An Album For Every Year I've Been Alive: 1982

1982

And so it begins. The pickings are a bit slim for most of the '80s, as I simply haven't delved too deep into the musical noodlings of that most pastel of decades. I was also just a mere whelp in those days, not so much buying scores of music from an enabling sister at her record store as I was sitting in my own poop or being mistaken for a girl every Halloween (I had very curly hair). So for me, 1982 doesn't exactly have a treasure trove of albums from which to choose. Still, there's enough here for me to pick just one, and that's all I need. Hooray for lowered expectations!

The Full Roster:

The Clash, Combat Rock
George Harrison, Gone Troppo
Lou Reed, The Blue Mask
The Who, It's Hard

It is evident even at this early stage that I am a huge fan of The Who, as only someone of such a disposition would own (and continue to own) It's Hard. It is not so evident, but equally as true, that I am not necessarily a huge fan of either George Harrison or Lou Reed, both of whom have albums I enjoy but released no such thing in 1982. This is perhaps an early sign that my music collection could probably use some culling. That's not entirely fair on Gone Troppo, which isn't dreadful by any means, but it is somewhat fair on The Blue Mask. Sorry, Lou. (EDIT: Wrong album! The Blue Mask is actually pretty decent. So, sorry Lou, again. I will properly identify your crappy album(s) later, don't you worry).

Favorite Album: The Clash, Combat Rock

While I like Combat Rock, and think it a worthy winner of Favorite Album for 1982, the fact of the matter is it didn't have a lot of competition. It's certainly not the Clash's finest album, despite the presence of radio hits like "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" and "Rock the Casbah," and would prove to be the group's swan song (not counting the half-assed and half-original-membered Cut the Crap). But it's no bad thing, Combat Rock, and it contains the excellent pseudo-reggae ballad "Straight to Hell," which is one of their finer songs and contains references to Amerasian children, to boot (it would also later be heavily sampled by M.I.A. in "Paper Planes").

Combat Rock is a top-heavy album, with the three previously-mentioned songs appearing in the first half, along with "Know Your Rights," a somewhat heavy-handed if enjoyable kick-starter. The only real highlight on the album's second half is "Inoculated City," complete with a sample from a 2000 Flushes commercial. It says a lot about my personality, I think, that sampling a 2000 Flushes commercial is more impressive to me than having Allen Ginsberg show up as a guest "vocalist," as he does on "Ghetto Defendant" immediately prior. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks, I guess.

Coincidentally, Combat Rock was released on the very day that I was born.



Honorable Mention: The Who, It's Hard

As hinted at previously, I don't particularly think It's Hard is that great of an album. Still, I am a big Who fan, and there are about four songs on this album I can say with total confidence that I enjoy. "Eminence Front" is perhaps the most well-known, a slow-burning jam that echoes the synthesizer-and-guitar interplay of "Won't Get Fooled Again," albeit with less oomph. "It's Hard" is the titular track, and quite simple and unadorned, which makes it stand out from most of the album. "I've Known No War" is probably Roger Daltrey's best work on the album, and though it sounds a bit dated today, what with the Cold War being over and all, I'm a bit of a sucker for anti-war songs not written by Roger Waters. The albums' closer, "Cry If You Want," is probably the best example of Pete Townshend's late-career condemnation of his younger self and the ideals of the '60s ("Don't you get embarrassed when you read the precious things you said / Many, many years ago when life appeared rosy red").

The rest of the album isn't grating on the ears, but it isn't anything special either. It often sounds like they're less The Who and more some band who was heavily influenced by The Who but aren't nearly as good. Some of that could be attributed to Keith Moon being dead by that point; it appears at times they're trying to make up for his absence with an over-reliance on synthesizers. It's not exactly surprising that It's Hard was The Who's last album until 2006's post-John-Entwistle Endless Wire; there's some good stuff here, but in retrospect it does sound a bit like a band that's gotten tired of itself.



Most Ridiculous Song: The Who, "One Life's Enough," from the album It's Hard

As I've mentioned, It's Hard certainly has its moments, but one of its most regrettable ones is the über-earnest piano ballad "One Life's Enough." The Who are often at their worst when Pete Townshend lets sentimentality get the better of him, and boy does it strike with a vengeance here. Of particular cringe-worthiness is the chorus, which Roger Daltrey throws himself into with just a bit too much enthusiasm: "Throw back your head / Let your body curve into the long grass of the bed / Pull me down into your hair / And I'll push and swerve as we both gasp in the evening air." Not to sound immature, but....ewwwwwwwwww.



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