If I were asked to pick the absolute last place I'd imagine occultism to manifest itself in pop music, it would be in a music video for Aztec Camera's "Oblivious."
But, oh, how wrong I would be.
Showing posts with label 1983. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1983. Show all posts
2026-09-02
Let's Not Dance and Say We Did
As with The Police’s Synchronicity and Michael Jackson’s Thriller, it’s impossible to talk about the early 80s without talking about David Bowie’s multi-platinum LP, Let’s Dance.
2026-07-29
The Crossing in the Year That Broke Reality
Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the release of The Crossing, an album that didn't come to my attention until late September of that momentous year. Still and all, it came to rule my autumn of 1983, so much so that I had a little ritual where I'd give it a spin every year whenever the first chill of fall set in.
2026-01-14
The Playlist That Broke Reality
The 1983 playlist was just completed and is embedded up top for your nostalgia-drenched listening pleasure.
It's mostly mainstream kind of stuff, so I'm linking to these other lists if you want to get a little more esoteric with your Music that Broke Reality experience:
It's mostly mainstream kind of stuff, so I'm linking to these other lists if you want to get a little more esoteric with your Music that Broke Reality experience:
1983 College Rock
https://open.spotify.com/
1983 Electronic/Art
https://open.spotify.com/
1983 Metal and Punk
https://open.spotify.com/
Speaking of the Year that Broke Reality, don't forget the recent Secret Sun Radio Mystery Hour on Synchronicity with Dr. Jones!
2023-11-05
Oh What a Night, mid-November, Back in Eighty-Three
The early Eighties really were as magical and awesome as you’ve been led to believe, even if the seeds of our future heartaches were being planted in the dark. Me, I was 17 in November of 1983, and it’s a lost mystical land I like to escape to when the stars are just right ever since.
2021-08-02
The Only 1983 Playlist that Matters: The Birth of 80s College Rock
With New Wave now dominating the mainstream in 1983, new bands arose, taking the driver’s seat from the class of 1979.
2021-07-25
The Only 1983 Playlist that Matters: Goth and Industrial
I have a truly shocking revelation to share with the world. I hope you’re sitting down.
Ready for this? OK, here it comes: TikTok Zoomers didn’t invent androgyny. They weren’t even the first generation to run around looking like rejects from a sideshow attraction. Zoomer girls, I mean Zoomer uterus havers, didn’t invent shaving the sides of your head and dyeing what's left weird and unnatural colors.
Mind-blowing, I know.
2021-07-18
The Only 1983 Playlist that Really Matters: Headbangin' and Slam Dancin'
1983 was a huge year for Heavy Metal, and not only because of Quiet Riot’s soundalike cover of Slade’s 'Cum On Feel the Noize' sending the Metal Health LP to the top of the charts, the first metal band to ever do so.
2021-07-15
The Only 1983 Playlist that Matters: The (Mainstream) Empire Strikes Back
1983 was one of those pivotal years when a new generation of kids took over and embraced a new generation of music. It was the first year that GenXers graduated high school and with the rise of MTV and few had time for the hoary, hairy heroes of yesteryear.
So while a host of acts found themselves on the wrong side of the generational divide, a number of the smarter dogs were able to learn some new tricks and stay atop the charts. It was all very exciting, since you had the New Wave pulling in influences from both disco and rock -- bitter rivals in the early 80s-- and creating this incredibly huge middle ground where all sorts of influences could meet and exchange musical body fluids.
We've already looked in great depth at what Bowie and The Police were serving up in '83, so let's have a look at how the Mainstream was striking back at the New Wave insurgency...
2021-07-10
The Only 1983 Playlist that Matters: Synthetic Pop Pleasures
You can’t talk about 1983 without talking about Eurythmics, who bookended the year with two big hit LPs Sweet Dreams and Touch. Their sound wasn’t anything new for the genre but was certainly a bracing shock to be hearing on Top 40 radio at the time.
2021-07-06
The Only 1983 Playlist That Matters: Rad New Wave Hitz 4U!
I was originally planning to do a single playlist for 1983. I ended up creating six. As it happens 1983 was even more pivotal a year than I'd expected. There was so much going on in so many different genres that I realized how much 1983 had spoiled me for every year that followed it.
I mean, this 1983 excursion is going to have nearly as many songs as the 90s megalist. That's how pivotal a year it was.
2021-06-21
1983 4EVER: You Will Know Synchronicity
Whether you loved it or hated it, there’s no talking about 1983 without talking about the Police’s mega-smash Synchronicity, released 38 years ago last Thursday. The album even knocked Michael Jackson’s mighty Thriller off the top of the Billboard charts, a position it reached no less than 17 times.
2021-06-14
1983 4Ever: Dreams Stay with You
My obsession with Scottish post-punk probably began the first time I heard John McGeoch's guitar, but certainly reached an apogee with Big Country.
I first heard them in September of 1983 during the height of the New British Invasion/synth pop craze and almost immediately ran out to buy their debut The Crossing at the old Quincy Records off the main drag in Quincy Square. I remember actually being afraid that if I didn't get the album right away they might disappear back into the ether somehow. It was that kind of year.
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