Numbers 89-80 of My 100 All-Time Favorite

Albums. 

Here some albums from my "formative years" start to make some appearances. Hey, we all weren't listening to 60's psychedelic cult albums or experimental industrial noise at 10 or 11 years of age. 

Also, I added one of two symbols at the end of each blurb:

* means I bought the album right when it was released or at the latest a few months later.

# means I discovered it later (some of these of course are pretty obvious)

As always please feel free to comment.

89) The Libertines - Up the Bracket (2002,

Rough Trade) - If The Libertines had held on long enough they could have gone on to be as big as The Clash. Up the Bracket has the right punk attitude and rock n' roll swagger. The only thing is everyone knew they wouldn't be together that long. The tension between frontmen Pete Doherty and Carl Barat can be felt in almost every song on Up The Bracket and the singles which came before it. Frankly I'm surprised they made it to the self-titled second album. I was just wished they hadn't broken up while I was holding tickets to see their upcoming show at Webster Hall... (*)

88) Inspiral Carpets - Beast Inside (1991, Mute)

- Inspiral Carpets may have come out of the same "Madchester" scene as Stones Roses, Happy Mondays, and Charlatans (UK) with some anthemic songs such as the minor hits "Joe" and "Song for a Family" but by their second album they became more intricate in their songwriting. A sold-out old 9:30 Club and I witnessed an intense performance shortly before Beast Inside was released. During songs like "Please Be Cruel" and "Sleep Well Tonight" the crowd was so quiet between notes you could probably have heard a pin drop. (*)

87) SNFU - And Nobody Else Wanted To Play (1985, B.Y.O,) - Canada’s SNFU was the first punk band I saw live when they were already a couple albums down from this debut. I was amazed by singer Chi Pig’s (Ken Chin) stage presence. He was literally all over the place, including on top of the audience. Not to mention he had a voice too good to be leading a punk band. They also had two awesome guitarists in the Belke brothers who played off each other perfectly. This is just one of their classic skate punk albums they released. I used the banned 1972 Diane Arbus photo from the cover of the original pressing because it fits the album so well. (#)

86) Snuff - Snuff Said.... (1989, Worker's Playtime) - This is a

shortened version of the albums real's name. On this album the Snuff, another British band where the singer is the drummer, played loud and fast melodic punk rock in the same vein at China Drum. Sometimes they even verged on thrash. Of course each song was chopped full of hooks. After another EP Snuff would break up then reform a few years later. Only now they were a little slower and featured some horns. Still very good though.(#)

85) Unsane - S/T (1991, Matador) - Unsane was one the bands which I first discovered noise rock when I picked Sub Pop released their 1990 "Vandal-X" single. I had heard songs by their influences The Swans or Foetus but nothing had really prepared me for this onslaught. A year or two later I would see them a couple times at CBGBS, always surprised such a racket could be made by just three people, It perfectly fitted the chaos and grime of the pre-gentrified neighborhood around it. If you think this real or fake (the story often changes) cover is too much, make sure not to check out the original cover of Big Black's Headache 12". (*)


83) Gaunt - Bricks and Blackouts (1997, Warner Bros) - The Columbus, Ohio band put out four

albums on various indie labels such as Thrill Jockey and Amphetamine Reptile Records, consisting of lo-fi fast garage punk with tons of melody buried under the fuzz. (You can read my thoughts about one of them here). But in 1997 they upped the production and made the jump to a major label. The result was 14 fast danceable numbers and one acoustic. Listen to the "Far Away", "Powder Keg Variety" to hear some of the best guitar hooks laid down on tape. The final track "Dancing When Your Down" is still my go-to song in my household to listen to at the end of a bad day. (*)

84) Tales of Terror - S/T (1985, CD Presents) - Sacramento's Tales of Terror would probably be on this list for the cover alone. Luckily we also get 14 tracks that walk the line between skate rock and Stooges punk. Mudhoney considers them a big influence and have covered them. It was never pressed on tape or compact disc (despite the label's name) but you can listen to it on Spotify, Apple Music. The vinyl goes for upward of $200. Somehow in 1999 I was given a copy by an ex-radio station programmer I met in Baton Rouge. But does have 'WLSU' written on it. The album would be ranked higher on this list but I’m not totally in love with the Elvis cover at the beginning. (#)

82) Cutting Crew - Broadcast (1986, Virgin) -  This band is mostly known for their “(I Just) Died in Your Arms” hit. Broadcast also consists of nine other pop songs. If this album had been released in the late 90’s/early 00’s on Doghouse instead of 1986 on Virgin it would have been a big indie rock hit. “One for the Mockingbird” would not have been out of place on a Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American album. “Fear of Falling” on dare I say a Dave Mathews album. Give Broadcast another listen. This album has been on my rotation for the last 34 years. (*)

81) Sicko - You Can Feel The Love In This

Room (1994, eMTy) - From Seattle but far from grunge. On eMTy Records but far from the garage punk the label was known for. Instead on this album Sicko played fast poppy punk with just the right amount of alcohol seeped in to keep them from being pop/punk. This album also posses a revved-up cover of an Indigo Girls hit. Read my thoughts on the next and more Pop/Punk sounding album here (*)

80) Alkaline Trio - Good Morning (2003, Vagrant) - Good Mourning is where the band finally won me over, although I did come to really like the previous two. (Read my thoughts on one of them here). This is also where the band began their horror-ish theme that was hinted at on their split EP with Hot Water Music. The album also has one of my all-time favorite songs in "Continental". It still has the pop hooks of the last three albums but the guitar is actually louder. Except on the acoustic track at the end which asks the question "Your coffin or mine?" (*)

Next Up: 79 - 70