QUIZ: 1980s Punk Song or New Wave Band?

1980s

A quiz by yours truly.

The music of the 1980s blended social awareness with raw emotion like never before, resulting in some very memorable song and band names.  Can you tell which of the following is a 1980s punk song title and which is a 1980s new wave band?

1. Weatherbox
2. Reverse Heck
3. No Sorrow
4. We Became Snakes
5. Coup D’Etat
6. Koo De Tah
7. Life’s Process
8. My Father’s Dream
9. Ack Ack Ack
10. Picnic At the Whitehouse
11. Straightline Thinking
12. Kiss the Blade
13. Riding With Mary
14. Memories Past
15. Piece de Resistance
16. This Beautiful Place
17. Classified Info
18. Roaring Boys
19. Sub-Liminal
20. Wheedle Dee
21. Serene Danker
22. No Right No Wrong
23. Kids of the Black Hole
24. Kissing the Pink
25. President Reagan Is Clever

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ANSWERS:

1. Punk song by Mission Of Burma (1982)
2. New wave band
3. Punk song by Legal Weapon (1982)
4. Punk song by Saccharine Trust (1986)
5. Punk song by The Circle Jerks (1983)
6. New wave band
7. Punk song by Nihilistics (1983)
8. Punk song by Articles of Faith (1982)
9. Punk song by the Minutemen (1985)
10. New wave band
11. Punk song by Subhumans (1985)
12. New wave band
13. Punk song by X (1982)
14. Punk song by Government Issue (1986)
15. New wave band
16. Punk song by Flag of Democracy (1988)
17. New wave band
18. New wave band
19. Punk song by Nihilistics (1989)
20. Punk song by Articles of Faith (1985)
21. Punk song by Flag of Democracy (1985)
22. New wave band
23. Punk song by The Adolescents (1981)
24. New wave band
25. New wave band

Tim’s ‘Rock & Punk Meet Reggae’ CMP

rock & punk meet reggae

In the mid-20th century, jazz & rhythm-and-blues influenced and gave birth to many other genres.  Ska reggae and rock ‘n’ roll came into their own as they solidified a set of basic ideas in sound, look, and lyrical content.  Cross-pollination of sub-genres all over the world produced some very interesting experiments that still continue to this day.

While most popular music fans are aware of modern ska – now a hybrid of rock, punk, and a brass section – not everyone realizes the extent to which reggae and ska influenced the punk and rock scene of the 1970s and 1980s, even outside of the “2-Tone Ska” bands like Madness and The Beat.  This collection is mainly about exploring those little musical pockets and one-off singles, where rock musicians borrowed a reggae beat or guitar upstroke here, or a ska-influenced organ riff there.

There’s very little to be found here in the way of saxophone or trumpet and that’s intentional.  I had a lot of fun poking through musical history to put this together.  You may notice some missing tracks that seem like glaring omissions (“Hey, where’s Dylan’s ‘Man Gave Names To All the Animals’?”  “What about Blondie’s “The Tide Is High’?”).  That’s just personal preference; feel free to add them yourself.  That’s half the fun of homemade music collections.  They can always keep changing as the years go by.

Hope you enjoy this compilation.

—Tim H., 2014

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01 – Paul McCartney & Wings – C Moon (1972)

02 – Led Zeppelin – D’yer Mak’er (1973)

03 – J. Geils Band – Give It To Me (1973)

04 – Patti Smith – Redondo Beach (1975)

05 – Rolling Stones – Cherry Oh Baby (1976)

06 – Elvis Costello – Watching the Detectives (1977)

07 – The Modern Lovers – Egyptian Reggae (1977)

08 – The Stranglers – Peaches (1977)

09 – Coventry Automatics, The – Wake Up (1978)

10 – 10cc – Dreadlock Holiday (1978)

11 – Members – Offshore Banking Business; Pennies In the Pound (1979)

12 – Joe Jackson – Fools In Love (1979)

13 – Killing Joke – Turn To Red (1979)

14 – Nina Hagen – African Reggae (1979)

15 – Police, The – Walking On The Moon (Live 1979)

16 – Scorpions – Is There Anybody There (1979)

17 – The Ruts – Jah War (1979)

18 – The Terrorists – Happy Man (1980)

19 – The Plugz – Electrify Me (1979)

20 – Slits, The – Man Next Door (1980)

21 – Angelic Upstarts – I Understand (1981)

22 – The Clash – Guns of Brixton (Live 1981)

23 – D.O.A. – War In the East (1982)

24 – Nick Lowe – Heart (1982)

25 – Cutting Edge – Lonesome Cowboy (1983)

26 – Spliff – Carbonara (1982)

27 – Newtown Neurotics – Newtown People (1983)

28 – David Bowie & Tina Turner – Tonight (1984)

29 – Subhumans – When The Bomb Drops (1985)

30 – Hitlist – High Treason (1986)

31 – Beats International – Dub Be Good To Me (1990)

32 – Tim Armstrong – Hold On (2007)

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GRAB THEM CAKES

“DAD-isms”

By Chris Hulsizer, with help from his bro Tim)

Our Dad said these frequently…we have fond memories of hearing many of them.
[Douglas Norwood Hulsizer, 25 September 1929 – 23 February 1997]

  • “It’s only water…it’ll dry”
  • “…krud fangles…” (used as an expletive after making a mistake)
  • “What’s all this happy horseshit?” (basically like “What’s going on here?”)
  • “…horses dipped in donkey dust” (A strange one, perhaps referring to an item or food covered in powder, glitter, etc.?)
  • “Use your head for something besides a hat rack”
  • “Tweechees own” (Dad’s pronunciation of the old adage “To each his own”)
  • “I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em”
  • “So what, sew buttons on your underwear” (response to someone saying “So what”)
  • “Baccarudas” (in reference to Plymouth Barracudas)
  • “(You just) fiddled and fooled and farted around” (when someone didn’t complete a chore or task on time)
  • “Beggars can’t be choosers”
  • “You’re a caution (or he/she’s a caution)”
  • “…cranafrazz…” (in place of “thingamajig” or “whatchamacallit”)
  • “It’s good for what ails ya”
  • “That don’t amount to a hill o’ beans”
  • “Hey there, Mr. Baggypants” (a silly greeting)
  • “That’s the Godest truth” (attributed by Dad originally to “Little Joe” Giordano, one of his coworkers)
  • “Let’s not make a big federal case out of it”
  • “It’s cockeyed”
  • “Gasarene” (referring to gasoline)
  • “His eyes are bigger than his stomach”
  • “It’ll put hair on your chest”
  • “It’s neither here nor there”
  • “There, goodasnew”
  • “…Cub Sprouts…” (referring to Cub Scouts)
  • “What do I look like, I’m made outta money?”
  • “Oh fer heaven sakes”
  • “Heavens ta Betsy”
  • “Know what I mean, jellybean?”
  • “You betcha”
  • “Hold yer horses!”
  • “…druthers…” (as in, “If I had my druthers” [choice])
  • “Stick that in your pipe and smoke it”
  • “Toodle-oo” (“See you later”)
  • “What a rigamarole”
  • “Just resting my eyes”
  • “Times a-wastin’”
  • “Takes a lotta people to make a movie like that”
  • “Darned if I know” / “Well I’ll be darned”
  • “(I think I’ll have a) little snicky-snack”
  • “Slow as molasses”
  • “Oh, hogwash”
  • “He needs a good kick in the slats, he does”
  • “sa-LAHD” (referring to salad)
  • “I’ve got an inkling…” (another way to say “I’ve got an idea”)
  • “(Looks like) it only cost a nickel ninety-eight”
  • “Doesn’t that just rot your socks?!”
  • “Drippy drop slop” (anything gross)
  • “Yell-oh” (when answering phone)
  • “Oh, bunk” (or “that’s a load of bunk”)
  • “Hay is for horses, milk is for cows” (when someone called him with “Hey Dad”)
  • “Okey-doke”
  • “Good gravyboats”
  • “It’s all going to pot…” (when things take a turn for the worse in some way)
  • “What in the sam hill?!”
  • “You betcha”
  • “Make it snappy”