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1 9 8 1 | P O S T - P U N K

M U S I C O P H I L I A

1 9 8 1 | P O S T - P U N K

Post-punk has a lousy name. It’s temporally accurate, mostly; and meaningful in that post-punk music generally benefited from the jolt of energy and attitude that briefly was punk, even when it was often made by musicians who’d been at it for years. But punk was mostly musically and culturally discrete, insular and self-constrained.

Post-punk, conversely, represented a flourishing of many sounds, myriad scenes, and many styles, all with roots reaching back (, , , , musique concrete, ) and branches reaching out and intertwining (hip-hop, , Latin musics, dub), all while leaning eagerly forward into the future.

In part post-punk was the liberation of “” from the virtuosic grip of , and from the from the exclusiveness of forebears like the Velvets and and Roxy and Bowie. It was to varying degrees the breaking down of barriers between “rock” and non-white musics, always with the risk of appropriation; but mostly created with a sincere attitude of learning and engagement, rather than theft.

Women in post-punk were not an oddity, an opening act, but were instead at the very center of its most creative scenes in a way had rarely seen. Certainly post-punk was a rejection of “disco-sucks” and cock-rock meatheadedness, as even its simplest forms generally rejected brute machismo.

Post-punk was revolutionary in that it helped expand rock music’s typical access to means of production, and broadened the circle of who could be at the forefront; but it was also evolutionary of rock music’s best possibilities, no an ex nihilo event, and as such was made to last.

1981 was the not the year that defined post-punk (look, probably, to 1979), but it was the year that exemplified it’s almost-boundless breadth and depth. If this set has a thesis, it’s that post-punk was defined not by its “greats,” but by how great even its peripheral players were, as a movement that empowered people to both take over the means of production (and distribution and criticism and celebration, in ways that epitomized the ethos of “” to this day), and also the means of expression.

The “greats” are indeed great in 1981: your , your Gangs of Four, your Wires, Raincoats, OMDs, and This Heats. But in intensity, if not in reach, they were matched by Family Fodder, Crash Course in Science, Dif Juz, and Goat That Went Om. This set is a celebration of them all, their indefatigable spirit of artistry, exploration and fun.

[‘1981’ was originally created as a physical box set of CD-Rs in 2004, when I was 24. Now this music is four decades old, and so am I. But if I can’t say the same for myself, the music feels as vibrant and brand-new as ever. Please, support artists who made music in 1981 and who make it in 2021: buy music, don’t just stream!]

1 9 8 1 | F E E T

01 [00:00] British Electronic Foundation - Rise of the East 02 [02:45] Bush Tetras - You Can’t Be Funky 03 [05:30] - We’re Going To Live (Edit) 04 [08:20] Foxx, John - After the Rain 05 [12:20] Dome - D-D-Bo 06 [16:15] 23 Skidoo - Last Words 07 [19:55] ESG - UFO 08 [22:45] Gang of Four - What We All Want 09 [27:50] Rip Rig Panic - How Caged Bird 10 [31:20] Logic, Lora - Wonderful Offer 11 [34:25] Mekons - St Patrick’s Day 12 [37:05] Newman, Colin - Alone 13 [40:00] Kraftwerk - Numbers 14 [44:25] Liquid Liquid - Zero Leg 15 [47:00] Massacre - Gate 16 [49:40] Family Fodder - Film Music 17 [53:40] Goat that Went Om - The Pirate Song 18 [55:30] Dif Juz - Diselt 19 [58:15] - Paper Hats (Edit) 20 [63:35] Trio - Danger Is 21 [65:55] Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - The New Stone Age 22 [69:25] Pigbag - Sunny Day (Edit) 23 [73:05] - Flowers of Romance 24 [76:05] YMO - Light in Darkness

[Total Time: 79:44]

1981 | H E A R T

01 [00:00] Cure, The - All Cats Are Grey 02 [05:20] Passions - Alice’s Song 03 [08:40] Depeche Mode - Any Second Now (Voices) 04 [11:10] Durutti Column - The Missing Boy 05 [17:40] Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Gloomy Sunday 06 [21:00] MX-80 - Promise of Love 07 [25:40] Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime (Edit) 08 [29:05] New Order - Doubts Even Here 09 [33:30] Pete Shelley - It’s Hard Enough Knowing (Edit) 10 [38:20] Sound, The - Winning 11 [40:30] Japan - Ghosts 12 [45:10] This Heat - A New Kind Of Water 13 [50:15] Raincoats - Only Loved At Night 14 [53:45] Gist - Love at First Sight 15 [57:25] Gary Numan - Dance 16 [60:05] Psychedelic Furs - No Tears 17 [63:25] Gang of Four - Paralysed 18 [66:50] Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Romance Of The Telescope 19 [70:10] - Rage In Eden 20 [74:25] Weekend - Nostalgia (Demo)

[Total Time: 79:48]

1 9 8 1 | C O N V E R T I B L E

01 [00:00] - Final Day 02 [01:45] Orange Juice - Poor Old Soul 03 [04:15] Martha & The Muffins- This Is the Ice Age 04 [08:20] Altered Images - Happy Birthday 05 [11:15] The Church- Too Fast For You 06 [14:55] - The Sweetest Girl 07 [19:00] Romeo Void - Myself To Myself 08 [22:50] Barracudas - Don’t Let Go 09 [26:15] The dB’s- Black and White 10 [29:30] Go-Go’s - Our Lips Are Sealed 11 [32:15] Magazine - The Honeymoon Killers 12 [35:50] Suburbs - Spring Came 13 [39:10] - Tonight 14 [40:35] Pretenders - Message of Love 15 [43:40] Necessaries - More Real 16 [46:30] - Falling Down Around Me 17 [49:35] Squeeze - Is That Love 18 [52:05] The Go Betweens - Your Turn, My Turn 19 [55:15] - Love 20 [59:40] - Golden Brown 21 [63:20] The - It’s Not My Place 22 [66:45] XTC - 23 [70:20] Pylon - Crazy 24 [73:30] Elvis Costello - Strict Time 25 [75:20] REM - Radio Free Europe

[Total Time: 80:05]

1 9 8 1 | C O M P U T E R

01 [00:00] Depeche Mode - Just Can’t Get Enough 02 [03:40] - Working In a Coal Mine 03 [06:30] Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - Der Mussolini (Edit) 04 [08:55] - Europa & The Pirate Twins 05 [12:15] Associates - White Car in Germany (Edit) 06 [15:45] Eurythmics - Take Me To Your Heart 07 [19:20] Heaven 17 - The Height of the Fighting 08 [22:20] Plastics - Diamond Head 09 [25:40] - Bostich (Edit) 10 [27:50] New Musik - Areas 11 [31:45] Human League - The Things that Dreams Are Made Of (Edit) 12 [35:30] Manuel Gottsching - E2 E4 (Excerpt) 13 [37:15] - Girls on Film 14 [40:45] - Incubus (Blue Suit) 15 [44:30] Gary Numan - Stories 16 [47:40] The Blue Nile - I Love This Life 17 [51:25] Chris & Cosey - This Is Me 18 [54:25] Moev - Cracked Mirror (Edit) 19 [57:55] Cybotron - Alleys Of Your Mind 20 [61:30] The Buggles - Blue Nylon 21 [63:55] Soft Cell - Tainted Love 22 [66:35] Cars - Shake It Up (Edit) 23 [69:30] Classix Nouveaux - 623 24 [71:55] Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Sacred Heart 25 [75:25] Kraftwerk - Computer Love (Edit)

[Total Time: 79:41]

1 9 8 1 | A M P L I F I E R

01 [00:00] The Embarrassment - Celebrity Art Party 02 [03:05] Minutemen - Straight Jacket 03 [04:05] The Replacements - Johnny’s Gonna Die 04 [07:30] Flesh Eaters - Pray Til You Sweat 05 [10:05] Black Flag - 06 [11:25] Stiff Little Fingers - The Only One 07 [15:45] Mx-80 - Cover To Cover 08 [18:25] Meat Puppets - Big House 09 [19:30] Agent Orange - Too Young To Die 10 [21:35] The Saints - Paradise (Edit) 11 [24:30] - I Look Alone 12 [27:35] Empire - All These Things 13 [30:50] Secret Hate - New Routines-Suicide 14 [32:15] The Gordons - Coalminers Song 15 [38:00] Virgin Prunes - Twenty Tens 16 [40:30] - Green Fuz 17 [42:30] Minor Threat - 18 [43:20] 100 Flowers - Reject Yourself 19 [45:55] - Julie Ocean 20 [47:40] - Pay To Cum 21 [49:10] Flipper - Ha Ha Ha 22 [51:25] Mission of Burma - Fame and Fortune 23 [55:00] Gun Club - Goodbye Johnny 24 [58:45] Josef K - Crazy To Exist 25 [61:45] Swimming Pool Q’s - Rat Bait 26 [64:05] - Nazi Punks Fuck Off 27 [65:05] - Love Song 28 [67:55] Wipers - When It’s Over 29 [74:35] X - Adult Books 30 [77:55] Zoomers - Give Your Heart

[Total Time: 80:07]

1 9 8 1 | C A S S E T T E

01 [00:00] Clean, The - Billy Two 02 [02:20] Fall, The - Lie Dream of a Casino Soul 03 [05:30] Dow Jones & The Industrials - Ladies With Appliances 04 [07:55] Ludus - Mutilate 05 [10:30] Nervous Gender - Fat Cow 06 [13:05] 49 Americans - Love at First Sight 07 [14:30] Plasticland - Office Skills 08 [16:10] Beakers, The - Four Steps Toward A Cultural Revolution 09 [17:40] Felt - Something Sends Me to Sleep 10 [20:35] Work - Duty 11 [21:40] Fall of Saigon - Blue Eyes 12 [23:40] Blackouts, The - Dead Man’s Curve 13 [27:05] Scapa Flow - Somewhere 14 [29:45] Dancing Cigarettes - Mr Morse 15 [31:10] Amoebas In Chaos - Designer Genes 16 [32:40] Tall Dwarfs - All My Hollowness to You 17 [35:00] Monitor - Amphibious 18 [38:00] Dolphins - She Took a Long Cold Look 19 [39:25] Blue Orchids - Bad Education 20 [41:50] Watt, Ben - Departure 21 [43:25] Neonbabies - Profi (Edit) 22 [46:45] Voice Farm - AM City (Edit) 23 [48:20] Laughing Apple - Wouldn’t You 24 [50:35] Social Climbers - Hello 25 [52:40] - Das Insekt 26 [54:15] Biting Tongues - Reflector 27 [56:55] Flux of Pink Indians - Sick Butchers 28 [59:20] Aztec Camera - Lost Outside The Tunnel 29 [62:50] Diagram Brothers - Bricks 30 [65:35] Human Switchboard - I Used to Believe in You 31 [69:30] Half Japanese - My Knowledge Was Wrong 32 [70:30] - This Angry Silence 33 [73:05] Philosophic Collage - Toxic Poppies 34 [74:40] Violent Femmes - Waiting For The Bus (Demo) 35 [76:45] Thick Pigeon - Silhouettes

[Total Time: 80:10]

1 9 8 1 | B R A I N

01 [00:00] Art Bears - Truth 02 [02:55] The Birthday Party - Cry 03 [05:35] - Structure 04 [08:40] Klaus Nomi - The Twist 05 [11:45] Ex, The - Weapons for El Salvador 06 [14:30] Flying Lizards - Hands 2 Take 07 [18:35] Negativland - Dearmary 08 [20:25] - Crazy Dreams & High Ideas 09 [23:25] Lemon Kittens - Kites 10 [26:55] Trio - Kummer 11 [29:35] - Lonesome Cowboy Dave 12 [31:30] - Would We Be Alive 13 [34:50] Matt Johnson - The River Flows East In Spring 14 [36:20] Eyeless in Gaza - The Decoration 15 [39:05] Einstürzende Neubauten - Abstieg & Zerfall 16 [43:35] Fire Engines - Candyskin 17 [46:30] Section 25 - Hit 18 [49:20] Crass - Bata Motel 19 [52:50] Liaisons Dangereuses - Aperitif De La Mort 20 [54:25] Crash Course in Science - Factory Forehead 21 [57:25] Foetus - Thank Heaven for Push Button Phones 22 [61:55] Cabaret Voltaire - A Touch Of Evil 23 [63:45] Chrome - Planet Strike 24 [66:10] DNA - Blonde Red Head 25 [68:05] Clock DVA - 26 [72:00] Homosexuals - Nursery Chymes 27 [74:35] Wim Mertins - Multiple 12 28 [75:40] This Heat - Makeshift Swahili

[Total Time: 79:30]

1 9 8 1 | I C E

01 [00:00] Holger Czukay - Fragrance (Edit) 02 [03:15] Jerry Harrison - Worlds In Collision 03 [08:20] Comsat Angels - Restless 04 [11:35] Selecter - Their Dream Goes On 05 [15:20] Gun Club - Promise Me 06 [17:55] ESG - You’re No Good 07 [21:10] Siouxsie & The Banshees - Into the Light 08 [25:25] Laurie Anderson - O Superman 09 [33:45] Phew - Fragment (Edit) 10 [36:20] Honeymoon Killers - Histoire a Suivre 11 [39:30] The Del-Byzanteens - Girl’s Imagination 12 [46:10] Was (Not Was) - Oh, Mr. Friction 13 [49:45] & David Byrne - A Secret Life 14 [52:15] Echo & The Bunnymen - All My Colours 15 [56:20] Material - Square Dance 16 [60:45] - Kachakuchane (Edit) 17 [63:35] Grace Jones - Nightclubbing 18 [68:40] - Earthbeat (Peel Session) (Edit) 19 [74:25] Robert Wyatt - Born Again Cretin 20 [77:30] Delta 5 - Different Fur

[Total Time: 80:09]

1 9 8 1 | F I R E

01 [00:00] A Certain Ratio - Waterline 02 [03:35] New Order - Chosen Time 03 [07:45] Fad Gadget - Make Room (Edit) 04 [11:00] Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics 05 [14:15] David Byrne - The Red House 06 [17:35] Creatures - But Not Them 07 [21:00] Raybeats - Calhoun Surf 08 [22:50] Suburbs - Tired of My Plans 09 [26:25] - Crickets in the Flats 10 [31:25] - Butcher (Edit) 11 [34:35] Japan - Talking Drum 12 [38:10] The B-52’s - Give Me Back My Man (Remix) (Edit) 13 [41:15] Lizzy Mercier-Descloux - Room Mate 14 [44:00] The Beat - Too Nice To Talk To 15 [47:10] Lounge Lizards - Do The Wrong Thing 16 [49:45] INXS - Stay Young 17 [53:10] - Controversy 18 [56:40] Talking Heads - Houses in Motion (Edit) 19 [59:30] Bauhaus - Of Lillies & Remains (Edit) 20 [62:25] - Ghost Town (Edit) 21 [66:10] Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love 22 [70:15] Wire - Midnight Bahnhof Cafe (Edit) 23 [72:50] Family Fodder - Emergency 24 [75:30] Raincoats - Shouting Out Loud

[Total Time: 80:27] THE MUSICOPHILIA COMPANY

MUSICOPHILIA.WORDPRESS.COM 2004