If you don’t believe me, check out album closer “Tel Aviv,” a song that will defy most people’s conventional thinking about the band. “Sound of Thunder” is probably the standout track on the more avant garde Side B of the album, a song that has more in common with stuff like the Cure and Joy Division than any of the “totally ’80s” stuff like Bow Wow Wow or Kajagoogoo, even though Duran Duran is often lazily categorized with the latter. “Careless Memories” is a rock song that uses the right touch of keyboard and percussion flourishes.
“(Is There) Anyone Out There” is a wonderful blend of spiky guitar, atmospheric keyboards, and plucky bass. Not only did I now possess the songs “Girls on Film” and “Planet Earth,” but I was introduced to the deeper cuts that define this album as a New Romantic masterpiece. But I was on a mission, and it was successful.Īnd well worth it, I might add. This meant having to walk through the women’s sections of Dayton’s and JCPenney and Younkers and Maurices and god knows what else, but also not picking on my little brother while killing time surrounded by blouses and slacks. Then, and only then, will my mom take me to Musicland and buy me the elusive Duran debut. In my case, you agree to go shopping in nearby “metropolis” La Crosse, Wis., with your mom and your little brother and be good THE WHOLE TIME. But the band’s eponymous 1981 debut? The Pamida staff isn’t that savvy.īut there are ways to get what you want. Even Rio could be found from time to time. If you wanted to buy Arena or Seven and the Ragged Tiger, no problem. When you are 10 years old and living in a town where the main music supplier is the Pamida store on the edge of town, you find yourself struggling to get your hands on a cassette from a band’s back catalog, even a band as current in 1984 as Duran Duran.
Explosions in the Sky, The Earth Is Not a Cold, Dead Place …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Source Tags and Codesĥ4. (click play button below to sample these 10 albums)ĥ8.
We’re not going to roll it all out at once no sense rushing through all this quality music! But Music or Space Shuttle? is gonna be pretty busy over the next two months. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Pet Sounds at the top. This isn’t Rolling Stone so you’re not going to find Sgt. Here are some spoilers: you’re not going to find the typical hipster stuff like Neutral Milk Hotel or Slint or even stuff one/both of us actually likes such as DJ Shadow or Pavement. Our research is not open to interpretation, but you’re more than welcome to complain about the fact that your favorite albums aren’t on this list we’ll simply respond by telling you that your favorite records aren’t really all that good. Accounting for the limited overlap in Todd’s and Chris’ lists, it’s more like the top 174 or something like that.Īnyway, after months of scientific analysis, hours of listening and re-listening to albums from years gone by, we have arrived at a definitive list of the top albums ever recorded.
Two separate lists, actually, so the above graphic is a bit misleading.