We now enter the second decade of An Album for Each Year of Your Life. By the age of ten I had completely severed my own taste in music from that of my parents (although my father's Pink Floyd obsession did stick with me). As a result, I was wholly at the mercy of the marketplace: MTV still showed videos at this point, so I had cobbled together a totally confused cultural identity that was equal parts breakdancer, hair metal fan, and New Waver. In other words, I was a ten year old with a television set.
1985
Then: Wham! - Make It Big
Now: INXS - Listen Like Thieves
Well 1985 is a little embarrassing on both ends, if only because of my utter rock snobbery. Granted, my other childhood choices were Phil Collins and Tears for Fears, so I was never going to look like a super-cool 10-year-old. But INXS? Really? I had to be completely honest with myself here and admit that while The Cure, The Replacements, The Smiths, or Jesus and Mary Chain would make me sound a lot cooler, Listen Like Thieves is still my favorite of the lot, back to front. Besides, Meat Is Murder is definitely my least favorite Smiths album.
1986
Then: Janet Jackson - Control
Now: The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
Who knew 1986 was such a powerhouse year for childhood albums? Graceland, Invisible Touch, Run DMC's Raising Hell, and Peter Gabriel's So all ruled my 12-year-old life.
1987
Then and Now: U2 - The Joshua Tree
At the time, INXS's Kick was pretty hot shit as well, but the rooftop video for "Where the Streets Have No Name" was the tiebreaker. These days I consider U2 a little melodramatic, but I can't argue with the album's impact (or its continued appeal).
1988
Then: Living Colour - Vivid
Now: Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
Welcome to high school! Truth be told, I was mostly listening to "classic rock" at this point in my life. As for the "Now" category...this was the toughest call so far, with Daydream Nation, Straight Outta Compton, and Surfer Rosa all vying for the top spot.
1989
Then: B-52s - Cosmic Thing
Now: Pixies - Doolittle
Doolittle would have taken then and now honors, but I didn't get into the Pixies until 1990.
1990
Then and Now: Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual
Nothing about choosing this album as my current favorite from 1990 feels right. I'm beginning to suspect that a lot of indie releases were left off the Wikipedia list of 1990 albums. That, or I'm just not as different from my high school self as I thought.
1991
Then and Now: Nirvana - Nevermind
It's something of a cliché now, but looking through the list of 1991 albums, it truly was the year music stopped sucking. Tribe released The Low End Theory and a rapper named 2Pac released his first album. Smashing Pumpkins, Blur, and Pearl Jam debuted. And two little masterpieces called Nevermind and Loveless came out. Jesus.
1992
Then: Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
Now: REM - Automatic for the People
High school graduation! These two albums could have gone either way, really... they're apples and oranges. Does the fact that it's getting harder to separate Then from Now mean your tastes are largely determined in your teens?
1993
Then: Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Now: Breeders - Last Splash
Okay, this probably has more to do with how these respective bands have aged than it does with these two albums, but... nothing wrong with that. And yes, I admit In Utero just wasn't poppy enough for me.
1994
Then: Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)
Now: Blur - Parklife
Honesty is overrated. While there's nothing wrong with either of these picks, every fiber of my ego was screaming for Pavement's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.
Continue to Part 3 (1995–2007)
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