[Musicophilia] – The Complete ’1981′ Box Set

Posted in Talking by Soundslike on May 13, 2009

All nine mixes from the ’1981′ Box Set are now available in full! That’s hundreds of key artists, the famed and the forgotten, from the apex of post-punk and the ascent of new-pop, synth-pop, and related artforms. Links to every mix are below, at the “more…” link. Don’t be shy–say hello, let me know if you dig what I’m doing here.

Roughly five years after I began the project, I can definitely say it’s been a satisfying endeavor, one that’s allowed me to talk with many interesting people from all over the world, including a number of the musicians who created the music (and to whom all credit is due). As much fun as it was to produce hundreds of hand-made/folded/stapled/printed physical box sets–making them digitally available at Musicophilia has been a relief, and hopefully been of use to the hundreds of people who were left on a waiting list for the box that I was never able to get to. So please, enjoy them, collect them all, check out the ongoing ‘Briefcase’ posts at Musicophilia Daily from the box set’s mp3 disc; keep your eyes peeled for new 1981-themed mixes; and if you dig it, share them with friends and help spread the word–I still love this music, and I know there are plenty of people who haven’t heard it yet who’d love it, too. Please support the artists involved by buying what you enjoy, when it’s in print.

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Tagged with: 1981, post-punk, thanks

41 comments

41 Responses

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Just stopping by… « Forbidden Music said, on May 15, 2009 at 1:16 pm

[...] …to indicate a couple of sites, one for fans of old-time/country blues/folky stuff, and another for fans of the punk/new wave/no wave/post punk [...]
[Audio] – 1981 ‘Briefcase’ Tracks, Part 9 (Lol Coxhill, Crispy Ambulance, Dalek I Love You, Danse Society, Dark Day) « Musicophilia Daily said, on May 17, 2009 at 9:35 am

[...] the ‘1981 Briefcase,’ the catch-all mp3-CD found in the ‘1981‘ box set (the nine main mixes of which are now available in full for download at Musicophilia). Finishing the “C’s” and moving into the [...]
[1981] – ‘Briefcase, Volume 2′ (2005) « Musicophilia said, on May 18, 2009 at 5:52 am

[...] you hopefully know, the principle nine mixes from the ‘1981′ Box Set are all now available for download here at Musicophilia. For those who just can’t get enough of the post-punk fecundity, the [...]
les mains noires said, on May 18, 2009 at 12:02 pm

Thanks for your comment…

Peace..
[Audio] – 1981 ‘Briefcase’ Tracks, Part 10 (Decayes, Deep Freeze Mice, Department S, Deutsche Wertarbeit, Din A Testbild) « Musicophilia Daily said, on May 31, 2009 at 12:39 am

[...] the ‘1981 Briefcase,’ the catch-all mp3-CD found in the ‘1981‘ box set (the nine main mixes of which are now available in full for download at Musicophilia). Moving forward with the “D’s,” we’ve got five who [...]
Yaddyra said, on June 7, 2009 at 1:27 pm

Thank you for these amazing gems. I would have never found them otherwise.
Soundslike said, on June 7, 2009 at 7:16 pm

So glad you’re enjoying the mixes! Thank you!
b. said, on June 16, 2009 at 11:07 pm

i stumbled upon this amazing place just hours away……..i’m already chin-deep in overstimulation, and i’m absolutely thrilled.
all i can say is, thank you.
thank you, thank you, thank you.
i’ve rediscovered old loves here, and you have download links!!!!!!!!!
ah.

oh, you should have a listen to some friends of mine:
http://www.myspace.com/asaransom

lovely evening to you-
Soundslike said, on June 16, 2009 at 11:34 pm

So glad you’re enjoying the music so much, B.! Thank you! And I’ll be checking out both your friends and your blog now : )
s said, on June 29, 2009 at 5:32 pm

What a wonderful labor of love. I stumbled upon your compilation Googling for something else and, having downloaded and now listening, I still can’t believe how much time must have gone into this — even the sequencing feels cared-for. You have my ears’ bandwidth for the next week, and my gratitude for far longer.
Soundslike said, on June 29, 2009 at 7:56 pm

Wow, thanks so much! ’1981′ and ‘Musicophilia’ definitely are labors of love–and I do spend an embarrassing amount of geek-love and time (and money, but I’d be buying albums anyway) on it. My geekiness about sequencing, segueing, matching levels, etc. is shameful. But if the result is that you enjoy it and maybe hear something you might not have–then it’s all very much worth it. It is nice to hear it’s happening!
gregruben said, on June 30, 2009 at 1:09 am

lovely comps, thank you very much.
Soundslike said, on June 30, 2009 at 1:22 am

Thanks, Greg!
Chris Ott said, on July 2, 2009 at 5:22 pm

This set still enjoys a plum spot atop my shelves. More bravo, years later.
Soundslike said, on July 2, 2009 at 5:56 pm

Thanks, Chris. I didn’t know you kept a blog, so I’ll be over checking it out shortly. Thanks for visiting my place. Hope you’ll find a few other things to your liking.
Andy said, on July 12, 2009 at 12:36 pm

Just heard this mix done by a friend of a friend. Sorry no tracklist available, but it’s right up your alley. Heard some Liliput in there, I think, and other funky Germanic new wave.

https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&batch_id=cmczUWV1UzdtMEpMWEE9PQ
Joe said, on August 24, 2009 at 9:13 am

sweet, 1981 was the year i left high school and moved from a small town to the big city

it was the beginning of a long life of spent the majority of the 80′s there, in a haze of drugs, music and alcohol, the best years of my life
Dr. Kosten Koper said, on September 5, 2009 at 10:02 am

Yes, ma’am!! Stumbled over this whilst reading Wobet which stumbled over from John Eden, which stumbled over from… 1981, I can hardly remember, it is in it’s grave; after life’s fitful fever it sleeps well. Praise and honor received for an achievement, will flinch some stuff to keep the dead air at bay on the inflated radio in the coming weeks.
Soundslike said, on September 7, 2009 at 2:23 am

Haha, well put! Plunder away, and I hope it all brings a smile to your face.
zimba said, on October 6, 2009 at 3:45 am

Legend!!!!
i ve got immense respect for what you are doing Mr..
theses compilations are very well put together!!
thank you!!!
Soundslike said, on October 6, 2009 at 3:50 am

Thank you, sir! I just hope you don’t find the faux-French on the ‘Musique du Monde’ mixes–I don’t really speak a word!
[Musicophilia] – Musicophilia’s 1st Birthday! (With a Poll) « Musicophilia said, on October 12, 2009 at 2:58 am

[...] at least 200 subscribers. The “internet famous” 1981 Box Set from 2005 was finally made available in full to a broader audience; a whole new (fake) reissue label was born, Musique du Monde, to explore the [...]
lisa ann said, on October 20, 2009 at 11:48 am

this is fantastic! thank you so much :)
mark mitchell said, on October 21, 2009 at 2:47 pm

this is great! thanks a lot!
Cybore / 1981 Box Available as Download said, on February 6, 2010 at 3:23 pm

[...] Link#1 Link#2 Comments closed — Trackback URI RSS 2.0 feed for these comments This entry (permalink) was posted on Friday, May 15, 2009, at 1:52 am by admin. Filed in Uncategorized. « Egyptian Crisp Packet Hurghada 1996 Sonic Youth: Sister » Home [...]
[1981] – ‘Feet’ Mix (2005) « Musicophilia said, on March 12, 2010 at 5:47 pm

[...] [Note: All nine mixes from the '1981' box set are now available to download here.] [...]
JLemon said, on March 25, 2010 at 7:28 am

There are 10 albums in this set. Your missing the Feet part of this box set.
JLemon said, on March 25, 2010 at 7:29 am

Ooops should have read the last post before posting.
JLemon said, on March 25, 2010 at 7:30 am

OIC, it’s the Briefcase disc your missing… but there are 10 discs in this set.
JLemon said, on March 25, 2010 at 7:32 am

it’s 252 songs maybe that’s why you don’t have it on here..
JLemon said, on March 25, 2010 at 7:38 am

Oh this is YOUR page, ha ha, thought you had an impersonator.
weapons of massdistraction › Turning Darkness Into Light said, on May 14, 2010 at 9:01 am

[...] best music of 1981 you never knew existed by some bands you may have heard of. This is genius and musicophilia is my [...]
1981 | Dressed Like Machines said, on January 17, 2011 at 7:56 am

[...] Ein toller Mixbeitrag von Musicophilia ist die Krönung. Auf neun Mixes und nach fünf Jahren ist das Mammutprojekt vollendet. Post-Punk hat endlich ein adäquates Archiv erhalten. Alle Compilations gibt es hier. [...]
1981 Post-Punk Boxed Set For Free Download said, on February 17, 2011 at 8:10 pm

[...] the quiet obsessives, the crate diggers, the mix makers. Case in point: Musicophilia’s 1981 Boxed Set. 10 discs and over 400 bands from that year, documenting the energy and variety of what is very [...]
kim said, on February 23, 2011 at 10:39 am

Fantastic!
Berg said, on February 25, 2011 at 10:16 pm

Thanks for the mixes ! The amplifier and ice mixes posts seem not to be available, however. Hate to be missing out on them ! :)
Soundslike said, on February 25, 2011 at 10:22 pm

My apologies–they’re online, I just fixed the links to updated posts. Thanks, and enjoy!
Berg said, on February 26, 2011 at 5:26 pm

THANKS!!!
.log : boys don’t cry said, on March 11, 2011 at 3:18 pm

[...] она, музыка детства: All nine mixes from the ’1981′ Box Set are now available in full! That’s hundreds of key [...]
Abby said, on March 23, 2011 at 3:09 pm

I’ve just discovered this, and wish I had sooner! Thank you for putting this all together. It’s fantastic and I’m excited to spend the weekend exploring.
Sandra Barton MD said, on March 5, 2012 at 3:11 pm

This is AWESOME! Just what I was trying to do myself!! You rock!!

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