This cassette (and yes, I mean cassette) was utterly, utterly seminal, perhaps even more so than its sister release, the c86 cassette, also compiled by NME, in summing up the music and mood of an era. In his book Rip It Up And Start Again, Simon Reynolds calles it ‘Post-Punk’s Swan Song.’ Over the course of the next twelve months, the post-punk landscape continued to shift, change and develop into what became known as ‘New Pop’. On the one hand New Pop gave us the Human League, ABC, Depeche Mode, and incorporated a few of the acts on this tape (Scritti Politti, Wah!), but it also gave us acts that ruined classic songs, had big haircuts and egos, and still inspire people to go on about how much the eighties was good for cheese. Lord save us from those who buy into the ‘so rubbish it’s good’ myth.

Anyway, for more on this tape check out these entries at Indie-mp3 and at Wikipedia. In fact, if you like great music make sure you check out indie mp3 anyway for proper indie music.

Side One
1. The “Sweetest Girl”” – Scritti Politti
2. “Twist and Crawl Dub” – The Beat
3. “Misery Goats” – Pere Ubu
4. “7,000 Names of Wah!” – Wah! Heat
5. “Blue Boy” – Orange Juice
6. “Raising the Count” – Cabaret Voltaire
7. “Kebab Traume Live” – D.A.F
8. “Bare Pork” – Furious Pig
9. “Raquel” – The Specials
10. “I Look Alone” – Buzzcocks
11. “Fanfare in the Garden” – Essential Logic
12. “Born Again Cretin” – Robert Wyatt

Side Two

1. “Shouting Out Loud” – The Raincoats
2. “Endless Soul” – Josef K
3. “Low Profile” – Blue Orchids
4. “Red Nettle” – Virgin Prunes
5. “We Could Send Letters” – Aztec Camera
6. “Milkmaid” – Red Crayola
7. “Don’t Get in My Way” – Linx
8. “The Day My Pad Went Mad” – The Massed Carnaby St John Cooper Clarkes
9. “Jazz Is the Teacher, Funk Is the Preacher” – James Blood Ulmer
10. “Close to Home” – Ian Dury
11. “Greener Grass” – Gist
12. “Parallel Lines” – Subway Sect
13. “81 Minutes” – John Cooper Clarke

Enjoy folks!