Friday, March 17, 2006

Funky Friday Free For All

Day 5 of music from the post-punk era ('78-'84)...
I'm about half way through Simon Reynolds' book and my head is full of so many great musical memories. It is a great read, and it is extremely satisying to see the history of the music I love so much finally given a good re-telling. It has also had me going nuts with my music collection, listening to oldies with a whole new perspective. It all leads to today's post - I couldn't decide what I wanted to share so I'm going with a bunch of stuff. It's all of the era, and it's all funky in some way, even the most abstract of it. Most of these bands get namechecked in the book, some are my own additions to the discography. It's a mix tape kind of free for all - enjoy!

The Slits - In The Beginning There Was Rhythm - the lyric that provided this blog's name - nuff said.

Cabaret Voltaire - Silent Command - I remember bringing this 7" home and having my bro rib me endlessly about it, amazed that I would want to listen to something so bizarre.

The Human League - The Sound Of The Crowd (Complete 12" Version) - the first glimpse of the new look Human League, now with lovely ladies added! Stompingly good.

Dinosaur - Kiss Me Again (12" Version) - lovely No Wave art disco from Midwestern cellist Arthur Russell.

Madness - My Girl - the nutty boys delivered a much needed dose of humor to a pretty dour time. Classic Two Tone snappiness.

Devo - The Girl U Want (Black Light Odyssey Mix) - a classic bit of subversive pop music for the geeks.

The Scars - All About You - Scottish post-punkers deliver one of my favorite '80s songs ever. Wasn't a hit - shame, shame, but still sounds magnificent.

Fellini - Teu Ingles - turns out Brazil had a vibrant scene too, and last year saw a couple of comps come to light that were real eye openers. All of it is on a par with it's US and UK peers.

Throbbing Gristle - Hotheelsunited (Carter/Tutti Mix) - the grand poobahs of insane performance noise art porn visual over stimulation industrial grindcore, given a bit of a slick remix.

Simple Minds - Promised You A Miracle - I heart Simple Minds' earliest stuff. This tune is a sublimely catchy slice of keyboard pop that put the band in the charts and ultimately on the road to bloated stadium rock.

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