Violent Femmes’ self-titled debut is my #14 album of 1983, and a good example of the kind of album for which I have a lot of affection even though I never play it.
I discovered this album, and band, in college almost a decade after they first became popular. The alternative music scene at that point was leaning toward grunge, but the folk-punk aesthetic of this record still felt just right.
While the world has self-quarantined to stave off the dreaded coronavirus, I figured now is as good a time as any to immerse myself in the more innocent world of the early 1980s.
Yes, it’s the latest installment of my ‘Decades’ series, where I feature the albums from a certain year across four decades (70s to 00s). Last time out I explored 1973, which brings us to 1983. I was 11 years old and hadn’t started up much of a music collection myself, but so many of the artists I’ll write about were very familiar even then.
My theory is that any “great” album has to have at least three great songs. If the rest are ok, and exhibit the same general style as the great ones, the whole album will earn a solid reputation.
Guns N’ Roses 1997 debut, Appetite For Destruction, is a good example. It features an all-time classic in ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and two other greatest hits-worthy tracks in ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ and ‘Paradise City.’ The rest of the songs are entirely forgettable.
This track from Loretta Lynn’s 2004 album Van Lear Rose is an excellent example of what makes that record so great.
Lynn paired with producer Jack White to deliver a collection of songs that expertly blended their styles: his hard-driving blues grunge, and the rootsy authenticity that makes her the matron saint of traditional country music.
Continuing my ranking of Taylor Swift’s albums…
The more time I’ve spent with Taylor Swift’s 2019 Lover, the clearer it is to me that this is her very best album. That it is also her newest bodes very well for future releases.
Lover was teased as a blend of pre- and post-pop Taylor, and on a surface level it fulfills that promise. Most of it is less overtly poppy than 1989 or Reputation, but the production does have an edge and sheen that wasn’t present in her earlier work.
Meet Me In Montauk 