Argh, so many songs for this theme! I apologize if this is too many, but I managed to pare it down to....okay, I didn't pare it down much at all. CANINES New Wave pirate/highwayman/dandy Adam Ant 's Dog Eat Dog is typical of his early sound, especially the throbbing "Burundi beat" (African-derived drums). This is probably one of my favorites of his. [ Buy 'Kings of the Wild Frontier" ] Gyroscope 's [...]
This definitely one of the more awkward post I've made lately. There's really nothing "Freshly Squeezed" about Manchester's Performance ...they have a few releases under their belts already. When I saw that the band were going out on the road with Gary Numan , I felt the need to post the dates. Should I have written about Numan's The Pleasure Principles as "Essential Listening?" Was it safe to assume you were already fully familiar with Performance? I don't have the answer to these questions [...]
Today is indeed a great day, I was originally bringing together a piece about synthpop/electropop and low and behold on Rufus Wainwright's forum (don't ask why I was there) I found out that The Mighty Boosh are indeed doing a third season, oohh the excitement. The electropop is of course going to continue, even more so fuelled by the knowledge that the electro loving Vince Noir will be back. So first up the electropioneers who invented music, The Human League , before them was nothing but tune ups and setting up equipment in the hope that they would turn [...]
I know very little about Gary Numan . I've always been a fan of "Cars", but beyond that, not much exposure to ol' Gary. But I'm always seeking to paint in the bare spots of my musical canvas (like that?), and God knows, we all need to take a trip back to 1980 once in a while for some classic synth-heavy new wave. So a quick Numanology.... born Gary Anthony James Webb in Hammersmith, West London in 1958... Put together a band in the late 70's called Tubeway Army... 1979's The Pleasure Principle [...]
From: The Pleasure Principle (Beggars UK, 1979) Download Learn Home MySpace
I always thought the 80s was gonna be one of the easier decades to do. However I got to this point and found I'd used everyone I knew. But with a little a digging I unearthed a wealth of 80s music lost in the depths of my mind. I decided this week to celebrate those who you can't help laughing at, for one reason or another. The 80s had its fair share of these, with film clips being an especially hilarious outlet. The sad thing is that they thought they looked hip. However sadly the worst dressed were the worst [...]
Today in Music History: In 1974 'Apostrophe,' Frank Zappa's highest-charting album, is released. It reaches #10 and becomes Zappa's second consecutive gold album. I mean nerd in the nicest way possible of course. As I am a registered member of the nerd class. As a young fella I was in band, read science fiction books, watched Star Trek incessantly and saw Star Wars about 25 times at the theater. Yet in high school I wasn't quite nerdy enough to belong to that crowd, [...]
The Jaxx love their samplers. Gary Numan - " M.E. " used in "Where's Your Head At?" Locksmith - " Far Beyond " used in ""Red Alert"" The Clash - " The Magnificent Dance " used in "Magnificent Romeo" The Selecter - " On My Radio " used in "Same Old Show" The Fatback Band - " Wicky Wacky " used in [...]
They say that 'If you don't know where you came from, you'll never get to where you're going'. But if you don't know where you're going you'll probably end up in the bad part of town & get your Italian leather boots stolen. What does it all mean? I means it's New Wave Tuesday. And I know, why New Wave Tuesday & not New Wave Tuesday or Thursday? There are no days that start with an 'N' so it doesn't matter which day it's on. Right? RIGHT. Here's some of [...]
One thing I loved about the 80ies was the creativity of some bands in releasing various remixes of their songs. Take the Pet Shop Boys for example: they often released two or more maxi-singles of one song, but none of the versions were the same. I often found myself liking a remix much more than the original. One could feel that it was not only a quick mashup to sell just another single, but rather an attempt to show the artist's talent in experimenting with new sounds. I [...]
I am in touch with my inner android today. As I was grabbing CDs to take to work this morning I flitted over John Foxx's Metamatic and those Ultravox reissues and settled on Gary Numan. The day began with 1978's Tubeway Army. Here is a powerful trio - Gary, bassist Paul Gardiner and drummer Jess Lidyard - who harness the energy of punk rock and tart it up with ominous synths. Gary's drone was
Thanks to Heather over at Ugly Floral Blouse for pointing out that VH1 Classics is showing seminal post-punk/new wave concert film Urgh! A Music War tonight (10/30) at 9PM. If you've never seen it, Urgh! features performances by Echo the...
Today in Music History: In 1975, the unknown Bruce Springsteen had the rare honour of simultaneous covers on both Time and Newsweek magazines in the US. Ok let's getthis show on the road. I knows some of youse got halloween parties and such planned for this weekend and we need a few more weenie worthy tunes to fill that disc up. I've got a perfect opening track for said Halloween disc. A buddy of mine put together this little piece with sounds, creepy voice and [...]
Garyn Numan - Radio Heart This is a real oddity. The song was only available on a single, which was credited to 'Radio Heart featuring Gary Numan.' From what I all intensive purposes this is a Gary Numan track, and the name trickery might have been an attempt to counter Numan's decreasing popularity at the time. The song is alright, but is not one of Numan's best. Granati Brothers - Go Crazy (Live) Another live track from the Propaganda (previously mentioned here ) compilation album. I never heard of these [...]
The other day I’m watching cable and the flick Serenity comes on. Great movie. It’s the prequel to the T.V. series Firefly, by the masterful Joss Wheedon. Great show, too. I’ve seen it before, but I watch it anyway and I start to thinking, “Why do most TV shows made into movies suck wet farts out of dead babies’ asses?†I talk to myself that way. I mean, think about it. Beverly Hillbillies, The Flintstones, The Mod Squad. It doesn’t seem to matter: Comedy, cartoon, drama. Universallly, they usually suck. [...]
Happy Thursday. Summer is (sadly) almost over, but at least football season is nearing. So, here are some tracks of the electronic/synth element to cheer you up. They're fun. ------------------------------ Electronic - Getting Away With It ( music video ) A literal mixture of New Order and The Smiths, Electronic was one of the first synth "supergroups" to come into play. Consisting of New Order's Bernard Sumner and The Smiths' Johnny Marr. This track in particular features [...]
Gary Numan is going back to the future. Electronic pop's most famous monarchist has announced a mini-tour on which he intends to play only music from 1980's Telekon album. Reading between the lines , this seems to be a desperate attempt to get fans to stop shouting out for Are Bloody Friends Electric every time he tries to play his bloody new stuff: "For quite some time I have been concerned about those fans, most of whom have been with me for many, many years, that would like to see more [...]
I was miserable in high school and being a typical self-centered teenager, I thought this made me unique despite all those John Hughes movies to the contrary. My musical selection for my "Songs That Got Me Through High School" mix tape will give you 78 minutes of my mid-eighties strum und angst. Onwards to the music with minor commentary. 1. Major Tom (Coming Home) by Peter Schilling The first two albums I ever bought were The Police's Synchronicity [...]
Gary Numan is an icon within the realm of synth pop and industrial music. Generally considered an originator for his work in the late 70s, Numan now takes his minimalist creationism to a new heights within the realm of dreamy, moody electronic based industrial. With his latest release, Jagged, Numan startles as he [...]
Go me, getting part III in before the end of the theme. If the end of part II was dusk, the sun gilding the edges of the landscape as it sank out of sight, then part III is driving in the dark, which to my mind requires a relatively different kind of music. Oh, and there's a bit in here where you drive through a city, briefly, as well, because, um. Because there were some songs I wanted in here and I couldn't think of a better way to shoehorn them in. And then it goes on through the night [...]
Audiography: Stop. Pause. Play.
Rock Sellout
Freddy Krueger's Bidet
IckMusic
Audible Vitamins
Open Your Eyes
Good Rockin' Tonight
Palms Out Sounds
MISSINGTOOF
Music Of The Moment
silence is a rhythm two
Sound Bites
The Lost Turntable
Berkeley Place
Obscure Sound
No Rock And Roll Fun
The Late Greats
Culture Bully
Freddie Gibbs ft. Young Jeezy & T.I. – Pull Up [Music]
Trails and Ways – Nunca
Rihanna Gets Nude For Nude
Catcall – ‘The Warmest Place’
