If you dig The Cars (debut album, at least) as much I do, today's song will be quite a treat. Aside from looking awesome in their videos, keyboardist Greg Hawkes clearly had some ideas of his own. They seem to involve a kid running from both FBI and KGB agents in a downward spiral of plot twists in my made-up film. They also involve some sweet pitchbending (perk your ears up at 2:32). The fact that some of my own synth adventures seem at home in this soundworld only make me fonder. [...]
CLICK IMAGE TO VIEW VIDEO Originality galore in this new video by ZZBRA (Moka Only & Evil Ebenezer) We have found it! Lost footage from the most epic movie to never be seen ZZBRA. While visiting an estate sale of a recent Hollywood elite to decease, we discovered the lost trailer for the film ZZBRA made in 1983. In the same box with the trailers reel was the music video made for the song "Elephant" off of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack produced a decade later in [...]
I love that ELO have been thoroughly rescued from the dustbin of AOR history, and that Jeff Lynne's insistent fusion of Beatles and bombast seems to have the respect it always deserved. Still, I suspect their '80s output will remain stashed in the attic. Which is a pity. Secret Messages has some killer moments. This is my favorite, with its preposterous rainy day verses (synth sax!) and equally preposterous chorus (TR-808 handclaps!). Totally mismatched and totally worth blasting out loud. I'll stand this one next to "Evil Woman" any day. Dig [...]
Remember when it felt metaphorical to talk about a small world? It was a big, big world for so long that people now coming of age will never truly appreciate that dizzying sense of distance, things being so flattened and easily available in the digital version these days [commence old man exhalation]. Imagine then the excitement or confusion for those exposed to these transcontinental tracks by Hector Zazou, Bony Bikaye, and a couple weird German dudes called CY1. Some call this a European answer to My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts . I say [...]
Paloma and I upgraded to HD recently which is how I ended up on the Game Show Network the other night. As HD is a new experience, I find that I surf for shows to look at rather than watch . I didn't even know we had the Game Show Network, but when I saw The $25,000 Pyramid listed as I scrolled through the channel guide and couldn't help but be curious as to what a game show from the 1970s might look like in HD. I tried [...]
Let's hear it for the session men. The best ones find a way to make their mark. Their voices sneak into your consciousness even while wrapped up in other people's music. The rest wear ponytails and/or goatees. Chances are, if you like Talking Heads' Speaking In Tongues album, you're already a fan of Wally Baradou. He was quite the session butterfly throughout the '80s, so I'm sure he's planted some tasty licks in a diverse number of ears. We're going HAM on Wally today, rocking a generous three [...]
Amid all the gloom about the euro zone meltdown, I think it's helpful to focus on what really unites the continent — namely an appreciation for Italo Disco. Here is a French variety, well-suited to the strutting lifestyle of your dreams. Le Club - Un Fait D' Hivers
A quiet common DCHC record but still underrated? So it seems to me at least. Maybe cause it never was a pure Dischord release? There's only one real let down: "Death of a Friend"... Punk | Powerpop | Mod | Hard Core
Marie Moor - Illusions Since no one has offered to send me their copy of this record yet, I'm posting a sweet youtube rip of it for now. (Thanks to the folks at clipconverter.cc for the good times.) Words and music by Friedrich Hollaender . Here's a clip of Marlene Dietrich singing the O.G. In this crazy paradise, you are in love with pain. Pop the champagne.
absolute body control - "the man i wanna be" (download) Another great one from Absolute Body Control . This catchy synth track is from their hard to find 1983 cassette Figures. This 8 song release was released on Belgium's Body Records .
Does anyone have a copy of this record they want to give me?
Facebook ruined the fun in posting records here, so I'll put up one of those boring links again. Punk | Powerpop | Mod | Hard Core
By December 1983, my radio listening habits were going through a migration from Top 40 stations, which I had been listening to for a couple years, to the album rock of Q95 and, mostly in the evenings when reception was possible, the newly-minted 97X. But, Casey Kasem and American Top 40 was still a drowsy weekend morning staple and I would often peruse Billboard magazine when I'd come across a copy in the magazine racks at Walden Books while hanging out in the malls in Cincinnati. During [...]
Thanksgiving, like the once annual airing of The Wizard Of Oz used to be , is an event. Yeah, some people make it out to be dysfunction junction (and for them, maybe it is), but getting to watch football all day on a day which usually would be spent slogging through work is a brilliant concept. And, of course, it is a chance to feast. It's like being king for a day. Bring me gravy! I shall gnaw on this turkey leg in a slovenly fashion as [...]
Marvin Gaye: Star-Spangled Banner Marvin singing the national anthem at the 1983 NBA all-star game. This one goes out to NBA legend Earl Monroe on his 67th birthday. And here's Woody Allen on "the Pearl" in 1977: It's amazing, because the audience's "high" originates inside Monroe and seems to emerge over his exterior. He creates a sense of danger in the arena and yet has enough wit in his style to bring off funny ideas when he wants to. He has, as an athlete-performer, what few actors possess. Marlon Brando [...]
marzio dance - "rap-o-hush" (download) As far as I'm concerned, this is a novelty record, but it was also a minor Italo Disco hit back in 1983. Essentially, it's a disco version of Deep Purple 's "Hush" but with raps done by a 30-something white guy. It makes for an interesting listen. buy
Oh man, how could I have neglected to post this on Halloween! I'm not much of a goth fan, but I do like how Bauhaus sometimes came at it from a darkly psychedelic angle. This one is particularly queasy, with a swirling dubbiness that seems to come straight from a thoroughly gone night of debauchery. On the lighter side, every time Peter Murphy moans the chorus, all I see is this . Bauhaus - She's In Parties
I know it feels like a lingering summer out there, but I'm anticipating the upcoming chill and crunchy leaves that so often brings vaguely gothy new wavey stuff like this to mind. Is it overwrought? Will I ever outgrow it? Listening to these tracks back-to-back, gotta say no and no. I don't even care if the second one is double its appropriate length, that chorus is just tasty. Sad Lovers and Giants - Vendetta Sad Lovers and Giants - Man of Straw
From the minimalist tension of Friday's track to the wide-eyed wonder of these Japanese new agers. I don't know why I have a near-endless attention span for this kind of stuff. Maybe it's because I can imagine a 2-year-old version of myself looping it in his head while making all kinds of discoveries about water and clouds. At any rate, Yellow Magic Orchestra 's Haruomi Hosano produced this, and that alone can be your official seal of quality. Inoyama Land - Glass Chaim
The living room of our treehouse is a very cozy nook to me. From the second floor perch at the corner of a T intersection, there is often a steady flow of traffic and pedestrians to observe. A friend once called and asked what I was doing. "Watching Afternoon Traffic Theater ," I replied, describing the actual scene playing out down below, some twenty-yards away - two middle-aged woman who had had some minor mini-van tête-à-tête. I covered the incident until its underwhelming conclusion without lifting my head [...]
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Miike Snow – Paddling Out (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)
