The Twelve Inch 159 : Dirty Back Road : New Wave/Post-Disco /Synth-Pop - 1981

I kick things off by diving into the danceable New Wave sounds of the early eighties, starting with “Dirty Back Road,” followed by the brilliant Talking Heads track “Life During Wartime” and Rheingold’s “Dreiklangsdimensionen.” The first half-hour is a lively mix of American and European influences.

Special shoutout to the incredible production work of Martin Rushent. I’ve highlighted three standout examples of his touch in this week’s mix: Altered Images’ “I Could Be Happy,” The Members’ “Chairman Of The Dub,” and the dub version of Pete Shelley’s “Homosapien.” His dub mixes, in particular, had a major impact on the evolution of dance music during this era. I’ll definitely be zooming in on that in a future episode.

For the last half-hour, we move into tracks by artists who blended key elements of disco into their sound to create irresistibly danceable songs — with Roxy Music’s “Angeleyes” and Blondie’s “Atomic” standing out as perfect examples.

Enjoy!