Natural's Not in and Show #115

The Gang of Four were formed by a bunch of university kids in 1977 and came from Leeds. The group consisted of four members, Jon King on vocals, Andy Gill on guitar, Dave Allen on bass,and hugo burnham on drums. The groups sound was associated with punk and new wave. The band used odd musical stylings with rampid political messages. The group used heavy distortion on and basslines along with Kings jumpy vocal style to create something very different. Several Eps and albums were released by the group the most notably was their first two albums Entertainment! and Solid Gold. After those albums and a few Ep's the group started to change their sound and went in more of a funk, dance, and dub direction. They were definitely different, they were a post-punk band that would influence many more in the long run. In 2004, the Gang of Four reunited and in 2005 made an album of re-recorded songs titled Return The Gift.

Their sound influenced many bands such as Rage Against The Machine and Nirvana. Both these bands have stated that Gang of Four was an influence on them. If you listen to Entertainment! and then some Rage Against The Machine songs, you can hear the influence. With the rise of the group Franz Ferdinand in 2004, it was obvious that they were influenced by the group immensely. They sound very similar to Gang of Four, and definitely are the modern version of them. The Song played on tonight's show was "Natural's Not In" from the album Entertainment!, which is in my opinion their best effort. The album originally contained 12 songs, but was re-released in 2006 with bonus tracks and the Yellow EP all on the same disc. If you liked song played on this weeks show, you should definitely pick up this Rhino re-release of the album.

Here's what was played on this weeks show:

1. Gang of Four – natural’s not in
2. Generation X – girls
3. The Police – a sermon
4. MC5 – looking at you
5. Sex Pistols – no fun (stooges cover)
6. Teenage Head – picture my face
7. Young Canadians – data redux
8. Ramones – needles & pins
9. Ramones – I’m against it
10. Modernettes – celebrity crack up
11. Pointed Sticks – what do you want me to do?
12. The Saints – champagne misery
13. Buzzcocks – why can’t I touch it?
14. Buzzcocks – run away from home (a different kind of tension outtake)
15. The Diodes – teenage nation
16. Wire – too late
17. The Clash – the call up
18. The Clash – Washington bullets
19. The Stems – she’s a monster
20. Iggy Pop – nightclubbing
21. Devo – uncontrollable urge
22. Rage Against The Machine – bombtrack (swing version)
23. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - clean money
24. The Strokes (w/ed vedder/josh homme)– mercy mercy me (Marvin Gaye Cover)
25. The Strokes - ize of the world
26. The Hives - two-timing touch and broken bones