Your College Band
I was at Boston University from 1982 to 1986, a period that music critics usually think of as a dead zone between the end of the punk and the beginning of grunge. Still, I was found at Planet Records on a weekly basis buying vinyl (yes!) by the armload. While there were a lot of important albums during that time - Elvis Costello's "Imperial Bedroom" (1982), Tom Waits' "Raindogs" (1985) and the Smiths' first LP (1984) to name but a few - that were rarely off my turntable, my band of that era was most definitely The Style Council, professional Mod Paul Weller's 80s band after the break-up of The Jam. First, they felt like my band because I didn't know many others who were into them. They also were clever in packaging their EPs and singles in a way that coaxed me to part with my cash on a regular basis. But most importantly, they were a gateway band, as Weller's mission for the band was to explore styles of the past, often name-dropping in liner notes, in the guise of "The Cappuccino Kid," important jazz, funk and northern soul acts whose music was inevitably greater than The Style Council's versions, which in retrospect sound a bit twee and more than a little pretentious. No matter - I'm off to blast a bit of "A Solid Bond in the Heart" as a tribute to Paul and the gang.
So, what about you lot - which band or artist meant the most to you during your college years?
posted by The Blue Devil @ 1:20 PM
3 Comments:
I was in college radio in the eighties and a new release by R.E.M. was a staple every year from 82-89. They defined the era for me, and that era of college radio. A close second would be Talking Heads, along with U2 and 10,000 Maniacs. That last band I saw from their very beginnings at small bars in Fredonia. It was amazing to see them climb to indie fame.
Good shout, Someone. R.E.M. virtually invented the college radio genre in this country. I had the good fortune to see them on their "Murmur" tour opening for The English Beat at the Walter Brown Arena at BU alongside Bivalve Betsy. Fantastic show and evening.
Very good shout for REM. They and the Heads were such a big part of the early eighties college experience.
But if we're talking about bands that were jealously hoarded and claimed exclusively, mine was Microdisney. From the very second that Cathal Coughlin started to unwind himself around the songs off "The Clock Walks Down The Stairs" on the OGWT, I was completely taken. Part of it was his "give a f**k" Irish accented English, (an early record was titled "We Hate You, You South African Bastards") and part of it was his Lizard King posture and style. But equally part of it was the music that Sean O'Hagen wrote for Coughlin's lyrics. O'Hagen later more famously went on to be integral to the first 4 Stereolab records which made them a band to be reckoned with in the 90's. Cathal left to front Fatima Mansions which were possibly even more fierce than Microdisney, but never were balanced with the level of musicianship that O'Hagen possessed and brought to their first band. From the brooding menace of "Loftholdingswood", the happy pop of "Birthday Girl" and "Horse Overboard" all the way through to the hypermelodic "Teddy Dogs", I still think of them as exclusively my band.
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