THIS GUY RIPPED

You may have heard, Andy Gill passed away today. He was a founding member and guitarist for Gang of Four. You might have to be old enough to have been through the late seventies punk rock era to really appreciate how groundbreaking the Gang of Four were. When their first LP was released, punk rock had had its moment, but was definitely still around. Black Flag's first LP was still a year away. But Gang of Four forged their own path. Grating guitar, heavy drums, deep bass; jerky, funky and abrasive. "Every part of it had to be radical. It was building musical tension in a precise way," is how Gill put it (NY Times, 2005). When I think of post-punk, I think of musicians who retained the mentality that punk rock instilled, but moved on musically. Listen to the first few songs below and imagine hearing them in 1979. What the hell do you compare that too? Nada. Bam! New genre.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Gang of Four - Ether mp3 at Tumblr 1979
Gang of Four - Natural's Not In It mp3 at Tumblr 1979
Gang of Four - Not Great Men mp3 at AVC 1979
Gang of Four - Damage Goods mp3 at Boebis 1979
Gang of Four - Return the Gift mp3 at Tumblr 1979
Gang of Four - Guns Before Butter mp3 at Tumblr 1979
Gang of Four - He'd Send the Army mp3 at Tumblr 1981
Gang of Four - Is This Love mp3 at Internet Archive 1983