NEW WAVE
VA - CBGB & OMFUG - A New York City Soundtrack 1975-1986 (4 x CDs)
This four‑disc set maps the pulse of a city that changed music forever. CBGB & OMFUG: A New York City Soundtrack 1975–1986 is not just a compilation; it’s a living record of how punk, art rock and new wave grew from cramped stages and restless nights into a movement that reshaped popular culture. The collection moves through the club’s defining years with clarity, tracing the sound of rebellion, invention and survival that echoed through the Bowery.
The first disc captures the early spark, the raw, fast, unfiltered energy of bands like Television, The Ramones and Patti Smith Group. These tracks still feel electric, shaped by the urgency of musicians who were inventing their own language. The second disc widens the frame, bringing in Talking Heads, Blondie and Richard Hell, artists who turned punk’s rough edges into artful rhythm and downtown cool. The sequencing feels deliberate, showing how CBGB’s stage became a testing ground for ideas that would ripple far beyond New York.
By the third disc, the sound shifts toward post‑punk and art‑pop, with The Feelies, Bush Tetras and Sonic Youth pushing texture and tone into new territory. The recordings carry the grit of rehearsal rooms and small studios, yet the ambition is unmistakable, a generation finding beauty in distortion and repetition. The final disc closes the circle with live cuts and later‑era performances that remind listeners how the club’s spirit endured even as the city changed around it.
Across all four discs, the box set captures the atmosphere of CBGB itself: the smell of beer and paint, the low ceiling, the sense that anything could happen. It’s a portrait of a scene built on risk and imagination, where musicians played not for fame but for the thrill of discovery. The sound remains timeless, restless, inventive, and unmistakably New York.
For collectors and listeners alike, this set stands as both document and celebration: a reminder that great music often begins in small rooms, with nothing but conviction and noise. (B)
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Track lists
CD1
01 Dictators - (I Live For) Cars and Girls 3:57
02 Harlots of 42nd Street - S&M (I Can’t Live Without You) 3:52
03 Magic Tramps - S&M-Leather Queen 4:38
04 Patti Smith - Free Money 3:48
05 Brats - Be A Man 2:51
06 City Lights - Travelin’ Man 3:50
07 Hounds - Call Me 3:13
08 Erasers - It Was So Funny (That Song That They Sung) 3:38
09 Ramones - Beat on The Brat 2:31
10 Stuart’s Hammer - Everybody’s Depraved (Live at CBGB) 3:20
11 Planets - Come on Up 3:02
12 Milk ‘N’ Cookies - Not Enough Girls (In The World) 3:31
13 Just Water - They Live By Night 4:32
14 Television - See No Evil 3:50
15 Mumps - Crocodile Tears 2:07
16 Heartbreakers - Born to Lose 3:04
17 Testors - You Don’t Break My Heart 2:41
18 Dead Boys - Ain’t Nothing to Do 2:25
19 Senders - You Really Piss Me Off 2:37
20 Electric Chairs - Fuck Off 3:06
21 Marbles - Forgive and Forget 2:48
22 Cherry Vanilla - Hard as A Rock 2:31
23 Tuff Darts - Fun City 2:55
24 Talking Heads - A Clean Break (Let's Work) (Live) 4:53
CD2
01 Suicide - Ghost Rider 2:33
02 Pure Hell - I Feel Bad 2:30
03 Helen Wheels - Room to Rage 3:55
04 Blondie - Picture This 2:56
05 Mars - Helen Forsdale 2:30
06 Come On - Don’t Walk on The Kitchen Floor 2:15
07 Mink Deville - “A” Train Lady 3:22
08 Heat - Instant Love 3:34
09 Genya Ravan - Aye Co'lorado 2:59
10 Theoretical Girls - Lovin’ in The Red 2:16
11 Richard Hell & The Voidoids - The Kid With The Replaceable Head 2:20
12 Stillettos - Pink Stillettos 2:08
13 Paley Brothers - Baby, Let’s Stick Together 2:56
14 Neon Leon - Rock 'n’ Roll is Alive 2:51
15 Revelons - The Way (You Touch My Hand) 3:06
16 New York Niggers - Just Like Dresden '45 3:19
17 L.O.K. - Fun House 3:03
18 Material - O.A.O. 4:47
19 Laughing Dogs - I Need A Million 3:10
20 Shrapnel - Combat Love 2:16
21 Peroxide - Heart Disease 2:25
22 Student Teachers - Christmas Weather 2:48
23 Tom Verlaine - Breakin’ in My Heart 6:08
24 Richard Lloyd - Number Nine 2:52
25 James Chance & The Contortions - Jailhouse Rock (Live at CBGB 1978) 3:22
CD3
01 Cramps - Garbage Man 3:36
02 Dots - I Don’t Wanna Dance (With You) 1:44
03 Miamis - We Deliver 2:04
04 Model Citizens - Shift The Blame 1:45
05 dB’s - Black and White 3:08
06 Rattlers - On The Beach 3:01
07 Love of Life Orchestra - The Revolution is Personal 5:04
08 Urban Verbs - Next Question 5:46
09 Sylvain Sylvain - Teenage News 3:10
10 Stimulators - Loud Fast Rules 3:08
11 Tot Rocket and The Twins - Reduced 2:41
12 Bongos - Telephoto Lens 2:03
13 Outsets - I’m Searchin' for You 2:46
14 Sorrows - Teenage Heartbreak 2:40
15 Lounge Lizards - Do The Wrong Thing 2:39
16 Nervus Rex - There She Goes 2:46
17 Cosmopolitans - Wild Moose Party 2:09
18 Polyrock - Your Dragging Feet 4:59
19 Lenny Kaye with The Lone Wolves - Child Bride 3:20
20 R.L. Crutchfield’s Dark Day - Arp’s Carpet 3:08
21 Colors - Jealousy 2:54
22 TV Toy - (Don’t Blame it on The) Weekend 2:47
23 DNA - Blonde Red Head 1:50
24 Rudies - Sherri Goodbye 2:52
25 Raybeats - Tight Turn 3:55
26 Phosphenes - Asexual 3:00
27 Minor Threat - Straight Edge 0:47
CD4
01 Bush Tetras - Things That Go BOOM in The Night 4:25
02 Human Switchboard - (Say No To) Saturday's Girl 3:50
03 Disturbed Furniture - Information 3:08
04 Necessaries - Back to You 4:05
05 Chemicals Made From Dirt - Oriental Television 2:06
06 China Shop - If It's New 4:06
07 James Blood Ulmer - Open House 5:20
08 Nihilistics - You’re to Blame 1:06
09 Beastie Boys - Egg Raid on Mojo 1:20
10 Individuals - My Three Sons (Revolve Around The Earth) 3:19
11 Rhys Chatham - Drastic Classicism (edit) 3:46
12 Unknown Gender - Boys/Girls (Radio) 2:50
13 Khmer Rouge - Hinterland 3:50
14 Bad Brains - Banned in D.C. 2:09
15 Heart Attack - English Cunts 1:20
16 Outpatients - Fight 2:12
17 Vatican Commandos - Housewives on Valium 1:36
18 Sonic Youth - The World Looks Red 2:40
19 Jeff & Jane Hudson - Operating Instruction 4:37
20 Glorious Strangers - Deception 3:20
21 Nona Hendryx - Transformation 5:31
22 Reagan Youth - No Class 1:34
23 Rat at Rat R - Assassin 3:54
24 Ritual Tension - Social Climber 3:04
25 Ordinaires - Grace 4:30
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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This really is a fantastic set; I listen to it surprisingly often. Hope lotsa folx check it out.
ReplyDeleteHi Eric S.,
DeleteThat’s great to hear, when a set from this era becomes a regular listen, it means the atmosphere and the sequencing are doing their job. There’s something endlessly magnetic about those years, the clubs, the noise, the attitude, and the way all those scenes overlapped without ever losing their edge.
I hope others dive in as well, it’s a collection that rewards repeat visits and keeps revealing little sparks each time.
Cheers.
Usually I have a lot of comments. Surprisingly, this is a damn good compilation, swinging between art and pop, commerce and extravaganza. The only stain, or perhaps lack of stain, is the omission of Jesus Christ himself: GG Allin
ReplyDeleteHi Richard,
DeleteThat one way to frame it, that swing between art and pop, commerce and sheer extravagance is exactly what made the CBGB orbit so compelling. The scene never sat still, never chose one lane, and the compilation reflects that restless mix.
As for the omission… GG Allin is certainly a presence, but he’s also a gravitational force of his own, and the focus here was on the broader sonic and cultural arc of the club rather than its most extreme outliers. Sometimes leaving the “stain” out keeps the narrative clearer.
Glad the set still hit you as a damn good one.
Cheers.
Stunning in it's width and breadth. Thanks for the posting.
ReplyDeleteHi Fieldhippie,
DeleteThank you. The width and breadth of this era really are stunning once you gather it all together, the art‑school edges, the raw club energy, the pop instincts sneaking in, and all those bands shaping themselves in real time. The material is alive.
Glad it resonated so strongly for you.
Cheers.
Hi BB. A scene quite well known by most rock lovers, but thanks for all the lil unknowns here and there. Have a great day, dude.
ReplyDeleteHi Aitor,
DeleteYou’re right, most rock lovers know the broad outlines of this scene, but the real pleasure is always in the corners, the oddities, the names that didn’t travel as far as they deserved. Those little unknowns help sketch the full shape of the era, and they give the compilation its spark.
Glad they stood out for you.
Cheers.
Thanks BB for another great post. I'm not sure if you're interested in reposting comps that are available elsewhere on line, but a lot of people are unaware of how much good music is available on archive.org. For example, this collection of biker soundtrack songs https://archive.org/details/tdats-109-savage-angels-ride-with-the-devil-09.-mad-dog-the-fast-song-military-disgust-1969. I can suggest others if you're interested.
ReplyDeleteHi Max,
DeleteThanks for the kind words. And yes, archive.org is a goldmine that far too many listeners overlook. There’s a huge amount of great music tucked away there, from oddball soundtrack sets to long‑lost regional scenes and fan‑built anthologies that would vanish otherwise. That biker soundtrack collection you linked is a perfect example, raw, niche, and full of character. I’m always happy to hear about interesting finds, so feel free to suggest others. I can’t repost everything, but I’m definitely open to exploring and highlighting gems that fit the spirit of the blog.
Cheers.