This week on Vanyaland we are celebrating all things 1987 with a look back at moments, trends, and icons in the worlds of music and film. Follow along #V87.
This year brings about some interesting anniversaries. We have the 40th anniversary of punk (1977), the 25th anniversary of the height of grunge and alt-rock (1992), and the standard Holy Fuck We Can't Believe These Albums Are 10 Years Old anniversary (2007, yiiikes). But for this exercise we've taken a look back 30 years to 1987; a time when Guns N' Roses (Appetite For Destruction) and Michael Jackson (Bad) ruled cassette decks, and college rock may have experienced its peak of purity. The year saw the release of several albums that would eventually shape the '90s alt-rock explosion (the Pixies' Come On Pilgrim, Faith No More's Introduce Yourself, Jane's Addiction's Jane's Addiction, Dinosaur Jr.'s You're Living All Over Me), massive British indie releases (the Smiths' finale Strangeways Here We Come, Echo & the Bunnymen's self-titled), and a handful of LPs from bands on the cusp of megastardom (U2 with The Joshua Tree, R.E.M. with Document, and Red Hot Chili Peppers with The Uplift Mofo Party Plan). There were also some essential compilations issued (Dead Kennedys' Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death, New Order's Substance, and the Smiths, Louder Than Bombs), but we'll excuse those from this exercise. Instead, we'll highlight 30 classic alternative albums that turns 30 at some point in 2017.
Nitzer Ebb, That Total Age
Released: May 11
