RIP Anita Lane

 

 

Anita Lane was around the early Bad Seeds, co-writing some songs and collaborating with some of that crowd.  A footnote in the grand scheme?  Maybe but there was always something alluring about her solo work, which sounds like a more avant garde Mazzy Star.

Modern English

 

 

Modern English scored with the mega-hit "I Melt With You," but they were also known for darker fare on their early releases.

XTC

 

XTC have been brilliantly crafty and annoyingly quirky... sometimes in the same song.  But they made some truly classic songs of the late '70s , '80s, and beyond.

So80s

So8os began in 2009 as a way for DJs Blank & Jones to release some of their favorite, often rare, 12" remixes from the 1980s.  With so many artists having reissued expanded versions of older albums, most of these aren't so rare any longer, but on the whole it's still a very worthwhile collection.

brian eno

Brian Eno's ambient works are some of my favorite albums. In particular, The Pearl and Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror, both with Harold Budd; and Apollo with Daniel Lanois and Roger Eno.

Garbáge

Shirley Manson started out in the band Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie in the '80s, supplying backing vox and keyboards. When that band failed to break into the US market, they refashioned themselves as '90s chick rock band Angelfish, with Manson taking the lead role. They only lasted 1 album, but it's pretty decent. Then came producer Butch Vig, who was looking to start a band with a female singer and voilá...

Fine Young Cannibals

 

Two former members of The (English) Beat hook up with smooth-voiced singer Roland Gift and produce pop gold.  Slick but enjoyable.