Post-Punk, New Wave, No Wave & Friends!

[Carolian]

I broke down and bought almost three hundred dollars' worth of CDs today. The Kleenex/Liliput comp, NO NEW YORK, the first two PiL albums, all the Birthday Party remasters... plus, one of my friends burned me a shitload of mix CDs with a bunch of bands I haven't heard like Can, Glaxo Babies, The Raincoats, some old Eno and Roxy Music, Faust, Essential Logic, Massacre, Camberwell Now, Delta 5, Bush Tetras, Ultravox, Cabaret Voltaire, Tubeway Army...

Opinions? I can't wait to dive head-first into all this... muuuuuuuusic.

[Seppuku]

Wow Carolian, that spending spree officially made you King of Thread. I mean...damn, Glaxo Babies! I bet even if you're from Bristol, a massive Pop Group fan, and best friends with their drummer, their back-catalogue would still be too fringey to get a hold of. This shop you went to sounds amazing.

Now to get off-topic, though I guess this band did come out of that post-punk climate, so it ain't THAT bad.

my fave critics love 'em, Sleater-Kinney loved 'em, but I tried, and they didn't do much for me. One of those bands that I'll 'prolly try to listen to again couple of years from now...

I'll admit, when I first listened to the Go-Betweens I was thoroughly whelmed. The lyrics seemed aloof, the music didn't quite hang together, and the melodies, though direct, didn't quite wash over me. It took around the fifth play, maybe even longer, for their albums to suddenly ring with me. Now Liberty Belle and 16 Lovers Lane are up there with my favourite albums; raw emotions, catchy tunes, and just straight-up inspiring music.

That's why their fans are so possessive, because they had to put in all that hard work getting to know those songs.

Back on topic: I saw John Cooper Clarke in a pub in London (he's a friend of my mum's- they used to busk together in Covent Garden back in the day), and, apart from still looking like an anorexic Bob Dylan circa '66, he is a downright working class hero. Back in the late 70s/early 80s he came up with the kind of poetry that would make Charles Bukowski proud, and eventually started "signifying" (as Bo Diddley called the process of not singing/but not simply talking) to a slightly off musical background, that, nevertheless, still somehow worked with the poetry. He couldn't stay at the pub for long, but I'm just glad he's still alive. He's pretty much been under a rock for 10 years from what I hear.

Here are the lyrics to I Married a Monster From Outter Space which was on his '78 album, Disguise in Love.

I fell in love with an alien being

whose skin was jelly - whose teeth were green

she had the big bug eyes and the death-ray glare

feet like water wings - purple hair

I was over the moon - I asked her back to my place

then I married the monster - from outer space



The days were numbered - the nights were spent

in a rent free furnished oxygen tent

when a cyborg chef served up moon beams

done super rapid on a laser beam

I needed nutrition to keep up the pace

when I married the monster from outer space


We walked out - tentacle in hand

you could sense that the earthlings would not understand

they'd go.. nudge nudge ...when we got off the bus

saying it's extra-terrestial - not like us

and it's bad enough with another race

but fuck me... a monster ...from outer space


In a cybernetic fit of rage

she pissed off to another age

she lives in 1999

with her new boyfriend - a blob of slime

each time I see her translucent face

I remember the monster from outer space

[Carolian]

Yeah, it was the single greatest record store I've ever seen. They had so, so much more, too, that I wanted to buy, but I hit the wall when it comes to how much I can spend in one go on CDs, heh.

Spent last night listening to Wire's 154, and damned if it doesn't blow PINK FLAG away to a frightening degree. Now I just have to pick up CHAIRS MISSING. High hopes!

[Brocktune]

Back on topic: I saw John Cooper Clarke in a pub in London (he's a friend of my mum's- they used to busk together in Covent Garden back in the day), and, apart from still looking like an anorexic Bob Dylan circa '66, he is a downright working class hero. Back in the late 70s/early 80s he came up with the kind of poetry that would make Charles Bukowski proud, and eventually started "signifying" (as Bo Diddley called the process of not singing/but not simply talking) to a slightly off musical background, that, nevertheless, still somehow worked with the poetry. He couldn't stay at the pub for long, but I'm just glad he's still alive. He's pretty much been under a rock for 10 years from what I hear.

Here are the lyrics to I Married a Monster From Outter Space which was on his '78 album, Disguise in Love.

I fell in love with an alien being

whose skin was jelly - whose teeth were green

she had the big bug eyes and the death-ray glare

feet like water wings - purple hair

I was over the moon - I asked her back to my place

then I married the monster - from outer space



The days were numbered - the nights were spent

in a rent free furnished oxygen tent

when a cyborg chef served up moon beams

done super rapid on a laser beam

I needed nutrition to keep up the pace

when I married the monster from outer space


We walked out - tentacle in hand

you could sense that the earthlings would not understand

they'd go.. nudge nudge ...when we got off the bus

saying it's extra-terrestial - not like us

and it's bad enough with another race

but fuck me... a monster ...from outer space


In a cybernetic fit of rage

she pissed off to another age

she lives in 1999

with her new boyfriend - a blob of slime

each time I see her translucent face

I remember the monster from outer space

work out, health fanatic
work out.

i cant believe you hung out with that guy.
any pics?

[Seppuku]

Phew, glad someone appreciates what a crazy experience that was. HE is starting to look a bit like an alien from outer space.

There is one pic, but it's on my mum's cam, so I'll see if I can get it off her and upload it. He looks like the English Joey Ramone- someone who you can't help but stare at out of horrified fascination, but who's still cool as a polar bear's toenails.

I can't believe someone else on the Zone has heard of him. This place rocks!

[Brocktune]

HE is starting to look a bit like an alien from outer space.

what do you mean, starting?
i thought that was the look he was always going for.

There is one pic, but it's on my mum's cam, so I'll see if I can get it off her and upload it. He looks like the English Joey Ramone- someone who you can't help but stare at out of horrified fascination, but who's still cool as a polar bear's toenails.

you gotta post that shit.
he has got to be the worlds first, and possibly only punk rock poet.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

10 Essential Post-punk albums...

just snagged Y by Pop Group and Come Away with ESG...

[Brocktune]

nice seeing the slits and pere ubu up there.

[PF Moon Deux]

Y by Pop Group

A racket, but a good one. Ya' see, the Pop Group never wanted to create hummable tunes (LOADED WITH IRONY AS THEY ARE) for teenagers to cuddle up and waltz to at the school dance, and so here they explode through 10 tracks of raw power. A landmark debut; the venomous, accusatory vocals of Mark Stewart and barbarous, avant-garde 'Funk' of Sanger's geetar mesh together merely to serve as an assault on your aural senses. But when they eventually do uncover a natural rhythm, what happens? Well, as any (Post Punk, Punk, New Wave) band should do, they self-destruct and start anew. A racket, once more.

Not that any of those words matter at all. Just put your headphones on and pogo.




Me? I'm presently strung-out on a lot of 80s Goth. Notably Bauhaus.

[PF Moon Deux]

Through the fragments of Bauhaus, emerged LOVE AND ROCKETS. No, not the Los Bros Hernandez book, but rather a Beatles-esque, abstract-pop ensemble that traded Peter Murphy's over the top persona for a more colourful palette and thus created some wonderfully exuberant (even upbeat) 'choons. A huge departure from the 'Xmal Deutschland/Marc Bolan' tableau they once reached for.

EXPRESS (1986) and EARTH, SUN, MOON (1987) are the only records really worth a damn, though.

[Seppuku]

Been listening to The Fire Engines, that This Heat box-set KCBC name-checked (Out of Cold Storage), A Certain Ratio, a LOT of Throbbing Gristle (Second Report and 20 Jazz-Funk Greats are bonafide classics; "industrial music for industrial people"), Cabaret Voltaire, Josef K and Suicide (should have made cokemachine's list if you ask me), and a few things by groups like Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and G-Schmitt. All- well most- are great, so I might get back with a few words on each of them when I've got the time.

Oh, and Love & Rockets' cover of Ball of Confusion was pretty good, even though it's strange how they took one of the Temptations' baddest, blackest songs, and made it sound as if there weren't a single negrah within a 100 miles of the recording studio.

[Zarles]

Love & Rockets were great, but what about Tones on Tail? How could anyone forget 'Go'?

[Seppuku]

I've been given about an hour on the radio to wax about my favourite music genre, so I figured I might as well put down a list of the songs I'm gonna end up playing. Maybe they'd make a good starting point for some bands that you might not have heard and want to get into. I've not really gone at selecting the songs with any particular methodology (I know I've probably chosen less American post-punk bands than I should have. There are a few on there, but so many of my favourites couldn't make the cut that I'll have to ask the station to give me another hour so I can get them on there).

Scritti Politti - Skank Bloc Bologna. Way back before he found his falsetto and became the white Michael Jackson (erm, wait...), Green Gartside was a cockney rebel with vaguely Communist leanings- Scritti Politti would always put down the cost of pressings, labels and recording in their sleeve-notes, so that the public could know how much they were being gypped. For my money, these are probably Post Punk's best five minutes. I've got no idea what he's singing, but it's all so loose and weird...and that bass riff is so dreamy!! Can be found on the album Early.

Josef K - Sorry For Laughing. Taken from their abandoned first album, this is just a great pop song from a great pop band, who wrote the most hummable nihilist anthems you can imagine.

The Pop Group - Snow Girl. According to TPG, if every musician in the band just does their thing, the mere fact that they're in the room together will be enough to turn it into music. Based on this song, and the album Y from which it's taken, they may be on to something.

Oh shit, just got a call saying I've got to meet my friend in some bar in about fifteen minutes. Seeing as how I kind of blew my wad on Scritti Politti (I wouldn't be the first one, so I hear...), I'm gonna just write down the names of the other songs I've got on there. All recommended. You can stream the show on http://www.radioreverb.com. Not sure when it'll be playing, but I'll let you know.

Suicide - Shadazz

This Heat - Horizontal Hold

Throbbing Gristle - Hamburger Lady (based on a letter written by a doctor who worked in a burn ward)

The Associates - Message Oblique Speech

Young Marble Giants - Choci Loni

Au Pairs - You

Magazine - Definitive Gaze

[Flumm]

I've been given about an hour on the radio to wax about my favourite music genre, so I figured I might as well put down a list of the songs I'm gonna end up playing. Maybe they'd make a good starting point for some bands that you might not have heard and want to get into. I've not really gone at selecting the songs with any particular methodology (I know I've probably chosen less American post-punk bands than I should have. There are a few on there, but so many of my favourites couldn't make the cut that I'll have to ask the station to give me another hour so I can get them on there).

Scritti Politti - Skank Bloc Bologna. Way back before he found his falsetto and became the white Michael Jackson (erm, wait...), Green Gartside was a cockney rebel with vaguely Communist leanings- Scritti Politti would always put down the cost of pressings, labels and recording in their sleeve-notes, so that the public could know how much they were being gypped. For my money, these are probably Post Punk's best five minutes. I've got no idea what he's singing, but it's all so loose and weird...and that bass riff is so dreamy!! Can be found on the album Early.

Josef K - Sorry For Laughing. Taken from their abandoned first album, this is just a great pop song from a great pop band, who wrote the most hummable nihilist anthems you can imagine.

The Pop Group - Snow Girl. According to TPG, if every musician in the band just does their thing, the mere fact that they're in the room together will be enough to turn it into music. Based on this song, and the album Y from which it's taken, they may be on to something.

Oh shit, just got a call saying I've got to meet my friend in some bar in about fifteen minutes. Seeing as how I kind of blew my wad on Scritti Politti (I wouldn't be the first one, so I hear...), I'm gonna just write down the names of the other songs I've got on there. All recommended. You can stream the show on http://www.radioreverb.com. Not sure when it'll be playing, but I'll let you know.

Suicide - Shadazz

This Heat - Horizontal Hold

Throbbing Gristle - Hamburger Lady (based on a letter written by a doctor who worked in a burn ward)

The Associates - Message Oblique Speech

Young Marble Giants - Choci Loni

Au Pairs - You

Magazine - Definitive Gaze

"...forget bloomin' boilin' Bovril, Great Grannie Moragg, we'll call Docter Dinkleworth fuh Morris n' budgerigar after supper - our Seppukkudkurasawa's startin' oop on't wireless!"

[PF Moon Deux]

BUY. THIS. RECORD.









NOW.

[unikrunk]

Through the fragments of Bauhaus, emerged LOVE AND ROCKETS. No, not the Los Bros Hernandez book, but rather a Beatles-esque, abstract-pop ensemble that traded Peter Murphy's over the top persona for a more colourful palette and thus created some wonderfully exuberant (even upbeat) 'choons. A huge departure from the 'Xmal Deutschland/Marc Bolan' tableau they once reached for.

EXPRESS (1986) and EARTH, SUN, MOON (1987) are the only records really worth a damn, though.

Ahh, what about Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven? That album is tits.
Haunted When the Minutes Drag is the song I got laid to most as a youngin' (16-18 )

[unikrunk]

Man, everyone and their uncle has been trying for the 'post-punk' sound forever - just go listen to the classics

Wire
Gang of Four
Joy Division
Mission of Burma

Forget the pretenders to the throne.

EDIT: note to self; read thread prior to posting.

These are pretty much the bands that you all have been speaking of. I am going back to my corner now, I need some alone time to think about my actions.

[DennisMM]

I see the first runner-up in the top 10 list was Metal Box. Has anyone here actually seen a copy of the true metal box packaging? Real hubris there, apparently, as the discs were so close to the inside diameter of the box that you had to pry them out.

[PF Moon Deux]

Ahh, what about Seventh Dream of Teenage Heaven?

Uhm. I forgot?





Inexcusable, really. That LP made my early teens somewhat tolerable.

[TheBaxter]

this is why i will always love Siouxsie Sioux

Your old guitarist, Cure frontman Robert Smith, is set to do a duet with Ashlee Simpson. Do you think he should be killed for treason?
Who is Ashlee Simpson?

I love that you said that!
No, really, who is he?

It's a she. A bland, lip-syncing American pop singer. Sister of Jessica Simpson.
Hmm, Jessica Simpson.

You don't know her, either, do you?
I really don't know. One of the benefits of living in France. I'm totally out of touch. As far as Robert Smith, I mean, darling, really, do you own a mirror?

Interview

[Seppuku]

Has anyone mentioned Young Marble Giants yet? Colossal Youth is one of the albums of the late '70s. Though I'd avoid them if you find The Police too dubby...

Other notables are:

Cabaret Voltaire. My favourite of theirs is probably The Crackdown, which is dirty, electronic hip-hop as filtered through an industrial grind. Very danceable.

23 Skidoo. Their best would be 7 songs, but seeing as how that's so hard to get a hold of, I'd recommend The Culling Is Coming. They're like a fun! Throbbing Gristle. Well, I guess any band would be considered fun in comparison to TG.

Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance. I guess they've got a bit of a fearsome rep, but if you can get past the tooth-drill grind that kicks this record off, there's some really addictive music contained within. If Black Francis didn't steal David Thomas skewed warble, then my name's Charlie Brown. He even stole his girth! (Also recommended, their second album, Dub Housing. It's slightly scarier and less accessible than their debut, though. Maybe try The Tenement Years too).

I'd also like to say that I've not disliked a single XTC album other than White Music (you have to admit, they sounded all over the place on that). My faves would be Drums & Wires and Skylarking. Seriously, Skylarking's just the most glorious, tune-filled album of the '80s. There's not really a dud song on that one. Though starting "Dear God" with a kid singing got me worried at first, but it turned out to be one of the best songs on the album.

I know somebody above mentioned This Heat, but I have to heartily second that shout out. This Heat (otherwise known as The Blue & Yellow Album) and especially Deceit are nothing short of stunning. Deceit is definitely in my top 10 albums. To show that they're still as big an influence (probably bigger) as they were in their heyday, try listening to some of Liars' and The Animal Collective's stuff.

Erm, what else? Anyone ever listened to Brian Eno & David Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Maybe that one would have to be put in the "& Friends" category, but Post-Punk was about experimentation and derring-do as much as a particular sound.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

This Heat...To show that they're still as big an influence (probably bigger) as they were in their heyday, try listening to some of Liars'

darn tootin'!

it's like Liars listened to "Horizontal Hold" on permanent repeat while crafting Drum's Not Dead.

of all the Zone's music threads, this is still the one I'm most proud of.

good show Zoners!

[Seppuku]

For downstealers, their two LPs proper might be quite a bitch to get a hold of, but if you can I'd certainly recommend giving Swell Maps' A Trip to Marineville and Jane From Occupied Europe a whirl. Jane especially.

Like some of the best post-punk music- Josef K, Fire Engines- much of the fun of listening to Swell Maps is the knowledge that the music is constantly teetered on the brink of falling apart. Still, I don't know any other post-punk band, even This Heat, who've managed to capture that psychic interplay evident in Krautrock bands like Neu and Can better than Swell Maps on songs like Big Maz in the Desert. Sure, they're ramshackle devotees of found noise, but unlike songs like Pere Ubu's Sentimental Journey (or the whole of New Picnic Time), the wall of sound never shows any gaps in its urgency and drive.

Marineville's worth picking up, but the fact that it starts out with three or four fairly basic (but still very enjoyable) punk songs, before delving into something new gives Jane the edge.

Thurston Moore said this of the band, "The Swell Maps had a lot to do with my upbringing... I wish I saw them."

Blur were also originally named Seymour after the band's landmark first single, Read About Seymour.

Midget Submarines from Marineville (sounds like a long-lost Fall song)

Let's Build a Car- Single from around the Jane period. (Warning: it's very fucking loud!)

I'm not surprised that some of their more hypnotic tracks are absent from You Tube, but both those songs are minor classics. Also, maybe give Jane From Occupied Europe's Helicopter Spies a play- just close your eyes and ignore the Alftarded "video" attached to it.

[stereosforgeeks]

For downstealers, their two LPs proper might be quite a bitch to get a hold of, but if you can I'd certainly recommend giving Swell Maps' A Trip to Marineville and Jane From Occupied Europe a whirl. Jane especially.

Like some of the best post-punk music- Josef K, Fire Engines- much of the fun of listening to Swell Maps is the knowledge that the music is constantly teetered on the brink of falling apart. Still, I don't know any other post-punk band, even This Heat, who've managed to capture that psychic interplay evident in Krautrock bands like Neu and Can better than Swell Maps on songs like Big Maz in the Desert. Sure, they're ramshackle devotees of found noise, but unlike songs like Pere Ubu's Sentimental Journey (or the whole of New Picnic Time), the wall of sound never shows any gaps in its urgency and drive.

Marineville's worth picking up, but the fact that it starts out with three or four fairly basic (but still very enjoyable) punk songs, before delving into something new gives Jane the edge.

Thurston Moore said this of the band, "The Swell Maps had a lot to do with my upbringing... I wish I saw them."

Blur were also originally named Seymour after the band's landmark first single, Read About Seymour.

Midget Submarines from Marineville (sounds like a long-lost Fall song)

Let's Build a Car- Single from around the Jane period. (Warning: it's very fucking loud!)

I'm not surprised that some of their more hypnotic tracks are absent from You Tube, but both those songs are minor classics. Also, maybe give Jane From Occupied Europe's Helicopter Spies a play- just close your eyes and ignore the Alftarded "video" attached to it.

Awesome write up on a great band!

[Seppuku]

Awesome write up on a great band!

Thanks man! I'm just amazed somebody else has heard of them.

Teh Zone rawks.

[stereosforgeeks]

Awesome write up on a great band!

Thanks man! I'm just amazed somebody else has heard of them.

Teh Zone rawks.

I don't remember how I learned of them at this point. Probably some left of the dial comp or something.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

been listening to A Certain Ratio's debut The Graveyard And The Ballroom a lot lately (mostly 'cuz I just picked it up). Mentioned in both 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE and CONTROL, if you like Joy Division at all you should really give them some spins.

normally, I'd come up with my own obtuse yet cliched way to describe them, but their web site totally does me way better...

influences from teutonic technotronicers Kraftwerk, powered by Wire and holding court in George Clinton's Funkadelic house of Parliament...
machine-gun scratch guitar funk

if you ever fall for the hype w/r/t the newer post-punk bands (and I'm looking at YOU, These New Puritans) and come out of a listen feeling mild disappointment, go back and listen to whom these acts jacked.

clears up that nagging distaste right quick.

also been adoring the roiling baselines to Delta 5, whose "Singles & Sessions 1979-81" contains some great tracks.

I've tried Suicide as well recently (?!)...creators of the first (FIRST!) synth-pop album, like ever, but that's a strange descriptor, 'cuz it ain't too poppy. Liked it, and it was a nice little history lesson, but it's one of those terribly arty albums that'll take a bunch of listens to really sink in.

[TonyWilson]

Thanks for the tip on A Certain Ratio, KC. Been meaning to get some of theirs for a while but had forgotten all about them until now.

Anyone heard of The Feelies? Lots of clean guitar lines (achieved by plugging the guitar straight into the mixing desk apparently) and polyrhythms reminiscent of Talking Heads.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

Anyone heard of The Feelies? Lots of clean guitar lines (achieved by plugging the guitar straight into the mixing desk apparently) and polyrhythms reminiscent of Talking Heads.

cue seppuK in 3...2...1...

[TonyWilson]

Heh!
Sepp probably mentioned them in some thread somewhere and it's been rattling around in my subconscious until I saw the album for sale yesterday.

[Seppuku]

Heh!
Sepp probably mentioned them in some thread somewhere and it's been rattling around in my subconscious until I saw the album for sale yesterday.

Excellent! I'm pretty sure I haven't given them a shout out on The Zone before, but I should have. I didn't even know they had anything to do with New Wave when I got into them. I just saw that they were called The Feelies, which was that all-sensory TV device from Brave New World, and impulse bought their first album, Crazy Rhythms. If KCBC's not heard of them, then he might be surprised to know that an even better (?) Josef K emerged from his old haunts in New Jersey. Also, did The Feelies invent the Geek Chic look alongside the Talking Heads? I don't think the world had ever seen so many horn-rimmed glasses or baggy shirts/pants before they came about.

Crazy Rhythms is absolutely essential! Also recommended in the same vein, The Psychedelic Furs' first album. Although their singer sounds less like Lou Reed and more like a growlier David Bowie.


A Certain Ratio I'm not so crazy about, however. You definitely started in the right place with The Graveyard & The Ballroom. I started out with a couple of their Factory albums, and ultimately ended up wondering whether I'd finally hit the bottom of the Post-Punk barrel (luckily I was wrong). Their early demos on Graveyard, though, are way more essential than anything else they put out. Still...I'm a little whelmed considering they were named after a line in Brian Eno's pwnsome song "Third Wheel".

I've tried Suicide as well recently (?!)...creators of the first (FIRST!) synth-pop album, like ever, but that's a strange descriptor, 'cuz it ain't too poppy. Liked it, and it was a nice little history lesson, but it's one of those terribly arty albums that'll take a bunch of listens to really sink in.

I think maybe you'd enjoy their second album far more. Just to be confusing bastards, they also named it Suicide. While still minimalist enough to sound like nothing else, it's way more influenced by early hip-hop (at least as far as Martin Rev's music is concerned. Thankfully, Alan Vega spares us any Elvis-style rapping). You won't find anything as dark as Frankie Teardrop here. This is definitely my favourite Suicide album, at least.

(By the way, to my knowledge the first synth-pop album is by a group called Silver Apples, who released two great albums in the late '60s. Apart from the hippie lyrics, they sound just like Suicide. I think Alan Vega even professed an influence in an interview with Sonic Youth's drummer, which can be found in the sleevenotes to Suicide's second LP. Listen to the song "You & I", which you can probably find on their MySpace page, and see what you think. Very danceable...although I often get the feeling I've just been electrocuted after listening to one of their LPs. Youtube link).

Props on mentioning Delta 5 as well. I've finally been catching up on some of the female post-punk groups I never got around to, and they're one of the best. My favourites right now, though, are The Raincoats and Essential Logic. I think Cobain convinced Geffen to re-release the Raincoats' catalogue...and there's no way if he were still about, their first two classic LPs would be such a bitch to get a hold of. If you can stomach John Cale-esque violin playing, then they're worth trying. The Slits even covered "Adventures Close to Home."

Essential Logic were the band 15-year old Lora Logic, from X-Ray Spex, moved onto while the other more famous band were just taking off. They were definitely one of the more out there, avant garde bands of the time. Lora Logic had a stint playing for Texan progenitors of the post-punk scene, The Red Krayola, and you can see the impression that band left on Essential Logic: shifting time signatures, metaphysical lyrics (that never quite got lost up their own arse) and a Dionysian allegiance to songs that only just about hung together enough to be called songs.

Speaking of The Red Krayola, while they're not technically post punk (even though Mayo Thompson, who is the Red Krayola, was a member of Pere Ubu and was put in charge of Rough Trade records during their heyday.), if you want to hear the sound of everything on this thread ten years before its time, it's worth tracking down God Bless The Red Krayola & All Who Sail In Her ('67). The genre's signature stripped-down guitar-and-bass sound and off-kilter rhythms were all there years before Jah Wobble even discovered what a minor chord was. Galaxie 500 covered their song told from the perspective of Hitler's Mrs, Victory Garden. They're still going strong on the Drag City label. The compilation Singles also has some of the best Post Punk stuff I've ever heard. It's pretty much a history of alternative American music, encompassing four decades and twice as many genres.

[Brocktune]

I'd also like to say that I've not disliked a single XTC album other than White Music (you have to admit, they sounded all over the place on that).

for shame.

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

WHAT THE CRAP?!?! My Bloody Valentine is touring?!

[WinslowLeach]

Winslow's New Wave Mystery Vid Pick #1

[stereosforgeeks]

The word wilderness conjures up being lost isolated in something much larger than yourself. WIlderness the band applies this sense to their music. You are lost in the caterwauling guitar soundscapes, chanting, and (though the terminology has become cliched lately) tribal thunderous drumming. The effect is feeling completely out of step with everything going on around you and being lost. Wilderness seemed to have skipped 20+ years of music evolution and gone straight back to post-punks heyday to create an album that sounds like very little else especially today. They evoke a feeling of to be about fighting against these insurmountable odds but is there a point? Wilderness seems to be struggle with that as well. The self-titled album became one of my most played in 2005.

WildernessSounds has the two tracks I am going to discuss below from their first album which was three years in the making.

First up is Arkless. The song starts with some shimmering guitars which give a sense of beauty but this is quick lived as a sinister sounding bass line sneaks in. The drums come in and we are enveloped in a sonic world that is unlike anything of this modern era. Wilderness go to Biblical proportions here about being arkless during the flood and the terror and dismay that would be felt. You get the sense that they aren’t merely discussing Noah, however. The flood is inevitable but you feel as if we are trying to figure a way out and to save ourselves. The music swells at around the ¾ mark as if we and the flood are vying for control and the song ends without giving a definitive answer. They seem content to have the fight be enough and for the song it is.

Lastly is End Of Freedom. By this point in the album (the fourth track) we are already part of the rhythm of the album and we have the drums starting the song. Quickly though the guitar chimes in and bass is behind shortly. The music is a bit less oppressive here like there is hope in the proceedings. “The Hand. The Fist.” is chanted over and over slowly building to the one of the most cathartic releases in the entire album. The momentum of the song changes at that point and we are in full on “grasping-for-what-we-can” mode. The hand is now over the fist and we are at the end of freedom, but is that the end? No we are still fighting. The song could end with the fight but instead it keeps going showing that we are still around in the aftermath.

I hope other people will listen and like Wilderness as much as I do.

[Code Name]

Oh, man.. I'm gonna looove this forum. Looooove.

Gonna read it all, let it soak in.. then maybe post something. Long live post-punk and new wave!

-Code Name

[Seppuku]

Oh, man.. I'm gonna looove this forum. Looooove.

Gonna read it all, let it soak in.. then maybe post something. Long live post-punk and new wave!

-Code Name

And long live Code Name! Welcome to the Zone, dude.


If anyone out there dug This Heat, I've found a band even more intense: Art Bears. Their second LP, Winter Songs, is a new Top 10 album, for sure. Listening to Winter Songs for the first time was one of those rare experiences where the floor dropped out from under me and I realised this was a strand of music barely explored since (except for possibly Sleepytime Gorilla Museum pretty recently), and utterly unique at the time. And fuck me, singer Dagmar Krause's double-tracked vocals here make Nico sound warm and inviting. Art Bears - The Winter Wheel (not the best cut on the album, but that's all I could find).

[The Vicar]

Welcome to da Zone, Code Name.
If this thread has your attention, then you are indeed most welcome here.

[Code Name]

Thanks Seppuku and Vicar! I'm not as knowledgeable as you guys, but I sure am learning about all sorts of bands in this thread. I make music myself, and it is ALWAYS a pleasure to be in the company of like-minded chaps. I like Joy Division.. I guess that's an easy one. But I will definitely read around in here to find the more obscure bands I've never heard of before. Say, Vicar and Seppuku, check out my music over here ---> http://www.myspace.com/byronyang

Let me know what you guys/gals think. Let me know what influences you hear in them. I live with my music day in and day out. Thus, I can't 'hear' my music from a fresh perspective in order to grow. It's like knowing something so well that you take it for granted, or something like that. So, it would be nice to hear my music reviewed by lovers of this genre. I've been combining punk, rock and electronica with backbone melodies from Bollywood films. Alright, stay safe. And I appreciate the warm welcome. You guys are fabulous

-Code Name

[Seppuku]

Latest listens & recommends:

Pylon (Gyrate), Comsat Angels (Waiting For a Miracle), Etron Fou Leloublan (Les Poumons Gonfles), Felt (The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories), The Chills (Kaleidoscope World), ESG (A South Bronx Story), Foetus a.k.a. Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel! (Nail), AR Kane (sixty nine), The Contortions (Buy), Mars (78+), DNA (DNA on DNA), Renaldo & The Loaf (Songs for Swinging Larva), Split Enz (True Colours) & I can finally back KCBC up on that Kleenex/Lilliput LP he was plugging a couple of years back.

[The Vicar]

Managed to shake out a few minutes of non busy and slide over to Code Name's aforementioned page.
This weekend I'll have to return and listen deeper. I see David Bowie listed amongst your influences,
and this is good, as Magua would say. On City of David, though, I kept hearing Bryan Ferry which,
once again, is good. Like to borrow the vocalist one fine day.
You guys were getting after it. Other than sex with a multi-orgasmic lady,
making music is as good as it gets. Nice work.

[Seppuku]

There's a pretty neat documentary on New Zealand Post-punk/Proto-Indie label, Flying Nun up on Youtube. They were New Zealand's equivalent of Edinburgh's Postcard label, releasing record after record of unpretentious, '60s-tinged jangly rock. Just make sure you've got a paper and a pen handy so you can write down all the names of the bands you'll want to check out after watching this. I know it's cheating, but I'll give you a head-start and say look up The Verlaines, The Chills & The Bats.

[tapehead]

What? no 3D's, Straijacket Fits or The Clean?

Since you're on the subject, The Dunedin Sound

flying nun, it's a bit like 4ad or, as you say, Postcard for 80's/90's indie kids in this part of the world.

I'm a big fan of the Headless Chickens too, who are from the neck of the woods and era, although they are also the antithesis of the abovementioned 'sound', but perhaps maybe maybe a little new wave.

[Seppuku]

What? no 3D's, Straijacket Fits or The Clean?

Since you're on the subject, The Dunedin Sound

flying nun, it's a bit like 4ad or, as you say, Postcard for 80's/90's indie kids in this part of the world.

I'm a big fan of the Headless Chickens too, who are from the neck of the woods and era, although they are also the antithesis of the abovementioned 'sound', but perhaps maybe maybe a little new wave.

I actually had The Clean listed and replaced them with The Bats (who had some of the same members, but were more my cup of noise).

And I probably should've mentioned the 3-Ds. I bought their first album Hellzapoppin a few months back, and it's gotten more than its fair share of spins since then. They're definitely the Kiwi Pavement (though the singer sounds more like Black Francis). Outer Space is super fun.

And 4AD's actually a much better comparison, considering Postcard only officially put out out 12 singles in their original incarnation, while Flying Nun is still going today.

[Seppuku]

Family Fodder - Debbie Harry (Debbie Harry is the name of the song, not the singer). I've been listening to this band pretty much on repeat lately. It's not so evident on that particular cut- though it is more addictive than anything Blondie ever put out, particularly the line: "She goes to the bathroom/That's no place for me"- but they must have been a HUGE influence on Stereolab, (listen to this song and tell me it doesn't sound like a lost Stereolab cut). They're a British band with a French chic[k] singer, they've got the same plinky-plonk take on krautrock and very hummable. simple melodies. It's kinda depressing to think that Stereolab styled themselves so heavily on just one band, who'd been doing this stuff back in 1975.

Anyway, their Best Of comp, Savoir Faire, is full of the kind of uber-melodic art-rock you can listen to and not feel guilty about because of the vein of experimentation (which never even hints at the possibility of going too over the top) keeping it fresh.

[Seppuku]

This is a pretty interesting find. Apparently, before carving out a new indie movie scene in the '80s, Jim Jarmusch played keyboard and shared vocal duties in a band called The Del Byzanteens. Their sound is kind of reminiscent of the B-52s if they were a no-wave band (writing about music is kind of like dancing about architecture, so I'd just listen to this live performance of their Supremes cover, featuring frequent Jarmusch collaborator/Lounge Lizards mainman John Lurie on sax). I'm not generally the biggest fan of new wave stuff, but this band's long-since deleted and never reissued LP, Lies to Live by (download here), is dark, danceable and catchy enough to really work for me. And Jarmusch, in the spirit of all the best non-musicians, really excels on the keyboard, crafting some very cinematic and dense soundscapes worthy of someone who went on to be such a great director- and all with just one-finger! It's not just a curio for Jarmusch fanboys, so leeesten.

[Code Name]

Managed to shake out a few minutes of non busy and slide over to Code Name's aforementioned page.
This weekend I'll have to return and listen deeper. I see David Bowie listed amongst your influences,
and this is good, as Magua would say. On City of David, though, I kept hearing Bryan Ferry which,
once again, is good. Like to borrow the vocalist one fine day.
You guys were getting after it. Other than sex with a multi-orgasmic lady,
making music is as good as it gets. Nice work.

Hi Vicar,

Thanks for stopping by and listening. My sound has grown since your last visit.. for the better I hope haha. I have two new songs up. I do appreciate this thread and plan to learn a lot about new wave from my peers at the Zone. Wow.. Bryan Ferry? I'll have to look him up if he has your approval. Man, no one else can perform as dramatically as Mr. Bowie. I love how he acts onstage (or in his videos) while he sings. Yes, yes.. making music is good! Thanks for commenting.

Code Name

[magicmonkey]

If anyone out there dug This Heat, I've found a band even more intense: Art Bears. Their second LP, Winter Songs, is a new Top 10 album, for sure. Listening to Winter Songs for the first time was one of those rare experiences where the floor dropped out from under me and I realised this was a strand of music barely explored since (except for possibly Sleepytime Gorilla Museum pretty recently), and utterly unique at the time. And fuck me, singer Dagmar Krause's double-tracked vocals here make Nico sound warm and inviting. Art Bears - The Winter Wheel (not the best cut on the album, but that's all I could find).

Only just saw this, yay, I love This Heat. Gonna have to check it out. I also tried to get the Jarmusch band too, but I cannae access megaupload, for shame!

[Seppuku]

If anyone out there dug This Heat, I've found a band even more intense: Art Bears. Their second LP, Winter Songs, is a new Top 10 album, for sure. Listening to Winter Songs for the first time was one of those rare experiences where the floor dropped out from under me and I realised this was a strand of music barely explored since (except for possibly Sleepytime Gorilla Museum pretty recently), and utterly unique at the time. And fuck me, singer Dagmar Krause's double-tracked vocals here make Nico sound warm and inviting. Art Bears - The Winter Wheel (not the best cut on the album, but that's all I could find).

Only just saw this, yay, I love This Heat. Gonna have to check it out. I also tried to get the Jarmusch band too, but I cannae access megaupload, for shame!

They're a great, incredibly forward-thinking band. In retrospect, I'm not too sure about the This Heat similarities. Apparently they once recorded in This Heat's studio, the abandoned meat factory, and left their piano there... So I guess there is some connection. Here's the song I was trying to link to before, by the way- Rats and Monkeys. I still find it hard to believe that song was made in 1979. I heard it playing on last.fm a couple of years back on a "similar artists to This Heat" radio station and it immediately got me hooked.

I actually think their next album, The World as it is Today, might be the best place to start. It's much less frosty and easier to get into than Winter Songs, despite the fact that the lyrics are pretty much a Communist manifesto. It's also got an insanely good stand out song: Freedom, which has one of the most spine-tingling screams ever committed to vinyl.