A mechanistic drum pounds out a steady, basic thump. Keyboards make noises -- blips, pings, squirts, hums -- that sound strange and spartan and alien while still somehow resolving into catchy melodies ...

The late 1970s was one of the wildest eras ever in music, as genres formed and imploded with random, rapid flair. In 1979, “Pop Muzik” seemed to anticipate the decade to come in the way that it melded ...