This mix is heavily weighted to the mid- to late-80s, certainly the most prolific recording period of the decade. Most tracks were sourced from vinyl, some from second-generation cassette, and audio quality varies as widely as the musical styles.
UPDATE NOTE: the embedded flash audio player has been removed, click on the song title for a link to the MP3 file
01 Shock Mommies "Teenage Lima Bean" 1987
Horribly recorded; so what. Super-catchy garage progression, out-of-synch and haphazardly harmonized vocals, sharp and very funny lyrics, exceptional guitar solo that vacillates between noise and melody. They knew what they were doing.
02 Blisters 02 Sleepers"Sleepers" 1988
Great opening riff for this early Replacements ripoff. A very active (not fussy) rhythm guitar moves things along and gets me past the "change/rearrange" lyrics.
03 Plague Dogs "Burning Building" 1986
A bunch of good ideas in 2:40. Cool key change between verse and chorus, inventive guitar lines all over the place, and a hollered breakdown. Wish they'd lasted longer than a few months.
04 Pleased Youth "Being Alive" 1986
Hardcore marginally sweetened, raving at a breakneck pace for about a minute, abruptly shifting to a half-time bridge as they briefly turn into (Johnny Thunders') Heartbreakers, then back into the fray.
05 Spiral Jetty "All Of This" 1985
From the Mercer-Million produced debut EP, this track is worthy of Crazy Rhythms. Adam Potkay and Dave Reynolds generate the momentum, Andy Gesner the balance. It's a little much when Mercer and Million themselves come in with the Crazy Rhythms backing vocals, but it works for me.
06 The Null Set "Five Percent Solution" 1989
Sounds very 1982, but was written in 1986 and released on the 21st Century Cry EP in 1989. I'm reminded of Ohio legends Human Switchboard, with equal parts block organ chords and scratchy guitar backing pissed-off romance lyrics.
07 The Blasés "Time Walks Away" 1983
I prefer this raw version of the band to the rather over-done incarnation that recorded an album in 1989. Primitive in a early-1965 Beatles kind of way, though no mistaking its an 80s song. Love the guitar solo.
08 Wooden Soldiers "The Highway Talking" 1987
Like the Spiral Jetty track, this conjures up the Feelies, only circa The Good Earth, which came out the year prior. A spare arrangement that sounds compact even while running 3:40.
09 Jonnie Dog & The Dingos "Surfadelia" 1988
The only pure surf band in town. If this sounds out of place in the mix, imagine them in the grimy confines of New Brunswick. Several nice melodies here, and tight playing as always.
10 The Selves "Like A Mission" 1987
Heartbreaking, not because it's depressive (though it is) but because it should have been heard by thousands, not the hundreds who probably did. This is 1980s Modern Lovers if JR hadn't gone twee in 1977.
11 P.E.D. "Quarter Pounder" 1987
"Manville Man" was an early favorite of mine, but this is their best shout-along, and the Reagan/Gorbachev references recall a more scarily innocent time.
12 Destroy All Bands "No Left Time" 1987
Metal meets hardcore, like we always knew it would, and this track embodies it.
13 TMA "What's For Dinner?" 1984
As a quartet (with David Oldfield on vocals), TMA was Brunswick's Black Flag, with all the disfunction and none of the staying power. Oh well. Enjoy the awesome blitz while it lasts — all 1:24 of it.
14 Bad Karma "Suicide Song" 1989
Go get 'em, Sluggo. You can tell this song is badass, but the instruments could use better balance. Turn up the guitar.
15 Catharsis "Hurt" 1987
The fuzzed guitars are something, even though they make my ears itch. The lyrics essay mental illness, the (great) guitar solo is 1969-era Neil Young.
16 False Virgins "Insomnia" 1988
This is the Red Ghost 7", not the version from the still-available-for-purchase Skin Job. Their best song has cool guitar work, and not at all too long at 4:30.
17 Spy Gods "Clown Man" 1988
A spare, funky, mean sound that doesn't immediately remind me of anyone else, with Robin Reneé's vocal the highlight.
18 Smart Pill "Even Evergreens" 1989
A McCartney-esque bass moves it along, with a chorus ("Let's give love one more chance/Instead of ripping petals off these flowers of romance") bringing the 60s and 80s together.
19 LSD "Chocodaemon 1 & 2" 1988
R. Keane owns part 1, his recollection of the 7-11 and beach culture of his wasted youth (the magic is in the Big Gulp). E. Gladstone owns part 2, with an absurd anglophilia-fueled accent ranting about god knows what. A trip.
20 Cleft Palate "Brain Squeeze" 1988
Industrial comes to Brunswick. I have no idea what Christopher Chang is screaming about, but it sounds like bad news. William Tucker provides the terrific one-chord riff, and everything else.
