10 Best Hit Songs of the 1980s
My list of the ten worst songs of the 1980s has received thousands of visitors over the last couple of weeks. I’ve received comments accusing me of hating the 1980s, so I thought that I’d set the record straight with…
Aphoristical
Graham Fyfe has been writing this website since his late teens. Now in his forties, he's been obsessively listening to albums for years. He works as a web editor and plays the piano.
New Music Reviews: Dry Cleaning and Charli XCX
We’re stuck in the UK this week – the deadpan post-punk of Dry Cleaning, and Charli XCX’s Gothic literature soundtrack. Dry Cleaning Secret Love 2026, 8/10South London post-punk band Dry Cleaning expand their horizons on their third album. On their previous records,…
Nuggets II: Slaves Time by The Slaves
Credits 3 SLAVES TIME – The Slaves (Austria)(Paul Fischer) PERSONNEL/PAUL “PAULI” FISCHER: vocals * KARL “CHARLIE” RATZER: lead guitar * HANNES “JOHN” FISCHER: rhythm guitar * HEINRICH “LIPPI” BEHRENDS: bass * HERBERT “HEYKI” RADAKOVICS: drumsProduced by HANSREUDI JAGGIRecorded in Basel,…
Music Quiz: D Singers by Decade
Can you match a bunch of singers to the decade they were born in? I started well, but then missed the last three to finish with 5 Congratulations to Max, who finished with 18/20 in last week’s 1971 in…
Van Morrison in the 1980s: Five Best Albums
I’ve already posted about my favourite five Van Morrison albums, but all five were released in the 1960s and 1970s. While he didn’t reach the level of his earlier peaks, Van Morrison continued to release fine albums in the 1980s.…
Five Best Michael Omartian Songs
Illinois-born Michael Omartian is best known as a producer. He was the first person to produce number one hits in three different decades. His number ones include: He’s also notable as a session musican, playing on records by Steely Dan,…
Homeward Bound by Simon and Garfunkel
My tenth favourite Simon and Garfunkel song topped the charts in New Zealand, but nowhere else. Simon and Garfunkel Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel started their recording career as Tom & Jerry in 1957, making teen-oriented Everly Brothers-style pop. After a temporary…
Music Quiz: 1971 in British Music
Can you correctly answer multi-choice questions about British music in 1971? Find out here: I scored a just-above-average 13/20 – can you beat me? Congratulations to NameEclectic Music Lover, who was the fastest in last week’s 3 Songs, 1…
10 Best Fairport Convention Songs
Bassist Ashley Hutchings and rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol formed Fairport Convention in 1967. They named the band after Nicol’s father’s medical practice, above which they rehearsed, on the same Muswell street as the Davies brothers of The Kinks grew up. They recruited…
New Music Reviews: Titanic, Sault, and Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore
It’s an especially eclectic bunch this week – the ambient collaboration of Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore, the funk of Sault, and Titanic’s concise progressive rock. Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore Tragic Magic 2026, 8.5/10Harpist Mary Lattimore and vocalist/producer Julianna…
