"Young people have a biological right to be excited about the times they're living through. If you are very lucky, that hormonal urgency is matched by the insurgency of the era, and your built-in adolescent need for amazement and belief coincides with a period of objective abundance. The prime years of postpunk-- the half decade from 1978-82-- were like that: a
fortune." Simon Reynolds, from
Rip it Up and Start Again.
Okay here we go, today I'm posting the first volume in my Post-Punk Series, Rebellious Jukebox. As I mentioned in my
last post, there are five Wednesdays in September and I'll drop one compilation on each of those. Here's what's in store: 5 Discs, 132 Songs, 6.5 Hours worth of Post-Punk madness. These five discs are separated into five mini-themed comps: Women, Gloom, Swing, Pop, and Noise.
When I first decided to tackle Post-Punk, I thought I would do three maybe four compilations at 20 tracks each. Needless to say, that expanded pretty quickly and I just didn't have the heart to make many cuts. There are 130 (129 if you're picky) artists represented. I'll explain the ones I doubled up as we get to them. The earliest track I used is from 1977, and the latest track is from 1986. Most of them, however, fall within the five-year period generally considered to be the golden age of Post-Punk, 1978-1982.
I said I didn't make many cuts and, of course, that's not entirely true. Instead of just randomly leaving out an artist I loved, I decided to skip certain sub-genres of Post-Punk, which I felt could be tackled at some later date. In particular, you'll find no American Hardcore, Ska Revival, Mod Revival or Kiwi Pop in this series and very few artists from Australia. The New Romantics are here only in their earliest form, as are the Synth Poppers. All of this is subjective. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on my picks and omissions. I've already started compiling stuff for future volumes, so any recommendations you have will be taken very seriously! I don't claim to have heard everything, and I'm always looking for new stuff to listen to.
Today's compilation features the Women of Post-Punk. In a way, it is the perfect introduction disc to the series and to Post-Punk in general, as nearly every sub-genre is represented within it's 27 tracks. Of the songs I selected, I'm pretty sure I only heard two of them back in the day. In the late 70's and early 80's I was more interested in AOR, and didn't really know much about Post-Punk. I did have a friend who was way ahead of his time. In 1979 (we were in sixth grade), he made me a tape with the Sex Pistols'
Nevermind the Bollocks on one side and the B-52's self-titled debut on the other.
I wish I could say that that tape immediately changed my listening habits. Alas, it would be a few years before I discovered how great that gift was. Let's put it in perspective. In sixth grade I was still very much in my Kiss phase--
Destroyer was my favorite album of all time. My older siblings (sister: 10 years older, brother: 8 years older) both listened to a lot of music, but my sister was buying 12" Disco singles and my brother was an avid Classic Rock fan at the time. Radio in Chattanooga wasn't that great (it still kinda sucks), and we didn't get MTV in our area until '81 or so. That tape sounded like it came from some other planet, but I did listen to it all the way through, so technically the first song I heard on this compilation was "52 Girls", though I can't claim it made much of an impression at the time. The other track, of course, would be "Mental Hopscotch" which I heard via MTV in 1982. It is the most New Wave-y track on any of the comps, but I still think it's a great song and Missing Persons'
Spring Session M is miles better than anything else the Bozzio's ever produced and a nice little document of how Post-Punk influenced the mainstream.
Enough babbling, I'll let the ladies take it from here.
Happy Listening!
Rebellious Jukebox Vol. 1: Women
01. The Slits, “Instant Hit” [1979]
02. Au Pairs, “We’re So Cool” [1981]
03. Suburban Lawns, “Unable” [1981]
04. Essential Logic, “ Fanfare in the Garden” [1981]
05. Lizzy Mercier Descloux, “Wawa” [1979]
06. Pylon, “Stop It” [1980]
07. Bush Tetras, “You Taste Like the Tropics” [1980]
08. Delta 5, “Anticipation” [1980]
09. Siouxsie & the Banshees, “Mirage” [1978]
10. Family Fodder, “Savoir Faire”[1980]
11. LiLiPuT/Kleenex, “Ain’t You” [1978]
12. Young Marble Giants, “Final Day” [1979]
13. Romeo Void, “Myself to Myself” [1981]
14. X, “Nausea” [1980]
15. Snatch, “All I Want” [1978]
16. Altered Images, “Dead Pop Stars” [1981]
17. B-52’s, “52 Girls” [1979]
18. ESG, “Moody” [1981]
19. Missing Persons, “Mental Hopscotch” [1982]
20. Animals & Men, “Terraplane Fixation [1980]
21. The Raincoats, “Fairytale in the Supermarket [1979]
22. Tom Tom Club, “On, On, On, On . . .” [1981]
23. Oh-Ok, “Brother” [1982]
24. The Flying Lizards, “TV” [1980]
25. Inflatable Boy Clams, “Marin” [1981]
26. Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, “Orphans” [1978]
27. Marine Girls, “In Love” [1981]
Total Time 1:15:47
Download it here:
Rebellious Jukebox Vol. 1: Women