"Cold War in the Brainbox" has a very similar sound, too. While not necessarily very notable, I always liked it anyway.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Cold War in the Brainbox by A Split Second
A Split Second was a a Belgian electronic body music (EBM) band from the mid to late 80s. Although the term was first coined by one of the members of Kraftwerk way back in 1978, it wasn't really defined until Front 242 used the term to describe their approach for their 1984 album No Comment. Front 242 defined the sound as it later came to be known; a kind of techno/electro fusion with industrial. At about the same time, Nitzer Ebb, A Split Second, Die Krupps and more followed shortly on their heels. A Split Second suffered from some repetitiveness if you listen to very much of them, but their debut song "Flesh", their most popular (I think) song "Rigor Mortis" and a few of their other tracks, including this one, were always club favorites for me. I especially liked "Rigor Mortis" and have a lot of memories of dancing to it during the 80s (as well as trying to hold my breath long enough to sing along to that very long note in the chorus.)
If I Ever by Red Flag
I mentioned briefly in my last post that Red Flag largely made their 80s career by sounding like Depeche Mode. Granted, they lacked some of the artistry and subtlety of Depeche Mode, but they made up for that in dance floor friendliness. They had a small string of minor dance chart hits: "Broken Heart," "If I Ever," and "Russian Radio" then synthpop essentially crashed as a viable mainstream marketable force. Red Flag continued for many years, and they've got some good post-80s stuff ("Cliche" and "Nevermind http" from mid-90s Caveat Emptor are amongst my favorite of their subsequent tracks, but they went quite a bit further with darker, more goth-oriented synthpop as the decade turned over to "the Noughties."
Sadly, as they were starting to work up some steam for some renewed success, the lead singer committed suicide in the early 2000s. The "other guy" from the band (they were two brothers) has announced plans to continue with the name, although it remains to be seen what he will do exactly.
Red Flag was one of the few bands, back in the day, where I joined their official fan club, although other than getting a picture, a form letter, and a catalog from which to order more merchandise, that didn't amount to much.
Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode
Is it OK if I repeat a band already? I've got a lot of stuff still to get to, and I haven't even started with Erasure or Ultravox or several other bands that are going to be huge on this blog, with many entries yet. Not only that, the song I'm posting is questionable from a chronological standpoint. While I've called this blog "Synthpop 80s" and restricted (at least for the time being) song selections to the 80s accordingly, the song I'm talking about today was actually released as a single on 5 February 1990... so it misses the 80s by just a few weeks. To make matters even worse, this Richard X remix was released on a 2004 remix re-release (although it's quite faithful to the original, so the fact that it's a remix shouldn't throw anyone off...)
Ouch.
But I'm doing it anyway, because Depeche Mode figures so incredibly hugely in my own personal taste, and has cast such a long shadow over the genre overall. I once asked someone why, in the modern, post market crash synthpop scene there are so few female vocalists, and the tongue in cheek (but only partly so) reply was that the reason for it is that women don't sound enough like Dave Gahan.
Be that as it may, Depeche Mode is like a giant among men in electronic music. Even before the 80s ended, and before Depeche Mode really hit their big mainstream success (with "Enjoy the Silence" and Violator overall) outfits like Red Flag, Camouflage, Seven Red Seven and Cause & Effect enjoyed modest mainstream success based largely on the fact that they sounded like Depeche Mode.
And while tracks from the late 80s were only modestly successful on the pop charts, in both the UK and the US (oddly, they were smash hits on Continental Europe), their underground tenacity was not to be denied. This was astoundingly demonstrated in 1988 during their Music for the Masses tour, when they played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for more than 60,000 fans---the concert that later became the 101 concert double CD.
Anyway, Depeche Mode almost created the 80s synthpop scene in their own image in many ways; Vince Clark helmed Depeche Mode was the bubbly, effusive synthpop that lived on in his other projects such as Yaz and Erasure, and the darker, Martin Gore helmed Depeche Mode became the standard. Between the two goalposts, you could fit almost everything stylistically from the 80s synthpop scene after earlier outfits stared fading away in the first years of the decade. So while "Enjoy the Silence" technically misses having been released in the 80s, it was written in the 80s, and sums up the work that Depeche Mode had been doing all decade to create their brand, and with it, the synthpop scene as we know it.
To say nothing of the fact that I, personally, thought and probably still do think, that the "Golden Age" of Depeche Mode is probably the best synthpop ever made. It's artistic, it's danceable, and it's lyrically complex and thoughtful.
Oddly, I don't think Violator is the Golden Age of Depeche Mode. I mean, I'm sure that they do, since it was their peak of popularity. And I'm sure that most other fans do too, since that was when many of them were first introduced to the band. But I always thought that Some Great Reward, Black Celebration and Music For the Masses was the peak of Depeche Mode's musical career, and on Violator, the music was often hampered by hoaky, overplayed guitar effects, a shortened tracklist, and several forgettable, filler tracks. Frankly, some of the b-sides from the period were better than many of the album tracks ("Dangerous", "Sea of Sin".)
That said, "Enjoy the Silence" is not only the most iconic Depeche Mode song ever, their biggest hit, but also one of my favorites, the album it came from notwithstanding.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Medusa by Clan of Xymox
Another slightly more obscure synthpop gem from the mid 80s, by Dutch proto-Goths Clan of Xymox. This is a hauntingly beautiful, ethereal type of synthpop, with very distinctive vocals. While there are obvious parallels to some Depeche Mode and The Cure, especially in terms of tone, Clan of Xymox stood apart, and in a fair world, they'd have had as much recognition as either of those other two.
This is another one that I discovered late, and in fact I discovered them while they were simply Xymox, and going through a phase where they tried to have a bit more mainstream appeal. I really loved the song "Written in the Stars" from their Phoenix album, and was surprised to discover that if anyone had heard of Clan of Xymox at all, they greatly preferred their earlier stuff. Naturally, I had to track it down.
I still like "Written in the Stars" a lot, but I can see their point. "Medusa" is just perfectly crafted dark pop. Back in those days, I don't know if I had any idea what the Goth movement was all about, or even if it was really doing anything. While I saw a handful of folks here and there who looked like goths, we just called them, "that guy who's trying to look like Robert Smith from The Cure." So Clan of Xymox were sufficiently pioneering in their approach to qualify as one of the earliest proto-goth bands, and unlike The Cure, they came at it from a much more synthpopish place.
This is another one that I discovered late, and in fact I discovered them while they were simply Xymox, and going through a phase where they tried to have a bit more mainstream appeal. I really loved the song "Written in the Stars" from their Phoenix album, and was surprised to discover that if anyone had heard of Clan of Xymox at all, they greatly preferred their earlier stuff. Naturally, I had to track it down.
I still like "Written in the Stars" a lot, but I can see their point. "Medusa" is just perfectly crafted dark pop. Back in those days, I don't know if I had any idea what the Goth movement was all about, or even if it was really doing anything. While I saw a handful of folks here and there who looked like goths, we just called them, "that guy who's trying to look like Robert Smith from The Cure." So Clan of Xymox were sufficiently pioneering in their approach to qualify as one of the earliest proto-goth bands, and unlike The Cure, they came at it from a much more synthpopish place.
We're Looking For the Whales by a-ha
Norway's a-ha is mostly known as a pop sensation one-hit wonder, with their iconic "Take On Me" appearing in almost every 80s retrospective I've seen (as well as consistently being listed as one of the best music videos of all time, only slightly edged out by Michael Jackson's "Thriller.") At least in the US; a-ha have proven to be surprisingly inconsistent in terms of popularity as you move from region to region. While usually forgotten (except for "Take On Me") in the US, some of their subsequent early singles were bigger in the UK than that anthem, and a-ha found a hugely warm and prolonged reception in South America, for instance.
However, I was one of the few who was actually quite into a-ha during the 80s in my country, and to me they were unappreciated "New Wave" (i.e. synthpop) masters. Lead singer Morten Harket is of course famous for his incredible vocal range, especially in the falsetto register, but he was an incredibly capable and silky vocalist even when not stretching himself as notably as he did on "Take On Me." This song, from their sophomore effort Scoundrel Days was always one of my favorite songs of theirs, light yet still wistful and ethereal at the same time. I'll post a lot of a-ha as this blog goes on: "Take On Me", "Hunting High and Low", "Train of Thought", "Living A Boy's Adventure Tale", "The Sun Always Shines on TV", "Scoundrel Days", "Cry Wolf", "Manhattan Skyline", "Stay On These Roads", and "The Living Daylights" were all favorites of mine too, and also show the impeccable "New Wave" pedigree that a-ha exhibited but which few remember nowadays.
However, I was one of the few who was actually quite into a-ha during the 80s in my country, and to me they were unappreciated "New Wave" (i.e. synthpop) masters. Lead singer Morten Harket is of course famous for his incredible vocal range, especially in the falsetto register, but he was an incredibly capable and silky vocalist even when not stretching himself as notably as he did on "Take On Me." This song, from their sophomore effort Scoundrel Days was always one of my favorite songs of theirs, light yet still wistful and ethereal at the same time. I'll post a lot of a-ha as this blog goes on: "Take On Me", "Hunting High and Low", "Train of Thought", "Living A Boy's Adventure Tale", "The Sun Always Shines on TV", "Scoundrel Days", "Cry Wolf", "Manhattan Skyline", "Stay On These Roads", and "The Living Daylights" were all favorites of mine too, and also show the impeccable "New Wave" pedigree that a-ha exhibited but which few remember nowadays.
Forever Young by Alphaville
While not commercially incredible successful as a single release per se, Alphaville's 1984 poignant anthem "Forever Young" became an instant cult classic, notable for having been covered many times, included on many TV shows, movies, and commercials, and playing probably as the final, teary-eyed song at most proms and other teenaged dances during much of the 80s (I know they did at mine, and I didn't graduate high school until 1990!)
Notably, less than a year after it's release, Laura Branigan covered it, and sang it as part of her encore at every concert until her untimely death in 2004 (I'll probably eventually include some Laura Branigan here as well… although I might give this one a pass, since I tend to avoid covers except in exceptional circumstances.)
It's a cult classic for a reason. Give it a listen if you haven't heard it in a long time, and you'll see what I mean; this is one of the most beautiful and emotional pop songs in my collection. Alphaville's debut album is actually full of all kinds of undiscovered gems, and while they wandered "astray" for many years experimenting with different sounds, their 1997 "back to roots" CD Salvation is a fun one too.
Notably, less than a year after it's release, Laura Branigan covered it, and sang it as part of her encore at every concert until her untimely death in 2004 (I'll probably eventually include some Laura Branigan here as well… although I might give this one a pass, since I tend to avoid covers except in exceptional circumstances.)
It's a cult classic for a reason. Give it a listen if you haven't heard it in a long time, and you'll see what I mean; this is one of the most beautiful and emotional pop songs in my collection. Alphaville's debut album is actually full of all kinds of undiscovered gems, and while they wandered "astray" for many years experimenting with different sounds, their 1997 "back to roots" CD Salvation is a fun one too.
Dead Eyes Opened by Severed Heads
Linguists love the concept of family trees, and when comparing languages, it is often used to describe relationships between them. It can be said, then that the Vulgar Latin is the parent language of, for example, Spanish, French, Romanian, Italian and other languages which are daughter-languages to Latin and sister-languages to each other. This model is helpful in other classification schemes, and oftentimes commentators would like to chart those same kinds of relationships between, say, genres of music. This is a natural habit, but one that doesn't always work. In linguistics, the concept of the Sprachbund is one where languages that are unrelated (or at best distantly related) acquire the illusion of relatedness through prolonged contact with each other, where so-called areal features cross "genetic" boundaries, and unrelated languages can take on very similar appearances despite having originally come from somewhere quite different.
This concept is also very apparent in the electronic music of the 80s. While I talk about this blog being dedicated to synthpop, it's often very difficult to distinguish synthpop from other musical approaches, and those other musical approaches often converged with synthpop to the point where there wasn't any longer a meaningful distinction. This resulting Musikbund leads to such finely split subgenres that it becomes very difficult, and ultimately fairly silly, to correctly "bin" some of this music.
For example, while it's not necessarily too hard to separate the early futurists like early Ultravox, early Human League, John Foxx and Gary Numan from New Romantics like Visage, Depeche Mode or Spandau Ballet, New Romanticism is itself an eclectic movement that was almost only coincidentally associated with synthpop at all, since some of its artists were purveyors of "pure" synthpop. Others, however, including much of the Visage output, Midge Ure era Ultravox, Duran Duran, Japan and others used a lot of synthesizers, but were also very familiar with regular guitars, bass guitars, live drums, etc. and some iconic New Romantics, like Adam and the Ants, didn't really use any synthesizers or drum machines at all. So where do they all fit here?
There was similar convergence with early industrial pioneers. For that matter, is Kraftwerk the prototype for synthpop, industrial music, techno, or just more generally all electronic music? While Chris & Cosey and Severed Heads are strongly associated with the industrial movement, how are songs like "October Love Song" and "Dead Eyes Opened" not synthpop? Italo-disco and Hi-NRG are linear descendants of disco, not post-punk like the rest of the synthpop movement, but again, convergence had made outfits like Bobby Orlando, Ken Laszlo, Savage, or others sound completely indistinguishable from synthpop except by the most esoteric of cues. And where in all this do other bands that don't really qualify as any of the "sungenres" very well fit? Soft Cell, Blancmange, Fad Gadget, later Human League, ABC, Heaven 17, and others? Just "plain" synthpop?
What am I do to with all of this? For purposes of this blog, I'm adopting a more "open" rather than "closed" approach. If it has a "close enough" sound and is from the right time period, I'm not going to quibble about exactly where one or the other song's genesis was. I'll include stuff by italo-disco artists, synthpop artists, New Romantics (including stuff that may feature more guitars and live drums than you'd expect), early industrialists, futurists, and more. For right now, I'm specifically including Severed Heads' "Dead Eyes Opened", which was a reasonably successful hit in the band's native Australia, but which was sufficiently underground in the US that I didn't discover it until the mid 90s, when it was already quite old, having originally been cut in 1984 or so. While the industrial influence will be quite evident, so too will be the synthpop influence, the 4/4 beat, the resolving chords, the melodic synthlines, etc. Vocalist Tom Ellard often sang lyrics too, which made their output even more synthpopish than perhaps this song would indicate. This is also the shortened, "radio" version of the song; the longer one is, mostly, just longer without adding too much other than more length.
This concept is also very apparent in the electronic music of the 80s. While I talk about this blog being dedicated to synthpop, it's often very difficult to distinguish synthpop from other musical approaches, and those other musical approaches often converged with synthpop to the point where there wasn't any longer a meaningful distinction. This resulting Musikbund leads to such finely split subgenres that it becomes very difficult, and ultimately fairly silly, to correctly "bin" some of this music.
For example, while it's not necessarily too hard to separate the early futurists like early Ultravox, early Human League, John Foxx and Gary Numan from New Romantics like Visage, Depeche Mode or Spandau Ballet, New Romanticism is itself an eclectic movement that was almost only coincidentally associated with synthpop at all, since some of its artists were purveyors of "pure" synthpop. Others, however, including much of the Visage output, Midge Ure era Ultravox, Duran Duran, Japan and others used a lot of synthesizers, but were also very familiar with regular guitars, bass guitars, live drums, etc. and some iconic New Romantics, like Adam and the Ants, didn't really use any synthesizers or drum machines at all. So where do they all fit here?
There was similar convergence with early industrial pioneers. For that matter, is Kraftwerk the prototype for synthpop, industrial music, techno, or just more generally all electronic music? While Chris & Cosey and Severed Heads are strongly associated with the industrial movement, how are songs like "October Love Song" and "Dead Eyes Opened" not synthpop? Italo-disco and Hi-NRG are linear descendants of disco, not post-punk like the rest of the synthpop movement, but again, convergence had made outfits like Bobby Orlando, Ken Laszlo, Savage, or others sound completely indistinguishable from synthpop except by the most esoteric of cues. And where in all this do other bands that don't really qualify as any of the "sungenres" very well fit? Soft Cell, Blancmange, Fad Gadget, later Human League, ABC, Heaven 17, and others? Just "plain" synthpop?
What am I do to with all of this? For purposes of this blog, I'm adopting a more "open" rather than "closed" approach. If it has a "close enough" sound and is from the right time period, I'm not going to quibble about exactly where one or the other song's genesis was. I'll include stuff by italo-disco artists, synthpop artists, New Romantics (including stuff that may feature more guitars and live drums than you'd expect), early industrialists, futurists, and more. For right now, I'm specifically including Severed Heads' "Dead Eyes Opened", which was a reasonably successful hit in the band's native Australia, but which was sufficiently underground in the US that I didn't discover it until the mid 90s, when it was already quite old, having originally been cut in 1984 or so. While the industrial influence will be quite evident, so too will be the synthpop influence, the 4/4 beat, the resolving chords, the melodic synthlines, etc. Vocalist Tom Ellard often sang lyrics too, which made their output even more synthpopish than perhaps this song would indicate. This is also the shortened, "radio" version of the song; the longer one is, mostly, just longer without adding too much other than more length.
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