Doctor Mix And The Remix – Out of the Question (1979)
A lot of the music we’ve picked out to discuss comes from a similar background in terms of time period, style and sound, but I think this one is pretty obscure. How did you find it?
Through a friend of mine. There’s a label in New York called Acute Records maybe eight years ago or so. A few of my friends in California are really obsessed with The Jesus and Mary Chain, and one of the members of the band mentioned once that this was one of their favourite records of all time. The thing I like about it is the extremity of the music. It’s super high-pitched, with distortion and tinny drum machines but then it’s covers of, like, Stooges songs.
This track in particular has this really insane, rhythmic track that’s super metronomic but super heavy at the same time. It’s very aggressive, but not because of the levels of distortion. The first time I heard it I thought I was listening to [The Jesus and Mary Chain’s] Psycho Candy. The more I looked into it, the more I realized how much of an influence it had on them.
It’s funny. The Jesus and Mary Chain were always compared to The Velvet Underground, but apparently there’s much more to it than that.
Sure. There’s not a lot of stuff like this. The guy was in one of the first French punk bands. And, with this, they kind of combined the attitude of the Velvets with these misinterpretations from a different country. I love that because, for me, techno in California was always a misinterpretation of what was happening in Berlin and Detroit and Chicago just because we didn’t really have a big scene. We had a club scene, but not a techno scene. I just really love the weird interpretations of The Stooges and stuff like that.
Are you interested in bands that deconstruct rock tradition in some way?
At the end of the day it’s all about attitude. Willing to push things a lot and not really care. It was the same when I first heard Cabaret Voltaire’s “Messages Received.” I just didn’t know what to say, I was blown away. I thought, “It doesn’t get any more honest than that.” I think that’s the whole thing. There’s an honesty in the music that you can’t remove. There’s a visceral element to it. That’s how myself, Karl [O’Connor], Dave [Sumner] and even Pete [Sutton] interpret music in some way I think.
Cabaret Voltaire – Messages Received (1980)
There was a very heavy art slant on what Cabaret Voltaire did. I think it’s very, very art driven. They’d also have the influence of The Velvet Underground and all that ’60s psych rock, but they’d do all these awesome records and what came through the most was the attitude. “This is what I wanna do, this is how I’m gonna do it.” And they just went for it.
Is that a quality you try to pursue? Not thinking about what you can or can’t do?
Yeah, I talk to Karl every other day on the telephone, we’re in very heavy contact on a weekly basis, same thing with Dave. But it’s funny because when I make music it’s purely to see what he thinks, just for us to discuss… “Oh, I really like this. What do you think?” It’s more a conversation from an art base. I try to work in a very automatic response way. I work in art direction, so I work quite a bit on TV commercials and magazines and stuff like that. So when I work on music it’s usually very late at night and I have to work in headphones, so it’s usually like a weird mantra type state, kinda conscious and unconscious, while I’m working.
It’s nice because there’s a sense that I’m not really thinking about anything particularly. I’m able to work on music in that mindframe where I’m doing it purely just because I want to see what I can come up with. In a more artistic sense, sometimes I will make a visual and we will work to the visual. Like with the artwork for the album. That was made first. Then we made a record that matched that.
For labels like Factory, design labels were incredibly important. They were, in many cases, as important as the music.
When you get that double impact of visual and audio, you’re like, “Wow, this is really intense.” Cabaret Voltaire for me has always done that. All the artwork on their covers. The early ones especially had that handmade element, which I’m sure was some of the guys in the band literally cutting things out by hand and assembling collages. Read the rest of this entry »
Lost amongst the crowd On the torso’s pumping iron A man with a horn takes to the stage The drum beat cracks in time
Harder and bolder the bodies move Shoulder to shoulder skin feels smooth Hot, sticky, still so cool The crash of the anvil and the nightclub school
Watch the moving bodies As they react to the sound Feasting on the visions See the figures going round
Graceful and flowing the fashion shows Sensual and glowing the passion grows Pick your playmate still so cool The crash of the anvil and the nightclub school
Take it as it comes up Leave it when it’s done Put a number in your matchbook And call when you want fun
Living the nightlife to the end Giving the right life like a friend One more rover still so cool The crash of the anvil and the nightclub school
The Fugs – The Divine Toe (Part 1) Spinners – Are You Ready For Love Andy Williams – Love Story (Where Do I Begin) Beautiful Bend – Make That Feeling Come Again Space – My Life Is Music Spinners – With My Eyes Ruth Waters – Never Gonna Be The Same Carrie Lucas – Keep Smilin’ Jigsaw – Sky High Frankie Valli – Heaven Above Me Janis Ian – Fly Too High Susan Fassbender – Twilight Café Simple Minds – I Travel Sparks – Beat The Clock Bow Wow Wow – Love, Peace And Harmony Tuxedomoon – What Use? Visage – The Anvil Robert Görl – Darling Don’t Leave Me Torch Song – P2e David Van Tieghem – These Things Happen 400 Blows – Breakdown Frank Tovey – Luxury Tears For Fears – Change The Cure – Let’s Go To Bed Robert Görl – Mit Dir The Stranglers – Skin Deep Louise Thomas – Feels Like Love Hazell Dean – Searchin’ Olivia Newton-John – Xanadu ABC – When Smokey Sings Madness – Michael Caine Prefab Sprout – Life Of Suprises Joe Jackson – You Can’t Get What You Want Industry – State Of The Nation Miles Davis – Time After Time Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time The Fugs – The Divine Toe (Part 2)
Das Spaßprojekt der gestandenen Post Punk-Elektroniker Jean-Marc Lederman (u. a. Fad Gadget, Gene Loves Jezebel) und Bruce Geduldig (u. a. Tuxedomoon) bleibt den meisten wohl mit ihrem 1987er-Clubhit „Poison“ in Erinnerung. In Tracks wie diesen orientierte man sich musikalisch an der hartnäckig alle sonstigen Clubmusiktendenzen ignorierenden Benelux-EBM-New Beat-Szene, die zunächst nur widerwillig House, Acid und Techno als neuen Spielkamerad akzeptierte. Die Weathermen vergnügten sich aber meistens in einer Popauslegung all dessen, und zogen der martialischen Universalernsthaftigkeit der zugehörigen Szene den Boden unter den Kampfstiefeln weg. Statt Tarnanzugtanzzwang dachte man sich eben lieber psychotische Frauenrollen aus, und gab sich je nach Bedarf als Patricia Hearst / Jimmyjoe Snark III bzw. Susanna Stammer und Chuck B aus. So weit, so ulkig. 1988 verblüfften sie dann aber mit „Punishment Park“, einem Track, der wie aus einer Zeitmaschine herausgeplumpst schien, die gleichzeitig auf vor und zurück eingestellt war. Einerseits war dies klassisch melodiöser Synthpop, andererseits auch irgendwie gestörter Deep House, und dazu gab es einen rätselhaften Text, der zugleich sexy und hinterhältig wie eingekehrt und traurig klang. The games people play, die zwielichtige Darkroom-Großstadtblues-Variante. Themenverwandtschaft zum gleichnamigen Agitprop-Filmklassiker von Peter Watkins bestand nur in entlegenen Winkeln, aber der Track hallt ebenso lange nach.
The Weathermen – Punishment Park (Play It Again Sam Records, 1988)
In meiner frühen Jugend war “No Tears” einer dieser Songs, die in Clubs, in denen alles zwischen Italo Disco und New Wave gespielt wurde, quasi automatisch die Tanzfläche füllten. Bist Du in einem ähnlichen Kontext auf den Song gestoßen? Was ist Deine persönliche Geschichte mit “No Tears”?
Es gab im Münsterland in den 80er Jahren einen schönen Laden namens “Fabrik” in der Kleinstadt Coesfeld. Ein Treffpunkt für Wave, Punk, EBM, Psychobilly und Cure-Fans. Ein fantastischer Ort: Tolle Frisuren, Domestos-Jeans, Ratten auf den Schultern und ein wirklich bizarrer Musikmix. “No Tears” war ähnlich wie “Surfin’ Bird” von den Trashmen eine Art Schnittmengenstück für nahezu alle subkulturellen Lager.
Der Song hat ja diesen sehr charismatischen Text. “No tears for the creatures of the night”. Jeder konnte das für sich auslegen, und so wurde das von der New Wave- bzw. Grufti-Szene bis heute zu Electroclash und Nachfolgendem immer weitergetragen und neu eingesetzt. Aber wie hast Du diesen Text für Dich persönlich ausgelegt? Einsamkeit in der Menge? Entfremdung in der nächtlichen Stadt? Es bieten sich ja viele Deutungsmöglichkeiten…
Meine Eltern haben damals eine schwere Beziehungskrise durchlebt, Schule habe ich nicht bzw. hat mich nicht verstanden, Mädchen waren für mich auch ein großes Mysterium. Sie hingen mit den etwas älteren Dorfprolls herum, nur weil die schon ein Auto hatten! Na ja, so in etwa habe ich mir das damals in zusammengereimt… Ich war folgerichtig gegen alles! Die „Creatures“ waren eben all “die anderen”! Und für die hatte ich einfach kein Mitleid! Read the rest of this entry »
Terry Hall – Sense Stereolab – Miss Modular The La’s – There She Goes Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Opportunity Superpanzer – Geheimer Star The The – Heartland Spandau Ballet – I’ll Fly For You The Waterboys – The Whole Of The Moon Lewis Taylor – Say I Love You XTC – The Loving Tears For Fears – Sowing The Seeds Of Love Tex & Erobique – People Of A Destimate Prefab Sprout – Electric Guitars Jack Peñate – Every Glance Tuxedomoon – In A Manner Of Speaking John Cale – I Keep A Close Watch Glenn Gregory – Perfect Day The Monochrome Set – Goodbye Joe David Sylvian – The Ink In The Well It’s Immaterial – The Better Idea Thomas Dolby – I Scare Myself The Special AKA – Racist Friend The Beat – Drowning UB40 – The Earth Dies Screaming Carmel – I’m Not Afraid Of You Matt Bianco – More Than I Can Bear Human League – Louise Pet Shop Boys – Hey Headmaster Osymyso – Fiver To Bigwig Saint Etienne – Hobart Paving The Style Council – Changing Of The Guard Robert Wyatt – At Last I Am Free
A mix I contributed to the excellent blog Another Night On Earth, which sadly seems not to be active anymore. Blogs were really important in those days. I read a lot of them and I tried to support them with mixes as well. Then along came Facebook and whatever else followed, and killed off the whole scene. And now the blog spirit is back at platforms like substack, because so many people yearn for such content again. It’s a funny world.
B-Side – Bones Cabaret Voltaire – Sensoria Clock DVA – Sound Mirror Act – Snobbery And Decay The Fyling Lizards – Hands 2 Take 400 Blows – The Charmer Soft Cell – ….So Visage – Again We Love Japan – Life In Tokyo Shriekback – Accretions Godley & Creme – Woodwork Altered Images – Disco Pop Stars Matia Bazar – I Bambini Di Poi Thomas Dolby – Urges The Residents – Excerpt From “For Elsie” Tuxedomoon – Atlantis Gentle Ihor – Psalm 151 Yazoo – In My Room A.P.O. – O Superman
There were the two veteran goth girls generously trying to teach goth dance moves to a veteran mod in the backyard of a hater’s party where the wall once stood. One deckchair, a bench, and a table were destroyed in the process. The veteran goth girls were still able to perform the moves most authentically, but the veteran mod failed disastrously due to stubborn groovyness, and not being able to remember that it’s one step forward, two steps back, and not the other way round. He could not produce the claws of desperation and a doomed expression either. This for you, veteran goth girls!
XTC – Dance With Me, Germany (Excerpt) Cocteau Twins – Cherry-Coloured Funk Felt – Primitive Painters Siouxsie & The Banshees – Dear Prudence Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon Tuxedomoon – Some Girls Japan – Ghosts Wire – Marooned Monochrome Set – Alphaville Gang Of Four – Call Me Up Sad Lovers & Giants – In Flux The Associates – Skipping Clock DVA – Resistance New Order – Sunrise Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi’s Dead Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Mercy Seat Hybrid Kids – D’ya Think I’m Sexy?
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