Tag Archives: Decades

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Song of the Day #5,031: ‘Sulky Girl’ – Elvis Costello

Continuing my look at 1994, first by counting down my own top ten albums of that year.

#8 – Brutal Youth – Elvis Costello

A long time ago on this blog, I referred to Brutal Youth as “one of the highlights of the back half of Costello’s career.” I guess that was true when I wrote it, more than a decade ago.

This album was Costello’s 16th of 33 (and counting), putting it just before the midpoint in terms of recorded output. And it was released in the 27th year of his 55-year (and counting) career, again putting it just before the midpoint. So now, rather than representing the “back half” of his career, I guess Brutal Youth falls at almost the exact center.

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Song of the Day #5,030: ‘Life, In a Nutshell’ – Barenaked Ladies

Continuing my look at 1994, first by counting down my own top ten albums of that year.

#9 – Maybe You Should Drive – Barenaked Ladies

This was the second album by one of my favorite 90s alternative rock bands. It’s a bit dismissive to call BNL a 90s act, I suppose, given that they have consistently recorded in the two decades since, but with very few exceptions, everything I like by the band came out on their first five albums.

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Song of the Day #5,029: ‘A Perfect Indian’ – Sinéad O’Connor

It’s time for another installment of my Decades series, wherein I look at acclaimed and popular albums from a specific year across four decades (70s through 00s). I’ve done the 0s, 1s, 2s, and 3s and I’m partway through the 4s. Over the next several weeks, I’ll be diving into the year 1994.

As usual, I will offer up my own top ten albums from that year, then dive into ten albums I don’t know or don’t know well.

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Song of the Day #4,956: ‘Hang On To Your Love’ – Sade

Closing out my look at the year 1984, here’s an album I had forgotten I knew so well: Diamond Life, the debut release by English band Sade (fronted by Nigerian-born Brit Sade Adu).

This release kicked off a 26-year career that saw every album (six in total) achieve multi-Platinum status. Most of those records came out between 1984 and 1992, with eight and 10-year gaps between the final two albums. But through it all, Sade’s smooth jazz meets R&B groove hit a consistent sweet spot.

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Song of the Day #4,955: ‘Everything She Wants’ – Wham!

My 12-year-old self never appreciated Wham! back in 1984 when they were one of the biggest things in music. I dismissed them as bubblegum pop, unworthy of serious consideration, even before I started regularly seeking out and listening to music.

I held the same opinion of Wham! as I discovered George Michael’s Faith (1987) and Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990), two albums of sophisticated songcraft that I loved and took as a sign that Michael had put aside his embarrassing past to become one of pop’s great artists.

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