Elvis Costello’s ‘Armed Forces’ Remains a Potent Critique of Power
Forty-five years after Elvis Costello’s Armed Forces first arrived in record stores, its commentary on fascism is extremely relevant to today’s politics.
Forty-five years after Elvis Costello’s Armed Forces first arrived in record stores, its commentary on fascism is extremely relevant to today’s politics.
Radu Jude’s gonzo satire of post-Soviet Romania, Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, hits a sweet spot between Luis Buñuel and Béla Tarr.
With his 1979 debut album Look Sharp!, Joe Jackson joined the league of UK artists who fused sophisticated pop songwriting with a punk snarl.
When Soda Stereo’s Doble Vida reached the hands of their fervorous fans, it was clear: the boys wanted to make it big – even bigger than they already were.
This is the complete story of how New Order assimilated US underground dance sounds and determined the direction of indie music for many years to come.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark have honed their craft at creating towering, majestic synthscapes with bold analog melodies and shimmering sci-fi flourishes.
Cyndi Lauper’s debut, She’s So Unusual, stands the test of time: it’s an eccentric, weird record that revels in a subversive and quietly revolutionary oddness.
Howard Jones isn’t just a trendy pop warbler but a gifted singer-songwriter who understands the craft behind the perfect pop song better than most.
With Clics Modernos, Charly García veered away from overt political commentary in favor of taking it to the dance floor. Puzzled fans – even the album cover screamed post-modernism – didn’t hold back their outrage.
The title Relentless encourages expectations of a youthful, hard-rock Pretenders album, but it’s dominated by lost-love ballads and slow-burn confessionals.
For Richard Spencer and today’s alt-right, ‘80s British synthpop bands like Depeche Mode satisfy their retrofuturist cultural fantasies.
The Cure’s ebulliently eclectic masterpiece ‘Wild Mood Swings’ is misguidedly maligned. What is more tantalizing than music that exalts eclecticism to such stupefying heights?