MP3 Oldies

04/26/2008: Begin Transmission Seven: Everyone enjoys a big dump.................. of music! As every statistical one of out ten of you know, it takes a freaking long time to put these MP3 posts together. I was going to impart some wisdom or make you think about life in a way way or something, but instead I'll see if I can come up with comments for the songs below, many of which seem to have come from nowhere. I update the Analog CyberPunk page once every two weeks, usually on a Saturday. I see you link-bangers out there coming here all the time thinking I do this for a freaking living! I'll get a life only if YOU promise to get one first. End Transmission Seven.

Comateens: "The Munsters Theme" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

While I'm not a big fan of their catalog I will say this, The Comateens have a nice website. "The Munsters Theme" came out in 1981 and I danced to it each time 'till it ended. Somewhere in the world of 0's and 1's it says it was released in 1984. Liars all.

Ceramic Hello: "Ringing In The Sane" (Category Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Ceramic Hello have a website even I could have made. This came out in 1981, and it reminds me a heck of a lot like like The Stranglers' "All Roads Lead To Rome" and the rest of 1983's Feline LP. Crap, maybe The Stranglers ripped off Ceramic Hello lock, stock and c--k!

Patrick D. Martin: "I Like 'Lectric Motors" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

From 1979, I wish Patrick D. Martin's material was more widely available. I loved it back in the day, It was before you were born but you're so hardcore now it dwarfs my firsthand experience. I understand that, so please stop e-mailing me about it. Listen to all the tracks on MySpace. They're great.

Minny Pops: "Footsteps" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

Dutch treats Minny Pops record a lot of noise, but this one I like. They have a site, so like Joe Bob Briggs says, "Check it out!".

Body Falling Downstairs: "The Politics Of Ecstasy" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

These kids were from Seattle and this was recorded around 1981.

Reducers: "Airways" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

This 7" came out on EMI in 1980. It might be a little too punky to be a new wave song, mostly in the vocals, but it has to go somewhere ya know.

Oi The Robot: "Manifestoi!" (Category: Honorable Mention: Analog CyberPunk)

Listening to the Reducers reminded me of this track from Garry Bushell's first-wave UK skinhead record conglomerate. Bushell populated his oi comps with a few filler tracks of his own invention. Frankie Flame performed the electronics on this one, more than borrowing an Ultravox riff along the way. Technically this is real skinhead music.

Trick 17: "City Nacht" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

I'm a fool for many things, high on that list the toots of a saxophone. Why is the title a combination of English and German? Nothing personal, but German isn't a pretty language. It's impossible to sound sexy in German or tough in French. Japanese goes both ways with extreme prejudice. I'll leave it to you to tell me what English sounds like.

The Stupid Set: "S.W. Digestion" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

Italy squeezed this one out in 1980. Here's data and songs to download.

Tara Cross: "PK-15" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Tara Cross sports a hefty discography and a lovely voice. That's all I know.

Shox: "No Turning Back" (Category: The Unheard Synth New Wave)

Shox coulda, woulda, and shoulda been huge! A great pop song indeed. Here's more. The singer reminds me of Trish Milliken from Rubber Rodeo.

Social Climbers: "Hello Texas" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Here's some information on 1980-era New Yorkers Social Climbers. I completely envision cowboys doing a shuffle dance to this one.

QRN: "Very Loud Silence" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

I imagine they're French. Not much else to report.

Some Of My Best Friends Are Canadian: "Feeling Sheepish" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

If Canada was 3,000 miles to the right they'd be called The Former Republic Of Canadastan. That's right, America's hat. Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it!

Research Library: "Alien Love" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

This was on a Subterranean Records comp from 1981.

Ian North: "White Gardens" (Category: The Unheard Synth New Wave)

Ian North is a musician, and artist AND he cuts hair. He grew up on Long Island like I did, yet we've never met. That's odd.

I.U.D.: "Precious" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

No info on this one but from the singing I'm guessing it's of a more recent vintage.

The Metronomes: "Justification" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

This one gets better each time I listen to it. It's pretty damn perfect, even how it ends as a cutoff. Good job, Metronomes! Super highly recommended with a bullet.

Friz Be: "I Throw Punches..." (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

I think I'd dance better to this one if I owned a tux, top hat and cane. There's a Puttin' On The Ritz thing going on with this one.

Flash Cero: "Ciudad Estelar" (Category: Close But No Cigar: The Unheard Synth New Wave)

This 1988 track is pretty good until the record scratching starts at exactly 2:47. Why, I say why?!

Kein Mensch: "Kein Mensch" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Ok, the ending with the singing German Youth freaked me out a bit, but I'm ok now....

Foundation Boo: "Nap" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

I was first going to put this in as Analog CyberPunk, but oh does it get more weird with time. I'm a total sucker for disinterested female singing. This was on the infamous Darker Scratcher LP, which helped inspire me to do this project in the first place. Blame Darker Scratcher.

Moderne: "Electronique" (Category: The Unheard Synth New Wave)

From France from 1980 from three French guys. They have a Myspace page so you know they're down with the youth of today.

{E}: "e925" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

The ending sealed the deal to make this a weird one. The comp. this appears on came out in 1979. It's hard for me to type { and }.

Absolute Body Control: "Is There An Exit?" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Absolute Body Control has been an ongoing concern since 1980, and according to their MySpace page it wouldn't hurt if I brought some glowsticks and sugary drinks to one of their performances.

04/12/2008: Begin Transmission Six: All's going as planned at the Analog CyberPunk HQ. Sorting through the digital stacks to pick weiners I've learned a few things that I probably already knew. The genre's famous for songs that start one way and then become something else. Slow buildups are also favored. As is the way with many of the best songs, new sounds are added into the mix as the song progresses, with bleeps, bloops and other digital farts stopping by for a visit. Some songs I like except for an errant repetitive sound or an annoying dance beat that doesn't need to be there. Remember kids, disco sucks. Some tracks that seem like instrumentals turn out late in the game to contain lyrics. When the vocals fail on a song they usually do so spectacularly. I wager these tend to be the one man band deals. End Transmission Six.

Zwischenfall: "Tausend Jahre" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Zwischenfall is German for "Incident", and they ran from 1983 to 1995. The song title translates into "Thousand Years". In Germany smurfs are called "schlumps".

UV Pop: "Sleep Don't Talk" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

A second selection from UV Pop. Hit that funky buzzer, (what I assume is a) white boy!

Trek With Quintronic: "Zolian Space" (Category: The Unheard Synth New Wave)

Hailing from snowy Buffalo, New York, this two-piece released two albums in 80-81 on what was probably their own label. The Mutant Sounds blog nailed this as influenced by Bowie and Scary Monsters (the album, not monsters that are scary).

Ti-Tho: "Die Liebe Ist Ein Abenteuer" (Category Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Here's info on this German duo. Nice and weird, with a subdued yet insistent rhythm..

Surplus Stock: "Let's Kill Each Other" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

Abrasiveness has never sounded so pleasant. From 1980 and Germany.

The Units: "Digital Stimulation" (Category Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

The Units get a little too much respect in underground electronic circles, with a career paralleling Our Daughter's Wedding. At times it seemed they didn't know what they wanted to be, and while I have a soft spot for new wave-cabaret-art school shenanigans I don't for the kind of line dance music where you clap your hands, turn in a circle as you move in a line, clap your hands, then turn in a circle on the way back, once again ending with a hand clap. The earlier on the discography the better they sound, as is the code of the universe. Their "Bug Boy" stands as the most awkward and heavy handed metaphor I've ever heard fail as music. "Digital Stimulation" gets it right. Digital means both electronic and manual. Huh. If you like this, please do seek The Epoxies.

The Party's Over: "Crash" (Category: Honorable Mention: Analog CyberPunk)

I found nothing on this but it's filled with great and assorted oddball riffs and noises. It's an honorable mention because I find the vocals aren't on par with the music.

Systematics: "Pulp Baby" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

Here's info on this Australian band from back before you were born... remember kids? It's gets weirder the more times you listen. Dig those clogged sinuses! The synth and vocals chase each other well.

Low Class: "Alienation Ballade" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

There's not much to be known about Low Class except they appeared on a cassette compilation in 1984. It's a charming song of little consequence but I find it immensely pleasant and happy. I want to do the Keep On Truckin' walk to it.

Kaa Antilope: "The Break Of Day" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

From Belgium in the year of 1981. The drum machine is set to "Mexican Radio", and that's fine by me in twelve ways. The horn sounds are soothing and soaring at the same time. Yikes.

Moev: "Cracked Mirror" (Category: The Unheard Synth New Wave)

Canucks Moev recorded a bunch of stuff and are giving some of it away even as we speak! Short term member Madelaine Morris has a lovely voice. This grows on you like a cold sore on the lip (so says Gravis Mushnick).

Les Georges Leningrad: "Georges Five" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

Canada's Les Georges Leningrad were famous for being strange. It's impossible not to laugh (in a good, approving way) at the dueling incomprehensible vocalis on this. From 2002 or so. Or so I say.

Plus Instruments: "Big Man" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Don't know much about Plus Instruments beyond this. They might have been from New York. I'm from New York but we've strangely never met.

G-Spot: "Idol Worship" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of G-Spot? The Shadow knows, but not me. Nice.

Higher Primates: "Living In A Vacuum" (Category: Close But No Cigar: Analog Cyber-Punk)

The music works well but the singing isn't up to the task. Close but no cigar. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but other times it's a code word for something else altogether. Take THAT, Sigmund!

03/29/2008: Begin Transmission Five: Dancing By Myself Vs. Dancing With Myself. I'm an old fart around for part of the proto-punk era, every second of the new wave era, the punk era, the post-punk era and the hardcore punk era, and a handful of the other errors calling themselves alternative music. The only time I'm sentimental about is the original new wave era, which for me ran from about 1978 to 1982. I watched it slowly grow and I watched it slowly wither and die at the parasitic hand of disco culture and the puffy shirt revolution of new romance. I loved dancing to new wave music. I was there when discos hosted "New Wave Nights" where cartoon disco pricks with huckapoo shirts and John Travolta hair were barely restrained from starting riots with us freaks and losers, we of the thrift store skinny ties and asexual dance moves. For one bright, shining moment I danced all the time and worked up a horrible sweat to songs I loved one after the next. You danced whenever you felt like it and for as long as you had wind and strength. Dehydration was also a factor.You didn't need a dance partner, and often you didn't want to because they just held you back and in place. If you did dance with someone it was often a formality where two people did their own thing next to each other. In retrospect I'm not bitter about losing my good thing because I had a good run and this is no country for old losers. At the time I did hate seeing my scene become a something else I had no interest in being a part of. I won't explain the title of this paragraph except to say one looks outward while the other is about the self, always reflected in mirrors. End Transmission Five.

Nine Circles: "What's There Left" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Nine Circles were from the Netherlands and this comes from 1982. It's a slow track that packs the wallop of detached euro-gal singing, strong synth lines and a bunch of other electronic weirdness. Be sure to note the foley artist-like rendering of the sound of two hollow coconut halves being hit together to sound like a galloping horse. .

Berlin Express: "Die Russen Kommen" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Berlin Express were from Germany and they put out one album in 1982. I can't take the singing seriously but it's a fun song all the same.

AKA: "Mental Timebombs" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

Here's what I found on White Rock, British Columbia's AKA. From between 1978 and 1980 this strange and glorious track cometh from.

Blue Sound: "Berlin" (Category: Honorable Mention: Analog CyberPunk)

Nothing on Blue Sound comes up on the intertubes. I'm not tossing it into the main category because of the singing, which isn't bad in itself but it's not of a kind with the rest. The guitar reminds me of early XTC records.

Central Unit: "Saturday Night" (Category: Honorable Mention: Analog Cyber-Punk: New Wave Edition)

Hey, finally a band with a website, and it's in Eye-talian. They formed in 1980, over there in Bologna. Their MySpace page says they're now a Nu Jazz /Progressive / Psychedelic band. Yikes. At first I had this as a Close But No Cigar selection a little because of the sing and a lot because of the swingin' salami disco lyrics, but mostly it's ok, so here it is as an honorable mention. And pastrami makes it a trifecta.

Chandra: "Kate" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

This one creeps up on you before it knocks you over and dishes out an atomic wedgie. Chandra Oppenheim was twelve when she recorded this in 1980, showcasing a jaded old soul trapped in a skinny pre-teen's body. Her website is dead, so who knows what she's up to now. I've only found a few references to her doing anything musically.

Chromagain: "Spot" (Category Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Chromagain were an Italian band who put out a 12" in 1985. I love the keyboardist working overtime tapping out individual notes.

Dalek I Love You: "Freedom Fighters" (Category Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

I remember Dalek I (also Dalek I Love You) fairly well from 1980 or so, but they were a band I knew mostly from two singles I found in used bins. Living in New York I suspected they were a UK band with a big following there but not where I was. The Dr. Who reference gave them a few extra lines of media attention. I find them uneven at best (and that's being generous), but "Freedom Fighters", their first single from '79, finds them full of focus and punk energy. The original UK punk movement inspired a lot of bands to forget they were fops for a while and to go out and rip it up a bit. Vice Versa later became ABC. Ultravox belted a few out of the park before they became a new romance band. I'll stop before I get started.

Do-Po: "Rhythm" (Category: Honorable Mention: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Italy's Do-Po released one single in 1981. I find this track a bit silly so I've added it as an honorable mention. Otherwise it does everything right.

Gerry And The Holograms: "Gerry And The Holograms" (Category: Rez Eyeballs Wink: Some Weird Ones)

An odd little tune, wouldn't you say?

Jesus Couldn't Drum: "I'm A Train" (Category Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Jesus Couldn't Drum were a two-piece band from Brighton. From an eBay sale, "Original 1986 3-song 12” EP from brighton-based duo, one of whom later joined wacky indiepopsters THE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. Title track is a great slab of electronic indiepop with a driving groove and a bit of a MORRISSEY influence on the vocals. Rare 12”, and long out of print." I like how the singer holds notes. It also gots a flute!

03/15/2008: Begin Transmission Four: Whenever I (or you, for that matter) log off Windows XP or NT the computer signs off with four notes from Gary Numan's "Cars", the ones that go along with the words "Here in my car". At least it does for me. Here at Analog CyberPunk Central I've divided the original song pool into a Yes Folder (903 tracks) and a No Folder (413 tracks). For the most part the Yes Folder has anything I could tolerate. In the second round the No Folder will embiggen. The androids who put together the various Minimal Wave compilations have no qualms about adding songs that at best have an electric piano in the mix. Mine is a pure, delusional vision of a time when punk, new wave and electronic music marched shoulder to shoulder down the dirty back alleys of popular culture, before new romance loosened the fist of alternative music into limp waves of the hand, and disco, supposedly on its death bed, infected good dance music with its evil clown spores. Punk became hardcore, but that's another tale involving a nasty case of heavy metal that lasted years and required many shots in the ass. End Transmission Four.

Ash Wednesday: "Love By Number" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

I hate math but I seem to love any song with a lot of numbers in it. Ash Wednesday is a person's name, and he has both a website and a wikipedia page, where I learned he's in that noisy German band with the name that babblefishes into "Collapsing New Buildings". This Australian winner is from 1980. It reminds me indirectly of "The Name Game" and "Dancing With Myself".

John Paul Young: "The Monster In Ed" (Category: Close But No Cigar: Analog Cyber-Punk)

There's not much info on Canada's John Paul Young except that his band was called "The Cardboard Brains". Thankfully he's not the same person who sang "Love Is In The Air". "The Monster In Ed" is great but the singing is horrific - what I'd expect from an off-Broadway production of Hunch; The Musical! . The best part is an ongoing noise somewhere between a ray-gun and the baby from Eraserhead. Life is about choices, and his choice to sing like this both sucks and blows.

Men Without Hats: "Telepathy" (Category: The Unheard Synth New Wave)

Men Without Hats were a one-hit wonder with four great records in their catalog. They were not a synth band by any account but a new wave band with keyboards. No Hats Beyond This Point came out in 2003, a whole twelve years after the disappointing rock album Sideways. 1989's Adventures Of Men & Women was equally lacking. No Hats takes up where Pop Goes The World left off in 1987, and while it's not as good it's pretty close. "Telepathy" is an update on The Buggles' "Video Killed The Radio Star", and it's fun to croon along with Ivan Doroschuk. I CAN say enough nice things about Men Without Hats, but it would take a long time.

Pink Military: "War Games" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

I'm a fool for military drum rhythms and the sound of British police cars. 1980's "War Games' can be found on the album "Do Animals Believe In God?". I dare you to tell me it doesn't kick tushie.

Those Little Aliens: "Sentimental" (Category: Honorable Mention: Analog CyberPunk)

Info does not abound on Those Little Aliens, and the singing is a bit weak, but listen to that cacophony of wonderful other-worldly electronic bleeps and bloops. The best sounds are the ones you can make with your mouth, which guys know as the sounds of a money shot. Oh yeah, YOU know what I'm talking about!

UV Pop: "No Songs Tomorrow" (Category: The Unheard Synth New Wave)

UV Pop (more here) recorded from 82-96. And I quote... ahem: "UV PØP, a one-man group from the Sheffield area. John White is the mastermind behind UV PØP, a twenty-odd year old Yorkshireman with a whipcord body and a casque of oily black hair. Onstage he looks vaguely out of control, as if he might suddenly launch into an aimless destructive charge, knocking over mikes and amps."

03/01/2008: Begin Transmission Three: "You know, you remind me of a poem I can't remember, and a song that may never have existed, and a place I'm not sure I've ever been to." This is taking a while because I love silence. I never listen to music at home, and in my car it's mostly silence or talk radio. I listen to music at the gym or when I run. The only time I can focus on these songs is while running in the middle of the night, where I have no idea what I'm listening to and can't write notes. What I can do is imagine myself back 25+ years when Analog CyberPunk-type songs were an elusive yet beloved part of my music life. I'm also tripping up while trying to quickly sort 1,300 songs into initial Yes/No folders. I'm torn between keeping everything I like and only keeping songs that fit into this project, even if I hate a particular track. Poor widdle 'ol me... huh? wha? Oh yeah, ALL ROBOTS REPORT TO THE DANCE FLOOR!! End Transmission Three.

Causey Way: "Geological Lust" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

I almost included this as an honorable mention as it was probably written around 2000. It's a real toe-tapper though. Brian Causey was in Man Or Astroman? and is better known for writing music for Jimmy Neutron. Causey Way had a bit of a Church of The SubGenius thematic thing going, which would have impressed me more if more of their songs weren't inside jokes. Servotron had a better gimmick and a sweeter catalog.

Tuxedomoon: "Incubus (Blue Suit)" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

I couldn't post "No Tears" without also including "Incubus (Blue Suit)". There's a law. Tuxedomoon records more meandering Mediterranean soundtrack music than they should. Let's leave it at that.

Dark Day: "No, Nothing, Never" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

It took me many years to get over the fact that while a Dark Day song is original, most Dark Day songs sound pretty much the same. Exterminating Angel came out in 1980, and the dry, disaffected talk-singing of both Robin Crutchfield and "Mystery Woman" on "No, Nothing, Never" is a cornerstone of my love for this kind of music. What sounds like a violin is I guess a synth, since no string instrument is listed in the album credits.

Boyd Rice & Daniel Miller: "Cleanliness And Order" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Daniel Miller of Mute Records and The Normal joined with self-impressed noisemeister Boyd Rice to record what I call "Son Of No, Nothing, Never" around 1980. It too is a great talk-sing song. The ghost of Rex Harrison is pleased.

Rational Youth: "Coboloid Race" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Rational Youth (more here) recorded the wonderful Kraftwerk-influenced album Cold War Night Life, equaled only by Komputer, who I'll get to later. This track was released in 1981.

Tone Set: "Slim" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Various Devo songs are leaping out at me as I listen to "Slim" by Tempe, Arizona's Tone Set, from a 1982 cassette. Of what I've heard this is their fastest and most melodic number, as they usually worked with what I assume are found vocal tracks from the Ironic School of stuff you find in musty old libraries or the basement of your grandfather's house.

Snowy Red: "Nowhere" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Snowy Red might still be around as there's a Myspace page about them. This is one of their peppier tunes, from 1982. It's fun to sing along with one of the synths by going "Wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah".

Our Daughters Wedding: "Airlines" (Category: Honorable Mention: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

When their 12" EP Digital Cowboy came out in 1982 I was already a huge fan, as "Lawnchairs" was at the time the best selling import single of all time, or something like that. The first time I saw them at the Malibu Night Club there were lawn chairs hung from the ceiling. The Long Island club was on the beach, so it was a pain to do but at least cheap to pull off. I later saw them on the pier in Manhattan, where they opened for The English Beat and the Go-Gos. I have a picture of me talking to the singer and I'm wearing a military surplus jumpsuit with my feathered 70's hair-don't on top. Nice. I do miss my original hairline though. I give this an honorable mention only as it doesn't fit well into the main categories.

Kitchen And The Plastic Spoons: "Fantastic" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Kitchen and the Plastic Spoons (Myspace), from Sweden, formed around 1980. Vocalist Anne Taivanen sings a bit like Siouxsie Sioux, who's an amazon in person, by the way.

Ken Clinger: "Carla West (The Human Bird Nest)" (Category: Close But No Cigar: Analog Cyber-Punk)

Ken Clinger (more here) sounds like a basement savant, but as a fan of M.O.T.O. I've dealt with this species before. The instrumentation on this is great but the singing is silly in the worst way. I imagine Dr. Demento has it in a drawer somewhere.

02/17/2008: Begin Transmission Two: Whenever I hear The Normal's "Warm Leatherette" I imagine Daniel Miller standing on a bare, brightly lit stage with a cheap drum machine and an over-wired piece of plywood populated with salvaged push-buttons, each producing either a science-fiction bleep or a jarring tone, a few defective buttons giving back an electric shock that makes Miller's face twitch as he presses them.

My initial collection of songs for possible inclusion in the Analog CyberPunk project contains 1,353 tracks, and sampling proves the 10% Rule never fails. The 10% Rule states that only 10% of any general category is of real worth. The 10% Rule applies to people, places, things, concepts and theories. There's also the 80/18/2 Rule, or more accurately, the 1/9/80/9/1 Rule. The top 1% is the creme de la creme, while the bottom 1% is the crust de la crap. The other 9% of the top and bottom round out the 10% Rule, which on the low end is a musical kick in the groin either way. The remaining 80% is mainly bulk ranging from the acceptable to the Pavlovian response of forming spittle while reaching for either the off button or a baseball bat. End Transmission Two.

Das Kabinette: "The Cabinet" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

1983's "The Cabinet" is a legendary hit that surprised no one more than Das Kabinette themselves. Enjoyable to no end, it owes its lunch money and a few dimes extra to Bauhaus' 1979 dub-driven stare-at-yourself-twirl-fest classic "Bela Lugosi's Dead".

Vice Versa: "Riot Squad" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Before becoming the craptacular New Romance crapmeisters ABC, the core of the band formed Vice Versa (MySpace) in 1978, releasing two singles and lasting two years. "Riot Squad" is their best and most focused track.

Voice Farm: "Modern Things" (Category: Analog CyberPunk: New Wave Edition)

Voice Farm (more here and here) released a few albums on Ralph Records, so rest assured they were generally scatterbrained and sometimes brilliant. Not a band to take themselves (or to be taken) seriously, I generally like them as long as they don't go overboard with campiness. "Modern Things" has great lyrics, and for extra laffs I imagine Pee Wee Herman singing them. "It's not imitation anything / It's real plastic!" Ha!

Modern things from Germany
Modern things from Japan
Modern things from Italy
Franoise Sagan...

Beautiful things from Paris
Beautiful things from New York
Beautiful things from Berlin
All over the world

Tape decks
Lounge chairs
Beatle boots
???

You can see them in magazines
???
Immaculate photography
Everything looks brand new

They cost a lot
And they're awfully hard to locate

I always wondered who buy these things
And what those people are like
I know I'd like to have these things
And nothing...

TVs
Ashtrays
Flatware
Modular systems and packaging
Product design

Why doesn't everyone like these things
When they're part of our time?

It's not imitation anything
It's real plastic!

02/02/2008: Begin Transmission One: Welcome to the first installment of the Analog CyberPunk Project, to be mixed in with the usual nonsense. The main page for it is here. In the ACP Project I'll be compiling songs, mainly from the late 70's to early 80's, that I remember from my young-adult years listening to college radio and dancing in new wave clubs. It's a narrow sub-genre of my own creation, but it's as real and distinctive to me now as it was almost thirty years ago when I first heard it and fell for its charms. I get to make it up as I go along, and if I do a good enough job it might become a fact and not just my opinion. "Analog CyberPunk" is silly yet accurate, so I use it both with confidence and a slight twitch of embarrassment, and I won't use it that often.

I was born in 1961 in New York, and as teenager in the '70s I fought both the Disco Wars and The Hard Rock Cold War. As a rock and roll man I hated disco for all the obvious reasons and cheered our side's victory on July 12, 1979. As a new waver I hated the dirtballs into Led Zepplin and Black Sabbath. Both genres seemed dead, if not mortally wounded, by 1980, when new wave nearly took over the radio as popular entertainment. Sadly, as disco gasped its initial last the music establishment, from labels to clubs to magazines, did what they had to do to mutate new wave into the next disco, as in the next disposable music. It wasn't the conspiracy I thought it was at the time but the logical business thing to do, and my time in the sun lasted at least five years so I'm not complaining. I must point out that new wave and punk were interchangeable terms, and at a new wave club you'd hear everything from reggae to rockabilly to The Sex Pistols. It was all good and it seemed to mix well. I officially became a "punk" by the time Culture Club began their craptacular career around 1982.

The reason for the Analog CyberPunk Project is this: There were underground electronic new wave songs of a similar ilk I heard here and there and loved with a passion, the whole while never knowing who the bands were or what the songs were called. In recent years, thanks to the work of a later generation of disco culture, collections of songs with ACP potential have been compiled and distributed on the internet. Here's a page devoted to them. Most of these tracks will not apply, but now most everything I'll need to do this will be readily available, and when I'm finished the last of the good unheard music of my life will have been discovered, dissected and internalized. After this my hunt for music ends. The itch will have been scratched and I'll have enough great music to keep me busy well into old age and its associated dementias and physical breakdowns.

The template for Analog CyberPunk can be found most readily in "Warm Leatherette" by The Normal and "No Tears" by Tuxedomoon. I can either explain what you'll get from these two songs, or you can listen for yourself, and since I ain't 'splaining until next time you'd better take a listen. I will say this: Analog CyberPunk was what it was, not what it later became or what others think it should include. Associate Justice Potter Stewart knew hardcore pornography when he saw it, and I'll know Analog CyberPunk when I hear it. End transmission One.

The Normal: "Warm Leatherette" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

Tuxedomoon: "No Tears" (Category: Analog CyberPunk)

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