Duck Rock
Malcolm McLaren
1983
Tracks
1. Obatala
2. Buffalo Gals
3. Double Dutch
4. Merengue
5. Punk It Up
6. Legba
7. Jive My Baby
8. Song For Chango
9. Soweto
10. World's Famous
11. Duck For The Oyster
Having visited Malcolm McLaren's grave last year, I came into this album with a certain kind of softness; I was ready to be kind. But wow, this was a rough one.
Like most people, I have only known Malcolm McLaren through his work with the Sex Pistols and hadn't heard his own music. This album is styled like a radio show and...what can I say? It was odd, jarring, and not all rhythmic. I suppose that isn't the point of his music. The point is...well, I've never understood what the point is, which is probably obvious.
Duck Stab, Duck Rock...can we agree to stay away from the mallards please?
RATING: 2/5
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
1982
Tracks
1. Blister in the Sun
2. Kiss Off
3. Please Do Not Go
4. Add It Up
5. Confessions
6. Prove My Love
7. Promise
8. To The Kill
9. Gone Daddy Gone
10. Good Feeling
Once again, I am confined to bed after an ankle surgery. Maybe I will binge myself on albums like I did with movies last time. I'm not sure that the solution to excruciating pain is heavy metal music, but I think we are safe for now with the Violent Femmes.
Based on the name of the band, I was kind of hoping this was some Camp Cope-esque angry female group. Although I was initially disappointed that the vocalist wasn't female, I quickly warmed up to Gordon Gano's voice. It sounded very 70s to me, which was a fun throwback.
I hope their next album is on The List. Now if you'll excuse, I need to consume some drugs.
RATING: 4/5
Rio
Duran Duran
1982
Tracks
1. Rio
2. My Own Way
3. Lonely In Your Nightmare
4. Hungry Like The Wolf
5. Hold Back The Rain
6. New Religion
7. Last Chance On The Stairway
8. Save A Prayer
9. Chauffeur
I have lost track of how many times I have said this on this blog, but once again, I am on the verge of nervous breakdown for how much I have to get done. So, naturally, I am prioritizing this blog over my other assignments, because sanity is a fleeting thing.
How can this music not make you happy? It was nice to hear something relatively upbeat for once; I feel like the recent goal of these albums have been to make me have a breakdown (as though I need any nudging). The best songs on this album are the ones that everyone knows, but the entire album is extremely fun.
So a nice break from heavy metal. Back to reality...
RATING: 4/5
Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden
1982
Tracks
1. Invaders
2. Children Of The Damned
3. Prisoner
4. 22 Acacia Avenue
5. The Number Of The Beast
6. Run To The Hills
7. Gangland
8. Total Eclipse
9. Hallowed Be Thy Name
I am changing my icon to be a snail, as I feel like it really reflects my pace through this project. I apologize for only averaging one album a week. I am hoping I can increase my pace this summer (maybe to one a day even, although my eyes might be bigger than my stomach...ears). Truth be told, the List has not been offering the strongest motivations lately (excepting Nebraska of course).
Oh, heavy metal. I am a heavy metal racist; I can't seem to tell the different bands and albums apart. Some I don't mind as much as others, although I think that reflects more the type of mood I am in than the quality of the music. There's nothing distinctly intellectual in my distaste for this genre; viscerally, I just don't like it. If you do, I envy you, as this List is probably a lot easier to get through.
Up next: Duran Duran! This might out-eighties anything we have seen so far.
RATING: 2/5
Sulk
Associates
1982
Tracks
1. Arrogance Gave Him Up
2. No
3. Bap De La Bap
4. Gloomy Sunday
5. Nude Spoons
6. Skipping
7. It's Better This Way
8. Party Fears Two
9. Club Country
10. nothinginsomethingparticular
After the greatness that was Nebraska, we get kind of a meh album here. It wasn't particularly bad, it just didn't really seem remarkable in any way. It seems so non descript compared to the other albums on this list; I am curious why it was included.
That said, after the recent string of terrible albums, "not bad" is actually refreshing. It was music I could write to without getting overly distracted, so there is some value in that. I could clearly see some of the influences behind the album (Bowie perhaps?), but unfortunately, it didn't have a distinct voice of its own.
Apparently, the band would urinate in their guitars while they were recording this. Artists are such sensitive souls.
RATING: 3/5
Nebraska
Bruce Springsteen
1982
Tracks
1. Nebraska
2. Atlantic City
3. Mansion On The Hill
4. Johnny 99
5. Highway Patrolman
6. State Trooper
7. Used Cars
8. Open All Night
9. My Father's House
10. Reason To Believe
I listened to this album a little while ago, but I have had so many writing projects that I am falling behind. Any further discussion on my current workload will lead to tears, so let's just move onto Nebraska.
Finally, we reached the end of our horrible streak of albums. I didn't think I would connect to this, as my understanding of Bruce Springsteen was that he was the working man's hero. Fortunately, this was just beautiful. It was so simple; just his vocals, a guitar, and a harmonica (that made not be correct but that's what I heard). You could really just focus on the lyrical quality of the songs, which was excellent. Who knew Bruce Springsteen was such a poet? Everyone, you say?
Highly recommended.
RATING: 5/5
Black Metal
Venom
1982
Tracks
1. Black Metal
2. To Hell and Back
3. Buried Alive
4. Raise the Dead
5. Teacher's Pet
6. Leave Me in Hell
7. Sacrifice
8. Heaven's on Fire
9. Countess Bathory
10. Don't Burn the Witch
11. At War with Satan
After writing a rant on my book blog and a rant on my movie blog, I thought I would complete the hate tour and complain about this album. We are really in a bad rut with albums lately. I hope Bruce Springsteen can save us.
So this is a shitty album, but unlike most of the shitty albums on this List, I understand why it is on here. It's influential to a genre that I don't particularly enjoy, so I was never going to celebrate it. Still, I thought I would find at least a little merit in this. No such luck. The lyrics are terrible, the songs are repetitive, and the vocalist has so absolutely no range.
Did I mention I hate this?
RATING: 1/5
