In 1979 there was a whole hell of a lot more going on than just the mod revival. You all know the mod revival inside and out I'm sure. Trom The Jam to the Purple Hearts, the Small Hours, The Aces, to Mods Mayday '79, and of course the release of Quadrophenia. All good stuff. And all been done to death. Heck, I did a big mod revival show a few years ago as part of my Mod Essentials series. It's a good show. As I said, a whole hell of lot of other things were happening in music. Like 1966 and 1994, 1979 was just one of those iconic watershed music years. So on this week's modcast I'm going to explore some of the other things happening at the same time the mod revival was in full bloom. Listen Now
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Elvis Costello -- Moods For Moderns
Joe Jackson -- One More Time
The Vapors -- Waiting For The Weekend
Squeeze -- Cool For Cats
XTC -- Making Plans For Nigel
The Cure -- Jumping Someone Else's Train
Patrick Fitzgerald -- Improve Myself
B-52s -- Private Idaho
Oingo Boing -- Only A Lad
The Plimsouls -- Zero Hour
The Knack -- That's What The Little Girls Do
The Ramones -- Rock'n'Roll High School
The Dickies -- You Drive Me Ape
Weirdos -- Happy People
Madness -- In The Middle Of The Night
The Specials -- Too Much Too Young
The Beat -- Mirror In The Bathroom
The Undertones -- You've Got My Number
The Dickies do Basket Case on CPO Sharkey
Blondie -- Dreaming (Live on Midnight Special 1979)
NEW WAVE "20/20" video piece (1979)
This week on the modcast it's all acoustic tracks -- raw, stripped down, just the bare bones. I love how acoustic versions of songs can so drastically change a song. Sometimes that stripped down, raw sort of thing is just more pure. Sometimes it makes the song heavier, sometimes lighter and softer. Either way it really does give you something fresh and new. The way so many albums are overproduced these days, for me it's a real treat when an artist does the acoustic thing. It's one reason that MTV's Unplugged series was so incredibly popular. I remember reading that Nirvana's Unplugged album was one of the band's best selling recordings. Acoustical tracks aren't all I want to hear, but I do enjoy the occasional vocal and guitar alone and it certainly can make the songs have a more powerful impact.
With the US, UK, Italy and Australia out of the World Cup now, there's no excuse for the countries that support Mr. Suave most to not be listening to this week's modcast. I've got almost as many new songs as Tim Howard had saves! From floor filling soul tracks to guitar driven power pop, this modcast can't be beat in regulation time. That's right this week's show is crammed full of new music from the likes Paul Weller, The Ace, The Blue Dawns, Fuzzy Vox, Paul Orwell, Smoove & Turrel and of course the ubiquitous more.
In the summer of 1982 I met my first real bonafide mods -- surfers every one of them. They were from Huntington Beach and during the day dressed like most surf kids, long board shorts and maybe a shirt. In the evenings and on weekends though they were decked out in much finer attire like three-button suits, Fred Perry polos, paisley shirts, pegged pants and pork pie hats. They were just a bit older, seemed much cooler, and certainly dated more girls than I did. I was smitten by the whole look and style. Ever since then I've had a soft spot for sun, sand and surf.
Can you hear me now? Good. No busy signals, no call waiting, and no dropped calls on this week's modcast. It's telephone time in the mod mod world, and I've got the best hold music you've ever heard so stay on the line for some great telephone songs. 
Welcome to Mr. Suave's Mod Mod World. This week's show is brought to you by the letter Y as in Y chromosome. It's mod men week on the modcast. I've collected songs from mod men, some with undeniable mod street cred like Ray Davies, Steve Marriot, or Paul Weller, and to others like Mose Allison and Paul Heaton who I will go to my grave arguing are every bit the mod as any other man. Regardless of all that, you can't argue with the songs. It's another great mix, if I do say so myself.
