Rebellious Jukebox Vol. 1: Women

"Young people have a biological right to be excited about the times they're living through. If you are very lucky, that hormonal urgency is matched by the insurgency of the era, and your built-in adolescent need for amazement and belief coincides with a period of objective abundance. The prime years of postpunk-- the half decade from 1978-82-- were like that: a fortune." Simon Reynolds, from Rip it Up and Start Again.

Okay here we go, today I'm posting the first volume in my Post-Punk Series, Rebellious Jukebox. As I mentioned in my last post, there are five Wednesdays in September and I'll drop one compilation on each of those. Here's what's in store: 5 Discs, 132 Songs, 6.5 Hours worth of Post-Punk madness. These five discs are separated into five mini-themed comps: Women, Gloom, Swing, Pop, and Noise.

When I first decided to tackle Post-Punk, I thought I would do three maybe four compilations at 20 tracks each. Needless to say, that expanded pretty quickly and I just didn't have the heart to make many cuts. There are 130 (129 if you're picky) artists represented. I'll explain the ones I doubled up as we get to them. The earliest track I used is from 1977, and the latest track is from 1986. Most of them, however, fall within the five-year period generally considered to be the golden age of Post-Punk, 1978-1982.

I said I didn't make many cuts and, of course, that's not entirely true. Instead of just randomly leaving out an artist I loved, I decided to skip certain sub-genres of Post-Punk, which I felt could be tackled at some later date. In particular, you'll find no American Hardcore, Ska Revival, Mod Revival or Kiwi Pop in this series and very few artists from Australia. The New Romantics are here only in their earliest form, as are the Synth Poppers. All of this is subjective. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on my picks and omissions. I've already started compiling stuff for future volumes, so any recommendations you have will be taken very seriously! I don't claim to have heard everything, and I'm always looking for new stuff to listen to.

Today's compilation features the Women of Post-Punk. In a way, it is the perfect introduction disc to the series and to Post-Punk in general, as nearly every sub-genre is represented within it's 27 tracks. Of the songs I selected, I'm pretty sure I only heard two of them back in the day. In the late 70's and early 80's I was more interested in AOR, and didn't really know much about Post-Punk. I did have a friend who was way ahead of his time. In 1979 (we were in sixth grade), he made me a tape with the Sex Pistols' Nevermind the Bollocks on one side and the B-52's self-titled debut on the other.

I wish I could say that that tape immediately changed my listening habits. Alas, it would be a few years before I discovered how great that gift was. Let's put it in perspective. In sixth grade I was still very much in my Kiss phase-- Destroyer was my favorite album of all time. My older siblings (sister: 10 years older, brother: 8 years older) both listened to a lot of music, but my sister was buying 12" Disco singles and my brother was an avid Classic Rock fan at the time. Radio in Chattanooga wasn't that great (it still kinda sucks), and we didn't get MTV in our area until '81 or so. That tape sounded like it came from some other planet, but I did listen to it all the way through, so technically the first song I heard on this compilation was "52 Girls", though I can't claim it made much of an impression at the time. The other track, of course, would be "Mental Hopscotch" which I heard via MTV in 1982. It is the most New Wave-y track on any of the comps, but I still think it's a great song and Missing Persons' Spring Session M is miles better than anything else the Bozzio's ever produced and a nice little document of how Post-Punk influenced the mainstream.

Enough babbling, I'll let the ladies take it from here.

Happy Listening!

Rebellious Jukebox Vol. 1: Women

01. The Slits, “Instant Hit” [1979]
02. Au Pairs, “We’re So Cool” [1981]
03. Suburban Lawns, “Unable” [1981]
04. Essential Logic, “ Fanfare in the Garden” [1981]
05. Lizzy Mercier Descloux, “Wawa” [1979]
06. Pylon, “Stop It” [1980]
07. Bush Tetras, “You Taste Like the Tropics” [1980]
08. Delta 5, “Anticipation” [1980]
09. Siouxsie & the Banshees, “Mirage” [1978]
10. Family Fodder, “Savoir Faire”[1980]
11. LiLiPuT/Kleenex, “Ain’t You” [1978]
12. Young Marble Giants, “Final Day” [1979]
13. Romeo Void, “Myself to Myself” [1981]
14. X, “Nausea” [1980]
15. Snatch, “All I Want” [1978]
16. Altered Images, “Dead Pop Stars” [1981]
17. B-52’s, “52 Girls” [1979]
18. ESG, “Moody” [1981]
19. Missing Persons, “Mental Hopscotch” [1982]
20. Animals & Men, “Terraplane Fixation [1980]
21. The Raincoats, “Fairytale in the Supermarket [1979]
22. Tom Tom Club, “On, On, On, On . . .” [1981]
23. Oh-Ok, “Brother” [1982]
24. The Flying Lizards, “TV” [1980]
25. Inflatable Boy Clams, “Marin” [1981]
26. Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, “Orphans” [1978]
27. Marine Girls, “In Love” [1981]

Total Time 1:15:47

Download it here: Rebellious Jukebox Vol. 1: Women

Post-Punk Series Slated for September!

Just so you know where I'm coming from, someone posted the above video on a GBV forum that I frequent, and it has sent me on a three week Post-Punk bender. Not kidding, I've been obsessed. I'd never heard nor even heard of Black Randy. Here I thought I had listened to all the great bands from the Post-Punk era. How Wrong I was! Seriously, there were sooooo many great bands, some of them put out a single or an album or two then, sadly, vanished. Others went on to fame and fortune in a Post-MTV world. Still others, had formidable careers, but garnered little more than cult status. Whatever, there was lots of great music to be had during those heady days just after the Sex Pistols turned the world on its head.

Long story short, I've scoured my collection for nuggets to share here at Burn and Shine. I've also tracked down a few things that I had never heard (like the spectacular reissue of the Lines early singles which came out on Acute a couple years ago: Memory Span. As per usual, the blogosphere was a tremendous help in finding stuff that I've only got on vinyl or stuff that has never seen digital reissue.

Just as in my Power Pop series, this is by no means to be taken as a definitive collection of Post-Punk. I always try to balance my compilations by using a few tracks that aren't quite as well known, and put them along side tracks that are. I mean, if you haven't got a copy of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" or "Damaged Goods" then by all means track those down and listen to them before downloading my comps. Along those lines, I heartily recommend (if you have any interest in the genre at all), picking up a copy of Simon Reynolds' Rip It Up and Start Again: POSTPUNK 1978-1984 (pictured below). I've been rereading it over the last few days, and my compilation works as a nice companion (especially the first half of the book).



So what is Post-Punk? You may be asking yourself, well let me direct you to the Wikipedia definition, which is pretty good: Post-punk. It can be a bit murky, and I think everyone has their own general idea of what bands get the tag. Does R.E.M.? How 'bout Duran Duran? Nirvana? Good cases could be made for all of those, yet they didn't make my compilation. For me it's a gut feeling. You'll see soon enough who made my comps, which by the way, I've separated into five volumes: Women, Gloom, Swing, Pop, and Noise. You might be surprised to find out who I've put where, but hopefully the playlists make some sort of sonic sense.

There are Five Wednesdays in September, and I will post my comps on each of those (I promise). I may not have the energy to do track by track commentary, but I'll share some of my thoughts on each compilation. For now, I'll leave you with the cover art, which I made in about 13 minutes in true, DIY fashion:




See y'all on Wednesday!

Veronica Falls

I'm a sucker for jangly guitars and boy/girl vocals. So when I stumbled upon the above video, it made me smile. Didn't know anything about this London Quartet, but it was obvious that they love the old C-86 Bands as much as I do. Apparently, they have yet to release a full length, but they have released one 7" single which pairs the title track (see video above), "Found Love in a Graveyard", with a very nice cover of Roky Erickson's "Starry Eyes". Unfortunately, the 7" is already OOP, so I missed out on snagging a hard copy. I did find downloads for both tracks via this blog: Transparent (thank you very much!).

Another 7" titled "Beachy Head" is supposedly on the way from Captured Tracks, so be on the lookout for that. In the meantime, you can download the two tracks from the new 7" here: Guerolito Music. Hopefully there's an album on the horizon!

Free Robyn Hitchcock Single!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Robyn Hitchcock? Probably not often enough. He is currently giving away a new single by his new project called The Hungry Moment @ RobynHitchock.com, but only for one week (starting today). The new band is comprised of Robyn on vocals and guitar, Abigail Washburn (vocal & banjo) Rayna Gellerd (vocal & fiddle) and he calls it a "psyche and western group". You can get the free download here: The Hungry Moment: Thank You b/w Time Girl & Violet Rain. I'll also leave you with a live version of my favorite song off the new RH & V3 record, Propellor Time:

No Las Vegas But How 'Bout GBV in Hotlanta?-- Who's with me?

Sadly, I'm not going to be able to go to Las Vegas for Matador's 21st B-day Shindig. Those of you who do, drink a beer or two for me. I have, however, gone ahead and purchased tickets for the Saturday, October 23 show (just two days before my own birthday!) at Buckethead Theatre in Atlanta. What I did not realize until I purchased these tickets is that Sweet Apple is opening that show!!! If you don't know, Sweet Apple is Jon Petkovic and Tim Parnin (of Cobra Verde), Dave Sweetapple (Witch), and J mother-effing Mascis! Seriously, their new album Love & Desperation has been in constant rotation since I got a copy back in April. Here's the lead single:




Yes, this should be a pretty great night for Rock & Roll.

Oh and just in case you haven't seen the dates for the GBV Reunion tour, here you go:

9/30 - East Side Drive, Austin, TX (On Sale 7/16 at 12pm) *
10/3 - Pearl Theatre @ Palms Hotel, Las Vegas NV SOLD OUT Matador at Twenty-One Las Vegas
10/4 - Wiltern, Los Angeles CA (On Sale TBA) *
10/5 - Warfield, San Francisco CA (Pre-sale FRI 7/23 10am-10pm password "bee thousand", Regular On Sale SAT 7/25 at 10am) *
10/7 - Crystal Ballroom, Portland OR (On Sale 7/20 at 10am) *
10/9 - Showbox So Do, Seattle WA (On Sale 7/26 at 10am) *
10/12 - First Avenue, Minneapolis MN (On Sale 7/16 at 12pm) *
10/13 - The Vic, Chicago IL (On Sale 7/24 at 10am) *
10/15 - Southgate House, Newport KY (Cincinnati) (On Sale 7/16 at 10am)
10/16 - Outlands Live, Columbus OH (On Sale 7/15)
10/21 - 9:30 Club, Washington D.C. (On Sale 7/17 at 10am) =
10/22 - Cat's Cradle, Carrboro NC (On Sale 7/16 at 10am) =
10/23 - Buckhead Theater, Atlanta GA (On Sale 7/24 at 10am) =
11/4 - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (On NBC at 12:35/11:45C)
11/5 - Paradise, Boston MA (On Sale 7/17 at 12pm) +
11/6 - Trocadero, Philadelphia PA (On Sale 7/17 at 12pm) +
11/7 - Terminal 5, NYC (On Sale 7/23 at 12pm) +
* with Times New Viking
= with Sweet Apple
+ with Blitzen Trapper