It was an absolute mess, a time of transition and catharsis. All the hippies who’d turned into lumbering rock dinosaurs found themselves smashed by the meteor of punk. The teeming, uncoordinated masses were beginning to rise up and revolt against the danceteria dictatorship and polyester artificiality of disco (exhibit A: “Disco Demolition Night” that nearly tore down Chicago’s Comiskey Park). All around, an evolutionary battle raged to see which musical creatures—including newly evolving species like New Wave—would survive to see the next era.
Playlist
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Sunset People by Donna Summer on Bad Girls (Casablanca Records) -
One More Time by Joe Jackson on Look Sharp! (A&M Records) -
Death or Glory by The Clash on London Calling (CBS) -
You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Call Me) by The Undertones on The Undertones (Union Square) -
Memories Can't Wait by Talking Heads on Fear of Music (Sire) -
Boys Don't Cry by The Cure on Three Imaginary Boys (Fiction) -
Fantastic Man by William Onyeabor on Who Is William Onyeabor (Luaka Bop) -
Disorder by Joy Division on Unknown Pleasures (London Records 90) -
The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan by Marianne Faithfull on Broken English (Island) -
Dancing Barefoot by Patti Smith on Wave (Arista) -
Ever Fallen In Love by The Buzzcocks on Love Bites (United Artists Records) -
Psykick Dance Hall by The Fall on Dragnet (Cherry Red Records) -
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough by Michael Jackson on Off The Wall (Epic Records)