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1978: the year in seven inches
During the American television broadcast of the London Olympic games on NBC, a curious thing happened. During the segment celebrating 40 years of British music, they cut to an extended commercial break the moment “God Save The Queen” started. The broadcast then resumed at the very tail end of the song, where some executive decided it would be best to go right to Franki Goes To Hollywood, skipping from 1978 to 1984 like a fart in the wind. Now I’m not saying I expected some nod or some grand gesture, but I do think it’s important to point out that this era is glossed over time and time again by revisionists, censors and Mick Jagger. To me, it’s kind of disturbing the way they do this with such callousness and disregard. Although there is truth (at least a controlled version of it) in editing. If you watched the opening credits, they played a clip from the second chorus of “God Save The Queen” (right as the camera flew over the Thames), and if you listen closely you can here that they stopped the song right before Johnny spits out the line “Cause’ tourists are money!” So anyway – write your own playlists. Because you sure can’t trust some board of directors to do it, even when they are touting their own accomplishments. So here are 10 seven inches from 1978, some are American and some are from the UK, but all are essential.
Black Flag – Nervous Breakdown (SST)
The Undertones – Teenage Kicks (Good Vibrations)
Sham 69 – There’s Gonna Be A Borstal Break-Out (Polydor)
X – Adult Books (Dangerhouse)
Joy Division – An Ideal For Living (Enigma)
The Weirdos – We Got The Neutron Bomb (Dangerhouse)
Wipers – Better Off Dead (Trap)
The Bags – Survive (Dangerhouse)
The Germs – Lexicon Devil (Slash)
Fear – I Love Livin’ In The City (Criminal)
