1987: A Good Year For Music

I recently reacquired The Smiths Strangeways Here We Come in a fit of nostalgia. I remember it as one of the last albums by the band that I had only discovered a year or two earlier. I was astonished to see it in the Top 50. 1987 was my final year of high school and first year of college-it is a blur of Schmidt beer, Dicks burgers, high school, journalism, existentialism, finding  my way through a disappointing first year of community college, rocking cassettes in my 71' Ford Mustang, Chuck E. "mother f****ing* Cheese and Pier 1 Imports...

Then I happened to stumbled across the fact that my favorite local band, The Yong Fresh Fellows put out my favorite album of theirs, The Men Who Loved Music also in 1987. I did some more research and realized that 1987 was a VERY good year for music, much of which I got into that year or soon after:

The Smiths Louder Than Bombs also came out, the solid Pleased To Meet Me by The Replacements, my favorite U2 album The Joshua Tree, the ubiquitous Appetite for Destruction by Guns and Roses, Dinosouar Jr. You're Living Alll Over Me, the disappointing Document by R.E.M., Substance by New Order, the sublime If I Should Fall From Grace With God by The Pogues, Kiss Me Kiss Me The Cure, Music For The Masses Depeche Mode, Sign O' The Times Prince (saw the film), Tunnel Of Love Bruce Springsteen, Sister Sonic Youth, the second best Jesus And Mary Chain album Darklands, INXS Kick (I saw them on tour in Spokane?!), the best Pixies album Come On Pilgrim, Sinead O'Connor The Lion and the Cobra, the last Husker Du album Warehouse: Songs And Stories, Midnight Oil Diesel And Dust, The Cult Electric, Love and Rockets Earth Sun and Moon, Jane's Addiction's debut Jane's Addiction, The Housemartins The People Who Grinned Themsleves To Death, Billy Bragg Back To Basics, Meat Puppets Mirage, The Screaming Tress  Even If Especially When, Beastie Boys License To Ill, Public Enemey Yo! Bum Rush The Show, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Your Funeral, My Trial, 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe, Redd Kross Neurotica, The Fleshtones Fleshtones vs. Reality, Drivn' N' Cryin' Whisper Tames The Lion, The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips, Tom Waits Franks Wild Years, Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen, The Verlaines Bird Dog, Llyod Cole & The Commotions Mainstream, The Silos Cuba, Guadacanal Diary 2 x 4, Hoodoo Gurus Blow Your Cool, The Bodeans Outside Looking In.

Comments

[Edward]

Good to see a few Aussie acts in your list there. I only arrived in Australia late 1986 so I was introduced to these bands at about the same time as you. I once thought I should introduce you to the Hoodooo Gurus because of the lead singer's fantastically rich voice, but I see it was naive of me to think you hadn't already discovered them.
Did you know that Midnight Oils lead singer Peter Garret is a minister in our centre left Labor government? He was environment and arts minister last term, but demoted to minister for schools after a few initiatives were labelled cock ups by the opposition. He had a background in activism when he was a singer (you might know this from the lyrics of his songs), but decided the best way to make a difference would be to go into mainstream politics. It reckon it must be hard work for him, and I suspect he would have been better off joining the Greens. He performed with the Oils recently in a benefit concert - so he's still got it.

[Edward]

...and it's nice to have commented for once on one of your music posts.

[MC]

Yeah I am familiar with Peter Garret's political career. A friend just shared an old Midnight Oil tune the other day:"Don't Want To Be The One."

The Hoodoos were a staple of mine in high school. I'm a huge fan of "Mars Needs Guitars" and "Stoneage Romeo."