Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Post Punk Peel Primer

This weeks show was a primer on the post-punk era (roughly 78-86 or so), my favorite period and style of music. The twist is that I only played Peel session versions - new recordings done in a short period of time, often better than the officially album version. John Peel is one of my idols, a long-time BBC DJ who never stopped searching for great new music.

You can download this weeks show by clicking here.

Playlist:
Buzzcocks - ESP (Peel session 1979) (The Peel Sessions Album, 1989)
The Stranglers - No More Heroes (Peel session 1977) (The Sessions, 1995)
The Jam - Thick As Thieves (Peel session 1979) (At The BBC, 2002)
Ultravox - Young Savage (Peel session 1977) (The Peel Sessions EP, 1991)
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Peel session 1979) (The Complete BBC Recordings, 2000)
Public Image Ltd - Poptones (Peel session 1979) (Plastic Box, 1999)
Killing Joke - Wardance (Peel session 1979) (The Peel Sessions 1979-1981, 2008)
Gang Of Four - Natural's Not In It (Peel session 1979) (The Peel Sessions Album, 1990)
Echo & The Bunnymen - Villiers Terrance (Peel session 1979) (Crystal Days 1979-1999, 2001)
A Certain Ratio - Do The Du (Peel session 1979) (Early, 2002)
Teardrop Explodes - Poppies In The Field (Peel session 1980) (Peel Sessions Plus 1979-82, 2007)
Cocteau Twins - Sugar Hiccup (Peel session 1983) (BBC Sessions, 1999)
Bill Nelson - Stay Young (Peel session 1981) (digital download)
The Chameleons - Here Today (Peel session 1981) (The John Peel Sessions, 1990)
The Comsat Angels - At Sea (Peel session 1981) (Time Considered, 1992)
The Sound - Skeletons (Peel session 1981) (The BBC Recordings, 2004)
The Wedding Present - Dalliance (Peel session 1990) (The John Peel Sessions 1987-1990, 1993)
The Smiths - William, It Was Really Nothing (Peel session 1984) (Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me EP, 1987)
The Associates - It's Better This Way (Peel session 1981) (The Radio One Sessions Vol. 1, 2003)
The Go-Betweens - Second-Hand Furniture (Peel session 1984) (1978-1990, 1990)
Simple Minds - Changeling (Peel session 1979) (Silver Box, 2004)
Bauhaus - A God In Alcove (Peel session 1979) (Swing The Heartache - The BBC Sessions, 1989)
The Birthday Party - Big-Jesus-Trash-Can (Peel session 1981) (The John Peel Sessions, 2001)
Magazine - The Light Pours Out Of Me (Peel session 1978) (The Complete John Peel Sessions, 2008)
The Damned - Thanks For The Night (Peel session 1984) (Sessions Of The Damned, 1993)
XTC - Opening Speech (Peel session 1979) (Transistor Blast, 1998)
XTC - Scissor Man (Peel session 1979) (Rag & Bone Buffet, 1990)
The Chills - Part Past Part Fiction (Peel session 1988) (Secret Box, 2001)
Siouxsie And The Banshees - Lands End (Peel session 1986) (At The BBC, 2009)
The Fall - Mere Pseud Mag. Ed. (Peel session 2003) (The Complete Peel Sessions, 2005)

7 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed your Peel primer, but I have to disagree with your comment that the Wedding Present's Peel session version of Dalliance is far superior to the Albini version. In Albini's version, the guitars build and build until Gedge has to scream just to be heard over the metric fuckload of layered guitar noise. His version better captures the cathartic sound of one man's rage against crushing despair and loneliness.

    But really, can you go wrong with anything this band did in that era?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Honestly, I've always found _Seamonsters_ to be overrated, I was never thrilled with Albini's production and the Peel versions of those songs were like revelations to me. Similarly, _Watusi_ is completely underrated, their last fantastic album as far as I'm concerned and seemingly faded from history.

    Thanks for listening. Do I know you?

    ReplyDelete
  3. No, I don't think we know each other, I'm just a big TWP (and John Peel) fan and stumbled across your blog.

    Seamonsters has been my favorite album by any band for nearly 20 years now, and I've always liked Albini's production (although the remastered version of Seamonsters might be an improvement). I don't think there's any need to convince you of the brilliance of that album...different strokes for different folks and all that.

    But I agree about Watusi being underrated. It's the "summer" album to Seamonsters' winter. You can hear Gedge dabbling with a few ideas (female harmonies, expanded instrumentation, 60's vibe) that he'd explore more fully a few years later in Cinerama. (Did you ever get into that band?)

    I just checked out the tracklists for some of your other shows, and it appears that our tastes overlap quite a bit. I'll definitely check out the podcasts. Thanks for putting them up!

    Jon

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jon - great to have you aboard! Having a radio show is cool, but I have no idea how many people are actually listening so comments are appreciated.

    I like your winter/summer contrast for the WP albums we're discussing, that makes sense. And, yes, I own everything Mr. Gedge has produced. I revisited the Cinerama catalogue recently and felt it hadn't aged well, except the last one, _Torino_, which was their turn back towards loud guitars. Truth be told I never loved Cinerama nearly as much as TWP anyway.

    If you've got anything you'd like to hear, or suggestions for future shows, please leave a comment!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mitch,

    Even Gedge has admitted that Torino was the album that he had set out to make when he started Cinerama, so perhaps its no surprise that it's the fan favorite.

    Have you been on the Scopitones forum at all? If not, it's a good community of TWP fans, and you'd be a welcome addition: http://www.scopitones.co.uk/

    I thought it might be more appropriate to take some of this conversation over there, rather than have me hijack your comments section.

    Looking forward to hearing future shows....

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very nice! Would love to hear this! Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rob - here's a link for this show:

    http://www.divshare.com/download/13983580-c84

    ReplyDelete