Archive for the ‘New Wave’ Category

Movie Soundtracks: Breaking Glass

Posted: September 24, 2014 in New Wave, Post-Punk, Soundtracks
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I was recently asked to make a list of 15 movies that had a lasting impact on me. At first I thought this would be an impossible task but after mulling it over, I decided to take five minutes and write down the first movies that came to mind. The British film Breaking Glass was one of those movies, not because it was a great film but because it really laid the foundation for my appreciation of punk and new wave music. I remember seeing it as a kid in the early ‘80s (for some reason it was played religiously on HBO) and it really made an impression on me – the hard-driving music, the fashion, and the anti-establishment message was unlike anything I’d seen or heard before.

Released in 1980, Breaking Glass is the familiar story of a band (Breaking Glass) getting discovered in a seedy bar, rising to fame, and then succumbing to the pitfalls of money and stardom. It’s also a tale about the underbelly of the music industry and the ease of how the most artistically earnest of individuals can sell out. The backdrop of high unemployment, industrial strikes, and general discontent only add to the bleak atmosphere of film. The songs for the soundtrack (produced by Tony Visconti) were written by Hazel O’Connor, who also plays the lead singer, making it the first time a female both wrote and performed a film’s entire soundtrack. The album, which was the basis for the soundtrack, went double platinum and reached #5 in the UK. It also produced numerous hit singles. The soundtrack, with its urgent and energetic sound, impressively holds up after all these years.

The song “Big Brother” has O’Connor speaking out about the perils of conforming to a soulless society. The clip below has stills of the movie, which show O’Connor looking very much like a character out of Blade Runner.

 

“Eighth Day” is the final song performed in the film. It finds O’Connor dressed in a futuristic costume (inspired by Fritz Lang’s Metropolis) cautioning of a time when machines and technology will rule the world.

 

Classic Video: Echo & the Bunneymen

Posted: September 23, 2014 in Classic Videos, New Wave, Post-Punk
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“The Killing Moon” is a single off of Echo & the Bunnymen’s fourth album, Ocean Rain, released in 1984. The album marked a change in the group’s music, moving away from their post-punk roots to a lighter sound incorporating strings and piano. The song remains one of the band’s biggest hits – peaking at #9 on the UK charts. The single didn’t make much of an impact in the U.S. and is probably most well-known for its use in the opening scene of the 2001 film Donnie Darko (one of the great marriages between film and song). The video is dark and full of wind-swept images that perfectly fit the mood of the song.

 

Forever Young Turns 30

Posted: September 22, 2014 in Albums, Classic Videos, New Wave, Synthpop
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This week marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Alphaville’s debut album “Forever Young.” With an estimated 2,000,000 copies sold, it was the German group’s most successful album. Besides producing the single of the same name, it also yielded the hit “Big in Japan.” Although quite successful in Europe, the album had little chart success in the US, peaking at #180. The single “Forever Young,” which has gone on to achieve pop culture status, only reached #65 on the US charts. Despite this, numerous artists have covered the song and it’s been used prominently in movies, commercials, and television throughout the years. The video for the song was filmed in a sanatorium in Surrey, England. If features the group performing before a ragtag audience of young and old, and sporting matching jumpsuits, which were quite popular at the time.

 

Band Profile: Fischer-Z

Posted: September 21, 2014 in Band Profiles, New Wave
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I recently came across a blog comment about the band Fischer-Z, a British band from the early ‘80s that I had completely forgotten about. The comment immediately jogged my memory and I remembered seeing the video for their song “So Long” back in the early ‘80s. The song had a strong bass line, unusual vocals, and I recalled there was a film noir narrative to the video. I immediately went to Youtube to track it down and then decided to look up more music from the group. They had a sound very much in-step with other new wave artists at the time and I was surprised that it had taken me over thirty years to come across them again. It turns out that the group’s record company decided to forego releasing material in America in the ‘80s. Having virtually no airplay, it’s no wonder they escaped my memory.

Forming in 1976, Fischer-Z started out with an experimental progressive rock sound. By their debut album, World Salad, their sound had evolved into a mix of offbeat pop with a reggae influence. The album had modest chart success, peaking at #54 on the UK charts. Their second album, Going Deaf for a Living, released in 1980, had the band moving to more of a guitar-heavy, new wave sound. It proved to be a greater success and by their third album, 1981’s Red Skies Over Paradise, the group had dissolved with lead singer John Watts pursuing a solo career. Although being the only original member of the group, Watts recorded albums throughout the ’80s and ‘90s under the name Fischer-Z. John Watts’ version of Fischer-Z continues to tour to this day.

The group’s first video was for the single “So Long,’ off the album Going Deaf for a Living. It shows off Watts’ unique, high vocal register. It was their most successful single and still finds regular airplay on stations in Europe.

 

“Marliese” is a single off the album Red Skies over Paradise. It’s a high-energy tune with more of a rock edge. The video clip below finds Watts enthusiastically lip-synching to the track.

 

Australia’s Divinyls

Posted: September 19, 2014 in Band Profiles, New Wave, Rock
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Many people know Australia’s Divinyls from their early ‘90s hit “I Touch Myself.” But the band had great success in their native country throughout the ‘80s. During that time period, they had a much harder sound, especially in the earlier part of the decade. I first discovered them through their video for the song “Boys in Town,” which received airplay on MTV in 1983. It’s a hard-hitting rock song with an unrelenting rhythm that mixed well with lead singer Chrissy Amphlett’s unique voice and high-energy performance. At the time, Amphlett reminded me of a younger Chrissie Hynde – fringe bangs, and lots of eyeliner and attitude. (In the 80s, Amphlett performed in a schoolgirl uniform and was often referred to as the female version of fellow Aussie Angus Young of AC/DC).

Formed in Sydney, Australia in 1980, the band went through many line-up changes throughout the ‘80s. By time the ‘90s rolled around they were a very different band. They adopted a more glamorous look and their sound moved to mainstream pop. It was only recently, after having come across a story on the band, that I remembered how much of a fan I had been of their earlier work. The group ended up disbanding in 1996 but reunited for a short time 10 years later before finally calling it quits in 2009. Unfortunately, Amphlett died in 2013 at the age of 53, after battling breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.

“Boys in Town” was originally released as a single in 1981. It’s part of the soundtrack for the 1982 movie Monkey Grip, which Amphlett also starred in. The single was also included on their debut album, Desperate, released in 1983. The video finds Amphlett in full schoolgirl garb, aggressively wielding a neon mic stand.

 

One of my favorite tracks off the debut album is “Science Fiction.” It has futuristic sounding keyboards and a robotic vocal performance by Amphlett that warrants the song’s title.

 

Classic Video: Split Enz

Posted: September 18, 2014 in Classic Videos, New Wave
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New Zealand’s Split Enz are partially responsible for my love of new wave music. Not only because the Finn brothers wrote some great songs but also because their videos were some of the first I recall from the early days of MTV. Known for their theatrical stage performances, they were a natural fit for the video age. “One Step Ahead” is a single from their sixth album, Waiata, released in 1981. With it’s penetrating bass line and carnival-like keyboards, it sounded unlike anything else at the time. Shown on MTV’s historic debut back on August 1, 1981, the video features keyboardist Eddie Raynor doing a pretty good “moonwalk” (albeit forward). You can catch it around the two minute mark.

 

Band Profile: The Abecedarians

Posted: September 16, 2014 in Band Profiles, Goth, New Wave, Post-Punk, Synthpop
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The Abecedarians are another great find I came across in my late-night internet searches. They have the distinction of being the only American band to have recorded under the legendary Factory Records label, the company that produced records for such artists as Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, and Orchestral Maneuverers in the Dark. Having a haunting-like quality to their music that reminded me of the new wave bands from England of the time, I was surprised to discover that the trio hail from Los Angeles. They also have a big sound, which belies the fact that there are only three members in the group.

Forming in 1983, the Abecedarians released their first single, “Smiling Monarchs,” under the Factory label in 1985. It was mixed by New Order’s Bernard Sumner and is a pounding, synth-heavy track. After leaving Factory, their music moved to more of a dark, atmospheric sound. It was the work off of their 1986 mini LP Eureka that captured my attention, and made me wonder how I could have missed them back in the day.

“Beneath the City of Hedonistic Bohemians” is a single off the mini LP Eureka. It’s an energetic, drum-driven track with pleasing guitar work throughout. It’s the song that first piqued my interest in the group and feel it’s one of their best tracks.

 

Having a darker but more melodic sound, “Misery of Cities” is another single off the Eureka LP.

 

Classic Video: Duran Duran

Posted: September 15, 2014 in Classic Videos, New Romantic, New Wave, Synthpop
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I recently went to see the Duran Duran concert film, Duran Duran: Unstaged. The film was released on September 10th, showing for one night only at over 300 theaters across the U.S. Directed by David Lynch, it captures the band in concert at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles in 2011. In light of this event, I’ve decided to highlight Duran Duran’s “Planet Earth” as the first in a series of classic videos.

“Planet Earth,” released in 1981, was the band’s first single and quickly became a hit in the UK and Australia. It was included on their self-titled album released later that year. This was the first collaboration with director Russell Mulcahy, who would go on to direct several more videos for the group. The band is costumed in full “New Romantic” frilly fashion. The video also features some of their club friends prancing around barefoot in some pretty outrageous outfits. This is one of my favorites from the group and still has heavy rotation on my playlists.

 

OMD: More Than “If You Leave”

Posted: September 11, 2014 in Band Profiles, Electronic, New Wave, Synthpop
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There were some bands I unjustly dismissed in the eighties. One of those bands was Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). This was mostly due to the fact that I had little affection for the song “If You Leave” from the 1986 Pretty in Pink soundtrack. The whining vocals and the slow melody just didn’t resonate with me. After doing some research, I discovered that this was not the original song OMD picked for the John Hughes flick. After receiving negative feedback from test audiences on the ending of the movie (which had Andie choosing Duckie over Blane) and the song (“Goddess of Love”), they were asked to come up with a song for the new ending landing Andie with Blane. The new ending explains the bad wig Andrew McCarthy sported in the prom scene. They came up with “If You Leave” within 24 hours. The song reached No. 4 on the U.S. charts, their greatest U.S. success, and was pretty much all I knew of OMD until I came across their earlier material in a late night internet search for best synth-pop songs of the eighties.

In my quest for the ultimate synth-pop songs, I kept coming across OMD and their highly lauded first album. Surely this couldn’t be the same band I so easily rejected in the mid-eighties. I decided to give the album a listen and was glad I did. The self-titled album, released in 1980, was not what I expected and made me understand why they were hailed as synth-pop pioneers, influencing artists such as Erasure, Howard Jones, the Pet Shop Boys, Nine Inch Nails, and more recently bands such as Radiohead, The Killers, Glasvegas, and LCD Soundsystem. OMD formed in England in 1978 and founding members Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys were referred to as the Lennon-McCartney of synth-pop. They were considered experimental and intellectual, which didn’t fare well in the mainstream. Retrospectively, the band has received critical praise for their melodic and innovative sound.

“Electricity” was the first single off of the self-titled album released in 1980. It was originally recorded in 1979 but was included on the 1980 release. It’s a frantic swirl of synth-pop inspiration, and led one critic to call it the “perfect electro-pop number.”

 

My favorite song off the debut album is “Messages.” It features a prominent rhythm, emotional lyrics, and a great melody. This is the song that really grabbed my attention and made me eager to explore the rest of their catalog.

 

I’m also a fan of their later work, especially the single “(Forever) Live and Die.” It was the first single released from their 1986 album, The Pacific Age, and peaked at #19 on the U.S. charts. It’s a slower-paced song with a notable bassline, and harmonies that mesh so well with the lovely synth backdrop.

 

Zero Le Creche: Fleeting Goth Icons

Posted: September 10, 2014 in Band Profiles, Goth, New Wave, Post-Punk
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Some of my favorite bands in the eighties were from the goth genre. Bands such as The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and T.S.O.L. These bands had heavy rotation on MTV and had plenty of airplay on college radio. This was a genre I thought I was well-versed in until recently when I decided to dive in and take another look and see what I had missed back in the goth heyday. Zero Le Creche is a band I stumbled upon while scouring the internet for “the best goth songs ever.” I kept seeing the single “Last Year’s Wife” on many best of lists and decided to seek them out.

It turns out that I couldn’t find much on this band, for good reason – they only released two singles. An English band formed in the early eighties, Zero Le Creche were just taking off when the lead singer, Andy Nkanza, left the band and inexplicably disappeared. They quickly got a new lead singer and released one more single in 1985 before disbanding. They were categorized as goth because there was no other genre that really fit. The band was said to bridge the gap between the Psychedelic Furs and Bauhaus. A record company cobbled together enough studio recordings to release an album in 2008, which pays tribute to how much interest there still is in the band. I plan on purchasing this album in the near future and I suggest you give it a listen. You won’t be disappointed.

“Last Year’s Wife” was the first single released by the band in 1984. With soaring vocals and a catchy guitar hook, it had me from the beginning. Considered one of the great goth classics of the eighties, it makes you wonder what else this short-lived band could have accomplished. I wasn’t able to track down any footage of the band and not sure if any exists.

 

The second (and last) single was 1985’s “Falling,” featuring a new lead singer sounding very much like Richard Butler. It’s another catchy tune with an irresistible chorus that matches anything put out by the Psychedelic Furs, the band which they are so often compared.

 

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