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Song of the Day #2,968: ‘Private Idaho’ – The B-52’s

b52s_wild_planetAh, a nice refreshing respite from the abrasive punk rock of last week! My next 1980 album is the sophomore effort by New Wave band The B-52’s.

Wild Planet and the band’s self-titled debut (released a year earlier) are considered The B-52’s best work, at least until 1989’s comeback album Cosmic Thing, which featured the hits ‘Roam’ and ‘Love Shack.’ The first two records established their flamboyant, retro style and put Athens, Georgia, on the musical map a few years before R.E.M.’s first record.

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Song of the Day #2,967: ‘The Breakout’ – John Mellencamp

mellencamp_dance_nakedJohn Mellencamp’s 13th album, 1994’s Dance Naked, was recorded and released by Mellencamp in a rush to spite the record company.

He was unhappy with the suits’ lukewarm response to his previous album, the excellent Human Wheels, so he aimed to deliver the sort of mindless rock-n-roll record they preferred.

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Song of the Day #2,966: ‘Spend Some Time’ – Eminem

eminem_encoreEminem’s fifth studio album, 2004’s Encore, is easily the worst record he’s ever recorded.

As a follow-up to the excellent The Eminem Show, release just two years earlier, this record couldn’t have been more disappointing.

And ‘Spend Some Time,’ today’s Random Weekend SOTD, might be the worst song on the album. Along with Obie Trice, Stat Quo and 50 Cent, Eminem spews tired, misogynist garbage about the women (make that “bitches”) who’ve let them down.

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Song of the Day #2,965: ‘Sex and Dying in High Society’ – X

x_los_angelesMy week of 1980 albums by groups I’ve never heard turned out to be a theme week on punk rock. Fortunately, the last band featured seems to be the best of the bunch, though that isn’t saying much.

X is a Los Angeles punk band that formed in the late 70s and released their debut album, fittingly titled Los Angeles, in 1980. They recorded regularly throughout the 80s before splitting late in the decade. They reunited a couple of times after that, releasing one more studio album in 1993.

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Song of the Day #2,964: ‘Let’s Lynch the Landlord’ – Dead Kennedys

dead_kennedys_fresh_fruitContinuing my tour of critically-acclaimed albums of 1980, I arrive at yet another punk rock band, though this one hails from America. Dead Kennedys released four full-length albums between 1980 and 1986 before disbanding. They reformed in 2001 minus lead singer Jello Biafra, but only to tour.

Biafra has repeatedly accused his bandmates of selling out, for everything from releasing a greatest hits album to licensing their music to a Levis commercial and a Robert Rodriguez movie.

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