Mark Cook

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Orange Juice made being slightly awkward sound remarkably cool. Quite an achievement when most bands were busy looking dangerous.

PLAYING IN THE HOUSE / 15
Orange Juice · Rip It Up (1982)
Track: Rip It Up

#OrangeJuice #EdwynCollins

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

@SilverFoxAppar First listen today. Already wondering where the hell I’ve been

[Silver Fox Apparel (SFA) @SilverFoxAppar]

Punk’s a broad church. Some people spend far too long guarding the door.

Today’s SFA Listening Post: Big Joanie.

Start with “Fall Asleep” from Sistahs (2018). London DIY roots. Black feminist conviction. A worthwhile next stop after Au Pairs.

#BigJoanie

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Punk gave people permission to be themselves. Then developed a dress code.

Thankfully, there was Poly Styrene.

PLAYING IN THE HOUSE / 14
X-Ray Spex · Germfree Adolescents
Track: Identity

Who made punk more interesting for you?

#XRaySpex #PolyStyrene

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

NOW PLAYING // 13

Gang of Four. Entertainment! (1979).

Nearly half a century old and still sounds like it’s challenging everything around it.

Damaged Goods on loud while I work through today’s never-ending list.

Some records age. Others refuse to.

What’s yours?

#NowPlaying

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Making T-shirts. Amyl and the Sniffers on. Volume apparently still a household decision.

Today’s album: Comfort to Me.

I’ve neglected Australian punk for far too long. Working on that, and the shirts.

What album gets you through a pile of work?

#NowPlaying

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Today’s record: Stiff Little Fingers. Inflammable Material (1979).

47 years old. Still angry. Still relevant.

Here’s your challenge.

ONE punk album. Every track. No skips.

What’s your pick?

And don’t give me a greatest hits. That’s cheating.

#PunkRock #StiffLittleFingers

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Day 10. The Damned on. Quiet evening cancelled.

One song to get someone into punk? I’m going with New Rose.

What’s yours? Artist and title. I’ll put it on.

Volume remains a household negotiation.

#TheDamned #PunkRock

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Day 9.

Grace Jones has entered the building.

Everything else now looks underdressed.

NIGHTCLUBBING
Playing: Pull Up to the Bumper

What record makes standing still impossible?

#GraceJones #NowPlaying

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Day 8. The algorithm remains unmoved.

I’ve put The Associates on anyway.

SULK / 1982
Track: Party Fears Two

Pop music in its best clothes, three drinks in and convinced subtlety is for cowards.

What record has no idea how to behave?

#NowPlaying

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

PLAYING IN THE HOUSE / 07

PREFAB SPROUT
STEVE McQUEEN / 1985

Perfect pop for people who don’t entirely trust perfect pop.

Tonight’s track: “Bonny”.

What are you playing tonight?

#PlayingInTheHouse #PrefabSprout

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Monday needs a record with a bit of fight in it.

Dexys Midnight Runners.
Searching for the Young Soul Rebels. 1980.

Tonight: There, There, My Dear.

Which ’80s album still sounds like nobody else?

Reply with one. I’ll spin one later this week.

#NowPlaying #VinylCommunity

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Sunday night in the house.

The Blue Nile. Hats. 1989.

Some records sound better after dark. This one sounds as though it was made there.

Tonight’s track: The Downtown Lights.

What’s your late-night record?

#NowPlaying #VinylCommunity

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Sunday in the house: The Style Council, Café Bleu.

A little jazz, a little soul and considerably better dressed than most Sunday mornings.

What’s your Sunday soundtrack?

#NowPlaying #TheStyleCouncil

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Playing in the house: Simple Minds, New Gold Dream.

Someone Somewhere in Summertime. A small escape from whatever the day’s been doing to your head.

Which ’80s album takes you somewhere else?

#NowPlaying #SimpleMinds

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Playing in the house: The The, Soul Mining.

Existential dread with tunes you can dance to. And that piano on Uncertain Smile deserves your full attention.

What’s your ’80s album that gets played all the way through?

#NowPlaying

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

Playing in the house: Nik Kershaw, Human Racing.

1984 getting another turn. The hair may be harder to recreate.

What’s your ’80s album that still gets played, rather than just remembered?

#NowPlaying

[Mark Cook @DashDecent]

@JohnfKennerolw Her Life