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Last Active 07-27-22 7:57 am
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| Discovolante's Best of: 1981
From the beginning of the year to the end, via the Sputnik release calendar. | | 1 |  | Grafik
Út Í Kuldann
Grafik was a band that was of utmost importance to the Icelandic rock boom of the 80s, and underwent many, many lineup changes during their run together. Their first album, 1981's "Út Í Kuldann", is a gloomy quasi-goth post punk effort with a nice simplistic approach. Nothing too flashy, just some old fashioned post punk from Iceland. | | 2 |  | Grylurnar
Grylurnar
Grylurnar was another early Icelandic rock band, but they failed to get the same attention as Grafik, ultimately becoming a cult band, with recognition of their material rising noticeably overseas over the last decade or so. Their first self-titled EP is rich with kooky pseudo-gothic cheesy new wave pop that sounds like something that would've played on a Pee-Wee Herman movie. It's... absolutely delightful lol. | | 3 |  | Nico
Drama of Exile
Outside of her work with The Velvet Underground, I'm kind of hit-and-miss when it comes to Nico. I do enjoy two of her albums quite much though, with one of them being a pretty controversial opinion, and that would be 1981's "Drama of Exile". I just love the brooding gothy nature of the album, with a good portion of the tracks getting my interest right upon their start. The morphine-like effect of the production laced with the doomsy nature of Nico and the band just makes for beautiful listening. | | 4 |  | Agent Orange
Living in Darkness
"Living in Darkness", the debut album release of punk legends Agent Orange, is hands down one of the most unique albums to come out of the early American punk boom. It has strong melodies that will get stuck in your head, impressive musicianship and is just a cut above a lot of the early 80s punk in terms of style and execution. An album that really was light years ahead. | | 5 |  | Klymaxx
Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman
Klymaxx really were the first ladies of funk, although they would eventually sell out a lot of their soul and become a freestyle-pop band, to initial strong success. But their first albums were really the best (and in my opinion the only strong relistens), with the impressive two-punch combo starting with 1981's "Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman". It has flare, attitude and the funk chops to back it up. A great, vastly underrated funk-pop album. | | 6 |  | Rip Rig and Panic
God
Rip Rig and Panic were a arthouse collective with heavy jazz influences, along with African and post-punk influences, that launched onto the underground with "God" in 1981. It's a spastic schizophrenic of an album, ranging from soothing piano ballads to maddening cult-like rhythms and trances. Most notably, vocalist Neneh Cherry would go on to become a popular pop singer in the late 80s and early 90s. A nice hidden gem for the music eccentrics out there. | | 7 |  | The Adicts
Songs of Praise
I actually used to be a pretty big fan of The Adicts, specifically their first two albums, although their best moment is indeed their classic debut "Songs of Praise". It has a grandiose, fulfilling feel that feels a lot more complete and quite frankly more memorable than a lot of the early punk albums. Truly one of the best punk albums ever. | | 8 |  | 8 Eyed Spy
8 Eyed Spy
8 Eyed Spy was a short lived no wave supergroup consisting of members from legendary bands like Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and James Chance and the Contortions, as well as composer Pat Irwin. They only released one album, and it's a great one. It's a lot more of a concentrated effort than a lot of the no wave stuff, and is possibly the most approachable effort in Lydia Lunch's huge catalog. Not to say it's still not a bizarre listen, which it is, but it has an entertaining suspense about it which makes it just a great listen. | | 9 |  | Klaus Nomi
Klaus Nomi
One of the most eccentric artists in music history, Klaus Nomi was a groundbreaking vocalist who sadly passed away way too soon in 1983 from AIDS. He is still remembered to be an art icon, solidifying his legacy in particular with his first out of only two albums in 1981. One could argue that the album is a novelty of sorts due to how heavy it relies on covers, but the end result is so magical and captivating that calling it a mere novelty would be an insult. No description would really work, so you really have to check him out yourself. | | 10 |  | The Cure
Faith
As I described in my previous best-of list of 1980, I said "Seventeen Seconds" is one of the two most underrated albums in The Cure's catalog. Well, this is the other one. The sheer powerfully bleak atmosphere of "Faith" works with "Pornography" as one of the best album segues ever. It's just total perfection. "The Drowning Man", "Primary", "Other Voices", "The Funeral Party" ... what a masterpiece. | | 11 |  | Art Bears
The World As It Is Today
There's no sugarcoating it, "The World As It Is Today" is a disturbing record. It's an album that calls for a brutal revolution, and is a pitch black and bold effort that wallows in the depths of avant-garde music history, with far too little attention on it. | | 12 |  | Adolescents
Adolescents
The first album release of legendary punk band Adolescents is pretty much an unspoken solid gold album in American punk music, and that's all that really needs to be said about it. "Amoeba", man. Quite literally timeless stuff as it sounds a lot more recent than 1981. | | 13 |  | The Birthday Party
Prayers on Fire
While their previous debut wasn't bad per-se, their follow-up, "Prayers on Fire", is where they really got good. It's a disarray of several different music genres, with "loud" and "experimental" being the only two things that one can agree on when describing the album. A radical album that is just as vital today as it was back then. | | 14 |  | Plasmatics
Beyond the Valley of 1984
In 1981, Plasmatics were at the peak of their career, quickly becoming the most controversial band in the country. Their second album, "Beyond the Valley of 1984", sought to stoke the flames. Recorded on a budget far less than their previous album "New Hope for the Wretched", the end result is a lot rawer and aggressive, helping transition the group from a punk-hard rock band to a plain hard rock band. | | 15 |  | The Raincoats
Odyshape
One of the first real modern alternative rock bands, The Raincoats have influenced dozens of bands throughout their run together, and have created some of the best music alternative has to offer. In 1981, following their impeccable self-titled debut, The Raincoats released the oddball sophomoric "Odyshape", which, while not quite as good as that debut, still is a great piece of art in its own right. Heads up that "Odyshape" is a very experimental effort though, so it's definitely not for everyone. | | 16 |  | Oingo Boingo
Only a Lad
Emerging from a literal tidal wave of new wave acts, Oingo Boingo managed to stick out by being themselves. A band that is really as bold as a new wave band could be without selling out their morals. On the surface, the music itself on their debut "Only a Lad" is very animated and cartoony, with the way frontman Danny Elfman delivers his vocals adding to the zaniness. The lyrical matter, however, is on another plateau, offering food for intellectual debate, which was something that was indeed lacking amongst many of the new wave bands of the day. | | 17 |  | The Go-Go's
Beauty and the Beat
While they always got shit on for being a "pop band", more-so during their hot streak run during the early 80s, The Go-Go's were a band that concocted some of the most brilliantly done new wave pop goodness of the time. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that I believe "Beauty and the Beat" to be the best new wave pop album ever. It's short-and-sweet at a little over a half hour, and when legendary tracks like "Our Lips Are Sealed", "We Got the Beat" and "Our House" combine with the sleeper album cuts like "Tonite", "Fading Fast" and "You Can't Walk in Your Sleep", the end result is an album of utmost pop excellence. | | 18 |  | King Crimson
Discipline
Yup, a rather obvious choice. Robert Fripp is still a flaming asshole though. | | 19 |  | Prince
Controversy
One of the most underrated efforts in Prince's extremely long catalog (my vote for most underrated, actually), "Controversy" is an oddball among Prince's main discography. There's a sort of duality of sleek high production pop blended together with a much more radical almost punk-like sound (one of the tracks in particular, "Annie Christian", being one of the most out-of-character songs officially released by Prince). Either you will despise this utterly unique offering by The Purple One, or you will absolutely adore it. | | 20 |  | Adam and the Ants
Prince Charming
Closing the 1981 list with a bit of a controversial choice, "Prince Charming" is the most polarizing album in their brief three-album catalog by far. It's not nearly as percussion driven as their magnum opus "Kings of the Wild Frontier" and instead is a much more vast effort with a heavy Old West influence which breams with confidence and charisma via frontman Adam Ant. An overall very solid new wave album. | |
Titan
07.27.21 | not really | Titan
07.27.21 | haha just playin man....some nice picks on both lists | WeepingBanana
07.27.21 | Some of these are a bit too wackadoo for me, but some rule. I love 12 but Rikk Agnew’s solo stuff is way better imo | discovolante
07.28.21 | Interesting WB, I’ll check it out sometime. And thanks Titan lol. |
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