572. The Colour of Spring

The Colour of Spring
Talk Talk
1986

Tracks
1. Happiness Is Easy
2. I Don't Believe In You
3. Life's What You Make It
4. April 5th
5. Living In Another World
6. Give It Up
7. Chameleon Day
8. Time It's Time

Based on my skewed perception from the List, it seems like 1986 was mostly made up of heavy metal albums and synthpop. This is a little different, and while it didn't leave a lasting impression, it was still a welcome shake up.

There were some odd choices in this album, like when a children's chorus starts singing. I don't have kids, and therefore associate children singing strictly with horror movies, so I was fairly creeped out by this. Maybe it was supposed to be cute, who knows.

And up next, even more metal. 

RATING: 3/5

571. Talking With the Taxman About Poetry

Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
Billy Bragg
1986

Tracks
1. Greetings To The New Brunette
2. Train Train
3. Marriage
4. Ideology
5. Levi Stubbs' Tears
6. Honey I'm A Big Boy Now
7. There Is Power In A Union
8. Help Save The Youth Of America
9. Wishing The Days Away
10. Passion
11. Warmest Room
12. Home Front

So we already know this man is insufferable based on the name of the album. But as usual, I put my preconceived notions aside and embraced this album with open ears. Or something like that.

I'm not a fan of political songs when they are so heavy-handed. I prefer something much more subtle (and much more moving) like Suzanne Vega's "The Queen and the Soldier." Otherwise, I just feel like I'm being spoon fed propaganda and the music is just a diversion (and not a very good one).

We have some albums on the horizon that look promising, so let's not lose hope. 

RATING: 2/5

570. Last of the True Believers

Last of the True Believers
Nanci Griffith
1986

Tracks
1. Last of the True Believers
2. Love at the Five and Dime
3. St. Olav's Gate
4. More Than a Whisper
5. Banks of the Pontchartrain
6. Looking for the Time (Workin' Girl)
7. Goin' Gone
8. One of These Days
9. Love's Found a Shoulder
10. Fly by Night
11. Wing and the Wheel


I have a journal that offers a writing prompt for every day of the year. Yesterday's entry started with the quote "writing about music is like dancing about architecture." I wholeheartedly agree. Now back to my interpretative dance.

I think country is the most reviled music genre, based on my own data, which is pooled from men's online dating profiles. But I like country when it is heavily mixed with folk, which is exactly what this album is. Nanci Griffith has a very strong Suzanne Vega vibe, and I was digging it.

She has.a very soothing voice. Since "soothing" isn't the adjective I would use to describe most entries on this List, I plan on rewarding her handsomely.

RATING: 4/5

569. Infected

Infected
The The
1986

Tracks
1. Infected
2. Out Of The Blue (Into The Fire)
3. Heartland
4. Angels Of Deception
5. Sweet Bird Of Truth
6. Slow Train To Dawn
7. Twilight Of A Champion
8. Mercy Beat

I find the name of this group to be embarrassing, like it was the exasperated idea for a band name after a night of heavy drug use. The ambiguous monster on the album cover points to the problem with this album. They were very angry at something; I am not really sure about what.

Possibly I am not well acquainted enough with the political climate of 1986 that this album was hellbent on commentating on, so it's not really the band's fault. On the other hand, I didn't find any of the songs compelling, which is definitely the band's fault (I'm an easy audience, I swear!).

Ugh, is this the last The The album on this List? Grammatically, that last sentence rubs me the wrong way and it's coloring my judgment.

RATING: 2/5

568. Master of Puppets

Master of Puppets
Metallica
1986

Tracks
1. Battery
2. Master Of Puppets
3. The Thing That Should Not Be
4. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
5. Disposable Heroes
6. Leper Messiah
7. Orion
8. Damage Inc.

There are way too many heavy metal albums on this List. This genre has such a rigid style, that if you don't like heavy metal to begin with, you're just not going to enjoy any of these albums. Whereas, if you weren't a pop fan, I feel like the genre has a wide enough range that you could probably still identify and enjoy a few pop albums, even if you vehemently deny it to your head-banging friends. My theory as to why the List is so heavily saturated with this genre (which certainly doesn't possess mass appeal) is that the quality of metal is fairly consistent throughout the years (which is definitely not the case with other genres), so it is easy to find a decent metal album to fill in some of these musically-desolate years, like 1986. 

Which is my long winded way of saying: I hate Metallica.

Boring, repetitive, and worst of all, you can tell they take themselves much too seriously. I think they just got famous because they came up with a cool band name.  Unfortunately, this is the first of many Metallica albums on this List. 


RATING: 2/5

567. Licensed to Ill

Licensed to Ill
Beastie Boys
1986

Tracks
1. Rhymin & Stealin
2. The New Style
3. She's Crafty
4. Posse In Effect
5. Slow Ride
6. Girls
7. (You Gotta ) Fight For Your Right (To Party)
8. No Sleep Till Brooklyn
9. Paul Revere
10. Hold It Now, Hit It
11. Brass Monkey
12. Slow And Low
13. Time To Get Ill

I recently participated in a bar trivia night. A question was posed about a musical trio. One guy said the Beastie Boys, everybody else thought it was Rush, and I bleated feebly that I had no fucking idea. Anyway, we went with Rush, but the answer was Beastie Boys. Maybe if I had listened to this album before I could have lent more support to Will. Sorry, Will.

It's refreshing to listen to an album on this List that doesn't take itself quite so seriously. I am a huge Hamilton fan, so it was interesting to listen to this album; you can see its influence clearly in tracks like "Aaron Burr Sir" and "Winter's Ball." 

Anyway, a fun, silly album that was a welcome change of pace.

RATING: 4/5

566. Planet Rock

Planet Rock
Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force
1986

Tracks
1. Planet Rock
2. Looking for the Perfect Beat
3. Renegades of Funk
4. Frantic Situation
5. Who You Funkin' With?
6. Go Go Pop
7. They Made a Mistake

The Listmakers have once again lied to us, by saying that this List does not contain any compilation albums. I'm far too accustomed to the Listmakers' abuses to feel this blow too heavily.

...

Okay, it's possible I'm being a touch dramatic, because this wasn't actually that bad.

Old school hip hop isn't my genre of choice, but I did enjoy "Who You Funkin' With?" (even if they did steal my catchphrase). Sounds pretty outdated at this point, but still a fun listen.

RATING: 3/5