it was something I rehearsed in a dream

How does one go about summing up Magazine in a few short sentences? A pioneering post-punk act whose frontman, Howard Devoto, left the Buzzcocks in order to better indulge his experimental impulses? A band whose output ranged from straight-up punk ("Shot By Both Sides") to haunting post-punk ("The Light Pours Out Of Me") to New Wave pop ("Model Worker"), yet remained consistently identifiable (in part due to Devoto's distinctive nasally vocal stylings) and, more importantly, consistently listenable?

Works for me.

Magazine - Goldfinger (from the b-side of the 1978 single "Touch and Go") - I actually prefer this version to Shirley Bassey's original. Devoto's sinister, sneering vocals add that extra oomph that an ode to a notorious evil mastermind needs.

Magazine - Rhythm of Cruelty (from 1979's Secondhand Daylight LP) - Great art-punk with some neat synth flourishes.