2007/2017 | POST-PUNK

Post-punk was never a sound. Or at least, it was way too many sounds to be boiled down to a single aesthetic. What tied those many sounds together was an adventurous, seeking spirit. It was music often made by young people, but it wasn’t youth music per se, striving for themes and sounds that were less ephemeral than most popular music. I’ve always thought of it as a flourishing that lasted from about 1978-1982 before passing the torch to other music (though a lot of post-punk and new wave musicians continued to do fantastic work). And that was that--the music continues to surprise and excite us, but it was finite.

That understanding was recently massively shaken up, when I met Dave Cantrell, whose Songs From Under the Floorboard radio show on XRAY.fm and Out From The Shadows music festival in Portland, Oregon unabashedly use the term “post-punk” to refer to an active musical culture, with no qualifiers like “neo” or “revival” necessary. I was skeptical, sound unheard, expecting it to be a shallow exercise in aping the sounds of post- punk without engaging the animating spirit at its core. But Dave is an “original” post-punk, who was “there” in London, late 70s/early 80s, meeting the bands, experiencing post-punk first-hand as I never could (I was born in 1980) as a living culture. So if he felt so sure that this current-day “post-punk” needed no qualifiers, I had to give it a shot. A few weeks later, and the result is this seven-mix, 130-act, eight-hour ‘Post-Punk: 2007/2017’ set: which should be a give away that my negative assumptions were roundly dispelled.

Unlike the ‘1981’ and ‘1979’ boxes and most other Musicophilia mixes, this set isn’t about conveying years or decades-long love of the music it collects. Instead, it’s more a document of a whirlwind love affair. Which means that while the excitement is real, I also recognize limitations here: I voraciously listened to maybe 300 artists, and purchased about 175 albums (so far), and added a few I already loved to get here. So this is surely not an exhaustive overview (and I hope a byproduct of sharing what I’ve found is you’ll tell me all that I missed). Furthermore, it represents my biases toward the weirder and artier and poppier sides of post-punk and away from the serious, gray, Joy Division-dominated side of things, preferences that held true with current post- punk even more so. I don’t doubt the sincerity of those serious young men, but I remain mostly unmoved by the music, which does feel more superficially revivalist in many cases.

And I’ll also admit: nothing here is quite yet on par with the pinnacles of ‘78-’82: this generation can’t yet claim a Talking Heads, a This Heat, a Slits, a Family Fodder, a Wire, a Raincoats amongst them--yet. But they might, and soon, as the momentum in this movement seems to have been accelerating over the course of the last decade, rather than burning out. But that’s no insult, as a huge part of what I love about “original” post-punk has always been that as great as its pinnacles were, its brilliance was spread across seemingly innumerable artists of remarkable quality. The post-punk of today definitely has the fecundity of its predecessor, organically sprouting up internationally, all without any great wave of media hype. Excitingly, another aspect post-punk “today” shares with post punk “original” and maybe even improves upon is that women are front and center, leading the way in a solid majority of the best of what’s happening. Musically, it earns the post-punk name in that it draws from many strands and produces many sounds that feel connected by a common spirit more than a pre-defined palette of sounds. For some, the fraught issue of “revivalism” will inescapably color the experience of hearing this music, triggering dismissive feedback loops of the name-the-influence game we music geeks are wont to too often treat as a critical end in itself rather than a useful shorthand. Some may feel post-punk is simply a thing in the past (like it was for me) and these sounds won’t hit home, because, well, you can’t go back again can you? But as I confronted my own preconceptions about post-punk as a singular event with a finite beginning and end, I started to ask myself: if someone couldn’t be “there” in the first place (probably because you weren’t even born yet); but if the excitement remains as vigorous as ever to people encountering its recorded evidence; and if the artists inspired by that excitement understand that what’s important isn’t perfectly recreating a sound but exploring the reasons the sound was worth making--then is what they create really rote “revivalism,” retro, kitsch, and throw-away?

Instead, I thought, isn’t it possible for post-punk to be a continuity rather than a moment, given it never committed itself to ephemeral sounds and subjects? Shouldn’t it be possible for pop music to produce living languages (as I’d argue electronic music and hip-hop have done very successfully almost as a matter of course)? We don’t trade out the languages we speak and start from scratch every few years, every micro- generation--not even the most dedicated Modernists ever have--and yet it doesn’t mean we are limited in our expression. The notion of the ever-changing zeitgeist doesn’t negate the fact that cultures are transmitted across time, neither rigidly fixed nor chasing novelty as an end in itself, but rather as evolutionary traditions. While I was totally unaware that a flourishing re-engagement of post-punk’s spirit has been going on for a decade, it actually makes sense that it should continue to bloom. For all its futurist qualities, post-punk’s wide- reaching nature makes it ripe for continual reinvigoration. In fact, even “original” post-punk was part of a continuum of sounds and attitudes that have only partially to do with its namesake “punk”--something I hope to explore in future Musicophilia mixes. This music convinced me not only was it possible, it is happening right now.

So all that said, unless newness is the central criterion in your enjoyment of music, I urge you to listen with open ears and I think you’ll be rewarded. Listen as if this were a trove of the sort of undiscovered “original” post-punk that continues to be “discovered” every year. If you find you like it, even some of it, when you dislocate it from time--then isn’t that what’s most important, ultimately? In other words, isn’t being good, and not simply new, what makes music enduring? These young people are making their own music, with their own passions and talents, they’re just not pretending to be starting from scratch. They’re not afraid of looming influence--they’re coming out from the shadows, and they’re unencumbered by rock music’s frequently destructive tendencies toward “authenticity” obsessions on the one hand and worship of temporary novelty on the other. I hope Musicophilia’s listeners can meet them where they are and see, with me, where they go next.

I always implore Musicophilia listeners to put their money where their ears are and buy all that they can that they hear and like in our mixes. But that goes double for this set, because all of this music is readily available, and made by currently working musicians. Please, buy the records/tapes/CDs/mp3s, go to the shows, and help these artists take their passion and creativity even further.

- Musicophilia, October 2017

2007/2017 | FIRE

01 [00:00] No Zu - “Emotion” (‘Life’, 2012) [Melbourne, Australia] 02 [05:23] Total Control - “Glass” (‘Typical System’, 2015) [Melbourne, Australia] 03 [11:28] Explode Into Colors - “Sharpen the Knife” (“Quilts”, 2010) [Portland, USA] 04 [15:43] Blood Sport - “20202016 V.I.P.” (‘Life In Units’, 2013) [Sheffield, England] 05 [20:11] Plastic People - “Candid Soul” (‘Good As You’, 2010) [Lyon, France] 06 [24:00] Erase Errata - “Another Reason to Arrest & Imprison the ‘Free’” (‘Lost Weekend’, 2015) [Oakland, USA] 07 [25:36] Hdspns - “Was There” (‘Endgame’, 2015) [Auckland, New Zealand] 08 [29:14] Dirty Ghosts - “So Shallow” (‘Let It Pretend’, 2015) [San Francisco, USA] 09 [32:53] Factory Floor - “Here Again” (‘Factory Floor’, 2013) [London, England] 10 [41:00] The Kurws - “Koszmar Gramsciego” (‘Dziur W Getcie’, 2011) [Wroclaw, Poland] 11 [47:07] Naked Lights - “Hedges” (‘On Nature’, 2015) [Oakland, USA] 12 [51:23] Trash Kit - “Shyness” (‘Confidence’, 2014) [London, England] 13 [54:54] Melt Yourself Down - “Release!” (‘Melt Yourself Down’, 2015) [London, England] 14 [59:11] Golden Teacher - “Love Rocket” (‘Bells From the Deep End’ EP, 2013) [Glasgow, Scotland] 15 [63:38] LCD Soundsystem - “Other Voices” (‘American Dream’, 2017) [New York, USA]

[Total Time: 70:25]

2007/2017 | AMPLIFIER

01 [00:00] The Estranged - “Faces Stare” (‘The Subliminal Man’, 2010) [Portland, USA] 02 [03:05] Prinzhorn Dance School - “Reign” (‘Home Economics’, 2015) [Portsmouth, England] 03 [07:32] Viet Cong - “Bunker Buster” (‘Viet Cong’, 2015) [Calgary, Canada] 04 [13:08] Massicot - “Seize” (‘Massicot’, 2013) [Geneve, Switzerland] 05 [15:04] Total Victory - “Mistakes Upon Mistakes” (‘English Martyrs’, 2017) [Manchester, England] 06 [17:50] Ötzi - “Six Candles” (‘Ghosts’, 2017) [Oakland, USA] 07 [20:53] Gesture - “Never” (“Gesture” EP, 2016) [Vancouver, Canada] 08 [23:35] Terrible Truths - “See Straight” (‘Terrible Truths’, 2015) [Melbourne, Australia] 09 [26:25] Eagulls - “Opaque” (‘Eagulls’, 2014) [Leeds, England] 10 [29:41] Tunabunny - “Good God Awful” (‘Kingdom Technology’, 2014) [Athens, USA] 11 [30:40] Freak Heat Waves - “Melt In Your Home” (‘Bonnie’s State of Mind’, 2015) [Victoria, Canada] 12 [33:58] Cold Waste - “Ichisan” (‘Primitive’, 2014) [Gainesville, USA] 13 [37:21] Electrelane - “To The East” (‘No Shouts, No Calls’, 2007) [Brighton, England] 14 [42:14] Vats - “Uncanny Valley” (‘Green Glass Room’, 2016) [Seattle, USA] 15 [45:05] Dirt Dress - “Weight” (‘Dlvnvn’, 2012) [Los Angeles, USA] 16 [47:50] Lithics - “Labor” (‘Borrowed Floors’, 2016) [Portland, USA] 17 [49:58] The Dance Asthmatics - “PG” (‘Lifetime of Secretion’, 2015) [Christchurch, New Zealand] 18 [55:43] Cowtown - “Monotone Face” (‘Dudes vs. Bad Dudes’, 2013) [Leeds, England] 19 [57:48] Frustration - “Mother Earth In Rags” (‘Empires of Shame’, 2016) [Paris, France] 20 [62:15] Mere Women - “Moon Creeper” (‘Your Town’, 2014) [Sydney, Australia] 21 [65:45] Ought - “Pleasant Heart” (‘More Than Any Other Day’, 2014) [Montreal, Canada]

[Total Time: 71:40]

2007/2017 | CASSETTE

01 [00:00] Moss Lime - “Calabria 2014” (‘July First’, 2014) [Montreal, Canada] 02 [02:44] Estrambote - “La Gitana” (‘Del Paraiso’ EP, 2017) [Vigo, Spain] 03 [05:02] New Fries - “Water & Water” (‘Fresh Face Forward’, 2014) [Toronto, Canada] 04 [06:37] Mazing Vids - “Insects” (‘Drastic Mirth’, 2009) [New York, USA] 05 [09:25] Dirty Ghosts - “Shout It In” (‘Metal Moon’, 2012) [San Francisco, USA] 06 [12:37] Bent - “Both Better” (‘Snakes & Shapes’, 2016) [Brisband, Australia] 07 [14:10] Foster Body - “Conversation No. 1” (‘Moving Display’, 2016) [Salt Lake City, USA] 08 [16:36] Shopping - “Take It Outside” (‘Why Choose?’, 2015) [London, England] 09 [19:02] Uranium Club - “The Lottery” (“All Of Them Naturals” EP, 2016) [Minneapolis, USA] 10 [20:52] Terry - “Homage” (‘Remember Terry’, 2017) [Melbourne, Australia] 11 [25:14] The Zygotes - “Circles” (‘Circles’, 2017) [Dayton, USA] 12 [27:57] New Bloods - “Oh, Deadly Nightshade” (‘The Secret Life’, 2008) [Portland, USA] 13 [30:50] Sneaks - “Red” (‘Gymnastics’, 2016) [Washington D.C., USA] 14 [31:56] Primitive Parts - “Rented House” (‘Parts Primitive’, 2015) [Brighton, England] 15 [33:39] Bobsleigh Baby - “Breath” (‘Improved’, 2014) [Rome, Italy] 16 [37:01] Ravioli Me Away - “Goblin Town” (‘Living Is A Myth’, 2016) [London, England] 17 [38:51] Eat Skull - “Happy Submarine” (‘Wild & Inside’, 2009) [Portland, USA] 18 [41:09] Taiwan Housing Project - “Veblen Death Mask” (‘Veblen Death Mask’, 2017) [Philadelphia, USA] 19 [43:06] Vivian Girls - “I Heard You Say” (‘Share The Joy’, 2011) [New York, USA] 20 [45:53] Wint - “Obsessive” (‘Memory/Paranoia’, 2017) [Lethbridge, Canada] 21 [47:29] Preening - “Circular Problems” (“Beeters” EP, 2017) [Oakland, USA] 22 [49:10] Behavior - “Settler’s Song” (‘Bitter Bitter’, 2017) [Los Angeles, USA] 23 [51:27] The World - “La La Coach” (‘First World Record’, 2017) [Oakland, USA] 24 [53:49] Omni - “Tuxedo Blues” (‘Multi-Task’, 2017) [Atlanta, USA] 25 [56:10] Corridor - “Le Grand Escart” (‘Supermercado’, 2017) [Montreal, Canada] 26 [60:06] Pow! - “Runner” (‘Crack An Egg’, 2017) [San Francisco, USA] 27 [63:13] Ausmuteants - “Looney Bin” (‘Order of Operation’, 2014) [Melbourne, USA] 28 [64:56] Crumbs - “On Tiptoes” (‘Mind Yr Manners’, 2017) [Leeds, England] 29 [67:49] Grass Is Green - “I’m From Dot Too” (‘Vacation Vinny’, 2014) [Boston, USA] 30 [69:25] Priests - “Suck” (‘Nothing Feels Natural’, 2017) [Washington D.C., USA]

[Total Time: 74:05]

2007/2017 | BRAIN

01 [00:00] Carola Bony - “Indecente” (‘Fantasy’, 2016) [Buenos Aires, Argentina] 02 [02:41] Forests - “Causal” (‘Dead Species’, 2015) [Taipei, Taiwan] 03 [06:09] Disappears - “OUD” (‘Irreal’, 2015) [Chicago, USA] 04 [09:03] Esses - “Sea Of Red” (‘No Light In This Fire’, 2016) [Oakland, USA] 05 [13:21] Anika - “Masters of War (Dub)” (‘Anika’’, 2010) [Berlin, Germany] 06 [16:40] Cellular Chaos - “James Baldwin” (‘Diamond Teeth Clenched’, 2016) [New York, USA] 07 [20:16] Normal Love - “Electrolytes In The Brine” (‘Survival Tricks’, 2012) [New York, USA] 08 [24:59] Micachu & The Shapes - “Crushed” (‘Good Sad Happy Bad’, 2015) [London, England] 09 [27:20] Preoccupations - “Fever” (‘Preoccupations’, 2016) [Calgary, Canada] 10 [31:52] Beak - “0898” (‘Beak II Bonus’, 2012) [Bristol, England] 11 [35:04] Koban - “Not Broken” (‘Null’, 2013) [Vancouver, Canada] 12 [38:27] Joana Guerra - “O Cavalo Que Penteia a Crina” (‘Cavalos Vapor’, 2016) [Lisboa, Portugal] 13 [42:34] Yvette - “Radiation” (‘Process’, 2014) [New York, USA] 14 [45:44] Bootblacks - “Drift” (‘Veins’, 2016) [New York, USA] 15 [50:07] Surplus 1980 - “Aggravation” (‘Relapse In Response’, 2011) [Oakland, USA] 16 [52:56] My Disco - “Careless” (‘Severe’, 2015) [Melbourne, Australia] 17 [58:55] Varsovia - “Pertenecemos A La Muerte” (‘Recursos Inhumanos’, 2014) [Lima, Peru] 18 [62:29] Unur - “The Starving Time” (‘No Human Self’, 2014) [Chicago, USA] 19 [65:29] Aviaries - “All I Love I Leave Behind” (‘Aviaries’, 2016) [Wroclaw, Poland]

[Total Time: 71:33]

2007/2017 | HEART

01 [00:00] Savages - “Marshal Dear” (‘Silence Yourself’, 2013) [London, England] 02 [03:58] Blau Blau - “Kiss Kiss” (‘Kiss Kiss’, 2017) [Boston, USA] 03 [06:56] Chromatics - “Back From the Grave” (‘Kill For Love’, 2012) [Portland, USA] 04 [10:34] Shadowlands - “Liberation” (‘001’, 2016) [Portland, USA] 05 [15:19] Electricity In Our Homes - “Appletree” (‘Dear Shareholder’, 2011) [London, England] 06 [20:04] M!R!M- “First Love” (‘Iuvenis’, 2017) [London, England] 07 [22:26] Drab Majesty - “Dot In The Sky” (‘The Demonstration’, 2017) [Los Angeles, USA] 08 [27:50] Ought - “Beautiful Blue Sky” (‘Sun Coming Down’’, 2015) [Montreal, Canada] 09 [35:34] Electrelane - “The Lighthouse” (‘No Shouts, No Calls’, 2007) [Brighton, England] 10 [39:47] Minuit Machine - “The Earth” (‘Violent Rains’, 2015) [Paris, France] 11 [44:57] Holograms - “Attestupa” (‘Forever’, 2013 [Stockholm, Sweden] 12 [48:28] Mermaidens - “Under the Mountain II” (‘Undergrowth’, 2016) [Wellington, New Zealand] 13 [53:06] The Soft Moon - “Wasting” (‘Deeper’, 2016) [San Francisco, USA] 14 [58:54] Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein - “She’ll Kill You” (‘Stranger Things’, 2016) [Austin, USA] 15 [60:54] Gold Class - “Half moon Over” (‘It’s You’, 2015) [Melbourne, Australia] 16 [65:28] Fear of Men - “Erase (Aubade)” (‘Fall Forever’, 2016) [Brighton, England] 17 [67:22] The Knife - “Wrap Your Arms Around Me” (‘Shaking The Habitual’, 2013Mel) [Stockholm, Sweden]

[Total Time: 71:58]

2007/2017 | CONVERTIBLE

01 [00:00] Frankie Rose - “Love in Rockets” (‘Cage Tropical’, 2017) [New York, USA] 02 [04:02] Band Aparte - “Cherry Chapstick” (‘Memory On Trial’, 2016) [Los Angeles, USA] 03 [08:31] Ablebody - “Sally Hot Jazz” (“All My Everybody” EP, 2013) [Los Angeles, USA] 04 [11:21] Grass Widow - “Uncertain Memory” (‘Past Time’, 2010) [San Francisco, USA] 05 [14:39] Parquet Courts - “Berlin Got Blurry” (‘Human Performance’, 2016) [New York, USA] 06 [17:59] Blood Sound - “Never Left” (‘Too Much Sun and Not Enough Gloom’, 2015) [Philadelphia, USA] 07 [20:48] Glintshake - “Demihuman” (‘Osthch Magziu’, 2016) [Moscow, Russia] 08 [26:35] The New Sound of Numbers - “Complete” (‘Invisible Magnetic’, 2013) [Athens, USA] 09 [28:56] Lunch - “Madness Openly” (‘Let Us Have Madness Openly’, 2016) [Portland, USA] 10 [33:39] A Projection - “Affection” (‘Framework’, 2017) [Stockholm, Sweden] 11 [36:55] Michachu & The Shapes - “L.A. Poison” (‘Good Sad Happy Bad’, 2015) [London, England] 12 [40:31] The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - “When I Dance...” (‘The Echo of Pleasure’, 2017) [New York, USA] 13 [45:06] The Lanskies - “Asteroid” (‘Hot Wave’, 2017) [Paris, France] 14 [48:39] Mode Moderne - “Come Sunrise” (‘Occult Delight’, 2014) [Vancouver, Canada] 15 [51:42] Protomartyr - “Maidenhead” (‘Under Color of Official Right’, 2014) [Detroit, USA] 16 [55:17] Opposite Sex - “La Rat” (‘Opposite Sex’, 2011) [Dunedin, New Zealand] 17 [57:30] Cold Beat - “Don’t Touch” (‘Chaos By Invitation’, 2017) [San Francisco, USA] 18 [60:29] CFCF - “The Explorers” (“The Explorers” EP, 2009) [Montreal, Canada] 19 [64:03] Beach Fossils - “Birthday” (‘Clash the Truth’, 2013) [New York, USA] 20 [66:55] Sacred Paws - “Empty Body” (‘Strike a Match’, 2017) [Glasgow, Scotland]

[Total Time: 70:10]

2007/2017 | ICE

01 [00:00] Black Marble - “Cruel Summer” (‘A Different Arrangement’; 2012) [New York, USA] 02 [03:41] Fujiya & Miyagi - “Swoon” (‘Fujiya & Miyagi’, 2017) [Brighton, England] 03 [07:03] Exploded View - “Orlando” (‘Exploded View’, 2017) [Mexico City, Mexico] 04 [10:42] Var - “The World Fell” (‘No One Dances Quite Like My Brother’, 2013) [Copenhagen, Denmark] 05 [14:05] Corners - “Caught In Frustration” (‘Maxed Out on Distractions’, 2014) [Los Angeles, USA] 06 [17:34] Peaking Lights - “Cosmic Tides” (‘Lucifer’, 2012) [Los Angeles, USA] 07 [24:01] Cold Cave - “Confetti” (‘Cherish The Light Years’, 2011) [Los Angeles, USA] 08 [29:33] Talk Normal - “Cover” (‘Sunshine’, 2012) [New York, USA] 09 [33:58] Agent Side Grinder - “Rip Me” (‘Hardware’, 2012) [Stockholm, Sweden] 10 [40:09] Death & Vanilla - “Godspeed” (“Godspeed” EP, 2009) [Malmo, Sweden] 11 [44:39] Ashrae Fax - “Intexus” (‘Never Really Been Into It’, 2014) [Greensboro, USA] 12 [49:24] Daphni - “Life’s What You Make It” (‘Fabriclive 93’, 2017) [Dundas, Canada] 13 [52:54] Primitive Motion - “Plant Me Deep” (‘Pulsating Time Fibre’, 2015) [Brisbane, Australia] 14 [57:46] Winkie - “Vacant” (‘One Day We Pretended To Be Ghosts’, 2013) [New York, USA] 15 [62:26] Cold Beat - “Black Licorice” (‘Chaos By Invitation’, 2017) [San Francisco, USA] 16 [65:50] Virginia Wing - “Rhonda” (“Rhonda” EP, 2016) [London, England]

[Total Time: 72:20] A Projection· Ablebody· Agent Side Grinder· Anika· Ashrae Fax Ausmuteants· Aviaries· Band Aparte· Behavior· Beach Fossils· Beak· Bent Black Marble· Blau Blau· Blood Sound· Blood Sport· Bobsleigh Baby· Carola Bony· Bootblacks· Cellular Chaos· CFCF· Chromatics· Cold Beat· Cold Cave· Cold Waste· Corners· Corridor· Cowtown· Crumbs· The Dance Asthmatics· Daphni· Death & Vanilla· Dirt Dress· Dirty Ghosts· Disappears Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein· Drab Majesty· Eagulls· Eat Skull· Electrelane Electricity In Our Homes· Erase Errata· Esses· Estrambote· The Estranged Explode Into Colors· Exploded View· Factory Floor· Fear Of Men· Forests Foster Body· Freak Heat Waves· Frustration· Fujiya & Miyagi· Gesture Glintshake· Gold Cross· Golden Teacher· Grass Is Green· Grass Widow Joana Guerra· Hdspns· Holograms· The Knife· Koban· The Kurws· The Lanskies· Lithics· LCD Soundsystem· Lunch· M!R!M· Massicot· Mazing Vids Melt Yourself Down· Mere Women· Mermaidens· Micachu & The Shapes Minuit Machine· Mode Moderne· Moss Lime· My Disco· Naked Lights· New Blood· New Fries· The New Sound of Numbers· No Zu· Normal Love· Omni Opposite Sex· Otzi· Ought· The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart· Parquet Courts Peaking Lights· Plastic People· Pow!· Preening· Preoccupations· Priests Primitive Motion· Primitive Parts· Prinzhorn Dance School· Protomartyr Ravioli Me Away· Frankie Rose· Sacred Paws· Savages· Shadowlands Shopping· Sneaks· The Soft Moon· Surplus 1980· Taiwan Housing Project Talk Normal· Terrible Truths· Terry· Total Control· Total Victory· Trash Kit· Tunabunny· Unur· Uranium Club· Var· Varsovia· Vats· Viet Cong Virginia Wing· Vivian Girls· Winkie· Wint· The World· Yvette· The Zygotes

THE MUSICOPHILIA COMPANY

MUSICOPHILIA.WORDPRESS.COM OCTOBER, 2017