SpikeySongs

Dun Kalusin Ta Va

Intro I recently completed my ‘101 Favorite Albums of the 80s‘ series – but purposefully left off all the ones I loved made in my homeland – the Republic of South Africa. Do you know the place? It’s the one teetering on the southernmost tip of the dark continent. We Saffers came up with some […]

Mark

May 4, 2022

Albums of the 80s, Music, Songs of the 80s, South African Albums of the 80s

Bruce Hyland, eVoid, Hillbrow, Johannesburg, Michael Waddacor, MusicBug, South Africa Alternative Rock Music, South African music in the 1980s, The Chelsea Underground

Music for Chameleons

[chameleon: a person who changes their opinions or behavior according to the situation] 🎸 “With two years, numerous radio sessions, and incessant gigging under their belts since their debut single, “In Shreds,” the Chameleons came to the studio determined to make a great first album with Script of the Bridge. To say they succeeded would […]

Mark

April 15, 2022

Albums of the 80s, My 101 Best Albums of the 80s

80's Music, 80s music lists, alternative music, Best albums of the 1980s, Lists, Music, Music lists, Script of a Bridge, The Chameleons

‘An Evening With …’

I recently completed a bundle of blogs on my one hundred and one favorite albums of the 1980s. There was the usual plethora of British bands, plus a motley crew of Australian, New Zealand, and American groups. Purposefully, I left out all South African artists. There quite simply wasn’t space, and felt it best that […]

Mark

April 1, 2022

Albums of the 80s, Music, Songs of the 80s, South African Albums of the 80s

An Evening With … The Softies, South Africa, South Africa Alternative Rock Music, South African Music, South African music in the 1980s, South African Music Lists, The Softies

[my] 101 ❤ 80s alBumS [anD mOre]

A wrap up of my 101 Favorite Albums of the 1980s

Mark

December 31, 2021

Albums of the 80s, My 101 Best Albums of the 80s

80's Music, 80s music lists, alternative music, Best albums of the 1980s, Music lists, New-Wave Music, Synth-Pop

All That Glitters is Gold

Wow! I made it. After 31 months, and 88 published stories … here, at last, I arrive at my number one long-playing record of the 1980s. On the 9th of June 2019, I published a story on Tracy Chapman’s debut album and Denise Pitt’s flat in North London. This was my second blog, having decided […]

Mark

November 10, 2021

Albums of the 80s, My 101 Best Albums of the 80s, My 101 Best Albums of the 80s (1-10)

80s music, 80s music lists, Best albums of the 1980s, Simple Minds, New Gold Dream

Talk About The Passion

This should not come as a complete surprise to those who know me, and yes, it’s them again. nuMbEr TwO Radiohead and R.E.M. – even a group like the National – artists who have crossed over without compromising. It’s a special thing. Guy Garvey of Elbow R.e.M.’s 1983 debut was a brilliant, original masterpiece, blending […]

Mark

November 8, 2021

Albums of the 80s, My 101 Best Albums of the 80s

1983 Albums, 80's Music, 80s music lists, alternative music, Best albums of the 1980s, Murmur by R.e.M., R.e.M.

This Is The Three

The Stone Roses are at number three in my countdown

Mark

November 5, 2021

My 101 Best Albums of the 80s, My 101 Best Albums of the 80s (1-10)

80's Music, 80s music lists, alternative music, Best albums of the 1980s, Debut Albums, Music, The Stone Roses

File Under Water

R.E.M. marked the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock. When their first single, “Radio Free Europe,” was released in 1981, it sparked a back-to-the-garage movement in the American underground. While there were a number of hardcore and punk bands in the U.S. during the early ’80s, R.E.M. brought guitar pop back into the underground […]

Mark

September 3, 2021

Albums of the 80s, My 101 Best Albums of the 80s

80's Music, 80s music, 80s music lists, alternative music, Best albums of the 1980s, Music lists, R.e.M.

Down on Cycad Street

[The countdown of my 101 Favorite Albums of the 1980s continues] In the summer of 1983, Lloyd Cole (who was born in Derbyshire, England) and Blair Cowan formed Lloyd Cole and the Commotions after meeting at Glasgow University. They subsequently recruited some fellow students and signed soon after with Polydor Records. The new group achieved […]

Mark

August 31, 2021

Albums of the 80s, My 101 Best Albums of the 80s

80s music, 80s music lists, alternative music, Best albums of the 1980s, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions