things and time will tell.

The Raincoats – Running Away / No One's Little Girl Rough Trade – RT093 Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single, UK, Jul 1982 info By 1982, punk had helped opened doors for things that would be much more interesting than four white guys making rock and roll fast again. I guess that's part of the story: punk never was all white, definitely not just for boys, and (after that initial burst onto the scene anyway) wasn't always even very rock and roll. Cue the Raincoats. All women (except when they weren't quite), punk-ish... but less so with each recording. Violins, melodies, feminist, art, reggae and more were thrown in the mix leaving a short string of records that I think are among of the best arguments that some wonderful things came out of punk rock for those who might be skeptical. The Raincoats had already pounded out two albums in about 2 years' time when this single came out. The band shows off a new level of confidence and... funkiness? One side features their take on ...

A Keith LeBlanc and Adrian Sherwood production from 1984, paying tribute to the massive Miners Strike then taking place in the UK. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is probably the greatest pro-union, electro hip-hop single of all time. (I dream of a world where it would have more competition!) The Enemy Within - Support The Miners Rough Trade - RTT 151 Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, UK, 1984 More info on Discogs Tracklist A        Strike B        Strike (General Mix) Keith LeBlanc is an American drummer, probably best known for his 1983  No Sell Out  single, released by a still new Tommy Boy Records. The record was credited to Malcolm X, whose  cut up speeches were set over a LeBlanc produced beat . Although claims that it was the first record to use "sampling" or the first to use a DMX drum machine are laying it on a bit too thick,  No Sell Out  is rightly celebrated as a key moment in hi...