New Order: Power, Corruption and Lies

In '81 we moved to North Carolina and suddenly had access to college radio. At this point, cassettes are in play, and I had a Walkman. I had a subscription to Rolling Stone, and I remember reading a review of Power, Corruption and Lies and thinking that it sounded like something I might like. But then I got it and was like, "This is not what I thought it was gonna be." I thought it would be more punky, maybe just from the album’s name. But I kept listening. It was the weirdest record I had ever bought at the time, and there was something about it that was compelling, and I knew that it was considered cool. It’s kind of dark and angry in some ways, and the guitar playing sounds very human compared to the drum machines and everything. Now it’s one of my top five records of all time.

That same year I saw U2, who played the first date of their War Tour in Chapel Hill at the local football stadium. The lineup was this band called the Producers—do you remember "She Sheila"—and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, and Todd Rundgren, who had a hit with "Bang the Drum All Day" at the time, and U2. People were fanatical about U2 already. There was definitely a "I'm seeing this band for the first time" feeling to that show.

Simultaneously, while U2 and Talking Heads were on MTV, [North Carolina bands] Let's Active and Corrosion of Conformity were putting out their first records. I realized that I could stand in line and get tickets to see Talking Heads, or I could go to a free hardcore show and see local punk rock bands.