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Pitchfork Media is ranking the top 100 albums of the 80's

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Pitchfork Media is ranking the top 100 albums of the 80's

Old 11-18-02, 09:34 AM
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Pitchfork Media is ranking the top 100 albums of the 80's

Check it out at www.pitchforkmedia.com

right now they have up until number 50.
Old 11-19-02, 09:42 AM
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Well they certainly nailed the top 5!!!

I was rather pleased with the list. Even though I hadn't heard many of the cds on there, I was glad to see that they included albums across genres.
Old 11-19-02, 10:09 AM
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Really? I thought it was incredibly narrow in scope. The top 100 albums of 80's college radio maybe.
Old 11-19-02, 10:10 AM
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This list is not perfect... are they ever? But, it's not that bad either. I love that they included Talk Talk's "Spirit of Eden" up there because it's one of the most criminally ignored recordings I own... it's a masterpiece as ya say.

Meat Puppets "Up on the Sun" and Mekons "Fear and Whiskey"... cool to see them included. As played out as the first Violent Femmes disc is, I think it belongs higher.

Dukes of Stratosphere... nope. Doesn't belong on the list.

And there are actually a handful of recordings here I've not heard.
And that's cool!
Old 11-19-02, 12:12 PM
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Originally posted by Jason
Really? I thought it was incredibly narrow in scope. The top 100 albums of 80's college radio maybe.
I think that is part of Pitchfork's motive though. They say in the introduction, "It is to the vision and perseverance of many of these artists that we owe the roots of hip-hop, synth-pop, and most notably for this publication, alternative and indie rock. Respect is due." I wouldn't have gone in expecting many mainstream records on there.

However, I don't know that I would think of Prince, NWA, Paul Simon, The Police, Bruce Springsteen, Guns 'N Roses, U2, or Michael Jackson as exclusive to 80s college rock.

But I may be mistaken, as I am only in college now.
Old 11-19-02, 12:56 PM
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2 quick observations.

X should be ranked higher.

It's a crime that Richard and Linda Thompson didn't make the list. "Shoot Out the Lights" is a brilliant album.
Old 11-20-02, 07:51 PM
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Another joke of a list.

Where are groundbreaking artists such as, Front 242 ("Front By Front"), Ministry ("The Land Of Rape And Honey"), Skinny Puppy ("Cleanse, Fold And Manipulate") or Nine Inch Nails ("Pretty Hate Machine")? I guess industrial music was sucked into a black hole somewhere and forgotten. Lame.

I also have to ask where are icons of the 80s such as Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Madonna, Depeche Mode, or the Pet Shop Boys? How about lesser known gem artists such as Soft Cell ("Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret"), and The Sugarcubes ("Life's Too Good"), etc??

What is with the obsession with a select few bands such as Sonic Youth, Husker Du, REM, Talking Heads, and The Beastie Boys?? Ok guys, we get that you like these groups - but please. Spare us.

Terrible.

Seems to me that we have a bunch of self-appointed "critics" voting the Top 100 albums based on their own personal CD collections.

I'm either a masochist or an optimist - because I can't seem to shake checking out these lists. Oi.

-matt
Old 11-21-02, 07:21 AM
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Yeah, no way can a list like this please everybody. Not really the point anyway. And it definitely reads like a college radio jamboree. But, that's what I like so I dig much of this list.

raithen, I know that we like some similar music, but I'm going to say that I was never into Skinny, Front 242 or early NIN. I thought Ministry's "A Mind is a Terrible..." was simply brilliant, however. But I can remember being a huge New Order fan while spinning discs in the mid-80's and when we got all these new Front 242 recordings none of them measured up. They seemed staid and almost DOA when we got them. I even felt that way with NIN "Pretty Hate Machine". The first moment I heard that I thought it sounded terribly out of date (maybe it was just the drum machines). I do realize these bands had influence, but they didn't do it for moi.
Old 11-21-02, 09:54 AM
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Judging lists because they don't reflect your personal taste = silly
Old 11-21-02, 10:02 AM
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Although a lot of interesting choices made their Top 100 list, it is a pretty snobbish, music critic, artsy-fartsy list. As someone mentioned before their introduction was:

". . . we owe the roots of hip-hop, synth-pop, and most notably for this publication, alternative and indie rock. . ."

Perhaps a more accurate title would have been:
"The Top 100 Albums from the 1980s that influenced modern alternative and indie rock" Of course, a bit long, but more accurate.

or

"The Top 100 Albums from the 1980s, the revisionist history: knowing what we know now"
Old 11-21-02, 10:35 AM
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"The Top 100 Albums from the 1980s, the revisionist history: knowing what we know now"
Oh no no no no. That is simply not the case. Most of these recordings received high praise the instant they were released. I strongly disagree with this statement.
Old 11-21-02, 10:56 AM
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Oh no no no no. That is simply not the case. Most of these recordings received high praise the instant they were released. I strongly disagree with this statement.
Oh yes yes yes yes . . . this is vis-a-vis their relevency to today's music (not their critical praise when released). . . again going by their introduction of the influence on today's alternative and indie rock i.e. understanding the "roots" of today's music from certain artists/albums from the 80s . . . knowing what we know now.

Point being that this list is made in the year 2002, a full 12 years after the decade is over. This list I'm sure looks vastly different than it would have if it was done at the end of 1989. Every generation has its own interpretations and this list would constantly change depending on who did the list . . . thus the re-writing of history.

Last edited by jarsim; 11-21-02 at 11:07 AM.
Old 11-21-02, 05:59 PM
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Originally posted by atlantamoi
raithen, I know that we like some similar music, but I'm going to say that I was never into Skinny, Front 242 or early NIN. I thought Ministry's "A Mind is a Terrible..." was simply brilliant, however. But I can remember being a huge New Order fan while spinning discs in the mid-80's and when we got all these new Front 242 recordings none of them measured up. They seemed staid and almost DOA when we got them.
Interesting. I fail to see the comparison between a band like New Order (whom I adore) and the Fronters, but to each his/her own. My point is that regardless of whether you like a band like Front 242, they virtually invented a genre (EBM) and spawned countless clones and influenced almost every industrial act to follow.

I mention Skinny Puppy because of their influence, and their incredibly fresh avant-garde stylings. And if you've ever seen them live, they blow just about any band off the stage. Of course, stage productions don't translate into fantastic records, but I'd certainly rate their releases higher than anything Ministry was able to muster. IMHO anyway!

I even felt that way with NIN "Pretty Hate Machine". The first moment I heard that I thought it sounded terribly out of date (maybe it was just the drum machines).
Well, it's all personal opinion of course, but I still think Trent has yet to top his debut album - even if some of the tracks sound like Puppy demos (ie. "Sin").


I do realize these bands had influence, but they didn't do it for moi.
Well, they didn't have to do it for you. It's what they did to change the landscape of music that is probably the most important factor. It's not necessarily a popularity contest (at least, it's not supposed to be).

Originally posted by Yancey
Judging lists because they don't reflect your personal taste = silly
I'm not quite sure who you're referring to with this post, but I just thought I'd point out that I'm not trying to apply my personal taste as a measure to judge this list.

I just thought I would point out that an *entire* genre was not even mentioned (industrial), and several key artists who were not only influential but tremendously popular were snubbed (Madonna, Depeche Mode, Iron Maiden, etc.). And secondly, the list seemed to be ridiculously heavy on a few artists that were obviously darlings of these "critics".

jarsim: I think you hit the nail on the head with your posts.

-matt

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