Track of the Moment: Thief of Fire by The Pop Group

           Punk is a very fleeting thing.  A lot of bands say they’re punk, but if someone’s doing it more radically then you to the point where it’s a totally different genre then what do you call it?  In 1976 (arguably) punk broke. In 1977 post-punk as a term was first used.  That’s how fast music is.  Being progressive is really something you can only hear at a concert, and look back on 10 years later to confirm.  Ya sure punk shook things up in mainstream music until about 1980, but bands like DNA, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, and (probably most important to music holistically) Sonic Youth, were ripping the fabric of music apart, and no body noticed.

            The Pop Group’s 1978 LP debut “Y” is a fantastic example of the power, and malleability of post-punk.  It got elements of noise rock, jazz, funk thing going.  IMAGINE LISTENING TO THAT IN 1978!  Funk bands didn’t rock this much and punk-funk fusions wouldn’t come about until at least the 1980’s.  The whole point of being post-punk, truly post-punk, is to sound like no one else.  Bands like DNA, The Raincoats, and The Pop Group are all very obviously post-punk and sound nothing alike. 

            Going back to my previous point, a lot of bands are “punk” but very few were punk.  In the same way we have a HUGE amount of bands that are considered “post-punk” i.e. influenced by punk music, but there are only a select few that are truly “post-punk.”

(Before I sound like an elitist I’m a huge fan of “punk,” punk, “post-punk,” and post-punk.   No one genre Is wrong or better, but for the sake of nomenclature, and historical context I brought up this point (like us on the Facebook))

Track of the Moment: Pioneers by Bloc Party

If you played Guitar Hero 3, listened to alternative radio in 2005, or like good music, you’ve probably heard Bloc Party, but may not know them by name. Their song "Helicopter" still gets occasional play time, and is just a fun, punk-rock song that brought them into the lime light.

To me, they’re one of the bands that got the indie rock ball rolling with the extreme popularity of their debut album Silent Alarm. Hailing from Britain, they draw heavily on acts like The Smiths, Joy Division, Sonic Youth, and The Cure, leading to ballads filled with sad lyrics, soft yet slightly abrasive guitars and humming synth, with a sweet drum beat pulling it all together.

Now, Mark and I got into a bit of scuffle about what genre to throw them under. According to Wikipedia (an always reliable source), Bloc Party is new wave, to which I politely disagreed with a series of expletives. I would classify them under the even broader category of indie rock, but, given their influences and general sound, they may also fall under equally broad title of post-punk. Either way, I’ll let one of my favorite songs from the album speak for the band.

“Pioneers” is a classic. While it only enjoyed moderate success on the UK charts, it should stand as Bloc Party’s best song, especially for a band whose first record should have produced at least 5 or 6 top 5 singles. The opening guitar notes echoing puts you on edge, waiting for the song to get going. Then the rhythm guitar comes in, then Kele’s vocals come in, almost pleading with who I imagine is a girlfriend who wants to break up with him. But the chorus features a response to this pleading with a simple “We promised the world we’d tame it/what we were hoping for?”, giving the song so much emotional power, especially with Kele’s delivery. And the primal drum beat featuring a lot of tom-toms and bass and few cymbal crashes really helps give the song a sense of controlled anger. But my favorite part is the ending – Kele is singing “We will not be the last”, but, due to his British accent, it sounds like ‘We will not be the lost”, which really helps to punctuate the themes and meaning of the song. It’s just a fantastic track that anyone who enjoys music should listen to.