my snobby list of essential albums ‘66-‘83.

(click for reviews)

1966      the beatles - revolver

1966      bob dylan - blonde on blonde

1966      the rolling stones - aftermath (uk edition)

1966      the beach boys - pet sounds

1966      the fugs - the fugs (second album)

1966      the sonics - boom

1967      the velvet underground - velvet underground and nico

1967      the doors - the doors

1967      jefferson airplane - surrealistic pillow

1968      love - forever changes

1968      the kinks - the village green preservation society

1968      jimi hendrix - electric ladyland

1968      johnny cash - at folsom prison

1969      elvis presley - from elvis in memphis

1969      scott walker - scott 4

1969      neil young - everybody knows this is nowhere

1969      the beatles - abbey road

1969      the flying burrito brothers - the gilded palace of sin

1969      isaac hayes - hot buttered soul

1970      simon & garfunkel - bridge over troubled water

1970      the stooges - fun house

1970      george harrison - all things must pass

1970      john lennon - plastic ono band

1971      paul & linda mccartney - ram

1971      harry nilsson - nilsson schmilsson

1971      t.rex - electric warrior

1971      can - tago mago

1971      gil scott-heron - pieces of a man

1971      marvin gaye - what’s going on

1971      sly & the family stone - there’s a riot goin’ on

1971      funkadelic - maggot brain

1971 james brown - love power peace (live)

1972      curtis mayfield - super fly (soundtrack)

1972      todd rundgren - something/anything?

1972      lou reed - transformer

1972      the rolling stones - exile on main st.

1972      nick drake - pink moon

1973      faust - faust IV

1973      betty davis - betty davis

1973      new york dolls - new york dolls

1973      david bowie - aladdin sane

1973      roxy music - for your pleasure

1974      brian eno - here come the warm jets

1974      john cale - fear

1974      big star - radio city

1974      queen - sheer heart attack

1975      brian eno - another green world

1975      neu! - neu! 75

1975      fela kuti - expensive shit

1975      bob dylan - blood on the tracks

1975      bee gees - main course

1976      stevie wonder - songs in the key of life

1976      ramones - ramones

1976      the modern lovers - the modern lovers (actually recorded in 1972)

1976      buzzcocks - spiral scratch (ep)

1976      blondie - blondie

1976      jean michel jarre - oxygene

1977      townes van zandt - live at the old quarter (recorded 1973)

1977      leonard cohen - death of a ladies’ man

1977      david bowie - low

1977      iggy pop - the idiot

1977      kraftwerk - trans-europe express

1977      giorgio moroder - from here to eternity

1977      suicide - first album

1977      television - marquee moon

1977      richard hell & the voidoids - blank generation

1977      the clash - the clash

1977      the sex pistols - nevermind the bollocks

1977      wire - pink flag

1977      gary wilson - you think you really know me

1978      the normal - T.V.O.D./warm leatherette (single)

1978      magazine - real life

1978      patti smith - easter

1978      talking heads - more songs about buildings and food

1978      devo - Q: are we not men? A: we are devo

1978      elvis costello - this year’s model

1978      chic - c’est chic

1979      donna summer - bad girls

1979      michael jackson - off the wall

1979      abba - voulez-vous

1979      frank zappa - sheik yerbouti

1979      the b-52’s - the b-52’s

1979      gary numan - the pleasure principle

1979      sparks - no.1 in heaven

1979      neil young - rust never sleeps

1979      public image ltd - metal box

1979      joy division - unknown pleasures

1979      gang of four - entertainment!

1979      xtc - drums and wires

1979      scritti politti - 4 a-sides (ep) 

1979      buzzcocks - a different kind of tension

1979      the damned - machine gun etiquette

1979      marianne faithfull - broken english

1979      the clash - london calling

1980      the jam - sound affects

1980      the specials - specials

1980      tuxedomoon - half-mute/scream with a view

1980      john foxx - metamatic

1980      the feelies - crazy rhythms

1980      the associates - the affectionate punch

1980      television personalities - and don’t the kids just love it

1980      adam & the ants - kings of the wild frontier

1980      bauhaus - in the flat field

1980      siouxsie & the banshees - kaleidoscope

1980      x - los angeles

1980      dexys midnight runners - searching for the young soul rebels

1980      squeeze - argybargy

1980      the soft boys - underwater moonlight

1980      the pretenders - pretenders

1980      young marble giants - colossal youth

1981      yoko ono - season of glass

1981      liquid liquid - successive reflexes

1981      v/a - mutant disco, ZE label compilation

 

1981      the human league - dare

1981      soft cell - non-stop erotic cabaret

1981      orange juice - the glasgow school

1981      the flesh eaters - a minute to pray, a second to die

1981      the blasters - the blasters

1981      the cramps - psychedelic jungle

1981      the gun club - fire of love

1981      brian eno & david byrne - my life in the bush of ghosts

1982      the fall - hex enduction hour

1982      thomas dolby - the golden age of wireless

1982      duran duran - rio

1982      depeche mode - a broken frame

1982      laurie anderson - big science

1982      bruce springsteen - nebraska

1982      the dream syndicate - the days of wine and roses

1982      misfits - walk among us

1982      prince - 1999

1983      esg - come away with esg

1983      new order - power, corruption & lies

1983      cyndi lauper - she’s so unusual

1983      malcolm mclaren - duck rock

1983      tom waits - swordfishtrombones

1983      r.e.m. - murmur

… I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like. Books, records, films - these things matter. Call me shallow but it’s the fuckin’ truth. And by this measure I was having one of the best dates of my life.
Rob Gordon (John Cusack)
film: High Fidelity
my geeky list of essential films

1960

peeping tom
psycho
——

1961

the hustler
——

1962

knife in the water
lolita
lonely are the brave
ride the high country
shock corridor
the loneliness of the long distance runner
——

1963

the great escape
——

1964

a shot in the dark
dr. strangelove or how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb
fail-safe
seven days in may
the pawnbroker
——

1965

repulsion
the collector
——

1966

blowup
seconds
the good, the bad and the ugly
——

1967

in the heat of the night
le samourai
point blank
the fearless vampire killers
the graduate
——

1968

2001: a space odyssey
night of the living dead
once upon a time in the west
planet of the apes
pretty poison
rosemary’s baby
the odd couple
the party
where eagles dare
——

1969

butch cassidy and the sundance kid
easy rider
midnight cowboy
the wild bunch
the honeymoon killers
true grit
——

1970

kelly’s heroes
performance
——

1971

10 rillington place
a clockwork orange
monty python’s and now for something completely different
dirty harry
duel
get carter
mccabe & mrs. miller
play misty for me
punishment park
shaft
straw dogs
the andromeda strain
the beguiled
the french connection
the last picture show
vanishing point
——

1972

across 110th street
cabaret
deliverance
jeremiah johnson
super fly
the getaway
the godfather
the harder they come
the heartbreak kid
——

1973

badlands
charley varrick
mean streets
paper moon
papillon
pat garrett & billy the kid
serpico
the day of the jackal
the exorcist
the friends of eddie coyle
the last detail
the sting
——

1974

a woman under the influence
chinatown
fear eats the soul
harry and tonto
lenny
phantom of the paradise
stardust
the conversation
the gambler
the godfather II
the odessa file
the parallax view
the taking of pelham one two three
——

1975

barry lyndon
dog day afternoon
jaws
monty python’s holy grail
one flew over the cuckoo’s nest
supervixens
three days of the condor
——

1976

all the president’s men
bound for glory
marathon man
network
rocky
taxi driver
the man who fell to earth
the omen
the outlaw josey wales
the shootist
——

1977

annie hall
eraserhead
rolling thunder
saturday night fever
soldier of orange
star wars
stroszek
——

1978

blue collar
dawn of the dead
days of heaven
midnight express
straight time
the deer hunter
——

1979

…and justice for all
alien
apocalypse now
being there
escape from alcatraz
hardcore
manhattan
monty python’s life of brian
quadrophenia
scum
the china syndrome
——

1980

airplane!
blues brothers
dressed to kill
raging bull
star wars V: the empire strikes back
the elephant man
the long good friday
the shining
——

1981

an american werewolf in london
body heat
downtown 81
escape from new york
eye of the needle
mad max 2
nighthawks
pennies from heaven
quest for fire
raiders of the lost ark
thief
——

1982

48 hrs
blade runner
diner
fast times at ridgemont high
first blood
gandhi
sophie’s choice
the thing
the verdict

——

1983

monty python’s the meaning of life
scarface
silkwood
star 80
the king of comedy
trading places
vacation
——

1984

2010: the year we make contact
amadeus
beverly hills cop
blood simple
ghost busters
nineteen eighty-four
paris, texas
purple rain
repo man
stranger than paradise
the hit
the pope of greenwich village
the terminator
this is spinal tap
——

1985

after hours
back to the future
brazil
fright night
the breakfast club
to live and die in LA
——

1986

aliens
big trouble in little china
down by law
ferris bueller’s day off
highlander
manhunter
platoon
stand by me
the fly
the name of the rose
true stories
withnail & i
——

1987

fatal attraction
full metal jacket
evil dead II
lethal weapon
planes, trains and automobiles
predator
raising arizona
robocop
the untouchables
wall street
——

1988

a fish called wanda
beetle juice
cinema paradiso
coming to america
die hard
dirty rotten scoundrels
frantic
midnight run
rain man
running on empty
talk radio
the accused
the naked gun
the vanishing
——

1989

born on the fourth of july
crimes and misdemeanors
do the right thing
indiana jones and the last crusade
my left foot
mystery train
say anything
sea of love
sex, lies and videotape
the abyss
——

 

to be continued