Tag Archives: Decades

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Song of the Day #2,575: ‘Shoot Out the Lights’ – Richard & Linda Thompson

thompson_shoot_out_lightsIn contrast to the first two albums featured this week, which I knew by reputation and their hits but didn’t own, today’s record is one I’ve owned for quite awhile but have never heard.

I first learned about Shoot Out the Lights (and Richard and Linda Thompson) when Rolling Stone named this record the 9th best of the 80s in their decade wrap-up issue. Sitting alongside albums by Prince, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and U2, this folk rock album by a married British couple seemed entirely out of place.

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Song of the Day #2,574: ‘Rio’ – Duran Duran

duran_rioAnother 1982 album that I know only through its hit singles, Duran Duran’s Rio is considered one of the first and best New Wave records.

I’m familiar with the title track (today’s SOTD), ‘Hungry Like the Wolf’ and ‘Save a Prayer’ but that’s it. The videos for those songs earned heavy rotation in MTV’s early days, helping propel the band to stateside success.

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Song of the Day #2,573: ‘1999’ – Prince

prince_1999Las week I counted down my personal favorite albums of 1982, a list that contained some great titles but made no claim to truly represent that year’s musical output.

I turned 10 that year, after all, and I haven’t spent the next 32 seeking out every album I missed during my childhood.

For the next two weeks, I’ll highlight tracks from some of the 1982 albums that might have made my list had I been more familiar with them.

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Song of the Day #2,570: ‘Almost Blue’ – Elvis Costello

imperialbedroomAnd the best album of 1982 is… Elvis Costello’s Imperial Bedroom.

Over the next two weeks I’ll feature albums unfamiliar to me that topped critics lists in 1982. When searching for those titles, I often came across Costello’s baroque pop masterpiece, knowing full well that it would top my own list. The album topped the Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll that year. It’s the record that really cemented Costello as a critical favorite.

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Song of the Day #2,569: ‘Billie Jean’ – Michael Jackson

michael_jackson_thrillerMy #2 album of 1982 may well have been the #1, were it not for a classic record by a personal favorite. But Michael Jackson’s Thriller will have to settle for being the world’s all-time top selling album.

All these years later, after Jackson’s many scandals and unseemly death, it’s hard to recall what a fresh and dominating presence he was in the music world. Taylor Swift could only wish for his level of cultural dominance.

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