
In something of a first for the normally insular MPT, I’ve contributed to Sweeping the Nation’s Muxtape project, which is intended to provide a mixtape for every year of rock’n’roll.
1986 seemed an appropriate year for me to pick not just because it was a good year but also because this blog’s title originates from that year as well.
Inevitably trimming back a year into 12 tracks was extremely difficult but researching the year proved easier than I’d anticipated. Instead of having to leaf through my LP and 7” collections I was able to refer to a compilation tape of 1986 tunes. Even though it was only actually ¾ of a tape (I clearly never got round to finishing it!) it was a very useful reminder of what I liked back then.
Regular readers of MPT will see a lot of familiar names featured in my selection – The Triffids, REM, Sonic Youth, Throwing Muses etc and a lot of that was down to the fact that ’86 was the first year that I really got into the alternative American rock scene of the time.
However I think that the obvious choices are balanced by a number of poppier, less obvious moments as well such as Colourbox and the Woodentops.
Here are a number of songs which didn’t make my final selection:
Goodbye Mr Mackenzie – The Rattler [Buy it] [Download it]
The Adult Net – White Night (Stars Say Go)
Big Black – Bad Houses (from ‘Atomizer) [Buy it]
The GMM track would have made the cut but for the fact that there’s an unpleasant scratch on a chunk of this. For which, apologies.
The Adult Net were Brix E Smith’s solo project at a time when the Fall were heading in a more accessible direction. I never got the LP (probably because I wasn’t so keen on single 2) but this one still sounds fine. The one current Adult Net CD release for some reason doesn’t feature this single but a lot of the other contemporary stuff. Get it here.
Changing mood entirely, ‘Bad Houses’ was the track I plumped for on my original ’86 cassette compilation and whilst I overlooked it for the Muxtape there is another track from the LP to be sampled there.
As ever, if you like the songs, support the artists.
Anyone interested in contributing to the project should check it out – there are still plenty of years left to be taken.




