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Q and '80s

Eyewear has a weakness for alternative music from the decade known as the '80s, as loyal readers of this blog will know, no doubt to their chagrin. Blame it on the facts of my birth, which allowed me to immerse myself in a full-body baptism of new wave as the 80s swelled its banks lo 20 years or so ago.

Eyewear also misreads Q (The Essential Music Guide) as a sort of bible manque. Long has Q snubbed the 80s scene as naff. No more. It was milk and honey to see the August 2006 issue appear, with Madonna on the cover. They also long-listed the top 80 records of the 80s.

Eyewear saw much that was good about these lists (40 Best Tracks, and 40 Best Albums) and won't quibble too much. One aspect of the selection was its catholicism, which was welcome - rather than staying to the narrow path of indie sounds, mainstream classics like Van Halen's "Jump" and Dylan's staggering "Blind Willie McTell" were noted.

Of the 40 Best Tracks, many are iPod friendly, and among my all-time faves, such as:

The Whole of the Moon, Golden Brown, Everyday Is Like Sunday, Personal Jesus, There She Goes, Tainted Love, How Soon Is Now, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Relax, West End Girls, Kiss, and Blue Monday. Missing were beloved classics from INXS, Eurythmics, Simple Minds, XTC, Iggy Pop, Joe Jackson, OMD, Bow Wow Wow, ABC, Orange Juice, Eyeless in Gaza, The Passage, and many more, however.

The 40 Best Albums list is also mostly worthy, and includes masterpieces such as:

Graceland, Ocean Rain, Psychocandy, Dare, Spirit of Eden, Disintegration, Like A Prayer, Nebraska, Doolittle, Closer, Murmur, The Queen Is Dead, Hounds of Love and The Joshua Tree. Missing were seminal albums such as New Gold Dream and Rio, rendering the list faintly ludicrous, but mostly, it was faithful to the spirit of the age and not entirely revisionist.
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