Viernes 22 Feb 2008, 17:05

The description and playlist below are from the weekly radio show (A Brief History Of…) that my friend and I host on WSUM 91.7fm Madison (the University of Wisconsin's radio station). We selected songs we felt were either historically important or just representative of each specific topic. Please comment if you feel we missed something or just to give your opinion. Remember, however, that we do this show in an hour (about 50 minutes of music), so no show will ever be comprehensive. Track length is a major factor in our decisions (shorter is usually better). Thanks!

A Brief History of…Post-Punk takes a look at the experimentation that took place (led mostly by British bands) in the wake of Punk. Despite the fact that many Punk bands had been opposed to complex artistic musical forms - Punk was a reaction against Progressive Rock - a number of Punk artists began combining their Punk sound with a range of music, from the arty music of David Bowie and Brian Eno to Disco and Funk. The first half of the show shows these origins and attempts to find a dividing line between Punk and Post-Punk. The second half of the show just fills out the genre by showing the variety of experimental sounds that arose in the aftermath of Punk, the sounds that carried British music into the 80s.

Post-Punk Before Punk?:
King's Lead Hat by Brian Eno (1977). Brian Eno's Before and After Science could almost be considered a template for a good Post-Punk album. Although Eno had nothing to do with the Punk revolution in England, many British artists moved toward a sound quite similar to "King's Lead Hat" or to David Bowie's work of this period ( Low - which was itself produced by Eno).

Punk Remnants:
Definitive Gaze by Magazine (1978). Buzzcock's lead singer Howard Devoto and guitarist John McGeoch left that band and formed Magazine in 1977. "Definitive Gaze" defines Post-Punk. It still has the energy of Punk, but the guitars are more jagged and the music is more thought-out and complicated. This song even contains synthesizers fairly prominently, representing one genre that Post-Punk greatly influenced: Synth-Pop.
Swan Lake by Public Image Ltd. (1980). Taking cues from Krautrock and a wide variety of other music, John Lydon (formerly known as Johnny Rotten, lead singer of The Sex Pistols) tried to create an "anti-rock" band. On "Swan Lake (aka Death Disco)" the band adds a disco beat to a guitar line lifted from Classical music and matches them with challenging lyrics.

Punk, Post-Punk, Something Else? - The Beginnings of Goth Rock:
Killing an Arab by The Cure (1978). The Cure's first single, "Killing an Arab," is a re-telling of Albert Camus' The Stranger, a classic tale of an accidental homicide and the feelings of the shooter. Right off the bat, let's just get it out there: The Cure were only later associated with Goth Rock and they themselves never really understood why.
Hong Kong Garden by Siouxsie & the Banshees (1978). Although you'd never know it from the lyrics to this song, Siouxsie & the Banshee better fit the genre Gothic Rock than The Cure in that they more often used Gothic themes (romanticism, nihilism, horror). Siouxsie and the Banshees were darker, but still no band from this era could compete for the title of darkest sound against Joy Division:
She's Lost Control by Joy Division (1979). This may be the least emotional song ever recorded. Once again, I don't feel like Joy Division fit into any of these categories, but their sound did greatly influence the first true Goth Rock band Bauhaus (which we would have played here, except "Bela Lugosi's Dead" runs for nearly 10 minutes).

Experimentation or is there a Post-Punk sound?:
Cities by Talking Heads (1979). What makes this song Post-Punk is the sharp guitar sound. And what's the deal with David Byrne always writing songs about finding somewhere to live?! (also see "The Big Country." "Houses in Motion" is a little different, but uses some of the same imagery).
Damaged Goods by Gang of Four (1979). The sound on Entertainment! pretty much defines the Post-Punk sound if there is one. Once again the music contains jagged guitars and a high energy groove. It's also just a great album.
Do the Du by A Certain Ratio (1980). Labelmates with Joy Division on Factory Records, A Certain Ratio added influences of funk to their music (heard nowhere better than on "Do the Du"). Despite a different groove, the scratchy guitars still fit the mold for Post-Punk.
Girl U Want by Devo (1980). The only American band on the playlist, Devo had been around for years. They only gained popularity, however, with the rise of Post-Punk and New Wave. Their straight-beat groove deconstructions were unique, so the band doesn't necessarily fit into either Post-Punk of New Wave well, but we stuck them here because the Post-Punk legacy is a little more prestigious.
Deer Park by The Fall (1981). God knows where The Fall should actually be categorized. Here's as good as any. Oh how I hate the way you talk-sing-uh, Mark E. Smith. For the show, we used the version of "Deer Park" from the recording sessions The Fall often did with DJ John Peel.

Second Wave:
Fairytale in the Supermarket by The Raincoats (1980). The Post-Punk sound did inspire some immitators. The Raincoats were an all-female band.
Dumb Waiters by The Psychedelic Furs (1981). The Psychedelic Furs were Post-Punk, but their sound was less energetic and lacked a sharp lead guitar line, instead replacing it with a high-pitched saxaphone riff.

Some People Forget - U2 was a Post-Punk Band!:
Do It Clean by .Echo & the Bunnymen (1980). My co-host refused to let U2 on the radio, but in "Do It Clean," Ian McCulloch sounds just like Bono. Play "I Will Follow" in this playlist and it fits right in. In fact, Echo & the Bunnymen and U2 were competing for some of the same fans.

Post-Punk set up the sound of UK Indie, with the transition occuring somewhere in the early to mid 80s.