1980
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the year 1980.
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Airplane!
Airplane!‘s renown lies in its unwavering assault of joke-a-second puns and absurdities, bringing slapstick and screwball comedies of the era it parodies to their (il)logical conclusions. However, it’s still the extremity of a frequently trite form of comedy. Airplane! never builds on itself like character-driven comedies and their potential intricacies. It’s an assault of stones… (read more)
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The Shining
The Shining is an expedition into the labyrinth of the id. Stanley Kubrick turns a ghost story into a tale about the very real demons of domestic abuse. Jack Nicholson kills it here, subtly revealing from the very beginning his latent strange nature and slowly bringing it to the surface. Shelley Duvall is equally phenomenal.… (read more)
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The Blues Brothers
Seriously way too fucking long, and for a comedy, The Blues Brothers isn’t very funny. Disappointing as a musical, as the choreography and shots are average with dancers randomly out of frame, not to mention the songs are just the same old renditions of classic blues songs we’ve all heard hundreds of times without any… (read more)
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Judas Priest – “British Steel”
British Steel is Judas Priest‘s thickest, toughest-sounding album. It’s also one of their best—though I think Painkiller is more consistent in its greatness and equally valid for those descriptors. “Metal Gods” and “United” are the odd duds on British Steel, the latter clearly being an attempt to recreate Queen‘s “We Are the Champions.” Judas Priest’s sense of playfulness… (read more)
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Wipers – “Is This Real?” (1980)
It’s really cool listening to Is This Real? and realizing how much Nirvana took from it. Of course, Kurt Cobain cited Wipers as an influence constantly. That influence is never more obvious than on songs like “D-7” and “Potential Suicide,” which Cobain borrows the vocal stylings of on earlier Nirvana tracks, like the kind on Bleach or… (read more)
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Killing Joke – “Killing Joke”
Killing Joke’s first album marches through abandoned city streets, waving a welcome banner for Armageddon. (read more)
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John Foxx – “Metamatic”
Metamatic is Gary Numan without a background in glam/post-punk music. So, a lot less annoying and likewise more respectable. John Foxx doesn’t come off as a weird idiot, and the rhythm in his vocals is actually a bit menacing. He’s clearly still inspired by dated ’70s sci-fi (just look at the song titles… “He’s a… (read more)
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The Smiths – “Meat Is Murder” (1985)
Yes, the title track of Meat Is Murder is really stupid and just a shortsighted version of “How Soon Is Now?” (which is even on the American version of this album), but pound for pound, I consider this the best Smiths album after The Queen Is Dead—no question. Lyrically, Morrissey trades in some of his trademark… (read more)
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Blondie – “Autoamerican”
Autoamerican is Blondie‘s most accomplished album. The amount of varying styles on this album is simply staggering considering they’re a pop band. Whether it’s the lounge pop of “Here’s Looking at You,” or the jazz crooning of “Faces,” Autoamerican is a consistently exciting and unpredictable listen. The hit songs such as the reggae-tinged “The Tide… (read more)
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Queen – “Flash Gordon”
Good for a soundtrack album. As a matter of fact, the soundtrack is pretty much the only thing worth watching the 1980 version of Flash Gordon for. The music suits the film’s themes and art direction perfectly, those being that of a mediocre, humorously camp ’80s sci-fi flick. In that sense, it’s a total triumph… (read more)