The 1980s often get bad press, but they were full of great music. Admittedly many acts from earlier eras struggled to adapt to new technology and made weak albums. But many new acts thrived, and there was diversity; hip hop emerged, there was a fertile 1980s alternative rock scene, and exciting mainstream acts like Madonna and Prince.
Major 1980s acts that I would like to cover include Prince, Metallica, and Sonic Youth.
The three members of The Blue Nile all attended Glasgow University in the late 1970s. Vocalist Paul Buchanan studied medieval history and literature, Robert Bell studied mathematics, and Paul Joseph...
Even if you don't know him by name, you've surely heard Lindsey Buckingham's work in the pop era of Fleetwood Mac. While Stevie Nicks was the public face of the...
Kate Bush was discovered by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour as a teenager. She was placed into a training scheme by her record label EMI, where she was taken out...
Detroit's Marshall Crenshaw doesn't belong in the conversation of the most important musicians of his generation. Yet he's a talented craftsman, whose deft guitar pop is likeable and accessible. He's...
Dire Straits were a talented band at the wrong time. They emerged in the punk era in Britain, but front-man Mark Knopfler's virtuoso finger-picking and Dylan-adjacent lyrics were distinctly un-punk....
Leaving Genesis after six albums, at the age of 25, Peter Gabriel's solo career initially felt like an attempt to distance himself from his former band. It took him a...
The Queen of Christian pop music, Amy Grant also enjoyed success as a crossover pop artist in the 1980s and 1990s. Born in Georgia, her family moved to Nashville when...
The son of novelist Raymond Hitchcock, Robyn Hitchcock has enjoyed an acclaimed career as an eccentric alt-rock and folk artist. He started his career with the new wave band The...
While Paul Kelly's never broken big outside of Australia, he’s a beloved songwriter in his own country. He’s a member of the Order of Australia. His 1987 song ‘To The...
Neo-prog band Marillion took their name from JRR Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. They played their first show in London in 1978 - an all-instrumental lineup from which only drummer Mick Pointer was...
IntroductionMy Bloody Valentine Album ReviewsThis Is Your Bloody ValentineGeek! (EP)The New Record by My Bloody Valentine (EP)Ecstasy and WineIsn't AnythingLovelessEP's 1988–1991M B V10 Best My Bloody Valentine Songs Introduction Kevin...
Joy Division's lead vocalist Ian Curtis took his own life on the eve of the band's first US tour. The band rebranded as New Order - taking their name from...
IntroductionPet Shop Boys Album ReviewsPleaseActuallyIntrospectiveBehaviourDiscography: The Complete Singles CollectionVeryAlternativeBilingual10 Best Pet Shop Boys Songs Introduction Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe met in a Chelsea hi-fi shop in 1981. Both were...
New Zealand is a lovely country, with lots of sheep and mountains, and it's a good idea to come and visit us if you ever have the chance. Charles Thompson,...
Formed around the songwriting talents of Durham's Paddy McAloon, Prefab Sprout enjoyed some commercial success in the 1980s and early 1990s, but have been relegated to the status of cult...
R.E.M. emerged in the wake of punk from Athens, Georgia, and started their career as an insular Indie band, with cryptic albums that enjoyed a cult following. But gradually they...
Run-DMC emerged early in the development of recorded hip hop. They helped to transform the genre from an underground movement with a handful of important singles, like Grandmaster Flash and...
The unlikely pairing of socially awkward Steven Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr, extroverted and four years Morrissey's junior, formed the nucleus of The Smiths, whose witty and stripped-down music was an...
Conventional wisdom suggests that Gordon Sumner surrendered his credibility when he left The Police, letting his pretentiousness overcome him as he dabbled in jazz and saved the rainforests. As a...
The Stone Roses were formed in Manchester in 1983, around singer Ian Brown and guitarist John Squire. Drummer and backing vocalist Reni (Alan Wren) signed up in 1984, while Mani...
While there's a natural progression between each of Talk Talk’s five studio albums, the distance between their 1982 synth-pop debut The Party’s Over and 1991’s jazz and ambient-influenced Laughing Stock...
Suzanne Vega was born in Santa Monica, California. At the age of two, she moved to New York City when her mother married Puerto Rican writer Edgardo Vega Yunqué. She...
Mike Scott was born in Edinburgh, the son of an English teacher. Scott's interest in literature is clearly visible in his catalogue, but his life was changed when he bought...
10,000 Maniacs have one of the most misleader monikers in popular music. From their name, you'd expect speed metal or punk, but instead, they're a folk-rock band with socially conscious...
This page collects odds and ends from 1980s artists: Beastie Boys | Tracy Chapman | Rush | Toto Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique 1989, 9/10Paul’s Boutique was initially a commercial disappointment for...
Aphoristic Album Reviews is almost entirely written by one person.
Graham Fyfe is probably the only music blogger to appreciate both Neil Diamond and Ariana Grande. Based in Fleet Street (New Zealand), he's been writing this blog since around 2000. Aphoristic Album Reviews features reviews and blog posts across a growing spectrum of popular music.
Review Pages
Read about the discographies of musical acts from the 1960s to the present day. Browse this site's review archives or enjoy these random selections:
Sheryl Crow was already on the wrong side of 30 when she released her debut album. After attending the University of Missouri with Brad Pitt, Crow spent her twenties working as a music teacher, writing advertising jingles, and performing as a backing singer for Michael Jackson and Don Henley. When […]
Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood met at Williams College in Massachusetts. They formed Fountains of Wayne, christening themselves after a garden furniture and statuary store in Wayne, New Jersey. Although the pair recorded their debut largely independently, they were joined on tour and on subsequent albums by guitarist Jody Porter […]
James Murphy’s LCD Soundsystem blurred the lines between electronic and rock music in the 21st century. Murphy’s original career plan was to become a sound engineer or a drummer, but took on a front-man role after the band he was producing broke up. LCD Soundsystem are most commonly filed under […]
Newcastle Upon Tyne’s errant folkie Richard Dawson is prolific, releasing a deluge of material as a solo artist, in collaborations like Hen Ogledd, and under the alter-ego Eyeballs. His rough-hewn guitar and freewheeling vocals are distinctive. Japan’s David Sylvian recently stated that Dawson “will be, if he’s not already, a […]
Yet another great musical act to come out of the state of Minnesota (see also Bob Dylan, Prince, Hüsker Dü, and The Hold Steady). The Impediments changed their name to The Replacements after they were banned from most of Minneapolis’s bars. The group was led by guitarist and songwriter Paul […]
The 1975 formed as a high school band in Wilmslow, Cheshire, where a council worker organised frequent gigs for teenagers. Vocalist and guitarist Matty Healy, the son of prominent actors, was joined by guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer George Daniel. The quartet cycled through a vast number […]
Blog Posts
I add new blog posts to this website every week. Browse the archives or enjoy these random selections:
Texan-born Miranda Lambert occupies her own zone somewhere between the current mainstream country and the more rootsy sounds of Americana. As she explains herself, being a major-label artist involves compromise. I love raw albums. I’d love to record an album in a garage and for it to sound like an […]
Despite his talent, it took Billy Joel a long time to find success. He played piano on the Shangri-Las’ ‘Remember (Walking in the Sand)’ in 1964 as a teenager – although it’s unclear whether he appeared on a demo or on the finished version. Thereafter, he spent years playing in […]
I’ve been using Last.fm to track my music plays for more than a decade. This week I hit the landmark of 200,00 tracks played. Last.fm doesn’t track all the music I listen to – I currently only have it scrobbling plays on my phone and on my work laptop, not […]
The Red House Painters took their name from a Tennessee painting crew named The International League Of Revolutionary House Painters. Leader Mark Kozelek came from Ohio, but formed the band in San Francisco. Kozelek was joined by drummer Anthony Koutsos, bassist Jerry Vessel, and guitarist Gorden Mack – Mack left […]
During ten anarchic years, The Replacements recorded a ton of wonderful Paul Westerberg songs, self-sabotaged their career, and never achieved the mass success they promised. The band started as part of the hardcore punk scene of the early 1980s, but they were never punks at heart. Lead guitarist Bob Stinson […]
Florida rock and roller Tom Petty distinguished himself with a lovable stream of self-deprecating hits. He emerged with a 1976 debut album that was inspired by mid-1960s acts like The Byrds, Bob Dylan, and The Rolling Stones. Petty was ably supported by the Heartbreakers, a world class backing band. Mike […]
