Post-Punk'd

Post-Punk'd - RobbL Monkey is vexed:Infinite Monkeys:

"Mitch over at Shot In The Dark picked up on Brad's post below about The Alarm's reunion on VH1. He refers to them as 'the third-best British band of the eighties'.

Okay, I'll bite. I think we can all agree that if The Alarm makes it up to #3 on your list, then U2 must hold the #1 spot. They have a symbiotic relationship in 'best-of' lists, and U2 ALWAYS maintains a spot at least two places above The Alarm. Given that premise, I'm going with Simple Minds in the #2 spot. The 'holy' Trinity of marginally Christian 80's Brits.

I will hedge with a side bet that Big Country works their way in there somewhere."

Fairly astute.

And the matter cries out for resolution, because:

Curse you, Mitch Berg! You always know how to suck me in! I was able to suppress the urge to dig up my 12" single of "The Deceiver" when Brad posted. I just kept reminding myself of the horrible stage banter in the middle of "Rescue Me" on that live album they did. Argh! ...But then you went and made a list. And you didn't reveal its contents. "

Indeed.

RobbL has made several astute observations:

• The Alarm truly were always doomed to sit on lists two notches below U2. Even when the Alarm was at the top of their game and U2 at the bottom, the Alarm in true Welsh fashion couldn't shake the jinx
• Simple Minds and Big Country are indeed on the short list for the #2 spot (And yet that would ignore both Cactus World News and Icicle Works).
• But why not Echo and the Bunnymen? Hah! Because their guitar player was dull dull dull!
• But why not the Smiths, with one of the the three coolest British guitarists of the eighties, Johnny Marr? (He being at #3, and Stuart Adamson being #1, and Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds #6) Hah. Because Morrisey made me pray for death.
• OK, forget Icicle Works. I was just being difficult.
• Dexy's Midnight Runners are right out.

So who was #2?

It would have been Simple Minds - had they ever done an entire album as cool as "Steeltown". But they didn't. So it's Big Country, by a slight nod.

I'll let you figure out who Brit guitarists #2, 4 and 5 are...

Posted by Mitch at January 6, 2004 07:05 AM