The classic era of New Wave, circa 1978 - 1981, left behind several eccentric curios - bizarre one-shot bands that rode the wave briefly and wiped out hard, never to be heard from again, or eclectic experimenters who thrived on trying something beyond the traditional radio-friendly three and half minute pop song. One band fit both descriptions during the New Wave heyday, and then managed to extend their lifespan longer than anyone thought probable by completely redefining themselves, at least finding dance club success if not chart fame and radio airplay.
When they began in 1978, the band Fàshiön (originally fully named Fàshiön Music on their first few singles) sounded like no one who had come before them - or after, for that matter. They created a trippy, out-of-phase, almost dreamlike drone from shards of Reggae, Psychedelia, and Punk. With frontman Luke Sky's bizarre vocal swoops tugging the melodies along, their early records at times sounded akin to Brian Eno-era Roxy Music played at the wrong speed on warped vinyl, but they remain fascinating artifacts of the era. "Steady Eddie Steady" and "Citinite" are the best examples of these early oddities, which caught the ear of Miles Copeland who quickly snapped them up for his fledgling I.R.S. Records label.
It was for I.R.S. that Fàshiön recorded their debut EP, containing my pick as their finest vinyl moment, the raucous "Sodium Pentathol Negative," which was also chosen as the band's representative cut on the essential I.R.S.'s Greatest Hits Vols. II & III compilation. That it wasn't included on their first proper LP, 1979's Product Perfect, only goes to show how much solid material the band was pumping out. Indeed, only "Citinite" made the cut from the first several singles. It's a truly wonderful album, highlighted by the sprawling, somewhat unsettling "Bike Boys." Well worth seeking out.
Shortly thereafter, Sky left the band, and Fàshiön might very well have disappeared into the mists of time. Remaining band members John Mulligan (bass and synths), Dik Davis (drums), and Al James (guitar) had other ideas, however. They brought in a new vocalist, and in 1982 suddenly bobbed back up to the surface with a new album, Fabrique (reissued many years later on CD asThe Height of Fashion). Old fans had little to celebrate, sadly, as this record bears little to no resemblance to anything done under the Fàshiön name before. This was slick, polished New Romantic/pseudo-soul pop music, an obvious attempt to latch onto the "sound of the moment." While they scored some club hits ("You Only Left Your Picture," "Streetplayer"), they didn't find the commercial success they had hoped for. A further reshuffling and another change in vocalists occurred, and they tried one more time. 1984's Twilight Of Idolstook unapologetic aim at the dance floors, and while it is certainly danceable, it's unfortunately also generic and forgettable.
For this week's NW4NW entry, we go back to Fàshiön's early material and remember good band they were at the start, even if they turned out to be a chameleonic curio by the end. Two audio-only clips are presented: first up, their excellent debut, "Steady Eddie Steady," and then the fantastic "Sodium Pentathol Negative." Enjoy!
Combining hook-laden high-energy jangling guitar pop with a Punk Rock sneer and a boatload of irresistibly catchy choruses, The Buzzcocks appeared on the scene in the wake of The Sex Pistols' initial assault on UK eardrums in 1976. The band was originally the creation of schoolmates Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley who, with bassist Steve Diggle and drummer John Maher, issued the 4-song 7-inch Spiral Scratch EP that year on their own New Hormones label, making them among the earliest of the Punk crowd to take the independent release route.
Spiral Scratch's songs are sharp, abrasive, angular blurts that only begin to display what The Buzzcock's sound would evolve into; the highlight here is the leadoff track, "Boredom," which is everything a Punk Rock song should be: short, minimalist, snarky and intelligent ("Now I'm living in this ennui/But it doesn't suit me..."). The Devoto/Shelley pairing would not last long. Devoto was more interested in exploring electronic music, and shortly after this debut he left the band to form Magazine.
Pete Shelley took over the lead vocal duties, Steve Diggle moved from bass to guitar, and Steve Garvey joined on bass, and in short order the classic Buzzcocks lineup was in place. Over the next three years The Buzzcocks would deliver three outstanding albums and a dozen or more ace singles for their new label, United Artists. They differed from their contemporaries in Shelley's adenoidal yet melodic vocals and the use of Beatles-inspired harmonies. Where the Punk crowd was going on about political and social injustices, The Buzzcocks were singing about paranoia, alienation and unrequited love - and scoring hit after hit in the UK while doing so.
Their first United Artists single, 1977's "Orgasm Addict," brought about controversy given its rather frank approach to its subject matter, but also sold very well despite just missing the UK Top 40. The follow-up, "What Do I Get?," did make the Top 40, and The Buzzcocks were off on a great run. All three of their United Artists LPs (Another Music In A Different Kitchen, Love Bites, and A Different Kind Of Tension) have aged remarkably well and are strewn with classics like "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Should'nt've?)," "Sixteen Again," "Fast Cars," "You Say You Don't Love Me," and so on; the band also scored with a handful of non-album singles including "Love You More," "Everybody's Happy Nowadays," and "Harmony In My Head." In 1979, UA helpfully compiled all of the A and B sides of their singles into one album, Singles Going Steady. Essential.
As the 1980's kicked off, The Buzzcocks began slowing down. The delivered three more singles, which were later compiled into a 12-inch EP, but Shelley soon left to pursue a solo career, Diggle and Maher moved on to form Flag Of Convenience, and The Buzzcocks were apparently done. A decade later, there was enough interest in the band to reissue everything except for the original four Spiral Scratch tracks in a boxed set called Product. Sales were surprisingly strong, and Shelley and Diggle started toying with the idea of a reunion.
By 1993, a regrouped Buzzcocks had their first new recorded material in more than ten years. Trade Test Transmissions kicked off a run of five more albums, including All Set, Modern, Buzzcocks, and Flat-Pack Philosophy, which all showed the band hadn't lost a step despite the lengthy layoff. Songs like the incredible "Soul On A Rock" (from Modern) can be proudly filed alongside The Buzzcock's classic material.
For this return to NW4NW, I am happy to present two of The Buzzcock's best from their classic era, "What Do I Get?" and the utterly wonderful "I Don't Mind," as well as the more recent vintage "Soul On A Rock." Enjoy!
Realized that it's been over a week since my last post, so I figured I should bring you folks up to date on a few things happening in this neck of the woods:
NaNoWriMo - Started the month out with a bang, writing like a fiend! It's much easier to do, I've discovered, when you have a clear goal (1600 words a day) and fellow writers aiming for the same goal with whom to compare notes, celebrate milestones, and cheer each other on past the hurdles. It's been neat watching my short story grow and take shape, and getting to know the characters who populate the story better. I have most of the novel outlined now; at this point, I am putting flesh on the bones. Should be easy, right? Nope - I hit a wall this weekend and must admit to letting a couple days pass without writing a word. I'll be back at it tonight, though. My local writers' group meets tomorrow night, so I better have something to show them! (Right guys?)
NW4NW & 6WS - The Monday New Wave for the New Week posts and weekly Six Word Sunday entries are on indefinite hiatus. I don't know whether that's a concern or not: the poll I ran here in October about continuing NW4NW sent me a decidedly mixed message. The votes that came in were 100% in favor of continuing NW4NW; however, despite there being an audience that includes 234 who follow on Facebook and 933 who follow on Twitter, only 4 (4!) of you voted. So, for now, I've decided both series of posts are getting a rest. I am still open to your thoughts and opinions (hell, I'm practically begging for them!), so please post either in the comments field below, or on either the Facebook or Twitter pages.
What's The Name of That Song? - Still have yet to discover the title and artist for the remaining mystery song posted here a month ago today. Please take a moment to listen - someone out there has to know who and what this is! It's still driving me crazy, and - no promises - but there just may be a reward in it for you:
mystery song #1
Recent Discoveries - A couple of nifty websites and a truly awesome band have landed on my radar screen in the past few weeks, and, as always, when I find the neat stuff I share it with you! The two websites are actually Tumblr blogs, and have been added to the blogroll on the lefthand side of the screen here (keep scrolling down; you'll find it! And while you're there, check out some of the other sites I have linked there).
First is Things Could Be Worse, a wonderful collection of dryly yet wickedly funny drawings by Benjamin Dewey, referred to as the "Tragedy Series." Almost like a virtual set of trading cards, these one-panel webcomics are brilliant visualizations of Dewey's warped reminders that, no matter how bad your day is going, someone else somewhere at some point in time has had it worse. One of my faves:
Those of you who follow my posts about my challenges with Social Anxiety will join me in celebrating the second site, Social Anxiety Things. Most of the entries are simply that: brief descriptions of those moments all of us who battle Social Anxiety Disorder know all too well. For those who live it every day, it's a bit of the constant reassurance we need that we really are not alone; for those who are fortunate not to suffer such anxieties, the site offers a bit of a window into the worlds of those who do, which may help you better understand friends or family who experience it. The site takes submissions from readers, so scattered among the regular items you will occasionally find folks sharing stories of both anxiety attacks and successful "wins" when they overcame the hurdles anxiety threw into their paths. The occasional video shows up as well, and suggestions for coping skills are offered. Together, these varied entries make up a reassuring and wonderful site, and I for one am glad it exists! As an example, here's a recent Social Anxiety Thing that I certainly relate to:
And now, my "band of the moment": My friend JK introduced me to Austin, TX's punk/metal/awesome duo One-Eyed Doll about a week ago, and they are all I have been listening to since! I have become utterly smitten with singer/guitarist/driving force Kimberly Freeman, who, together with drummer "Junior" (Jason Rufuss Sewell, who also does most of the production work), is putting out some truly original, highly enjoyable, often hysterical and always intelligent material which ranges from death metal screaming to pretty pop balladry to children's-song chanting and back again, often within the same song. Not ones to sing about the mundane, One-Eyed Doll tackle lyrical subjects like the difficulties serial killers have in making friends ("Be My Friend"), the troubles with dating the undead ("You're A Vampire"), the joy of video game victory ("Battle On"), and the sheer delight of being insane ("Committed"). As luck would have it, One-Eyed Doll will actually be playing near here (The Crocodile Rock Cafe in Allentown, PA, to be exact) on November 25th. We will be there, and you'll be treated to another road story afterwords! Meantime, here's One-Eyed Doll's fantastic "You're A Vampire":
OK, that should about catch you up from my world. More neat stuff coming up in the near future!
Australians Harry Vanda and George Young have an interesting musical pedigree. In the '60s, Vanda played lead guitar and Young rhythm guitar (and both provided backing vocals) for The Easybeats, best known for their one-hit wonder "Friday On My Mind."
When that band broke up in 1970, Vanda and Young continued writing songs and recording under various pseudonyms including Paintbox and Grapefruit, and also got involved in writing and producing for other performers. Most notably, they produced several early albums for a band you may have heard of that George Young's brothers Angus and Malcolm put together called AC/DC (from 1975's High Voltage to 1978's If You Want Blood You've Got It). They also had a worldwide hit in the mellow soft-rock genre, writing and producing "Love Is In The Air" for the unrelated John Paul Young in 1978.
With successes in '60s pop, and '70s hard rock and soft rock, why not dabble in early New Wave as well? Vanda and Young began a side-project studio collaboration that soon blossomed into a nearly ten-year run as the wonderfully named Flash 'n' the Pan.
Beginning with the outstanding "Hey St. Peter" in 1977, Flash 'n' the Pan released a steady stream of inventive, enjoyable records that were heartily embraced both in their Australian homeland and throughout most of Europe. Their sound, a keyboard-propelled loping melody beneath heavily compressed spoken-sung vocals, was easily identifiable, and their ability to write catchy tunes saw them score overseas hits with "Media Man,""Welcome To The Universe," and "Waiting For A Train."
By the mid-80s, Vanda and Young had slowed down drastically, although they have never completely stopped working together. Occasional albums sporadically appeared under the Flash 'n' the Pan moniker up through the mid-90s, although many were repackaged "hits" collections. They are one of those bands that just might have been different enough to catch on in the US had they been given a even chance here (of course, conservative radio programmers wouldn't play their records back then - they sounded too "weird"). Most people I introduce to Flash 'n' the Pan find that, once they get used to the vocals, they really enjoy them. You might too.
This week's NW4NW entry is the clip for that first single, "Hey St. Peter." It remains one of my favorite songs of the era. Enjoy!
[All throughout the month of November, all NW4NW entries are based on requests made by you, dear readers. Because of the amount of requests received, there will often be more than one entry per week during this month - I recommend signing up for email alerts on the left-hand side of the screen so that you don't miss any of the fun!]
Two more requests to fill in what has been a very successful NW4NW All Request Month! Up next comes a request from Jay Marshall, who submitted the only request I received for neither a specific band nor a specific song, but for a record label! Jay suggested any of the 4AD bands, and listed a couple of his favorites. From his list, I chose one of mine.
The 4AD Records label started up in in England in 1980, originally as Axis Records, an offshoot of the successful Beggar's Banquet label. After releasing a handful of singles, they discovered another label was already called Axis, and so changed their name to 4AD Records, from the caption on a poster that label founder Ivo Watts-Russell had seen.
4AD swiftly became one of the top UK indie labels, signing bands like Dead Can Dance, The Wolfgang Press, The The, Dif Juz, and Cocteau Twins. Their signature sound was what you might call goth-light: swirling, ethereal, and melancholy. The label often sent their bands out on packaged tours and developed an almost cult-like following. It wasn't until 1986 that 4AD reached across the pond to sign their first American bands, snatching up The Pixies, who have been covered in this series here, and the band I picked to fill Jay's request, Throwing Muses.
Stepsisters Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly had formed the band five years earlier when they were in high school in Newport, RI, and had even managed to self-release an EP in 1984. With the name-value of the 4AD label behind them, though, Throwing Muses quickly became darlings of college radio. Their sound was a little more jagged than the typical 4AD band to that point in time, and their melodies and arrangements tended toward the unorthodox. Singing songs about alienation, distress and psychosis, Throwing Muses found an audience who adored them.
1989's Hunkpapa album saw the band hit their apex, with the single "Dizzy" reaching the Top Ten on Billboard's Modern Rock charts; they maintained that momentum through 1991's The Real Ramona, which contained their finest moment, "Not Too Soon." Tanya Donnelly was swiftly becoming the "star" of the band. Her adorable alterna-chick image was played up by the media; that image coupled with her poppier melodic tendencies made her of the early 1990s' alternative music scene's icons. Having already begun to do some side-project work (including joining Pixies' guitarist Kim Deal in The Breeders), Donnelly split from Throwing Muses after 1991. Eventually, she would form her own band, Belly, who had a minor hit in 1994, "Feed The Tree."
Kristen Hersh and the rest of Throwing Muses soldiered on through three more albums before calling it a day in 1996, but with Donnelly gone it wasn't the same. Occasional reunion shows popped up now and again, becoming more frequent in 2000-2001. Donnelly even appeared onstage with the band at one point, and in 2003 a new self-titled Throwing Muses album appeared. Donnelly was not officially part of the band, but did provide some backing vocals on the LP. Nothing more has been heard from the band since then.
Thank you, Jay, for your request! I hope you will enjoy my pick for this NW4NW entry, Throwing Muses' clip for "Not Too Soon" (with Tanya Donnelly on vocals).
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