As I hope you've noticed, I try to avoid getting negative on this blog. One of my guiding principles in writing it has been Auden's comment on how criticism should concern itself with opening up an audience to things of which they are unaware, and thus, there shouldn't really be time left over for deriding anything, considering how much good stuff is almost entirely neglected. That being said, there is one era and/or style of music upon the terribleness of which I can't remain silent: the eighties. I'm sorry, but the scars of that horrible time are still in my psyche. On the bright side, I am forever in the debt of the relatively few great bands that kept rock alive during those dark days. The best of that small bunch, for me, were the Replacements, whose career was perhaps best summarized in a blurb written by Nick Hornby, which can be found on the cover of Jim Walsh's highly recommended 2007 book, The Replacements: All Over but the Shouting: "The Replacements were superheroes: They rescued a whole planet from '80s music." Well said.

Another group from that time deserving of recognition is the Style Council, the r&b influenced group fronted by the former leader of the Jam, Paul Weller, that were in operation from 1983-1989. I think of them as a singles band (like most of their ancestors, I suppose), and their releases had a sort of street art quality to them, tied in with particular moments and social scenes. I think my favourite among them is this one, "How She Threw It All Away" from 1988:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG80bEinXNk. By the way, Weller has remained active, and terrific, in the years since. He released his tenth solo album, Wake Up the Nation, in 2010.