New Wave for the New Week #26

What a nifty find! The original, rarely-seen video for The Mo-Dettes' debut single, "White Mice!" As soon as I learned this had hit the Internets from the wonderful Bedazzled blog (which you should bookmark yourself), I knew it was going to be the next entry in the NW4NW series.

The Mo-Dettes released six singles and one album, The Story So Far, beginning with "White Mice" in 1979. A multi-national group (singer Ramona Carlier is Swiss, guitarist Kate Korus is from the States, and Jane Crockford and June Miles-Kingston, bass and drums respectively, are British) based in the UK, their music was a bit rough around the edges. Landing somewhere between The Slits and Gang of Four on the musical spectrum, with a pseudo-syncopated beat kicking along below the surface, "White Mice" became a big indie hit in the UK, and is probably the band's best-known song.

The video clip, which surfaced in May of this year, is very much of its time: ever-changing neon colors and basic, primitive transitions try to make the fairly straightforward performance clip seem more off-kilter than it really is, but in 1979 it likely seemed very cutting edge. Still, it's a cool thing to see again after all these years, and the song's quirkiness will stick with you.

So, enjoy this week's New Wave for the New Week entry, The Mo-Dettes' "White Mice":