The Albums That Were Important To Tosh in 1993

 

The albums I purchased in 1993 were all familiar to me, such as Bowie and Frank Black (Pixies), except for Suede and The Divine Comedy. At the time, I actually preferred the Frank Black solo albums to his albums with Pixies. And Bowie's "Black Tie, White Noise, I thought was a great comeback for the presence and music of this brilliant artist. Many feel this album is not up there with other Bowie classics, but I loved this album when it came out. I also liked "The Buddha of Suburbia" soundtrack album by David. He was hungry to make new music.

I was most impressed with Suede for their graphics and photos of the band. A good-looking band goes far in my book, and I appreciated their retro-glam via the "Diamond Dogs" approach to their music. With an additional mixture of JG. Ballard as well. The Divine Comedy is book smart, and to me, they convey literature as music. The UK to the core, I loved their approach in making music to read books by. The compilation I listened to the most that year was Prince's "The Hits/B-Sides." Especially the B-Sides. All were magnificent.

The Important Albums and Singles from 1984 for Tosh

 

Finishing up the Twenties and going into being 30-years old in 1984. And living the bachelor life in Hollywood, both West, and Central. The number one album for me at that time was David Sylvian's (of Japan) first solo album "Brilliant Trees." I remember feeling excited about the possibility of the release of this album. In my mind, this album is going to be a masterpiece. And to this day, I feel it is an important work from a pop star turning into a more serious sort of music artist. Embracing world music, and surrounding himself with very forward-thinking musicians this is an album that didn't disappoint me. Also, my real introduction to Scott Walker took place with the release of "Climate of the Hunter," which I wrote about earlier. I also bought my first Prince album "Purple Rain," and clearly this is an extraordinary talent that seems to have a hold on the entire music world at the time. I was working at the record store, and everyone there loved Prince and this album. The dicey area now approaches with Malcolm McClaren's "Fans," his aural approach of mixing opera with pop. Not bad for a total non-musician such as Malcolm. One can argue about the quality of this album, but there is something brilliant in its concept, plus having Jeff Beck on the record as well. Bronski Beat's 'Smalltown Boy" struck me at the time as a very beautiful and moving song about being on the outside of the social world - - meaning if you are Gay on a very hostile planet. "Relax" by Frankie Goes To Hollywood was a fave of mine, just due to the obvious hype and presentation. Also, another version of Gay culture came upon my world due to this song and Bronski Beat. The other 'gay' presence is The Smiths. I have always preferred the Smiths compilations to the actual album releases. "Hatful of Hollow" is a fantastic collection of b-sides and single releases of this once remarkable band. - Tosh Berman

BOOK MUSIK 019 - "It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track" by Ian Penman

Book Musik 019 – It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track by Ian Penman

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Book Musik

Tosh and Kimley discuss It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track by Ian Penman. Penman is a well-established British music journalist who has been writing since the 70s. This book of some of his more recent longform essays covers the mod music scene of the 1960s and seven additional essays on music icons James Brown, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, John Fahey, Steely Dan/Donald Fagen and Prince. Penman digs deep and examines the broader cultural context of each of these amazing musicians. This is the book that every smart music junky craves.

Theme music: “Behind Our Efforts, Let There Be Found Our Efforts” by LG17