“Yearbook” is our survey of a particular year in music — in this case, 1984. In this two-part series, we delve into some of our favorite songs from this year. As there was a wealth of great releases from ’84, in Part 2 we focus on the second half of the alphabet (artists filed under M–Z). The Minutemen sang of the real world, the Meat Puppets told of a lake of fire, PiL had no interest in love songs, and R.E.M. had persuasion on the mind. White Flag warned of overlords, The Smiths sang of pretty girls, OMD countered with Tesla girls, and Orange Juice traveled to Texas. Have at it …

Playlist

1. Minutemen — My Heart And The Real World
2. The Verlaines — Pyromaniac
3. The Replacements — Unsatisfied
4. Tupelo Chain Sex — Dr. Nightcall
5. Siouxsie And The Banshees — Running Town
6. The Three Johns — Teenage Nightingales To Wax
7. Pop-O-Pies — I Heart NY
8. The Nomads — Where The Wolf Bane Blooms
9. New Model Army — Smalltown England
10. Wire Train — I Gotta Go
11. Venus In Furs — Majordomo
12. Opal — Fell From The Sun
13. R.E.M. — Pretty Persuasion
14. Miracle Legion — Closer To The Wall
15. Nikki Sudden & Dave Kusworth — Big Store (original)
16. Meat Puppets — Lake Of Fire
17. No Trend — Fashion Tips For The 80’s
18. One The Juggler — Are You The One?
19. Tones On Tail — Go!
20. Proof Of Utah — Betty’s Pleasure
21. Orange Juice — The Day I Went Down To Texas
22. Plasticland — Her Decay
23. The Smiths — Pretty Girls Make Graves
24. This Mortal Coil — Not Me
25. Naked Raygun — Only In America
26. White Flag — Overlords Of The Underworld
27. Toxic Reasons — Break The Bank
28. The Sisters of Mercy — Body And Soul
29. Play Dead — Torn On Desire
30. Public Image Ltd. — This Is Not A Love Song
31. Passion Puppets — Overland
32. Rain Parade — Blue
33. The Pastels — Baby Honey
34. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — Tesla Girls
35. Talk Talk — Dum Dum Girl
36. The Psychedelic Furs — Here Come Cowboys