6.5: Age of Mirrors – Screenplay (1987)

When you find out your friend is in a band and has made a record, it’s like finding out that they’re a practicing wizard, a superhero, or secret agent. It often turns music fans/friends into evangelists – “Everyone! Listen to what my friend made!” In the heady days when melancholic northern new wave roamed the Read more about 6.5: Age of Mirrors – Screenplay (1987)[…]

6.3: Nick Heyward – North of a Miracle (1983)

There reaches a point in a young music fan’s life when they begin to detect the emotional complexities of the songs and albums they love. This usually corresponds with a capacity for sensing these things in real life between real people. One discovers that some things can seem happy on the surface, while being full Read more about 6.3: Nick Heyward – North of a Miracle (1983)[…]

5.5: Steve Taylor – On The Fritz (1985)

When one is at a young age, the way isn’t always as straightforward as we initially think. This is true of the subcultures, ideology and even faith communities we find ourselves in. But what remains after we find ourselves on a different path years later? How do those lessons we picked up from a bygone Read more about 5.5: Steve Taylor – On The Fritz (1985)[…]

5.3: Van Morrison – Poetic Champions Compose (1987)

Romance! Everyone has an idea of what it means to them. It is certainly attached to intense emotional states, especially when we’re young. By the late eighties, Graeme was in college in doing content creation in a time before podcasts – this time as co-editor of the school newspaper. It was there that his fellow Read more about 5.3: Van Morrison – Poetic Champions Compose (1987)[…]

5.1: A-ha – Hunting High & Low (1985)

Some records become the soundtrack for pivotal periods of self-discovery in our lives, even if we’re not aware of the importance of those times to our personal development – maybe even especially so. In the summer of 1987, Rob took a trip to Barbados to stay with his cousin. Driving around the island, A-Ha’s 1985 Read more about 5.1: A-ha – Hunting High & Low (1985)[…]

The Soundtrack Sessions 3: Ennio Morricone – The Mission (1986)

Welcome to Deeper Cuts: The Soundtrack Sessions – a three-episode miniseries which finds the Deeper Cuts trio looking at the the intersection between film and music while looking at albums that were meaningful to one of them. As a teenager, Graeme was drawn to the world of orchestral film scores. Thanks to a friend at Read more about The Soundtrack Sessions 3: Ennio Morricone – The Mission (1986)[…]

4.4: Sade – Diamond Life (1984)

Remember record stores? Those magical places which seemingly contained all the music in the world? Rob remembers one such record store fondly — Cactus Records in Oakville — because it was there he encountered an album that he’d been interested in for years: Sade’s sophisiti-pop opus Diamond Life. How were Sade’s stylish sounds received by Read more about 4.4: Sade – Diamond Life (1984)[…]

4.1: Sting – …Nothing Like The Sun (1987)

Sometimes, you find yourself growing up. You realize that some of the things you believed and thought were solid in your life really aren’t – and in fact are even harmful to you. You find you have to question those things to create a new path for yourself. You’ve got to start again. This was Read more about 4.1: Sting – …Nothing Like The Sun (1987)[…]

Joe Jackson Night and Day Addendum: Steppin’ Out of a Comfort Zone

In episode seven of our podcast (which you can listen to right here!), we talked a lot about the expanding musical possibilities that Joe Jackson’s Night and Day album helped me discover beyond the borders of top forty pop. But in parallel, Joe Jackson himself was on a journey all of his own around the Read more about Joe Jackson Night and Day Addendum: Steppin’ Out of a Comfort Zone[…]

7: Joe Jackson – Night and Day (1982)

Have you ever felt a page of your life turn, moving from one chapter to another? It’s a common experience that can be tumultuous but also pretty exciting, too. During a time of transition for Rob, it was Joe Jackson’s 1982 album Night and Day that provided the soundtrack. It was what we term an Read more about 7: Joe Jackson – Night and Day (1982)[…]

1: Tears For Fears – The Hurting (1983)

Being a teenager is tough. We all have those albums that we went to for solace when we were slogging through our teen years that helped us to realize that we’re not alone in our awkward gloominess. Rob submits this one as his go-to teenage angst record; Tears For Fears’ 1983 debut album The Hurting. Read more about 1: Tears For Fears – The Hurting (1983)[…]