It's About Time: The 80s

These introductions are about to get a lot more difficult to write. As much as I would love to be able to sum up every decade in a neat way, the modern music landscape that has at this point been more or less finalized, is just so broad that there is little to bring it all together. One thing that does seem to define the 80s though, in contrast to previous decades, is the size of everything. All the albums here command your attention and, while they all do something different with it, they also all share the quality of being maximalist. Of not shying away from excess. This is where the final piece of the modern music puzzle was added: this is where music became fun and playful.

Sade - Diamond Life

Kind of like: SZA, Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye Songs to try: Smooth Operator, When Am I Going to Make a Living?, Hang On to Your Love

I won't say that this album is the biggest surprise of the project so far because I knew going in that Sade was a big deal commercially and critically, but it is certainly the biggest hit amongst the albums I'm not familiar with up until this point. It is extremely rare for me to listen to an artist for the first time and just get it but how could I not in this case? Sade is such a confident and talented vocalist, and her lyrics have that strange blend of personal and small-scale stakes with that feeling that it implicitly represents the culture of a place and time (in this case London in the 80s). It paints a picture of material excess but emotional poverty: the Diamond Life, you might say.

I would be remiss to not follow up that previous observation with a musical one, as the sound of this album couldn't be more in line with the theme of surface level excess and underlying emotional yearning. Sade's classy, smooth vocals, the saxophone dancing atop the songs, even the synths that sound bright but hollow, it all creates an atmosphere of luxurious emptiness, as if Sade is a singer in an upscale establishment pleading with a distracted, uninterested crowd to move their focus from economic to personal growth.

There are a lot of people who I could very confidently recommend this album to, but I think it would particularly appeal to people who like slower, more thoughtful pop music. Whether that's the raw sound of Adele's ballads, the slightly artsier, slow cuts from The 1975's discography, or even the sad girl stuff if you aren't opposed to something a little more hopeful, I think there is a chance that you wouldn't have heard Sade's stuff yet and would really enjoy it.

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

Kind of like: The Cure, The Stone Roses, New Order Songs to try: There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, Bigmouth Strikes Again, The Queen Is Dead

I've known and loved this album for a while now. It was one of the first albums to really define my taste in music when I started to really discover stuff for myself. Because of that, I might be blinded by sentimentality here, but I truly believe this is a 10. It defined an era both sonically and culturally. Similarly to how Sade's album seemed to implicitly represent the culture within the posher parts of London at the time, this album seems to represent a more northern, proletarian perspective. One of waning hope in dire times. Put together they really demonstrate the stark contrast between the haves and have-nots in the country at the time.

Back to this album specifically though, while it never speaks explicitly about culture or politics (at least outside of a somewhat explicit critique of the monarchy in the title track), it is present across the entire album in it's general mood and essence. When it is sincere, it speaks of a severe lack of belonging or hope. A loneliness, and seemingly eternal lack of direction in life. When it isn't sincere, it has a wry, cynical, sarcastic sense of humour that refuses to believe in anything.

I guess, to sum it up, the album paints a complete picture of hopelessness and depression. One that doesn't just focus on how it responds to the bad, but also how it twists the good and neutral into negatives too, or failing that, rejects any potential optimism that can arise. I think that is what has made (and continues to make) this album so attractive to people who themselves are struggling: it paints a full picture. Depression isn't as simple as everything being awful all the time. Sometimes, oftentimes even, there is a dark pleasure taken in the killing of hope. A sense that your pessimism makes you smarter and better prepared than others, and there is often a joy in that belief.

I think if this album is for you it will have found you already, but just in case it hasn't, if you like indie music at all, enjoy britpop, or any number of related genres, this is a must-listen. If you are interested in listening to indie music and its new to you, this is one of the greatest, most quintessential indie albums ever made. If you enjoy the somewhat comedic, depressing lyricism of the likes of Elliott Smith, Phoebe Bridgers, or any other artists inspired by those two, I highly recommend The Smiths in general. If you are depressed and looking to understand yourself, I'd recommend therapy, but this album will also help and will be a lot cheaper. Again, maybe this is just the sentimentality speaking, but I believe this album is damn near best-in-class regarding everything it represents. It's a masterpiece.

Kate Bush - The Dreaming

Kind of like: Björk, St. Vincent, David Bowie Songs to try: Sat In Your Lap, Pull Out the Pin, Suspended In Gaffa

To this day I don't think there has been a popstar to match the strangeness of Kate Bush, and this album is a testament to the power of her avant-garde approach to pop music. The music manages to often be rewarding to listen to while still being incredibly unique and almost alien. It sounds as if the songs started off as Dua Lipa-esque, extremely fun pop music that sticks to convention to be as immediately rewarding as possible, but which it's creators tried to sabotage with awkward vocal takes and an out there sonic palette made up of some really strange sound effects. The thing is though, it's difficult to sabotage something that is amazing at it's core. The result is, as I mentioned, an album that is extremely rewarding despite itself.

Stranger still is the fact that, unlike some successful weirdos of the past (Bowie comes to mind especially), it's difficult with Kate Bush to identify the poppy aspects of the music. The feeling is there, but it doesn't feel like any aspect of it is in any way a compromise. To clarify, I don't think that compromise is inherently bad, and part of what I really appreciate about Bowie is his instinct for when and when not to compromise, but the fact that something so uncompromised doesn't just exist, but that it is so widely known and adored is so encouraging, and makes for an amazing listen for pop heads and freaks alike.

Metallica - Ride the Lightning

Genre: Metal Song to try: For Whom the Bell Tolls

It's probably a little too late for a critical failure of this format to occur to me, but I noticed one as I was trying to find something to say about this album: if I'm unfamiliar with a certain type of music, not only am I likely to struggle when trying to understand an album's appeal, but I also won't be able to fall back on praising it for it's influence.

It's not that I don't see anything good about this album -- for one thing I didn't expect to praise a metal album for the noise it didn't make, but a lot of songs here make great use of silence, where the chugging guitars feel even more impactful because they keep cutting off, and I also just really like For Whom the Bell Tolls for some reason -- but it doesn't come together in a complete package for me in a way that I can understand and describe to would-be fans. There is a good chance this is just down to my inexperience with the genre of metal, but regardless of the reason, it makes it hard to write about it in a way that is in any way useful. So full disclosure, the other Metallica write-up on this list is also going to be pretty bad and unhelpful.

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Kind of like: Prince, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd Songs to try: Any/all of them except The Girl Is Mine

I've definitely spoken about how crazy this album is before. It's a strange listen as a full project because it doesn't really tie together at all, but still works as a cohesive project for some reason. My best guess as to why that is, is simply that the quality of (almost) all the songs on this album is so high that it ties them together. I'm not particularly convinced by that theory -- greatest hits albums exist, after all, and very few of those feel cohesive -- but it's my best explanation for why an album that traverses pop, funk, rock, and more in 9 tracks with no overarching theme whatsoever can be this seamless a listen.

This is not something I intend to make a habit of, but it is absolutely called for here: I'm going to write out the tracklist to demonstrate how insane the quality of this album's songs is...

1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

2. Baby Be Mine

3. The Girl Is Mine

4. Thriller

5. Beat It

6. Billie Jean

7. Human Nature

8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

9. The Lady in My Life

Now, not all of them are 10s for me, but barring one song, I could understand why someone might feel that any or all of those songs are 10s. There are extremely few albums where that applies, and even fewer where each song could be someone's favourite of all time (except for that one song). If albums were judged solely on the quality of the tracks within it, this would be the best album ever made, hands down, no contest.

Metallica - Master of Puppets

Genre: Metal Songs to try: Master of Puppets; Damage, Inc.

Of all the bands to have two albums make this list it just had to be the one I don't understand the appeal of.

That being said, I did get a little more out of this one. During the first album I was disappointed to not pick up on any clear message of the album, which seemed like a waste given the emotional power of metal as a genre. I can confidently say that this album doesn't struggle with that issue, but it is kind of one-note, and doesn't make any statements that I was particularly impressed by. It's not that I'm pro-war, I agree with the statements, but they all feel surface level. It feels like someone saying murder is bad. Sure, I agree, but this doesn't really accomplish anything.

I'm holding out hope that one day this will click for me beyond the surface level, but until then, I have frustratingly little to say about this album, negative or positive.

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

Kind of like: Björk, St. Vincent, David Bowie Songs to try: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), Hounds of Love, Cloudbusting

I've already spoken about what makes Kate Bush so special earlier, and all of that applies here, but this album specifically is just dripping with that X-factor of an album made when its artist is at their very best. It sounds like a classic in both the general quality of the songs, but also in it's ability to sum up a legendary artist. If you are looking to understand Kate Bush, look no further than this, because this is her at her experimental, ethereal best.

The only thing that I can think to criticize the album for is it's lack of cohesion, but if it were to be cohesive I don't think it would be such a great representation of Kate Bush as an artist. What makes her so special is her willingness to try something that is totally out there, and an album full of that will naturally lack cohesion, as the artist begins to defy the expectations of not just the broader musical landscape, but of the album itself.

That might make it sound like it's a prog rock album, or some weird electronic work like some of Björk's stuff or Kid A, but the best thing about it is how much of a pop album this still is. Much like the previous Kate Bush album on this list, it sounds almost like a lot of the stuff that was really popular at the time, but Kate Bush takes that sound and distorts it to her needs. It means that most of the time it retains it's appeal to the average listener (although admittedly not always), but it is also as powerful as music made around a statement. It is exceptionally impressive in how it is able to toe that line.

Talking Heads - Remain in Light

Kind of like: David Bowie, Chic, New Order Songs to try: Once In a Lifetime, Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), Crosseyed and Painless

This is another album that I've known and loved for a while, even if I don't love it quite as much as the album that followed it. To pick a favourite between the two is to split hairs though, both of them are exceptional, and there's little doubt that Remain In Light, for whatever reason, was able to cut through and influence culture a lot more than Speaking in Tongues. I'm not sure why the latter didn't break through to quite the same extent, but why this album did is no mystery to me.

Talking Heads have a great ability, similar to Kate Bush but with a different manifestation, to make something wholly unique, but still familiar in all the ways that matter. Here, we have a funky sound that is incredibly awkward. Those two things seem at odds when you consider the best funk acts around, who all have a confidence about them, whether suave, funny, or jubilant. Talking Heads on the other hand, are making funk for misfits, outcasts, and weirdos. Of course that isn't to gatekeep the sound, it's open to anyone who is willing to approach it with an open mind, but the fact that it is awkward at it's core makes it a uniquely inviting experience to the weirdos among us.

Lyrically, David Byrne switches his focus very slightly from the absurdity of the life of individuals in the west from previous albums, to a broader absurdity, a cultural, systemic, and cruel absurdity, touching on the ideas of colonialism, genocide, beauty standards and the absurdity of the pursuit of them. The only real exception is their biggest hit, Once In a Lifetime, which is instead about the individual experience of capitalism and consumerism.

The Cure - Disintegration

Kind of like: Joy Division, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Slowdive Songs to try: Fascination Street, Prayers for Rain, Pictures of You

Yet another album I've known and loved for a while. Metallica albums aside, the 80s have been very good to me.

This album one of the most emotionally powerful albums I know. It's title tells you exactly what you're getting into. It depicts the steady disintegration of not just a relationship, but the man that has lost it. Gradually the album becomes more and more hopeless, the writing portrays a person who is more and more unable to express themselves in the right way, and as the desperation grows, so does the distance between him and the one he loves. He begins to turn to dishonesty and seemingly manipulation to grasp onto a relationship that he cares so deeply about that you begin to get the impression he cares more about the relationship than either of the people in it.

It is a brutal concept and the music backs that up with an oppressive soundscape that somehow also feels laissez-faire. It has an inevitable quality to it, perhaps due in part to the repetitive but never boring rhythms of the songs here, as well as the long introductions which make it feel like you're waiting for a geyser to explode with water. It feels like a natural, inevitable force that you are interacting with on it's own terms. The result is an album that appears to have a massive power over you. An album that you feel helpless in the presence of.

It is a very difficult album, emotionally speaking, but if you are in a position to bear it, there aren't many albums better than this. I think there may only be one that is as emotionally impactful. As an introduction to goth rock, this is a great shout. If you've already been introduced to goth rock but not this album, this is a great shout. If you want to listen to something that will fuck you up a little, this is a great shout. Hell, even if you've heard it before but it's been a while, I highly recommend a relisten.

Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain

Kind of like: Bad by Michael Jackson, Speaking In Tongues by Talking Heads, Queen Songs to try: Purple Rain, Let's Go Crazy, Darling Nikki

And yet another one I've known for ages, although I haven't loved it for so long.

Never has it felt so sacriligeous picking the "kind of like"s. There are some albums that feel like a religious experience, as though they are evidence of some divine intervention. As if they weren't made, but passed down by a god of music fully formed to be performed by someone of great importance. This album is the finest example of that. It blends funk, pop, and rock into something totally awe-inspiring in a way that makes you want to celebrate life itself. The effect is so strong that, despite my usual reservations regarding explicitly religious music, I can't help but love a song as explicit as I Would Die 4 U. It just feels like "of course there's a religious song on here" because what are they going to make something like the Sistine Chapel and not dedicate it to something greater than themselves? Whether I believe in it or not, it would be strange for them to not do that.

I'm not sure there really are words I can use to describe the enormity of this album as an experience, and the importance of listening to it as a music fan of any variety. It might not click immediately, but when it does, it feels as though it has changed something within you. As if you will take this album with you for the rest of your life in some small way. I strongly recommend it to everyone. It's one of the most talented musicians ever at their most confident and most proficient. Even if it's not really your thing, you are likely to get something out of this.

Final thoughts on the 80s

Most of this decade was made up of albums I already knew and loved, so frankly this didn't do a lot for my goals going into it, but it did introduce me to Sade, which has been my favourite discovery of the entire project. I think there is something to be said here for the number of great albums that didn't make the list too, though. I was very surprised by a few omissions, and I think that speaks to the size of the explosion of music in the 80s. It was truly impressive how much great stuff came out in this decade, and the quality was exceptional too. It was a very enjoyable decade to go through, even if it wasn't particularly enlightening for me specifically.