1985.

Last November (one year ago today, actually!) I put up a compilation of some of my favorite songs from 1984. Today we celebrate 1985. The year of Back to the Future and The Breakfast Club: both of which had very successful soundtracks thanks to Huey Lewis and Simple Minds. Once again though, you won't find anything quite that huge represented on my compilation. Well, actually, on either of these compilations (more on that in a moment!). My focus is primarily with college rock. Just about every one of these 38 songs would have gotten the most attention left of the dial back in 1985. One of the songs here managed to scrape the bottom half of Billboard's Hot 100. Another was on a very successful album, you maybe remember this fantastic video?




But for the most part these songs were beloved by few-- some even creeping into "obscure" territory. Two discs worth this time around, because I had a plethora of songs vying to make the cut. The first disc is very much in the same realm as last year's 1984 edition. The bonus disc is devoted to bands with an Americana bent. Some have said that the Mekons' album Fear and Whiskey from 1985 "ushered in the age of Alt-Country as a marketing category." So I figured I would give that little niche a compilation of its own.

Happy Listening!


1985:

01. The Cult, "She Sells Sanctuary" [4:17]
02. Dramarama, "Anything, Anything" [3:19]
03. Robyn Hitchcok, "Egyptian Cream" [3:32]
04. Plasticland, "Posing For Pictures" [2:06]
05. a-ha, "Love is Reason" [3:07]
06. The Three O'Clock, "Her Head's Revolving" [3:11]
07. The Style Council, "Walls Come Tumbling Down" [3:22]
08. The Sisters of Mercy, "Walk Away" [3:26]
09. Butthole Surfers, "Mexican Caravan" [2:41]
10. The Lyres, "Someone Who'll Treat You Right Now" [3:06]
11. Martin Newell, "Golden Lane" [3:30]
12. The Chameleons, "Perfume Garden" [4:28]
13. Prefab Sprout, "Faron" [3:41]
14. Dinosaur Jr (Barlow), "Gargoyle" [2:11]
15. The Screaming Blue Messiahs, "Someone To Talk To" [3:36]
16. Tall Dwarfs, "Sleet" [2:09]
17. Hüsker Dü (Hart), "Green Eyes" [2:55]
18. Dukes of Stratosphere, "My Love Explodes" [3:31]
19. New Order, "Sub-Culture" [3:27]
20. Squeeze, "King George Street" [3:48]
21. Sonic Youth & Lydia Lunch, "Death Valley '69" [5:11]
22. Beat Happening, "Foggy Eyes" [2:45]
23. Jonathan Richman, "Now is Better Than Before" [2:08]

Total Time: 1:15:16

Download it here: 1985

1985: The Birth of Alt-Country?

01. The Mekons, "Hard To Be Human Again" [3:53]
02. Beat Farmers, "Bigger Stones" [2:22]
03. The Three Johns, "Brainbox (He's a Brainbox)" [4:03]
04. The Long Ryders, "Looking for Lewis and Clark" [3:58]
05. Danny & Dusty, "Send Me a Postcard" [2:58]
06. Camper Van Beethoven, "Where the Hell is Bill?" [2:06]
07. The Del Fuegos, "Don't Run Wild" [3:30]
08. Jason & the Scorchers, "White Lies" [3:21]
09. The Blasters, "Dark Night" [3:44]
10. Lone Justice, "Ways to Be Wicked" [3:25]
11. The Connells, "Seven" [3:08]
12. Tom Waits, "Jockey Full of Bourbon" [2:42]
13. Green on Red, "Sixteen Ways" [3:38]
14. The Knitters, "The New World" [2:51]
15. Thin White Rope, "Dead Grammas on a Train" [2:53]

Total Time: 48:29

Download it here: 1985: The Birth of Alt-Country?

Here's a link for the jewel case artwork, courtesy of T. Remley: 1985 Jewel Case Art