"But they're not pressed in red"

There's a great line in the 1978 D.I.Y. classic song "Part-Time Punks" by the TELEVISION PERSONALITIES:
"They'd like to buy the 'O' Level single, or 'Read About Seymour,' but they're not pressed in red, so they buy The Lurkers instead."
The greatness of that line is the way it lampoons the thinking of musical poseurs: Their flimsy attempt at "cool" gives way when they continually choose style over substance.
I am reminded of that line throughout every day. I remind myself of its sentiments, I guess, whenever I feel myself slipping away from my true self and toward false pretenses.
I gave myself a BIRTHDAY PRESENT today, creating an iTunes playlist to celebrate that classic line, among my favorite lines in music.
The playlist opens, of course, with the aforementioned TVP song.
It continues with "East Sheen" and "Pseudo Punk" by the 'O' LEVEL. Both the Television Personalities and the 'O' Level emerged from Fulham's London Oratory School. Bands from that scene swapped members in various guises, including The Times and Teenage Filmstars. In any of their incarnations, these bands helped create the template followed by countless British indie bands to come.
"Read About Seymour" by SWELL MAPS follows the 'O' Level songs on my birthday playlist. Brothers Epic Soundtracks (Kevin Godfrey) and Nikki Sudden (Nicholas Godfrey) founded Swell Maps several years before the advent of punk, and they were always more experimental than their contemporaries. Swell Maps' noisy alternative sound influenced Pavement, Sonic Youth and many other bands. Sadly, both brothers have since passed away.
THE LURKERS conclude the playlist with four of their mindlessly fun songs: "Ain't Got a Clue," "I Don't Need to Tell Her," "Pills" and "This Dirty Town."
The Lurkers have been described as the British version of the Ramones, without the originality. That's probably why the Television Personalities singled them out for derision in "Part-Time Punks."
I'll listen to this playlist throughout my birthday. It will help me celebrate the gifts we get from music.