Sunday, April 14, 2024

Flopcast 623: The New Wave Game Part 1 - We Can't Rewind

Kornflake is back, just in time for a new game! A new WAVE game, specifically! Thirty years ago, Rhino Records released a fifteen volume series of CDs called Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80s. We're looking at the first three of these fantastic compilation albums, and attempting to guess each other's favorite songs. There are some genuine classics (from The Buggles, The Knack, Blondie, Devo, and Squeeze), some bizarro oddities (like "Warm Leatherette" and "Too Young to Date"), a Tim Curry dance number, a surprise Monkees cover, and lots more super-fun but long-forgotten obscurities. (Any other fans of Martha & The Muffins out there?) Who shall emerge victorious from this deep dive into the craziest music of the early 80s? Squish into your old Ultravox t-shirt and join us.

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Show Notes

Birthday boy Dave Edmunds figures in a great episode of the Hit Parade podcast that lays the groundwork for what we're talking about this week!

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If you want to soak in the New Wave Hits we're talking about, bookmark this YouTube playlist that streams all 15 volumes! All the tracklists can be found on Wikipedia.

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Kevin's Picks:

Vol. 1

• Winner: The Buggles, Video Killed the Radio Star
• Runner Up: Nick Lowe, Cruel to be Kind
• Runner Up: Graham Parker, Local Girls

Vol. 2

• Winner: Martha & the Muffins, Echo Beach
• Runner Up: Fischer-Z, So Long
• Runner Up: Joy Division, Love Will Tear Us Apart

Vol. 3

• Winner: Gary Numan, Cars
• Runner Up: Squeeze, Tempted
• Runner Up: The Nails, 88 Lines About 44 Women

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Kornflake's Picks:

Vol. 1

• Winner: Plastic Bertrand, Ça Plane pour Moi
• Runner Up: Dave Edmunds, Girls Talk
• Runner Up: Tim Curry, I Do the Rock

Vol. 2

• Winner: Boomtown Rats, I Don't Like Mondays
• Runner Up: Devo, Whip It
• Runner Up: Tonio K, The Funky Western Civilization

Vol. 3

• Winner: The Humans, I Live in the City
• Runner Up: XTC, Making Plans for Nigel
• Runner Up: The Romantics, What I Like About You

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The Mayor's Favorites:

• Vol 1: Nick Lowe, Cruel to be Kind
• Vol 2: Martha & the Muffins, Echo Beach
• Vol 3: Squeeze, Tempted