With the implosion of the Sex Pistols came the death of Johnny Rotten, from his corpse rose the figure of John Lydon along with a new band, Public Image Limited.

With the aid of bassist Jah Wobble, guitarist Keith Levene (The Clash) and drummer Jim Walker (The Furies) a band was constructed who were capable of stretching further than within the limitations that punk presented.

After a debut release within a year of the Sex Pistols dissolution; “First Issue”, this was received with mixed reviews and it took a further album to open both critics and fans eyes which arrived on the 23rd-of November-1979 in the form of “Metal Box”.

It was here that Lydon’s vision of the Dub-Sound against electronic-experimentation in a punk framework came to fruition.
Here, Jah Wobble was key to the albums sound, the triple 12-inch set was a released as such due to that very bass sound and to provide the space on the vinyl to incorporate both the landscape and depth of drum and bass a more lavish release was conceived.

The songs themselves are unlike anything released at the time, the ten-minute opener; “Albatross”, an atmospheric showcase of where the band were heading with the strength of their musicianship;
“Slow motion, slow motion
Getting rid of the albatross
Sowing the seeds of discontent
I know you very well, you are unbearable”.

The ghost of the Sex Pistols crawls back to life on “Memories”, a break in the albums flow, showing that the album still retains roots in the genre while creating its own path.

A shot of organic-dub fires with “Poptones”, a twisting, turning-beast, easily Pil’s finest recorded moment, whereas the pain in Lydon’s voice during “Death Disco(Swan Lake)” is very real, there is both a menacing but vulnerable quality to his vocal delivery.
The recent death of his mother along with his friend earlier that year; Sid Viscous, comes out in a sublime, poignant dance of despair;
“Seeing in your eyes
Words can never say the way
Told me in your eyes
Final in a fade”.

The industrial aspect is very alive in “Careering”, a dark minimalism, which potentially builds with intensity only to fall down again as if a false promise is realized, whereas “No Birds” is a sonic, soaring guitar based number where Lydon punctuates his dreary lyrics all the whole Wobble guides all from the veering off course against Walkers drumming.

With the instrumental “Graveyard” a new wave prototype with cutting-guitar riffs against a steady beat as it rolls to a sudden halt and flows into “The Suit”, a creepy lyrical affair, a spite-bitten song, depressing and rambling words from Lydon and almost inaudible boogie piano riff. Still, though it does sound interesting and it brings us to an almost Captain Beefheart standard of arrangement.

The funky instrumental “Socialist” shows Jah Wobble in full-flight while surrounded by electronic-textures which tease but never fully form, as we break into “Chant” punk raises its head again, with a confusing-meshed vocal which loses the listener at times, “Metal Box” is at times hard work but ultimately worthwhile. In a huge contrast the beautiful and elegant new-age style of “Radio 4” closes out the album, from as if out of nowhere this piece of music arrived.

“Metal Box” stands as both highly influential and an anomaly in music which defies a categorization and so remains ambitious, stylish and would never be repeated by PiL, very little sounded or was ambitious at the time, while very little has had the same impact since.

Released On 23rd-November 1979, Six-Sides Played At 45rpm.

Metal Box - Original 1979 track List;

Albatross
Memories
Swan Lake
Poptones
Careering
No Birds
Graveyard
The Suit
Bad Baby
Socialist/Chant/Radio 4

[KB]

The Last Beat of My Heart by Siouxsie and the Banshees was released on 21st November 1988 by Polydor / Wonderland as the third and final single from the band's ninth studio album, Peepshow.

The song is a ballad with strings and accordion. Sioux's vocals addressed a lover who is leaving a relationship, as she asked for him to return to her. She declared her desire to be "close to you til the last beat of my heart".

"The Last Beat of My Heart" reached number 44 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1988. Upon its inclusion on the 1992 compilation album Twice Upon a Time: The Singles, a live recording of the song from 1991 replaced the single version.

The Last Beat of My Heart (7"/12"/CDS)

DISCOGS

The Last Beat of My Heart (Lyrics)

In the sharp gust of love my memory stirred
When time wreathed a rose a garland of shame
It's thorn my only delight war torn
Afraid to speak, we dare to breathe
Majestic, imperial a bridge of sighs
Solitude sails in a wave of forgiveness
On angels wings
Reach out your hands, don't turn your back
Don't walk away
How in the world, can I wish for this?
Never to be torn apart
Close to you 'till the last beat of my heart
At the close of day the sunset cloaks
These words in shadow play
Here and now, long and loud
My heart cries out
And the naked bone of an echo says
Don't walk away
Reach out your hands I'm just a step away
How in the world can I wish for this?
Never to be torn apart
Close to you till the last beat of my heart
How in the world can I wish for this?
Never to be torn apart till the last beat
Till the last fleeting beat of my heart

Songwriters: Budgie / Steven Severin / Susan Ballion

Although the band had several releases since 1985, Isn't Anything is often considerd as the real debut studio album by My Bloody Valentine. It was released on 21 November 1988 by Creation Records. Its innovative instrumental and production techniques consolidated the experimentation of the band's preceding EPs and would make it a pioneering work of the subgenre known as shoegazing.
Upon its release, the album received rave critical reviews and reached number one in the UK Independent Album Chart. A 1988 year-end roundup of the year's top albums in Melody Maker ranked Isn't Anything third of the year and called it “a raving nymphomania and out-of-body experience establishes them as absent-minded rulers of this daydream nation."

Isn't Anything has subsequently become regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 1980s. The album has been included in The Guardian's list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die" and ranked as number 16 in their "Alternative Top 100 Albums" list.

The NME ranked the album at 187 in its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time while Pitchfork selected the album as the 4th best shoegaze album of all time.

Isn't Anything (tracklist)

Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)
Lose My Breath
Cupid Come
(When You Wake) You're Still In A Dream
No More Sorry
All I Need
Feed Me With Your Kiss
Sueisfine
Several Girls Galore
You Never Should
Nothing Much To Lose
I Can See It (But I Can't Feel It)

Bonus tracks (Originally included as bonus 7" with the album)
Instrumental A
Instrumental B

DISCOGS

Released in November 1980, 45 years ago, “The Damage Done” stands as the very first single by The Sisters of Mercy, marking the humble yet already distinctive beginnings of a band that would go on to shape the landscape of gothic rock. Issued on the small independent label CNT, the single was pressed in highly limited quantities—reportedly around 1,000 copies—making original versions prized collectors’ items today. Yet beyond its rarity, the release is fascinating for the early blueprint it offers of the band’s future sound and aesthetic.

At this early stage, The Sisters of Mercy consisted only of Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx, with Eldritch on drums and vocals and Marx on guitar. Contrary to the later, iconic Sisters setup, there was no Doktor Avalanche yet. The tracks were recorded with minimal equipment, reflecting the DIY ethos of the UK post-punk scene. The production is raw, sparse, and somewhat brittle, but that starkness adds to the single’s charm: it captures a band still experimenting, not yet weighed down by expectations or a defined identity.

The title track, “The Damage Done,” is a concise burst of angular guitars and haunting vocals. Eldritch’s voice is markedly higher than the baritone that would become his trademark, but the emotional delivery and lyrical ambiguity already hint at his evolving persona. Themes of loss, emotional turmoil, and detachment—core elements of later Sisters material—appear here in embryonic form.

The B-side, “Watch,” complements the A-side with its driving rhythm and edgy melodicism. Even at this early stage, the band’s ability to craft memorable hooks amid a minimalist framework is evident. Both tracks reveal a young band eager to carve out its own sonic territory, blending post-punk urgency with a sense of dark romanticism.

Although “The Damage Done” made little commercial impact at the time, it remains a crucial artifact in The Sisters of Mercy’s evolution. It captures the moment when two young musicians began forging what would become one of the most distinctive, influential sounds in alternative music.

Want to add this 7" to your collection? Well, you are in luck because there are a couple for sale for merely € 1600 on DISCOGS! :-)

The Damage Done (7" - Merciful Release – MR7

DISCOGS

On November 1974, 51 years agao, German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk released their landmark fourth studio album, Autobahn. Though the exact day isn't precisely documented, this month remains forever tied to a record that would redefine not just the band’s sound, but the future of popular music.

Autobahn marked a turning point in Kraftwerk’s evolution. Previously rooted in experimental krautrock, the band—then a quartet including Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Klaus Röder, and Wolfgang Flür—fully embraced a sleek, electronic-pop aesthetic. Produced jointly by the band and legendary engineer Conny Plank, the album was recorded at Kling Klang Studio in Düsseldorf and at Plank’s own studio in Cologne.

The title track, a hypnotic, 22-minute ode to the sensation of driving on Germany’s highways, became Kraftwerk’s first song with sung lyrics. Its repeated refrain, “Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn…” (“We drive, drive, drive on the autobahn…”), evokes the hypnotic flow of a motorway journey. Edited down to around three-and-a-half minutes, the single version became a surprise international hit in 1975, charting in the U.S. (#25 on the Billboard Hot 100), Germany, Canada, and beyond.

At its core, Autobahn was more than just a song or album—it was a vision. Kraftwerk sought to capture the mechanical beauty of modern life: the hum of engines, the whirring of tires, the rhythmic pulse of motion. It was electronic music as transportation, in both metaphor and reality.

Over time, Autobahn earned its place as a foundational work in electronic music. Its influence rippled across genres—from synth-pop and new wave to techno and hip-hop. The album’s blend of minimalist synthesisers, repetitive drive, and futuristic aesthetics laid the groundwork for countless artists to come.

Fifty years later, in 2025, Kraftwerk celebrated the album’s anniversary with three new editions—featuring a Dolby Atmos mix, a 12″ picture-disc vinyl, and a Blu-ray release—revisiting the original 16-track master tapes to bring Autobahn into the modern era.

In short: around this day, approximately 50 years ago, Autobahn first hit the world—and changed our sonic landscape forever.

Autobahn Lyrics

Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn
Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn

Vor uns liegt ein weites Tal
Die Sonne scheint mit Glitzerstrahl

Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn
Wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn

Fahrbahn ist ein graues Band
Weiße Streifen, grüner Rand

Autobahn - Tracklist

DISCOGS