Manic Pop Thrill

Yes, yes, it's been nearly forever since I last posted. Blame it on Mark E. Smith. I've spent the last two weeks wading through the nearly 100 tracks of the Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004, an extensive boxed set recently released by The Fall. It’s highly doubtful that anyone but the most rabid enthusiast has listened to all six cds--more likely, each Fall zealot only has the time and interest to concentrate on their favorite era. Me, I’m a devotee for the ages: the early difficult and abrasive years, the melodic pop-oriented undertakings of the Brix years, the post-Brix efforts written in between rambling alcoholic brawls, the current century where Smith is more involved in toying with his false teeth than actually entertaining the masses, etc, etc. Here’s a number of tracks, (Industrial Estate, Who Makes The Nazis?, Cruiser's Creek, The War Against Intelligence, Hey! Student, Touch Sensitive) from pretty much every interval of this long-standing band's career, so you can pick your own personal favorite, all of them preserved for future generations thanks to our Lord and Savior in the Church of The Manic Pop Thrill, John Peel. You can buy this essential part of music history at Amazon.