November 12, 2001 by A.S. Van Dorston

This was actually the liner note of a tape compilation I made in 1993. Recent discussions, and an interesting page on The Fire Show’s site made me decide to dredge this up.

Post-punk bore the fruits of the seeds planted by punk. Punk broke down barriers and proved it was possible for inexperienced musicians to express themselves and not have to be slick and experienced like the older musicians dominating the charts. 1979 was a banner year for post-punk, an early burst of creativity in which anything seemed possible, and young bands’ imaginations surpassed the supposed limits of their talents. Jagged rhythms and dark lyrical themes seem to be a common sensibility running through the era’s zeitgeist. It was the era from which it seems every band claims to be influenced by, but no one can really duplicate (except for tiny scraps borrowed by Sonic Youth from Wire, Big Black from Gang Of Four, and The Jesus Lizard from PiL and The Birthday Party).

Some albums were not featured because they were too obvious and familiar (The Clash, The Cure and The Specials, The Jam, Elvis Costello). Here’s a partial list.

Art Bears * Winter Songs
The Au Pairs * “You”
The Boys Next Door (The Birthday Party) * Door Door
David Bowie * Lodger
Cabaret Voltaire * Mix-Up
Chrome * Half Machine Lip Moves
The Contortions * Buy The Contortions
Delta 5
Essential Logic * Beat Rhythm News
The Fall * Live At The Witch Trials
The Fall * Dragnet
Gang Of Four * Entertainment
Joy Division * Unknown Pleasures
Killing Joke * Almost Red EP
Liliput/Kleenex
Magazine * Real Life
Gary Numan * The Pleasure Principle
Pere Ubu * New Picnic Time
The Pop Group * Y
Public Image Ltd. * Metal Box/Second Edition
Pylon
The Raincoats
Rip Rig + Panic * God
The Ruts * The Crack
Siouxsie & The Banshees * Join Hands
The Slits * Cut
The Soft Boys * Invisible Hits
Stiff Little Fingers * Inflammable Material
Talking Heads * Fear Of Music
This Heat
Throbbing Gristle * 20 Jazz Funk Greats
Tubeway Army * Replicas
James Blood Ulmer * Tales Of Captain Black
Alan Vega * Collision Drive
James White & The Blacks * Off White
Wire * 154
XTC * Drums And Wires
Young Marble Giants * Colossal Youth

On the BigTakeover newsgroup, these current bands were offered as possibly having some of the same qualities — !!!, The Fire Show, Milemarker, The Faint, The Ex-Models, Erase Errata, Add (N) To X, Six Finger Satellite, Brainiac, Sick Bees, The In Out, Lung Leg, Yummy Fur, Blurt and the Auburnaires.

Other older bands mentioned were The Ex, Crass, Minutemen, The Mekons, 23 Skidoo, Mo-Dettes, Romeo Void, Urban Verbs, Lords of the New Church, Shriekback, Medium Medium, Bush Tetras, the Stick Men, Defunkt, and Jamaladeen Tacuma.

Posted in: Rants