XTC were never quite punk; they were too pop savvy for that. Though they were there from the beginning, tearing up facades with the best of them. So maybe just call them a damned good band who, by 1982’s double-vinyl English Settlement, were taking off in a pile of different directions uniquely their own, with Ball and Chain reminding us that they still had the pop.
Midnight Oil’s politics have gotten most of the attention over the years, which makes sense. It’s not as if they weren’t wearing them on their sleeves, with U.S. Forces as good an example as any. But the music should also be noted, because here was an outfit that could rock every bit as hard as the Clash, while also working the sort of pop precision you’d expect from an XTC. And with lyrics like, “Everyone too stoned to start a mission, People too scared to go to Prison,” you had a pretty rich and relevant package with 1982’s 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 as good a place to start as any.
As the story goes, Jah Wobble‘s dream was to somehow hook up with Can’s rhythm section (Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit) and make a record, which he finally pulled off for Full Circle. Except he took the record company’s advance money, blew it all on drugs, alcohol, other stupid stuff, and neglected to pay his heroes, who he then avoided for years out of shame. But the album still stands, one of the best of 1982, or any other year for that matter. How Much Are They? was the single.
ABC were white guys with a thing for big, sophisticated soul. Trevor Horn was an ex member of both Yes and the Buggles with a talent for big, sophisticated production. Together they made a beautiful monster called Lexicon of Love, with 4 Ever 2gether a weird gem about drugs and love and evil tucked away deep into side two.
“Hunters + Collectors being band named after a song by Can but, truth be told, that connection did more to twig me to the enduring riches of Can than the other way around. Which isn’t to cast aspersions at Hunters + Collectors, particularly their first album, which managed to sound simultaneously Euro-cool and deeply, mysteriously, uniquely Australian – all those vast open spaces and way too many weird animals that can kill you.” (Philip Random)
Randophonic 