Best 1,000 Albums Ever
by Eric Berlin

Berlin – Pleasure Victim: #893 of best 1,000 albums ever!

Berlin - Pleasure Victim

Why is Berlin’s Pleasure Victim on my best 1,000 albums ever list?

Slinky, mysterious, and sexy synth pop that’s very early ‘80s in the best way.

What does Berlin’s Pleasure Victim mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?

“The Metro” is dynamite early ‘80s synth pop. But whereas many songs of its ilk are upbeat vacuous sugar highs, “The Metro” is slinky, a little bit dark and a little bit mysterious.

And Terri Nunn’s vocals has a Debbie Harry quality that can span pop and new wave with enough of a punk edge to make things really interesting.

I’m not sure what the heck is going on in that music video, but it does weirdly make me want to hop the train to Paris circa 1982.

And this, for reasons that I hope are self-apparent, compels me to share with you the brilliant Flight of the Conchords’ “Fashion is Danger.”

There are two versions of “Sex (I’m A…)” on Pleasure Victim. If you find the song title is interesting, I’ll invite you to check out the lyrics to learn more. Anyway, I really like both versions, but the “Long Version,” which runs over eight minutes, is particularly weird and cool. It amps up the keyboard arpeggios even hotter and goes straight avant garde synth pop in a way that I really dig.

There’s a lot of other songs I like on Pleasure Victim, but I’ll end with “World of Smiles” because of its bouncy, synth-y vibe, gorgeous vocals, and pulse-y production. A great early ‘80s deep cut.

Okay, let’s just get it out there. I know what you’re saying. You’re saying, “Eric Berlin, what’s up with your Berlin bias? Your Berlin bias is clearly biased. Berlin bias!”

And if you’re saying that and it starts off sounding normal but then morphs into sounding like a perfect blend of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, well, that would just make sense.

I have no defense.

Some stats & info about Berlin – Pleasure Victim

  • What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? New Wave, Pop Music, Synth Pop, Rock Music
  • Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
  • All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • When was Pleasure Victim released? 1982
  • My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #893 out of 1,000

Berlin’s Pleasure Victim on Spotify

What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?

Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.

But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.