# The Waxonia Desk: Both Rooms

Six records split evenly between two rooms that were not supposed to talk to each other. Half guitars, half machines, and the point is that the division was always administrative rather than musical.

- **Picks:** 6
- **Years:** 1979–1995
- **Curator:** The Waxonia Desk
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Curator's page:** https://waxonia.com/artist/the-desk/
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-both-rooms/

## The picks

Selected, not ranked — the order is the curator’s, and carries no claim about which is best.

### [New Order](https://waxonia.com/artist/new-order/) — [Blue Monday](https://waxonia.com/track/new-order--blue-monday/)

*1983 · Factory*

The record that made the argument first and made every later version of it easier. A guitar band bought a sequencer, never explained itself, and sold it in a sleeve that lost money on every copy.

Also on: [Madchester](https://waxonia.com/genre/madchester/), [Laurent Garnier — A Life in Twenty-One Records](https://waxonia.com/selection/laurent-garnier-a-life-in-records/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/New%20Order%20Blue%20Monday) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=9GMjH1nR0ds)

### [Bauhaus](https://waxonia.com/artist/bauhaus/) — [Bela Lugosi's Dead](https://waxonia.com/track/bauhaus--bela-lugosis-dead/)

*1979 · Small Wonder*

Nine minutes of dub delay recorded live in one take. The guitar records that survive on a dancefloor tend to be the ones that were secretly dance records all along, and this is the clearest case.

Also on: [Post-Punk](https://waxonia.com/genre/post-punk/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Bauhaus%20Bela%20Lugosi's%20Dead) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy9h2q_dr9k)

### [A Guy Called Gerald](https://waxonia.com/artist/a-guy-called-gerald/) — [Voodoo Ray](https://waxonia.com/track/a-guy-called-gerald--voodoo-ray/)

*1988 · Rham!*

Made in a bedroom on borrowed equipment with a sample truncated by accident. The most beautiful mistake in British dance music, and a standing argument against deliberation.

Also on: [Acid House](https://waxonia.com/genre/acid-house/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/A%20Guy%20Called%20Gerald%20Voodoo%20Ray) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=j7vxHOCeiQ4)

### [The Stone Roses](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-stone-roses/) — [Fools Gold](https://waxonia.com/track/the-stone-roses--fools-gold/)

*1989 · Silvertone*

An indie band's biggest single is a groove with some singing over it. The exact point the two rooms merged, and they stayed merged for about three years before the doors went back up.

Also on: [Madchester](https://waxonia.com/genre/madchester/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Stone%20Roses%20Fools%20Gold) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=NSD11dnphg0)

### [Primal Scream](https://waxonia.com/artist/primal-scream/) — [Loaded](https://waxonia.com/track/primal-scream--loaded/)

*1990 · Creation*

A remix that kept almost none of the original and handed a band a career. The clearest case in British music for a remixer owing the record they were given nothing whatsoever.

Also on: [Madchester](https://waxonia.com/genre/madchester/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Primal%20Scream%20Loaded) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3ixEzKA4k0)

### [Daft Punk](https://waxonia.com/artist/daft-punk/) — [Da Funk](https://waxonia.com/track/daft-punk--da-funk/)

*1995 · Soma*

A deliberately ugly lead sound over a hip-hop tempo. Being wilfully awkward turned out to be a strategy rather than a temperament, and this is where it started paying.

Also on: [French House](https://waxonia.com/genre/french-house/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Daft%20Punk%20Da%20Funk) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PwILkY9gRrc)

## About the curator

The people who write the rankings on this site. We keep the lists honest, we argue about the order, and we get asked the same question more than any other: where should someone actually start. These are our answers.

Elsewhere: https://waxonia.com/

---

Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.