M - Pop Muzik (1979)

Note: this 1997 CD reissue is Robin Scott's 1979 album New York-London-Paris-Munich which the Collectables label renamed Pop Muzik in an attempt to increase sales. And, according to Discogs, "Replaces the disco medley of 'Moderne Man/Satisfy Your Lust' with both tracks from the original 1978 single. Also adds the original b-side to the 'Pop Muzik' single, 'M Factor'." Sounds like a disaster for M purists but good enough for me, particularly at a low price point.

So I'm using this time of quarantine/telecommuting to complete some interior painting in the house (6 rooms down, 1 to go). Of course, I've got the music on while I'm rolling and brushing. More specifically, I've been listening to Sirius/XM channel 704: 70s/80s Pop. Pros: no DJs, no ads, no breaks of any kind, just music. Con: unimaginative, repetitive playlist.

One of the tunes on this limited playlist is Pop Muzik by M, a #1 single in November, 1979. I've heard the song many times and it's included in my CD collection on volume 2 of the Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the '80s series. But even though the song has been played plenty over the past 40 years, I've never tired of it. Then I began to wonder why I never bought the single or album because it sounds like something 13-year-old me would have purchased. Take all these thoughts, add a dash of nostalgia, some paint fumes plus a credit card, and this CD appears at my door a week later. On first blush, the album is reminding me of English Garden, another danceable British New Wave album released in '79. It's a mixed bag - not at all what I expected - but it's got hooks and even though I've only heard the album a few times yet, I'm digging it.

Smash Hits, January 24, 1980, p. 21

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #79
Peak on CashBox album chart: #109

Tracks: I'm liking tracks 1 - 6, then things slack off for a couple of tracks before rebounding at the end.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I've just discovered the whole album, but Pop Muzik, like any good single, immediately takes me back to the time and place I first heard it. In my particular case, that was 8th grade when (in my ever-unreliable mind) I was King of the middle school I attended.

His Majesty's portrait in the 1979-80 school annual.
Orthodontics, terry cloth shirt, bowl cut - living the dream.
In all seriousness, I miss that thick hair.
👴

Curiously, the following unrelated advertisement/promotion was included in the case along with the CD insert: