Melody Maker Albums of the Year 1988

Also the twatting Wonder Stuff placed above Nation of Millions, 1988 indie already proudly marching towards the apartheid years.

Another thing that used to amaze me! All the props that band got! They were total shit! "Miles Hunt, the great songwriter of our time" How come I can't remember a single one of their tunes then? And I can remember a couple of Skinny Puppy's "tunes" (cough) quite well?

I thought I just remembered a Wonder Stuff tune but it was a Kingmaker one.

Miles Hunt was yr OG racist indie cockwad, eh?

I don't recall the racist bit, what I mainly remember was the weird passive-aggressive thing he had about running their single videos down and suchlike. The album title was laughable - "8-legged 'groove' machine" - "Groove" lololololoool they were surely the unfunkiest, most rythmically plodding band EVER

Well I was stretching racist to include seething condemnation of any music remotely connected with black influences ever so yes.

i.e. 'Who Wants To Be The Disco King?'?

This is the dude who also "ironically" called for the execution of Rick Astley for making records that people actually liked.

Aside from the Mission thing, a lot of the AAE goth tag came from the first single on 4AD when Julianne still worked for ZigZag, and was a total Xymox pastiche.

Also, dressing up like Goths.

Didn't they have some dood that looked like Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen on guitar?

If I hadn't smothered my inner 7-year old with a pillow, I'd have married up the Butthole Surfers' tracks with the top ten.

Cocteau Twins would get this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Butthole_Hairway_6.jpg

Pixies would get this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Butthole_Hairway_1.jpg

Bollocks, didn't work, but Gibby Haines was sooo OTM.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/Butthole_Hairway_1.jpg

Hooray!

Aside from the Mission thing, a lot of the AAE goth tag came from the first single on 4AD when Julianne still worked for ZigZag, and was a total Xymox pastiche.

AAE were never signed to 4AD - isn't the story that Ivo rejected Regan's demo but put her in touch with Manuella of Xmal? I owned that first album. I think I bought it the same day as Blue Bell Knoll. Oh dear.

(A couple of years ago I was on a train behind a couple of 40-something geezers - they were raving about some recent AAE acoustic show and how it was a crying shame they didn't have a recording contract anymore when "the charts is full of all this monkey music"). :/

Maybe they meant the arctic monkeys, eh. (ok maybe i'm being over-charitable here)

xpost woah

The Waterboys always reminded me of a deer taking a dump, yes

it's gotta be miss america. shit, that's twenty years ago. i remember the day i bought that album like yesterday.

Hmm, I was convinced D For Desire came out on 4AD. Maybe the Vaughan Oliver sleeve fooled me.

GUESS WHAT I VOTED FOR.

Isn't Anything and Surfer Rosa and ITANOMTHUB bringing up the rear.

^^^voice of reason

I prefer the other AR Kane album.

Would I like AR Kane?

I only managed to listen to Daydream Nation once, and didn't like it much, which is odd, as I like the one with 100% on and love the last three.

Um, quite possibly, yes.

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/on_second_thought/ar-kane-i.htm

groovy

No, Voice Of Reason was by The Sect, and NME voted it their 27th best album of 1987. I think Steve Lamacq was to blame.

For all the love people give to Daydream Nation it's not a patch on Evol or Sister.

Argh “a near perfect pop song” 0/10 See Me

It's not my all-time favourite from the list, but since I am apparently the first person on this thread to mention the Muses' "House Tornado", maybe I'll vote for that. I assume my other possible choices are going to do quite nicely for themselves anyway.

Perhaps 'Surfer Rosa'. But nowadays I like '16 Lovers Lane' better, so it gets my vote.

I, um, mentioned the number of the position 'House Tornado' came in at, does that count? It's probly my favourite Muses album. I was listening to a metal(ish) album this morning and one track had a bassline that sounds totally like something off this record! It cheered me

I forgot about that, DJ Mencap. Apologies (and to Michael Jones too). There is not even numerical love for Bug, but I can't say I dig it out very often, so, me neither.

Also if Bug was a single it might be in with a shout

-- Noodle Vague, Wednesday, 18 June 2008 11:19 (3 hours ago) Bookmark Link

Things I have learnt today: 1. I can't read; 2. ctrl-F doesn't work very well when 70+ messages are being hidden.

'S a fair summary, though.

I couldn't really get behind Bug here cos I don't think it was as great a record as You're Living All Over Me. Not that it was a disappointment, but I would always reach for YLAOM first.

AR Kane as I know there's enough support for PE here. And I'm the only person here (guessing) who is missing Voice of the Beehive here (though the NME liked 'em a lot more)...

Caroline Sullivan was quite keen on them IIRC but they didn't fit the MM agenda of blissed out/fascination over meaning &c.

Unlike All About Eve.

Bummed is a bit of a glaring omission here isn't it?

Indeed.

for LJagger re: a.r.kane

A.R. Kane - Green Hazed Daze - on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRz5YHPGDH4

AR Kane had their own label for a bit, didn't they? H.ark! Records. Butterfly Child, Papa Sprain and one other band I can't recall released a couple of EPs each in late '91/early '92. And there was a collaboration with Alison out of them Cranes for the Rough Trade Singles Club - In Rain?

I saw Papa Sprain play a 20min set of feedback supporting Pale Saints and Boo Radleys in Liverpool in '92. I think it may have been a nod to their mentors, whose own live shows were something similar, I believe.

I saw that tour in Hull. Thought Papa Sprain was complete shite at the time. Maybe I'd've got it now.

I was certainly in a minority in thinking it was ace.

This sounds pretty good!

I loved the queasiness of 69. i never did much for me - it seemed a little meeker and cleaner. It was one of the first CDs I ever bought and I often wondered if that had something to do with it (but let's not get into the supposed sterility of early CD).

i would like ar kane a lot better as an instrumental band, though the singing on 69 isn't as much of a stumbling block for me as "i". i've been listening to 69 and isn't anything back to back a lot in the last few days in the run up to the round house thing and they complement each other, ar kane really were much more of an obvious influence on the rank and file 'gazers than mbv weren't they, pale saints, early lush etc.

Amusing how low Daydream Nation is, considering how many UK bands started copying them and Dinosaur Jr. within the next few years.

I think this album holds up pretty well too:
Eleventh Dream Day - Prairie School Freakout

Also missing Camper Van Beethoven, Naked Raygun, Slayer, Ambitious Lovers, Souled American, Woodentops, Napalm Death, Kreator, Feelies, Mano Negra, For Against, and there were certainly plenty of other great hip hop albums in addition to PE:

N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
EPMD - Strictly Business
The Jungle Brothers - Straight Out The Jungle
Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary
Ultramagnetic MCs - Critical Beatdown

Overall the list is a disgrace ;)