By Jenn Sussman aka DJ Belladonna

Cabaret Voltaire

1. APB “Shoot You Down” – The approach of Fall always puts me in a mood for the classic alternative rock that I tend to stow away during the Summer months, though these beloved genres are always close at hand. In recent years, there has been an unprecedented return to the experimental sounds of the post-punk era (1978 to 1985-ish), as everyone from Bloc Party to The Killers to Interpol falls all over themselves to proclaim a youth steeped in the likes of Gang Of Four, Pigbag, Scritti Politti and Joy Division. Some might call it just another case of everything old becoming new again, but as this is an era of music that I love, I’ve given it a good listen and for the most part, I like what I’m hearing. This week, I explore old and newer favorites from or inspired by the post-punk era, beginning with cult favorite Scottish punk/funk band APB’s extremely groovy “Shoot You Down”. If you can ever manage to get your hands on it, their sole studio album (1985’s Cure For The Blues) is a raucous, joyous listen, filled with bass grooves, tight high-hat rhythms and punchy lyrics.

2. Radio 4 “Enemies Like This” – The signature guitar riff makes a comeback at the beginning of this urgent opening track from NYC-based Radio 4’s 2006 album of the same name, and it creates a tension that drives this track home for me every time. Tension and urgency are hallmarks of post-punk era rock, as if bands felt that they had only a short time to express an important topic in a meaningful way, and they wanted to rock out while doing it – a formidable and oft-copied template forged by Gang of Four’s legendary 1979 debut album, Entertainment!. In fact, Radio 4 have often compared themselves to Gang Of Four and cites them as a major influence, along with Mission Of Burma and The Clash, although I can only hear The Clash’s influence in Radio 4’s militant political rhetoric. Modern music media has described Radio 4’s sound as “danceable punk”, which makes me wonder if these people are familiar with original post-punk and punk/funk music or if they think they’re creating a new genre. It’s a little bit like missing the forest for the trees.

3. Cut City “The Dull Miles” – I’m not sure what it is about nouveau post-punk bands that lead them to begin almost every song with a prolonged attack on a single note via guitar, but I’ll forgive Cut City on this one because once they get on with it, the track is stellar. This Swedish group’s 2007 debut LP Exit Decades has the feel of 1980’s post-punk and the atmosphere of 1990’s shoegaze, but it’s no retro rip-off; Cut City manages to take old ideas and make them sound fresh and new. “The Dull Miles” is like a variation on the musical theme introduced by Joy Division’s “Disorder”, and J.D. fans will hear its echo in the opening chords and the beginning of each verse. I can fully appreciate it when a band clearly learns from those who came before them, while taking care to admire them as opposed to trying to become them.

4. Joe Jackson “Sunday Papers” – Most people probably wouldn’t automatically consider Joe Jackson to be post-punk, and strictly speaking, he doesn’t fit into the various stereotypical post-punk molds that our ears are used to; however, both his debut album Look Sharp! and its follow up I’m The Man were released in 1979 amidst the spectacular flameout of punk and the emergence of the funkier, cleaner and more intelligent sound that became the cornerstone of the early post-punk era. Jackson had the lyrical sarcasm of punk, the outwardly critical nature of the post-punk set, and a reggae/funk influence that drives “Sunday Papers” among others, though he chose to focus his sarcasm and critical wit on human relations as opposed to political relations. Much of Jackson’s later work falls squarely in the new wave camp (think “Steppin’ Out”) and for the most part is not nearly as enjoyable as Look Sharp! or I’m The Man, particularly the latter album’s title track, which features that trademark urgent tempo and running bassline found in so much of the music of the post-punk era. The lyrics to “Sunday Papers” in particular are Jackson at his best, slyly skewering the media for broadcasting everyone’s business to the masses.

5. Scritti Politti “The Word Girl” – For bands like Scritti Politti, politics and music were inextricably linked in the original post-punk era, and the bands’ influences in those areas were usually worn plainly on their sleeves in the form of names or lyrics. Leftist, often Marxist stances were common; in particular, these were typical character traits of bands that sprang from the musically fertile Leeds, England art school scene. But while Scritti Politti began in that vein (their name is an homage to an Italian Marxist theorist and their early work is filled with scholarly references to famously radical thinkers and philosophers), by the time they released “The Word Girl” from Cupid And Psyche 85 (1985) they were much more mainstream and new-wave-oriented than the very typical post-punk amalgam of punk, funk, dub and avant garde jazz presented on their debut album Songs To Remember (1982). Yet, this has been my favorite Scritti track since my cousin included it on a mix tape for me in 1989.

6. Bloc Party “Like Eating Glass” – I was not a fan of Bloc Party when they suddenly and completely took over the airwaves and concert halls of America in 2005. I vividly remember going to one of DJ Michael T.’s Motherfucker parties at NYC’s (now defunct) Roxy nightclub in late 2005 and being disgusted to find that Bloc Party was not only performing, but also being taped by MTV, who forced everyone to sign an image use waiver at the door. The reason for my disgust? Here was a band resurrecting the sound of Gang Of Four, dormant for two decades, but doing so by acting as a mirror image instead of paying tribute. Even their name was a reflection of the Marxist leanings of early post-punk era bands. Bloc Party sounded fresh and new to the ears of inexperienced music fans looking for the next cool sound, but only because many did not realize that this sound had already made its mark. In retrospect, while I’m still not a fan, even I have to admit that Bloc Party did help to re-open the door for innovative rock music in the post-rock wasteland of the late 2000’s, and ultimately I can’t hate on anyone who is inspired by post-punk. Besides, this song does kick some ass (even if it does have the aforementioned prototypical long-assed single-note intro).

7. Hole “Credit In The Straight World” – Anyone wondering where Hole’s sound came from need look no further than punk and post-punk, right down to covering obscure tracks by obscure post-punk bands like Young Marble Giants’ “Credit In The Straight World” (from their 1980 debut LP Colossal Youth). Hole’s cover more than just does justice to the original, and it’s a tense and urgent crescendo at the midpoint of the heavily punk and post-punk-inspired Live Through This (1994). Hole’s post-punk influences can be heard loud and clear on intense rockers like “Violet” and “Jennifer’s Body”, where the style of bass player Melissa Auf Der Maur changes up to a punk/funk groove and there is a sense of immediacy in the guitar work. I actually backed into my love of classic punk and post-punk thanks to albums like Live Through This, late to a party that has since taken up permanent residence in my soul.

8. Au Pairs “Love Song” – The post-punk topic du jour for the Au Pairs was gender roles and relations, which they alternately mocked and highlighted on their 1981 debut record Playing With A Different Sex. Like many albums of this era, it can get a little monotonous when taken as a whole but it contains standout tracks like “Love Song”, which pokes fun at the concept of love and marriage as a negotiated business deal and has that signature punk/funk groove. The Au Pairs are one of those groups that you hear at one point in your life, love them, and then forget about them completely, only to rediscover them years later when you’re working on a post-punk playlist for the Whiskey Dregs. Well…you get the picture.

9. Cabaret Voltaire “Just Fascination” – One of the more avant garde and artistic bands to come out of England in the post-punk era, Cabaret Voltaire is typically claimed by the industrial music set but in many ways they defy classification. As with many British post-punk era bands, Cabaret Voltaire was inspired by an artistic movement from the early 20th century (Dadaism, in their case) and much of their earliest work was more like performance art than music. Cabaret Voltaire was obsessed with sound creation and processing, inventing new sounds and pushing the boundaries of whatever technology was available at the time. This track from their 1983 LP The Crackdown was a more commercial sound for C.V., though in relation to the commercial music of today it actually sounds very industrial, progressive and unique. This sort of groundbreaking innovation was the beauty of the post-punk era.

10. Ministry “All Day” – This early B-side to Ministry’s iconic anti-establishment anthem “Every Day Is Halloween” hints at the darker, more industrial side of Ministry that was to come following their 1983 full-length debut With Sympathy – a terrific album that Al Jourgensen would sell his soul to wipe off the planet forever. With Sympathy is Al’s dark little secret, the evidence of his brief post-punk, pre-hardcore industrial foray into synth-pop territory. I find most post-1989 Ministry to be difficult to endure, and it makes me long for a return to the early Ministry years. You can hear the use of machinery noise samples on “All Day”, something that was common to many of the pioneering industrial and electronic bands in the post-punk era, such as Cabaret Voltaire, Nitzer Ebb, Kraftwerk and Throbbing Gristle. The melodic and danceable elements that make this track so much fun to listen to are completely obliterated on later Ministry work, but fortunately the early Wax Trax singles have been compiled into an anthology and are still available (much to Al’s chagrin).