ohtani's jacket

They were a fun team to watch during the final two months.

Sortilège's Sortilège... this was the debut EP of arguably the greatest French metal band of the 80s. They'd follow it up with their blistering debut album, Métamorphose, the following year. I have a real fondness for European metal, but whereas it makes sense for the Nordic countries to produce metal albums, France isn't the first country that springs to mind when it comes to metal. When I think of French music, the first thing that comes to mind is Jacques Brel. But these guys were good. They burnt out reasonably quickly, though. Warlord's Deliver Us... I'm not a huge power metal fan. I'll listen to it, and there are some bands whose discographies I'll rip through, but I'd much rather listen to other types of metal. That said, this EP and the following year's LP, And the Cannons of Destruction Have Begun..., are a decent one-two punch. Another band that broke up too soon. Minutemen's Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat... One of my favorite EPs from 1983. I think I said it before, but I think I like this better than their LP from the same year. Not that the album is a bad record, it's just that this EP has a fantastic raw sound to it. Queensrÿche's Queensrÿche... I've never been big on Queensryche. I've tried on several occasions to get into their music, but I'm not a huge fan of mixing prog with metal, and I don't like to think too much when I'm listening to music. If you like high concept metal albums, they're worth listening too. Husker Du's Metal Circus... another great EP from '83. Another EP that I think is better than the band's LP from the same year. This was the bridge between that record and Zen Arcade, a record which launched the band into another stratosphere. Minor Threat's Out of Step... this was Minor Threat's third, and final, EP. Some say it's their worst, but is there really a bad Minor Threat record? I don't think so. Cocteau Twins' Sunburst and Snowblind... pretty music, but it still sounds like they're singing underwater. The Cure's The Walk... I'm not sure this is all that different from the Japanese Whispers compilation album that came out in '83. 1983 was a transition year for the Cure. There were rumors that they'd broken up or were going to. Instead, they changed music styles. The music they released in '83 was the first step towards that change. Hello, synthesizers. Butthole Surfers' Butthole Surfers... I always get put off by this band's name, but man was this some noisy ass shit. Very cool! The Style Council's Introducing the Style Council... I love The Jam. I don't hate The Style Council. I just think the type of music that made was done better by other people. This does have a couple of good songs on it, but like I said, I've heard better blue-eyed-soul. Gun Club's Death Party... welcome to the party, Gun Club. After releasing two great LPs, the gave us this little gem. Man do I love punk blues. I think I'm gonna crawl down a punk blues rabbit hole after listening to this.

Split Enz' Conflicting Emotions... Split Enz created some of New Zealand's finest pop songs, but they were nearing the end here. There was very little about this album that was musically interesting. Some OK songs but barely enough material to stitch together an album. Tim Finn's Escapade... Tim Finn was never as good on his own as he was working with Spit Enz and Crowded House. I hope he isn't reading this, but he simply isn't as good as his brother. Daniel Johnston's Yip/Jump Music... Yet another album from Daniel Johnston. The tunes here weren't as catchy as on other albums, but you have to admire how amazingly prolific this guy was. This is generally more of a positive album than his more tortured stuff. Topics covered include Casper the Friendly Ghost, The Beatles, King Kong, and Danny Rapp of Danny and the Juniors fame. Tony Rice's Church Street Blues... this is meant to be progressive bluegrass. I don't know enough about bluegrass to tell you what makes this "progressive." I assume it borrows elements from other forms of music. It's a nice record, though. Mari Wilson's Showpeople... this was interesting. Mari Wilson was a British pop and jazz singer who did a retro throwback thing with a 60s beehive. It seems like she's taking the piss at first, but it ends up being a genuine homage to the era. She does a mean cover of Cry Me a River. James Booker's Classified... this was a fun album. You don't hear a lot of New Orlean Blues from 1983, but this was the real deal. The highlight is an incredible cover of King of the Road. The Henchmen's We've Come to Play! DIY New Zealand punk rock. Terrible sound quality, but fun to hear what a group of West Aucklanders were trying to do out of a garage in 1983. Liquid Liquid's Optimo... This dance punk EP is most notable for the song Cavern, which Melle Mel stole the bassline from for White Lines. That led to lawsuits and Sugar Hill Records filing for bankruptcy to avoid paying Liquid Liquid the money they were due. I believe they did get some money from the song when Duran Duran covered it years later. Anyway, the EP is really good. Well worth your time. This Mortal Coil's This Mortal Coil... This EP foreshadows the band's debut LP from the following year, and features one of the creepier album covers of 1983, intentionally or otherwise. There's never really a mood, time or place that makes me turn on some dream pop, but I can understand people who love the ethereal nature of it. And it was definitely a new style that was emerging, so that's always interesting. So, by all means, check it out. Anthony Davis' Hemispheres... this was an avant-garde jazz record, but not an overly challenging one. Of course, you have to be in the mood to listen to something like this since it's not exactly background music, but it wasn't as messed up as some avant-garde jazz can get. Naked Spots Dance's Falling... for the past week or so, I've been discovering forgotten New Zealand records that aren't that well known in NZ. Mostly, because they're DIY efforts, I assume. It's kind of neat to hear what folks were getting up to back home. This is pretty cool post-punk record with female vocals. Held its own, I thought.

So many odds and ends... Slime's Alle gegen Alle... this delivers exactly what it promises -- angry, rebellious German punk. No reinventing the wheel. Fehlfarben's Glut und Asche... these guys are usually described as a German Gang of Four. Funky German post-punk with an upbeat new wave groove. I had fun. Pictures' Pictures... this album is so weird. It's a side project of two members of Freeez. Now I love Freeez, and I think I.O.U is one of the best singles of 1983, but this shit is weird. It's an art pop collection of children's songs and some of them are downright creepy. Mostly, I think they're messing around with the new technology at the time, but it sounds like a nightmare at times. Axe's Nemesis... this album is amusing. The cover looks like a heavy metal record, but it's actually a Southern hard rock album. I wonder how many kids blew their allowance on this. Von Zamla's No Make Up! This was some sort of super group formed by members of the Swedish prog band, Samla Mammas Mana. It was part of the Rock in Opposition movement of the late 70s where a group of prog bands hit back against the music industry which they claimed refused to recognize their music and instead was solely interested in profit and commercialism. I don't have a dog in that fight, but fwiw, it's a decent prog album. Michael Franks' Passionfruit... how did I end up listening to this? This is sophisticated jazz pop. Straight easy-listening. There is no way I would gravitate towards this in a record store, but it's interesting to me that it has its fans. I guess people discovered this kind of stuff on the radio. Builders' Beatin Hearts... Wait, these guys are from New Zealand? All right then. I still don't need spoken word post-punk in my life even if it's an accent I immediately recognize. Binder Quintet's Binder Quintet Featuring John Tchicai... Hungarian avant-garde jazz, y'know, for when you're in the mood for some. Actually, it's pretty good. M·B=Maurizio Bianchi's The Plain Truth... Noisy, droning dark ambient music. Not my thing. The Boomerang Jazz Ensemble's The Boomerang Jazz Ensemble... Soviet jazz from Kazakhstan. Interesting. It's a mix of jazz fusion, free jazz and spiritual jazz. If you're like me, you were probably unaware that there were musicians playing this kind of jazz in the Soviet Union at the time, which makes this quite the gem.

Forgive me, I'm almost done with this... The Chameleons' Script of the Bridge... I would not argue with anyone who said this was the best album of 1983 and that The Chameleons were the best post-punk band in music at the time. I don't think too many people would see The Chameleons are tremendously underrated despite their influence on the Manchester music scene, but that small pocket from '83-86 has me gushing the same way people used to do over The Stone Roses. This is their best album, though. Talking Heads' Speaking n Tongues... this would be a lot of people's pick for the best album of 1983, and I would not argue with them. This record is phenomenal. That moment when Burning Down the House kicks in still makes me jump. And the music is so freaking good. I'm not sure that people realize what an amazing synth funk record this is. This album is so good that an instrumental version would have been just as good. The Stop Making Sense film is awesome. David Byrne is awesome. Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock & Jack DeJohnette's Standards, Vol.1... I haven't listened to a lot of Keith Jarrett. Mainly just a record or two when doing best of the decade polls, but that's neither here nor there since he's not doing his own material here. This is an album full of standards (duh) with some unique takes on some oldies. Nice record. Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus' Love Thy Neighbour… this is a trippy, psychedelic roots reggae album that features a heavy mix by Lee "Scratch" Perry. Almost dub. If you're familiar with Black Ark Studios and Perry's innovative production techniques, this is, I believe the second Black Ark record and definitely notable for its sound. Joe McPhee Po's Oleo... I'm a big fan of Joe McPhee's early 70s records but never ventured past that point. This is pure avant-garde free jazz. It feels like you're getting attacked at times instead of hearing a melody, which can be challenging, but if you're in the mood to concentrate on the music you're listening to, it's not too bad. The Birthday Party's The Bad Seed and Mutiny! The Birthday Party didn't release an LP in 1983, but they did realize a pair of EPs. I'm fairly sure if they had realized an LP in '83 that it would be on many people's top 10 list simply because Nick Cave has a similar following to Tom Waits and this is some seriously dark Nick Cave. I sometimes wonder where it was all coming from, but then again Australia can be a pretty isolated place.

I dunno, I'll take 15 & 5 and leading an NBA team to multiple conference finals, back-to-back NBA finals and a title over a lot of guys with better stats. And he didn't just have that impact at the NBA level either. He showed the same leadership in college and at the FIBA World Cup. The Naismith Hall is easy to get into, though. There's no doubt about that. Cornbread must be wondering what else he has to do.

Basketball Reference had him an 84.4% probability, which is 94tth among NBA/ABA leaders. That's higher than a number of players already in the Hall, It's inflated somewhat by his Finals MVP, but was also a 5x All-Star, 3x All-NBA, and 2 x All-Defensive. That's not a bad resume.

I don't think he had any children.

This Ed Piskor thing is messed up.

Takeo Moriyama's East Plants... Moriyama is a Japanese jazz drummer who plays avant-garde jazz. I struggle a bit with anything that's too avant-garde, but there are certain free jazz/spiritual jazz artists whose work I enjoy. This record wasn't too challenging, and I felt it was a fairly engaging jazz record. Echo & The Bunnymen's Porcupine... man, it's been a long time since I've listened to Echo & The Bunnymen. It's a welcome return. This is one of those albums that gets overlooked because it's sandwiched between two of their more popular LPs. A lot of the comments about this record I find to be baffling. It's often described as a "prickly" and difficult listen. That's not my experience. Love the guitarwork and Ian McCulloch's vocal work. Minutemen's What Makes a Man Start Fires? Love the Minutemen, but I think I prefer their EP Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat from this year. This is definitely part of the Minutemen back catalogue you should listen to, though, especially if you've only heard Double Nickels. The Go-Betweens' Before Hollywood... speaking of bands I love, here's one of Australia's greatest bands, The Go-Betweens. This was their breakthrough record. It still has post-punk elements as opposed to being full on jangle pop, but the signature songwriting is there and I adore Grant McLennan's vocals. Miharu Koshi's Tutu... this a Japanese art pop record produced by Haruomi Hosono of Yellow Magic Orchestra fame. It's an interesting record as it continues to build on the techno kayo sound while offering up quirky art pop that stands in stark contrast to the standard idol pop of the day. Not all of the songs are winners, but it's interesting to compare this to some of the other idol stuff from '83. Opposition's Intimacy... this is what we like to hear, a post-punk record with a bit of emotion. The closer, In the Heart, was particularly gripping. Mark Stewart + Maffia's Learning to Cope With Cowardice... this was a harsh sounding mix of dub, post-punk and industrial, but it got its message across. Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones... I've never really jumped onto the Tom Waits bandwagon. I've listened to most of his records, and I like and respect them, but I can't imagine a scenario where I'd want to put this on. You can't relax to it. You can't chill to it. You can't dance to it. It's a record you need to pay attention to like watching a film or reading a book. I'm more interested in catchy hooks these days.

Jeff and Jane Hudson's Flesh... pretty energetic minimal synth from this husband and wife duo. I believe this was completely self-produced by the band and a bit of a collector's item on vinyl. TC Matic's Choco... this is an aggressive Belgian new wave album. I can't remember hearing a new wave album this abrasive. The leader singer snarls at the listener like a Belgian Johnny Rotten. It's memorable if nothing else. Charlie Haden's The Ballad of the Fallen... this is almost like a jazz concept album as Haden wanted to make a political record about the fight against oppression and chose to record a bunch of resistance songs. What appeals to me is that Don Cherry plays on the record, which reminds me of the early days of the Ornette Coleman group. Rock Goddess' Rock Goddess... Rock Goddess were an all-female power trio from England. Must have been hard for them to shake the novelty tag, but these girls were legit. Hard rocking metal with a pop sensibility. The lead singer is great. Negative Approach's Tied Down... burly Detroit hardcore. Your mileage is always gonna vary with hardcore as everyone wants different things from it, but personally the vocals here were closer to what I want from a hardcore record. ZZ Top's Eliminator... this is okay. The heavy rotation MTV hits are decent, and it's a brave and successful reinvention for the band, but vocally it doesn't do a lot for me. The Starlin's Mushi... I fucking love this album. If I was only allowed to keep one record from '83 for the rest of my life, this might be it. Quite possibly the best Japanese punk album ever, but that's debatable. Dio's Holy Diver... this record was a big deal at the time. It still feels like a big deal forty years later. The juxtaposition between the metal and non-metal elements are interesting. Having one foot in each camp gives it massive crossover appeal. It's hard for me to take seriously at times, but that's probably because of how bombastic it is. R.E.M.'s Murmur... I could never really figure out whether I like this record or not. I know I'm supposed to, but it's not a record I listen to a lot. I'm a huge jangle pop fan, so I wanna give it another listen soon and concentrate on the music and not Stipe's unintelligible lyrics.

Satan's Court in the Act... if you're a metal band and you call yourselves Satan, you have a lot to live up to. This was part of the transition from NWOBHM to speed metal. It was an exciting time to be a metal fan if you prefer the faster stuff. This may not hit as hard as some of the other metal albums from '83, but it's still freaking good. Being the clueless putz that I am, I didn't realize that these guys are still making records. Wipers' Over the Edge... the Wipers are one of my favorite bands from this era. They did post-punk but with a hardcore edge. The production on this is a bit suss, but it's noisy and I love it. The Fall's Perverted by Language... I'm a Fall fan. If I listen to one of their records, I genuinely go on and listen to their entire discography in a single day. That said, it's kind of hard to stick on a record of theirs at random and enjoy it without being in that zone. So I can't really rate this in relation to the other albums I've been listening to. I hope that made sense. Manilla Road's Crystal Logic... I could do without the spoken word stuff that makes me feel like I'm reading a Conan comic, but this is catchy power metal. It's not as heavy as other metal bands. I figure you'll either love it because it's slightly different or want to put on something else. The The's Soul Mining... it's been donkey's years since I listened to this. This is a fascinating record as the depressing lyrical content doesn't match the catchy new wave sound. You don't hear a lot of depressing new wave music. Sonically. this is beautifully textured. Streets' 1st... call me crazy but I thought this was an enjoyable mix of AOR and hard rock. Better than most AOR you'll hear from '83. Casiopea's Photographs... another great album from the Japanese jazz fusion group Casiopea. If you want to listen to some happy, feel-good music you can't go wrong with this. Kommunity FK's The Vision and the Voice... ooh, I wasn't expecting this to be quite so good. It's a mix of deathrock, punk, garage and metal. I'll take all of that. The Legendary Pink Dots' Curse... this has more of a darkwave sound than the other Dots albums I've heard. That's not really my thing, but as usual there's some interesting synth psychedelia. Real Life's Heartland... this band is famous for their songs Send Me an Angel and Catch Me I'm Falling, and not much else, but I thought the rest of the record was a cracking synthpop effort. Wouldn't have picked it as an Aussie album, mind you. I guess they were trying to appeal to the overseas market. Trance's Power Infusion... If you want some classic Scorpions sounding German metal, then give this a spin. You won't regret it.

Barão Vermelho's Barão Vermelho 2... I'm not sure if I've written about this album before, but it's one that I keep coming back to. It's a Brazilian pop rock group that blend elements of new wave and blues rock into an energetic mix. Really fun album. The Southern Death Cult's The Southern Death Cult... this band would go on to be better known as The Cult. In 1983 they were doing the whole gothic rock, post-punk thing, and doing it better than most to be honest. Silver Mountain's Shakin' Brains... This Swedish metal band wasn't shy about how they wanted to sound. Progressive, neoclassical, call it what you will, they still managed to rock pretty hard. Indochine's Le péril jaune... I'm not a huge fan of bands appropriating other countries' music, but this was a beautiful synthpop record. Axewitch's The Lord of the Flies... Another Swedish metal record but a lot tamer than Silver Mountain. D.Y.S.' Brotherhood... interesting attempt at a crossover album. Not the best hardcore album ever, but I appreciated their efforts. Pierre Barouh's Le Pollen... such a cool album cover. If you enjoy chanson, and why wouldn't you, I highly recommend this record and the artist as well. This was recorded in Japan and includes a lot of techno kayo synthpop elements. Very cool. The Gist's Embrace the Herd... this was a solo effort from Stuart Moxham, the guitarist for Young Marble Giants, a band that has a cult following off the back of one record. This is minimal synth. A lot of it is quirky, but there are some real gems like Love at First Sight. The Proletariat's Soma Holiday... this was a left-wing hardcore band from Boston. Had the clearest vocals of any hardcore record I've heard. At first I was like, "wait, am I meant to be hearing every word the dude sings?" Arc Angel's Arc Angel... cheesy, but sometimes you need that full blown 1983 AOR experience. Youth Brigade's Sound & Fury... such shitty production. Love it! This was a really catchy hardcore record. Boytronic's The Working Model... fun, underrated synthpop record. The opening B-side track, You, made me want to head straight to a 1983 club.

Y.M.O.'s Naughty Boys... God, I love this album. I must have listened to it half a dozen times recently. Y.M.O.'s members took time off to record solo projects. This was a group record they released in the meantime that was more pop oriented than their usual material, but man, what glorious pop music. Slayer's Show No Mercy... not much needs to be said about this album. The only thing that could have been better is if I'd been old enough to save up my lunch money for it. New Order's Power, Corruption & Lies... I don't get too involved in the hype of this album. It's good, but not transcendently great. There were a lot of other good albums from '83, and honestly, I prefer Joy Division, but I will say that New Order is one of the greatest continuations of a band ever. Metallica's Kill 'Em All... there are times when I convince myself that this is my favorite album because of how raw it is and the limited budget they had to work with. Violent Femmes' Violent Femmes... this is an undeniably great album. Blister in the Sun may be overplayed but it's still catchy as f--k, and the rest of the album is just as good. Iron Maiden's Piece of Mind... I wasn't a metal fan growing up and there was a time in my life when I would have rolled my eyes at metalheads debating what the best Iron Maiden record is. One of my best mate's younger brother and his friends used to drive my mate up the wall with their metal talk to the point where he still refuses to listen to any music with guitars in it. Anyway, I got into metal of my own accord and this record was one of my entry points. In another life, this album would have inspired me to learn the guitar so I could play those freaking solos. Mercyful Fate's Melissa... I'm trying to imagine putting this record on for the first time and hearing the opening track. It would have blown my mind. What a searing opener. It's a damn wonder it didn't scorch the record player. Cock Sparrer's Shock Troops... I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I'm not a big fan of Oi! and this is the most Oi! sounding record ever, but it's really good. Perfect working class punk. Accept's Balls to the Wall... I love Accept. There are better metal albums than this from '83 but Accept still kick ass and take names. I didn't realize there are so many people who write them off as a second rate Judas Priest or ACDC. Ingrates! Misifts' Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood... still a fun record. You'd think the novelty of horror punk would wear off after a while, but this record is so fast that it just leaves you revved up. Tatsuro Yamashita's Melodies... Tatsuro Yamashita is the King of City Pop and records like this are the reason why. Really beautiful LP from a master of his genre.

Headpins' Line of Fire... This Canadian group is very much hard rock in the AC/DC mode with scorching vocals from female vocalist, Darby Mills. Worth a listen if AC/DC is your thing. Jan Garbarek Group's Wayfarer... my interest in jazz starts to peter out in the 70s, so I never got too far into genres like ECM Style Jazz. I don't know what to expect from ECM jazz, but this was soft, gentle record that didn't accost the eardrums. Anita Baker's The Songstress... This was Baker's debut album. Lush, smooth production, but not the greatest songwriting. Anita's voice is nice. John Holt's Police in Helicopter... this was some steady roots reggae. Fun album cover. Daily Fauli's Fauli til Dauli... cult underground minimal synth record from Denmark. Pretty weird, but that's the appeal I guess. John Bender's Pop Surgery... another weird minimalist record. This time from Germany. Absolute Body Control's Figures... okay, this one I liked a bit more! This is minimal synth but with more of a twee sound. A much more enjoyable listen. Re-Flex's The Politics of Dancing... pretty catchy new wave/new romantic record. These guys only released one LP otherwise they'd probably be more well known. Spear of Destiny's Grapes of Wrath... I haven't been high on a lot of 1983 post punk, but I genuinely enjoyed this. I liked the fact that it was more up tempo than a lot of their contemporaries, had a great brass section and more melodic vocals. Marillion's Script for a Jester's Tear... this record has never done much for me. A lot of people love it, and more power to them, but it's over produced to my ears. Bacamarte's Depois do fim... this is a pleasant Brazilian prog-rock album that is better than the neo-prog that I've listened to from '83, but that's cheating a bit as it was recorded in 1979 and not released until '83. It's pretty damn good, though. Heavy Load's Stronger Than Evil... hold up, I did not expect this to rock as much as it did. Straight Swedish heavy metal with awesome riffs and great vocal melodies with awesome Swedish accents. Some people might find it a tad gringy as it does veer towards grandiose metal anthems, but I thought it kicked ass.