8. Sleater-Kinney – Call The Doctor Two guitars, drums, no bass, twin lead vocals, feminist rage, punk as hell. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #sleaterkinney #punk #indie #posthardcore #seaoftranquility sleaterkinney.bandcamp.com/album/call-t...

9. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing First album to be completely constructed from samples. Not digital though, just Shadow, his turntable, Akai MPC60, a mixer and his records. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #djshadow #instrumentalhiphop #esperimentalhiphop #plunderphonics #turntablism #seaoftranquility

10. Acid Bath – Paegan Terrorism Tactics So much more than sludge metal, one of the most shockingly original bands of that decade, mixing stoner, grunge, southern rock and psychedelic-singed swamp goth. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #acidbath #sludgemetal #stonermetal #grunge #goth #seaoftranquility

11. Belle & Sebastian – If You’re Feeling Sinister Literate 80s jangle pop (Felt, Smiths, Postcard) with the understatement of the third VU album and the wounded sensitivity of Nick Drake. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #belle&sebastian #chamberpop #indiepop #chamberfolk #seaoftranquility

12. Walt Mink – El Producto Third album showed Kimbrough's songwriting growth and maturing vocals, adding more emotional heft to measure up to his incredible, blazing guitar chops. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #waltmink #alt #powerpop #psychpop #folkpop #seaoftranquility

13. Screaming Trees – Dust The haunting textures perfectly support Lanegan's emotionally heavy tunes, augmented by Eastern melodies and even Mellotron on "Sworn and Broken," a contender for their greatest song. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #screamingtrees #alt #grunge #psych #seaoftranquility

14. Swans – Soundtracks For The Blind Musique concrète, dark ambient, post-industrial and post-rock + xtra dread. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #swans #postrock #experimental #drone #darkambient #postindustrial #soundcollage #hauntology #neofolk #seaoftranquility swans.bandcamp.com/album/soundt...

15. Dirty Three – Horse Stories Dirty Three at their peak -- windswept desolation, longing, loss, despair and fiery passion. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #dirtythree #postrock #ambientamericana #slowcore #seaoftranquility dirtythree.bandcamp.com/album/horse-...

16. Labradford – Labradford A stark, slow, minimalist album that redefined what post-rock could be before most people even heard of it. Suspended animation. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #labradford #postrock #ambientamericna #slowcore #drone #seaoftranquility labradford.bandcamp.com/album/labrad...

17. And Also The Trees – Angelfish Mid-century urban noir, with smoky jazz textures and twanging surf guitar evoking crimes committed in the shadows. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #andalsothetrees #postpunk #psych #surf #goth #garagenoir #seaoftranquility andalsothetrees.bandcamp.com/album/angelf...

18. Chico Science & Nação Zumbi – Afrociberdelia Maracatu, raggamuffin, heavy metal, psychedelic rock, punk, funk and hip hop from Brazil. More: fastnbulbous.com/nacao-zumbi-... #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #chicosciencenacaozumbi #manguebeat #maracatu #hiphop #funkrock #dub #psych #seaoftranquility

19. Beck – Odelay A party record that was also pretty revolutionary, seamlessly fusing folk rock, psych, funk and blues with experimental hip hop and sample-heavy turntablism driven by the Dust Brothers. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #beck #alt #psych #hiphop #electronic #folk #seaoftranquility

Reading Rundown: The War and Peace of 60s Counterculture and a Time Travel Classic Three contenders for my all-time top 30 favorite books and another two in my top 50. fastnbulbous.com/reading-rund... #lewisshiner #booksky #favebooks

20. Motorpsycho – Blissard Noise pop, punk, prog, ambient and post-rock, and yet it's their most focused sounding, transitioning from improvising in the studio to recording pre-written songs. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #motorpsycho #indie #noise #post-hardcore #post-rock #psych #seaoftranquility

21. Disco Inferno – Technicolour Sample-driven maximalism, but more pop than post-punk, a balancing act between polish and clutter. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #discoinferno #noisepop #psych #experimental #dreampop #soundcollage #seaoftranquility discoinfern0.bandcamp.com/album/techni...

22. Low – The Curtain Hits The Cast Expanded scope with subtly more textured sound design, more accomplished vocal harmonies that lend more emotional impact and a quietly epic effect. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #low #slowcore #dreampopt #post-rock #drone #seaoftranquility

23. Tool – Ænima A balancing act between twin dangers of overly pretentious Jungian psychology and cheesy New Age spirituality, but tempered with a healthy dose of satire. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #tool #altmetal #progmetal #post-metal #seaoftranquility

24. Sheila Chandra – ABoneCroneDrone Hypnotic drones with microtonal shifts, her voice a majestic, ritualistic presence, probably has healing powers. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #sheilachandra #drone #ambient #newage #hindustaniclassical #seaoftranquility sheilachandra.bandcamp.com/album/abonec...

25. Fu Manchu – In Search Of… SoCal sun-glazed skate and muscle car culture, fuzzed out riffs, and Eddie Glass' most accomplished playing. Stoner | Desert | Heavy Psych | Stoner Metal | RYM #331 #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #fumanchu #stoner #desert #heavypsych #seaoftranquility

26. Jessamine – The Long Arm Of Coincidence Motorik Kosmische with oscillating analog synths, droning space rock, dub bass and gauzy shoegaze adjacent vocals. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #jessamine #experimental #postrock #kosmische #seaoftranquility jessamine.bandcamp.com/album/the-lo...

27. Wilco – Being There Even at their barest bones, Tweedy's songs held up. The album could have been even better with some more memorable arrangements, and a tightened play time. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #wilco #countryrock #rootsrock #americana #seaoftranquility

29. Team Dresch – Captain, My Captain Highly accomplished, fierce post-hardcore punk that balances noise and melody like Hüsker Dü. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #teamdresch #punk #posthardcore #indie #riotgrrrl #seaoftranquility teamdresch.bandcamp.com/album/captai...

28. Bowery Electric – Beat Pioneering fusion of dubby trip hop, illbient drift and minimalist post-rock. Hypnotic disassociation. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #boweryelectric #triphop #shoegaze #postrock #ambient #drone #spacerock #illbient #seaoftranquility boweryelectric.bandcamp.com/album/beat

30. Melvins – Stag A dizzying variety of sounds and styles, from ambient to noise, experimental trombone driven jazz, sitars, sludge, and plenty of their twisted sense of absurd humor. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #melvins #sludgemetal #psych #experimental #stonermetal #seaoftranquility

Albums That Are 30 Years Old 31. Gallon Drunk – In The Long Still Night UK garage noir on third album, lurking about in the shadowy dark alleys and seedy Tiki bars. #festerslucky13 #aoty1996 #gallondrunk #garagenoir #punkblues #seaoftranquility

Spirit Adrift – Infinite Illumination (20 Buck Spin) Their sixth, final and best album circles back to doom and gloom. fastnbulbous.com/spirit-adrif... #festerslucky13 #spiritadrift #doommetal #heavymetal #6albumrun #musicsky

Truckfighters – Masterflow (Fuzzorama) Swedish fuzz rockers’ triumphant return after a decade gap. fastnbulbous.com/truckfighter... #festerslucky13 #truckfighters #heavypsych #fuzz #musicsky

"My god, it's full of RIFFS." Big release day for two of my favorite bands, both releasing the all-important album #6. Spirit Adrift & Truckfighters! 20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/infini... fuzzoramarecords1.bandcamp.com/album/master... Full reviews on both when I get more deep listening time.

1986 Videos Playlist - 118 youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Revisiting favorite albums that are 40 years old this year. fastnbulbous.com/lucky-86 #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #musicsky

Books: 1986 Neon poetry of gritty lowlifes battling corporate feudalism in a three-thread narrative. AI is starting to resemble vodou loa, and Gibson’s rich prose is evolving right along with the characters. #books1986 #WilliamGibson #TheSprawl #festerslucky13

Movies: 1986 A blacker than black comedy and indie thriller. #movies1986 #festerslucky13 #bluevelvet #somethingwild #davidlynch #JonathanDemme

1. The Chameleons – Strange Times Towering, crystalline cathedrals of sound that reveal new reflections on every listen. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #chameleons #postpunk #dreampop #goth #musicsky

2. The Feelies – The Good Earth Second album had a pastoral, early autumn feel with more jangly, acoustic guitars. The most passionate centerpiece is “Slipping (Into Something).” thefeelies.bandcamp.com/album/the-go... #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #feelies #janglepop #indiepop #hoboken #musicsky

3. Metallica – Master of Puppets The best sound, performance, execution, and a cohesive narrative flow. The youthful rawness is replaced by a polished majesty, particularly on the title track and Cliff's "Orion." #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #metallica #thrashmetal #progmetal #heavymetal #musicsky

4. Slayer – Reign In Blood Honed their sound on album three into a powerful bludgeoning. Groundbreaking speed, "Angel of Death" and "Raining Blood" I'm getting verklempt . . . FUCKING SLAYER!!! \../ #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #xtc #slayer #thrashmetal #deathmetal #musicsky

5. XTC – Skylarking Their most lush, cohesive and unique statement. It was my entrypoint to their catalogue. Stunning. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #xtc #psychpop #chamberpop #sunshinepop #musicsky

6. The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead No one else could make teenage fear and insecurity sound so sweepingly romantic. But then, no one else had Johnny Marr to provide guitar. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #smiths #janglepop #indiepop #postpunk #musicsky

7. The Church – Heyday Sydney band made a big leap forward on fourth album, more orchestral and guitar heavy, it was their masterpiece, pointing toward their future as a key influence on dream pop. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #church #postpunk #psych #janglepop #musicsky

8. Easterhouse – Contenders A brilliant mix of post-punk, jangle pop and fiery lefty political rage. Their debut came out the same day as their labelmates The Smiths, and ended up being overlooked by everyone. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #easterhouse #postpunk #newwave #janglepop #bigmusic #musicsky

9. The Woodentops – Giant Bits of Suicide,Talking Heads, XTC, Bunnymen and the frenetic rhythms of The Feelies, all treated with acoustic folk, twisted with other instrumentation like marimbas. A lost classic. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #woodentops #janglepop #c86 #indiepop #newwave #musicsky

10. Agent Orange – This Is The Voice Wildly colorful blend of psychedelic punk and surf with just a bit of driving, metallic edge. A needle drop of "Fire in the Rain" or "Tearing Me Apart" would change lives. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #agentorange #punk #post-punk #altrock #surfpunk #musicsky

11. Screaming Blue Messiahs – Gun-Shy Wall of sound punk blues, a torrid fever dream about assassination, serial killers and creepy invitations to play in the woods. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #screamingbluemessiahs #altrock #bluespunk #psychobilly #cowpunk #musicsky

12. Hunters & Collectors – Human Frailty Sweaty muscle shirt-wearing former punks bellow songs filled with romantic yearning and emotional vulnerability. Stellar breakup/makeup album. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #hunters&collectors #altrock #bigmusic #postpunk #musicsky

13. R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant Crisp, rockier production, Michael Stipe enunciating properly for the first time. It's top heavy, with the best tracks the first three, "Begin the Begin," "These Days" and "Fall on Me." #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #r.e.m. #janglepop #altrock #folkrock #musicsky

14. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Your Funeral . . . My Trial The start of his journey from smarmy junkie devil to Cohenesque poet-crooner and benevolent goth Oprah." Choon: "The Carny." #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #nickcaveandthebadseeds #goth #postpunk #darkcabaret #punkblues #garagenoir #musicsky

15. Talk Talk – The Colour Of Spring Progressing beyond mere synthpop/new wave, their third album is a progressive sophisti-pop classic. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #talktalk #artpop #newwave #progpop #sophistipop #musicsky

16. The The – Infected A complex, sophisticated album, and Matt Johnson’s rawest, most energetic work. www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #thethe #artpop #synthpop #postpunk #newwave #musicsky

17. Siouxsie & The Banshees – Tinderbox Key influencers of goth with their most balanced production, sounding both muscular and ethereal. Prime psychedelic post-punk, classic Siouxsie. #festerslucky13 #aoty1986 #siouxsieandthebanshees #postpunk #psych #musicsky