
Men At Work
Cargo
Columbia Records
1983
This gem is turning 40 this spring and I’m still a fan of Colin Hay. Great song writing!
Meat Puppets
Radio Meat Promo
London Records
1994
Here’s a radio promotion-only cassette version of Kurt Cobain’s favorite band, The Meat Puppets. This is actually a group of tracks from the “Too High To Die” album.
Even though CDs were king by 1994, record labels were still sending advanced copies of new releases to radio program directors and music directors on cassette, correctly assuming that most of us still drove cars with cassette players!
Guns N’ Roses
Appetite for Destruction
Geffen Records
1987
Wrapping up the year of rediscovering cassettes with my favorite album of all time. Before the CD, before the download, before the streaming, and before retro-vinyl find, this cassette got played so much that the lettering is hard to read.
Note that Sides A & B on this original release are labeled Sides G&R!
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Slash Records
1983
After a long hiatus, I thought it might be fun to return to Throw Back Thursday with some of my favorite albums. Only now instead of sharing some of my favorite vinyl, let’s look at some cassettes. Come on, you know you miss them!
Check out this cassette of The Violent Femmes‘ first. It was played about 1 Million times since I bought it in ’83.
“I hope you know that this will go down on your permanent record. Oh yeah?”
Animal Stories
Larry Lujack and Tommy Edwards
WLS Radio
1981
Highly acclaimed, world renowned Animal Stories with charming and delightful Ol’ Uncle Lar and sidekick snot-nosed Little Tommy.
If you grew up near Chicago in the 70s or 80s and have a dark sense of humor, Animal Stories, a daily bit from the Superjock on WLS-AM and later WLS-FM, may be the reason. This record was the first of 3 volumes released by ‘LS on vinyl.
Green Day
Dookie
Reprise Records
1994
25 years ago this week, I added this unknown band to our station’s playlist. The label freaked out over the “too-early add.” The band’s management sent me a bottle of Jameson. And after they sold many millions of CDs, they sent me this.
Talk smack all you want about Green Day — I don’t care, still like this record!
Various Artists
Fast Times at Ridgemont High Soundtrack
Elektra Records
1982
Aloha, Mr Hand. Aloha, Spicoli.
New Wave. Power Pop. Hard Rock. 4 of the 5 Eagles. That’s what 1982 was all about. This film set the trend for soundtracks for many years…and the brand of shoes I still buy today.
Gnarly.
The Lost Boys
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Atlantic Records
1987
“One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach: all the damn vampires.”