only heard a couple of these so i don't know but this is all-time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTctKIUlHKc
― So: The Answers (or something), Monday, 28 January 2013 11:16 (eleven years ago) link
Modern Eon are pretty good if i remember correctly
― nostormo, Monday, 28 January 2013 11:25 (eleven years ago) link
There's been way too much chatter on this thread for me to catch up properly, but I just want to say... since when is saying "I like New Wave" meant to be uncool?
― emil.y, Monday, 28 January 2013 13:58 (eleven years ago) link
That whole part of this thread was very strange tbh. Apart from anything else, the term post-punk apparently appeared in Sounds in 1977 so it's not like no-one ever used it at the time (cf. Freakbeat, Garage Punk, Northern Soul etc)
― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Monday, 28 January 2013 14:33 (eleven years ago) link
I have this thing at work where you can define a genre by picking a set of representative artists, and then get an extrapolation (or interpolation, depending on how you look at it) to bands like <i>that</i>. I put in this poll's bands as the seeds, and had it generate an introductory playlist to whatever it is they collectively define.
http://open.spotify.com/user/glennpmcdonald/playlist/31ngQVszhBHQLklebwbG0m
― glenn mcdonald, Monday, 28 January 2013 16:32 (eleven years ago) link
Or, for those of you out of reach of Spotify:
Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us ApartEcho And The Bunnymen – The Killing MoonMagazine – Shot By Both SidesThe Cure – Just Like HeavenGang Of Four – Damaged Goods - Remastered Album VersionSiouxsie And The Banshees – Hong Kong GardenWire – Ex Lion Tamer - 2006 Digital RemasterYoung Marble Giants – N.I.T.A.The Teardrop Explodes – RewardThe Psychedelic Furs – Love My WayThe Chameleons – Don't FallKilling Joke – Love Like BloodDelta 5 – Mind Your Own BusinessPublic Image Ltd. – RiseSad Lovers And Giants – Things We Never DidAu Pairs – It's ObviousThe Monochrome Set – Eine Symphonie Des GrauensThe Wake – Melancholy ManSECTION 25 – Looking From A HilltopThe Fall – Totally WiredThe Raincoats – LolaThe Durutti Column – For Belgian FriendsColin Newman – AloneLene Lovich – Lucky NumberFad Gadget – Collapsing New PeopleThe Associates – Party Fears Two - Pavilion Glasgow 11/03/1985Crispy Ambulance – DeafThe Soft Boys – I Wanna Destroy YouFor Against – SabresPylon – CrazyGary Numan – Are ‘Friends’ Electric?The Danse Society – SomewhereThe Birthday Party – Release The BatsMedium Medium – Hungry, So AngryA Certain Ratio – Flight - Massey MixThe The – This Is The DayAltered Images – Happy BirthdayThe Pop Group – She Is Beyond Good And EvilGlaxo Babies – This Is Your LifeStrawberry Switchblade – Since YesterdayEssential Logic – Aerosol BurnsRed Lorry Yellow Lorry – Hollow EyesThe Slits – I Heard It Through The GrapevineThe Normal – Warm LeatheretteThe Flying Lizards – MoneyWall Of Voodoo – Mexican RadioOrange Juice – Rip It UpAnd Also The Trees – DialogueCrime And The City Solution – The AdversaryShriekback – NemesisBush Tetras – Too Many CreepsLydia Lunch – SpookyMinny Pops – Blue RosesScritti Politti – Perfect WayDepartment S – Is Vic There?23 Skidoo – Vegas El BanditoThe Raincoats – Shouting Out LoudSpizzEnergi – Where's Captain Kirk?Love And Rockets – So AliveCabaret Voltaire – Nag, Nag, NagSwell Maps – H.S. ArtTuxedomoon – In A Manner Of SpeakingGirls At Our Best! – Getting Nowhere FastVirgin Prunes – Pagan LovesongThe Wolfgang Press – Mama Told Me Not To ComeJulian Cope – World Shut Your Mouth - Janice Long 6/8/1986Suicide – Ghost RiderThe Wild Swans – Young ManhoodLiquid Liquid – OptimoAlternative TV – Action Time VisionThe Bolshoi – Sunday MorningPeter Murphy – Cuts You UpThe Glove – Like An Animal - Remastered LP VersionThe Prefects – Going Through the MotionsDif Juz – No MotionJapan – GhostsB-Movie – Institution WallsLife Without Buildings – The LeanoverMekons – Where Were YouSpear Of Destiny – Never Take Me AliveMy Dad Is Dead – Nothing SpecialE.S.G. – I Don't DanceIke Yard – LossGene Loves Jezebel – Desire (Come And Get It) (Re-recorded / Remastered)New Model Army – 51st StateMo-Dettes – White MiceLizzy Mercier Descloux – FireTheatre Of Hate – Original SinTones On Tail – Go! (club Mix)Liliput – Ain't YouMalaria! – You YouThe Feelies – Let's GoThese Immortal Souls – Marry Me (Lie! Lie!)The Gist – Love At The First SightLords Of The New Church – Dance With MeThis Mortal Coil – Song To The SirenThomas Leer – All About YouTeenage Jesus & The Jerks – The ClosetGrauzone – Eisbär (Remix by Carlos Perón)Quando Quango – Love Tempo - RemixX-Ray Spex – Oh Bondage: Up Yours! - LiveAlan Vega – Jukebox BabeDark Day – No, Nothing, NeverI Love You But I've Chosen Darkness – According To PlanThe Icicle Works – Love Is A Wonderful Colour (Live Town & Country Club)John Cooper Clarke – Evidently ChickentownRomeo Void – Never Say NeverBreathless – Next Time You FallIpso Facto – Circle Of FifthsDanielle Dax – Big Hollow ManPigbag – Big Bean (12 Version)Minimal Man – ConsexualMotorama – Rose in the VaseFra Lippo Lippi – Shouldn't Have To Be Like ThatClose Lobsters – Just Too Bloody StupidSiouxsie – Into A SwanHalf Japanese – 1,000,000 KissesDisco Inferno – Can't See Through ItThe Gun Club – Sex BeatThe Only Ones – Another Girl Another PlanetThe Wedding Present – BrassneckSubway Sect – Nobody's ScaredPlay Dead – PropagandaAdam Ant – Goody Two ShoesTrisomie 21 – The Last SongThe Lotus Eaters – The First Picture Of YouFelt – Dirty GirlMartin Dupont – Just BecauseMars – India SleepingTom Tom Club – Genius Of LoveDalis Car – His BoxKas Product – Never Come BackXmal Deutschland – Incubus Succubus IIThe Mighty Lemon Drops – Inside OutChris And Cosey – ObsessionUrinals – HologramChrome – TV As EyesMighty Lemon Drops – Inside OutThe Go-Betweens – Streets Of Your TownThe Dream Syndicate – Tell Me When It's OverRichard Hell – Blank GenerationSpecimen – SyriaThe Clean – Anything Could HappenJohn Foxx – Underpass (1980 SINGLE EDIT)Kitchens Of Distinction – Drive That FastAnne Clark – Our DarknessHalf Man Half Biscuit – Joy Division Oven GlovesJonathan Richman And The Modern Lovers – Pablo PicassoMarine Girls – A Place In The SunNo More – Suicide CommandoWar Tapes – Dreaming of YouDestroy All Monsters – BoredSonic Youth (Ciccone Youth) – Into the GrooveyAlien Sex Fiend – I Walk The LineVeil Veil Vanish – Anthem For A Doomed YouthFrustration – Too Many QuestionsBeat Happening – Our SecretPete Shelley – Homosapien (Dub)Red Zebra – I Can't Live In a Living RoomBill Nelson – Flaming DesireThe Adverts – Bored TeenagersThrowing Muses – Not Too SoonFree Kitten – Oh Bondage Up YoursThe Vaselines – Son Of A GunDeath Cult – God’s ZooThe March Violets – Snake DanceSkeletal Family – Promised Land (7” Version)Chrisma – Black Silk StockingThe Triffids – Wide Open RoadRed Rockers – ChinaIt's Immaterial – SpaceIron Curtain – The CondosThe Rezillos – Top Of The PopsNina Hagen – TV-GLOTZER (WHITE PUNKS ON DOPE)China Crisis – Wishful ThinkingRobert Smith – Very Good AdviceBats – WolfwranglerThe Coathangers – Hurricane
Hilariously, due to some screwed up credits on an old compilation, Spotify thinks "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a collaboration between Joy Division and Chubb Rock.
― glenn mcdonald, Monday, 28 January 2013 16:35 (eleven years ago) link
OK I'm going for the epic mix. I think this is the biggest mix I've ever downloaded.
I've been trying to get more into post-punk recently but I don't know most of these bands. I got the Ike Yard reissued album a few months ago and I really like it. Also genuine lol at the Chubb Rock thing
― paolo, Monday, 28 January 2013 18:16 (eleven years ago) link
Dif Juz – No Motion
^ Have been playing the shit out of this song of late
― a la recherche du tempbans perdu (NickB), Monday, 28 January 2013 18:20 (eleven years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUbQiUv1QHo
― a la recherche du tempbans perdu (NickB), Monday, 28 January 2013 18:21 (eleven years ago) link
I know it's not at all unknown but I still find it a staggering piece of music
― a la recherche du tempbans perdu (NickB), Monday, 28 January 2013 18:23 (eleven years ago) link
Other than New Order getting it from New York, itslodisco didn't have a big impact in the uk. America's take and filtering if Italo is a whole other question, which I've probably explained on another thread.
― dan selzer, Monday, 28 January 2013 18:58 (eleven years ago) link
lol I would have voted Chameleons
― Bel-Air the Fresh Prince, sitting in a chair (DJP), Monday, 28 January 2013 19:23 (eleven years ago) link
Oh yeah also missing is Rema Rema.
― dan selzer, Monday, 28 January 2013 19:38 (eleven years ago) link
That Spotify playlist is not bad. I don't use Spotify because streaming at work is discouraged, and I have a backup of my 4TB collection at work anyway. Sub-genres, labels, etc. are useful. I make use of my genre tags for autoplaylists when I feel like listening to certain kinds of music on random. For the record, I tagged the first five Cure albums through The Top as "Post-Punk," and the rest as just "Alt Rock." Depending on how specific a mood I'm in, I might create more specific playlists, as I may be in a mood for the pop end of post-punk like Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, Scritti Politti and Associates, or the more difficult listening stuff like The Pop Group, Ludus, etc. Works better than say, Rock 1.0, Rock 2.2 ;)
Look forward to checking out other recommendations like Steve Miro. I don't see the album reissues but I did find the LTM Auteur Labels Object Music comp.
For Against do indeed belong here. They formed in 1984, evolving from different bands in the early 80s, and their 1985 "Autocrat" single reflected a Gang of Four influence, and then signed to Independent Music alongside Savage Republic, and developed their own sound that's a mix of Martin Hannett's productions and what was eventually described as "dream pop" as previously mentioned. Some may not like that sound, but I do, and at least one other ILMer considers them one of the "greatest bands of all time."
― Fastnbulbous, Monday, 28 January 2013 20:05 (eleven years ago) link
the Individuals were mediocre watered down version of what became college rock at best (in retrospect) - why bother?
Agree they were more jangle/pop/rock than post-punk (like their contemporaries The DB's and The Bongos - neither of whom made the list above so I'm not sure how The Individuals did) - but I just want to stick up for 'em here. Still really love Fields.
― I like sex, don't steal my hot dog! (Dan Peterson), Monday, 28 January 2013 20:13 (eleven years ago) link
Within at least the ILM universe, I felt the Bongos and especially the dB's, who toured with R.E.M. in 1987 in big stadiums, were quite well known. And there's only room for so many token jangle entries! Along with defending the honor of certain bands, feel free to talk up/promote your own favorites.
― Fastnbulbous, Monday, 28 January 2013 21:01 (eleven years ago) link
Also, this thread resulted in my discovering that there was a new Breathless album called Green to Blue in 2012!
― glenn mcdonald, Monday, 28 January 2013 21:36 (eleven years ago) link
I feel a little like I should be voting Stockholm Monsters but I'm going Virgin Prunes instead
― Bel-Air the Fresh Prince, sitting in a chair (DJP), Monday, 28 January 2013 21:37 (eleven years ago) link
frickin love the Embos, I was living in Wichita KS, their hometown, during their heyday -- unfortunately I was like 12 and oblivious.
― jamie lee fox (rip van wanko), Monday, 28 January 2013 21:40 (eleven years ago) link
"Julia" alone means Asylum Party win this.
just look at these fuckin guys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeZtT8zBaZU
― crüt, Monday, 28 January 2013 21:45 (eleven years ago) link
I'd choose the Bongos any day over the Individuals or the dB's, simply due to the fact that the were a little more original and arty and were more clearly influenced by stranger acts than the Individuals or the dB's were. "Colorful" in the way the Feelies' debut was - not so drab as the Individuals or as slavishly conventional as the dB's. Plus, they were labelmates with Snatch, Clock Dva and 23 Skidoo! They collaborated on a live version of "In The Congo" with members of Throbbing Gristle and the Bush Tetras. Their song "Clay Midgets" was allegedly inspired by Young Marble Giants (they said in interviews; aside from the title, I don't see how!) Like a lot of American bands, they made the big mistake of letting their major label stuff be way too over-produced . . . at the time, there wasn't quite the support network for a workable post-punk "career" that there was in the UK, so this tended to happen a bit. And I think that sunk their reputation, although the CD reissue of "Drums Along The Hudson" can still be found and has everything you'd want.
― crustaceanrebel, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 00:08 (eleven years ago) link
(1)xp Pylon's albums Gyrate (1980) and Chomp (1983) were finally released on CD, with welcome rarities, as Gyrate Plus (2007) and Chomp More (2009). Those are the ones I had in mind. Haven't seen Hits or Chain, the reunion album, in a long time, sadly. (2) The Bongos and the Individuals (though the latter are well-bolstered by bonus tracks) are both uneven in the studio,true. You take one, I'll take the other, but no way are the dB's "slavisnly conventional"--they're as true to their influences as hothouse Bongos, but they're also true to their own creative ambition, whether their aim is true (often enough) or not (not too often). The 2012 dB's album, Falling Off The Sky, is mostly pretty good too--although jangle is a better commercial tag for them and the Individuals than post-punk.(3) As Dan Selzer reminds us, Acute Records provides a great trove.
― dow, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 01:01 (eleven years ago) link
not exactly obscure but not one of the top 10 pylon songs that people seem to like imo:
youtube - Working is no Problem
LOVE THIS SONG, blast at 15x volume
― Z S, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 02:55 (eleven years ago) link
but no way are the dB's "slavisnly conventional"--they're as true to their influences as hothouse Bongos, but they're also true to their own creative ambition, whether their aim is true (often enough) or not (not too often).
I might have been a little harsh on the dB's - they had a few interesting songs that were vaguely 'of their time' and it's decent pop - but I'd still argue that aside from a certain sparseness and a few production techniques, there's nothing on the first two albums (which I reckon were their most interesting) that someone who was a Beatles fan frozen in ice prior to the release of "Sgt Pepper's" couldn't absolutely relate to. That might make it a little odd in 1981 or whenever, but how would you argue that they'd made any significant progression from "Rubber Soul" or "Revolver?" Their music is pretty well rooted in that sort of thing.
I never saw live the Individuals, but I've always believed the only reason that anyone pretended to care was because the band members were all music writers and influential scenesters! I actually went back and listened to their best-known songs. They're bland, mostly, and when they're not, they're just not very good. They sound like that huge wake of bands that appeared in the wake of REM, far too hugely influenced by a single band. I'll give them props for actually being ahead of that curve chronologically, but it doesn't make them any better.
― crustaceanrebel, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 03:08 (eleven years ago) link
I consider Ike Yard to be something like Manuel Göttsching's E2-E4 or that Charanjit Singh Synthesizing album, stumbling across a sound quite natural to electronics that listeners didn't catch up to for a decade or more. Not quite post-punk, despite their history.
Ludus is probably the most interesting of the lot ideawise, but the albums are so patchy. Morrissey was a huge fan, and you can hear the influence of Ian Devine/Pincolme's highlife guitar experiments in Johnny Marr.
Probably like the Fatal Microbe's contemporaneous EP more than most of these artists' discographies.
Struggling, and failing to fight the pull of a Martin Hannett production. So Section 25 it is.
― Pauper Management Improved (Sanpaku), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 03:21 (eleven years ago) link
Well Ike Yard were distinctly drawing from a cross section of Suicide and certain aspect of no wave (mars, implog), Hannett/Factory atmosphere (Joy Division and Section 25) and increasingly an awareness of Germany. Plus some academic electronic stuff and while they eventually reached an electronic sound that sounds way ahead of its time, it makes more sense in the context of things like NDW.
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 03:46 (eleven years ago) link
Ludus could have been really great, but being on New Hormones wasn't a great career move for anyone, and they lacked quality control. Their best material is amazing. Their lesser stuff is godawful. Morrissey wasn't a fan so much of Ludus as he was of Linder, which was true of much of arty Manchester.
― crustaceanrebel, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 04:09 (eleven years ago) link
A lot of these are great bands, and the Rough Trade crew in particular is dear to my heart, but I gotta go with the Virgin Prunes here. No, not really goth, more like evil performance art. I'm probably gonna be the only vote but they really deserve some love.
― sleeve, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 04:30 (eleven years ago) link
I've heard about half of these - going w/ Kleenex.
― rocky dennis horror show (Pillbox), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 04:54 (eleven years ago) link
The Virgin Prunes would be in my top ten. Their records were really great, at least up to "If I Die, I Die," which was fine but nothing like how fantastic the material came across when played live, and the the last one with Gavin, which exists in an unreleased and far-far-far-superior early version. But the earlier stuff was pretty uniformly spooky in a very real way, and I loved all their philosophical stuff and weird relating to the mentally ill and 'touched' people. There really wasn't anything like them, and for the many bands influenced by them directly or not, I don't think any of them really understood what they were aping. They were the anti-U2 in very real ways, and the stories of the early inter-minglings of the two bands are pretty great. "If I Die, I Die" is the easiest thing to get into, I suppose, but it always felt like a compromise - as if they'd better get their act together, because watching U2 become millionaires with about 4% of the originality and ideas that the Virgin Prunes had was just getting too hard to bear! That said, the Dave-Id sung "Ballad Of The Man" is one of the most beautiful and touching post-punk songs, even if it was intended to be a Springsteen piss-take. But the real one to get is the CD that compiles some of the "A New Form of Beauty" series (some bits still unreleased), which does a good job of capturing the band half-way between song and strangeness. "When you're down and out / Nobody wants to know you / A boy and girl running away / They won't get far." Fucking great!
― crustaceanrebel, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 04:55 (eleven years ago) link
A small selection of Virgin Prunes stuff:
Moments And Mine (Despite Straight Lines)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJY_HG2MZVg
Sandpaper Lullaby, from "A New Form of Beauty"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azSHz-5ZTXg
Their contribution to the NME / Rough Trade compilation cassette "C81"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYC09mVEkMs
The very commercial "Baby Turns Blue" from "If I Die, I Die"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IimsciWwHHk
― crustaceanrebel, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 05:03 (eleven years ago) link
Even most Virgin Prunes fans do not know Princess Tinymeat, which one of the members started after leaving the band (before "If I Die, I Die," I believe) - he sort of took some of the scariness with him. Here are both sides of a Rough Trade 12"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jkXjkyYe_o
― crustaceanrebel, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 05:05 (eleven years ago) link
Hadn't noticed the Nyam Nyam reissue until now. Surprised it doesn't include the dance mixes of Fate/Hate which is their claim to fame. Perhaps it didn't fit and/or James and co. decided it was already covered on the Cool of Ice compilation. I've played it regularly in dance sets to pretty decent response.
Also regarding the top post-punk since 2000 list on http://fastnbulbous.com, why no The Rapture? They were really the ones that represented the post-punk revival of the early 80s the best. Though it seems your list veers more towards the moody post-Joy Division side of "post-punk" and less to the funky Gang of Four/PiL death disco side.
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 05:07 (eleven years ago) link
DOPE track - totally new to me!
― rocky dennis horror show (Pillbox), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 05:09 (eleven years ago) link
And while I'm here, I'd like to rep more for Rema Rema since nobody seems to be responding to my plug. First record to bear the 4ad logo. Featuring Marco Pirroni before Adam and the Ants, the rest of the band shortly formed Mass, who broke up and gave us Wolfgang Press and Renegade Soundwave (singer Gary Asquith). They had the 1 EP with 4 songs, 2 live and 2 studio, and they are totally amazing. They also have an obscure live track on some old comp tape and a few other live recordings that would occasionally make an appearance on Gary Asquith's myspace page.
Big Black covered them. So did This Mortal Coil. Shouldn't you?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWGPcA0eIY8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rdyd_mO9Ptc
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 05:18 (eleven years ago) link
I didn't like Nyam Nyam much, but their debut single was really fab. I thought after that they devolved into that sub-Facotry sound far too much and lost their edge and lacked a more distinct sound.
The Rapture were one of the few post-punk revival bands that might have appealed to me back in the day, I always have a good laugh when watching "Misfits" (which uses one of their songs as an intro) at how perfectly they mimic a certain aspect of Public Image circa Metal Box, with a slightly more disco feel, but even (seemingly) paraphrasing the lyrics of "Careering" a bit. But to be honest, a post-punk revivalist band is a dumb idea, dumber even than a Grateful Dead copyist band, since post-punk was far more about individuality than just about any other post-WWII popular music form.
I loved Rema-Rema and was sorry when they disbanded. Marco was also in Cowboys International for a few gigs at least. All the other members did other things (notably Wolfgang Press) but they really would have been remembered as legendary if they'd stuck around and made a real album.
― crustaceanrebel, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 07:05 (eleven years ago) link
XP I will be forever grateful to Dan for the Ike Yard compilation on Acute. I first heard them when John Peel played "NCR" on his show in the summer of 84, it blew my 15 yr old mind, I played my tape of it over and over again. He also played "Night after night" which I also taped. There was absolutely no information I could find on them at the time, except a small review in the "Trouser Press Record Guide". Four years later Peel played another track from "A fact a second" stating "This sounds more timely than ever" as it was surrounded by acid house. And that was the last time I heard them for years. Web searches didn't generate much hope until I saw the Acute reissue. Ordered it, devoured it, loved it. Thank you.
― Rob M Revisited, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 07:33 (eleven years ago) link
Your welcome. The recent french vinyl pressing of the Factory LP has spread their sound even further than our CD.
I wasn't interested in post-punk revival bands, though if done well I prefer that to any other kind of revival band. It mostly wasn't done well, but to their credit, even within the most derivative songs they had hooks, and live at the time, they were one of the best bands I'd ever seen. I saw them absolutely destroy every room they played in the year or two up to and around the release of Echoes.
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 07:43 (eleven years ago) link
The Rema-Rema cd single was only available off the Beggars/4AD website, which is now closed
― Mark G, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 07:53 (eleven years ago) link
"you're welcome" is what that should've read. sorry, it's late.
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 07:57 (eleven years ago) link
I lucked out a few years ago and got the Rema Rema 12" off Ebay for something ridiculous like £2.
― Just noise and screaming and no musical value at all. (Colonel Poo), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 08:58 (eleven years ago) link
Not familiar with most of these, I thought I was done with post-punk (I probably overdid it for a bit) but every so often someone points me towards another undiscovered gem. Appreciate the work Fastnbulbous has done here, lots to check out.
I'm voting Josef K.
― Gavin, Leeds, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 10:59 (eleven years ago) link
voted for against natch
― the beers for lunch (electricsound), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 11:09 (eleven years ago) link
It's on sale for $1500 on Discogs.com!! The digital version is slightly more affordable.
This is clearly my wheelhouse as post-punk is to me what garage rock is to many others - a genre worth constantly revisiting and digging for gold. So many bands release one great single and then disappeared (cf The Past Seven Days). Most of the bands in this poll can be represented by a single reissue CD:
The Blue Orchids - there are 2 or 3 different compilations which basically have the same tracks. I have "A View From The City". I dig it but it doesn't call to me.Delta 5 - The "Singles & Sessions" comp is terrific, I'm not sure what sound quality issues there are. I have a rip of the LP and it's ok, but the singles are where it's at. Wonderful stuff.Desperate Bicycles - Sadly, they won't reissue their stuff.Diagram Brothers - I discovered "Some Marvels Of Modern Science" a few years back and it blew my mind. The Embarrassment - the 2 CD retrospective is excellent.Essential Logic - the 2 CD comp is good if frustratingly incomplete. I have vinyl rips of all Lora's material and it's mindbendingly good.Fire Engines - I have "Fond" though you all should go buy Dan's reissue on Acute! I prefer Josef K but their best is great.Glaxo Babies - I've got a number of tracks on compilations but never spring for a comp.Human Switchboard - Downloaded all their stuff a few years back, good but didn't inspire me.Josef K - Just picked up the "Crazy To Exist" live CD. I don't pull them out often but they really do scratch a particular itch.Liliput/Kleenex - 2 CD comp is all kinds of crazy good.The Lines - Dan's 2 CD reissues are excellent. I dig them when I play them but they don't stick in my brain like others.Lowlife - There was an excellent retrospective "From A Scream To A Whisper" but I think it's been superceded by a recent LTM comp. I was an early fan of these guys.Modern Eon - Possibly the single most criminally neglected reissue. If the Scars album can show up on CD (albeit very briefly), "Fiction Tales" can too!Pauline Murray & The Invisible Girls - I adore Penetration and the first solo album is good though not at the same level. The second solo album never came out on CD.New Musik - Had "A To Z" years ago. Sold it. Not my thing for some reason.The Nightingales - "Pissed And Potless" is my favorite comp, I find the albums inconsistent.Nyam Nyam - Just got the LTM reissue, really good. I can understand the folks who say they lost something after the first single, but not that much.Opposition - The debut "Breaking The Silence" is on my post-punk top 20, subsequent albums (on CD but way way out of print) are very good as well.Pylon - I have "Hits" which has its moments but has never made me love it.Sad Lovers and Giants - Had them, sold them. They felt too derivative of The Chameleons and The Sound.Scars - "Author Author" was reissued a few years back but is out of print again. Not quite as good as the early singles.Second Layer - This throws a monkey-wrench for me as it's from Adrian Borland, one of my 3 favorite musicians of all-time. And I think this out-Joy Division's Joy Division. Fantastic, creepy, moody.The Sleepers - There was a CD that came out in the 90s, live stuff and demos I think. Sold it.The Stockholm Monsters - Another band where I've got lots of excellent compilation cuts but haven't picked up more.TV21 - They finally got a reissue a couple of years ago, excellent power-pop but not close to post-punk in my mind.Virgin Prunes - "If I Die, I Die" is a fabulous record, with Colin Newman's fingerprints all over it. A singular vision for sure.Wah! - The debut "Nah Poo = The Art Of Bluff" is all kinds of crazy good, taking the best bits of early Teardrops and Echo and fusing them with Pete Wylie's over-the-top vocals. There's a great 2 CD anthology as well.The Wake - I recently sold the stuff I had, they just never clicked for me.Y Pants - There was a CD that came out about 10 years ago. Sold it.
These types of polls are hard, it's like thinking about sports Hall Of Fame questions: do you look at the absolute peak performance, or the career-spanning achievements? Since most of these bands put out one or two albums, I suppose peak performance determines the winner. In that case, I have to go with Opposition.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 14:17 (eleven years ago) link
LinesJosefKFireEngines
― nerve_pylon, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 14:19 (eleven years ago) link
Word on the street is there's some more Glaxo Babies reissues coming on vinyl.
Gerald, spend more time with the Lines, I don't know anyone who hasn't eventually gotten hooked, it just stakes a while.
My favorite song that Joy Division never wrote is "Into the Garden" by Artery.
― dan selzer, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 14:47 (eleven years ago) link
Blimey, it recently sold for £63 on ebay
― Mark G, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 15:02 (eleven years ago) link
crustaceanrebel, I'm not going to beat a dead horse on The Individuals; I loved them, you don't. Just curious when you say they were "far too hugely influenced by a single band" what band that was? Trouser Press said Cure and Gang of Four, neither of which I get tbh, and the Db's, which I do. The guitar interplay is a bit Television to me in spots, the rhythm section a little bit Talking Heads. I kind of lump them with bands like Let's Active, but they don't really jangle (and Individuals records actually came out first.)
Loving this thread by the way, tons of stuff I've heard of but not heard.
― I like sex, don't steal my hot dog! (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 29 January 2013 17:16 (eleven years ago) link
My vote goes to The Human Switchboard.
I know you're busy and have lots of things to occupy your time, but it would be great if you took 8 minutes and 8 seconds to listen to their Stairway To Heaven, Refrigerator Door.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tfAG-52xt8
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 17:48 (eleven years ago) link
Not sure why the link didn't show up. Try clicking here
― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 29 January 2013 17:53 (eleven years ago) link