The Music Blog of the Infonistacrat!

Happy Sunday, and welcome to part 2 of my look back at an alternative side of the 80’s. This ain’t your typical 80’s stuff that was all over MTV in the early days. This is some of the stuff you probably only heard at that little indie record store only the “freaks” bothered going to. You know the one. Every town had one. They sold all kinds of obscure stuff from bands most people never heard of. It was the place where you could find all the great used vinyl LP’s. It was that store that Empire Records wanted to be in that movie. It was the place where you could go and hang out and talk about music for hours with the people that worked there. That place where you could ask them to play any record in the place, and they would do it in a heart beat. Long live the indie record store, cause there are very few around anymore. I guess thats why we have music blogs now.

So check it out, I got some real goodies on tap today. The Dead Milkmen, who most people assume only had one hit, Punk Rock Girl, has maybe the most awesome song on the list. Instant Club Hit kind of makes fun of the whole art school new wave scene, but in a way that really doesn’t bother me at all. Yes, I was in the Kent State School of Art in the early 80’s, before I got thrown out (I prefer to say I left on not so amicable terms). And I love new wave. So while it would appear that this song was making fun of people like me, I prefer to think that Rodney Anonymous was really talking about posers. Hey, it helps me sleep better at night. But Bucky Fellini is a great album, and this is one of the best songs on there.

During my dark years in the 80’s (86-88 or so), I kind of got hooked on songs like Goodbye Lucille from the Prefab Sprouts. Hey, it was a dark time. Thats also the time I started to listen to stuff like Sisters of Mercy. Which brings me to my next point (kinda random, eh?)…the world is sometimes divided into three parts…those who love Joy Division, those who don’t, and those who never heard of them. I generally embrace the first, ignore the second, and do my best to educate the third. In that regard, enjoy Disorder. Maybe not as instantly recognizable as Tranmission or She’s Lost Control, but every bit as great. That driving guitar, throbbing bass line, and Ian Curtis sounding on the edge of insanity. Everything that made Joy Division a great band is in that song. And if you listen to the Sister of Mercy song, you can hear the influence. If you didn’t know any better, you would swear Adrenochrome was a Joy Division song.

Ok, enough talk. Enjoy the great sounds. As always, I highly encourage to keep exploring all the great music from the 80’s underground that you may never have heard before. The 80’s were perhaps the greatest musical decade ever. Of course, I’m biased….the 80’s were also MY decade. Anyone have a spare DeLorean and a flux capacitor laying around? I need to hit that record shop that closed down all those years ago and get me a couple 7″ singles and a few EP’s. Oh, and I heard the Minutemen have a new double album out! (My god, don’t we all wish THAT were true!)

1. Bad Brains - Stay Close To Me
2. Concrete Blonde - Happy Birthday
3. Echo & The Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
4. Joy Division - Disorder
5. Minutemen - History Lesson - Part II
6. Prefab Sprout - Goodbye Lucille
7. Sisters Of Mercy, The - Adrenochrome
8. Sugarcubes - Gold
9. The Dead Milkmen - Instant Club Hit (You’ll Dance To Anything)
10. The English Beat - Save It for Later
11. The Raincoats - Only Loved At Night
12. The Raincoats-Don’t Be Mean
13. The Smithereens - Groovy Tuesday
14. The dBs - (I Thought) You Wanted To Know
15. XTC - Life Begins At The Hop