| This is all very sentimental stuff, I know, but as it happens I’ve got these reissues of all this stuff by the Stockholm Monsters. I’m not sure if I believe in even having a favorite band -- how can I choose between several bands with whose work I feel like I’ve spent full seasons down in the grave? -- but if I had to choose, the Stockholm Monsters would be right up there at the top of the list. They only had one album, Alma Mater, released on Factory Records in June of 1984. If there is a better album in the world, I certainly haven’t heard it. Once it seemed to me that there was a weak song, maybe two, tucked in amongst absolute masterpieces like “Terror,” “Five O’Clock,” “Decalogue” and “Your Uniform.” That was a long time ago, though. As far as I am concerned now, Alma Mater is a perfect album. |