any early 80's alt/soft punk fans out there?


great time for music imo. new sounds, edgy but musical and sometime.....downright deep/moving. never got into the really hardcore punk seen. liked the softer side destruction alot better =)

just finished a psychedelic furs binge tonight. had joy division/early new order on all weekend. planning on reminiscing with lou reed/velvet underground and early rem later this week.

haven't really listened to this stuff much in recent memory. not sure why?. i own almost everything these bands ever put out but still rarely give them a turn anymore?.

early furs with all that sax and mr butler's near painful voice =). i'm gonna grab some tickets for their upcoming show at house of blues (chicago). i'm sure it won't be as crazy as the shows back then but the music will still be great. didn't even know they were touring.

really enjoyed joy division and after the death of Ian....early new order stuff. incredible music considering their roots. new order eventually lost their edge but back then....they were it!

any other fans out there?
levy03
I am surprised most of you missed The Replacements, which had five seminal albums during that period. "All for Nothing" is the definative Best Of, but I recommend dive dives with "Pleased to meet me," "Let it Be", "Inconcerated Live," "Tim" and the very under-rated "All Shook Down."

Also forgotten is the Pixies. Hard not to note the obvious influence on Nirvana and the whole Grunge Movement. The Pixies, along with Jane's Addiction, served as a bridge between those genres.

For hardcore listeners, hard not to mention Fugazi. The bass line on "Waiting List" is epic. The Adolescents,Agent Orange, Bad Brains,Bad Religion, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Descendents, The Dickies, Fear, Flipper, The Germs, Wasted Youth, the Weirdos, and Youth Brigade all defined American Hardcore movement from 1980 to 1986.

The original LA Punk Rock also morphed into Cow Punk. Hard not to like the Beat Farmers (Country Dick was one of the best showman!), The Blasters, Concrete Blonde, the Dils, X/The Knitters, and the Minutemen ("Corona" is a great demo disc for music shows). Santa Cruz spawned Cracker and Camper B. East LA spawned Los Lobos and the Plugz. How about the early funk punk experiments with the Red Hot Chili Peppers?

Manchester UK defined Post Punk with the Buzzcocks, Joy Division, the Smiths and New Order, and set the stage for the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and the Charlatans to come.
All the bands from that town share a tonality that suggests a month of overcast skies.

Mission to Burma is a great "unsung" band. "Academy Fight Song" is a lost gem.

REM's early output was amazing, especially the first EP which contained "Gardening at Night."

Bongofury,
How could you mention Cow Punk without making reference to Jason and the Scorchers? Best live band I've ever seen...
The Replacements, you are right. Somehow I always think of them as a 90's band since I continued listening to them all the time through about 99.

Great Band.

"Pleased to Meet Me" I just bought on vinyl again. IOU, The Ledge, Alex Chilton, .... great album.