The Music Blog of the Infonistacrat!

A WEEKEND OF THE MUSIC OF MANCHESTER, VOL 1

Posted by Infonistacrat on Saturday, March 15th, 2008

So far, I’ve taken a look at the music scene of Ohio in the late 70’s and Boston of the late 70’s and early 80’s. But as I’ve stated more than a few times before, if your a fan of post punk and new wave, there is really one city that seems to rise to the top. Manchester seems to have the ability to consistently produce world class bands decade after decade. If you look at it, only New York and London seem to rival Manchester for longevity. Add on perhaps the US Pacific Northwest and Glascow, Scotland as great cities of music. But the Manchester myth endures, at least to American Anglophiles such as myself.

So this weekend, I thought I would take a look at some of the great music to have come out of Manchester, including music from the Madchester scene. For the most part, I think Madchester is pretty over rated, but there were some great bands and great songs to have emerged out of that scene. If your not familiar with Madchester, the bands 808 State, Audioweb and the Charlatons are pretty typical of that sound.

I’ve tried to sample a little from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. Including a newer piece by the Buzzcocks called Credit that I think you’ll like. And the version of Evidently Chickentown I have here is not the spoken word version that appears on the soundtrack of Control, it’s actually the version set to music. I mean, what Manchester list would be complete without John Cooper Clarke?

Oh, and just one last thing. I get my inspiration for my lists from many many places. Albums, lists, other websites, and yes, even stuff I find on bittorrent. That doesn’t make me lazy…it’s still music that 99.9% of the people who visit this site would have never heard if I hadn’t posted it. If you feel I’m lazy because I take inspiration from where I can find it, then I apologize. The Rare 80’s stuff comes from lists put together by a user named 80zForever. My apologies to him for not crediting him originally. But then again, I recognize quality when I find it, and why in the hell would I mess with something that works?

1. 808 State – Pacific State
2. Audioweb – Policeman Skank
3. Badly Drawn Boy – Your Were Right
4. Buzzcocks – Credit
5. Chameleons UK – The Fan & The Bellows
6. Crispy Ambulance – Deaf
7. Doves – Pounding
8. Happy Mondays – Step On
9. Ian Brown – All Ablaze
10. Inspiral Carpets – This Is How It Feels
11. John Cooper Clarke – Evidently Chickentown
12. New Order – Blue Monday
13. The Charlatans – The Only One I Know
14. The Stone Roses – Made of Stone

Posted in: 70's, 80's, 90's, Alternative, Post Punk.

5 Responses to “A WEEKEND OF THE MUSIC OF MANCHESTER, VOL 1”

1. MissParker0106 Says:
   March 15th, 2008 at 7:24 am

   Madchester overrated? Pfffffftttt. I respectfully disagree. Look at the list you’ve provided and tell me that’s not ace! The 90’s would have sucked like a vortex had it not been for the likes of the Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, Charlatans and more.

   The Chameleons had a unique sound in the 80’s that has proved timeless. (look at the hits I’ve gotten on the Tube from my homemade video for “Swamp Thing”). They pioneered “fuzzy guitars” long before someone coined the phrase “Shoegaze.” The transition for them through post-punk came easily and with great breakthroughs and innovations that buoyed other groups following behind in their wake.

   In other words, I tend to disagree about the importance of Madchester because to me, it’s the fuel that keeps this insatiable New Wave junkie happy right through the 90’s.

   Thanks again for a great list (”lazy?” jeeeez, you just can’t please everyone. The people that complain the loudest haven’t a clue what it’s like to run a music blog). Cheers to you, DJ Info

   MissParker0106’s last blog post..Anger ~ 90’s Style

2. Infonistacrat Says:
   March 15th, 2008 at 9:01 am

   Miss Parker, perhaps I should qualify my over rated statement. Your right….the examples of Madchester I posted is great stuff. I guess the stuff I consider over rated is the disco fusion sounding electronica. The Brit-pop stuff, and really, I always things of Madchester being a subset of Brit-pop, is A+ stuff. Now, I’ll be quite before I put my foot even further into my mouth!

3. MissParker0106 Says:
   March 15th, 2008 at 5:22 pm

   LOL – you *rock*

   MissParker0106’s last blog post..Anger ~ 90’s Style

4. Shakerstu Says:
   March 16th, 2008 at 10:53 am

   Wow. So glad the music of my home city is so well appreciated. Great blog by the way

5. computer spy software Says:
   September 7th, 2008 at 11:02 pm

   Great blog , great music , keep up .

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