Left of the Dial: The Best of Post-Punk, New Wave, Indie, and College Radio

09/06/2025

Another rached game playin Bitch…🙄

08/02/2025

Black people ( or what I like to call the 13% ) better rethink their position in society # FAFO

12/27/2021

Athens, Georgia's Pylon began in 1979 by guitarist Randall Bewley and bass guitarist Michael Lachowski who were inspired by Punk rock and it's attitude of just pick up and start playing regardless of experience. They practiced in a downtown rented space owned by Curtis Crowe who lived above the studio and became their drummer who marveled at their style of not playing chords but hooks and had their songs memorized before joining. They recruited fellow art student Vanessa Briscoe Hay for vocals because they liked her painting. Naming themselves after the big orange traffic cones you see around road construction, Pylon were championed by local favorites The B-52's who helped them get exposure in New York City where Pylon earned an opening slot for Gang of Four and positive reception. I've always described Pylon as Wire fronted by Patti Smith. Bewley's scratch guitar sound with Lachowski and Crowe's muscular rhythm section create an infectiously edgy and danceable sound that serves as a wonderful canvas for Hay's whisper to a growl vocal that yelps like she's exorcizing something. Mesmerizing stuff. Pylon released their first single Cool b/w Dub later in 1979 and followed up with their classic albums 1980's Gyrate and 1983's Chomp which inspired fellow Athens band R.E.M. to declare Pylon America's best band.

Provided to YouTube by PIASCOOL · PylonCOOL / DUB℗ New West Records, LLCReleased on: 1979-01-01Auto-generated by YouTube.

12/27/2021

The World's Greatest Party Band The B-52's were born over dinner at an Athens, Georgia Chinese Restaurant in the fall of 1976 by friends Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson and Ricky Wilson. Naming themselves after the giant bouffant hairstyle popular among certain Southern women in the 50's, The B-52's played their first shows at parties around Athens in early 1977 but by the end of the year were taking their party to New York City and playing CBGBs. The B-52's gained massive attention for their style and sound which paired kitsch and 50's Sci-Fi with 60's surf guitar and the call and response vocals of Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, and Cindy Wilson. The B-52's 1979 self-titled debut is the first of their many stellar releases and it is rumored to have been so loved by John Lennon that it inspired him to begin recording again. Pretty cool.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupRock Lobster · The B-52'sB-52's℗ An Island Records Release; ℗ 1979 UMG Recordings, Inc.Released on: 1979-01-01Pro...

03/13/2021

Boston, Massachusetts' Blake Babies were formed in 1986 by John Strohm, Freda Love, and Juliana Hatfield and were named by the poet Allen Ginsberg following a reading at Harvard University when they raised their hand and asked him to name their band. Their first album 1987's 'Nicely, Nicely' was released on their own label and their sound was favorably compared to fellow Boston band Throwing Muses and R.E.M. After releasing the E.P. 'Slow Learner' on English singer, songwriter Billy Bragg's Utility label they were picked up by Mammoth records for 1989's 'Earwig' and 1990's 'Sunburn' which was hailed by Allmusic as the last great college rock album. Earlier recordings featured front man Evan Dando of the Lemonheads on bass whom Strohm had played with before and who began a relationship with Hatfield. The band broke up after the release of 1991's E.P. 'Rosy Jack World' and Juliana Hatfield signed a solo contract and began a long and successful career which still continues today.
This is a demo called 'Rain' that became the song 'Better' n You' for their 1987 album 'Nicely, Nicely'.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupRain · Blake BabiesInnocence And Experience℗ 1993 Mammoth Records, Inc.Released on: 1993-01-01Auto-generated by Y...

03/13/2021

Olympia, Washington's Beat Happening are an Indie pop, lo-fi band formed by Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford at Evergreen State College in 1982 whose catchy, infectious music perfectly epitomized the anti-corporate side of college music. They toured with punk bands like Fugazi and were treated poorly by the mohawked, leather-wearing punk crowds for wearing their cardigans and Calvin Johnson's shimmying, pogoing non-threating presence as they furthered the idea of the nerdy punk. Think Talking Heads without the world music influences. They helped bring anti-corporate rock to it's earliest acceptances and were admired by many of their contemporaries like Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill and Kurt Cobain who had performed with Johnson and even got their label, K Records, tattooed on his arm to remind him to 'stay a child'.
Beat Happening's albums 1985's 'Beat Happening', 1988's 'Jamboree', 1989's 'Black Candy', 1991's 'Dreamy' and 1992's 'You Turn Me On' were all critically acclaimed despite their primitive recording techniques and disregard for the technical aspects of making music.
Beat Happening, despite not having played together live since the early 90's, have never broken up and have been invited by modern artists like Modest Mouse to perform with them but have politely declined.
From 1989's 'Black Candy' this is the indelible 'Cast a Shadow'.

Track 6 off of Black Candy.1989

03/12/2021

Influenced by L.A.'s Punk Rock scene Hole was formed in 1989 in Los Angeles by singer, guitarist Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson after Eric responded to Courtney's ad in Recycler which said 'I want to start a band. My influences are Big Black, Sonic Youth, and Fleetwood Mac.' Love had originally wanted to name the band Sweet Baby Crystal Powered by God, but went with the name Hole instead. She settled on Hole citing a conversation with her mother who told her she couldn't live her life with a hole running through her and the sexual implications of the word. Courtney Love had tried to start a few bands along the West Coast before and even had a brief stint with Faith No More experimenting with various sounds from which she found inspiration.
Using borrowed equipment from fellow L.A. bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and working as a stripper to support her band, Hole began to make a reputation for themselves with their live shows and their Kim Gordon produced debut 1991's 'Pretty on the Inside'. Courtney Love had gotten Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon to produce their debut for Caroline records by sending a letter to Kim which featured their early singles, a 'Hello Kitty' barrette, and words of admiration for her work. Abrasive, musically and lyrically, 'Pretty on the Inside' was loud, ugly, and musically shocking. Village Voice awarded it album of the year and Spin listed it among the years' best albums. 'Pretty on the Inside' reached number 59 in the UK charts but only released one single with the UK Indie number 1 hit 'Teenage W***e'.
Between 1991 and the 1994 release of Hole's massively successful 'Live Through This' the band's sound was taken in a more melodic and controlled direction by Love causing some rifts and shifts within her band. During this time she had began her relationship with Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain and had given birth to their child which influenced her songwriting and musical approach. An early example of this is the 1993 non-album single "Beautiful Son' which was inspired by Kurt Cobain's love for wearing women's clothing as a child. The single featured a picture of her husband Kurt at age 7. Written in 1992 'Beautiful Son' is a wonderful bridge between the sonic chaos of 1991's 'Pretty on the Inside' and the alternative bliss of 1994's 'Live Through This'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGniRhAlH0g

"Beautiful Son" is Hole's fourth single released on April 8, 1993 and was recorded November 8-10, 1992 in Seattle. The cover features a 7-year-old Kurt Cobai...

03/12/2021

The incredible English singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Polly Jean (PJ) Harvey began her celebrated career in 1988 with long time collaborator John Parish's band Automatic Dlamini as a vocalist, guitarist, and sax player. In 1991 she began the PJ Harvey Trio and released 1992's 'Dry' and threw everything she had into the record believing it to be her first and last with 'Dress' and 'Sheela-Na-Gig' getting airplay and the later becoming a number 9 Modern Rock hit in September 1992. 'Dry' peaked at number 11 on the UK charts and made the best of 1992 lists for many different publications. Rolling Stone named it number 70 in it's 100 Greatest Debut Albums of all time and NME awarded 'Dry' number 151 in it's 500 Greatest Albums list. 'Dry' is also listed in the book '1001 Albums to hear before you die'.
From PJ Harvey's wonderful debut 1992's 'Dry' this is 'Sheela-Na-Gig'

03/12/2021

Bristol, UK's Portishead was formed in 1991 after instrumentalist Geoff Barrow and singer/songwriter Beth Gibbons met during a break from an Enterprise Allowance course that allowed unemployed British citizens a weekly 40 pounds a week for starting their own business. Finding common musical ground and a love for film noire Portishead's 1994 'Dummy' sounds like a dark and beautiful soundtrack for an unmade film and features a still for the album's cover from a short movie the band made called 'To Kill a Dead Man'. The spy film was 11 minutes long and and involved an assassination and it's aftermath. Cool stuff. Long associated with trip-hop Portishead was rock experimentation with Gothic undertones and a dramatic flair that fit more in line with Serge Gainsbourg, Scott Walker, and Nick Cave.
'Dummy' was universally celebrated upon it's release and is considered one of trip hop's greatest achievements with the hits 'Sour Times', 'Numb', and 'Glory Box' furthering it's success. It won 1995's Mercury Prize and was named number 419 in Rolling Stones' 500 Greatest albums of all time.
From 1994's 'Dummy' this is Portishead's beautiful 'Roads'.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupRoads · PortisheadDummy℗ 1994 Go! Discs Ltd.Released on: 1994-01-01Producer: PortisheadProducer: Adrian UtleyComp...

12/04/2020

Peter John Joseph Murphy or just Peter Murphy to fans of Bauhaus and his wonderful solo work which has spanned four decades had his biggest moment as a solo artist with his second album 1990's 'Deep' when his single 'Cuts you Up' topped the Modern Rock charts for seven weeks.

One of the songs that commerically launched goth into mainstream music.

12/04/2020

Great Yarmouth, UK's shoegaze band Catherine Wheel who named themselves after a firework which was named after a medieval torture device began in 1990 by singer-guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson), guitarist Brian Futter, bassist Dave Hawes who was previously in the Joy Division influenced band Eternal, and drummer Neil Sims. Their effects heavy multilayered guitar sound awash with feeback and the vocal talents of Dickinson produced some of the early 90's best songs like 'I Want to Touch You' and 'Black Metallic' from 1992's 'Ferment', 'Crank' from 1993's 'Chrome', and 'Judy Staring at the Sun' with Throwing Muses' Tanya Donnelly and 'Waydown' from 1995's 'Happy Days'. The band were an inspiration for Death Cab for Cutie and Interpol's existence.
From 1992's 'Ferment' this is the number 9 US Modern Rock hit 'Black Metallic' and it's pure aural bliss.

From the album, "Ferment" (1992).Credit goes to Catherine Wheel, Fontana Records.

09/19/2020

Melbourne, Austrailia's Models began in 1978 as a Post-Punk, New Wave band who became very popular in their home continent due to extensive touring with high profile bands visiting Oz. Besides touring with homegrown favorites like Midnight Oil and INXS (who were fans), Models have toured with Ramones, The B-52's, XTC, The Vapors, The Police and David Bowie giving them great experience and massive exposure down under. Many of the headliners became fans and offered contracts for International distribution of their music believing them to be deserving of a wider audience which Models resisted for a while but eventually signed a deal with A&M Records which allowed them to remain on Austrailian label Mushroom Records during a supporting gig for The Police in 1981. Models first album 1980's 'Alphabravocharliedeltaechofoxtrotgolf' was recorded independently before signing with Mushroom Records and became popular due to their extensive touring. An E.P. followed in 1981 called 'Cut Lunch' experimenting with Post-Punk and Dub that produced the popular live favorite 'Atlantic Romantic' and some radio airplay with 'Two Cabs to the Toucan'. A second album released later in the year called 'Local and/or General' that rose to number 30 on Austrailia's album chart despite producing no charting singles. Models took some time to rework their line-up add some big drums and danceability, add a more radio friendly singer, and tighten up their songs to create their highly regarded breakthrough album 1983's 'The Pleasure of your Company' which was well received by critics and fans alike rising to number 12 on the album charts and producing the number 16 hit 'I Hear Motion'. 'The Pleasure of Your Company' was listed in the top 50 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums. Models fourth album 1985's 'Out of Mind, Out of Sight' achieved even greater success rising to number 3 in the Austrailian album charts and producing five hit singles with their second single 'Barbados' reaching number 2 and their third single 'Out of Mind, Out of Sight' reaching number 1 and was the only number 1 single on the Australian singles chart for 1985 by an Australian artist. 'Out of Mind, Out of Sight' gave Models a top 40 U.S. hit when the album hit American shores the following year. After releasing their fifth and final album 'Models Media' in 1986 which hit number 30 in Austrailia and produced three top 40 singles, Models called it a day.
From 1985's 'Out of Mind, Out of Sight' this is Model's biggest hit.

Written by James Freud. Produced by Reggie Lucas; remix produced by Mark Opitz. From the US album, “Out Of Mind Out Of Sight” Having formed in Melbourne, Aus...