Colin Newman: "Provisionally Entitled The Singing Fish"

 

Colin Newman: Provisionally Entitled The Singing Fish

My Favorite Albums of All Times (Part 11)

 

My Favorite Albums of All Time (Part 11)

The Important Albums for Tosh in 1988

 

1988 was an explosive year for me. A good year actually. I got a job at Book Soup, as well as curating a film series at Beyond Baroque. And the big news for that year was I got married. The thought of getting married in January of that year would seem impossible. But I met Lun*na, and we connected immediately and got married on December 24, 1988. An exhilarating year! On the other hand, the music world was boring to me. Hip-Hop was hitting the mainstream, as well as Sunset Strip Hair bands. At least I had the misery of Morrissey's first solo album, which was a surprise how good it is. One commonly thought if Johnny Marr is not in the picture, then the Morrissey world will collapse. This was not the case. I'm one of the few who actually prefers the Solo Morrisey material to The Smiths. Wire I followed closely, but not always knocked by their albums, except for "Chairs Missing," which is brilliant. But I do love, "A Bell is a Cup." Straightforward and interesting sounds. Nick Cave is someone I admire but never loved his work. Except for his song "The Mercy Seat, which to this day, I think is his most magnificent song and performance. Sadly, I think it was only these three new albums that impacted me in the year 1988. I must have been buying 12" remixes of The Associates, but not sure. Still, 1988 was a mega-change for me in my personal life. 1989 will be even more dramatic. -Tosh Berman

The Important Albums from 1978 for Tosh

 

23 or 24-years old in 1978, and totally in love with the music culture of that time. Also was in my first real relationship, and she left me for a member of The Tubes. So, forgive me if I don't have the live Tubes album here. Nevertheless, the four albums that made an impact on me are Public Image's first album, Wire's "Chairs Missing," Buzzcocks's "Another Music in a Different Kitchen," and Magazine's "Real Life." Those four pretty much expressed my inner-demons and anxiety. Runner-ups are Lou Reed's "Street Hassle," which I think is a great Lou album. I love the low-fi yet hi-fi sound of this disc. DEVO's first great album, but I was deeply disappointed with Eno's production at the time. I saw DEVO numerous times, and they were like watching James Brown and His Flames in 1963. Intensity observed and practiced. Elvis Costello's "This Year's Model" was a fave as well. But his music didn't last for me. Talking Heads "More Songs..." their second album and produced by Eno, is pretty good. But like Elvis, I have no need to go back to this album. I also love Bryan Ferry's "The Bride Stripped Bare." That is his Los Angeles album, and it's very Chateau Marmont to me. But for the first four albums, I will never give up my love for those albums. -Tosh Berman