As a rule I generally don’t go to class reunions. They’re just too weird for me, and I’m not great at the “what are you doing these days” types of conversations. But a few weeks ago was my 40th year college reunion, and a handful of great old friends convinced me to attend some of the festivities.

Truthfully, I have to thank those old pals, as I ended up having a great time. Sure, my old man memory caused me to not remember some of these folks but I did my best. It also caused me to reminsce on the music of that era. I was the music director of KAUR my senior year, and it was such a great period in my life. Some of my favorite bands were putting out their greatest music, and almost every week there seemed to be potnetial new faves.

The combo of this sort of reminiscing and the upcoming release of a live Husker Du box set, 1985: The Miracle Year, made the decision to honor that year on a Ledge episode an easy one. Here are quite a few of the great songs from that year. Yes, at times it does get a bit more commercial than a typical Ledge episode, but most of us welcomed the idea of “our” bands making mainstream inroads. Why wouldn’t we want to hear these songs on formats that weren’t “left of the dial”? Honestly, all of my music-oriented projects, whether it’s via podcast, print, or record stores, have been attempts to turn people on to music they may have zero exposure to otherwise. 

What were your favorite records of 1985?

For more info, including setlists, head to http://scotthudson.blogspot.com