A Pistol Hot Cup Of Rhyme

70. No Jacket Required by Phil Collins (1985)

Yep, yet another album from 1985. I think once this is over I am going to tally up what year each album was from, and I can almost guarantee 1985 will have the most. Only one I can think of that might come close is 1987, but that's highly doubtful. Anyway. This one starts off with "Sussudio", a pretty popular tune that helped catapult this album up the charts. (Yes, I feel like a douche for typing that sentence.) "Only You Know and I Know" is next, a decent song but kind of forgettable. "Long Long Way To Go" is very pretty ballad that has Sting sharing the vocal duties. Good song. "I Don't Wanna Know" is easily the worst song on the album. Just an overload of keyboards and no substance whatsoever. "One More Night" is one of Collins' signature ballads, a really pretty song that is heard at every school dance ever. "Don't Lose My Number" was a pretty big hit back in the day, but it really isn't played much any more because, well, it hasn't really stood the test of time. Still a decent tune if you only hear it once or twice a year, but just sounds too dated if it's played too often. "Who Said I Would" is okay, but kind of blah. "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore" is a surprisingly good song. Just kind of creeps up on you, and before you know it you're sitting there tapping your foot and humming along. Nice tune. "Inside Out" is a good song, but it seems like he couldn't decide if he wanted it to be a ballad or not. Kind of stuck in some sort of off-tempo limbo. Like it though. The final song is, in my opinion, the best one on the album. "Take Me Home" is just a bad ass song that I can listen to any day. Such a cool tune. Overall, this is a decent album. Probably shouldn't be this high on the list, but... It's here, so it's staying. Some good stuff, some bad stuff, but most of it is worthwhile.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Long Long Way To Go" (Horrid fan video using clips from a soap opera, but only one I found with a clean album version of the song.)

4. "Doesn't Anybody Stay Together Anymore"

3. "One More Night"

2. "Inside Out"

1. "Take Me Home"

69. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me by The Cure (1987)

The Head On the Door was The Cure's first real attempt at making a pop album. Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me took the parts that worked and made them even better. But they also experimented quite a bit, which is why Kiss Me ended up being an 18 song double album full of awesomeness. "The Kiss" starts the album off, and other than "Plainsong" on Disintegration it's my favorite album opening song from any Cure album, and top 5 for any album in general. Just a kick ass song. The anger of "The Kiss" leads into the very sweet "Catch", a very nice little song about love, loss, and regret. "Torture" swings back toward angry, but not quite as angry as "The Kiss". "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" is a very pretty song, very calm and warm, really. Good tune. "Why Can't I Be You?" is an extremely catchy and addictive song. One of the best pure pop songs The Cure has ever done. "How Beautiful You Are..." is kind of a funny song. It sounds all sweet and stuff, except that the lyrics are actually about how much he hates some woman for being so conceited. Good stuff. "The Snakepit" sounds like it should have been on an earlier album, especially The Top. Would have fit perfectly there, but seems a bit out of place here. "Hey You!" is just a quick little song that is usually only on the cassette version of the album. Fun little song. "Just Like Heaven" is just, like, awesome. I absolutely love this song still, and will never get sick of it. "All I Want" is decent, but it's my least favorite track on the album, I think. Maybe second least favorite, but up there either way. "Hot Hot Hot!!!" is another catchy pop song, and while it is pretty good, it's not quite at the same level as "Why Can't I Be You?" or "Just Like Heaven". Actually, compared to those two, it's pretty weak. "One More Time" changes the mood yet again, to a more sad, longing, "wish we could be together" kind of vibe. Very pretty song. "Like Cockatoos" is more of a narrative, weird but cool song. "Icing Sugar" is a very fast crazy song, very cool. "The Perfect Girl" should have been a single. It's a very good, very catchy song, and if they had released more songs like this, they wouldn't have been pigeonholed into the "depressing goth blah blah blah" labels they've been stuck with forever. Great song. "A Thousand Hours" is the prettiest song on the album, and probably the saddest. Mostly instrumental, the lyrics are just filled with pain, loss, and longing. Great great song. "Shiver and Shake", on the other hand, goes back to the "I hate you get out of my life" vibe that is all over the album. Not great, but not bad. "Fight" is the final song, a good tune about standing up for yourself, pretty much. This album just rules. really thought I had it higher up on the list, but apparently not. Great album, and a must have if you're a Cure fan.
5 Best Songs:
5. "Like Cockatoos"

4. "The Perfect Girl"

3. The Kiss"

2. "A Thousand Hours"

1. "Just Like Heaven"

Moving right along...

72. Beelzebubba by The Dead Milkmen (1988)

This album, more than any other, reminds me of high school and skateboarding. Yeah, I was horrible at skateboarding (and at high school, really) but those were just some fun times, for the most part. (The skateboarding, not high school.) "Brat In the Frat" is a nice caustic little tune, basically just berating somebody for wanting to be like everybody else. "RC's Mom" Is a kind of funny, kind of annoying song. It's like a funk parody, almost, with lyrics about wife beating. Odd combo. "Stuart" is frigging awesome. It's basically a narrative about "what the queers are doing to our soil", and has one of my favorite lines from any song. One of the sections is talking about a kid in the neighborhood who gets a burrow owl for his birthday, and he's looking for it in a tree, and the narrator screams, "Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick! Everybody knows that a burrow owl lives in a hole in the ground! Why the Hell do you think they call it a burrow owl anyway?!?!?" Sorry, I just laugh every time I hear that part. That, and, "Pow! He was decapitated! They found his head over by the Sno-Cone concession!" Freaking hilarious song. "I Walk the Thinnest Line" is also great, talking about how he's walking the thin line between the good and bad sides of his mind. Funny song. "Sri Lanka Sex Hotel" is bad ass. I can never quite stop myself from dancing to this one. "Bad Party" is pretty crappy, really. Just a dumb song. "Punk Rock Girl" is pretty much the only Dead Milkmen song that anybody knows, and it's just a classic. Great tune. "Bleach Boys" is another fun little song, good to be-bop around the house to. "My Many Smells" is great. One of my favorite songs by them. (You'll hear that statement four more times on this album alone, and there are several others that are damn close to that level.) "Smokin' Banana Peels", on the other hand, is probably my least favorite Dead Milkmen song ever. Just annoying as hell. "The Guitar Song" is, without question, my favorite song by these guys. Just a nice simple melody, and one of the few non-funny, honest, sweet songs by them. Not a love song or anything, just a very very good song. (Each of the next two songs also fall into the "one of my favorite songs by them" category as well.) "Born To Love Volcanos" is basically a tribute to PBS fundraising auctions. Absolutely hysterical song. "Everybody's Got Nice Stuff But Me" is an awesome jealousy filled song. What makes it awesome, though, is the stuff he's jealous of. "She's got eyes of deepest blue. He's got hair that's green. Everybody's got nice stuff but me." Great. "I Against Osborne" is a hectic, frantic tune. Pretty good. "Howard Beware" is a great song about a paranoid conspiracy theorist who thinks absolutely everybody on the planet is out to get him. Love it. "Ringo Buys a Rifle" is about Ringo Starr losing his mind and going after the other Beatles, basically. Good but not great. The final song is also the final "one of my favorites by them" song. "Life Is Shit" is just amazing. Such a great song, and such a great way to close the album out. This album is just awesome. Cannot get enough of it, and hopefully I'll never tire of it. Great stuff.
5 Best Songs: (I could only find a video for one of these. Seriously????)
5. "Everybody's Got Nice Stuff But Me"
4. "My Many Smells"
3. "Born To Love Volcanos"
2. "Life Is Shit"

1. "The Guitar Song"

71. Apollo 18 by They Might Be Giants (1992)

It's kind of funny. This is very close to being my favorite TMBG album, yet the other one doesn't show up until the top 20. That's how close the albums on this list are, to me. Apollo 18 starts off with "Dig My Grave", a loud frantic song that just sets the pace for the rest of the album. It's short, just over a minute, but only three of the 18 songs are over three minutes, and there's even one shorter than this. Good song. "I Palindrome I" is great. At one point there's a section of about 15 lines that is an actual continuous palindrome. Awesome. "She's Actual Size" is pretty good also. Can get annoying after too many repeated listens, but for the most part it's a good song. "My Evil Twin" is pretty funny and pretty catchy. Good tune. "Mammal" is great, one of the best on the album, I think. Just a total nerd song, really. "The Statue Got Me High" is pretty good. Used to hate it, but it's grown on me over the years. "Spider" is a quick 50 second song, kind of annoying. "Dinner Bell" is really good. The way the verses are sung is great, with the dueling vocals and such. Fun song. "Narrow Your Eyes" has probably the best vocals on the album, as far as real singing, but it's just kind of boring. It's okay, just dull. "Hall Of Heads" has some great horns, but that's pretty much the only redeemable quality it's got. Blah. "Which Describes How You're Feeling" is a great song, but way too short at just under two minutes. The way he sings this song is great, though. Really wish it were longer. "See the Constellation" is okay, nothing special. "If I Wasn't Shy" is another song that is way too short, because it's really good, and really could be my theme song. "Turn Around" is also pretty great. Definitely a top 5 song. "Hypnotist Of Ladies" should be top 5, but probably comes in sixth. We'll see. Very good song. The next song is "Fingertips". Technically, the next 21 songs are "Fingertips". It is a collection of little snippets ranging from 4 seconds to one minute one second. Basically, this song was designed with the "shuffle" feature on CD players in mind. Remember, in '92, this was still kind of a big thing. Basically, it makes it so that if you threw the CD on shuffle you'd never hear the same album twice. Brilliant concept, and brilliantly executed, because even as a whole, these 21 snippets make a pretty interesting and fun song. The final song is "Space Suit", a nice little instrumental. Good closing song. Overall, this album is just kick ass. Absolutely love it, and absolutely recommend it.
8 Best Songs: (going 8 since there was only 1 video for the other album.)
8. "The Guitar"