Forty Years On: Favorite Music from 1986 Part II

Posted on by
Reply

I like to think of March 1986 as the point where there was a significant shift in music, at least in my personal view.

On the last weekend of February, MTV dropped Pleasant Valley Sunday, a day-long celebration of The Monkees, by playing all fifty-eight episodes back to back, much to the delight of thousands of GenXers like myself who grew up watching the show in syndication. [It proved so popular that the series became part of a regular line-up on the channel for a time, and Micky, Peter and Davy (and later Mike) soon went on an extremely successful reunion tour and even dropped a few new tunes later in the year.]

On the tenth of March, MTV also premiered the Sunday-overnight show 120 Minutes, an idea spawned by music writer and snark-extraordinaire Dave Kendall (yet not hosted by him for another few years, though he’d do the record reviews), initially planned as an AOR-heavy show but soon morphing into a showcase for the early and influential years of alternative rock. The show itself would become a cult favorite several years before the breakthrough of grunge.

Closer to home, I’d been moving away from the hard rock radio of WAAF whose playlist was veering dangerously towards hair metal, and away from WAQY who seemed happy to stay in what was fast becoming classic rock. I was listening more to the AOR and modern rock of WMDK and WRSI, though I’d still check up on American Top 40 on the weekends. I’d also been reading a lot of issues of Smash Hits (then called Star Hits here in the States), a music magazine geared more towards the hipper UK bands than the gloss of American pop. I’d been looking for a personal change for a while by then, and this avenue was certainly appealing to me.

There’s a lot to cover, so here we go!

The Triffids, Born Sandy Devotional, released March 1986. I believe I discovered this band via Night Flight on USA Network, as one of their episodes featured a focus on Australian bands. It would be long time before I picked anything up by them, but I would often hear a song or two by them on WMDK over the next year or so. This would be one of their best-loved albums by its fans.

Sonic Youth, EVOL, released March 1986. I’m pretty sure I heard of this band in passing on WAAF and through the music papers, but never really paid much attention other than seeing the video for “Shadow of a Doubt” either on an early 120 Minutes episode or on Night Flight. They were, however, a band I’d see constantly in the record shops once I actively started going to places like Al Bum’s and Main Street Music. I’m pretty sure I might have seen them at Strawberries as well.

The Go-Betweens, Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, released March 1986. I don’t remember if this band was mentioned on that Night Flight episode, but they were another band I’d heard about. They’re a critic favorite that you just can’t seem to find anywhere and rarely hear on the radio, but I’d eventually see them (and fall in love with them) soon enough.

Dumptruck, Positively Dumptruck, released March 1986. I’d known about this band primarily because they were from Boston, and there was a great writer in the Worcester Telegram that would always highlight and push local groups. “Secrets” was played on the first 120 Minutes episode I’d tape and later watch (and rewatch endlessly). Surprisingly, it took me years to actually add them to my library!

New Order, “Shellshock” single, released March 1986. It’s funny how this was the first New Order song I’d heard, and yet I didn’t know it was them for months until I finally got a copy of the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. I wouldn’t own anything by them until late 1987 when I picked up the cassette of their Substance album, and they’d become a regular go-to in my Walkman for the next several years.

INXS, “What You Need” single, released (US) March 1986. This had already been a successful single in Australia, but it got major airplay here in the States when it was released as a later single. There was a lot of crossover here as well, having gotten play not only on MTV and chart radio, but also on heavy rock and AOR stations as well. This was a song I’d hear on WMDK quite often. It became one of my favorite tracks of that year, and it pops up on several of my mixtapes (sometimes more than once!).

**

As you can see, I could not exactly pinpoint the release date of the above titles, as they’re not listed anywhere online that I could find, so I just have them tagged as “3/1/1986” in my library. Now to the dated songs!

**

Metallica, Master of Puppets, released 3 March 1986. This album is why I knew about them well before their self-titled 1991 breakthrough album, as they would get a fair bit of play on the evening shows on WAAF, where they’d play deeper cuts and more guitar-virtuoso performers. It wasn’t exactly in my wheelhouse at the time, though I was quite aware of them.

Depeche Mode, Black Celebration, released 17 March 1986. I knew about this band due to their 1984 hit “People Are People”, but it wasn’t until a few months after this release that I finally broke down and started buying their stuff, starting with this one and 1985’s Catching Up with Depeche Mode. This was of course after discovering and becoming hopelessly obsessed with college radio in April, but it all fell into place perfectly for me: they’d just dropped a highly popular record on a major US label, they were getting a lot of print in Star/Smash Hits because of it, and they were one of the first bands I latched onto when I started poring through Ira Robbins’ Trouser Press Record Guide. I bought this one on cassette and it would get an incredible amount of play on my Walkman over the next three years, getting me through a lot of teen emotional turmoil and deeply influencing a lot of my writing around this time.

Hüsker Dü, Candy Apple Grey, released 17 March 1986. I’d heard of this band via that same writer in the Worcester Telegram as the band played in the area off and on, but the first time I’d actually heard them was on WAAF of all places. One of the deejays at the time was a big fan and was super excited that they’d signed to a major label, and “Don’t Want to Know if You Are Lonely” got some play on the station for a brief time. I’d end up buying this one on one of my many forays into the dollar bins over the next few years.

Van Halen, 5150, released 24 March 1986. I know this seems a little out of place here, but I’d never gotten sick of this band, having grown up with them getting heavy airplay on both WAAF and WAQY. This was an important make-or-break album for them, as David Lee Roth had exited the band and Sammy Hagar had taken his place, and no one knew what they would sound like. The teaser single “Why Can’t This Be Love” would be a major hit on rock radio and kickstart the popular ‘Van Hagar’ era with several charting singles. And yes, I did see them live on this tour in August (with Bachmann-Turner Overdrive opening)!

Joe Jackson, Big World, released 24 March 1986. I was of course familiar with him thanks to his early 80s videos getting a lot of play on MTV, but by this time he’d disappeared from the channel, only to become a favorite on AOR stations like WMDK. The bluesy “Right and Wrong” got some airtime, and the quirky yet fascinating album (three sides, all new songs recorded live just a few months previous with the audience mixed out) became a fan favorite.

Pet Shop Boys, Please, released 24 March 1986. I absolutely fell in love with the single “West End Girls” from day one and borrowed my sister’s copy of this album all the time until I finally owned my own, and it remains one of my favorite albums of that year. I loved that it was essentially a synthpop album but without the gloom of UK new wave or the disposability of chart pop; it was something in between, something I could latch onto and enjoy. I’ve been a fan ever since. “West End Girls” also kickstarted one of my works of juvenilia at the time, the next project I worked on after finishing the Infamous War Novel: a John Hughes-inspired teen comedy, and my first attempt at writing a screenplay.

Prince, Parade (Music from the Motion Picture ‘Under the Cherry Moon’), released 31 March 1986. I was a big Prince fan by this time, having utterly loved both the Purple Rain and Around the World in a Day albums and wanted to keep tabs on his releases. I remember WMDK talking about him earlier in the year: they’d mentioned that he’d been working on a quirky project of songs under the pseudonym of Camille, and that he was also working with the Revolution on a multi-disc record as well. [These projects of course would start as Camille and Crystal Ball, lose the Revolution mid-year, and eventually morph into 1987’s brilliant Sign ‘o’ the Times.] In the meantime, however, he’d kept himself busy by filming his second movie and recording its oddball soundtrack. “Kiss” was the teaser single that blew everyone’s mind, but for me it was the single “Mountains” that won me over with its infectious groove.

**

Next up: Discovering College Radio and Playing Both Sides

Forty Years On: Favorite Music from 1986 Part I

Posted on by
Reply

There’s been a meme going over on Threads lately about it being the 40th anniversary of several great albums released in 1986, and of course this means that I’d need to get in on that nonsense. That was an interesting year for fifteen-year-old me for a few reasons. One, I would soon be finishing my very first completed novel (aka the Infamous War Novel, a bit of juvenilia with heavy Red Dawn vibes) that would set off a future career that’s still with me to this day. Two, it was right about the time I’d started moving away from commercial pop and rock radio and more towards AOR and other genres. And of course, it was also the pivotal year when I discovered college radio. [And because I wouldn’t do the third until April vacation and thus not discover a lot of bands until much later in the year, several of these songs would grab my attention at that time.]

*

The Church, Heyday, released January 1986. I’d heard of the band before, various music magazines having sung their praises for a few years by then, but “Tantalized” was probably the first track I’d heard, most likely on WMDK (the local AOR station I’d started obsessing over) and later when I started watching 120 Minutes on MTV.

The Call, Reconciled, released February 1986. I remember really liking “The Walls Came Down” from their 1983 album Modern Romans, which got some decent play on MTV and WAQY, but it was the song “I Still Believe (Great Design)” that blew my mind. Yes, I know, most of you remember this from The Lost Boys and the be-mulleted/abs-for-days Tim Cappello, but that version doesn’t even come close to the power and strength of the original. I’d pick up the album at Strawberries soon after and listened to it quite often.

Public Image Ltd, Album, released 3 February 1986. Yeah, I know he’s become a bit of a bigoted prick these days (this is what usually happens when your only superpower is being an insufferable contrarian), but back then it was great to hear such a call to arms in the Reagan/Thatcher days like the thunderous “Rise”.

Janet Jackson, Control, released 4 February 1986. Meanwhile, waaaaay on the other side of the spectrum, Michael’s little sister finally breaks the glass ceiling with the help of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and becomes a powerhouse of constant hits that last for years. At the time I didn’t think too much about picking this album up, but all the big singles grew on me and I just couldn’t resist. The whole record is a banger from start to finish.

Stan Ridgway, The Big Heat, released 10 February 1986. The former Wall of Voodoo singer shows up unexpectedly with a leftfield favorite with “Drive, She Said” which got a lot of play on AOR stations like WMDK. This album was really hard to find for me for some reason, and I wouldn’t own it until years later when I found it in a discount bin during my college years.

Talk Talk, The Colour of Spring, released 20 February 1986. This remains on my list of all-time-favorite songs, simple though it may be. I remember kinda liking it but being blown away by the video when it was introduced by one Elvis Costello on MTV one day. It’s also a song I remember crossing over all over the place, not only on the music channel but on rock radio, AOR, and even on the pop stations.

Elvis Costello (as The Costello Show featuring the Attractions and Confederates), King of America, released 21 February 1986. I remember WMDK playing his loungy cover of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” quite a bit, even though the album itself didn’t do much of anything in the States at the time. It’s an odd one in his discography, done more for his own enjoyment than any attempt at popularity.

The Pogues, Poguetry in Motion EP, released 24 February 1986. Another track I heard a lot on WMDK was “A Rainy Night in Soho”. I’d heard of the band and most likely heard their more spirited tracks from Red Roses for Me a year or so previous, but I was pleasantly surprised by how lovely this track is. I’d pick up the EP on vinyl not long thereafter.

Soundtrack, Pretty in Pink, released 26 February 1986. If anything, this is probably my second favorite John Hughes film, just after The Breakfast Club. I know I’d seen it in the theater and enjoyed it, but it was maybe some time later when I watched it again on video (we’d finally jumped on the bandwagon, bought a VHS player and started renting movies as a weekend entertainment). My copy of the soundtrack was dubbed (Side B of a ninety minute cassette, with The Breakfast Club soundtrack on the other side), but I’d eventually own my own copy later on.

*

More to come!

Favorite Songs: Squeeze, “Satisfied”

Posted on by
Reply

This band’s 1991 studio album Play doesn’t get much attention at all for some reason, nestled between the perky but low-selling Frank from 1989 and the moody and also-forgotten Some Fantastic Place from 1993. Not that it’s bad, of course. It’s more likely that it dropped right in the middle of a huge wave of American Grunge and UK Britpop. If you were a fan, you loved it, but if you were a passive one, well…

“Satisfied” was the first single off the album to be released in the US, and to many listeners’ surprise, they sounded and looked slick. They were pared down to a quartet (Jools Holland having chosen not to return, most likely due to his ongoing TV projects) so the album sounds less expansive and more cozy, but extremely well-produced. There’s a dreamlike quality to this song, meandering along at its own pace with sighing guitars and keys, and a simple (and very Difford/Tilbrook) set of lyrics about the simplicity and peacefulness of mutual love.

Interestingly, I equate this song with one of the lowest points of my time in college. My long-term/long-distance relationship was coming to a close, I’d lost contact with several of my friends both near and far, I was creatively frustrated and barely scraping by academically. I really felt as though my life had become a long series of ill-advised decisions made more out of desperation rather than inspiration. This was a song I’d hoped would lift my spirits but instead reminded me of just how far I’d fallen from my wishes and dreams of the future.

That said, it’s a banger of a tune and one of my favorites of the second phase of the band’s career. They were now a band that might not show up in the charts as much as they used to, but they didn’t seem too bothered by that. I can hear this song now without the doom and gloom, instead focusing on the wonder of that simple lyric.

Thinking About: more early 90s techno

Posted on by
Reply

Another thing that showed up in early 90s electronic music was the seemingly misplaced vocal sample that somehow fit perfectly in the song. I used to love those, partly because I enjoyed the game of ‘hey I know that bit!’ and how creative they slid it into the track.

Like “Papua New Guinea” by The Future Sound of London, whose main vocal line was lifted from Dead Can Dance’s “Dawn of the Iconoclast” (a track off my favorite DCD album, 1987’s Within the Realm of a Dying Sun). Several of my classmates at Emerson loved this track, and they’d play it all the time at the clubs on Landsdowne Street.

….or Utah Saints’ “Something Good”, which made liberal use of Kate Bush’s “Cloudbusting”. I loved cranking this one up in the car when it came on the radio.

Then there’s Apotheosis with “O Fortuna”, lifting the famous choral movement from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. This one I remember well because they’d lifted the sample from a classical recording and hadn’t gotten clearance, making the single hard to find.

And then there’s just the downright silly “Sesame’s Treet” by Smart E’s. Somehow they made this work despite how ridiculous it is. Peak Gen-X retromania here, mixing our present and past into one.

Much later in the decade, a friend of mine introduced me to the equally silly “Speed” by Alpha Team, and I literally had a coworker at the record store writhing on the floor in laughter when I played him the breakdown part of the Hardcore Mix (about 3:30 in).

I suppose this is partly why I eventually latched onto electronic music in the 90s, because it wasn’t always about the scene or the vibe. It wasn’t always serious. Sometimes it was just about having fun being creative with the technology you had, even if the output was more for laughs than anything else.

Thinking About: early 90s techno

Posted on by
Reply

As mentioned a few weeks back, I’ve been catching up on Orbital, an electronic duo that I passively listened to in the 90s. I was vaguely familiar with a lot of their earlier singles like “Halcyon + On + On”, “Chime” and “Lush 3”, but it was 1996’s “The Box” off their album In Sides that caught my attention, especially with its otherworldly and unsettling music video featuring the always intriguing Tilda Swinton as a time-traveling alien visiting the grimier parts of East London. It’s one of my all-time favorite videos of the 90s and was one of the many influences for the Bridgetown Trilogy.

While listening to them, it got me thinking about my experience with electronic music in the 90s. Even then it had all sorts of different genres and names: techno, house, EBM, electronica, chillwave, trip-hop, and everything in between. If I had to pinpoint when I first started paying attention to this kind of stuff, it was hearing “Chime” on the techno show on WFNX during my freshman year in college. It intrigued me, because it wasn’t exactly the melodic synthpop of the 80s that I was so used to, but nor was it the vaguely creative club music that producers like Stock-Aitken-Waterman were churning out on the regular. To me it was somewhere in between: creative enough that you could groove to it at the clubs, but you could also chill out to it in the comfort of your own home. [Mind you, this was also during the height of rave culture so you could do both while completely blissed out, heh.]

Another track that stood out for me, of course, was Moby’s “Go” with its use of Laura Palmer’s Theme from Twin Peaks as the music bed. Creepy and weird yet somehow hypnotic and groovy. This was well before his huge breakthrough with 1997’s Play.

Trip-hop didn’t quite gel with me right away, as it didn’t get a lot of play on the local alternative stations in Boston at the time other than Massive Attack’s “Unfinished Sympathy”, which also got a lot of attention for its hybrid of dance, soul, and heavy vibe. It wasn’t just about the lyrics or the melody, it was also about the mood, and that kind of thing always captured my attention. It also helped that its one-continuous-take video was so simple yet so cinematic. A lot of the best electronic music in the 90s strived to capture that.

I could go on, of course, but this is merely an overview, so perhaps it’s time for me to do another WiS series!

New Year, New Music

Posted on by
Reply

It’s been a couple of weeks into the new year, so I’m sure you’re curious as to what my first downloads of 2026 are. So here we go!

Kula Shaker, Lucky Number EP, releases 2 January. They’ve always had that similarity to Oasis but with more mysticism and less drunken swagger, and this one definitely feels like that. I’ve always loved this band since their K album back in 1996, so I’m looking forward to what the new album (curiously entitled Wormslayer…?) sounds like.

DIIV, Boiled Alive, released 5 January. The sludgy-shoegaze band drops a live album/concert film featuring several songs from their 2024 record Frog in Boiling Water, and they sound surprisingly tight and heavy.

SAULT, Chapter 1, released 9 January. I will always check out whatever this enigmatic band releases, because I never know if it’s going to be jazz, gospel, soul, orchestral, alt rock, or something in between. And they are just so flipping amazing at whatever they do.

Dry Cleaning, Secret Love, released 9 January. These 4AD oddballs talk-sing their way through such weird yet catchy tunes that I can’t help but sit back and take it all in, wondering where it will lead.

The Cribs, Selling a Vibe, released 9 January. This band might be known more in the States for having had Johnny Marr as a full member for a few years and kind of riding on the coattails of The Strokes, but they’ve always been a fun listen.

Best of 2025

Posted on by
Reply

This past year kind of felt like a transitional year for me in terms of listening to music. I managed to not obsess over discography completism as much as I had in previous years, for starters. I also dialed back the incessant need to listen to everything, which was also using up all kinds of brainspace and keeping me from actually retaining any of it.

I felt that this was a year of trying out different things instead, so that meant that not every band I liked previously stuck with me this time out. Several albums that got a ton of kudos from bloggers and music sites tended to pass me by. On the other hand, something obscure like Automatic’s Is It Now? or Coral Grief’s Air Between Us connected deeply with me. There were of course the mainstays like Doves and Grandbrothers, whose albums I listen to frequently during writing sessions, that kept me entertained.

None of it was bad, per se. It’s just that I’m in a place where I wanted to change up my tastes and listening habits, that’s all. Perhaps 2026 will be another transitional year in which I find new artists and albums to latch onto, or perhaps something will arrive that will completely blow my mind. Or maybe by chance, it’ll be a year full of stellar releases. We shall see when the time comes!

So without further ado, here’s my list of what I listened to the most, and what stayed with me over the last several months. As always, my favorite album and song of the year are in bold. I’d have created a Spotify playlist for my own best-of-year that sits in my library, but alas said website is on the outs with several friends and music listeners for not properly paying musicians, among other things. Ah well.

Albums
Andy Bell, pinball wanderer
Automatic, Is It Now?
Coral Grief, Air Between Us
Crushed, no scope
Doves, Constellations for the Lonely
GoGo Penguin, Necessary Fictions
Grandbrothers, Elsewhere
Miki Berenyi Trio, Tripla
Motion City Soundtrack, The Same Old Wasted Wonderful World
Packaging, Packaging
Peter Murphy, Silver Shade
Suzzallo, The Quiet Year
The Beatles, Anthology 4
The Hives, The Hives Forever Forever the Hives
The Verve Pipe, Reconciled

Songs
Automatic, “Is It Now?”
The Beatles, “I Am the Walrus [Take 19 – Strings, Bass, Clarinet Overdub]”
Blushing, “So Many”
Bob Moses, “Better Broken”
Bob Mould, “Here We Go Crazy”
Coral Grief, “Starboard”
Doves, “Renegade”
J Mascis, “Breathe”
Packaging, “Running Through the Airport”
Peter Murphy, “Swoon”
Pulp, “Spike Island”
Sparks, “Do Things My Own Way”
SPELLING, “Portrait of My Heart”
The Neighbourhood, “Hula Girl”
The Verve Pipe, “Tattoo”

The Singles 2025 Playlist:

1. Blushing, “So Many”
2. SPELLING, “Portrait of My Heart”
3. The Hives, “Legalize Living”
4. Steve Queralt, “Lonely Town”
5. Doves, “Renegade”
6. Motion City Soundtrack, “She Is Afraid”
7. HighSchool, “Sony Ericsson”
8. Ashes and Diamonds, “On a Rocka”
9. Peroccupations, “Ill at Ease”
10. Automatic, “Is It Now?”
11. Hannah Jadagu, “Doing Now”
12. Lucy Dacus, “Ankles”
13. Flock of Dimes, “Keep Me In the Dark”
14. The Chameleons UK, “Feels Like the End of the World”
15. Snapped Ankles, “Smart World”
16. SPRINTS, “Descartes”
17. Throwing Muses, “Drugstore Drastic”
18. The Charlatans UK, “We Are Love”
19. Hatchie, “Lose It Again”
20. Heartworms, “Extraordinary Wings”
21. Suzzallo, “River”
22. Bob Moses, “Better Broken”
23. JR Richards, “Alive”
24. Peter Murphy, “Swoon”
25. The Beatles, “Free As a Bird [2025 Mix]”
26. Bob Mould, “Here We Go Crazy”
27. Air, “Cemetary Party”
28. Doves, “Cold Dreaming”
29. Nine Inch Nails, “As Alive As You Need Me to Be”
30. J Mascis, “Breathe”
31. Tortoise, “A Title Comes”
32. Pulp, “Spike Island”
33. Florence + the Machine, “Everybody Scream”
34. Packaging, “Running Through the Airport”
35. Sea Lemon, “Stay”
36. The Neighbourhood, “Hula Girl”
37. Cut Copy, “Belong to You”
38. GoGo Penguin, “Fallowfield Loops”
39. Unbelievable Truth, “You’ve Got It”
40. Brandi Carlile, “Returning to Myself”
41. Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke, “Back in the Game”
42. Just Mustard, “We Were Just Here”
43. Dead Pioneers, “My Spirit Animal Ate Your Spirit Animal”
44. Steven Wilson, “Perspective”
45. Dropkick Murphys, “Who’ll Stand with Us?”
46. Mogwai, “God Gets You Back”
47. Andy Bell, “I’m in love…”
48. Paul Meany, “Scenic Route”
49. Garbage, “Chinese Fire Horse”
50. above me, “out of body out of mind”
51. David Byrne & Ghost Train Orchestra, “Everybody Laughs”
52. The The, “Unrequited”
53. The Verve Pipe, “Tattoo”
54. Celeste, “Woman of Faces”
55. The London Suede, “Disintegrate”
56. White Lies, “Nothing On Me”
57. Coral Grief, “Starboard”
58. PLOSIVS, “Death Kicks In”
59. The Reds, Pinks & Purples, “The World Doesn’t Need Another Band”
60. Crushed, “starburn”
61. The Hives, “OCDOD”
62. Grandbrothers, “We Collide”
63. The Beatles, “I Am the Walrus [Take 19 – Strings, Bass, Clarinet Overdub]”
64. HAIM, “Down to Be Wrong”
65. Motion City Soundtrack, “Your Days Are Numbered”
66. OK Go, “Love”
67. Too Much Joy, “Song for a Girl Who Has One”
68. Anna von Hausswolff, “The Iconoclast”
69. Nation of Language, “Inept Apollo”
70. Miki Berenyi Trio, “8th Deadly Sin”
71. Automatic, “Mercury”
72. Depeche Mode, “In the End”
73. Massage, “Daffy Duck”
74. Inhaler, “Open Wide”
75. Franz Ferdinand, “Audacious”
76. Bob Moses, “Waiting on the World”
77. Sparks, “Do Things My Own Way”

**

See you next year!

Year End: Favorite releases, December 2025

Posted on by
Reply

Looking back, there’s been quite a few reissues this year, and I’m not going to complain, other than the fact that more than once I’ve responded with “…how is this thirty/forty/fifty years old…???” That’s the downside of being a Gen-X music nerd who’s been listening and collecting since childhood, I guess!

Fine Young Cannibals, FYC40, released 5 December. They may have only released two albums and a handful of singles between 1985 and 1990, but they were all bangers. This is a great mix of everything and includes several remixes as well.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Live God, released 5 December. Cave has definitely mellowed with age, but he hasn’t stopped writing some of the most heartbreaking and uplifting music out there. This live record is a perfect cross-section of that from his recent tour.

The Wedding Present, Maxi EP, released 5 December. This British band has been at it for forty years and visited all kinds of styles of punk, post-punk and indie rock, and they’ve always been a critic’s favorite. This one, a sly nod to their 1996 EP Mini, is a fun listen.

Depeche Mode, Memento Mori: Mexico City, released 5 December. This long-lasting band drops yet another live album full of their hits and deep cuts recorded in Mexico City, and also features four leftovers from their previous album that are just as strong as the album itself.

Tourist, Music Is Invisible, released 5 December. A curious electronic band that I found via AllMusic that piqued my interest, and features the vocals of ambient instrumentalist Julianna Barwick. An interesting record that’s starting to get some play here during my writing sessions.

The The, Odyssey soundtrack, released 5 December. While Matt Johnson was away for many years, he wasn’t exactly out of the spotlight; he’s been working with his brother Gerard writing and recording soundtracks for his films. This one features a few vocal tracks like the single “Unrequited”.

Happy Mondays, The Factory Singles, released 5 December. Most best-ofs for this band tend to forget a lot of their earlier tracks (probably for the best, given that Shaun Ryder’s voice was even more wobbly and out of tune on those first singles, but I digress). And yet somehow they managed to record the funkiest and grooviest Britpop out there without overly depending on electronics. This mix reminds you just how great and fun the band is.

Tom Smith, There Is Nothing in the Dark That Isn’t There in the Light, released 5 December. The lead singer for Editors finally releases his first debut album and proves that he doesn’t just write gloomy post-punk, he’s also a great writer of heartfelt acoustic indie rock as well.

HEALTH, CONFLICT DLC, released 11 December. This noise-punk electronic band channels that great Belgian EBM sound and gives it a Wire-y edge with concise songwriting and edgy atmosphere.

Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here 50, released 12 December. The classic band that created and defined aural perfection with their experimentation and songcraft and inspired so many bands that followed, this is a wonderful surprise reissue that’s different from their Immersion Editions from 2011. This vastly expands on an excellent album with several demos, a live show, and a fascinating remix of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, which takes all nine parts that originally bracketed the album and places them together as one twenty-five minute track.

**

…and that’s a wrap! Have a great Christmas, and I’ll see you on Tuesday for the year-end mixtape!