housemartins!!! great call. never would have pulled them out of long term memory. grinned to death was a fantastic disc! nice job digging deep on this one.
any early 80's alt/soft punk fans out there?
great time for music imo. new sounds, edgy but musical and sometime.....downright deep/moving. never got into the really hardcore punk seen. liked the softer side destruction alot better =)
just finished a psychedelic furs binge tonight. had joy division/early new order on all weekend. planning on reminiscing with lou reed/velvet underground and early rem later this week.
haven't really listened to this stuff much in recent memory. not sure why?. i own almost everything these bands ever put out but still rarely give them a turn anymore?.
early furs with all that sax and mr butler's near painful voice =). i'm gonna grab some tickets for their upcoming show at house of blues (chicago). i'm sure it won't be as crazy as the shows back then but the music will still be great. didn't even know they were touring.
really enjoyed joy division and after the death of Ian....early new order stuff. incredible music considering their roots. new order eventually lost their edge but back then....they were it!
any other fans out there?
just finished a psychedelic furs binge tonight. had joy division/early new order on all weekend. planning on reminiscing with lou reed/velvet underground and early rem later this week.
haven't really listened to this stuff much in recent memory. not sure why?. i own almost everything these bands ever put out but still rarely give them a turn anymore?.
early furs with all that sax and mr butler's near painful voice =). i'm gonna grab some tickets for their upcoming show at house of blues (chicago). i'm sure it won't be as crazy as the shows back then but the music will still be great. didn't even know they were touring.
really enjoyed joy division and after the death of Ian....early new order stuff. incredible music considering their roots. new order eventually lost their edge but back then....they were it!
any other fans out there?
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Lots of UK Bands are copping these 80s sounds at the moment, including Little Boots, Ladyhawke, La Roux and Patrick Wolf. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs released an electro pop masterpiece earlier in the year. By the way, do see Coldplay live. They have really matured as a live act and may be, alongside U2 and Radiohead, the best the world offers. Masterful production in staging and lighting with crystal clear and balanced sound. |
FYI the Cult is releasing two remastered deluxe versions of the Love album in August. There is a 2 disc version with the remastered original album and a second cd of B-sides and out takes and a 4 cd "omnibus" version that includes a live show from 1985 and a demo disc from the Love sessions. A lot of this has been around in various forms. Hopefully, they won't give it the ipod recording treatment. |
Yeah, I always thought that was their best album. I heard the single "Love" for the first time way over France on my Walkman on my first visit to Europe in '86. I remember thinking, this is good and didn't find out who it was until a guy played the album one night in Germany a couple months later. They messed up once they got involved with Rick Rubin and thought they had to sound more contempory hard rock. I saw them in the States in '89 opening on the Metallica tour and they didn't play much of their early stuff and definitely not "Love". Astbury's voice was gone, he couldn't hit any high notes. Duffy could still playing but was mostly going through the motions. Bought at least two of their later albums and was disappointed with them. Saw Asbury unexpected one night in Chastain Park Amphitheater in Atlanta when it turned out he was working the lead singer position for the Doors. Again not too impressive. Still I'll always remember their heyday in England after the Love album was released. It didn't get much better than that and I must of listened to that tape dozens of times while driving back and forth between cities in West Germany. |
just spent an evening of Substance with New Order. it's been 10+ years since i listened to the whole damn thing. played a few tunes once in great while but that's about it (until very recently that is....when i first started this thread). decided to sit down for a rather loud and long session tonight (all 150 minutes of it)). forgot how TRULY fantastic this release is. just incredible music imo!. hard to see how anyone, regardless of musical tastes, wouldn't enjoy giving it a listen. even the alt rock haters should find something they like on Substance. Ceremony, State of the Nation, Shell Shock, ect...way to many awesome songs to list. almost 150 minutes of solid, good tunes. sorry...just had an outstanding session....thought i'd share. |
Lots of UK Bands are copping these 80s sounds at the moment, including Little Boots, Ladyhawke, La Roux and Patrick Wolf. La Roux reminds me of Blancmange. Heads will Roll (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) is awesome especially the Tommie Sunshine mix). I also love the snare sound on Maps (fun song to sing on Rockband). Great stuff. |
Oh and let's not forget Pet Shop Boys, OMD, and Erasure. Great stuff! Ultravox, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Thompson Twins, Thomas Dolby, Yaz, Visage and lets not forget the pretty boys - Duran Duran - their "Strange Behaviour" double CD has some great extended mixes in gloriously dynamic sound (Trevor Horn and Alex Sadkin masterpieces). Why oh why can't they make nice audiophile sound quality productions like this anymore - all we get is hypercompressed angry sounding stuff these days - likes of Arctic Monkeys, Razorlight, Coldplay, Keane, Snow Patrol, Kooks etc. are all badly compressed. |
The singer from Romeo Void was Debra Iyall. She had an incredibly sexy voice but was, ahem....not the most physically attractive woman on the planet. My roommate at the time developed an intense crush on her after hearing "White Sweater" on the radio. We trekked into Manhattan (from suburban NJ) to hear Romeo Void at the Mudd Club, only to find the "early" (11:00 PM) show was sold out. At my insistence, we went back to the 'burbs. He turned around and drove back in for the late show. I have never in my life seen anyone as disappointed as he was the next day. Marty BTW, the other psycho sax driven funk/punk band of that moment was Medium Medium whose big tune was "Hungry, So Angry". Some memories here! |
Chashmal-read my reply above regarding "soft punk". it's a term i made up on the fly and might not be the best way to describe the sound. again...it's punk rock where the band actually knows how to play instruments and you can somewhat understand what they are singing about or saying =). soft punk also has some form of rhythm or beat imo....unlike the hardcore stuff (sex pistols, black flag, dead kennedy's, ect...). it's not necessarily "kinder or gentler"....just easier to listen too imo. was un-aware of the term "cow punk" when i started this thread. that might have been a better term to use. |
For anyone who would like a crash-course in this sub-genre (affectionately known as "alternative" or "college" rock), I highly recommend "Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground". It's a 4 CD set that is actually quite well done. Yes, I already own the orignal CD / LPs for many of the bands on this compilation, but it's been forever since I heard "Punk Rock Girl" by The Dead Milkmen or "We Care a Lot" by Faith No More. I had a discount coupon at B&N and had to snatch it up. I was at Half-Price Books and snagged 6 Sisters of Mercy singles on CD for $1.98 each (unfortunately the Lucretia single has a flaw in the disk during Train (long) - it's killing me). |
Good call Jorge. How about Ska, the reggae mutant that existed next to New Wave and post punk. The whole 2 Tone Movement was great: The Beat, Madness, Specials, Rico, Selecters, etc...Some of the best music to come out in 1979 to 1983. I remember hearing "Ghost Town" by the Specials right after the UK Riots and how it captured the mood of Thacther's England. |
Bongo! Yeah! I loved SKA! I just "couldn't get enough" (did i just type that?) of the Specials and the singer's side project Fun Boy Three. The original version of "Our lips our sealed" is actually their's, not the Go-go's, another one of my favorites! Man, good music. Good times. I am still into what shortly came after the new wave era: industrial music. long live skinny puppy!!!!!!! Jorge |
Another INXS fan here...gotta love that Rhinoceros Studios ATC sound quality. |
Shadorne: All the Aussie bands from that period sounded great out of that studio. How about all the seminal albums by Midnight Oil. Probably the best live act, next to vintage INXS, from that time period. The snarling fury of "Hercules" live is burned into my memory. Mcdadtexas: My standard description of the Violent Femmes: the only concert you attented where nobody owned the album but EVERYBODY knew the words. |
it was the weirdest thing at my last inxs concert(kick tour). i'm not much of a dancer but i've seen many folks danncing at concerts. some shows more so then other. the crowd at this inxs show went off the deep end!. at one point when i looked around....*almost everyone* in the place was jumping around. all 25k of um!. it was like the place just caught on fire?. been to countless concerts in my 47 years of life. seen plenty of 5k capacity crowds go nuts.......never seen anything even close to this. even i couldn't resist.....so i danced :-) what a great band! |
I like this music. What about a couple of bands from down under from that era/genr? Anyone remember The Church? They were a big on college radio in the late 80s and had a top 20 hit, Under The Milky Way. That song is also in the Donnie Darko soundtrack. Anyway, they are still around and still making albums. 23 total and they still tour as well. I also like the Go Betweens and Midnight Oil. |
Midnight Oil, Psychedelic Furs, Pete Shelley, Echo and the Bunnymen, Bullet La Volta, O Positive, Cure, Smiths, King Crimson (80s version), Brian Eno and all his friends, U2, Elvis Costello, Thompson Twins, INXS, Thomas Dolby, The Fixx, Men At Work, Men Without Hats, Depeche Mode, Mission of Burma, Pixies, Crowded House, UB40, The Church There are likely a few more but I listened to them all and still have them in my vinyl collection. |
Oddly enough, I have only discovered the Pixies and Mission of Burma in the last year. The re-issue of Doolittle and Surfer Rosa by MFSL made me curious. Somehow I had never heard of the Pixies. They are absolutely great. After reading about them, and listening to their music, I can see how they were such an influence on Kurt Cobain. Mission of Burma really is great, glad to meet them as well. Bongo - I'm with you on Midnight Oil, love them. I saw them twice in the late 80's and was not a fan before the first show, got dragged there by a buddy who was in Boulder, and I ended up becoming a huge fan. Great show on campus as U of Colorado, maybe someone else here was at that show, it was great. I'm adding Prince to this list for some of his songs that crossed all genres. Another sublime performer. I haven't been to a rock concert if about 15 yrs, but this is making me want to go. I think I'll pull up Pearl Jam's favorite website and look for a show. I think Stone Temple Pilots is touring this summer, maybe a So Cal show..... |
how about: the incredible comsat angels--waiting for a miracle/fiction the sound--jepoardy soft boys--underwater moonlight for against--great, hugely underrecognized joy division influenced band from nebraska! i'm also surprised no one's mentioned wire (chairs missing/pink flag, etc.); easily as influential as their clash/gang of four peers. |
The best in Alternative - IMHO: The Sisters Of Mercy - Arguably The most important band in alternative that never sold out Ministry and all the side projects - Industrial Alternative -Simply no comparison, the best ever Peter Murphy and Bauhaus, Love and Rockets Chameleons UK Agree with other posters TKK the Cult - Rain in particular NIN Others: Mission UK PIL Wire KMFDM Nitzer EBB Sousxie and The Banshees Joy Division New Order Killing Joke Echo and the Bunnymen REV CO The Smiths Beastie Boys Front 242 LORDS OF ACID WAX TRAX RECORDS!!! JUST TO NAME A FEW! I loved this music when I was younger and still do. |
