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OG Post-Punk Countdown: 1977-1984 #1 - Joy Division - Transmission (1979) (Spotify playlist link in first post) (1 Viewer)

scorchy

Footballguy
Updated with link to Spotify playlist: Scorchy's Post-Punk Countdown (1977-1984)

I know, the last thing the FFA needs is another countdown thread, but I can no longer resist.  A constant stream of projects helps me deal with COVID anxiety, and after nine months of this BS, I'm pretty much out of things to do.  I had originally planned to focus on one on my true loves (classic industrial and goth) but @urbanhack's thread beat me to the punch.  Then @fatguyinalittlecoattold me I couldn't start this thread till he was un-banned,  and then I got obsessed with building a shed, but now the shed is done, it's cold outside, and I'm bored.

Between being a little kid in 1977 and growing up in the sticks, I missed the birth and first wave of post-punk.  My parents listened to country, my older brother was all in on Molly Hatchet, and I got by with recording AT40 on my boom box.  It wasn't until MTV and 120 minutes that I got a dose of "alternative" music.  Luckily, the local Camelot Music had one gothy college student  who would order interesting records and tapes, even if she and I were the only ones who bought them - like that first neon-green Sugarcubes tape, when I rode my bike to the mall to buy it the day after "Birthday" world-premiered.  Anyway...

I know post-punk was a category in one of the song drafts, but the search function is no help and I remember there being a pretty broad interpretation and timeline for the genre anyway.  I thought about going the same way, but my post-punk playlist on Spotify had over 200 songs stretching from 1977-2019 so I knew I needed some rules to make it digestible, even for the five or so people that may be remotely interested in the topic:

1) Album or single had to be released between late 1977 and the end of 1984.  I went with '77 instead of '78 just to get the first Wire and Talking Heads records eligible.

2) I don't care if Wikipedia lists the band as post-punk - the song has to fit the genre too.  So no song that I personally consider to be purely synth-pop, goth, garage, indie, etc.  It's a fine line, and unlike other threads of this ilk, I welcome arguments about why I'm wrong.

3) My first go round at this, I quickly realized my list was over-saturated with the same bands.  To make things more interesting, I limited myself to only two songs per artist, and only one song each in the top 10.

Countdown will start with #75 his afternoon.

#75 - Southern Death Cult - Apache (1981)

#74 - The Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want) (1979)

#73 - Orange Juice - Blue Boy (1980)

#72 - The B-52s - 52 Girls (1979)

#71 - The Pop Group - She Is Beyond Good and Evil (1979)

#70 - Adam & The Ants - Antmusic (1980)

#69 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - From Her to Eternity (1984)

#68 - The Teardrop Explodes - Sleeping Gas (1979)

#67 - Kleenex - Ain't You (1978)

#66   U2 - 11 O'Clock Tick-Tock (1980)

#65 - Cabaret Voltaire - Nag, Nag, Nag (1979)

#64 - Flipper - Sex Bomb (1981)

#63 - Bush Tetras - Can't Be Funky (1981)

#62 - Ski Patrol - Agent Orange - (1981)

#61 - Shriekback - My Spine Is the Bassline (1982)

#60 - Liquid Liquid - Cavern (1983)

#59 - XTC - This Is Pop (1978)

#58 - The Soft Boys - I Wanna Destroy You (1980)

#57 - Sisters of Mercy - Anaconda (1983)

#56 - Simple Minds - Celebrate (1980)

#55 - Killing Joke - Wardance (1980)

#54 - Swell Maps - The Helicopter Spies (1980)

#53- Josef K - Heads Watch (1981)

#52 - The Human League - Being Boiled (1978)

#51 - Fad Gadget - The Box (1979)

#50 - Young Marble Giants - Credit in the Straight World (1980)

#49 - Mission of Burma - That's When I Reach for My Revolver (1981)

#48 - Modern English - Gathering Dust (1980)

#47 - Magazine - A Song From Under the Floorboards (1980)

#46 - Bauhaus - Kick in the Eye (1981)

#45 - Sonic Youth - The Burning Spear (1982)

#44 - The Chameleons - Up the Down Escalator (1983)

#43 - The Birthday Party - Mr. Clarinet (1980)

#42 - Cocteau Twins - Wax and Wane (1982)

#41 - The Mekons - I'm So Happy (1980)

#40 - Violent Femmes - Gone Daddy Gone (1983)

#39 - The Raincoats - Fairytale in the Supermarket (1979)

#38 - The Fall - How I Wrote Elastic Man (1980)

#37 - Talking Heads - Life During Wartime (1979)

#36 - Echo & The Bunnymen - The Cutter (1983)

#35 - Devo - Freedom of Choice (1980)

#34 - The Feelies - Crazy Rhythms (1980)

#33 - Siouxsie & The Banshees - Metal Postcard (1978)

#16 - Magazine - Shot By Both Sides (1978)

#32 - A Certain Ratio - Do the Du (1980)

#31 - Psychedelic Furs - Dumb Waiters (1981)

#30 - The Normal - Warm Leatherette (1978)

#29 - ESG - Moody (1981)

#28 - Delta 5 - Mind Your Own Business (1979)

#27 - Public Image Ltd. - Public Image (1978)

#26 - The Jesus and Mary Chain - Upside Down (1984)

#25 - Bush Tetras - Too Many Creeps (1981)

#24 - Pylon - Crazy (1982)

#23 - The Slits - Typical Girls (1979)

#22 - The Mekons - Where Were You (1978)

#21 - The Au Pairs - It's Obvious (1981)

#20 - The Cure - A Forest (1980)

#19 - Wire - I Am The Fly (1978)

#18 - New Order - Ceremony (1981)

#17 - Echo & The Bunnymen - No Dark Things (1981)

#16 - Magazine - Shot By Both Sides (1978)

#15 - Mission of Burma - Academy Fight Song (1980)

#14 - Joy Division - Disorder - 1979

#13 - The Chameleons - In Shreds - 1982

#12 - Gang of Four - I Found That Essence Rare (1979)

#11 - The Fall - Rebellious Jukebox (1979)

#10 - Siouxsie & the Banshees - Arabian Knights (1981)

#9 - Pere Ubu - Non-Alignment Pact (1978)

#8 - Public Image Ltd - Poptones (1979)

#7 - The Feelies - The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness (1980)

#6 - Bauhaus - Dark Entries (1980)

#5 - Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (1977)

#4 - Wire - Three Girl Rhumba (1977)

#3 - The Cure - 10:15 Saturday Night (1978)

#2 - Gang of Four - Damaged Goods (1978)

#1 - Joy Division - Transmission (1979)

 
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I mean both of those things.

You could also run a post punk renaissance countdown. The last bunch of years has been a great run.

 
I mean both of those things.

You could also run a post punk renaissance countdown. The last bunch of years has been a great run.
I fully plan on ####ing this up.  Outrage is half the fun.  Funny you should mention a second countdown - I already have my top 20 post-punk revival list to intersperse with the OG one to break up the tedium.  Kind of like how Casey Kasem used long-distance dedications in AT40.

 
I fully plan on ####ing this up.  Outrage is half the fun.  Funny you should mention a second countdown - I already have my top 20 post-punk revival list to intersperse with the OG one to break up the tedium.  Kind of like how Casey Kasem used long-distance dedications in AT40.
If you pull some tim, wham new wave ####, I'm burning it down

 
#75 Southern Death Cult - Apache (1981)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LepjXy7uLjA

Definitely not a cover of the Sugar Hill Gang song.  The voice is instantly recognizable, but the music itself is lot janglier than anything after Ian Astbury found Billy Duffy and formed Death Cult (later shortened to the Cult).  Both the name of the band (an homage to southern Indian tribes) and this particular song show that his odd obsession with Native American culture (at least for a Brit) predates fame.  Random factoid for @El Floppo - Ian Astbury is a huge Everton supporter.

 
I guess now's about the time I start thinking about the Punk 100 countdown I was going to do in July. Hmmm...

I'm in for this one!

 
He'd rip me to shreds with one of those kick ### hooks.

Honestly don't know enough about those guys. Excited to listen more thanks to you. :thumbup:
The Cult's best stuff absolutely slays, but it's definitely more guitar rock than punk.  And I'm pretty sure @bigbottom does a mean Fire Woman, but my brain was pretty hazy that night.

 
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The Cult's best stuff absolutely slays, but it's definitely more guitar rock than punk.  And I'm pretty sure @bigbottom does a mean Fire Woman, but my brain was pretty hazy that night.
Wild Flower, Li’l Devil, She Sells Sanctuary in the repertoire. Was probably Wild Flower that night if you’re talking about the Houston show. 

These days, I’ll sometimes put down the guitar and break out my handy dandy Astbury/Duffy signed tambourine!

And I agree that The Cult is straightforward rock, arguably in its purest form. 

 
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#75 Southern Death Cult - Apache (1981)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LepjXy7uLjA

Definitely not a cover of the Sugar Hill Gang song.  The voice is instantly recognizable, but the music itself is lot janglier than anything after Ian Astbury found Billy Duffy and formed Death Cult (later shortened to the Cult).  Both the name of the band (an homage to southern Indian tribes) and this particular song show that his odd obsession with Native American culture (at least for a Brit) predates fame.  Random factoid for @El Floppo - Ian Astbury is a huge Everton supporter.
This thread is going to be so much fun!

 
Wild Flower, Li’l Devil, She Sells Sanctuary in the repertoire. Was probably Wild Flower that night if you’re talking about the Houston show. 

These days, I’ll sometimes put down the guitar and break out my handy dandy Astbury/Duffy signed tambourine!

And I agree that The Cult is straightforward rock, arguably in its purest form. 
Sweet tambourine!  Once @fatguyinalittlecoatjumped on stage to do the intro to "La Grange," the night became a blur.

 
#74 - The Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want) (1979)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-P2qL3qkzk

Novelty song?  Obviously.  One-hit wonder?  Sure.  Post-punk?  Definitely

The line between New Wave and Post-Punk can be pretty hazy, but for me, this falls just on the right side for this countdown.  I'm no Billboard expert, but I don't think many other post-punk songs made it to #50 on the Hot 100.  "Money" was Berry Gordy's first Motown hit, covered by the Beatles in 1963, and then released as a single by The Flying Lizards in 1979.  The fact that it reached #5 in the UK led Virgin Records to sign the Lizards to a two album deal.  Probably not the best idea given that the brains behind the band was a lot more avant-garde, and the subsequent releases had disappointing sales.

 
I'm young enough to really only remember when "Money" was sort of a retrospective New Wave song they'd play on VH1 countdowns more than anything. How do I know it's not new wave or post-punk, though? The guy running down the stairs in the video at 0:35 has bell bottoms on. Or, at least they look like bell-bottomed nineties jeans meaning he may have just been ahead of his time.

But that's immediate disqualification, no? Or maybe just, in the vein of Pip's comment, proof that any fashion is fashionable if you're in England. Just so long as there are no pub stains on your shirt.

eta* So I'm watching the Flying Lizards's "TV" and loving it. Well, already this thread has proven a boon to my rock n' roll existence.

 
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#75 Southern Death Cult - Apache (1981)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LepjXy7uLjA

Definitely not a cover of the Sugar Hill Gang song.  The voice is instantly recognizable, but the music itself is lot janglier than anything after Ian Astbury found Billy Duffy and formed Death Cult (later shortened to the Cult).  Both the name of the band (an homage to southern Indian tribes) and this particular song show that his odd obsession with Native American culture (at least for a Brit) predates fame.  Random factoid for @El Floppo - Ian Astbury is a huge Everton supporter.
In my addled mind, I had these guys as Thrill Kill Kult. Wrong era and wrong genre.

Carry on.

Dug the Cult back innaday, but as said don't know much about their origins...so will continue to look forward to checking these guys out 

 
In my addled mind, I had these guys as Thrill Kill Kult. Wrong era and wrong genre.

Carry on.

Dug the Cult back innaday, but as said don't know much about their origins...so will continue to look forward to checking these guys out 
I’m wondering who other than me has seen My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult live. I think I saw them in the summer of ‘92.

 
#74 - The Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want) (1979)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-P2qL3qkzk

Novelty song?  Obviously.  One-hit wonder?  Sure.  Post-punk?  Definitely

The line between New Wave and Post-Punk can be pretty hazy, but for me, this falls just on the right side for this countdown.  I'm no Billboard expert, but I don't think many other post-punk songs made it to #50 on the Hot 100.  "Money" was Berry Gordy's first Motown hit, covered by the Beatles in 1963, and then released as a single by The Flying Lizards in 1979.  The fact that it reached #5 in the UK led Virgin Records to sign the Lizards to a two album deal.  Probably not the best idea given that the brains behind the band was a lot more avant-garde, and the subsequent releases had disappointing sales.
This was in Empire Records. But it was a cover since there was no accent on the singer. 

 
Was that the full name of the band? I thought that was their album name? 
Yeah. That was the full name of the band. My brother's stripper girlfriend used to dance to My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult. She even showed me her outfits with glee. My mother sat in the corner and nearly wept. Good times, and that's how I'll always remember that band.

 
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I’m wondering who other than me has seen My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult live. I think I saw them in the summer of ‘92.
You're just fishing here so that I would post the terrible mid-90s picture of me in a TKK shirt, right?  The one that says "Kooler than Jesus" on the back that my mom refused to wash when came home from college during the summer?  This was a really bad look for me - taken before a Spahn Ranch show in Philly in '97.  Still have the shirt for special occasions.

Oh, and I've seen them four times.  First time in 1992 in Gainesville when they traveled with the Bomb Gang Girls, who were really just go-go dancers masquerading as backup singers.  If you got too close to the stage, they would grab you by the head and forcibly kiss you.  Then in '94 with Genitorturers and GWAR in Gainesville.  The best show was 1995 in Baltimore (Hammerjacks) with Lords of Acid - just a total ####show in the best way.  The worst was a few years ago at a dive bar near my house.  The music has aged poorly, and Groovie Mann even worse.

 
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This was in Empire Records. But it was a cover since there was no accent on the singer. 
Totally right on the Empire Records (which I have an inexplicable love for), but definitely the same version/accent.

 
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The guy running down the stairs in the video at 0:35 has bell bottoms on. Or, at least they look like bell-bottomed nineties jeans meaning he may have just been ahead of his time.
The house in the video totally reminds me of the house in the Young Ones, just maybe a little less squalid.  Neil definitely wore bell bottoms in the early 80s.

 
This post is worthless without pics.  As @urbanhackwill attest, hot industrial/goth chicks make my eyeballs burst.
Hmm...that's interesting. I can relate. I dated an industrial/goth as my first girlfriend in high school. She had hair like Robert Smith. She loved early Ministry. We broke up. (Love these terse little descriptions of romance?)

As far as pictures, I'd love to oblige, but he dated her briefly back in the nineties and they've long since moved on. (It's been almost thirty years. Holy heck.) I'm not exactly sure she'd qualify as industrial goth, either. More like San Diego tweaker. Love is...blinding. Yeah, she blinded him with science.

 
I went with '77 instead of '78 just to get the first Wire and Talking Heads records eligible.
I just caught this. This is wise, at least in my estimation. I love the first and second Wire albums. Deconstruction at its minimalist finest. I think I'll put Chairs Missing on now.

 
You're just fishing here so that I would post the terrible mid-90s picture of me in a TKK shirt, right?  The one that says "Kooler than Jesus" on the back that my mom refused to wash when came home from college during the summer?  This was a really bad look for me - taken before a Spahn Ranch show in Philly in '97.  Still have the shirt and for special occasions.

Oh, and I've seen them four times.  First time in 1992 in Gainesville when they traveled with the Bomb Gang Girls, who were really just go-go dancers masquerading as backup singers.  If you got too close to the stage, they would grab you by the head and forcibly kiss you.  Then in '94 with Genitorturers and GWAR in Gainesville.  The best show was 1995 in Baltimore (Hammerjacks) with Lords of Acid - just a total ####show in the best way.  The worst was a few years ago at a dive bar near my house.  The music has aged poorly, and Groovie Mann even worse.
So, so great. I knew you had seen them but somehow had forgotten you were wearing their shirt in that absolutely amazing photo.

 
#73 - Orange Juice - Blue Boy (1980)

Coincidentally, this song also has an "Empire Records" connection, but unlike "Money", the guitars in "Blue Boy" just bring out the joy.  What's the connection?  Scottish band Orange Juice featured Edwyn Collins on vocals - the same Edwyn Collins who had a minor alt-rock hit in 1995 with "A Girl Like You" on the Empire Records soundtrack (from the scene where a young Renee Zellweger seduces an old Rex Manning).  Orange Juice's first singles had a decided post-punk feel but their later output leaned toward straight up pop and blue-eyed soul.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qz9Uqk55Jo

 
#72 - The B-52s - 52 Girls

The first of two Athens, GA bands in the countdown, the B-52s quickly outgrew their post-punk roots to become huge in the new wave and then alternative pop scenes.  TBH, I change the station whenever a B-52s song (aside from this one) comes on the radio.  Besides being overplayed, I guess I just find Fred Schneider's vocal schtick totally grating.  Fortunately for me, "52 Girls," released in 1978 as the B-Side to "Rock Lobster", features Cindy and Kate plus guitars and bass that could have been straight outta Leeds.  My favorite Kate Pierson vocal is actually the criminally underrated "Candy" w/ Iggy Pop (I've had a hole in my heart for so long...) but that one just doesn't fit the criteria.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJwQuTqqPvo

 
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#72 - The B-52s - 52 Girls

The first of two Athens, GA bands in the countdown, the B-52s quickly outgrew their post-punk roots to become huge in the new wave and then alternative pop scenes.  TBH, I change the station whenever a B-52s song (aside from this one) comes on the radio.  Besides being overplayed, I guess I just find Fred Schneider's vocal schtick totally grating.  Fortunately for me, "52 Girls," released in 1978 as the B-Side to "Rock Lobster", features Cindy and Kate plus guitars and bass that could have been straight outta Leeds.  My favorite Kate Pierson vocal is actually the criminally underrated "Candy" w/ Iggy Pop (I've had a whole in my heart for so long...) but that one just doesn't fit the criteria.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJwQuTqqPvo
I still like the early stuff, but can't with a lot of it from that era that got massively overplayed. For my money, Give me back my Man, is my favorite. And yeah, Candy is a fun song. Kate has such a great voice.

Wondering who the other Athens band will be...thinking of two obvious ones. 

 
#71 - The Pop Group - She Is Beyond Good and Evil (1979)

The Pop Group are one of the those bands that are way more influential than famous (or even particularly good, IMO).  Formed in Bristol in 1977, they were a first to take punk's energy and merge it with dub, reggae, and jazz influences.  The Pop Group was also hugely political, even for a post-punk band in Thatcher's England, with song titles like "Amnesty International Report on British Army Torture of Irish Prisoners."  "She is Beyond Good and Evil" was the band's first single and probably the most listenable song they ever recorded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL0tYowbIxE

ETA:  St. Vincent does a pretty good cover of this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JySQE4axlJY)

 
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Wondering who the other Athens band will be...thinking of two obvious ones. 
As much as I love Drive-By Truckers, I can't call them post-punk.  

Seriously, I'm not considering the other "obvious" one to be post-punk either.  Please proceed with throwing eggs at me.

 
Isn't everything after punk technically post-punk?  This all seems rather arbitrary.  Also, if the 71st best post-punk song OF ALL TIME can best be described as "listenable," maybe you need to expand the genre a little. 

 
Isn't everything after punk technically post-punk?  This all seems rather arbitrary.  Also, if the 71st best post-punk song OF ALL TIME can best be described as "listenable," maybe you need to expand the genre a little. 
Far be it from me to argue with the man who won an FFA debating contest, but I never said "best."  Much like if I had a countdown of my "favorite" FBG lawyers, @fatguyinalittlecoatwould be at least top 3.  If we were talking "best," well, not so much.

 

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