1,001 songs to listen to before you die...

[RPS]

22 hours ago, VerbalPuke said:

That's a surprising choice for X-Ray Spex, but still cool seeing them here. Gotta love the inclusion of an off-key saxophone.

Oh Bondage Up Yours is infinitely better than Germ Free, but I think the list is trying to give a more balanced perspective and 77 to 79 would be filled with uptempo, fast paced punk songs so they tried to find something more unusual. 

[Malenko]

My girlfriend loves X-Ray Spex. Once, we were kind of drunk in a bar and she started asking them to play one of their songs. They had no idea who she was talking about but eventually she went into the DJ booth herself and put it n the list. It was actually this song. Keep in mind this was a place that plays mostly whatever's on the billboard top 100 hits at the time. It took a while but when it finally played people were really confused.

Anyway, another good set. Wouldn't be in my top 5 sets you've posted but enjoyable nonetheless.

[METALMAN]

I like Roxanne and AGAP.

I have struggled a bit with X-Ray Spex. Would agree that Bondage Up Yours is better than GFA. I find the singer’s voice very difficult to not be annoyed by, and I know the divisiveness of her voice is kind of the point the band, so maybe I just fall on the wrong side of that. Decent band, decent song, but I can’t say much more than that. Although the bad saxophone IS brilliant.

I should like Van Halen. I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for glossy over-the-top hard rock. NOT hair metal, but stuff like Def Leopard and Rainbow and stuff like that. So I should like Van Halen. But aside from Jamie’s Crying, Panama and OBVIOUSLY Jump I just don’t. RWTD is okay but the version posted by @Bobfoc is much more fun than the real thing.

[Skummy]

What's interesting with a lot of the recent list is that we're seeing real move forwards in "post-punk"; Public Image Ltd pulling from Lydon's own musical tastes (Krautrock, Beefheart etc.) far more than the usual punk stuff, The Clash really moving away from the two minute three chord stuff and incorporating other elements, The Only Ones bringing a real pop sensibility to the table, Magazine being far more sonically interesting than The Buzzcocks were, and so on, to the point that something like "Alternative Ulster" already starts to feel a bit old hat for "just" being a straightforward punk tune.

My Dad always moans about The Stranglers being included on punk compilations, because he saw them as a jobbing pub rock band who jumped on the bandwagon, and that most "punk" bands by '78 were latecomers, copy-cats, or pub/blues rockers who had found a new meal ticket. I wouldn't put Stiff Little Fingers in that category, but it's interesting that barely a year after the first Pistols record it already feels like things have moved on.


'76-'81 or so is such a fascinating period, because it feels like everything is moving so quickly, and so many people are just throwing things at the wall. I don't know if it will come up, but I'm expecting to see Pete Shelley's "Homosapien" later in this list - seeing ex-punks like Shelley and Lydon dabble with electronic music and dub, seeing disco and funk take huge leaps forward in terms of production, and then having Bowie's soul phase still to come, and how all of those elements start to intermingle - mostly in gay clubs - to produce most of the white pop music of the '80s, there's just so much going on.

[gunnar hendershow]

You see the lines get much more blurred in the US punk scene, as we've somewhat already touched on, with groups like Television coming up alongside The Ramones. The latter influenced the sound of punk globally while the former don't have a "punk" sound and sonically fit much more into "post-punk" but they also featured Richard Hell who is attributed with popularizing the look adopted by the Sex Pistols on the other side of the pond. And then by the late 70s "punk" and "new wave" as it came to be called where wholly different. Despite basically being the same thing 2-3 years before.

But in the UK it's just like this entire wave of bands came up at the same time and in the span of 18 months adjusted their sounds and styles to fit the new, popular punk rock scene. But almost immediately they then fell into trying new sounds because everyone was doing the exact same thing. It's kind of in reverse from the US.

But most significantly it happened so, so fast. I can only think of the 90s alt-rock boom spearheaded by grunge as the only other time a new rock sound exploded in popularity and within a year or so had a ton of copycats and then a year after that had a ton of these copycats quickly adopting new styles to differentiate and stay relevant. Or maybe that was the music they always wanted to play and copying what they could out of the Seattle sound was more a means to an end (hi Billy Corgan!).

[GoGo Yubari]

I'm definitely on the Poly Styrene divide that digs her voice and the X-Ray Spex in general. In a lot of ways the use of saxophone does tie the room together, though, it makes them sound like kind of a funhouse mirror version of The Sonics. GFA is only a song I think is decent (I think I kind of blew past them in 1001 Songs, but in 1001 Albums the album of the same name blew me away), but it's a fair point that it's probably there because they've generally gone with the "Anarchy in the UK"s and "New Rose"s of the other UK punk bands.

I like that first Van Halen album, conditionally. I wouldn't want to listen to it 90% of the time but when I got to it in 1001 Albums I was driving on the freeway up from Tacoma on a Saturday night in the late summer and it felt fun to listen to then. RWTD definitely helped set the tone for that, a good song that I probably wouldn't actively seek out ever.

[Liam]

501.      

‘Hammond Song’, The Roches (1979)

Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche formed the trio that – after Paul Simon had helped get the first two get started – released ‘Hammond Song’ at the tail end of the 70s. This feels different with a lot of the songs that have been on the list so far: it is folky, sure, but there is a dreaminess about the relatively sparse guitar work when it becomes removed from the harmonies, harmonies that are the real essence of what they seem to offer as a trio. There is something nice and pleasing going on here, yet it doesn’t extend much beyond that for me. Right time, right place, right moment, this could be a song that really works for someone.

502.      

‘Heaven’, Talking Heads (1979)

I’ve not heard as much Talking Heads as I feel I probably should have done, but if the book is anything to go by, this isn’t necessarily in keeping with the rest of their material. David Byrne on this song looked to explore the afterlife, presenting it as both tranquil and maybe a little bit boring. There is less ‘busywork’ than the other songs I’ve heard by the band, which allows the message and the echoey production to do the heavy lifting. An interesting song, if nothing else.

503.      

‘Eton Rifles’, The Jam (1979)

Influenced by: Substitute • The Who (1966)   

Influence on: What a Waster • The Libertines (2002)   

Covered by: The Nutley Brass (1996) • Stereophonics (2009)   

Other key tracks: In the City (1977) • English Rose (1978) • The Butterfly Collector (1979)

The feeling of aggression is palpable from the opening note right through ‘Eton Rifles’. A song about class inequality that came to Paul Weller following a clash between Eton students and left-wing demonstrators, it is a very British song inasmuch as I think we do songs about class differences in lieu of the lack of ‘the road song’ that the US loved. The intro kicks this song immediately into gear and the whole thing feels very angular, hitting its peak in the hooky, yet aggressive chorus. No messing around here from Weller.

504.      

‘London Calling’, The Clash (1979)

Influenced by: Dead End Street • The Kinks (1966)   

Influence on: Don’t Break the Red Tape • The Enemy (2009)   

Covered by: The Pogues (1993) • Captain Tractor (1995) • One King Down (1999) • The Business (2003) • Gelugugu (2003) • Bruce Springsteen (2009)

As might have become clear in this reviews, I’m not always the biggest fan of ‘punk’ bands. I’m much more into rock and metal, with punk never really hitting the same note for me. However, The Clash probably stand above many of those other bands as an act I do genuinely like. It helps that they were able to write storming tunes like ‘London Calling’, with much more interesting and bigger ideas than their recent contemporaries in the punk scene. I’m sure they weren’t the only ones doing it, but they tackled weightier social and political issues in a way that helps them still to resonate today in a way that say The Sex Pistols don’t to me.

505.      

‘Transmission’, Joy Division (1979)

Influenced by: Funtime • Iggy Pop (1977)   

Influence on: Obstacle 1 • Interpol (2002)   

Covered by: Submarine (1995) • Low (1996) • The Smashing Pumpkins (1998) • New Order (2002) • Bauhaus (2006) • Innerpartysystem (2008) • Hot Chip (2009)

I think you either like what Joy Division does or you don’t. Though I don’t listen to a lot of their stuff, I am a fan of what I hear and ‘Transmission’ is a good slice of what they offered during their all too short time in existence. The robotic delivery alongside the spacious production presents an eerie backdrop that allows Curtis’ vocals to slowly rise in intensity and desperation. With Joy Division and New Order, it always felt to me like it was taking relatively straight forward beats and chords, but became all about the looping and the layering. That is pretty prevalent on ‘Transmission’, which doesn’t do anything too complicated, yet sounds excellent.

506.      

‘Voulez-Vous’, ABBA (1979)

Influenced by: Stayin’ Alive • Bee Gees (1977)

Influence on: Drama! • Erasure (1989)   

Covered by: High Inergy (1979) • HAM (1990) • Erasure (1992) • Culture Club (1999) • Morgana Lefay (2001)   

Other key tracks: Waterloo (1974) • S.O.S. (1975) • Knowing Me, Knowing You (1976)

I don’t think it is a particularly bold claim, but I do feel that very few acts can challenge ABBA when it comes to pure songwriting ability. It is rare to find a song of theirs that isn’t pure earhooky enjoyment and whilst some songs of theirs have been overplayed in the years since they were created, many still hold up today. ‘Voulez-Vous’ isn’t one of my favourite by them, but it is a good pop song that hits the ground running, merging disco with their pop sensibilities to create a great tune. The book suggests that its relative lack of success has made it all the more enduring; a statement I can support as it still bops even today.

[VerbalPuke]

Wow,great group again.

So I admit I really only know Talking Heads, Joy Division, the Jam and The Clash but love them all. 

Transmission is a great tune, fine choice. 

[gunnar hendershow]

Really like that entire group minus The Roches who I am not familiar with. Have gone through heavy phases of listening to Joy Division/New Order and I've dove into a lot of Talking Heads and The Clash. I've listened to plenty of The Jam though I'd argue they're one of those bands that feels a tad too British at times for me to really identify with the subject matter of their music. Not a bad thing, in fact a very good thing.

And it's only a bold claim to say ABBA aren't one of the best songwriters ever. It's been 50 years and everyone ranging from pop to heavy metal has people who point to ABBA as just really being some of the best to ever write pop songs. And I'd agree "Voulez-vous" doesn't jump out to me as one of their top works. Stranger yet is what I believe has been omitted by them in this list instead of its inclusion though.

The only bad thing I really can muster to say about ABBA is that their songs are sometimes too catchy (to the point of just being stuck in your head all day/week) and certain hits get played too much.

[Liam]

I felt they should have gone with Knowing Me, Knowing You.

[METALMAN]

No idea who the Roches are. Will try to remember to listen to it when I get a chance.

Heaven is an odd Talking Heads one to put here. Not complaining, because I like it a lot, but I'm just surprised it turned up, especially when they have so many other songs from this period that are just as good but a little bit more famous. I really like the live version of it from Stop Making Sense which is even less intricate - just DB on vox and guitar and TW on bass.

Eating Trifles is great. I listened to a Jam singles collection recently and it just went HIT HIT HIT HIT HIT HIT miss (English Rose) HIT. So much great stuff. Possibly the best singles act of this era, and there were many of them.

London Calling is a top tune. When I hear it I can't stop thinking of that big BA plane driving around London though.

I am not the world's biggest Joy Division fan, either literally or figuratively. Transmission is a top tune though, constantly sounds like it's going off the rails. Maybe my favourite of theirs, I dunno.

VV is a banger. it's quite interesting to hear Abba in the context of all these other contemporary acts - normally you kind of think of Abba as something different, in its own category. And as good as Talking Heads and the Jam were, let's be honest here, Abba blow them out water (maybe not quite London Calling though, there's something about that tune).

Edited July 29, 2020 by metalman

[Malenko]

Another good list with talking heads, joy division, the jam and the clash. I don't think I know the other 2 songs. I'll listen to them tomorrow.

[Liam]

507.      

‘Beat The Clock’, Sparks (1979)

Influenced by: I Feel Love • Donna Summer (1977)   

Influence on: Planet Earth • Duran Duran (1981)  

Covered by: Bent Boys (1993)   

Other key tracks: Amateur Hour (1979) • Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth (1974) • The Number One Song in Heaven (1979)

Sometimes, I have no real idea of how many tracks could turn up for a band. For me, ‘Beat The Clock’ is an unexpected second Sparks song considering I felt that ‘This Town…’ was likely to be their only involvement. This had a much greater influence than I was aware of, as the duo eschewed the rockier work of yesteryear to become a synth duo with clear nods to disco (Girgio Moroder had worked with Donna Summer on ‘I Feel Love’). A fun slice of electro/disco-pop that was probably ahead of its time with its use of synths, this paved the way for more synth-based escapades by musical acts in the 80s.

508.      

‘Oliver’s Army’, Elvis Costello and The Attractions (1979)

Influenced by: Dancing Queen • Abba (1976)   

Influence on: Shipbuilding • Robert Wyatt (1982)  

Covered by: Billy Bragg (1988) • Blur (1993) • Raimundos (1997) • Peter Mulvey (2002) • Belle & Sebastian (2002) • Minibar (2003) • Dirty Pretty Things (2006) • Bill Janovitz (2008)

Some of the influences/influence on stuff is always interesting: whilst I would never have thought of ‘Dancing Queen’ when I heard this, it is clearly an inspiration when it came to the piano motif. A song whose overall tone is completely at odds with the message, a generally sunny sounding tune is the backdrop for an anti-war message from Costello. Costello was quoted in 1982 as stating the song was “A grim heart in the middle of an Abba record.” – can’t really sum it up better than that. I love songs that have juxtaposed tones/lyrics, so have particular enjoyment of this tune.

509.      

‘Tusk’, Fleetwood Mac (1979)

Influenced by: Born in Captivity • The Alpha Band (1977)   

Influence on: Brother Sport • Animal Collective (2009)   

Covered by: R.E.M. (1991) • Camper Van Beethoven (2002)   

Other key track: Gold Dust Woman (1977)

This feels a world away from the music that came off of the ‘Rumours’ album; a double album that saw more of a focus on Lindsey Buckingham’s new wave experimentation. My only real knowledge of this album comes from this scene from the Mighty Boosh (admittedly, a personal favourite):

Outside of that…the song is alright, I guess? The marching band stuff is definitely something different relative to a lot of what is on the list and the lack of much in the way of lyrics doesn’t stop the song being very listenable. However, it isn’t ‘Rumours’, so I’m just not that interested.

510.      

‘Gloria’, Umberto Tozzi (1979)

It has been a while since an Italian song has found the list, so now we have ‘Gloria’. Now, I’m not sure if I’ve heard this song, but I’ve definitely heard the tune. The riff ended up in songs such as ‘Physical’ by Olivia Newtown John, and one of my absolute favourite songs in ‘Disco 2000’ by Pulp. This is big and catchy, leading to a song that bounced around the world, re-recorded in the US and UK by other artists. This is music as big, dumb fun for me and is all the better for it.

511.      

‘Black Eyed Dog’, Nick Drake (1979)

Nick Drake’s story is a pretty sad one, one of a man who felt underappreciated, battled depression, and eventually killed himself. This was actually recorded in 1974 and is a clear statement about either Drake’s depression or ideas around the Devil, which I guess can easily be linked to depressive states as well. Whilst an interesting snapshot of Drake’s mindset at this time, I prefer the first song of his that made the list. There’s a certain level of enjoyment to be had from all Drake’s work in my opinion though, so am glad to see this on the list.

512.      

‘Are Friends Electric?’, Gary Numan (1979)

Influenced by: The Man-Machine • Kraftwerk (1978)   

Influence on: Metal • Nine Inch Nails (2000)   

Covered by: Replicants (1995) • An Pierlé (1996) • Moloko (1997) • Information Society (1997) • Republica (1997) • Rosetta Stone (2000) • Chris Whitley (2006) • Weezer (2008) • The Dead Weather (2009)

Another act who moved away from punk rock to something that ended up fitting their musical aesthetic much better. This sounds like the natural extension of the music by Kraftwerk and Sparks that has already popped up on the list with the robotic, hypnotic use of synthesisers the ultimate takeaway from the song. According to Numan, this was the first electronic UK number one – whether that is true or not, it was definitely another song that began to move music in a different direction come the turn of the decade.

[Bobfoc]

You probably know Gloria through Laura Branigan's English-language version:

 

[Malenko]

I'm a bit drunk but I'll be honest. For the first time in many "years" I don't like this selection. I like Elvis Costello though.

[Hobo]

I really know The Roches solely for the fact that Suzzy Roche was the second wife of Loudon Wainwright III. I've seen her daughter perform with Loudon a couple of time.

Tusk has come running reference joke between a friend and me based totally on the Mighty Boosh.

[Skummy]

I have a running joke with a couple of friends of just shouting "....TUSK!" after anything which could be construed as sounding even vaguely like an extended drumbeat. It's a fun song, but not one of my favourites from Fleetwood Mac.


And that's kind of the story of this group for me, except maybe the Nick Drake track, which I love. Some decent songs by artists I like, but not my favourites from any of them. A strange choice for Sparks - "Number One Song In Heaven" was a bigger hit, and a better track, that would have been a better fit here, or "When Do I Get To Sing My Way" much later down the line. I will throw in that Sparks are still great, though, and their new album is definitely worth a listen.

I like Oliver's Army, but Costello has much better, and Shipbuilding being mentioned in particular makes me think that's a much, much better song, in either version. Oliver's Army is a little like Fairytale Of New York in that I'm deeply uncomfortable whenever I hear it come on in a pub and hear people kind of mumble through half of it, only to really clearly and joyously sing the slur, as if it's just giving them license to do so.
From the same album, I prefer Accidents Will Happen, though I don't really see what this is adding that I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea didn't already achieve in terms of making it on to this list.

[gunnar hendershow]

I'll agree that grouping is not ideal and really stress that "Oliver's Army" is such a weird inclusion precisely because Costello has better songs, but also one Costello song kind of gets across what he's about and including two identical songs by him in this list is weird.

"Tusk" is an okay song that I sometimes forget is by Fleetwood Mac.

[Liam]

'Oliver's Army' is the one Costello song I really knew he had done. Sometimes, that is enough for me to understand why it is on the list - it is the notable track seemingly by that artist.

However, that then begs the question why the other track was on there...

[gunnar hendershow]

It was apparently his biggest hit in terms of chart success. Though that's not indicative of too much 40 years later in all honesty. "Gimme Shelter" wasn't a big hit for the Stones and years later it's arguably their most revered song.