Hello, Monday! You are here earlier than usual thanks to Daylight Savings Time, but that's alright. I may be sleepier, groggier, grumpier...for a while...but as I already stated, I also get to put Music Monday up an hour earlier. Yay! Not only is it Music Monday, but this week over at Dolly's it's all about the British Invasion!
I'm really excited about this, because there is so much good music from England. In fact, there is too much of a good thing for this post, so I am only going to focus on three specific genres in which I feel the British have particularly excelled: Punk, New Wave and Gothic rock. It's still a LOT, but not even all I wanted to include.
One of the most important Punk bands to come out of England is The Clash. My favorite song? This one right here....
The Clash: "Train in Vain"
And in my opinion, the other most important punk band from England is none other than the iconic Sex Pistols. They're usually the first band people think of when they think of British punk bands because of all the controversy surrounding not only their music, but bassist Sid Vicious' antics both on and off stage. This sound is what I immediately think of when I hear the words "punk rock." Since "God Save the Queen" and "Anarchy in the U.K." get lots of attention, here's a different one...
Sex Pistols: "Pretty Vacant"
Not nearly as well known, but still worth mentioning here, The Damned.
The Damned: "Jet Boy Jet Girl"
And who could forget Billy Idol and his famous "Rebel Yell"?
The British definitely had punk covered, but were equally powerful in the New Wave genre. These are only a few of the many, many, MANY notable British New Wave bands.
Going WAY back with this one...
Adam and The Ants: "Prince Charming"
Probably my favorite of the British New Wave bands is Depeche Mode. And since I am very partial to Violator-era Depeche Mode, my favorite song (and this video) are from that album...
Depeche Mode: "World in My Eyes"
A somewhat under-rated British New Wave band worth mentioning here? The Psychedelic Furs.
The Psychedelic Furs: "Heartbreak Beat"
And finally, the first New Wave song I ever heard/first New Wave video I'd ever seen (on Night Tracks! Does anyone in the U.S. remember Night Tracks?) (and the band happens to be British) Modern English with "I Melt With You"
Now....for a bit of Gothic rock. Yes, all of these bands may sound quite different, but are all still considered Gothic rock. I'll start this one off by sharing a band many already know, The Cure. Disintigration was not my introduction to The Cure, but was definitely my favorite album of theirs. My favorite song is actually "Pictures of You," but it's gotten a bit overplayed over the years by being used in several commercials. So I'll share another favorite from Disintigration...
The Cure: "Fascination Street"
My favorite of the Goth-rock bands is Death Cult. Southern Death Cult. Now simply known as The Cult. They lost a lot of their gothic sound towards their most commercial release, 1989's Sonic Temple, but I loved them even more as they incorporated heavier, bluesier rock elements to their music. In my opinion, "Spiritwalker" (from Dreamtime, their first release) is their best gothic-sounding song, though "She Sells Sanctuary" is nothing short of amazing. My personal favorite of their releases was 1987's Electric, which is quite a departure musically from Dreamtime and Love. But as I said before, I liked their music even more once there was more of a hard rock/metal sound. It probably didn't hurt that I was in love with lead Singer Ian Astbury by that time, either!
The Cult: "Lil Devil"
The Sisters of Mercy is one of the bands you can't help but think of when you think of Goth in general. The Goths were/are way ahead of their time, too. Check out that stiletto manicure in the video a full 25 years ahead of the current trend! Here they are with "Lucretia, My Reflection":
And concluding my selections for this post is one of the songs that helped start the movement, obviously by one of the most important bands in the genre...
Bauhaus: "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
Well...that's MY British Invasion. Who would be included in yours?
Oh you have it going on over here today! Rockin' out English style...yes!
ReplyDeletePunk rock or goth-rock was never my thing. These are just a bit too weird and/or dark to suit my music taste. The only artist you presented this morning that I'm even remotely familiar with is Billy Idol, but I don't know many of his songs. Your music selection gave me not only a great British Invasion education, but a listen to music I would otherwise not plug into. Thanks for joining the dance floor this morning, dearie!
ReplyDeleteAnother set of good choices I was a massive fan of Depeche Mode, Prince Charming brings me back too.
ReplyDeleteHave a tanfabulous week ahead ;-)
Great set of tunes,i'm going with "i'll melt with you" as my pick of them.
ReplyDeleteGreat songs for a fab theme. I love it when the British accent shines through the singing, like in I melt with you. I tuned in early and missed the British part of the invasion.
ReplyDeletehttp://joycelansky.blogspot.com
Whoa Girl!!! REBEL YELL! Haven't heard that in forever! YOU'RE ROCKIN' THE HOUSE GIRLFRIEND! I had this turned all the way up so I could do my cookin' but dancin' & cookin' is that good HELL YEAH!!!!!!!! Love rockin' with ya my friend. Some are new to me, but hell ROCK ON!!!!
ReplyDeleteGoing to show my age here- But as much as I love Modern English-Heartbreak Beat was my jam. I remember on some sorry cable channel-they had this college alternative music show and Heartbreak Beat was played like every day.
ReplyDeleteNight Tracks was on TBS on Friday and Saturday nights. It was on from like 9pm to 3am. That is what all the cool hip kids watch as they played all the cool music. MTV was out and Night Tracks was in.
Great videos - I'd forgotten how good most of them were. From the videos above, I'd have to say that The Psychedelic Furs tops my poll! I'm pretty much in agreement with your above video's but I'd have to add The Cure and XTC to the list!
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely sleep deprived and groggy but never too much so to dance!
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm late. Been so crazy here at home and still going!
Happy weekend!
I used to be obsessed with the Sex Pistols in high school! I loved everything that involved Sid Vicious, mmm!! ;) haha! I actually think my old Sid Vicious poster is still hanging in my old bedroom at my mom's! :)
ReplyDelete