Can- Monster Movie (1969) Remaster (SACD) MP3 & FLAC

Spoon ~ 2004/1969

Tracklist/Info

Monster Movie (Remastered SACD Edition)

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David Bowie- "Be My Wife" Video (1977)

Classic Bowie from his "Thin White Duke" years. This song can be found on the first album of the Berlin Trilogy, Low:

John Foxx- Metamatic (1980) Deluxe Edition (Bonus Disc) / The Garden (1981) Deluxe Edition (Bonus Disc) MP3 & FLAC

"Over all the bridges, echoes in rows, talking at the same time, click click drone."

Despite being a seminal figure in the rise of experimental synth-pop during the late 1970s, John Foxx has never received the level of notoriety lavished on fellow synth-pioneers Kraftwerk and Gary Numan.  Nevertheless, Foxx's uniquely detached vocal style as well as his consistently challenging approach to Electronic music, both of which he progressively developed during his tenure in Ultravox(!), were clearly major influences on Numan as well as any number of lesser New Wave artists who littered the musical landscape throughout the early eighties. In fact, aside from David Sylvian's mature work with Japan, it would be hard to find a more trailblazing figure in post-Glam electro-pop. Foxx (then known as Dennis Leigh) spent much of the mid-seventies in a marginal Glam band called Tiger Lilly, but in the aftermath of the rise of the Punk movement, he, along with violinist Billy Currie, formed Ultravox! whose first three albums, Ultravox!, Ha!-Ha!Ha!, and Systems of Romance, trace an increasingly experimental progression from Glam and Krautrock-inspired Post-Punk to a more lush yet minimalist, synth-dominated sound that points ahead to Foxx's even more groundbreaking solo work. Perhaps due to Ultravox's unselfconsciously experimental nature, the U.K. press was always dismissive of Foxx's version of the band. John Foxx: "Very early on, we decided to investigate and develop lots of what had then been declared ungood and which we felt were manifesting themselves and were worth recording. These included psychedelia, electronics, cyberpunk, environments and elements suggested by the likes of Ballard and Burroughs, cheap European music and modes, and strange English pop, such as some aspects of The Shadows and Billy Fury which seemed to relate to a sort of English retro-futurism. We were interested in a sort of ripped and burnt glamour. I was also taken with a detached, still stance."

Ostensibly, Foxx's decision to go solo after Ultravox's brilliant third album, Systems of Romance, had to do with the band's increasingly difficult circumstances, which included being dropped by their label, Island, on the eve of a U.S. tour. However, Foxx has suggested his departure was inevitable given his desire to pursue his own muse without interference: "The band thing is a phase- like being in a gang. You can't really be part of a gang all your life; it begins to feel undignified and it stunts your growth, unless you want to be a teenager forever. Some do. Some don't. The benefits were the Gestalt- where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, a very powerful experience- and working in a closed society with people who have the same aim. Of course, the aims almost inevitably diverge as you all grow. The point of view I've always worked from is that of a ghost in the city- someone who is a sort of drifting, detached onlooker- but still vulnerable and trying against all odds to maintain a sort of dignity in the face of all the static." Foxx would take this "ghost in the city" approach to a new level on his inimitable debut LP, Metamatic, quite possibly the most important electro-pop album of the eighties. Recorded in a small studio in North London, which Foxx once described as "an eight track cupboard [...] Very basic, very scruffy, very good," the album represents quite a departure from his work with Ultravox, as it completely dispenses with conventional instruments (and in the process, Foxx's Punk origins), instead relying entirely on synthetic textures, and in doing so, achieving a chilly, mechanized aesthetic that is both aurally challenging and artistically compelling.

Foxx: "I lived alone in Finsbury Park, spent my spare time walking the disused train lines, cycled to the studio everyday and wobbled back at dawn, imagining I was the Marcel Duchamp of electropop. Metamatic was the result. It was the first British electronic pop album. It was minimal, primitive technopunk. Carcrash music tailored by Burtons." Both lyrically and musically, Metamatic conjures dystopian images of isolated individuals navigating cold landscapes populated only by architecture and machines, with a recurring theme being disconnection. For example, on the stunningly strange opening track, "Plaza," Foxx's dis-attached vocals are surrounded by several synths all sounding as though entirely isolated from each other. This gives the song an eerie dislocated feel that contrasts sharply with the rather straightforwardly descriptive lyrics. The most recognizably pop-oriented song on the album is "Underpass," an electro-pop masterpiece that manages to be minimalist and incredibly catchy at the same time; it's melodramatic synthesizers and Foxx's heavily treated robotic vocals create another dark tale of unbridgeable distances, but the tension is undercut by the song's inherent danceability. While Metamatic ultimately proved to be the least outwardly accessible of Foxx's eighties solo albums, it also proved to be his greatest, as its follow-up, The Garden, though a fine piece of synth-driven pop in its own right, signaled a step toward a more conventionally melodic sound that Foxx would continue to explore, despite diminishing returns, for the remainder of the decade until dropping out of public view in 1986; however, it did not take long for his considerable influence to be felt. Foxx: "All the same sounds surfaced again after 1987, reanimated with beautiful new rhythms, as the beginnings of Acid. I recognized the vocabulary immediately. A new underground at last. Adventure was possible again after the double-breasted dumbness of the mid-eighties."

The T3@rdrop Expl0des- Kilim@nj@ro (1980) Deluxe Edition (3 Discs) MP3 & FLAC

"You wandered into my dreams last night, and you stood them all up in a row. You trampled all over them with stones in your shoes, and you said, 'Oh yeah, I thought that you'd know.'"

Julian Cope on the transitory nature of The Teardrop Explodes: "The band was never built to last [....] it was like building a house on scaffolding on top of a tank moving at three miles an hour. The higher you build it, the further removed you are from the reality that it's actually moving and going to fall." Before forming The Teardrop Explodes, Cope had experienced several false starts in his effort to jump-start a music career in late-seventies Liverpool, including a band called A Shallow Madness, which also featured Ian McCulloch, who, after being ejected from the band due to ego clashes with Cope, would later become one of the pivotal figures of the Post-Punk movement as a member of Echo & The Bunnymen. After a few additional personnel changes, Cope renamed the band The Teardrop Explodes (inspired by a panel caption in a Marvel comic strip) and began to explore a sound that would, in many ways, run counter to the prevailing  trends embraced by the Post-Punk movement. By integrating neo-psychedelia into the band's sonic palette and indulging in his love of Kraut-Rock, Cope showed signs, very early on, of the eccentricity and iconoclastic nature that would later come to define his career. As the quote above suggests, The Teardrop Explodes seemed to function creatively through internal strife and dissension, which resulted in a very unstable lineup throughout the life of the band and Cope's growing reputation, thanks in part to McCulloch's constant personal attacks in the music press, as being something of a tyrant to work with. In truth, Cope was a workaholic who had little patience for what he perceived as a lack of motivation on the part of band-mates. After releasing a couple of singles, The Teardrop Explodes recorded their debut LP, Kilimanjaro, which was, true to the band's nature, a process riddled with conflict and change. A prime example was the sacking of the band's lead guitarist for "complacency" and replacing him with Alan Gill, who soon introduced Cope to the use of psychotropic drugs, something that quickly became a heavy influence on his work. Musically, Kilimanjaro was one of the most distinctive albums to emerge from the early Post-Punk movement, as it clearly demonstrates the moody neo-psych sound that characterized the Liverpool scene of that time but also exhibits then-unconventional tendencies such as poppy melodies and some very un-Post-Punk song arrangements that occasionally include trumpets reminiscent of the brass flourishes employed by late-sixties psych bands such as Love and The Doors. And then there's Cope's distinctive voice, which, on songs such as the opener, "Ha Ha I'm Drowning," traverses the same emotive territory as that of his arch-rival McCulloch, except that Cope's voice has a sweet resonance that recalls Scott Walker at times. Vocals aside, Kilimanjaro is also full of quirky melodic twists and turns that lend it its singular sound. A perfect example is "When I Dream," an impossibly catchy song built around Cope's tongue-twisting chorus, while musically, the keyboard washes and percussion that characterize the song recall middle-period Japan with their vague World-Beat references married to a New-Wave aesthetic; however, the results are far more pop-oriented than Japan's mannered experimentalism. Julian Cope during his tenure in The Teardrop Explodes: "I think we're very poppy. To me pop is something you hum. What I'm trying to do is strike a balance between triteness and greatness." In the case of Kilimanjaro, it would seem Cope & co. erred on the side of greatness.

Pete Shelley- XL1 (1983) / Heaven & the Sea (1986) MP3 & FLAC -For Andie James-

"You and I will never change. Though we're different, we'll remain the same. 
Love's devoid of reason anyway."

On his unexpected solo debut, Homosapien, Pete Shelley largely abandoned any trace of the guitar-heavy punk-pop of his previous band, the Buzzcocks, instead building the album's sound out of a unique combination of electronic instruments and acoustic 12-string guitar. While this stemmed partly from his desire to break all ties with his former band, it was also a re-visitation of his original interest in Electronic music. However, on his second LP, XL1, Shelley decided to re-introduce electric guitar into the mix, and the result is a wonderfully edgy and claustrophobic electronic-rock hybrid that manages to build on the strengths of its predecessor while moving into even darker emotional territory. From the beginning of his career as a songwriter, Shelley had nurtured a lyrical preoccupation with the idea of unbridgeable emotional isolation, such as his classic Buzzcocks composition, "Ever Fallen in Love": "You spurn my natural emotions / You make me feel like dirt / And I'm hurt / And if I start a commotion / I run the risk of losing you / And that's worse." While there is still a glimmer of faith (albeit a masochistic one) in the possibility of love in the preceding lyrics, on XL1, the emotional climate is one of cold pessimism. For example, on the infectiously dark "Telephone Operator," perhaps the pinnacle of Shelley's solo career, Shelley introduces heavily distorted guitar bursts into an arrangement that borrows heavily from Kraut-Rockers such as Kraftwerk; lyrically, the song sets the stage for the entire album, as it establishes the theme of isolation on several levels in the form of a lonely drunk trying to seduce a disembodied (and emotionally disconnected) voice on the phone. Shelley also explores the sense of isolation within relationships as on "You Know Better Than This," which contrasts his ironic, almost tongue-in-cheek vocals and faceless synth-dominated arrangement with lyrics alternating between professions of devotion and bitter musings about the inevitability of emotional stagnation. It would be three years before Shelley would issue his third (and final) solo album, Heaven & the Sea, which dials down the dance rhythms significantly and suffers greatly for it. It seems Shelley is going for something more reflective on this album, and while songs such as "On Your Own" and "Life Without Reason" have their charms, overall, the album ends up sounding a little too glossy (thanks to Stephen Hague's production). As a result, Heaven & the Sea has not aged nearly as well as Shelley's earlier solo albums.

Pete Shelley- "Telephone Operator" Video (1983)

Some dark and edgy synth-pop that somehow hasn't dated a bit...

The Teardrop Explodes- "When I Dream" Video (1980)

Anyone ready for some more Julian?

Pete Shelley- Homosapien (1981) MP3 & FLAC

"And the worlds built of age are a stage where we act out our lives."

In hindsight, Pete Shelley's unanticipated exit from the legendary punk-pop band The Buzzcocks and his incipient career as an artsy New Wave solo artist is not as shocking as it must have appeared to his fans in the early eighties. Shelley had actually recorded an album's worth of Kraut-Rock-influenced Electronic music before forming The Buzzcocks (released in 1979 as Sky Yen). As such, the shift in focus from guitar-based arrangements to the overriding emphasis on synth-based textures and electronic percussion that is evident on his solo-debut, Homosapien, did have some aesthetic precedence for Shelley. The songs comprising the album were actually intended for a fourth Buzzcocks album; however, Shelley decided to record the demos solo primarily using synths, acoustic 12-string guitar, and drum machines, and he was reportedly so impressed with the results that he ended up unceremoniously disbanding one of the greatest bands of the Punk-era. While the musical context is radically changed, Shelley's lyrics and vocals retain much of the gritty pop spirit that characterized his work with his previous band. The classic title track, which clearly provided the blueprint for Pulp's alluring electro-pop of the mid-nineties, blends Bowie-esque vocals and some wonderfully cheesy electronic beats and hand-claps to create one of the true highlights of the New Wave genre. On "I Generate a Feeling," Shelley borrows heavily from Synth-pop pioneers Kraftwerk to create a sound-scape that would be indistinguishable from any number of the faceless synth-bands of the time if it weren't for the brooding lyrics, which effectively establish a thematic tension in relation to the music that is characteristic of the entire album; in doing so, Shelley creates a very similar effect, though in a vastly different arena, to the Buzzcock's unique brand of Punk.

Pete Shelley- "Homosapien" Video (1981)

"New Wave" just didn't get any better than this:

Can- Tago Mago (1971) MP3 & FLAC

"Well, I saw mushroom head, I was born and I was dead."

Named after a private island off the coast of Ibiza associated with Aleister Crowley, Can's Tago Mago is generally considered one of the pinnacles of the Kraut-Rock genre. It is also noteworthy for being Can's first full-length album with Damo Suzuki as lead vocalist. After the exit of vocalist Malcolm Mooney due to psychological problems, Suzuki, legend has it, was discovered by Bassist Holger Czukay busking outside cafes in Munich and was invited to join Can based on his performance at a single gig the band played later that night. While no one will confuse Suzuki for an accomplished singer, his untethered vocal style, shifting from mumble to chant to shriek by turns, fits Tago Mago's more experimental ambitions perfectly. Julian Cope has described the album as "sound[ing] only like itself, like no-one before or after," and with influences ranging from Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis to Stockhausen, Can's sound at this point was somewhat resistant to categorization. Tago Mago starts out modestly with the somewhat plodding opening to "Paperhouse," but at the two minute mark things transform into an insistently ominous tribal beat punctuated by some amazing layered and multi-tracked guitar work from Michael Karoli. On the album's centerpiece, "Halleluhwah," Czukay and drummer Jaki Liebezeit settle into a Funk-inspired groove which is sustained for the entire 18 minute duration of the song while a parade of different sound effects and textures (as well as Suzuki's vocals) move through the mix. It is hard to over-estimate the ground-breaking status of Can's early-seventies work, and while they would hit similar artistic heights on the two albums that immediately followed Tago Mago, Can would never sound quite this mysterious again.

The Psychedelic Furs- Talk Talk Talk (1981) MP3 & FLAC -For AndieJames-

"She lives in the place in the side of our lives where nothing is ever put straight."

On their brilliant debut, The Psychedelic Furs offered up a relentlessly dark collection of songs occupying the intersection between Punk aggression and Post-Punk angst; however, peeking through the gloom on occasion was the band's clear talent for writing memorable, off-kilter pop songs, "Sister Europe" being the most obvious example of this. On their second LP, Talk Talk Talk, The Psychedelic Furs made the fateful decision to pursue this approach more consistently, though the band's sound still retains its rough edges pretty much intact. In addition, Richard Butler's detached Bowie-esque vocals sound more confident than on the debut, which aids in making the songs a little more accessible. On "Dumb Waiters," a strangely compelling mash-up of Punk and Kraut-Rock elements, Butler's sneering vocals, which here sound something like a more tuneful Johnny Rotten, and Duncan Kilburn's fractured sax give the song both its memorable hook and its attitude. While the original version of "Pretty in Pink" is indeed a classic on all levels, Talk Talk Talk contains many lesser-known gems, not the least of which is the stunning "All of This and Nothing," one of the best tracks The Psychedelic Furs ever recorded. Opening with a beautiful though completely unexpected acoustic guitar arpeggio intertwining with Kilburn's sax, the song quickly morphs into an epic rocker knocking around the empty corners of a dissolving relationship. This album is, without a doubt, The Psychedelic Furs' finest moment.

The Fall- Live at the Witch Trials (1979) Expanded Edition (Bonus Disc) MP3 & FLAC

"He spits in the sky. It falls in his eye, and then he gets to sitting, talking to his kitten."

Misanthropy can be a compelling form of artistic expression when it avoids taking itself too seriously, and nowhere is this more in evidence than on The Fall's sprawling, ironically titled debut, Live at the Witch Trials. Falling somewhere between the aggressive anti-aestheticism of Punk and the dark artiness of Post-Punk (and somehow embodying the best traits of both), while also verging into the experimental excess of Kraut-Rock, The Fall, in their original incarnation, were a shambolic, frightening, convention-flaunting enigma masquerading as a Punk band a year late to the party. All of these elements are clearly on display on one of the album's standout tracks, "Two Steps Back," with its strange, simplistic keyboard part juxtaposed to the ominous atonal guitar tearing through the mix, and then there's Mark E. Smith chant-singing through what sounds like a bored sneer. Also well-worthy of mention is "Music Scene," a funk-based song that anticipates Gang of Four's early eighties material, and features Smith lyrically skewering- you guessed it- the music industry. A deserving target if you ask me. Live at the Witch Trials is not for the faint-of-heart, but if you have even a passing interest in the UK Punk movement of the late seventies, this iconoclastic gem is essential listening.

The Psychedelic Furs- S/T (1980) MP3 & FLAC

"Broken on a ship of fools, even dreams must fall to rules."

Once upon a time (at the dawn of the eighties to be exact), the ironically named Psychedelic Furs were a hard-boiled, dark as fuck Post-Punk band harboring semi-secret fetishes for Punk-Rock aggression and Kraut-Rock-inspired experimentation as heard through the prism of David Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy." With a lead singer, Richard Butler, who sounded like a cigarette-soaked Bowie idolater, understated yet inventive guitar-work by John Ashton, and Duncan Kilburn's startling saxophone, The Psychedelic Furs forged a sound that was quite unique within the context of the early Post-Punk movement. On their self-titled debut- produced by, of all people, Steve Lillywhite, one of the progenitors of eighties era studio clichés- the band serve up a thick slice of percussive, sneering, and often difficult punk-pop. The obvious standout is "Sister Europe," a dark, slow burner that somehow manages to integrate Kraut-Rock and disco elements to create a sound that would soon be taken up and made more accessible by any number of New Wave bands. Just as brilliant is the opening track, "India," which is clearly inspired by Brian Eno's mid-seventies work. The song opens with a long synth-laden sound-scape punctuated with what sounds like radio static until the percussion kicks in and the song transforms into a pummeling, beautiful tour de force. This album is a hidden treasure for those whose opinions of this band were formed in response to their later, synth-pop efforts. If you proceed, prepare for a bruising revelation.

Slapp Happy- Sort Of (1972) MP3 & FLAC

"Walking through the city, your boots are high-heeled and shining bright."

Comprised of British experimental composer Anthony Moore (later on just More), German cabaret singer Dagmar Krause, and American singer-songwriter (and sometimes clarinetist) Peter Blegvad, Slapp Happy were pop-deconstructors of the first order. Post-Modernists before the term had any currency, there is a prickly ironic tone permeating their eclectic debut, Sort Of, an album full of quirky pop experiments and amazing "lost gem" moments. Despite having recruited Kraut-Rock legends Faust as their studio backing-band, Slapp Happy's sound on Sort Of  is deceptively accessible, even verging on psychedelia-tinged folk-rock in places. The enduring gem here is undoubtedly "Blue Flower," which Mazzy Star covered to great effect on their debut, She Hangs Brightly, a song that bears a striking resemblance (though not in a derivative sense) to The Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale." Another gem is the opening track, "Just a Conversation." Anticipating a sound that Richard & Linda Thompson would mine a few years later, the song's overly simple lyrics contrast beautifully with Krause's wonderful vocals. Sort Of does suffer a bit when Krause's vocals are not the main focus, but overall, the album is unconventionally delightful.

Scott Walker Series, #14: The Walker Brothers- Nite Flights (1978) MP3 & FLAC

"We will be gods on nite flights, with only one promise, only one way to fall."

The album cover of The Walker Brothers' mid-seventies album, No Regrets, paints an apt portrait of the band's direction at the time: Gary and John looking perfectly at home in the era's regalia of bare chests, jean jackets, and sun-bleached smiles, while Scott, tan, shirtless, and holding a beer, looks away with hand held up to block the camera's view as if to say, "I'm only here for the party; I don't want to be held responsible for all this." After two lackluster "comeback" albums, the band was contractually required to deliver a third; however, the record label to which they owed the recording was on the verge of folding, thus creating an artistic "perfect storm" in which Scott Walker's genius was to re-awaken after eight long years of ceaseless slumber. In relation to its two predecessors, Nite Flights (at least Scott's part) is a spectacular artistic whiplash of an album that not only laid the groundwork for Scott Walker's still-continuing intermittent forays into unexplored regions of musical dissonance, but also played a major role in funneling Kraut-Rock and experimental electronic music into the UK music scene, and in the process, heavily influencing the fledgling Post-Punk movement. While Scott only contributes four songs to Nite Flights, they are all stunners, but none more so than "The Electrician." It is clear that Scott had been listening to David Bowie's work with Brian Eno, but he uses this only as a port of entry, after which he takes the song into regions entirely unknown. Grand, epic, lush and terrifying, "The Electrician" is one of the great avant-garde rock songs of the seventies. Unfortunately, (though predictably), the songs written by the other Walker Brothers are utterly forgettable, making the album a strangely conflicted creature indeed, but Scott's contributions are as essential as it gets.

The Te@rdrop Explod3s- P33L Sessions Plus (2007) MP3 & FLAC

"If you have a daughter bounce her on your knee. If you have a son send the blighter off to sea."

One of the more mercurial Post-Punk bands of the late seventies and early eighties, The Teardrop Explodes' all-too-brief career spanned only two studio albums, yet is no less legendary for that. Lead by the brilliantly eccentric Julian Cope, The Teardrop Explodes combined an angular Post-Punk foundation embellished with psychedelic and Kraut-Rock elements and was not even averse to employing brass on occasion. Given the brevity of their discography, the re-issue of the band's 1979-1982 sessions for the BBC are both a godsend and a revelation (although Peel Sessions Plus is far from being a comprehensive compilation, as there are supposedly more than a dozen different BBC sessions in the can somewhere). The October 1979 session, recorded while the band was still, more or less, unknown, is a perfect example of their unique sound, often combining atonal guitar work with neo-psychedelic overtones, which simply doesn't sound like any other band of that era. Peel Sessions Plus also serves as yet another reminder that Julian Cope is one of the most underrated vocalists of the "alt" rock-era.

Forest Swords- Dagger Paths + Rattling Cage EP (2010) MP3 & FLAC

While bearing a passing resemblance to the Post-Rock-meets-Dub palette of bands such as Labradford and Bowery Electric, Matthew Barnes' Forest Swords project effectively transcends such comparisons by integrating Post-Punk, Kraut-Rock, Reggae, R&B, and Techno influences into its reverb-drenched mix. Barnes' spiderweb-spinning guitar work coupled with the Dub-heavy atmospherics on tracks such as "Miarches" and "Glory Gongs" sounds something like Tom Verlaine in low gear fronting a space-rock band produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry. What Barnes does best on Dagger Paths is create some dark, atmospheric gems, all deftly structured around a surprisingly unique mix of influences. Yes, it is clearly indebted, in the guitar-atmospherics department, to Verlaine's instrumental work on, for example, Around and Warm and Cool; however, there is something dynamic and original about the EP, which has me highly anticipating Forest Swords' next move.

Can- "Paperhouse" Live on German T.V. (1972)

I'm on a bit of a Can jag at the moment, and now, so are you:

Kraftwerk- Autobahn (1974) MP3 & FLAC

Autobahn is such an unassuming masterpiece, and what strikes me most when listening to it is just how contemporary it continues to sound (for example, where would bands such as Spiritualized be without borrowing liberally from the title track?). The reason for this, of course, is the incalculable influence it has had on the various forms of Rock and Electronic music that followed it, but it is also an album that demands to be heard on its own terms because it contains some truly beautiful music. Kraftwerk, intentionally or not, took a huge, unexpected leap toward accessibility with this album, mainly by employing a recognizable rhythmic pulse or beat that gives some of the songs a faint semblance of traditional pop structure. By doing so, they became instrumental in bringing the synthesizer to the forefront of popular music. While each of Autobahn's five tracks holds up well to repeated listens, the 22 minute title track is one of the most important recordings of the past 40 years and quite possibly the holy grail of Electronica.

Birth of the Cool: Phase II (German Style)

 Here's some Electronic circa 1978:  Kraftwerk, "The Robots"...