It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back: Pazz and Jop ‘88

Matt and Tim looked at the significance of Public Enemy back in the Fear of a Black Planet episode and they re-up that discussion here in the context of the predecessor, 1988's It Takes a Nation of Millions. That album was released during a quietly, and as we discuss catastrophically, consequential year. It also topped 1988's Pazz and Jop list. Matt presents two other top five albums from that poll in Tracy Chapman's self-titled debut (you probably know "Fast Car" and nothing else) and Midnight Oil's Diesel and Dust (you probably know "Beds are Burning" and nothing else), which came in third and fourth, respectively. In addition to the accolades, both albums also speak to the particular tensions of 1988. But which most embodies the year?