post punk – Haunted Jukebox

We’re at a crossroads, a convergence of competing subgenres. I could’ve easily put together an all-post-punk/new wave collection of tunes, or an all-Brit edition or even an American Top 40 variety; I’m sure a solid indie/underground representation of 1982’s out there somewhere, curated by a soul with more firsthand knowledge of it than myself.

What I’ve ended up with, naturally, is a blend of all of the above that nonetheless more often than not leans towards post-punk/new wave because there’s just so goddamn much of it: The Cure entering their goth-pop phase with a newfound emphasis on the latter, The (English) Beat ever more sophisticated and expansive with “Save It For Later”, quirky one-offs like Haircut 100 and Wall of Voodoo claiming their moment in the sun, synth-pop now officially a chart-worthy thing, as witnessed by Yaz’s venerable ballad and Missing Persons’ El Lay take on the genre; even relative “veterans” like Sparks and Kate Bush bending their sounds and styles to fit into and, at least in Bush’s case redefine the genre. There’s also a bunch of R&B/rock mutations: Kid Creole and The Coconuts sharpening their bon vivant take on new wave, Prince swaggering his way into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time and even Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott, a black rock pioneer going unapologetically, disarmingly pop (complete with baroque, “Penny Lane”-style trumpet solo!)

Predictably, I couldn’t ignore those mainstream hits that made an indelible impression on my seven-year-old brain. I’ve spared you such cheese as “Key Largo” and “Ebony and Ivory” (the latter: two legends reduced to mush!) but have made room for Bee Gees-produced Dionne Warwick (Gibb a much better Barry for her than Manilow), the smooth, hook-laden reassurance of The Alan Parsons Project, Stevie Wonder’s last great single, another sterling Christine McVie-written Fleetwood Mac one, and of course, “Goody Two Shoes”, Adam Ant’s only early 80s American Top 40 hit (in this case, us Yanks chose the best, most endearing one.)

Despite the abundance of Brits represented, I’m more intrigued by that American-indie contingent I was far too young to know at the time. Some days, “Mesopotamia” is my favorite B-52’s song, riding texture and an electro-groove unlike any of their other standards (Fred Schneider’s inimitable, exuberant vocal hook, which provides this playlist’s title is just the icing on a multi-layered cake); other days, I hear “Wolves, Lower”, the opener from R.E.M.’s first EP Chronic Town and it’s as fresh and exciting and enigmatic as it ever was, even compared to all of their era-defining output over the subsequent decade.

1982: Before I Talk, I Should Read A Book!

A Flock of Seagulls, “Space Age Love Song”
The Cure, “Let’s Go To Bed”
Indeep, “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life”
Prince, “Little Red Corvette”
The Alan Parsons Project, “Eye In The Sky”
Kid Creole and The Coconuts, “I’m A Wonderful Thing, Baby”
The Psychedelic Furs, “Love My Way”
Roxy Music, “The Space Between”
The B-52’s, “Mesopotamia”
Kate Bush, “Suspended In Gaffa”
Split Enz, “Six Months In a Leaky Boat”
Phil Lynott, “Old Town”
Wall of Voodoo, “Mexican Radio”
David Bowie, “Cat People (Putting Out Fire)”
Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Fireworks – 12” Version”
XTC, “No Thugs In Our House”
Adam Ant, “Goody Two Shoes”
R.E.M., “Wolves, Lower”
The Dream Syndicate, “Tell Me When It’s Over”
Chic, “Tavern On The Green”
The English Beat, “Save It For Later”
Fun Boy Three and Bananarama, “It Ain’t What You Do, It’s The Way That You Do It”
Dionne Warwick, “Heartbreaker”
Carly Simon, “Why (12” Version)”
Yaz, “Only You”
Missing Persons, “Destination Unknown”
Sparks, “Angst In My Pants”
The Waitresses, “Square Pegs”
Fleetwood Mac, “Hold Me”
ABC, “The Look Of Love, Pt. 1”
Stevie Wonder, “Do I Do (Single Version)”
Haircut 100, “Love Plus One – 12” Version”
The Associates, “Party Fears Two”
The Jam, “The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)”
ABBA, “Under Attack”
Richard & Linda Thompson, “Wall of Death”

The peak year for post punk, 1981 even had its own theme song of sorts in Kim Wilde’s immortal “Kids In America”. It came from the synth-end of that spectrum, along with other such newfangled artists as Depeche Mode, OMD and Soft Cell (not to mention then-veterans Kraftwerk); on the guitar-end, you had The English Beat, Pretenders, The Go-Go’s, even the good ol’ Ramones. More often than not, however, post punk encompassed a canny blend of the two, an in-between space that collected oddballs from Romeo Void (with Deborah Iyall wailing “I might like you better if we slept together” over and over again into the void) to angular glam pirates Adam & The Ants, whose “Prince Charming” is surely one of the oddest UK number one hits of the 80s.

On that note, Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman” is easily the oddest UK number two hit ever, a free-form, spoken word proto-ASMR tone poem spread out over eight minutes. A six-year-old in Wisconsin in ’81, I didn’t hear it until I was in my twenties. My favorite song at the time was undoubtedly the famous-orchestral-flourishes-over-a-drum-machine-beat medley “Hooked On Classics”; I remember becoming ecstatic whenever it came on the radio and more recently, I fully appreciated its appearance in the gay sex montage in the first episode of It’s A Sin.

Most of the stuff I knew at the time came from Solid Gold and my parents’ preferred soft rock station; while I have a nagging respect for some of it, you won’t see the likes of Air Supply, Christopher Cross or even Rick Springfield here. But Kim Carnes’ husky voice (and slap-happy music video for “Bette Davis Eyes”) endures, as does Lindsey Buckingham’s “Trouble” (he had no good reason to keep such gibberish in the intro, but I’m thankful he did) and ABBA’s startling, verging-on-post-punk “The Visitors” (Who are these “Visitors”? Immigrant hordes? Alien invaders? Mere figments of the singer’s imagination?)

This is the year hip-hop begins to seep (however slowly) into pop culture. Although I didn’t include Blondie’s “Rapture” (too obvious) or Grandmaster Flash, I did make room for the soon-to-be heavily-sampled ESG and Tom Tom Club, plus Frankie Smith’s novelty crossover and Gil Scott-Heron’s epic proto-rap Reagan takedown. Inevitably, my attention shifts over to post-disco anthems by Taana Gardner, Was (Not Was) and former disco diva herself Grace Jones: Nightclubbing, her gender-bending (and genre-bending) covers-heavy apotheosis (from Iggy Pop’s title track to selections from Bill Withers and The Police) has steadily grown into one of my favorite albums since first hearing it just a few years ago, with slinky, sultry “Walking In The Rain” (also a cover!) its perfect leadoff track.

1981: Feeling Like A Woman, Looking Like A Man

Kim Wilde, “Kids In America”
Pretenders, “Talk of The Town”
Lindsey Buckingham, “Trouble”
Frankie Smith, “Double Dutch Bus”
Prince, “Controversy”
ESG, “U.F.O”
Grace Jones, “Walking In The Rain”
Blue Oyster Cult, “Burnin’ For You”
The Go-Go’s, “Our Lips Are Sealed”
Taana Gardner, “Heartbeat”
Kim Carnes, “Bette Davis Eyes”
OMD, “Souvenir”
Dollar, “Mirror Mirror”
The English Beat, “Too Nice To Talk To”
Adam & The Ants, “Prince Charming”
Ultravox, “Vienna”
Kraftwerk, “Computer Love”
Tom Tom Club, “Genius of Love”
Family Fodder, “Film Music”
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, “Hooked on Classics (Parts 1 & 2)”
Was (Not Was), “Wheel Me Out (Long Version)”
Romeo Void, “Never Say Never”
Ramones, “The KKK Took My Baby Away”
Stevie Wonder, “That Girl”
The Specials, “Ghost Town”
ABBA, “The Visitors”
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, “Bad Reputation”
Stevie Nicks, “Edge of Seventeen”
Bee Gees, “Living Eyes”
Laurie Anderson, “O Superman”
Depeche Mode, “Just Can’t Get Enough”
Soft Cell, “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye”
Gil Scott-Heron, “’B’ Movie (Intro, Poem, Song)”