Definitive Post Punk

[Dorfmeister]

Wikipedia's article on Post-Punk:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_punk

If you were to pick only 4 definitive Post-Punk albums to get a beginner started in this realm, which would they be?

My 4 picks

Gang of Four - "Entertainment"

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:igue4j870wae


Joy Division - "Unknown Pleasures"

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:az5tk6gx9krh


Public Image Limited - "Second Edition (Metal Box)"

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:uh9ss34ua3dg


Wire - "Pink Flag"

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:rj98s32ba3vg


I think all four of these epitomize the time, do not sound dated, are brilliant and arguably or definitively the best work by these artists."

 

[kampfy]

Dunno if I could come up with 4, but there would be a couple Q And Not U albums in there, regardless.

 

[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kampfy Dunno if I could come up with 4, but there would be a couple Q And Not U albums in there, regardless.

Q and Not U is DC post-hardcore, like most of their Dischord labelmates. Post punk took place in the late 70's/early 80's with bands like Joy Division, The Fall, Wire, Gang of Four, PiL, Mission of Burma.

 

[kampfy]

Too...many...posts...

 

[bong]

heh, why just four albums? there's just too many great post-punk albums out there...

 

[Fenster]

The Birthday Party - Mutiny/Bad Seed

 

[corrosive_nf]

Depeche Mode - Black Celebration.


The first album that they, as they put it, went "pervy" and actually started exploring themselves and the relationships that shape them and the world.

 

[DarkAngel]

1)Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (representing the JD/New Order legacy)
2)U2 - Boy (representing post punk rock)
3)OMD - Architecture & Morality (representing "new romantics" synth legacy)
4)Cocteau Twins - Treasure (representing 4AD label artists)

 

[steviebee]

ummmmm.....random selection, off the top of my head, and with scant regard for release dates...

Husker Du - Zen Arcade
Bowie -Scary Monsters
Gun Club -any
Jesus & Mary Chain - PsychoCandy (You Trip Me Up was just definitive...)

Singles...Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet (probably punk, timewise)
Ash -Girl From Mars
Scritti Politti - Word Girl

(ooer...all 'girl' titles...must be Freudian)

Also-rans -
X - Under the Big Black Sun
Klaus Nomi -self-titled
Lewis Furey -The Humours Of (just for the hell of it)

steviebee

 

[bong]

i always view Post-Punk as a movement or period between 1978-1982. Post-Punk was a direct reaction to Punk, ditching its rawness for experimentation but maintaining it's independent spirit. by the time 1983 rolled around, Post-Punk had evolved and branched out to well-defined sub-genres (Synth-pop, Goth, New-Romantic, New Wave, Indie-Pop, etc.), but IMO during the Post-Punk period all these artists shared a common vision and spirit.

here's my Top 5 picks, since 4 is such an odd number for me

:

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures, 1979 (moody and mopey)
Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box, 1979 (full-on free-form and uncommercial experimentation)
Talking Heads - Remain in Light, 1980 (wide-eyed genre defying sonic experimentation)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Architecture and Morality, 1981 (synthy and experimental soundscapes)
The Human League - Dare!, 1981(pure pop, only with synth and electronics... surely the blueprint for things to come)

what, a list by bong without The Cure!?

as much as i love The Cure, they weren't really too impactful and influential at the time, almost unknowns actually... it was only after the fact that people started looking at The Cure as influential after they got mainstream success in 1983.

and it was a touch choice between Tubeway Army's Replicas and The Human League's Dare! as much as Replicas and "Are 'Friends' Electric?" was a true kick in the pants, i chose Dare! because The Human league made it into pure pop accessibility; music, look, packaging, music videos, everything...

 

[Dorfmeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bong heh, why just four albums? there's just too many great post-punk albums out there...

Just because I wanted people to limit things to think about what is most essential.

If I were to add to my list.

Television - "Marquee Moon"

Talking Heads - "Fear of Music"

I also think Bowies' "Low Trilogy" may not actually fit into the category of "Post-Punk" but these albums are certainly significant. Bowie supplied a template for many PP practitioners. Joy Division at one point called themselves Warsaw in response to Bowie's "Warsawzaw".

So now I have 6 and I can't think of anything more definitive for this genre than the albums I have picked.

 

[Factor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat Post punk took place in the late 70's/early 80's with bands like Joy Division, The Fall, Wire, Gang of Four, PiL, Mission of Burma.

This is right.

Post-punk doesn't mean music that came after and was influenced by punk. I mean, technically it does, but when you're referring to it as a genre label it's much more specific.

 

[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bong i always view Post-Punk as a movement or period between 1978-1982. Post-Punk was a direct reaction to Punk, ditching its rawness for experimentation but maintaining it's independent spirit. by the time 1983 rolled around, Post-Punk had evolved and branched out to well-defined sub-genres (Synth-pop, Goth, New-Romantic, New Wave, Indie-Pop, etc.), but IMO during the Post-Punk period all these artists shared a common vision and spirit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Factor Post-punk doesn't mean music that came after and was influenced by punk. I mean, technically it does, but when you're referring to it as a genre label it's much more specific.

I agree with you two, but that Wikipedia entry that Dorfmeister linked includes the bands today that are biting the original wave of post-punk bands. This isn't accurate in my opinion. It's akin to saying a band like The Vines is a grunge rock band just because they copy Nirvana. But grunge was a wave of bands in the early 90's mostly concentrated in the Seattle area. I mean, the term grunge was just a label by music media to identify those bands, but there's no question that it was a period of like-minded artists.

 

[bong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dorfmeister I also think Bowies' "Low Trilogy" may not actually fit into the category of "Post-Punk" but these albums are certainly significant. Bowie supplied a template for many PP practitioners. Joy Division at one point called themselves Warsaw in response to Bowie's "Warsawzaw".

David Bowie is a huge influence on Post-Punk, the Berlin Trilogy (Low, Heroes, Lodger) often get namechecked as a huge influence on the genre. same goes for Roxy Music and Kraftwerk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat I agree with you two, but that Wikipedia entry that Dorfmeister linked includes the bands today that are biting the original wave of post-punk bands. This isn't accurate in my opinion. It's akin to saying a band like The Vines is a grunge rock band just because they copy Nirvana. But grunge was a wave of bands in the early 90's mostly concentrated in the Seattle area. I mean, the term grunge was just a label by music media to identify those bands, but there's no question that it was a period of like-minded artists.

i do agree that the genre named Post-Punk should remain as a reference to the late 70's and early 80's movement. however, the fact that these new bands (Interpol, The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Bravery, etc...) use Post-Punk as a strict sonic blueprint, there really isn't a term or phrase that has been coined that can accurately describe these new artists. it could've been New Post-Punk, or Neo Post-Punk, or whatever... but that kinda sounds cheesy. and the fact that the term "New Wave of New Wave" has been used in the late 90's to ill effect... that genre didn't last long...

 

[corrosive_nf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bong i always view Post-Punk as a movement or period between 1978-1982. Post-Punk was a direct reaction to Punk, ditching its rawness for experimentation but maintaining it's independent spirit. by the time 1983 rolled around, Post-Punk had evolved and branched out to well-defined sub-genres (Synth-pop, Goth, New-Romantic, New Wave, Indie-Pop, etc.), but IMO during the Post-Punk period all these artists shared a common vision and spirit. here's my Top 5 picks, since 4 is such an odd number for me : Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures, 1979 (moody and mopey) Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box, 1979 (full-on free-form and uncommercial experimentation) Talking Heads - Remain in Light, 1980 (wide-eyed genre defying sonic experimentation) Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Architecture and Morality, 1981 (synthy and experimental soundscapes) The Human League - Dare!, 1981(pure pop, only with synth and electronics... surely the blueprint for things to come) what, a list by bong without The Cure!? as much as i love The Cure, they weren't really too impactful and influential at the time, almost unknowns actually... it was only after the fact that people started looking at The Cure as influential after they got mainstream success in 1983. and it was a touch choice between Tubeway Army's Replicas and The Human League's Dare! as much as Replicas and "Are 'Friends' Electric?" was a true kick in the pants, i chose Dare! because The Human league made it into pure pop accessibility; music, look, packaging, music videos, everything...

What songs like 1015 Saturday Night, and Killing An Arab fit in perfectly with the sound of those times.