Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

I first heard Grant Hart, who died on September 13, 2017 at the tragically young age of 56, on   Hüsker Dü ' s Candy Apple Grey , the band's underrated and oft-maligned major label debut from 1986. As a fan of Bob Mould's Sugar, I decided to finally take the plunge into  Hüsker Dü 's catalog, and this was the first album I was able to find. By Candy Apple Grey , the band had nearly perfected their poppy power trio attack, mixing heavy, buzzsaw guitars with power pop affectations. Those elements were always there, even on 1981's raucous, live album Land Speed Record and the hardcore, yet melodic, Everything Falls Apart.  By 1986, after several more seminal records ( Zen Arcade , New Day Rising ,  Flip Your Wig ) in the hardcore/indie cannon, they perfected the form. Alternating between Mould's generally faster songs that increasingly relied on pop sensibilities and Hart's more lyrically-and vocally-focused songwriter paeans, both revolving heavily around ...

I'm doing something different this year for my top list. I want to cover records that have not gotten appreciation or coverage that much, so I have devised a list that pulls from all genres without the usual suspects. However, a few might still make it because there are so many lists. This means that many records that would normally make my overarching list will be missing, yet I hope to cover them in short posts throughout next year. One goal is to do more "Track This" entries, as well as more reviews of my favorite stuff. I have noticed over the last few years that many lists are samey, and there are always records that slip through the cracks to put certain artists in high spots. I honestly admit that many of my choices also trend in certain directions. In recent years, I have a strong affinity for Americana and metal, while less attention has been paid to punk or indie. I've looked at a few lists this year for those genres and was at a complete loss. Also, I tend ...