Post-Punk Diary – Part 2

Around the same time Toast and I were absorbing Burning Ambitions, we were also listening to Public Image Ltd (mostly because their lead singer was John Lydon- formerly Johnny Rotten of Sex Pistols). PiL was one of the original U.K. post-punk bands and their music was definitely weird. I even purchased their Metal Box album (which came in a metal canister) and the ghostly, droning music sounded like it was coming from some distant, desolate planet. Now that’s post-punk!

Public Image Ltd

When I was a teen on Long Island in the ‘80s, we had access to a couple of radio shows which featured post-punk and other “underground” music and MTV had a weekly Sunday night program- 120 Minutes- which often showed post-punk videos. In our little town there were also Goth girls- girls who lived and looked like vampires, dressed in black, and listened to bands like the Cure, the Smiths, and Depeche Mode. Goth girls also helped introduce me to post-punk music. I even dated some of them.

Wire

For me, post-punk music has always provided its share of romance and still sounds great while sitting alone in your bedroom at night- or with a friend. Post-punk takes you places and is one of the few alternative music genres that is literate, mysterious, and actually speaks of theology: God, angels, heaven, prayer, and the effects of original sin. New Order continued moving further into synth pop and dance music, the Cure turned into goth pop, the Pixies and the Psychedelic Furs broke up, and by the early ‘90s post-punk appeared to be all but dead. Yet I think there is still much to enjoy and learn from post-punk music- if people will only give it a chance. Here are some (more) of my favorites. Enjoy!

Nada Surf

01. The Psychedelic Furs – “Heartbreak Beat” (1987)

02. New Order – “1963” (1987)

03. New Order – “True Faith” (1987)

04. Tom Verlaine – “Kingdom Come” (1979)

05. Pixies – “Motorway to Roswell” (1991)

06. New Order – “Leave Me Alone” (1981)

07. New Order – “Love Vigilantes” (1985)

08. Wire – “Ex Lion Tamer” (1977)

09. New Order – “Bizarre Love Triangle” (1986)

10. Echo & the Bunnymen – “Do It Clean” (1980)

11. The Go-Betweens – “Spring Rain” (1986)

12. New Order – “Ceremony” (1981)

13. Nada Surf – “Zen Brain” (1996)

14. The Psychedelic Furs – “The Ghost in You” (1984)

15. Frank Black and the Catholics – “Out of State” (2002)

16. Public Image Ltd – “Seattle” (1987)

17. The Fall – “Bingo-Master’s Break-Out!” (1978)

18. The Cure – “Push” (1985)

19. The Cure – “Boys Don’t Cry” (1979)

20. Public Image Ltd – “Public Image” (1978)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

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