Toronto - 2011 was the beginning of the end for me. At Primavera this May, I saw Pulp one of my two favorite bands. Last December, I saw Suede, my other favorite band. In a span of six months, I saw both my favorite bands, after waiting my entire life to see them. It will never be topped. Every show I've seen since has been diminished in some regard because I will always compare it to the apex of my concert going experience, and it will ultimately fail in comparison. Still, this year, like every [...]
I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in America who is actually a fan of Men Without Hats . Other than the enduring "Safety Dance" most people don't know any of their other songs, which is a shame, because they wrote some really good synth pop in the 80s before writing a grunge album ( Sideways ) and breaking up in the 90s. The 2011 version of the recently re-activated band consists of sole original member and chief songwriter Ivan Doroschuk backed by hired musicians, none of whom is a drummer unfortunately. I've read (by [...]
HD Video by G. Did you ever think you'd ever hear a live version of "Pop Goes The World" by 1980s gods Men Without Hats? I felt the same way - until I saw them in concert! Men Without Hats opened for The Human League at the Best Buy Theatre in New York on Sepember 23, 2011 and I was there to catch all the action. Apparently, this song is about mescaline. YES! <!-- [...]
Photo by G. Men Without Hats (aka #5) It's no secret that Rolling Stone magazine hasn't been a good source of music news in decades. They continue their irrelevance by naming their worst songs of the 1980s. Here's their top 10: 1 - Starship - 'We Built This City' 2 - Europe - 'The Final Countdown' 3 - Chris de Burgh - 'Lady In Red' 4 - Wham! - 'Wake Me Up (Before You Go Go)' 5 - Men Without [...]
Men Without Hats . 'The Safety Dance'. 1982. SsssAaaaFfffTtttEeeeYyyy… Buy Men Without Hats 's music from: Follow @electronicrumor
Photos by G. Ivan Doroschuck of Men Without Hats I never thought I'd ever get to see Men Without Hats in concert, but I was proven wrong on September 23, 2011. The Canadian new wave band, comprised of original lead singer Ivan Doroschuck and three new members opened for Human League at the Best Buy Theater in New York. In addition to playing their worldwide smash hits "Safety Dance" and "Pop Goes The World," (which Ivan said was written about mescaline), they also played lesser known hits such [...]
Man with a hat @ Best Buy Theater- 9/23 ( photo by Chris Cordani ) "1980s Electro-pop gods Human League wrapped up their 2011 US tour with a show at New York's Best Buy Theater on September 23, 2011. It's been a decade since I've seen them in concert and tonight's show was worth the wait. The show began with a set from fellow 1980s gods Men Without Hats (more to come, so stay tuned). Human League took the stage around 9:30 pm and played for about an hour and a half. For [...]
Excellent choices to kick off your holiday weekend: ► Veteran Aussie quartet You Am I , still going strong after two-plus decades, kick off a U.S. tour behind their new, self-titled album, their ninth. They play the Echo, with L.A. quintet Terraplane Sun opening. ► Long-running Club Underground moves from the Echo to the Grand Star in Chinatown, celebrating its new digs tonight with live sets from L.A. indie-poppers Sweater Girls , whose new album is on the way from Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records, and labelmates Eureka California [...]
On August 25, 1835, The New York Sun reported that astronomer Sir John Herschel had discovered life on the moon. According to the paper, Herschel had seen bipedal beavers, unicorns, and humanoid bats. These creatures worshipped in a Sapphire temple. Sir John Herschel was amused by these false reports. Still, paper sales skyrocketed. One hundred seventy-six years later, The Nightly Sun , a daily news printed by a cloud of bats reported that renowned astronomer and the first beaver to earn an advanced science degree, Sir Ratmuck Tarbender, had discovered life forms on the Giant [...]
The fact that the synth-pop sound is bigger than ever these days should not be news to anyone who follows electronic/dance music with even half an eye or ear. The buzzing bass-lines, LinnDrum-like beats, and hooky-as-hell melodies of classic (as in early-'80s) synth-pop have worked their way so thoroughly into contemporary pop that you almost don't even think about it anymore. What better time, then, for one of most iconic acts of the original electro-pop era to come bursting back into action? Allow us to introduce you to the Human League circa 2011. Featuring the same [...]
Toronto - I first heard this cover of Men Without Hat's The Safety Dance on an episode of Gossip Girl a few months ago. I made a mental note and now in the middle of July, that mental note has now manifested itself in the form of this post. The cover of this classic 80s synth pop song is done by Danish band The Asteroids Galaxy Tour , an up and coming band that just released an EP called The Golden Age . This cover replaces the synthesizers of the original with horns and brass. Throw [...]
Filed under: News , Video , Exclusive Matthew C.X. Langford Even if you were a mere babe toddling around with a soother during Men Without Hats 1980s heyday, you're certainly familiar with 'Safety Dance.' Led by Montreal merrymaker Ivan Doroschuk, Men Without Hats brought us one of the most iconic New Wave tracks of that era and it continues to percolate in pop culture, turning on new fans as ' The Simpsons ' or ' [...]
Now that North by Northeast 2011 is over, it's time to reflect over the good, the bad and the sweaty. Here's a recap of what I experienced over those four days. Part 1 is here Part 2 is here Saturday, June 18 I had an original plan of bands I wanted to see, but at this point I was exhausted and didn't really feel like going somewhere that was too cramped with not as many friendly faces. I did manage to see Men Without [...]
For a little over a decade, the city of Toronto has thrown their hat into the music festival ring, presenting North by Northeast, an answer to the over-saturated festival landscape of their fatter friends to the South.
Another North by Northeast music festival is in the books, and with it, the bustling metropolis of Toronto is a little more quieter. Between June 15th and June 19th, an estimated 650 artists representing any and every genre you can think of played well into the Toronto night at close to 50 downtown venues. Streets where a great deal of bars are clumped together, like Queen West, the festival headquarters at the Hyatt Regency hotel on King, as well as the public square at the [...]
Filed under: Concerts and Tours , Video , Exclusive Matthew C.X. Langford Canada's biggest music fest is always a good time, but this year at NXNE we decided to kick things up a notch. Rather than taking over some club, AOL decided to take over an entire city square -- Yonge-Dundas Square to be exact, which is the heart of NXNE festivities. From New Wave pioneers Devo and Men Without Hats [...]
As much as I dig Abducted , I harbored concerns about Cults in a large outdoor setting such as The Square. Something about their sound; so dense. Seems like it was retro-engineered to best be enjoyed alone, emanating from $3.99 Monty Wards transistor radio on a steamy summer night. Kick it over to the big system and it loses something; feels stripped of its threat. I think the band felt it too, their sound being watered down over such a large area (kicking self for missing Lee's Palace show [...]
Filed under: Concerts and Tours , News , Exclusive Matthew C.X. Langford Montreal's Arcade Fire are superstars now, but eventually they'll reach a fork in their musical road like a generation of Montreal artists did before them. They could surrender like '80s pop rock heartthrob Corey Hart swore he'd never do to assist a younger protege. Or, after some downtime they may take a chance and return like Ivan Doroschuk has [...]
Had I known that over-reliance on the Do Not Disturb Sign was going to make me a pariah with housekeeping, I might have made an effort to be more welcoming. However, that ship has sailed, so I will simply promise to separate my glass from my plastic prior to fleeing for YYZ tomorrow morning. Speaking of YYZ , there were several TBAs on the NXNE schedule that were to be filled by bands "you would not want to miss in a club setting." As far as I know, these bands have not included Rush, DOA or The Guess Who [...]
Toronto - If you would have told me last year that between SXSW , Primavera and NXNE that Men Without Hats would be one of the bands I would see twice in a three month timespan, I would have looked at you with a quizzical look. Yet, there I was on Thursday night, as the clock struck midnight, standing in the middle of a sparsely packed Great Hall and waiting once again for the seminal 80s Canadian new wave band to take the stage. I will fully admit that part of my show [...]
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