My obsession with college radio had now expanded to the point where I wasn’t just reading The Trouser Press Record Guide over and over (I’m pretty sure I had my own copy of it at this point) or looking through the bins at Strawberries and Musicland; I was frequenting the indie shops down in the Pioneer Valley that catered to the college crowds down there. I was also starting to tape episodes of Night Flight and 120 Minutes more often. By October, WMUA was finally back on the air and I would be listening to it in the evenings when I really should have been doing my homework (or later, sleeping).

It was also around this time that I started learning about alternative lifestyles as well. I mean sure, I’d known about them for quite some time, mainly as stereotypes on TV shows and movies and comics, but thanks to the music I listened to and the magazines I’d started picking up, I learned that there was so much more out there. As a kid stuck in a small and somewhat conservative backwoods town in central Massachusetts, all of this was eye-opening and mind-expanding. I didn’t have to be stuck as the stereotypical nerd with the spiky hair and dorky clothes. I could be whatever the hell I wanted to be. And now that I’d been introduced to a new circle of friends that accepted that way of thinking, I found myself wanting to explore further.

Spoons, Bridges Over Borders, released October 1986. This Canadian band was alas on the downswing by the time this album came out — they’d been popular in their own country as an early 80s new wave band, but their detour into rock came with diminishing returns. That said, however, this was a surprisingly solid record and the title track got a bit of play on 120 Minutes, which is where I’d heard of them. I picked this one up used at Al Bums not that long after.

Colin Newman, Commercial Suicide, released October 1986. The co-lead singer of Wire’s fourth solo album recorded during their multi-year hiatus is aptly named (and very cheeky and on brand for him), as it’s more melodic and less experimental than his previous albums. It’s a hint of what the new and reformed Wire will sound like in just a short time. I remember seeing this one in the bins but never got around to picking it up (mainly as I wouldn’t become a Wire fan until 1987) until my freshman year in college.

Timbuk 3, Greetings from Timbuk 3, released October 1986. Here’s a perfect example of a full-on alternative band that somehow had a huge charting song only for them to become a one-hit wonder. It’s a perfect example of Gen-X wit: a super poppy and upbeat track hiding the much darker apocalyptic words. I remember WMDK really latching onto this album and playing several tracks off it.

General Public, Hand to Mouth, released October 1986. The one thing I remember about this album is that its full-page ad campaigns were everywhere in the music magazines. It alas did not have a charting single like 1984’s All the Rage did with “Tenderness”, and Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger went their separate ways.

Big Audio Dynamite, No. 10, Upping St., released October 1986. The follow-up to the brilliant This Is Big Audio Dynamite surprisingly did better in the UK charts, even despite it being a darker-edged and less sample-heavy record. “C’mon Every Beatbox” got a lot of play even on US rock radio and MTV. A month later I’d hear the deep cut “Dial a Hitman” on WMUA — a quirky track featuring a spoken word outro featuring Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne! — which would give me all the more reason to pick up the cassette.

Pop Will Eat Itself, Poppiecock EP, released October 1986. I’m pretty sure this is when I first heard about PWEI as they’d been mentioned in passing in Smash Hits regarding the short-lived Grebo movement in the UK (a weird Midlands subculture leaning heavily on greasy biker chic). The bands were either surprisingly good (like PWEI and The Wonder Stuff) or shockingly terrible (like Zodiac Mindwarp).

Ultravox, U-Vox, released October 1986. This band had pretty much come and gone in the US after the minor hit “Reap the Wild Wind”, but they remained a favorite in the UK. I remember this one coming out then disappearing pretty quick, with “All Fall Down” getting just a little bit of play on WRSI and WMDK.

a-ha, Scoundrel Days, released 6 October 1986. As expected, following up with the ridiculously popular Hunting High and Low was going to be hard, especially when they expected yet another bright and poppy “Take On Me”. This ended up being a much quieter and darker album that didn’t do as well in the US other than the minor single “Cry Wolf”. Which is too bad, because the single “Manhattan Skyline” is an absolutely gorgeous ballad that should have gotten a hell of a lot more airplay.

Slayer, Reign in Blood, released 7 October 1986. I remember this one coming out because it caused so much distress with its imagery and lyrics, but also because it had blown so many minds for its sheer force and creativity as a thrash metal album. The other thing I remember is that the first time I heard it was actually on a friend’s walkman…as we were leaving catechism class. Heh.

Talking Heads, True Stories, released 7 October 1986. This was such a polarizing record for fans and critics because of its place as a sort-of-soundtrack for the film of the same name and the lack of experimental new-wave/no-wave sound they’d long been known for. The songs were tight and radio friendly, including the ubiquitous “Wild Wild Life”. (Personally I like “Love for Sale” a lot more.) In retrospect it does kind of work as a stepping stone between the intriguing Little Creatures and the world music influences of Naked.

Wang Chung, Mosaic, released 14 October 1986. Yes, the album with “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”, but this is definitely not a filler album with That One Hit. It’s got several enjoyable and pop friendly tunes like “Hypnotize Me” and “Let’s Go”. Someone gave this one to me for my birthday, I think?

The Smiths, “Ask” single, released 20 October 1986. The Manchester foursome once again come up trumps with yet another brilliant standalone single, a simple love song with the usual self-effacing Morrissey wit with the catchiest of beats.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Liverpool, released 20 October 1986. The band’s second album is almost always forgotten about, but I find this one a vast improvement. It’s tighter and darker-edged, and far more digestible than the overdone Pleasuredome. The critics enjoyed it, but the fans (and apparently Holly Johnson himself) didn’t, and they’d break up soon after its release. I picked this one up on cassette on a whim after hearing the storming “Warriors of the Wasteland”, and for the next several months it would get repeat plays on my walkman late at night. It would also be part of my expanding writing session soundtrack.

Iggy Pop, Blah Blah Blah, released 23 October 1986. This was another example of an album that was a critical favorite but a miss everywhere else. It’s Iggy at his most radio-friendly — something he’d do again a few years later with the breakthrough Brick by Brick — with the hit cover of Johnny O’Keefe’s “Real Wild Child (Wild One)” and “Cry for Love”.

The Police, Every Breath You Take: The Singles, released 25 October 1986. The reunion that should have been but wasn’t, this trio gathered several of their biggest hits on this tight collection along with the rerecorded version of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” as the lead-off single. This was a band I knew well thanks to heavy radio play and a copy of Synchronicity, so this was a great collection that got a lot of play for me. [It’s probably for the best that their original plan of rerecording all their hits fell through due to Stewart Copeland suffering an injury, as this version of “Close” has not aged well at all, whereas the original remains much more timeless.]

Howard Jones, One to One, released 25 October 1986. Another album that couldn’t quite catch up to its previous release (in this case, the brilliant Dream Into Action), it nonetheless features Jones writing smart and enjoyable synthpop. This was another purchase through the RCA record club for me.

The Stranglers, Dreamtime, released 27 October 1986. This band is a good example of a group that softened up as they went along; their early punk and post-punk albums and singles were hard and crunchy but by the early 80s their sound grew more melodic and emotive. “Always the Sun” is a great example of that, and it got repeat play on 120 Minutes around this time.

Kate Bush, “Experiment IV” single, released 27 October 1986. A new teaser single for her upcoming greatest hits collection, I remember seeing the video for this on Night Flight — they’d done a video retrospective of her music. I’d been a passive fan since the classic single “Running Up That Hill” (which was a surprise hit in the States in 1985, predating its new life via an appearance on Stranger Things by several decades). They’d made a big thing out of this video due to its appearance of several famous British actors like Dawn French, Hugh Laurie and Richard Vernon.

XTC, Skylarking, released 27 October 1986. As mentioned, “Dear God” was still resigned to the b-side of “Grass” at this time, but despite that, this album was successful from the get-go, receiving several high-score reviews from critics and fans alike. It got a significant amount of play both on college radio and AOR in my neck of the woods with tracks like “Grass”, “Earn Enough for Us” and the dreamlike “Another Satellite” (a personal favorite of mine).

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Next up: The crossover — full-on nonconformity! Sort of.