A couple people asked about the last song at Underground last night. It was “As Tears Go By,” the 1964 single from Marianne Faithfull, who died on Thursday at the age of 78. Since none of us have the same timeline, I’m not going to assume that anyone reading this saw the same glut of posts about her that I did, or is immediately familiar with the singer at all. So, for background, read this obituary from the BBC.
Marianne Faithfull had a rough ride through pop stardom (here’s a gift link to an NYT story that explains more), but she persevered over and over again. She was legit cool. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote “As Tears Go By,” her first hit, but she also wrote with them and is said to have influenced multiple Rolling Stones songs. Her career revival album, Broken English, was post-punk and post-disco and influential on subsequent generations of musicians, as well as club DJs. Later on, she would collaborate with the likes of Jarvis Cocker, Blur, Nick Cave and others. She’s part of a generation of nonconformist musicians who really set the stage for what we now know as alternative or indie music and it’s no exaggeration to say that there are loads of musicians (especially women, especially women who resist stereotypically feminine branding) whose names you wouldn’t know if it weren’t for her.
Anyhow, here’s last night’s set list, which begins and ends with Marianne Faithfull.
Marianne Faithfull – Broken English
Japan – Life in Tokyo
Franz Ferdinand – Everydaydreamer
Love and Rockets – So Alive
Depeche Mode- The Sun & the Rainfall
Eleven Pond- Watching Trees
Camouflage – The Great Commandment
Book of Love – Boy
Sally Shapiro – Rent
Golden Boy & Miss Kittin – Rippin Kittin
Ladytron – Evil
Echo and the Bunnymen —Lips Like Sugar
Psychedelic Furs – Love My Way
Human League- Seconds
The Horrors – Something to Remember Me By
Gorillaz, Stevie Nicks – Oil
Chromatics – Shadow (Maceo Plex Remix)
Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia
Real Life – Send Me an Angel
New Order – The Perfect Kiss
Depeche Mode – Get the Balance Right
The Cure – The Walk
Interpol – Heinrich Maneuver
The Strokes – The End Has No End
Joy Division – She’s Lost Control
Soft Cell – Sex Dwarf
B-Movie – Nowhere Girl
She Wants Revenge – Tear You Apart
Bloc Party – Banquet
Franz Ferdinand – Take Me Out
Amy Winehouse -Valerie (request)
FKA twigs – Drums of Death
Daft Punk – Da Funk
Yaz – Situation
Human League – Don’t You Want Me (Purple Disco Machine Remix)
Blur – Girls and Boys
CSS – Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above
Crystal Castles – Vanished
Boy Harsher – Machina
Sextile – Disco
Nitzer Ebb – Join in the Chant
The Rapture – House of Jealous Lovers
New Order – Blue Monday
Trans X – Living on Video
Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
The Killers – Mr. Brightside (Jacques Lu Cont’s Thin White Duke Mix)
The Cure – Lovesong
The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again
Peter, Bjorn John – Young Folks
Postal Service – Such Great Heights
Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
Le Tigre – Deceptacon
Wet Leg – Chaise Longue
The Cure – Boys Don’t Cry
Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
Q Lazzarus – Goodbye Horses
Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams
Pet Shop Boys- West End Girls
Robyn – Dancing on My Own
Hercules & Love Affair – Blind
Depeche Mode – Everything Counts
White Town -Your Woman
Tom Tom Club – Genius of Love
Nena – 99 Luftballoons
The Smiths – Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
Pixies – Where Is My Mind
Pulp – Common People
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Maps
Echo and the Bunnymen – Killing Moon
The Smiths – There Is a Light
Marianne Faithfull – As Tears Go By
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs or listen to the latest Beatique Mix. Follow on Instagram for more updates.
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