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1979 1979, the year that rap (The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"), Goth (Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead") and electro-pop (Gary Newman's "Cars") all either began or became established, was a much different year than 1970. Music was going in all different sorts of directions and was, as always, reflecting then times. It's interesting to note the various records here which make reference to computers; ten years later, PCs will have changed the world, including the world of music. 1979 also turns out to be a fine year for singles, particularly novelty hits by one hit wonders - from the Flying Lizard's "Money" to M's "Pop Music." Some great bands - the Fall, Joy Division, Caberet Voltaire, The Cure - debuted this year; 1979 is significant for this as much as for anything else. Best album of the year: my pick is a three way tie; Elvis Costello's Armed Forces, Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, and PIL's Metal Box. But there were many other fine LPs, and so it is really hard to choose a best (or even three best). On a personal note. In 1979 I graduated high school, moved to Boston to attend Northeastern University, and spent many hours listening to Boston's radio stations, particularly WBCN and WERS and getting tuned in to everthing from Graham Parker to Lene Lovich from these musical sources. Many of these LPs were my companions through all sorts of times, both good and bad. - Tom AC/DC - Highway To Hell Adam and the Ants - Dirk Wears White Sox Aerosmith - Night In The Ruts (the original lineup was soon to momentarily come apart; here, they ended their best decade rather weakly) Adicts - Lunch with the Adicts EP The Adverts - Cast of Thousands After The Fire - Laser Love Jane Aire and the Belvederes - Jane Aire and the Belvederes The Allman Brothers - Enlightened Rogues Alternative TV - Live at the Rat Club '77 Angel City - No Exit Angelic Upstarts - Teenage Warning The Art Bears - Winter Songs Art Zoyd - Musique pour The A's - The A's The Atlantics - Big City Rock Bad Company - Desolation Angels Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead EP (It's the beginning of Goth) Tiny Dancer: The EP's not available so here's a link for Singles: 1979-1983 a collection that includes this groundbreaking hit. I was just getting into punk at the time myself so the whole goth thing was right up my alley, this song rocked! The Beat - The Beat (not to be confused with The English Beat; these guys were a really good L.A. power pop band) Pat Benatar - In the Heat of the Night ("Heartbreaker") The Bizarros - The Bizarros (a personal favorite of this year by an Akron heavily influenced by Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground) The B52s - The B52s ("Rock Lobster") (a lovably campy band) Black Uhuru - Showcase Blondie - Eat To The Beat ("Dreaming," "Union City Blues") Blue Oyster Cult - Mirrors The Boomtown Rats - The Fine Art of Surfacing ("I Don't Like Mondays") Tiny Dancer: Outstanding album! I'd like to add "Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)", "Keep It Up", "Nice 'N' Neat" and "When The Night Comes". David Bowie - Lodger ("Boys Keep Swinging," "D.J") The Boys - To Hell with the Boys Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady (a record that is a pure joy to listen to from start to finish) Cabaret Voltaire - Mix Up John Cale - Sabotage Live Can - Can The Cars - Candy-O ("Let's Go," "All I Can Do") Cheap Trick - Dream Police Cheap Trick - Live at Budokon Chelsea - Chelsea Desmond Child and Rouge - Desmond Child and Rouge Alex Chilton - Like Flies on Sherbert (one of the great unsung heroes in rock; everytime you watch That 70s Show, and you listen to the theme song (which he wrote), you are reminded of how good he is) Jeff Troutman: FWIW, my sources have (this) coming out in 1980. Chrome - Alien Soundtracks Chrome - Read Only Memory EP The Clash - London Calling ("Train In Vain," "Rudie Can't Fail," "Lost In The Supermarket") (perhaps the Clash's landmark moment in a great record that ranks among the all time greatest rock albums) Tiny Dancer: Amen, brother! This was the album that woke me up and it's still as powerful as ever. I'll add "Jimmy Jazz", "Clampdown" and "The Guns Of Brixton" to the list of amazing tunes. My mother's still trying to recover from this one ;-) Jeff Troutman: The US version of the debut is also released this year. Elvis Costello - Armed Forces ("Oliver's Army," "Moods for Moderns," "Two Little Hitlers," "What's So Funny 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding") (one of the year's best records and one of Costello's greatest) The Cramps - Gravest Hits EP (the band that gave a whole new kitchy twist to rockabilly and 60s garage punk) Crass - Stations of the Crass (Crass stands for Citizens Reacting Against a Sick Society, and they were as much an anarchist political collective as a band; they had as their mission that of critiquing what they saw as the incomplete political messages of their fellow punk bands. Their records are thus interesting time capsule pieces) Jeff Troutman: FWIW, my sources have (this) coming out in 1980. Charlie Daniels Band - Million Mile Reflections ("The Devil Went Down to Georgia") Culture - International Herb The Cure - Three Imaginary Boys Jeff Troutman: Released in the US as Boys Don't Cry in 1980, with some tracks replaced by early singles. The Damned - Machine Gun Etiquette ("Love Song," "I Just Can't Be Happy Today") Devo - Duty Now for the Future ("Secret Agent Man") The Dickies - The Incredible Shrinking Dickies (Ah, the Dickies. They were like the Ramones' kid brothers, only cartoonier, with fast, poppy, 1:33 minute bubblegum punk tunes all their own) Dire Straits - Communique D.O.A. - Triumph of the Ignoroids EP Doll By Doll - Remember (interesting and unique band) Jeff Troutman: Their followup, Gypsy Blood also comes out this year. Mikey Dread - Dread at the Controls Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Do It Yourself ("Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick," "In Betweenies," "Sink My Boats") (Rest in peace, Ian) Bob Dylan - Slow Train Coming ("You're Gonna Have to Serve Somebody") The Eagles - The Long Run ("In the City," "Heartache Tonight") Earth, Wind and Fire - I Am ("Boogie Wonderland," "After The Love Has Gone") Dave Edmunds - Repeat When Necessary ("Girls Talk," "Queen of Hearts") Einsturzende Neubauten - Zuckendes Fleisch EP (debut EP by legendary German industrial band who used discarded scrap metals and factory parts as (anti)musical instruments) ELO - Discovery ("Don't Bring Me Down") Marianne Faithfull - Broken English (excellent record) Tiny Dancer: Agreed, I loved "The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan" and her excellent cover of Lennon's "Working Class Hero". The Fall - Live at the Witch Trials (debut record by a supremely influential British post-punk band) Jeff Troutman: One of my favorite bands. They also release their 2nd LP, Dragnet, this year. Fashion - Product Perfect Fingerprintz - The Very Dab Fischer-Z - Word Salad Patrick Fitzgerald - Grubby Stories Fleetwood Mac - Tusk The Flying Lizards - The Flying Lizards (had one of the best hit singles of the year, their electropop cover version of the Isley Brothers song "Money") Fools Face - Here to Observe Foreigner - Head Games ("Dirty White Boy") Robert Fripp - Exposure ("You Burn Me Up, I'm a Cigarette") Gang of Four - Entertainment! ("At Home He's a Tourist," "Damaged Goods," "I Found That Essence Rare") (punk meets funk meets Theodor Adrono and Max Horkheimer in this wonderful record by this unique British band) Generation X - Valley of the Dolls The Germs - (GI) (Along with Black Flag and The Circle Jerks, the Germs were one of the originators of the 80s hardcore movement, as shown in the terrific film, "The Decline of Western Civilization." Lead singer, Darby Crash, had a inimitable style) Robert Gordon - Rock Billy Boogie Gruppo Sportivo - Mistakes Go to the next page for the rest of the list. Choose a year or click on Next 1970/ 1971/ 1972/ 1973/ 1974 1975/ 1976/ 1977/ 1978/ 1979 
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