This Week's Forgotten Gem of the '80s - Hoodoo Gurus' "Bittersweet"

More often than not, melodic guitar rock of the '80s remained the best place to find quirky artists, particularly in the intriguing college rock, underground and early alternative circles. But with punk rock nearly forgotten in the wake of glossy MTV pop and flashy hard rock, musical misfits were forced ever deeper into the far fringe of the mainstream, which made it a bit more challenging to find them.

Of course, the effort was almost always worth the trouble, and that is certainly the case with Australia's eclectic Hoodoo Gurus. Equally capable of rocking out in accessible ways and plumbing the offbeat through Dave Faulkner's stylized vocals and pop culture-obsessed lyrics, the band itself strikes me as one of the forgotten gems of all of rock history. For supporting evidence, check out "Bittersweet", a broadly enjoyable tune from 1985's Mars Needs Guitars. This is the kind of music that - if you had not yet heard it by the time of the '90s alternative explosion - had the ability to incite a significant amount of regret once you gained exposure to it. In addition, Hoodoo Gurus stand as one of the major '80s ensembles with a sound organic enough to never really sound dated or tied to any era. Plenty to recommend here indeed.

• Sample or download "Bittersweet" here.
• Compare prices on Hoodoo Gurus CDs here.
• College Rock Genre Profile