probably not the best 150 albums of 1987

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..and in fact the list below (found in a manilla envelope in my hall closet, written only in longhand in pencil for the past 18 years, til now) may be hard to decipher, since it only lists artists in most cases, not album titles. but it probably wouldn't be hard to figure the titles out , if anybody is curious (and i wrote in some that i remembered off the top of my head):

1. feedtime - shovel
2. sonny sharrock - guitar
3. ronald shannon jackson - when colors play
4. prince - sign o' the times
5. sly and robbie
6. african head charge - off the beaten track (i think)
7. chain gang - mondo manhattan
8. guns n roses - appetite for destruction
9. dinosaur - you're living all over me
10. eric b and rakim - paid in full (i guess)
11. brotzman/laswell
12. crime and the city solution
13. george brigman and split - human scrawl vagabond
14. teena marie - emerald city
15. the stooges - rubber legs (or whatever it was called)
16. einsturzende neubauten - halber mensch (i think)
17. b.p.a.
18. col. bruce hampton - (some cassete only thing)
19. the fall - project: orange (i guess) (unless that was later)
20. angry samoans - whatever the album was with "stp not lsd" on it
21. scrawl - plus also too (or something like that) (i think)
22. girlschool - nightmare at maple cross
23. xtc - skylarking
24. voivod - killing technology
25. world saxophone quartet
26. electric peace - medieval mosquito
27. headless chickens
28, ut
29. screaming trees - even if and especially when (if that's what it was called)
30. gibson bros. (the blues-punk ones, not the disco ones, i assume)
31. salt n pepa - hot cool and vicious
32. sonic youth - sister
33. blood ulmer
34. faust
35. lazy cowgirls
36. the cult - electric
37. rudimentary peni - the ep's or rp (i think)
38. ornette coleman - prime design
39. the accused
40. professor longhair
41. ruts dc/mad professor
42. mx-80
43. charles hayward***
44. suicide
45. aerosmith - classics live
46. thatcher on acid*
47. henry threadgill
48. redd kross - neurotica
49. the melvins
50. henry kaiser
51. warren zevon
52. the verlaines
53. sonny rollins
54. manowar - fighting the world
55. rancid vat - possibly *burger belsen*, tho technically that came out in '85
56. ted hawkins
57. head of david - dogbowl (or dustbowl, or whatever it was called) (i think)
58. mantronix - music madness
59. white zombie - psycho head blowout
60. the godz (not sure which ones! i think the boogie-metal ones though)
61. rosanne cash - king's record shop(i think)
62. elliot sharp - soldier string
63. borbetomagus
64. 4 skins - (some best-of album i think)
65. the pretenders
66. john zorn
67. *less than zero*
68. zero boys (ha ha, i love how this comes right after less than zero!)
69. leather nun - force of habit
70. *a very special christmas*
71. hades - resisting success
72. david roter method - bambo
73. *subpop 100*
74. primal scream (the metal band not the brits)
75. power tools - strange meeting
76. last exit - last exit (i guess; they put out 3 albums that year apparently)
77. my dad is dead
78. flaming lips
79. eugene chadbourne
80. oliver lake
81. peter and the test tube babies - peter and the test tube babies
82. ornette coleman - in all languages
83. .38 special - flashback
84. mekons - new york
85. opal
86. diamondhead - behold the beginning
87. pussy galore - dial m for motherfucker (or whatever) (maybe)
88. royal crescent mob
89. half-japanese
90. squirrel bait - skag heaven (or whatever it was called)
91. nana vasconcelos
92. bon jovi - slippery when wet
93. crazy backwards alphabet
94. celtic frost - into the pandemonium
95. butthole surfers - locust abortion technicians (if that one came out then)
96. scientists
97. savage republic
98. f/1
99. john mellencamp - lonesome jubilee (wow, i TOTALLY underrated this!)
100. biota
101. duane eddy
102. joe "king" carrasco
103. fats domino
104. your mom too
105. boy dirt car
106, mark stewart
107. pharoah sanders
108. bobby durham***
109. elton john (his third best-of album, i think)
110. big black - songs about fucking
111. gizzards
112. a flock of seagulls (a best of i think)
113. victims family
114. minutemen
115. lydia lunch
116. skin yard
117. death angel - the ultra-violence
118. the ex
119. no means no
120. the girls
121. dc3
122. jesus and mary chain (the second album, whatever it was called)
123. aretha franklin - her double album about god, whatever it was called
124. tar babies
125. flesheaters - greatest hits
126. sewer zombies
127. y.d.i.
128. blind idiot god
129. public enemy - yo! bum rush the show
130. dick destiny - brutality
131, these immortal souls***
132. *re records*
133. motorhead - rock'n'roll
134. influx of sandals***
135. steve lacy
136. mofungo
137. breaking circus
138. meat puppets
139. phantom tollbooth
140. psyclones
141. to damascus
142. nick cave
143. necros - tangled up
144. slovenly
145. evan johns
146. swans - their double album about god, whatever it was called
147. lamont young - the well-tuned piano
148. *this is soca*
149. bruce springsteen - tunnel of love (i guess)
150. camper van chadbourne

*** - I can not guarantee that these people ever actually inhabited the planet.

― xhuxk, Sunday, 5 June 2005 18:38 (twenty years ago)

> past 18 years<

actually, past 17.5 years (almost), if you wanna pick nits.

― xhuxk, Sunday, 5 June 2005 18:43 (twenty years ago)

the godz

Must've been "Mongolians." Wouldba been on Grudge, I think.

― George Smith, Sunday, 5 June 2005 18:44 (twenty years ago)

(and thatcher on acid deserved 3 asterisks, not just one!)

― xhuxk, Sunday, 5 June 2005 18:45 (twenty years ago)

These Immortal Souls were some Mute usual suspects thing, wasn't it? *checks amg* Ah yes, Crime and the City Solution without orig. singer (Rowland S. Howard, Epic Soundtracks). I may have a 12" lying around somewhere, or possibly not.

― OleM (OleM), Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:25 (twenty years ago)

Brutality got shafted!!

I like this list a lot. It's better than the other one, I think. This one acknowledges that jazz actually exists, out there, in the world, somewhere. I think Yo! Bum Rush the Show was my #1 from this year. But when I wrote that I probably forgot that Shovel and Guitar and You're Living All Over Me and Appetite for Destruction came out this year. Man, looking at that top ten ... what a great year for albums!

Was that Brotzmann/Laswell thing really that good?? yikes. I'll have to listen to that again. Headless Chickens [!] Damn, Chuck, you were indie!

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:32 (twenty years ago)

Naw, "Brutality's" rank is almost right. Definitely better than YDI, though, whom I saw locally way too many times. And they always stunk up the place.

The mastering job on "Brutality" was totally botched. My fault, the studio guy took my money and hosed it. The record never sounded anything like the masters and I haven't had the patience to fix it. That said, some radio college radio station was caught playing "Strategic Air Command," recently, so copies are still in use.

― George Smith, Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:38 (twenty years ago)

I have a couple of feedtime tracks on a mix a friend of mine made. Wouldn't mind hearing one of their albums.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:42 (twenty years ago)

Easily better than "Biota," too. C'mon now. That Mnemonists shit had great cover art but the sound was true stuff to shrivel up your cock to.

― George Smith, Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:43 (twenty years ago)

Are these in som kinda order? `Cos if so, you're way off in a few instances.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:44 (twenty years ago)

Aww, Children of God is my favourite Swans album, the perfect point between the early ultra-brutal stuff and the later overly polite stuff.

― Jetlag Willy (noodle vague), Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:47 (twenty years ago)

George, I am ROFLMAO. I actually can't even remember what Biota sound like. I have an album or two around here somewhere.

Hey at least you fared better than Tangled Up! one could never accuse Chuck of nepotism...

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

yeah, stormy, this was definitely toward the end of my indie phase -- by 1988 (which list i may or may not post) i was clearly getting cynical about the stuff. but i'd say 1986 was apparently my peak indie year, with '87 close behind.

i have no idea how good the brotzman/laswell thing was, but i'm pretty sure i can definitively say "no - it was absolutely,, definitely not the 11th best album of 1987. 111th? maybe - who knows. i haven't heard it in longer than forever."

>I like this list a lot. It's better than the other one, I think. This one acknowledges that jazz actually exists<

wait, did you only look at the 1985 list? 'cause these were all on the '86 one:

19. pullen-adams quartet - breakthrough
64. ulmer-adams - phalynx
84. methany-coleman - song x

oops, ok, not as many as i thought. so 1987 was my peak jazz year too, i guess.

yes, alex, they are in order (or were at the time). and yeah, the order is definitely way fucked. (though i can't remember how biota sounds, either.)

― xhuxk, Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

actually, though, frank kogan wins the 1987 nepotism trophy:

>104. your mom too

― xhuxk, Sunday, 5 June 2005 19:52 (twenty years ago)

>Headless Chickens [!] Damn, Chuck, you were indie! <

Weirdly, their fellow Flying Nuns weirdos the Puddle actually wound up on my pazz & jop album ballot that year; I guess they're not in the list above since their record (which I reviewed in the Voice) was technically an EP, and I didn't know until my ballot came in the mail that they'd gotten rid of the EP ballot. (Weirder is that White Zombie -- way down at #59 with an EP that I suppose could technically also be an album {so: between 20 and 25 minutes?} -- ALSO made my top ten P&J albums list. Which means I must've wound up liking it more (though god knows why) after I finished tabulating the list above.

― xhuxk, Sunday, 5 June 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)

the actual ballot i wound up submitting:

1. feedtiime (17 pts)
2. sharrock (16)
3. shannon jackson (14)
4. prince (12)
5. chain gang (10)
6. white zombie (7)
7. the puddle - pop lib (7)
8. guns n rose (6) (though it soon became my favorite album of the decade)
9. african head charge (6)
10.. sly and robbie - rhythm killers (5)

singles ballot (so yeah, i was already opening my ears to pop music):
1. poison - talk dirty to me
2. poison - i won't forget you
3. debbie gibson - shake your love
4. james brown - how do you stop
5. eric b and rakim - i know you got soul
6. three johns - turn up those down-hearted blues
7. expose; - megamix: point of no return/come go with me/exposed to love
8. debbie gibson - only in my dreams
9. bon jovi - livin' on a prayer
10. spoonie gee - the godfather

reissues ballot:
1. dr. john - gris-gris
2. phil spector - a christmas gift for you
3. dust - dust
4. lester bowie - hello dolly
5. a history of new orleans rhythm and blues, volume 2

― xhuxk, Sunday, 5 June 2005 20:10 (twenty years ago)

these are probably more entertaining than they have any right to be. roll on 1988.

― strng hlkngtn, Sunday, 5 June 2005 20:20 (twenty years ago)

Debbie Gibson's "Only in My Dreams" is sublime, topped only by "Out of the Blue."

I am SHOCKED that XTC is on your list, Chuck. Most uncharacteristc of you.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 5 June 2005 20:48 (twenty years ago)

Not the best vintage for music. Not at all, in fact.
A few of the highlights are here though:
http://rateyourmusic.com/lists/list_view/list_id_is_16212

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 6 June 2005 08:15 (twenty years ago)

actually, geir's #23 (michael jackson - bad) and #24 (pet shop boys - actually) hold up better than most of the albums in my own top ten above, i admit it.

― xhuxk, Monday, 6 June 2005 11:32 (twenty years ago)

some more stupid album ommissions:

def leppard - hysteria
faster pussycat - faster pussycat
debbie gibson - out of the blue
les rita mitsouko - presentent the no comprendo
magazine 60 - costa del sol

― xhuxk, Monday, 6 June 2005 13:13 (twenty years ago)

also, i figured out that angry samoans album at #20 is not actually the one with "stp not lsd" on it (which I may or may not have actually wound up listing as an EP in 1988, uness that was this other EP they did that I'm pretty sure came in a plain white sleeve -- gotta check with Metal Mike Saunders CPA on the issue I guess), but rather the expanded version of their *Inside My Brain* EP with five more songs on Side Two. Sorry about the misleading information!

― xhuxk, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 11:58 (twenty years ago)

And actually, duh, since his album finished 84 slots higher, Metal Mike actually wins the nepotism trophy, not Frank Kogan, Sorry about that, too!

― xhuxk, Tuesday, 7 June 2005 12:02 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

This is great:

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-SDSWyN41erCbQ5NZk26gOTPpZo_Tig--?cq=1

― xhuxk (xheddy), Sunday, 1 October 2006 01:13 (nineteen years ago)

i still listen to the headless chickens!

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 1 October 2006 01:32 (nineteen years ago)

i wish i still had a copy of force of habit. what a great album. i still have my copy of tangled up.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 1 October 2006 01:33 (nineteen years ago)

DiMartino reminds me that what current rock-crit is missing is more use of the word "Urp."

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Sunday, 1 October 2006 01:40 (nineteen years ago)

ANOTHER ZOOGZ HATA

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 1 October 2006 01:55 (nineteen years ago)

six months pass...

Ok.

― NYCNative, Sunday, 29 April 2007 20:52 (nineteen years ago)

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