Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground

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Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground
Left Of The Dial.jpg
Compilation album by
various artists
ReleasedOctober 5, 2004
Genre Alternative rock
Label Rhino
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 85/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly A− [4]
Pitchfork 8.3/10 [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Stylus Magazine A [7]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]

Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground is a four-disc alternative rock compilation album released by Rhino Records in 2004. Chris Dahlen of Pitchfork notes that "the mandate of Left of the Dial — to showcase anything that fit on college radio in the 80s — means you'll find everything from punk and post-punk to synth-pop and dream-pop". [5] The term "left of the dial", taken from a Replacements song (that does not appear in this collection), refers to the college and other non-commercial FM radio stations in the U.S., with frequencies typically in the reserved band on the left (i.e., lower) end of the FM broadcast band of the radio spectrum. [9]

Contents

Track listing

Disc one
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Radio Free Europe" R.E.M. 4:06
2."Going Underground" The Jam 2:56
3."A Forest" The Cure 4:55
4."Holiday in Cambodia" Dead Kennedys 4:39
5."I'm in Love with a German Film Star" The Passions 4:01
6."I Will Dare" The Replacements 3:19
7."That's When I Reach for My Revolver" Mission of Burma 3:53
8."Johnny Hit and Run Paulene" X 2:50
9."Just Like Honey" The Jesus and Mary Chain 3:02
10."Black Celebration" Depeche Mode 4:53
11."Tell Me When It's Over" The Dream Syndicate 3:33
12."Hollywood (Africa)" Red Hot Chili Peppers 5:03
13."Temptation" New Order 5:44
14."Ghosts" Japan 4:32
15."A Song from Under the Floorboards" Magazine 4:11
16."Oblivious" Aztec Camera 3:12
17."Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" Hüsker Dü 3:32
18."Rise Above" Black Flag 2:26
19."Back in Flesh" Wall of Voodoo 3:43
20."Cattle and Cane" The Go-Betweens 4:01
Disc two
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Message of Love" The Pretenders 3:26
2."Vienna" Ultravox 4:40
3."Freak Scene" Dinosaur Jr. 3:37
4."This Charming Man" The Smiths 2:44
5."Stigmata" Ministry 5:45
6."Ways to Be Wicked" Lone Justice 3:26
7."Wardance" Killing Joke 3:47
8."Enola Gay" Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 3:32
9."Mirror in the Bathroom" The English Beat 3:08
10."Fairytale in the Supermarket" The Raincoats 3:00
11."Behind the Wall of Sleep" The Smithereens 3:24
12."Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing" Minutemen 1:32
13."Punk Rock Girl" The Dead Milkmen 2:39
14."Still in Hollywood" Concrete Blonde 3:45
15."Love Will Tear Us Apart" Joy Division 3:27
16."Blister in the Sun" Violent Femmes 2:26
17."Lake of Fire" Meat Puppets 2:00
18."Amplifier" The dB's 3:08
19."When Love Breaks Down" Prefab Sprout 3:46
20."Goo Goo Muck" The Cramps 3:07
21."This Corrosion" The Sisters of Mercy 4:29
22."Senses Working Overtime" XTC 4:36
Disc three
No.TitleArtistLength
1."The Cutter" Echo & the Bunnymen 3:55
2."Pay to Cum" Bad Brains 1:28
3."Birthday" The Sugarcubes 3:59
4."Madonna of the Wasps" Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians 3:07
5."We Care a Lot" Faith No More 4:05
6."Teen Age Riot" Sonic Youth 6:58
7."To Hell with Poverty" Gang of Four 3:28
8."Fa Cé-La" The Feelies 2:03
9."Ana Ng" They Might Be Giants 3:21
10."Swamp Thing" The Chameleons UK 6:00
11."The Mercy Seat" Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 5:12
12."I Look Around" Rain Parade 3:07
13."All That Money Wants" The Psychedelic Furs 3:52
14."Under the Milky Way" The Church 4:59
15."Rise" Public Image Ltd. 6:08
16."Kundalini Express" Love and Rockets 5:51
17."Gravity Talks" Green on Red 2:34
18."Adrenalin" Throbbing Gristle 3:58
19."She Bangs the Drums" The Stone Roses 3:45
Disc four
No.TitleArtistLength
1."Monkey Gone to Heaven" Pixies 2:56
2."Uncertain Smile" The The 4:54
3."Bela Lugosi's Dead" Bauhaus 9:34
4."Christine" Siouxsie and the Banshees 2:59
5."Straight Edge" Minor Threat 0:46
6."Help You Ann" Lyres 2:30
7."Our Secret" Beat Happening 2:48
8."Jane Says" Jane's Addiction 4:53
9."World Shut Your Mouth" Julian Cope 3:34
10."Running Up That Hill" Kate Bush 5:00
11."Sex Beat" The Gun Club 2:48
12."Take the Skinheads Bowling" Camper Van Beethoven 2:30
13."Institutionalized" Suicidal Tendencies 3:49
14."Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" Cocteau Twins 4:11
15."24 Hour Party People" Happy Mondays 4:38
16."I Want You Back" Hoodoo Gurus 3:11
17."Suburban Home" Descendents 1:42
18."A Pair of Brown Eyes" The Pogues 4:53
19."Jet Fighter" The Three O'Clock 3:27
20."Moving to Florida" Butthole Surfers 4:31
21."A New England" Billy Bragg 2:13

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References

  1. "Reviews for Left Of The Dial: Dispatches From The '80s Underground by Various Artists". Metacritic . Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  2. Unterberger, Richie. "Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground – Various Artists". AllMusic . Retrieved February 4, 2010.
  3. Powers, Ann. "Various Artists: Left of the Dial: Dispatches the 80's Underground". Blender . Archived from the original on December 10, 2004. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  4. Weingarten, Marc (October 29, 2004). "Left of the Dial: Dispatches From the '80s Underground". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Dahlen, Chris (October 19, 2004). "Various Artists: Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the 80s Underground". Pitchfork . Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  6. Wolk, Douglas (October 28, 2004). "Various Artists: Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground". Rolling Stone : 104.
  7. Unterberger, Andrew (October 19, 2004). "Various Artists – Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the Underground – Review". Stylus Magazine . Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  8. "Various Artists: Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground". Uncut (93): 94. February 2005.
  9. "Left of the Dial". KCRU.org. 2018. Retrieved 2021-10-05. Left of the Dial takes its name from the Replacements song of the same name, and is a reference to the position of the radio dial on which non-commercial radio stations are typically located.