Michelle Shocked - Anchorage

It's hard to imagine a more extreme transition than from Accept to Michelle Shocked, and it underscores the diversity of eighties music.  [I'm not sure how many readers will actually listen to the two songs, but they are both good ... in very different ways.]

Michelle Shocked (given name:  Karen Michelle Johnston) is an indy folk artist who became a musician almost accidentally.  Her first album (The Texas Campfire Tapes) was a bootleg recording of her made on a Sony Walkman performing an impromptu set at 1986 Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas.  The recording (released without her permission) became a hit in the UK and led to a recording contract.

Her next album, 1988's Short Sharp Shocked reached #73 on the album charts, while "Anchorage" hit #66 on the singles chart, making her a bona fide indy folk star.  Shocked followed this up with a 40's style swing album (1989's Captain Swing) and a folk / old time country album (1992's Arkansas Traveler).  When she recorded a gospel album next, her exasperated label dropped her, and she has continued to record interesting music in a variety of genres (mostly folk based) since then.

"Anchorage" is a pretty, slightly sad song sung as if it were a letter.  While the lyrics are straightforward, there is a beauty to them -- and more than a hint of feminism and nostalgia.  As with many great songs, it is open-ended enough to allow many interpretations.  Both the song and the album would be on my list of best 1980's folk music.