The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace (1985)

I've been told that you don't listen to The Fall as much as you immerse yourself in them; there's a quality to Mark E. Smith's slightly caustic, acerbic delivery that fits perfectly into their jagged and abrasive rhythms and demands a lot from you as the listener. 

That they might agitate your senses into oblivion is of little to no consequence here- this album serves more to hold you hostage in a scuzzy London basement, alternating between showing you snippets of snuff films and electrocuting your temples.

Like all challenging music it makes you work hard for it, and you'll likely discover before the album is halfway done that to listen to The Fall is more of a visceral experience than a passive one. That all being said this is the most accessible of The Fall's 80's output.

This is a great starting point for one of the most underrated bands of all-time. I've previously blogged their 1982 album Hex Enduction Hour, which I actually like more than this one- this is probably a better starting point and I say give it a go if you've ever wondered what this band was all about. 

The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace (Beggars Banquet; 1985)

Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come (1998)

It's been brought to my attention that punk, and especially hardcore (and post-hardcore for that matter) have been sorely under-represented in this here blog. Let me remedy that malfeasance by posting one of my favorite punk (or post-hardcore, whatever) records of all-time, Sweden's Refused and their landmark 1998 album The Shape of Punk to Come. This album took such a toll on the band that they had to break up immediately following the completion of recording. Good thing they didn't hang around in the aftermath of this record, they not only set fire to but destroyed preconceptions of how punk was supposed to sound; they basically turned the world on its fucking ear.

Blending as many styles as they could here, it runs the gamut from straight ahead chunky rock riffage to shrapnel-laced blast punk to artier noise stuff to screamo and back again; it seeks to confound ears- every time I think I know what I'm listening to, it changes from one to the other. If it's not a focused arpeggio centered around minor chords then it's screechy string rakes and harmonic Eddie Van Halen-esque tapping sections, and then jumps on to these over-the-top bombastic drumming passages, all the while knob-twiddling galore behind the studio glass (acting as an instrument in and of themselves). I'm out of clichés and adjectives after this paragraph.

Anyway, this is meant to be listened to loud. Turn this shit up, kiddies.

Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come (1998; Burning Heart Records)

Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation (1977)

This is one of those albums that if you don't already have, it will most likely get you a serious palm-to-face transaction from yours truly. You don't have to be a punk aficionado to appreciate it, I'd actually liken it to something closer to New Wave; if it's punk then it's Art Punk; kind of like Television without the intricately woven guitar work- although Robert Quine does kick some serious ass on here.

Richard Hell is the reason for The Sex Pistols, he's the reason for the whole punk movement in general- he's had more to do with the early formation of what "punk" was in 1970's New York City. A brief look at his bio and one can see his imprint is on a little bit of everything; his resume reads like this- formed Neon Boys in '69 with childhood friend Tom Verlaine, the two would later start seminal band Television; being one of the first "rock" bands to play CBGB; would hang out with Patti Smith (both helping her to kick start her music career); would then leave Television and start a band with ex-New York Dolls Jerry Nolan and thee Johnny Thunders (called The Heartbreakers); eventually starting The Voidoids (with guitarists Quine and Ivan Julian and drummer Marc Bell) and the rest, they say, is history.

This is the 1990 CD re-issue with a Leonard Cohen cover (I'm Your Man) and a version of All The Way, a song popularized by Frank Sinatra in 1957. You can anonymously listen to this album so I don't laugh at you for not already having it.

Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation (1977; Sire Records)

Wipers - Youth of America (1981)

Greg Sage and his Wipers were another band that was sorely under-rated and unfairly glossed over; I think they received more press because Kurt Cobain happened to be a fan and Nirvana covered a few of their songs, but Wipers was another band that was ahead of their time- they fused raw punk energy with catchy hooks and a taste for experimentation. Think Hüsker Dü starting a band with Mission of Burma that was trying to sound like Television.

Wipers started out as Sage's experiment; only meant to be a recording project with no touring or promotion- Sage's dad owned an actual record press in their basement and Greg would record songs off the radio and press records for his friends. As Sage would meet drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal, they'd cut a single on their own label (Better Off Dead on Trap Records) and play some live shows around Portland, gaining notoriety and achieving some cult status with the release of their first full-length Is This Real?

Exit Henry & Koupal, enter the Brads; Davidson on bass and Naish on drums. This is the line-up Wipers went with to record this album, and it's fair to say that this was the most adventurous album in the hardcore genre at the time, so much so that it coined the term "post-hardcore" because of its song lengths (the title track clocks in at 10:27) and reliance on other instruments and timbres somewhat unknown to hardcore bands at the time. They broke the mold with this record, and forever altered the punk rock landscape in doing so.

Wipers - Youth of America (1981; Park Avenue Records)

Mission Of Burma - Signals, Calls, And Marches (1981)

I mentioned a few posts ago what my favorite EPs of all-time were; well, here's my favorite "extended play" album, ever. Eight songs and 27-minutes of post-punk fury; not a single filler on here. Mission Of Burma exploded onto the Boston club scene in 1979, playing louder than anyone else (guitarist Roger Miller suffered from such extreme tinnitus that it led to the band's eventual hiatus, from 1983 until reforming in 2002).

In between "gigs" Miller and Martin Swope (tape manipulator/sound engineer) would go on to form Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic (I've uploaded their 1984 album Magnetic Flip here), while drummer Peter Prescott was busy with his Volcano Suns project and bassist Clint Conley would produce the first Yo La Tengo record, then get a master's degree in broadcast journalism and work as a TV producer at a local Boston station. 

So, MoB version1.0 would feature one EP, one full-length (1982's Vs.) and a posthumous live album (1985's The Horrible Truth About Burma). Then almost 20 years pass by and they reform (sans Swope), putting out three more records and in the process erasing any doubt that they still aren't able to totally rock.

So enjoy this classic EP from the finest American band to call it quits, then let two decades lapse before they plugged it back in...

Mission Of Burma - Signals, Calls, And Marches (1981; Ace Of Hearts Records)

Magazine - Real Life (1978)

I've always felt that Magazine never really got their due respect; it seems that when discussions around what bands are considered to be the very definition of the post-punk genre, they get glossed over. Sure, you have to mention Gang Of Four, Wire, Joy Division, etc. but why does Magazine have to fall so far down the list?

So here's me giving propers to one of the best albums of the late '70s; after Howard Devoto left the Buzzcocks (he felt that "punk" was too restrictive a genre) he started the genre-busting Magazine, employing synths (as well as horns and other more experimental instruments not considered punk) as a lead instrument, all to great effect. He foresaw the new direction that music could go, using the attitude of punk rock as a foundation and springboard but being able to go any direction he wanted. Original bassist Barry Adamson would also join up with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds for their first four records.

So, please enjoy one of the more overlooked gems of the late-'70s...

Magazine - Real Life (1978; Virgin Records)