1979
At the end of the 80s, Rolling Stone named their greatest records of the decade, and coming out on top was The Clash's third record, their masterpiece, London Calling. That the record was released in 1979 says less about the mediocrity of the 80s and more about the strength of the record, it's influence on the group's genre and beyond was tremendous, and even in a mix with "Rapper's Delight" its title track is the most important song on this mix. Currently, Gang of Four's Entertainment has become a popular influence, and it's also represented here.
There's also some straight-ahead rock, like Tom Petty and Neil Young (is this the first live track I've used?). The
This was the last year disco was really big, so I picked a bunch of great records from the era. "Got to Be Real" and "I Will Survive" are two of the records which have withstood the backlash over the years and really maintained their status as classics. "There But for the Grace of God" should be in that same category, and lesser-known disco gem from New York-based Machine.
Finally, hip hop fades away with the last song on the mix, "Rapper's Delight." Though not technically the first rapping on record, and certainly not from the most talented group of the early era, "Rapper's Delight" is nevertheless the Colombus of the genre, the one that everyone else sat up and took notice of. For this reason, it's the first representation of its genre, and the last we'll see of hip hop as we go back.
Enjoy.
Download the mix here.
1. London Calling - The Clash
2. Damaged Goods - Gang of Four
3. Gangsters - The Specials
4. Making Plans for Nigel - XTC
5. Chuck E's in Love - Rickie Lee Jones
6. Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
7. Cars - Gary Numan
8. Life During Wartime - Talking Heads
9. Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) - Pink Floyd
10. Refugee - Tom Petty
11. Hey Hey, My My - Neil Young & Crazy Horse
12. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough - Michael Jackson
13. Got To Be Real - Cheryl Lynn
14. I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
15. There But For The Grace Of God - Machine
16. I Want Money - Flying Lizards
17. Rapper's Delight - The Sugarhill Gang
posted by bza @ 3/20/2006
8 Comments:
the 70s. i remember when you first started the project last year and I said, when will we be to the 70s? November? Are we half done? More, right?
This mix has my favorite Michael Jackson song ever, which features my favorite vague, incoherent, semi mystical spoken intro to a Michael Jackson song ever. Maybe it's just about star wars though.
There are a lot of other great songs on here, and I still love "Brick In The Wall" even though my teenage love for Floyd has waned somewhat. Didn't know Machine, but i'm glad I do now.
I can't say that I entirely miss My Sharona not being here, but that song was really really big. Maybe nothing good came from the Knack (although that album is actually pretty good), but from what I understand, it was rather hard to avoid that song in 1979.
I'm guessing we'll see Elvis Costello in 1977 for Allison, but in my opinion (and I think a few others) 1979's Armed Forces is his best work.
Also, Bauhaus? Bela Lugosi' is long, I know, and I can't really vouch for a lot of goth music, but its' interesting that this year has the birth of hip hop and goth, i.e. the two lifestyle choices bored suburban teens have turned to since... 1979?
I don't know if this is the way to look at these mixes, but I kind of look at it like those math equations where you deal with a high exponential, like a 6th or 7th or 8th power. When you look at it around the zero axis, there is all this stuff going on, but as you zoom out and out, eventually it looks like a plain parabola. Obviously, an 80 minute mix can't encompass all the detail of a year... it's gotta be the big picture. So I look to see what story the mixes are telling, like who stands out when you zoom out that far. How do you handle someone like Elvis Costello, who had a long critically acclaimed carreer without ever reaching huge commercial success. Do you pick the 'best' song? Do you pick the first song? I don't know. I have to get back to work now. I love these mixes.
The quick stuff first.
"My Sharona" is horrible. Just horrible. Very popular, but i've ignored more popular songs on these mixes than that.
"Bela Lugosi is Dead" was considered but was ultimately too long. I agree it is important, but no other song of theirs has the same impact.
We are indeed more than half done. Crazy.
As for Elvis Costello, I tried to find room for him in the 80s, I almost found room for him in this mix with "Oliver's Army" and finally fit him in twice in 78 and 77. Ultimately, his later work didn't have the same impact as his intial singles, and while he became a critic darling and developed a cult following, what can you really say came of his later work?
elvis costello is really important, and I like him a lot, but I also can't really pinpoint who or what he influenced. He also lost a little bit of credibility with me by endlessly championing rilo kiley, which was kind of weird.
I think his best period is 77-82, with emphasis on the first 3 years. Aim is True, This Year's Model and Armed Forces are all ready awesome. Trust and Get Happy are good too, but I like more individual songs on those rather than the whole album.
I think those 5 years gave enough ammo for people to enjoy his work endlessly, including his operas and ballets. For me, it's really those three, especially Armed Forces.
but do you see oliver's army knocking off anything on this mix, when costello is represented on two other mixes?
im looking for 1985 and 1998 if anyone is willing to share those please contact me.
Well, if Costello is entrentched on those other two years, I don't know if I would neccesarily bump something off here for Oliver's Army. I also think Peace,Love and Understanding is sort of his signature song, but with his music, the signature song is pretty subjective.
All that aside, if I didn't know anything about what was on 1977-1979, I'd imagine Allison on 77 and Peace, Love on 79. That's pretty much what Costello looks like to me zoomed all the way out. Maybe Radio Radio in there somewhere, but I don't even know what year that fits. So basically, I think it's either or with 78 or 79, with 79 being the more obvious choices for me.
What about Squeeze? I'm not talking about Tempted, which although was a big hit (and I like it ok) doesn't really represent their sound. They are, in my opinion, a top new wave band with two really good albums and three amazing singles. Overstatement or not, Difford and Tilbrook were oft compared to Lennon and McCartney, which definitely doesn't happen to many writers. In hindsight, their catalogue doesn't begin to compare, but I think there is something very magical, exciting and quintessentially British about their best work.
and when I say British, you know that's a word I hold in high esteem.
SendSpace seems to be having lots of server issues.
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