The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now
Teenage Kicks®

40th Anniversary of The Suburbs' "Love Is The Law" + 45th Anniversary of Sparks' "No. 1 in Heaven"

Love Is the Law is an album by the American New wave band The Suburbs, released in 1984
Love Is the Law is an album by the American New wave band The Suburbs, released in 1984Provided
  Play Now [2:01:49]

by Jessica Paxton

March 02, 2024

This week we’re celebrating not one – but two musical birthdays. 

The 40th anniversary of Minneapolis new wave/funk/punk rockers The Suburbs’ Polygram Records March 1984 release, Love Is The Law – an album that came to define the American new wave sound of the 80s and whose title track became the unofficial anthem celebrating Minnesota’s historic same-sex marriage bill, signed into law in 2013. And the 45th anniversary of No. 1 in Heaven, the 8th studio album from brothers Ron and Russell Mael, aka the pop/rock duo Sparks. Recorded with Italian disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder, the album, released on March 1, 1979, marked a dramatic change in direction for Sparks, and today is considered one of the best synth-pop albums of all time. Tracks by The Suburbs and Sparks, along with a great mix of other new wave and post-punk artists, this week on Teenage Kicks. 

Program Playlist, hour 1
Program Playlist, hour 2