Electro Classic Jukebox: Berlin.

Oh, I had such an immense crush on Terri Nunn back in the day. Their first (and most controversial – many radio stations refused to play it on the grounds of its "graphic" lyrics) single, "Sex (I'm A)" practically made my 12-year old head explode. Even now, nearly thirty years later, listening to Nunn's purring and sexually charged voice can make my blood pressure shoot through the roof. But arguably their greatest moment came with the release of "The Metro," which stands out in my opinion as one of the greater achievements of synths-as-purveyors-of-mood in the early '80s, period. I mean, just listen to it! It was a truly defining moment for the New Wave synth-pop movement back in the day – a gleefully wondrous and thrilling mix of punk and pop that utilized the multi-layered synths in such a way that the listener was immediately transported to another time and place. The longing and loathing of the lyrics were perfectly captured by the brilliant Nunn, whilst the constantly driving and thoroughly exciting music nimbly captured the feel of trundling motion underneath the City of Lights. Nice touch at the end, utilizing the French police sirens, as well! In 2004, Nunn (alongside an entirely new Berlin lineup) decided to rerecord "The Metro," as well as a few other of their greatest hits – sorry, hon, but it's nowhere as cool, original and refreshing as the originals. Accepting no substitutes!


From Berlin's 1982 sophomore record, Pleasure Victim, here's Nunn and company with their awesome track "The Metro." Enjoy!

Electro Classic Jukebox: Wolfsheim.

Hailing from The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany, Wolfsheim were a rather brilliant synth-pop number who released a smattering of memorable "darkwave" tunes until their dissolution in 2005 due to disagreements as to what direction Wolfsheim's music was going to ultimately head toward. Comprised of neighborhood pals Marcus Reinhardt and Peter Heppner (who joined the band after Marcus' brother Oliver departed), they released seven albums throughout their career that, though bordering on the melancholic, still soared with a certain elegiac charm. No single of theirs is probably better known than the ground-breaking "The Sparrows And The Nightingales," off their 1992 debut album No Happy View, so of course I thought I'd share it today. Mein Gut, these are some mighty powerful synths at play here, and the lyrics are both epic and thought-provoking, providing one with an orchestral, majestic tone. 


Have you had your helping of Wolfsheim today? I have. So here's some for you and yours!

Electro Classic Jukebox: Duran Duran.

Two things. First, a heartfelt "thank you" to EMI Records for finally enabling embedding on their music videos. Truth be told, I'm not really sure what the issue with embedding was in the first place -- it's not like I was stealing the music and sharing it with somebody else without giving EMI their piece of the pie or anything like that! Rather, I like to think that the act of embedding music on a blog or a website actually is a form of free advertising for their "product," more than anything else. Somebody sees the blog, likes what they hear, and maybe -- just maybe -- they'll go to their local record shop or iTunes and make a purchase. Everybody wins, and blah blah blah. So thank you, EMI, for finally seeing the light. Embedding is not stealing. Yay.


Secondly, thank you to Chez Pazienza at Deus Ex Malcontent for posting Duran Duran today.  Their 1982 masterpiece Rio, long a favourite album of mine, is mind-bendingly chockfull of brilliant moments, and always well worth a listen from front to back. Every song on this work is a highlight, whether it's the title track with its chorus "Her name is Rio, and she dances on the sand," the monumental minimalism of "The Chauffeur," the heady (and probably best-known) urgency of "Hungry Like The Wolf," or the out-and-out rock 'n' roll rollicking of "Last Chance On The Stairway." Rio is a work of genius, and frankly has not aged a day since it was released nearly thirty years ago.


For what it's worth, my favourite track off Rio is "Save A Prayer." It has racked up hundreds of plays on my iPod and iTunes; and that's not even taking into account how many times I've played it on vinyl, cassette tape, and CD. There's something magical about it -- is it the slightly Asian influence in the opening synths? John Taylor's immaculately performed bass riffs? Simon le Bon's mature and realistic musings on a one night stand? Is it how the entire band gels and performs a nearly 6-minute perfect pop song in a day and age where the norm was three and a half? Who knows? It's just a fantastic song. "And you wanted to dance, so I asked you to dance, but fear is in your soul / Some people call it a one night stand, but we can call it paradise." 


Indeed.

duran duran

"save a prayer"

rio

Electro Classic Jukebox: Soft Cell.

Two years after the triumphant debut of their first album Non-stop Erotic Cabaret and its immediate followup Non-stop Ecstatic Dancing, Soft Cell (Marc Almond & Dave Ball) came back in dark form with their third release, The Art of Falling Apart. While NSEC had more of a playful mentality, singing praises and curses of the sleaziness of late '70s and early '80s Soho, London (think "Sex Dwarf", "Seedy Films", and the lonely doldrums of "Bedsitter"), The Art of Falling Apart found Mssrs. Almond and Ball in much darker territory. From the sadly dysfunctional family at each others' throats in "Where the Heart Is" to the excruciatingly savage and harrowing examination of a stripper's life in "Baby Doll", TAOFA was more interested in telling the stories of people who otherwise wouldn't be noticed by the average Londoner. Maybe that's why it didn't sell as well as its predecessor, but it could also have been the drugs that were beginning to plague the duo. But when I look at the work of Soft Cell during those first three years (their fourth album, This Last Night In Sodom was, to me at least, a mixed bag at best), I find TAOFA to be their most assured and seamless adventure. Almond's voice really reached a level of seedy cabaret brilliance, Ball's synths and drum programming were precise and warm, and their trumpeter John Gatchell delivered some pretty freaking incredible and soulful blasts of jazz into the proceedings. 

All that being said, my favourite track off this album is actually a B-side from the 12" release of "Where The Heart Is". It's a fantastic and really quite weird number called "It's A Mug's Game," and here we find Almond, Ball, and Gatchell delivering what is probably the funniest synth-pop song ever released, ever. This paean to practically the worst day ever has such a silly and incredibly vibrant energy to it, that it nearly explodes out of your speakers. Featuring horrible hangovers, food poisoning, venereal disease, unintended pregnancy, emergency visits to the chemist, money problems, and strict fathers, you've just got to listen to it to believe it. Best lyric: "Oh God, it's another disease / And you just got rid of the last / You were beginning to feel OK / And the friends you gave it to were speaking to you again."

Here's "It's A Mug's Game." Enjoy!

soft cell

"it's a mug's game"

the art of falling apart

Three Australian 80's Hits.

Well! I've now been in the land down under for just under a month, and it's been absolutely spectacular. Things are going great with my girlfriend, I'm getting some healthy color, and I've lost two and a half kilos (probably from all the fresh and organic food I've been eating) -- so all in all at this moment, I'm pretty tops. Still need to quit smoking, but I'm now under a pack a day, so we'll see where I'm at in another month, shall we?


So today I was thinking: How's about I put together a nifty little package of early 80's Australian music for you, my faithful readers, this weekend? Sounds like a plan, thinks I. So with no further ado, here's some 80's treasures that will, today, be on my humble blog!

From 1983, QED were a Sydney band featuring Jenny Morris, a Kiwi from discontinued band The Crocodiles. Wrapping up the rest of the group was Rex Goh (ex guitarist for Air Supply!) and Ian Belton on bass guitar. Featuring Amanda Vincent on keyboards (though for the life of me I don't know who's doing them in this video), QED evoked a sound that to this day evokes in me a tremendous feeling of nostalgia (because, really, what is this site but a musical nostalgia choo-choo train?). They only released one album, Animal Magic, before disbanding (Jenny Morris went on to great acclaim as a solo artist) -- and "Everywhere I Go" was their first single. And here it is. Love Morris' purple coat!

qed

"everywhere i go"

animal magic

Yeah, yeah -- I know everybody on the planet knows who Men At Work are, and can probably sing "Down Under" line for line at the drop of a dime. But I don't care. I'd like to think of today's post as a bit of comfort food, if you will, and since I've started with the year 1983, I figured I'd stick with it. Think of it as something of a theme. So. Men At Work. From the southern Melbourne suburb of St Kilda (love that 'hood), they only released three albums: 1981's Business As Usual, 1983's Cargo, and 1985's Two Hearts. Today's track comes from Cargo, and personally I find it to be quite an effective anti-war song that still holds water. I'm speaking of course of "It's A Mistake," and here it is for your listening pleasure.

men at work

"it's a mistake"

cargo

Though best known for their (rather crappy) 1986 cover of Lipps Inc.'s "Funky Town," Melbourne's Pseudo Echo back in the day composed music that was extraordinarily similar to the output of fellow 80's stalwarts Ultravox. Their debut record, 1984's Autumnal Park featured many high points in early 80's synth-pop, but none rose so high as their hit single "Listening." I remember back in 1985 when I first bought the album (entitled Pseudo Echo in the United States) -- I probably bugged the shit out of my parents by having kept lifting the needle and going back to start this track over and over and over again. It's a great tune; I haven't heard it in a long time, but it's great to go back to a priceless pop gem. Here's "Listening" for your listening pleasure on this gorgeous and sunny Saturday afternoon. Cheers!

pseudo echo

"listening"

autumnal park

Gothic Masterpieces: Clan of Xymox.

Ah, Clan of Xymox. I've been listening to a lot of them today - it's rainier than fuck here in Melbourne at the moment, and damned if I'm going to head out into it ... unless I absolutely have to. Clan of Xymox's music is, for want of a better word, absolutely perfect for the occasional cold and rainy day - so this rainy-ass Derby Day seems to be a perfect opportunity to reflect on their 1985 self-titled debut Clan of Xymox!


Based out of Amsterdam and signed to the prestigious London label 4AD (home to such stalwarts as Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, and The Pixies), Clan of Xymox made an immediate impression on the electronic scene with their sweepingly hypnotic melodies that were firmly moored with a sophisticated sheen of guitars. What is it exactly that defines this record? Maybe it is the soaring je ne sais quoi of "No Words," with its delicate acoustic instrumentation hovering lovingly over Ronny Mooring's (who writes and records all of the songs himself) despondent lyrics: "No words to explain, no words in my mouth / No words in my mind / But the gesture said it all / And the words refined it all"? Perhaps it boils down to the grandiosity and pulsing power of the largely instrumental (and a guaranteed floor-filler at finer dance clubs) "Stranger"? Or is it the strange and glossy nonsense of the galloping bonus track "Muscovite Mosquito," overlaid with a distinctly brooding bass? Who knows? Hell, what is a Muscovite Mosquito, anyway? I don't know -- but it fucking rocks. Luckily, Clan of Xymox is still with us after all these years, and their new album Hidden Faces will be released on the 9th of November. Can't wait -- I'll be sure to review it and let you all know what I think!


But for now I think I'm going to continue to sit at my desk with my bottle of Cooper's Green and listen to some more COX. Let me let you in on what it is I'm listening to on this rainy, rainy day.

clan of xymox

"stranger"

clan of xymox

clan of xymox

"a day"

clan of xymox

clan of xymox

"muscovite mosquito"

clan of xymox

Electro Classic Jukebox: Skinny Puppy.

Well! I had so much fun revisiting the EBM stylings of Front Line Assembly, I felt I had to make a return trip for the sole purpose of bearing homage to fellow Vancouverites Skinny Puppy. Formed as an experimental side project by cEvin Key whilst he was in a new wave band called Images In Vogue in 1982, it became a full-time project when he became disillusioned with his band's music - and when Nivek Ogre came on board as vocalist. After the initial release of a cassette demo Back and Forth in 1984, they signed to Canadian label Nettwerk and put out (in the same year!) their debut EP Remission - which let the world know they were a force to be reckoned with. And *poof!* just like that, Skinny Puppy (widely is believed to) had given messy birth to a new genre - electronic industrialism. And bully for them - 26 years later Skinny Puppy is still churning on, delivering shockingly disturbing metal-based electronic horror that has the power after all these years to still blanche the spirit. I think one aspect of Mssrs. Key and Ogre's brainchild that gives it its oomph is that they have consistently wore their severed, blood-spattered hearts on their sleeves; they have a lot of energy and, if you've ever seen their videos or have gone to one of their shows, they proudly debase the whole meaning of where their vicious style of electro-industrial ends and where death metal begins to seep into the works like a dripping, infected wound. Blood spatters. Horrible images of death, decay, and torture are emblazoned on giant screens. Self-mutilation. Evil iconography. Lyrics about murder, animal experimentation, politics, genocide, mutants, and villainy. Aggressive music that flies in one's face, challenging. So I got to thinking: with Halloween a scant four days away, I'd share some of my favorite Skinny Puppy tracks with you today. Enjoy!

Here, from their 1984 debut Remissions, is "Smothered Hope." I think this was the first song of theirs I heard. I think Ogre's distorted vocals and the nearly poetic stream-of-consciousness lyrics sound fucking fantastic together.

skinny puppy

"smothered hope"

remissions ep

From 1986's Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse, here's "Dig It." When Ogre and friends chant "Dig it! Dig it! Execute economic slave!", I have to admit, I bang my head a little. Such anger in this track.

skinny puppy

"dig it"

mind: the perpetual intercourse

From Vivisect VI, released in 1988, here's an epically disturbing and horrific track about animal testing and torture called "Testure." WARNING: INCREDIBLY DISTURBING VIDEO. I've always been curious as to where the opening sample comes from: "I hope you make sure we're properly dead before you start, old rip beak!" Freaky shit.  UPDATE: Have located source of the above sample. It is taken from the 1982 animated film Plague Dogs, a super-depressing adaptation of Richard Adams' (Watership Down) novel of the same name. The entire quote, from dear, hyper-active Snitter - speaking to his fellow escapee Rowf: "Have you ever thought, Rowf ... that we won't need food when we're dead? Or names for that matter. I wonder who the buzzards will like best, you or me ... I hope you make sure we're properly dead before you start, old rip beak!" This film will make you weep.

skinny puppy

"testure"

vivisect vi

Last, but most certainly not least, from 1985's Bites, is what is probably Skinny Puppy's "danciest" single, "Assimilate." I certainly know it was very popular at The Church and other gothic clubs I frequented in the early '90s. As a treat, here it is being performed live! Check out the visuals that would accompany them on tour. Disturbing, but not as disturbing as "Testure," that's for damn sure.

skinny puppy

"assimilate"

bites

Electro Classic Jukebox: Peter Schilling.

Hello, everybody. Happy Tuesday to you and yours! Today I thought I'd share with you all an absolutely fantastic gem from 1982 that's been popping up on my playlist lately - and it's a track that I just can't get enough of. I'm speaking, of course, of "Major Tom (Coming Home)" - or "Major Tom (Völlig Iosgelöst)", meaning "totally disconnected" in its native German - by the Stuttgart, Germany-based 80's synth-wizard Peter Schilling.

Taking David Bowie's 1969 masterpiece "Space Oddity" as its inspiration, "Major Tom (Coming Home)" takes a stab at describing the experiences of Major Tom as he launches into the great void above and loses contact with Ground Control. "Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows," Bowie crooned toward the end. What Schilling wanted to do with "Major Tom" was to tell the story from Major Tom's point of view - what was happening to him after his last transmission?

Far beneath the ship

The world is mourning

They don't realize he's alive

No one understands but Major Tom sees

"Now the light commands

This is my home,

I'm coming home,"

the lyrics go. It packs an emotional punch - there's a lovely melancholic sensibility going on here, and I find it absolutely irresistible. The song was originally sung in German (which is the version I'm currently listening to), but was rerecorded in English as the single, like Major Tom himself, launched into the stratosphere. It was also to be, alas, Herr Schilling's one and only hit.

But what a hit it was! Here's the English version:



... And here's the 12" version, with fantastic Japanese anime images put together by intoantics. It's pretty spectacular, so I recommend watching this one on a large screen.

Electro Classic Jukebox: The Beloved.

The Beloved, based out of London, England, has a very cool story about how they formed in order to make beautiful music together. The founder, Jon Marsh, put out an ad in a music magazine in 1983 saying,

I am Jon Marsh, founder member of the Beloved. Should you too wish to do something gorgeous, meet me in exactly three year's time at exactly 11am in Diana's Diner, or site thereof, Covent Garden, London, WC2.

Exactly three years later, Jon Marsh was met by one Steve Waddington, and The Beloved (though at first they called themselves Journey Through) was born.

Initially a guitar-oriented band, they began to find success in the UK market once they began to embrace drum machines and a more decidedly dance-friendly sound. The Beloved saw band members come and go with some regularity, until only the original duo, Marsh and Waddington remained. Sadly, after their third record, a re-mix compilation entitled Blissed Out (1991), Marsh fired Waddington, who had faithfully showed up for that meeting back in 1986 Covent Garden. Marsh then proceeded to replace Waddington with his wife, Helena.

The Beloved (though with Helena, the "The" was dropped) didn't find true pop stardom until 1993, when they released their fourth studio album, Conscience. Or, better still, they released the super-fantastic single "Sweet Harmony."

Holy crap, is this song gorgeous. Easy-going, melodic, and full of lilting and sustained synths floating in and out of an ethereal backdrop (and a kick-ass saxophone solo), "Sweet Harmony" is one of those tracks that I just can't stop listening to. Everything about it screams lushness, and the fact that breathy female vocals consistently whisper mysteriously throughout doesn't hurt things, either. The video itself which I am helpfully posting here, is breathtaking. However, since it's full of naked women (and a naked Jon Marsh) artfully concealing their lady-bits, I'm not terribly sure how SFW it is. You might want to use some discretion!

Thanks for reading. Talk soon!

the beloved

"sweet harmony"

conscience

Saturday Fun And Memories With Sometime!

One thing I certainly appreciate about music is how firmly it entrenches itself into the spirals, loops, and overpasses of one's life. It's funny sometimes how, when you hear a song that reminds you of a certain moment in your life, it somehow transports you back to that time, for both good and ill. For instance, I can't help but start misting up whenever Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" makes an appearance around me - it not only reminds me of the massive 1989 earthquake and the perm I acquired from a friend who was training to be a hairdresser, but also my first major breakup!* All in the same day! (The perm, in case you're wondering, made me look a bit like Martin Gore.) But yeah, music is funny that way. But you didn't need me to tell you that. Everybody on the planet has a song hidden in their subconsciousness that reminds them of an important, life-altering moment in their existence. Most have many such songs. As Bryan Ferry sung on Roxy Music's "Oh Yeah,"

And so it came to be our song

And so on through

All summer long,

Day and night,

Drifting into love.

I'd like to take a moment today to share with you a song that means quite a lot to me. I remember having met my girlfriend for the third time in Paris (she'd come over from London on the Eurostar), and, having said goodbye at the Gare du Nord station, I'd come back to the flat and had put on the super-stellar Supercalfragalisticexpialidocious by the Icelandic electro band Sometime. This album is so freaking good on so many levels, it's ridiculous. That being said, when "Heart of Spades," probably my favorite track off of the album, came on, something clicked in my rather sad mind.

That internal clicking was me thinking, One day, I'm going to marry that woman. Fast forward two and a half years later, and that thought is quickly becoming reality. When Diva de la Rosa sang,

The future's undecided,

Just try to have faith.

You take your chance or you will

Never know,

I felt somehow that something good would come - I just needed to be patient. So I was, and here I am. So here, from their 2007 album Supercalafragalisticexpialidocious is the heart-warming and beautiful track "Heart of Spades." I've gotta say, the video is fantastic as well - I'm always a sucker for Alice in Wonderland references.

* By the way, it was only the breakup that made me tear up, whilst on that seat having peroxide (apple pectin, I believe) applied to my hair. The earthquake and the new hairstyle were actually quite fun, in a bizarre and strange kind of way. That hairdressing friend, by the way, goes by the name Isaac and works at a fabulous hair salon in Campbell, California called Faux. If you're in the area and wish to have your hair styled, why not give them a call and make an appointment? The number is (408)378-FAUX. Go for it!

Electro Classic Jukebox: Icehouse.

Even though I just finished working on this Icehouse essay on their debut album Flowers, it unfortunately got back-logged to the month of May, so some new readers might not get a chance to read it. However, there's always room for more Icehouse, so I'd like to share with you one of my favorite tracks of theirs.

Originally released in 1982 on the album Primitive Man, "Great Southern Land" was subsequently re-released in the United States in 1989 on the compilation album also known as Great Southern Land. It is also, to this day, the single most popular song from Icehouse's oeuvre. It was also featured in a really really really terrible Yahoo Serious film called Young Einstein. Have you seen this "film"? I truly and deeply love and respect Australia and its citizens (in fact, I've plans on moving there later this year), but seriously (haha) - their export of Yahoo Serious should be investigated by Interpol as one of the more atrocious international crimes ever committed. He is that unfunny.

But I digress. The song in question is quite good - filled to the brim with chunky guitar riffs, hypnotic drumming, spacey sound-effects, and a beautiful, soaring synth that nicely dove-tails the whole thing, coloring everything the shade of an Australian sunset (which are quite beautiful). Iva Davies' falsetto voice finishes things off nicely as he sings of his lovely island home and of how it's been ravaged over and over again ever since it was a "prison island."

Great Southern Land, Great Southern Land

You walk alone, like a primitive man

You walk alone with the ghosts of time

And they burned you black,

Yeah, they burned you black.

Anyway, with no further ado, here is Icehouse and the gorgeous desert-set video for "Great Southern Land." Just like with INXS' "Kiss The Dirt," there are fires in the desert at night! Sounds like a great party. Enjoy, my friends. And check out that awesome goanna!

Electro Classic Jukebox: INXS

Well before Sydney-based rockers INXS (though half of them hailed from Perth, WA) became super-sized stadium champions with a penchant for funk-laced rock 'n' roll (not that there's anything wrong with that), Michael Hutchence -- rest in peace, mate -- and his merry gang leaned more towards the New Wave/pop end of the musical spectrum.

They were also quite prolific during the heydays of the early 80's, having released a total of five exceptional albums from 1980 to 1985: INXS, their auspicious debut; Underneath the Colours; Shabooh Shoobah, laced as it was with tendrils of mysticism and delightful melodies (including, of course, the most-awesome track "Old World New World"); The Swing, which, quite frankly, doesn't have a single bum note on it; and Listen Like Thieves, from whence today's Electro Classic Jukebox selection comes.

"Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)" entranced me from the first listen. I loved the rolling and playful guitar strumming, that ghostly synth that hovers imperceptibly in the background, that cool little dooboodoodoo sound, and the beautiful lyrics that tell a lovely little story about falling in and out of love, and how the whole process is actually quite good for you. And then it finishes with a healthy rock-out! The video is pretty special, as well. Filmed in one or two of Australia's many vast deserts (hey to any Aussies reading this -- anybody know which one?), it really is quite nice-looking. I love desert imagery, and the members of INXS standing and playing their instruments out in the middle of nowhere is always a nice image to behold.

So! Without further ado, I would like to show you today's ECJ: "Kiss The Dirt (Falling Down The Mountain)"!

Electro Classic Jukebox: Eurythmics.

As I was writing my recent review for the LCD Soundsystem show last week, I'd made the point that one of the tracks off their new album This Is Happening, "I Can Change," reminded me of early Eurythmics. What song was it, I asked myself, aware that I hadn't really listened to Annie Lennox and Dave Stewarts' deliciously icy pop in quite some time. Needless to say, my curiosity was piqued, so I pulled out my little collection of their first three albums - In The Garden, Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), and Touch - and proceeded to have myself a sweet little Eurythmics listening party. Cool! I had completely forgotten what a rich treasure trove of material those two had put out during the first half of the 80's.

Cutting edge synths and beautiful orchestrations beautifully dovetailed with Lennox's silky alto voice on such choice tracks like "Who's That Girl?," "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)," and "Here Comes The Rain Again," propelling them to the top of the electro scene back in the day. After I realized what song LCD Soundsystem's single had reminded me of ("Love Is A Stranger" off of SD(AMOT), in case you were curious), I dutifully visited our dear friend YouTube and watched the video!

The video has it all: A mysterious chauffeur, a nighttime ride through the streets of London, a creepy puppet, and the one and only Lennox wearing BDSM-inspired clothing with a multitude of sexy wigs over her shock of bright red hair. Watch out for her (looking awfully damn sexy, by the way) writhing on a bathroom floor with a length of film - damn, she's freaking hot! And the lyrics themselves, in my own humble opinion, are really quite frank and honest in describing love itself. Here's a sample: "It's guilt-edged, glamorous and sleek by design/You know it's jealous by nature, false and unkind/It's hard and restrained and it's totally cool/It touches and it teases as you stumble in the debris" And it's absolutely fabulous when delivered by Lennox's smoky voice.

Also - watch for Dave Stewart (as the aforementioned chauffeur) pulling out a phone that looks suspiciously like an iPhone. See? They were ahead of their time!

So, with no further ado, here's the video for "Love Is A Stranger." Damn, I'm glad for my little listening party - their music will certainly continue in my ongoing shuffle!

Electro Classic Jukebox: Severed Heads.

Hello, all! Sorry I've been so inactive these past few weeks - I've been out and about, investigating new grounds, fertile and action-packed. I'm afraid I've been derelict regarding my blogging duties - it won't happen again! ANYWAY, back to the electro-madness that you all enjoy so very much!

Hailing from good old Sydney, Australia, here is a great example of electronic music that branched out separate from the usual Anglo- and Euro- twig of the electronic tree. Severed Heads sprouted in the year 1979, but they originally went by the name of , and I'm not kidding, Mr and Mrs No Smoking Sign. Apparently, as a joke, they changed their name to the aforementioned Severed Heads and have not felt good about it ever since (really!).

One of the few Australian synth-pop/industrial bands that sprung from the Sydney punk-scene of the late '70s, I think the Severed Heads (Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright) were way ahead of their time, considering the year and the state of their continent at the moment - i.e., how removed from England they were.

But I digress. Here, from 1984, is Severed Heads with their classic track, "Dead Eyes Opened."

Electro Classic Jukebox: Real Life.

Like a brief and sadly short-lived flare, Melbourne, Australia's Real Life did their damnedest to stake out a claim for awesome Australian synth-pop in the heady year of 1983. Unfortunately, their foray didn't work out so well - only two singles sprung from their debut album Heartland. But in the land of '80s synthesizer music, sometimes it only took a singular stab at genius to make a piece of art stick into the heart of the public's subconsciousness. Thus I introduce unto you their singular master track, "Send Me An Angel".

Ladies and gentlemen; if you haven't heard this track before, then please close your eyes and let this lovely song wash over you. If you have (and I'm pretty sure you have), then listen to it afresh. It's a great fucking song; with a whistling synth, a reedy voice, and a catchy-as-hell chorus.

The Beauty And The Beast - style video doesn't hurt things, either. You gotta love the mist-smothered forests, of which I'm positive Melbourne is swarming with! Here's Real Life with their career-defining single, "Send Me An Angel".

Electro Classic Jukebox: Blancmange.

Released as a single in 1982 off their first album Happy Families, Blancmange's "Living On The Ceiling" is, in my opinion, a perfect example of a surprise hit. Formed in the late '70s in the London borough of Harrow (to the far, far west of my girlfriend's northwest London flat in West Hampstead), Blancmange was one of the many synth-pop bands who missed the "wave," so to speak, and rather petered out after just a couple of albums (they released two others: 1984's Mange Tout, and Believe You Me from 1985). But one has to admit that "Living On The Ceiling" is one hell of a strong single. It's catchy and fun, and the lyrics are thoughtful and intelligent. It's also in possession of a rather goofy sensibility, propelled by Neil Arthur's deep and forceful voice.

Fun trivia item: Israel's Channel One program used the main theme of "Living On The Ceiling" as the introduction for their Arabic news program. Listen to the song - there's definitely an Arabic sound in the synths!

Here is Blancmange performing "Living On The Ceiling" on the UK pop music show, The Tube in 1982. Enjoy, dear readers! Happy March - and how about that hockey game? Was that awesome, or what?

Electro Classic Jukebox: Human League.

Before the pretty, pretty club-land girls Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley (who, after Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh left to start Heaven 17, created a "new vision" for leader Philip Oakey) joined Human League, there was an entirely different sound that encapsulated the new, experimental style that was seeping through the pores of late '70s England.

Don't get me wrong. While I quite like the post-Reproduction records (Dare is still the darling of the synth-pop world), I still have to say that the exquisitely experimental daring and newness of what they were doing at the time trumps more than a few artists at this time. In an age of Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, glam David Bowie, and Joy Division, this Sheffield band made its mark with an ultimately uncompromising electronic sound, and introduced to us forever the nasal vocals of the one and only Philip.

From 1979's Reproduction, here is the Human League with "Empire State Human."

Electro Classic Jukebox: John Foxx.

Following his departure from Utravox! in 1979 (Midge Ure would take over the singing duties in 1980 after his own departure from Visage), John Foxx declared that he would "like to be a machine," and then, like Jonathon Frakes in Star Trek: The Next Generation, made it so. Retreating with engineer Gareth Jones to an Islington studio "the size of an eight-track cupboard," he followed his Kraftwerk and Gary Numan dreams and recorded the first of his two solo records, Metamatic. (The name, if you're curious, refers to a "painting machine," first unveiled in 1959 at the Paris Biennial by kinetic artist Jean Tinguely.)*

Released in January 1980, Metamatic was an abrupt departure for Foxx. As the old joke goes, he completely threw out the guitars and brought out the synths! It's an exciting record, written by a man who had read Crash by JG Ballard just a few too many times (funnily enough, JG Ballard seems to have been a major influence on many of these pioneers of the synth-pop sound - his dystopian futuristic landscapes, usually only about five minutes into the future, really spoke to their newfound "outsider" status). Full of allusions to cars, speeding, concrete, vast empty stretches, and roadworks, one can say with absolute honesty that Metamatic moves. It's always in motion, and that's what makes it so damn cool.

For my money, I'd like to nominate "Underpass" for outstanding song on this record. We've all seen underpasses in real life. They're not pleasant places, for the most part. Listening to this song, you can picture the grimy concrete of the pilings, hear the traffic roaring above your head, see the murky illumination of the fluourescent lights, and see the homeless lurking in the shadows in makeshift tent-cities. In other words, it's a great place to get mugged. Without further ado, here is John Foxx and "Underpass"!

Just another fun little note. The engineer on Metamatic was one Gareth Jones, then just starting out with his career. John Foxx's second (and last) album was called The Garden. Afterwards, he opened up a studio of his own, called Garden Studios. It was here where Depeche Mode recorded Construction Time Again. Who was the engineer? None other than Gareth Jones.

* Thank you, Wikipedia!

Electro Classic Jukebox: A Flock Of Seagulls.

You know, there are certain moments when one is young, and a song will come right out and go through you. It speaks volumes about where you've been, who you are, and what you make about the world in which you live. "Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)" is one of those songs; at least for me. I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but there's just a certain emotive energy at work here in this track that, for lack of a better word, speaks to me. It's not as if A Flock Of Seagulls is one of my favorite bands, either -- frankly, I've managed to intentionally ignore most of their output, and at the same time not really fret about what I may be missing, but -- this song! It's nearly perfect. Mike Score's voice does a brilliant job of conveying a sense of longing, and the music is just top-notch. I love the buzzing guitars, the special effects layered over Ali's (Mike's brother) drumming, and the noodling and quite catchy synths. And what can I say about the video, except that I'm a sucker for science fiction imagery, especially the interior of spaceships! And can we all agree that that was one hell of a haircut? From Liverpool, UK, here's A Flock Of Seagulls with their 1982 single "Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)." Enjoy!

Electro Classic Jukebox: Depeche Mode.

From Depeche Mode's 1987 album Music For The Masses, here is "Little 15" in all its melancholic glory. Directed by their longtime videographer and photographer (and stage designer!) Anton Corbijn ("Control"), this video follows a general theme employed during their "Strange" sessions. Alienation, emotional violence, commitment, sex, control, addiction, and dependency loom rather large in these pieces of work. "Little 15," in my humble opinion, probably exemplifies most of these themes all by itself!

BUILDING TRIVIA: If you watch the video, you'll see a tall, stark concrete building. Finished in 1972 by the architect Ernö Goldfinger, this block of council flats in North Kensington, London are a classic example of the Brutalist style of architecture. They are also an example of hard-to-police slum apartments filled with gang violence, drug dealing, and prostitution. Yet Goldfinger was not a nice man - legendary author and anti-Semite Ian Fleming so completely disliked him that he named his iconic bad-guy after him in the James Bond novel "Goldfinger."

The photo at the very top is a picture I took of Trellick Tower in London, August 2009. It's a pretty damn impressive (and somewhat oppressive-looking) building!

COMING SOON ON SECOND DRAWER UP FROM THE LEFT: I review the Editors' gig at the Warfield in San Francisco, I take a second look at Organisation by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and I try out some electronic music-making applications for the iPhone. Take care of yourselves, dear readers, and stay out of trouble!