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Your top 50 classic alternative Transmission tunes

Singer Ian Curtis on stage in 1980 with Joy Division. The music of Joy Division gives 'Transmission' its title and theme song.
Singer Ian Curtis on stage in 1980 with Joy Division. The music of Joy Division gives 'Transmission' its title and theme song.Rob Verhorst/Redferns via NPR

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by Jake Rudh

July 15, 2016

This week on Transmission, we're celebrating five years of having Transmission on The Current's airwaves exactly five years later: It was July 14, 2011, when Joy Division's "Transmission" first played into David Bowie's "Heroes."

And that's why this week, we extended the show by an hour, with a playlist featuring the top 25 classic-alternative tunes, as voted by you. In the run-up to the anniversary special, I assembled a list of the top 50 classic-alternative tunes that characterize the sound of Transmission.

In just a little more than two days, more than 400 listeners submitted ballots with their top 10 picks. Thank you so much for your participation! After all the votes were tallied, here are the results:


50. Orange Juice "Rip It Up"


49. Men At Work "Overkill"


48. Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams"


47. The Police "Can't Stand Losing You"


46. Generation X "Dancing With Myself"


45. Billy Idol "Rebel Yell"


44. A Flock of Seagulls "Space Age Love Song"


43. OMD "Electricity"


42. Kraftwerk "The Model"


41. Cocteau Twins "Heaven Or Las Vegas"


40. General Public "Tenderness"


39. Talk Talk "It's My Life"


38. The B-52's "Private Idaho"


37. Peter Gabriel "In Your Eyes"


36. INXS "Need You Tonight"


35. Joe Jackson "Steppin' Out"


34. XTC "Making Plans For Nigel"


33. Duran Duran "Planet Earth"


32. Devo "Girl U Want"


31. The Cars "Just What I Needed"


30. Blondie "Atomic"


29. Elvis Costello "Pump It Up"


28. The English Beat "Mirror In the Bathroom"


27. Roxy Music "More Than This"


26. The Jesus & Mary Chain "Head On"


25. Modern English "I Melt With You"


24. The Jam "Town Called Malice"


23. Gary Numan "Cars"


22. Siouxsie & the Banshees "Kiss Them For Me"


21. Morrissey "Suedehead"


20. U2 "I Will Follow"


19. Kate Bush "Running Up That Hill"


18. Pet Shop Boys "West End Girls"


17. Ramones "I Wanna Be Sedated"


16. REM "Radio Free Europe"


15. The Psychedelic Furs "Love My Way"


14. Iggy Pop "Lust For Life"


13. The Church "Under the Milky Way"


12. Simple Minds "Don't You (Forget About Me)"


11. Pixies "Where Is My Mind"


10. Tears For Fears "Everybody Wants To Rule the World"


9. Talking Heads "Once In a Lifetime"


8. Echo & the Bunnymen "The Killing Moon"


7. Depeche Mode "Enjoy the Silence"


6. New Order "Age Of Consent"


5. The Clash "London Calling"


4. The Smiths "How Soon Is Now"


3. The Cure "Just Like Heaven"


2. David Bowie "Heroes"


1. Joy Division "Love Will Tear Us Apart"