Bookended by Cats was named after Milo and Otis. They are the short, orange, and furry brothers who, upon entering our lives in 2003, often bookended us on our couch. And who are we? We're a geek couple living in PA. We love music, movies, TV, comics, books, and comic cons. And, from time to time, we'll share our thoughts on these nerdy things.
This collection of vintage voting PSA comics was complied by comic historian Craig Yoe and features Uncle Sam explaining the history behind voting, how to vote, and why it is important to the future of our country! These comics may be over fifty years old, but they are still relevant to every American today!
The collection also includes an introduction by Julie Newmar.
[On a Lark - Redux] -- Between April 9 and April 30, 2021, I used my Flashback posts to feature music from 1986. That was year I turned 18. On the very last Flashback of that month, I featured a lovely album by XTC, and I'm bringing it back this weekend. Because, five years later, that album has turned 40 years old.
On October 27, 1986, English rock band XTC released their ninth studio album, Skylarking. Skylarking is a much better record for April and May, what with a third of the tracks evoking feelings of spring through summer. And that is understandable because the album was recorded between April and June of 1986. Skylarking is one of XTC's better known records. However, prior to recording, label executives had threatened to drop XTC if their next album wasn't a bigger success. You see, their prior record, 1984's The Big Express, pretty much fell flat in ye old sales numbers.
Apparently, the label figured XTC's commercial woes were due to sounding "too English." Their solution was bring in an American producer. Of the listed producers suggested to them, Todd Rundgren's name was the only one XTC recognized. On paper, a pairing of Rundgren and XTC probably looked like a smashing idea. However, the sessions were rife with tension, mainly due to clashes between Rundgren and Andy Partridge, XTC's leader as well as primary singer and songwriter. As of March 2016, there was still animosity between the two artists; see, for example, Todd Rundgren Reignites Feud With XTC Over 'Skylarking'.
The results more or less speak for themselves. In addition to being regarded as the band's finest and most popular work, Skylarking peaked at #90 in the UK and #70 on the US Billboard 200. And it has been included on at least two top 100 lists: "100 greatest albums of the 1980s" by both Rolling Stone (1989) and Pitchfork (2002).
With a total of 15 solid tracks to select from, I find it quite difficult to select just a few faves. Still, I usually cite "Dear God" (about a struggling agnostic who writes a letter to God), "The Man Who Sailed Around His Soul," and "Earn Enough For Us" (which has previously appeared in a Flashback post) as my favorites on this record. Of my selections, only "Dear God" was released as a single, but it was also the b-side for the album's first single ("Grass"). That's kind of interesting given that this song was left off the original pressing, and that it caused a bit of controversy when it hit airwaves. And that was not the only controversy for this album: Apparently Andy Partridge originally had something else in mind for the album's coverart.
The entire album's playlist, including "Dear God," is embedded for your listening pleasure this weekend.
Flashback: Skylarking (October 27, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Don't Get Me Blah] -- Another two albums offered up this week. Each one turned 40 years old this month, and they were released by music veterans: The Pretenders with Get Close and Iggy Pop with Blah Blah Blah.
Get Close – Released on October 20, 1986, or November 4 in the US, Get Close was The Pretenders' fourth studio album. This record marked a period of transition for the band. The album itself peaked at #6 in the UK and #25 on the US Billboard 200. While not as successful as the band's previous album, 1984's Learning to Crawl, it did boast their highest-charting singles on the Mainstream Rock chart: Both "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "My Baby" were #1 hits there. "Don't Get Me Wrong" was also a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. Oh, and don't miss "Hymn To Her".
Blah Blah Blah – 40 years ago, Iggy Pop released his seventh solo studio album. AllMusic refers to Blah Blah Blah as "the most calculatedly commercial album of Iggy's career." I think that's a knock on the slick production rather than the songs and performance. But, yeah, this album was Iggy's most commercially successful album, reaching #75 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart and reaching Gold status. Iggy also had a successful tour supporting this record. Prior to working on this album, Iggy had been on a four year hiatus from recording and performing. For his new record, he tapped David Bowie as the primary collaborator. "Cry For Love" was the first song I heard from this album, and it remains my favorite. Most people probably know "Real Wild Child"; it was #27 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and a top ten hit in the UK. Maybe the most fun track on here is the title track, "Blah Blah Blah", with lyrics just as applicable now as they were in 1986.
Now, on to the music. 🎶
Flashback #1: Get Close (October 20, 1986)
Flashback #2: Blah Blah Blah (October 23, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Heavenly Crawl] -- This week, we have two debut albums that were released 40 years ago, both on October 17, 1986. They also kind of represent bookends for the whole 1980s aesthetic: dance-pop on one side and dark drone on the other.
Desert – I don't have much information about the band called I Can Crawl. Their Bandcamp page indicates they were "Formed from school friends circa 1981" in the UK. And they maintain a Facebook presence, notably touting the anniversary re-release of this debut record. But beyond that, there's precious little actual information. The album did not chart, and it had no singles released, at least not as far as I can tell. And that's all a shame, because this is an excellent example of mid-80s post-punk with its shimmering guitars, driving baselines, and a lead singer who is very much in the Peter Murphy school of frontmen. Marvelously mopey. Solidly nocturnal. Check out "And It Rains" and "Instead of Walls".
Better Than Heaven – This was the debut studio album from American singer Stacey Q. It peaked at #59 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and #46 on the U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. There were three singles from this album, the first of which – "Two of Hearts" – became a top ten single. That tune soared up to #3 on US Billboard Hot 100, #1 on US 12-inch Singles Sales (Billboard), #4 on US Dance/Disco Club Play (Billboard)[32], and #7 on the US Top 100 Singles (Cash Box) charts, to name only a few places where the song did well.
Now, on to the music. 🎶
Flashback #1: Desert (October 17, 1986)
Flashback #2: Better Than Heaven (October 17, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Element of Psychedelic Rock] -- One of my favorite reviews of Robyn Hitchcock's work is this comment on Bandcamp's listing for Element of Light: "Some may say that the [Psychedelic Rock] genre died when Syd Barrett stopped making records, and I would point those folks to Robyn's huge catalog of work."
Element of Light is the second album by Robyn Hitchcock with his backing band, the Egyptians, but his fifth studio album overall. Released forty years ago on October 3, 1986, it received largely positive reviews. AllMusic calls it "one of his finest moments" and "a convincing argument for his talents as a pop craftsman." To the best of my research, the album did not chart in either the US or the UK. And I'm not certain any of the tracks were even released as singles. Maybe only true fans like me remember it. Though I must admit that I found the album in reverse chronological order; that means I came across it only after becoming fully obsessed with their 1988 release, Globe of Frogs.
Enjoy: "The President" (a scathing rebuke of 1980s politics that Hitchcock re-recorded with new lyrics in 2020), "Airscape", "Never Stop Bleeding", "Lady Waters and the Hooded One", and "Raymond Chandler Evening" (an homage to the mystery novels by ... Raymond Chandler, of course).
Flashback: Element of Light (October 3, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[The Brotherhood of Tutu's Hotel Muses] -- Well, we raced through September and have entered the first weekend of October 2026. But a bunch of great, or fondly remembered, albums were released in or near the end of September 1986. So, I'm closing out the previous month with a rare double twofer: a total of four albums on this Friday, and all of them turned 40 years old in September.
Sacred Heart Hotel – I have not found a specific release date for this debut album from Dublin-based indie band, The Stars of Heaven. AOTY cites simply September 1986, as do several other sources. Maybe that lack of specificity is related to this album's obscureness. It was one of only two albums released by The Stars of Heaven; they split up in 1990, two years after their sophomore, and last, studio LP. The Stars of Heaven received airplay from John Peel, and Sacred Heart Hotel reached #11 on the UK Indie Chart (but failed to chart in the US). Still, when John Peel is interested in a band, they bear checking out. And listening to this album almost borders on an act of self care. Highlights include "Folksong" and "Talk About It Now".
Throwing Muses – The eponymous debut album from Throwing Muses, released on September 20, 1986, was a powerful collision of punk energy and mercurial mood swings. Critically lauded – well, except for a C rating from The Village Voice – the album had one single, "Soul Soldier", but no real chart activity. Still, it did get traction on college campuses and it launched a relatively successful, or at least productive, career for the band on UK label 4AD. Definitely check out "Hate My Way", the third track on this record.
Tutu – A tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, this was around the 59th or so studio album that the legendary Miles Davis released. It was near the end of his life (he passed in September 1991), but not the end of his career. He still had a few albums left in him. Tutu has been called one of the worst albums by Davis. That might be due to Davis' heavy use of synths, sequencers, and drum machines. And he even played most of the instruments on the album, even the digital ones. Despite early critical reviews, Tutu went on to be considered a pivotal and defining jazz album of the 1980s. Whatever one thinks of the accompaniment, which might sound dated today, these pieces provided space in which Miles Davis could really improvise. Check out "Tomass" and "Backyard Ritual" and make your own decision.
Brotherhood – The fourth studio album from New Order, Brotherhood cemented the band's standing as post-punk and dance floor giants. The songs are a mix of post-punk and electronic styles that received largely positive reviews. The album reached #9 pm the UK Albums, #1 on UK Independent Albums, and #117 on the US Billboard 200 charts. "Bizarre Love Triangle" turned out to be the band's breakout single, even though it didn't crack the top 40 of either the UK Singles Chart or the US Billboard Hot 100; at least, not until after a new mix was released in 1994. "State of the Nation" – a CD only track – was the band's 12th single, and it peaked at #30 on UK Singles Chart, #1 on UK Indie Singles, #4 on US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, and #18 on US Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales.
That's enough words. Let's get to the music. 🎶
Flashback #1: Sacred Heart Hotel (September 1986)
Flashback #2: Throwing Muses (September 20, 1986)
Flashback #3: Tutu (September 29, 1986)
Flashback #4: Brotherhood (September 29, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Friendly Coil] -- I'm ending the fourth week of September 2026 with a pair of albums that were not commercially successful, but are critical and cult darlings.
Filigree & Shadow – This double LP was the second release from the 4AD collective known as This Mortal Coil. They are considered a collective rather than a band because it was a loose grouping of the label's guest musicians and vocalists. Of the 25 tracks on this release, a full 13 are instrumental. And most of the tracks are obscure covers. Supposedly, the four sides are intended to flow together, each side being a whole and complete offering. (Note: If that is true, and I can find no citation for it, listening to either the YouTube playlist or the CD will not create that experience. For the former, advertisements will interrupt the flow; in the latter case, the whole album fits on a single CD so it's all one, sonic entity.) Filigree & Shadow peaked at #2 on the UK Independent Music chart. The album was not released in the US, so stateside fans had to snag import copies. I was fortunate because one of my colleagues in Holmes Hall at PSU did just that. At least, I count myself fortunate, because I'm a fan of experimental dream pop, especially when it's kind of pretentious, or comes across as trying to be.
Here is the LP track listing for sides A, B, C, and D:
A1Velvet Belly
A2The Jeweller
A3Ivy And Neet
A4Meniscus
A5Tears
A6Tarantula
B1My Father
B2Come Here My Love
B3At First, And Then
B4Strength Of Strings
B5Morning Glory
C1Inch-Blue
C2I Want To Live
C3Mama K(1)
C4Filigree & Shadow
C5Firebrothers
C6Thaïs(1)
C7I Must Have Been Blind
C8A Heart Of Glass
D1Alone
D2Mama K(2)
D3The Horizon Bleeds And Sucks Its Thumb
D4Drugs
D5Red Rain
D6Thaïs(2)
Friends – The debut album from London-based The Bolshoi, Friends hit record shops in late September 1986. This record boasts The Bolshoi's two best-known songs: "Sunday Morning" and "A Way" (alternatively written as "Away" on some releases). That latter song got buried on the UK Singles chart at #100, but it did chart, so that's something. Friends did get a US release, and the band expanded their touring to include the states, but it seems that neither the album nor the singles charted here. It is kind of difficult to nail down the style of The Bolshoi. They are usually categorized as post-punk or gothic rock, and sometimes lumped in generally as new wave. Think ... The Cure, but with a sneer. (I recently read that, if this album came out today, streaming algorithms would basically add it to your queue if you liked The Cure).
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Expressive] -- Forty years ago this week, we were blessed with Express, the sophomore release from Love and Rockets. Love and Rockets, if you recall, was three former members of Bauhaus (essentially, Bauhaus minus vocalist Peter Murphy and moved two years forward in time, as this band had formed in 1985). This new album continued the work of their previous release, but also found Love and Rockets starting to distance themselves from the sound and style of Bauhaus. They still had atmospheric guitars and a certain goth elegance, but they were also leaning more into pop melodies and sensibilities.
Express peaked at #72 on the US Billboard 200. Of the three singles from this album – "Kundalini Express", "Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)", and "All in My Mind" – only the latter charted. "All in My Mind" reached #49 on the US Mainstream Rock Chart. "An American Dream", which appears on all versions of Express, was never released as a single. That's a mistake, in my opinion, as its dreamy + trippy arrangement, acoustic guitars, soaring vocals, and choir perfectly capture the mixed emotions of the mid-1980s.
Oh, and note that Love and Rocket's cover of "Ball of Confusion" is often associated with this album. However, it appears only on the 2001 reissue in an extended remix. See, it was originally released as a single before their debut album, Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven. But the new mix of the cover just didn't fit on the reissue of that record.
This week's embedded YouTube playlist features the track listing for the original LP release. So, there's only 8 tracks. The various releases in 1986 – LP, CD, and cassette – all had varying track listings with 8, 9, or 11 tracks. The 2001 remastered issue had 15 total tracks, basically incorporating everything that had been previously released with a few bonus tracks, like the USA mix of "Ball of Confusion".
Flashback: Express (September 15, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[A Sporting Choice] -- The Summer of 1986 closed out with several big ticket albums, none of which I'm highlighting this week. No, instead I've selected The Sport of Kings, the eighth studio album from Canadian hard rock trio, Triumph. Most sources indicate The Sport of Kings was released on September 11, 1986, though Triumph's own FB page indicated a release date of September 9 just a few years ago. The bottom line is that, as of this week, The Sport of Kings is 40 years old, so it is fair game for an 80s Flashback.
This album differs from others I've featured in that it was a critical failure but a commercial success (several of this year's Flashbacks had the opposite condition). And because both critics and hardcore Triumph fans panned the album, there is a general sense, or a misremembering, that The Sport of Kings failed on all fronts. But it peaked at #51 on the Canada Top Albums/CDs and #33 on the US Billboard 200 charts, had Platinum sales in Canada, and boasted the band's biggest hit to date, with "Somebody's Out There" (a song I love) hitting #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Tears in the Rain", reached #23 on the US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
The Sport of Kings is often ranked as one of Triumph's worst albums, but it is one that I come back to regularly. True, it does not have the crunch or progressive aspects of the band's earlier releases. And it is also true that The Sport of Kings very much reflects the trends of commercial radio and evolving AOR in the middle of the 1980s. But the singles are well crafted, the album is well produced, and some of the non-single tracks, like "In the Middle of the Night" and "If Only", are the complete package of instrumentation, vocals, emotion, and storytelling. At least in my opinion.
"If only I could change your heart
With just a simple song
If only I could stop the world
From turning out all wrong...
...There would be hope for me and you
If only wishes would come true."
Flashback: The Sport of Kings (September 11, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Labor Day Weekend Tunes (Redux)] -- I'm re-using my Flashback post from September 4, 2020, for September 4, 2026.
Now, I haven't had a full time job since I was laid off in February 2019*. And, thanks to a global pandemic, I know many others are likewise unemployed, at least for the foreseeable future. Still, many others are in the difficult position of having work but not necessarily a safe working environment. And we should be mindful of the issues that were alreadyimpactingWorking America prior to the pandemic. So, as we enter our latest Labor Day holiday weekend, how about a few songs from our 1980s catalog that highlight work, labor, and unions? Read and hear more after the break!
Flashback #1: "We bring more than a paycheck to our loved ones and family."
Written by Y.M. Barnwell circa 1981, and beautifully recorded by Sweet Honey in the Rock in 1988, "More Than A Paycheck" resounds with meaning. On one hand, you can hear the message that a job is more than a paycheck. Much more importantly, the words vividly describe what else laborers often bring home to their families: "We bring asbestosis, silicosis, brown lung, black lung disease. And radiation hits the children before they've even been conceived." And, in still far too many cases, when workers speak up about the dangers and ill effects of their jobs, they are ignored or simply replaced.
Flashback #2: "Now the lessons of the past | Were all learned with workers' blood."
Billy Bragg is no stranger to political activism in music. And his 1986 album, Talking with the Taxman About Poetry, was no exception. Among the gems on this record is the non single track, "There Is Power in a Union," which shares, perhaps, a kindred spirit with Joe Hill's 1913 protest song of the same title.
Flashback #3: "Someday, mister, I'm gonna lead a better life than this."
Bruce Springsteen has made a career of crafting anthems for the working stiff. Some are much more popular than others. But "Working on the Highway" -- the fourth track on Side A of his seventh studio album, Born in the U.S.A. (1984) -- is an under-appreciated gem. It's a direct examination of how a dead-end job can adversely impact a person and their desperate choices.
Bonus Flashback: "It's a sacrifice working day to day | For little money, just tips for pay | But it's worth it all | To hear them say that they care."
Is there truly a better choice for a playlist about work and working than Donna Summer's chart-topping 1983 hit, "She Works Hard for the Money"? Peaking at #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart, and #3 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Dance Club Play charts, "She Works Hard for the Money" was one of the most popular songs of 1983. But beyond the dance beats and Summer's excellent voice, this tune highlights the hard work and exhaustion that many a blue-collar woman still experiences to this day.
That's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
I'll see you in seven!
Notes:
Image at the top of this post is Power house mechanic working on steam pump by Lewis Hine, 1920. (Wikipedia)
* I have completed graduate school since this material was posted in 2019, but I am still working only a collection of side jobs while I seek full-time employment in my new area, that of college chaplaincy.
[40 Years on the Ceiling] -- The Bookended crew is back from our almost month long vacation, and I am cranking out one 80s Flashback before August fades into memory.
Many albums were released in August 1986. A few right even near the end of the month. But I've decided to feature Lionel Richie's third solo LP, Dancing on the Ceiling, released 40 years ago this month on August 5, 1986. Why this record? Well, my late mother's birthday is in August, and Lionel was one of her favorite artist of the 1980s. Please note that I have previously covered Richie's eponymous 1982 solo debut and his 1983 sophomore release. And both times I referred to Richie as one of Mom's faves, so I might as well keep that theme rolling.
Dancing on the Ceiling was another huge success for Richie. It ranked within the top 10 of charts around the globe; for example, it peaked at #2 in the UK, #1 on the US Billboard 200, and #3 on US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard). The album launched five singles – "Say You, Say Me", "Dancing on the Ceiling", "Love Will Conquer All", "Ballerina Girl" / "Deep River Woman", and "Se La".
Of those tracks, you probably only remember "Dancing on the Ceiling" (which reached #7 in the UK, #2 on US Billboard Hot 100, and #3 on US Adult Contemporary) and "Say You, Say Me" (an incredible success that reached #8 in the UK, #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #1 on US Adult Contemporary, #1 on US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and #1 on US Cash Box Top 100). Or, maybe I should speak for myself, because those are the only songs I recall. They were everywhere on the radio that summer!
The embedded YouTube playlist here is the 2003 Expanded Edition of Dancing on the Ceiling. So, it has 13 tracks instead of the eight tracks of the original LP release or the nine tracks of the original CD/cassette.
Flashback: Dancing on the Ceiling (August 5, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Still More Than a Feeling] -- We interrupt our 80s Flashback posts with a very special Flashback to 1976. Specifically, we are flashing back fifty years to August 25, 1976. On that date, Boston released their eponymous debut album.
Boston conquered charts around the globe. It peaked at #11 in the UK and #3 on the US Billboard 200, selling 18 million copies in the U.S., and 27 million worldwide. The singles – "More Than a Feeling", "Peace of Mind", and "Foreplay/Long Time" – were all hits that are still featured on classic rock stations. And the entire album became a staple of AOR radio. Boston even has a spot at #2 on Louder Sound's 2024 list of The 50 best AOR albums of all time.
That's pretty impressive when you consider Boston is essentially Tom Scholz's demo tape that had been turned down by a bunch of big labels in the US.
The true legend of Tom Scholz, an MIT graduate and (at the time) product design engineer for Polaroid, painstakingly recording the album in his basement rather than in the record label's professional studio has has become common knowledge. And so have his feuds with bandmates, such as with Boston co-founder Barry Goudreau, or with vocalist Brad Delp's family.
But I suppose artistic and legal conflicts are the standard fare when big talent collides with big egos (or at least the potential for big egos to develop).
Now, this album does have something of a connection to the 1980s. You see, I was too young to buy records of my own when Boston was released in 1976. However, five or so years later, I purchased my own vinyl copy of this album at a local drugstore in my hometown. And I still have that record in my collection to this day. So, my personal copy might not be 50 years old, it could be close to 45!
Flashback: Boston (August 26, 1976)
And that's all till next week. If you were looking for 80s tunes, you can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
We may not be in the Vacation Motor Hotel, but we most certainly are on vacation. And we are also taking a break from blogging. That means there will be no 80s Flashbacks – and probably no comic book, film, or TV posts – for the month of August.
I promise we will return energized ... or maybe exhausted. Either way, the celebration of albums that were released 40 years ago in 1986, and our thoughts on other nerdy goodness, will continue once we reach the month of September.
Until our anticipated (or, perhaps, dreaded) return, you have our entire history to peruse:
Comic Book tag will give you, as expected, comic book content.
And any of the more specific tags to your left.
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“Vacation Motel sign” by Brent Moore, CC BY-NC 2.0; brainwise modified the image by adding a rectangle and text that reads "Bloggers on Vacation" over the original banner on the hotel's sign.
[Loud Pageant] -- I'm sliding in very close to the wire for the final Flashback of July 2026. But I have two albums that were both released 40 years ago these past two weeks.
Lightning Strikes – Japan's premiere heavy metal band, Loudness, initially released their sixth album only in Japan on March 24, 1986. But just four months later, on July 25, 1986, Lightning Strikes was released to the US market (the earlier release was known as Shadows of War). The sole single from this album was "Let It Go", and as far as I can tell, it did not chart in the states, though the album did peak at #64 on the Billboard 200. I remember "Let It Go", and a few other tracks, from the various metal shows I could pick up on the radio, and from a friend who was a Loudness fanatic. I'm showcasing this album because there's just something about summer that puts me in the mood for 1980s heavy metal. Can any of you out there relate?
Life's Rich Pageant – R.E.M. released their fourth studio album, Life's Rich Pageant, on July 28, 1986. I'm pretty sure I did not know about the album until September of that year, which is basically when I learned about R.E.M. and their first four albums. But other people, many in the record buying public, definitely took notice of this release in late July and early August. It peaked at #21 on the US Billboard 200 and #43 in the UK. It was also R.E.M.'s first gold record in the US. This album had two singles – "Fall on Me" and "Superman" – both of which charted well on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks charts. Several other tracks got radio play and are also quite well known to fans. This album was jangly college rock at its best ... until R.E.M.'s next release.
Now, on to the music. 🎶
Flashback #1: Lightning Strikes (July 25, 1986)
Flashback #2: Life's Rich Pageant (July 28, 2026)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Pancreatic Release] -- This week's album has several release dates associated with it. The dates range from early in January 1986 through October 1986. AOTY was the first site to remind me of this record, so I am going with their release date of July 18, 1986. So, the bottom line is that this week's featured album has already turned 40 years old, or it will before this year is over. Oh, and there was also a re-release back in 2006, marking a 20th anniversary for the album as well.
Anyway...
I feel that my job with these Flashbacks is to not only stir up some nostalgia for well-remembered and loved records, but to also shed light on the records that have languished on the outskirts of fandom. And I take up that latter task by showcasing I Am John's Pancreas, the debut studio album from English post-punk band, A Witness. Released at some point in 1986, quite possibly on July 18, I Am John's Pancreas did not exactly rocket the band to international, or even local, renown. And this lack of commercial success came despite the interest, and studio prowess, of one John Peel (who I thought must be the "John" in this album title, but turns out to actually be a riff on Readers Digest).
Still, this debut album reached #18 on he NME charts. And it boasts the rather danceable and weird "Red Snake". I'm also rather fond of their tune, "Sharpened Sticks". I Am John's Pancreas is a discordant collection of aural oddities, and it still receives positive reviews in retrospect. Perhaps, if critics had gushed more back in 1986, we could legitimately call I Am John's Pancreas a classic. I mean, I'll still call it a classic, an obscure gem that deserved a wider audience, but you don't have to take my word for it. At least ... not until after you give it a spin.
Flashback: I Am John's Pancreas (July 18, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Boom or Bust] -- In 1985, a pair of studio musicians named David Baerwald and David Ricketts recorded nine songs across four studios in California. They emerged as rock duo David & David with their debut, and only, studio album, Boomtown. released 40 years ago this week on July 7, 1986.
If you're going to release only one album, it should be as good as this one. Boomtown reached #39 on the Billboard 200 and received positive reviews, both in 1986 and retrospectively. AllMusic's Michael Ofjord calls it "a hard look at urban life in the 1980s". It's a collection of stories that are not always pleasant, but they are set to rhythms and hooks that make each one a compelling listen.
"Welcome to the Boomtown" is considered the lone hit, which broke into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 of the US Album Rock Tracks chart. But the follow-up singles, "Swallowed by the Cracks" (#14 Billboard Mainstream Rock Hits) and "Ain't So Easy" (#51 Billboard Hot 100), were easily just as good. They just did not get the same kind of promotion, I guess.
Anyway, this 40-year-old record seems to be telling the same kinds of stories of financial hardship and bad choices that are still occurring to this day. Flashback and fast forward, eh?
Flashback: Boomtown (July 7, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
[Falling Apart] -- Forty years ago this week, Peter Murphy released his solo debut album, Should the World Fail to Fall Apart.
Peter Murphy had been the lead vocalist of Bauhaus from 1978 through 1983. After Bauhaus disbanded, Murphy did a brief stint in 1984 with a band called Dalis Car. It was that stint that helped change his perspective on songwriting and making records. With Bauhaus, Murphy had typically written song lyrics after the other band members wrote the music. With Dalis Car, Murphy was more integral to the entire process, though that experience was not without issues and conflicts. Karn, Dalis Car's bassist and primary force, and Murphy had differing perspectives on music and its construction.
Fresh from that experience, Murphy entered the studio with studio musician L. Howard Hughes (Stephen Betts) and recorded Should the World Fall Apart, his debut as a solo artist.Murphy and Hughes co-wrote eight of the record's ten tracks. For the other two tracks, Murphy covered "The Light Pours Out of Me" (Magazine) and Pere Ubu's "Final Solution", that latter song being his first single from the album.
Initially, this album was greeted with mixed critical reviews (and that's putting it kindly). It wasn't much of a spark commercially either. Neither the album nor any of its three singles charted. However, it did spark a successful solo career for Murphy. And Should the World Fail to Fall Apart has fared better in retrospective reviews, with AllMusic giving it four out of five stars.
I like this album. And the high points on it for me are the title track and Murphy's two covers. Oh, and I think the album starts off well with "Canvas Beauty". Your mileage may vary and all that.
Flashback: "Should the World Fail to Fall Apart (July 1, 1986)
And that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
I grew up reading the SUPER FRIENDS treasury-sized comic (Limited Collectors' Edition C-41, pictured above). Although I re-read it several times in my youth, I didn't realize until much later that the book reprinted stories, and even activity pages, that had originally appeared in older issues. Those older stories were:
The rest of the issue had fill-in pieces that starred the Super Friends and served to provide a seamless narration across the book, making the older stories basically flashbacks told to the young Wendy and Marvin.
Limited Collectors' Edition C-41 - Table of Contents
Toth also provided an 11-page article about the animation business.
Toth's "TV Cartoons", starting on page 55 of Limited Collectors' Edition C-41
As of the end of 2024, I have acquired the original issues of Justice League of America for both of those stories.
Justice League of America Vol. 1 #61
Justice League of America Vol. 1 #36
I wonder ... Should I also collect the issues that originally featured stories that appeared in DC's two editions of Christmas With the Super-Heroes (those being Limited Collectors' Edition#34 and #43)?
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