Your iconic summer

TRIBE CALLED QUEST | JOÃO GILBERTO | BUTTHOLE SURFERS | B-52’S
STEELY DAN | ALAN AND RICHARD BISHOP | GEORGE MICHAEL | “KIDD” JORDAN
WIRE | TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS | THE FEELIES | CHARLIE HADEN | YAZ
THE EX WITH GÉTATCHÈW MÈKURYA | RHYS CHATHAM | JUDAS PRIEST

Yaz

Terminal 5. July 16, 17; sold out.
Beacon Theatre; July 19, $49–$79

Landmark achievement: Keyboardist Vince Clarke, formerly of Depeche Mode (and later of Erasure), brought the instrumental cool; singer Alison Moyet provided the soulful pipes. Together, Yaz made classic synth-pop that paved the way for hordes of new-wave dance bands and helped define the early ’80s—try to find someone who grew up then who doesn’t get excited at the opening notes of “Situation.”

Why see them now: Its music has stood the test of time, but in its original incarnation, Yaz managed to issue only two albums and play 24 shows before an acrimonious breakup. After 25 years apart, will Clarke and Moyet find the chemistry that eluded them before?

Photograph: Imogen Brown

I’m officially obsessed

Greg Ipp, 33, Lower East Side; creative director

“Upstairs at Eric’s was the album for me from when I was eight to about ten. It was always on. ‘Don’t Go’ was my favorite song, but that whole album is pretty awesome, especially when you look at the impact it had. After hearing it, I ended up getting into the late-’80s stuff like New Order, the Pet Shop Boys and Electronic. A lot of people don’t realize that Vince Clarke was one of the original members of Depeche Mode. He actually wrote ‘Just Can’t Get Enough.’ ”