... only to be crushed by a sudden wall of sadness when the real song begins. If it annoys you then pick up the 7-inch single, which omits the intro. But if you're a big enough Smiths fan to purchase vinyl singles then you're probably not going to care either way. This appears on the band's final studio album, Strangeways, Here We Come, and is in fact their final single (apart from re-issues, which obviously don't count). A downer song on multiple levels.
Rites of Spring - PatienceTime to get emo, but in the original post-hardcore definition of the word. Forerunners of the now-mislabeled genre, vocalist Guy Picciotto (later to join Fugazi) attacks and wrestles with the lyrics in a manner that is definitely reminiscent of punk and hardcore. The instrumentation, on the other hand, is almost subdued and even kind of jazzy. It all comes together, though, to create this brief and intensely emotional package. "Patience" appears on their 4-song All Through a Life EP, but you might as well get End on End compilation which contains the entire EP as well as their entire self-titled 1985 album. (Each of these releases, by the way, was produced by Ian Mackaye.)
The Sugarcubes - BirthdayYou know what this post needs? More Bjork. Though this song appears on 1988's Life's Too Good, "Birthday" was released as a single in October of 1987. It was the band's first hit and was voted the #1 song that year on John Peel's radio show. It's got that doomy Icelandic feel to it, but this is most certainly a chipper pop song about love between a five-year-old and the... bearded guy... who lives... next... door... ew. If you don't want to admire the lyrics then you can admire Bjork's enormous pipes. She's, like, five feet tall but has a voice that can knock down a brick house.
