1980 specifically though, had some hardcore punk rock, some innovative uses of different genres by punk rock outsiders (including much ska from the UK), more super fun party rap, and some cheesy stuff by lots of people.
So let's go in that order.
The Cramps' first actual album Songs The Lord Taught Us is such a great introduction to not giving a damn. Sloppy, ugly, and yet fun and original and pure energy. Zombie Dance, I'm Cramped, Sunglasses After Dark, I Was A Teenage Werewolf, it's all just like lightning. Lightning that zapped a corpse, reanimating it. And continued to zap it, making it dance. Zapping at its feet. You know?
Dead Kennedys on the other hand did give a damn. They gave a lot of a damn. Their actual debut album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is one of the most fiercely political, satirical, pissed off albums I own. In high school a guy that was oh so punk rock had a Dead Kennedys jacket he wore all the time and that was around the time I got into punk rock. This was an intimidating introduction to the real stuff. Singing about killing children? Ok that one is obviously satirical, playing on parents' fears of these punk rock fiends, but lynching the landlord and chemical warfare? There is some real anger in here and a lot of information about where said anger comes from.
Dead Kennedys "When Ya Get Drafted"
Other great punk bands had songs that I only have one song from. One of my favorites is Stiff Little Fingers' "Tin Solders," a song later covered by the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. This era is going to prove to be hugely influential on mid 90s punk, of course. I also got excited to get my first song by The Ex, a super amazing Dutch punk band that has been evolving since then and still blows my mind with every passing release. They were pretty standard punk rock back in 1980, but were already showing their restlessness with the limitations that they would soon destroy.
The Ex "The Sky Is Blue Again"
Now time to kind of detour into post punk. Joy Division was really starting to get interesting and then Ian Curtis died. This is going to be a theme here. Great bands that showed endless promise get cut short by a tragedy. The only album of theirs I have (other than the singles collection) is Closer. The world may associate the band with the oft-covered "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (not of this album but of this year) but something about the driving beat of this song really gets me going, the emptiness created by the echo, it's everything the good side of the 80s comes from. Rest in peace Mr. Curtis.
Joy Division "Twenty Four Hours"
Am I going to post a video for everything? Not sure yet. Either that or I just mention my favorite or most noteworthy track off each album I talk about here.
How about The Clash?? Sandinista! is quite the undertaking. It just keeps going! And it goes dub on several occasions! Part of me agrees with some of the critics of that time saying it would have made for a great single-disc album. But no, they had to go triple! Of course my favorite tracks are the more classically Clash sounding ones (the ska punk of London Calling, the few straightforward punk rock tracks). I applaud their ambition, and the ambition of anyone who sits down and listens to this whole thing front to back. Check out "Washington Bullets" for a great political song in the vein of London Calling or "Police on My Back" for the most early Clash sounding song. Oh whatever, I'm going to post that one. It was quite invigorating when it came up because I'd gotten exhausted (it's right at the halfway point in the experience) and it's a shot of energy and catchiness and not dub.
The Clash "Police On My Back"
Not quite as ambitious but still ambitious was Elvis Costello & The Attractions' Get Happy!! 20 tracks that were all jammed to fit on one single record! Lots of songs under 2 minutes but he didn't go in the direction of punk rock (that would have been quite interesting). It was more influenced by the 60s and soul and the simplicity of Buddy Holly and yet lots of diversity. "Motel Matches" is the most ballady song and probably my favorite. "New Amsterdam" introduces one of my favorite styles of Elvis Costello song (a certain type of folky one he would revisit on King of America). "Human Touch" is ska.
Speaking of Elvis Costello and ska, did you know he produced the The Specials' self-titled debut? Did you know I had it labeled as 1980 but it seemed to have come out in 1980? Damnit! This is the big one when it comes to the two tone era. It epitomizes the unity and the black and white checkers and has tons of classic tracks. But I missed my chance to talk about it (that's how this works, right?). I only have one song from the 1980 follow-up More Specials, but I like it a lot. It's a cover of an old song but I always want to play it at parties.
The Specials "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)"
What other ska was there, you ask? Well, one of my favorite ska records is The English Beat's I Just Can't Stop It. It's very 80s. It's a mix of different styles of ska and covers lots of other influences like rock & roll and soul. It's almost as much a new wave record as it is a ska record. Covers of songs like "Tears of a Clown" and "Can't Get Used to Losing You" bring in the soul in a way that makes it so intimate and then "Ranking Full Stop" is a full on party song.
I saw The English Beat live in concert once as an 80s throwback lineup with A Flock of Seagulls and Devo. This is about Devo, not A Flock of Seagulls. I think I overlook Freedom of Choice because of the overplayed curse that is "Whip It." Aside from that song it's a really great album, one of their best even. And anything for a chance to post another Devo music video!
Devo "Freedom of Choice"
Now let's change to hip hop a bit. Just for a quick paragraph. After this blog series' introduction to the genre last time with "Rapper's Delight" we already have a bit of an explosion. I've long had Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" as a representative old hip hop song in my collection. It used to bore me because of how long and repetitive it was. But in context with this other stuff it's more enjoyable. Afrika Bambaataa Nation funk it up very awesomely on "Zulu Nation Throwdown," and I'll probably have more on Afrika Bambaataa soon. But surprisingly (?) my favorite 1980 hip hop came from a collection called The Third Unheard: Connecticut Hip Hop 1979-1983. They were apparently partying pretty hard in Connecticut and making their own hip hop innovations. Rappermatical 5 had a great jam called "Party People," The Outlaw Four had a pretty silly song called "Million Dollar Legs," and someone named Mr. Magic had this super awesome party time song. Listening to it I can kind of picture the role of the MC...he's not the star here, he's letting the DJ do his thing for this mostly instrumental track, and peppering it with some rhymes.
Mr. Magic "Potential 1980"
Now to the kinda cheesy part of things. Not that hip hop wasn't cheesy. But for a while there I was listening to all this stuff wondering if 1980 was the cheesiest year for music. One Queen album wasn't particularly cheesy but I don't know where else to put it. The Game is one of their better albums with classics like "Another One Bites The Dust," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," and the title track. But they also had another album from 1980: The Flash Gordon soundtrack! It includes lots of little snippets of dialog from the movie and it seems to be such a splendidly campy affair. And the electric guitar playing the wedding march is just so inspired and cheesy I hope someone I know someday walks down the aisle to that song. At least a grocery aisle. I hope they play that song at the grocery store.
But for real, 1980 was full of cheesy cheese by people like Diana Ross ("I'm Coming Out"), Leon Huff (Here to Create Music is a super 80s sounding soul album...it's pretty good but pretty cheesy too), Hall & Oates (enough said), Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway (I really miss late 60s Roberta Flack), and surprisingly enough John Lennon. Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm just comparing 1980 John Lennon to early 70s John Lennon. Or even the Beatle. My opinion may be skewed because this is the last I have before he died, but this cheesiness comes more from him being happy with his life, at peace, or that's what I like to imagine. He was killed way before his time was up, but the songs I have of his from 1980 all kind of show him at peace. A love song for his kid, for crying out loud. But he really spells it out in this song and I think it's the perfect last word from him (except some posthumous stuff came out in 1984 and then those "new" Beatles songs in the 90s).
"I just had to let it go..."
John Lennon "Watching The Wheels"
Etc stuff:
- Bowie was still being awesome. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) is a good harder rockin' side of the chameleon.
- Emmylou Harris' Roses in the Snow shows that she was still in her prime, and includes a nice cover of Simon & Garfunkel and a song with Johnny Cash.
- Judas Priest made their way into the rotation with "Breaking The Law." I don't have to tell you how awesome it was when that came up.
- I may have been sorely missing Black Sabbath as I went through the 70s but this is the 80s so now we've got solo Ozzy and the jam "Crazy Train." That's almost as good, right?
- What I like about The Romantics' "What I Like About You" is how well it captures the 60s in the 80s. I used to think it was an old Kinks song!
- Even Rush was getting into the ska thing as there was a brief ska section in "The Spirit of Radio." Talk about undercover s.k.a.!
- Only one Tom Waits song off Heartattack And Vine. But "Jersey Girl" is a very lovely song.
- Apparently a highly influential year on Skankin' Pickle as well. Their final album (not out until the 90s, don't worry) was half cover songs and many of them were from this year: Bad Manners' "Special Brew," Devo's "Gates of Steel," Oingo Boingo's "Violent Love." Those would all have been good choices of songs to play.
- I forgot to put Talking Heads in here! Remain In Light is the album with their signature song (as far as I'm concerned) "Once in a Lifetime."
On The Next Installment Time Following This...
Reagan means rock & roll got better...thanks Reagan! For what it's worth! Angry music rules 1981 (AC/DC, The Birthday Party, Black Flag, The Cramps, Minor Threat, ), and more hip hop (Afrika Bambaataa continues, "Cuzz Band" and others from that Connecticut compilation keep it going in CT), New Wave is obviously just getting warmed up (Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, The Human League), Elvis Costello goes country, and cool indie outsider Daniel Johnston gets started.
But before I get to that it'll be a while. I just procured the complete (Freddy Mercury era) Queen discography and I have some backlog to listen through (i.e. pretty much everything they recorded in the 70s). So you might not hear from me in a while. Cheers! And thanks Andrew!
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