Albums That Were Important to Me In 1990

 

In 1990, I spent half the time in Moji-Ko on the island of Kyushu and then Tokyo.  After going through a horrific time in Lun*na's hometown, I became obsessed with the music around me.  In the port town, there is a music shop that sold CDs.  Half of it was Western music, and the other was Japanese pop music.  The only Western music they sold there were hard rock bands from the 1970s and oldies.  I bought the first two (the third album was a live release) Honeycombs album on one CD.  As friends and readers know, I have been obsessed with their recording of "Have I The Right."  It was also on this trip that I recognize the name, Joe Meek. On future trips to Tokyo, I bought various compilations of Meek's productions and recordings.  But in Moji-Ko, I became a devoted fan of the band TAMA.  I discovered them on late-night TV where there was a battle of the bands, and they were terrific.  They reminded me a lot of The Balancing Act, in that their instrumentation was acoustic, but their focus was on Japanese folk music but weird folk.  The other Japanese artist I was devoted to was Jun Togawa.  The album below is a six-song EP (CD), and again she is somewhere between Kate Bush and electro-pop with weird Japanese pop from pre-war Japan.  She's unique in voice and music.   

Once I hit Tokyo, I purchased the new Associates' album, which is really a Billy MacKenzie solo, and a compilation of Sparks music from their era with Island Records.  Those two albums were my only connection to the Western World. Other than that, I was only reading Japanese 20th-century literature, oh, and I did purchase a lot of Glenn Gould on CD.  Sony did an incredible job in re-releasing the entire Gould catalog.   I couldn't avoid that buy!  

The Important Albums from 1981 for Tosh

 

There were many important artists and albums released in 1981. Still, for me, the essential albums were Japan's "Tin Drum," The Associates "Drawer Fourth Down," Heaven 17's "Penthouse and Pavement," Sparks's "Whomp That Sucker," The dBs' "Stands for Decibels," and The Lounge Lizard's first album.

"Tin Drum" is Japan's third album, and I was drawn by this record due to the cover. I was intrigued by David Sylvian's perfect hair, make-up and him eating rice under a photo of Mao. At this point, I avoided Japan because I thought they were a 'hype' band, and perhaps a rip-off of Roxy Music. Alias, I was really wrong. Japan (must forgive them for their stupid name; never name your band after a city/country) is a very unique band, due to their arrangements of fretless bass, electronics, excellent drumming, and Sylvian's voice. After I purchased this album, I went back to the other previous two albums. All winners.

The dBs is simply a great pop combo. The Fab Four mixed with garage rock, but with incredible sophistication. I truly don't understand why they weren't huge in their time. Other bands who almost have that dBs sound became very successful, but perhaps Chris Stamey and company were too twisted in their pop song imagery.

Sparks, for them, almost went mainstream, except their excellent songwriting and performance make "Whomp This Sucker" an incredible experience. The wit of their songs alone makes them exceptionally special.

Out of the first version of The Human League comes Heaven 17. An electro-duo with real instruments and songs that were political. I find this album from track one to the last, all exceptional. I even bought all the 12" remixes at the time.

The Lounge Lizards (perfect band name for 'fake' jazz group) was the image of Manhattan to me. The off-kilter jazz brilliantly performed by the band with the additional guitar noise from Arto Lindsay was a mega-wow to me. Truly a 'cool' album.

And last, but not least, the brilliant Associates. Joe Meek meets experimental David Bowie. This is sonic madness put on vinyl or tape. Unique, original, beautiful, noisy, it's just a perfect compilation of their early singles in the dawn of the 80s. They were magnificent. Billy MacKenzie and Alan Rankine.