Matt's Books and Music

[This post is part of a large project in which I am going through the popular music released in each year. Please see the note at the bottom of the post re: omissions and limitations.]

Introduction

As I mentioned in my 1986 post, part of my intrigue in going through the music of the ‘80s was to try to understand the transition from the cool, innovative, and youth-driven music in the first half of the decade to the skillful, lovely, but also demonstrably uncool adult-contemporary sounds that were dominant by the end of the decade. We’ve seen that 1986 was a transitional year in this process, and 1987 was saved by a handful of generational albums. By the time we get to 1988, we’re fully in the realm of power ballads and electric piano, with fewer of the massive albums to pull the year through. In fact, I struggled to find sixty songs I loved to fill out my playlist for the year. The upside of this hollowing out of pop music at the top of the charts is that it provides the opportunity for some lesson-known artists to break through. So there will be some surprises in my top ten lists this year.

Top 10 Albums

1. Everything (The Bangles): One of the great what ifs of late twentieth-century music is what might have been had the Bangles not been undermined by the ego clashes that caused them to break up. Here in 1988 we have them at the peak of their powers, with not just the massive hit “Eternal Flame,” but four other songs making my year-end playlist.
2. Rattle and Hum (U2): This was a controversial project at the time, but this roots and blues flavoured album features some of my favourite U2 tracks, including two that made my top ten for the year.
3. Everything’s Different Now (’Til Tuesday): For some reason, at the time of this writing, this wonderful album is not available on streaming services, but thanks to some compilation albums, it’s possible to piece together much of it. I feel like ‘Til Tuesday is one of the true ‘80s MVP bands, and one of the few to successfully navigate the end of the new wave sound.
4. The Innocents (Erasure): Another ‘80s MVP for me is Vince Clarke, who before he co-founded the iconic queer dance duo Erasure, was an original member of Depeche Mode and Yazoo. That’s a pretty incredible pop track record! This album is Erasure at their absolute best and it features my number 2 and 3 songs of the year.
5. Tracy Chapman (self-titled): “Fast Car” is rightly held to be one of the best-written songs of the past fifty years, but this album also features the brilliant protest song “Talkin’ ‘Bout a Revolution” and the truly lovely love song, “Baby Can I Hold You.”
6. Look Sharp! (Roxette): Roxette was absolutely at the peak of their pop rock powers in 1988.
7. Diamond Sun (Glass Tiger): This sophomore album from Glass Tiger shows that not only are they not a one-hit wonder, but they aren’t even a one-album wonder. Unfortunately, with the ways pop music was shifting in the mid-80s their new wave sound started to sound dated here, but it’s a great album.
8. Bread and Circus (Toad the Wet Sprocket): It was great to see 90s indie and college radio make a splash here in in 1988.
9. Forever Your Girl (Paula Abdul): This album set records for its first four singles reaching number one, and while only three of them made my playlist for the year, there’s a reason the album made the impact it did.
10. Vertigo Tango (Spoons): This is a truly out-of-pocket album to find its way on a top-ten list. It’s the final album from an obscure and only mildly successful Canadian band, but somehow for me at least, things came together beautifully for this last effort.

Other Albums of Note

• Watermark (Enya): It says a lot about the state of music in the late ‘80s that this album was able to make a mark, but it landed two songs on my playlist, “Orinoco Flow” and “Storms in Africa (Pt II).
• Barney Bentall & the Legendary Hearts (self-titled): Another obscure record from an obscure Canadian band, but it ended up fourteenth overall in my album rankings.
• Viva Hate (Morrissey): It’s always interesting to see what an artist can do in their first solo project and this is pretty impressive.

Top 10 Songs

1. “Fast Car” (Tracy Chapman): I don’t think I have to say anything about this song that hasn’t already been said a thousand times. It’s “Fast Car.” Duh. (Favourite lyric: “You got a fast car / I want a ticket to anywhere”)
2. “A Little Respect” (Erasure): It’s hard to imagine a more different song from my number 1, but here we are. It’s pure fun, and a pretty intense earworm (Favourite lyric: “And if I should falter / Would you open you arms out to me?”
3. “Chains of Love” (Erasure): It’s easy to dismiss dance music as being unserious, but this song packs a strong message alongside the endorphin rush. (Favourite lyric: “How can I explain when there are few words I can choose”)
4. “All I Want Is You” (U2): For an album best known for its aggressive blues riffs, my favourite song is this haunting, quiet ballad. (Favourite lyric: “You say you’ll give me / Eyes in a moon of blindness”)
5. “Cold Hearted” (Paula Abdul): So much attitude, so cool. It makes me wish I could dance like Paula Abdul. (Favourite lyric: “He don’t play by the rules, uh-oh / Girl, don’t play the fool, no”)
6. “Elephant Stone” (The Stone Roses): A great preview of their stellar 1989 debut album (Favourite lyric: “Arctic sheets and fields of wheat”)
7. “Listen to Your Heart” (Roxette): Pop rock perfection. (Favourite lyric: “The scent of magic / The beauty that’s been / When love was wilder / Oh, than the wind”)
8. “Desire” (U2): When you think of Rattle & Hum this is the sound you think about: all energy, all fire, like desire itself. (Favourite lyric: “Yeah, she’s a promise in the year of election”)

9. “Everyday is Like Sunday” (Morrissey): No one but Morrissey could make a mopey song about an empty seaside town work. (Favourite lyric: “This is the coastal town that they forgot to close down”)
10. “Stand” (R.E.M.): This is a profoundly stupid song, but it’s also profoundly fun. (Favourite lyric: “Listen to reason / Season is calling”)

Other Songs of Note

• “Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car” (Billy Ocean): For all my complaints about R&B flavoured adult contemporary music in the late ‘80s, when it hits it hits.
• “Tell It To My Heart” (Taylor Dayne): We all love a one-hit wonder.
• “Vox” (Sarah McLachlan): This is the clear highlight from McLachlan’s uneven debut album.

Most Surprising Inclusion

• “J for Jules” (’Til Tuesday)

Notable Song that Missed the Cut

• “The Loco-Motion” (Kylie Minogue): Much like her compatriot Olivia Newton-John, Kylie just doesn’t work for me like she does for millions.

[Note: It’s of course impossible to listen to everything, so while I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, omissions are inevitable. For consistency’s sake, I’ve gone with the year music was released, rather than when it became popular. Any ratings or rankings are my own and entirely subjective. This has nothing to do with objective quality but is simply reflective of my personal taste.]