Crash Course in Science was a Philly band formed in 1979 by art school classmates Dale Feliciello, Mallory Yago and Michael Zodorozny. After releasing a few experimental electronic 7″s through Rough Trade in the UK, the band shifted into full-on synth-pop mode in 1981 with the release of Signals From Pier Thirteen, which has been regarded as “influential to the techno industrial genres and an early inception of what is now known as the ‘electro’ sound. This record is still highly sought after by collectors and fans today.”

“Flying Turns”, which you can stream below, was recently included on the Minimal Wave Tapes Vol. 1 compilation.

Crash Course in Science – “Flying Turns” (1981)

Also, check out this video they made in 1981 for the single “Cardboard Lamb”, which features the band hanging around Philly doing New Wave-y, artsy stuff:

Simple. Slow down “U Smile” by 800%. Ah, much better.

J. BIEBZ – U SMILE 800% SLOWER by Shamantis

Jason Pierce eat your heart out.

(via Gawker)

For those of you who are not familiar with the Krautrock legends, NEU! was formed by Drummer Klaus Dinger and Guitarist Michael Rother in 1971, after they left an early, traditional instrument-based incarnation of Kraftwerk. Their spacey guitars and driving, machine-like rhythm, dubbed “the Motorik beat”, served as a blue-print for future generations of punks, space-rockers and electronic music producers.

Last Sunday, I headed to the Ibrahim Theater in West Philly for a rare night of live NEU! music presented by Hallogallo 2010 (surviving member Michael Rother on guitar and effects, Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth on drums and Aaron Mullan of Tall Firs on bass), in anticipation of hearing that now-classic “Motorik” beat live. The set was a mesmerizing and thunderous blast of refreshed ’70s NEU! material and tributes to Krautrock legends of yore, some of which could have served as soundtracks to Olympic footage or Sci-fi Thriller films. Brilliant, as expected.

Set list:

Hallogallo 2010
Neutronics 98 (A Tribute to Conny Plank)
Aroma Club B3
Deluxe
Veteranissimo
Dino

You can see photos from the Philly gig here and listen to a stream from their recent NYC show below:

(via WNYC)

The NEU! Vinyl Box Set is available now on Gronland Records.

All the tech/sci-fi nerds of the world, myself included, are waiting with baited breath for the release of Tron: Legacy, the sequel to the groundbreaking ’80s film starring Jeff Bridges. In addition to the trailers we have to hold us over, thanks to Seattle’s The End, we can now sample the film’s score provided by Daft Punk. Let the tease continue!

Sample Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy score HERE.

Not only did Motown Records release some of the most brilliant and timeless pop music in history during its heyday in the ’60s, but chief Barry Gordy also had the foresight to have his artists record versions of their hits in various languages. The compilation Motown Around the World: The Classic Singles compiles the best of these Italian, Spanish and German versions in a nice, 2-CD set. Have a listen to a track below.

Stream: The Supremes – “L’Amore Verra”/”You Can’t Hurry Love” (Italian Version)

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(via)

and despite the video’s title, it sounds like pure EVIL. This is my new ringtone!

“Scientists at Sheffield University in the U.K. have just released what amounts to a recording of what you would hear if you could stand inside the solar corona — the upper layer of the sun’s atmosphere — and it turns out that what you’d hear is music. The simple symphony that fills the corona not only is beautiful but could also could yield new insights into how the sun operates.

The corona is not just the blast wall of heat and light that it seems to be. Rather, it’s filled with vaguely banana-shaped plasma structures known as coronal loops. Measuring up to 60,000 miles (about 100,000 km) long, the loops help keep the corona turbulent and, like ocean currents that eventually produce tidal waves, give rise to the cosmic fireworks known as solar flares…” [Time Online]

(via The Daily Swarm)

In reference to the German V-2 rocket and Kraftwerk’s Florian Schneider, Bowie and Eno penned this progressive, faux-electronic tune “V-2 Schneider” for Bowie’s classic 1977 album Heroes. The ghostly vocal refrain begins as nothing more than a texture, blending in seamlessly with wailing saxophones and a military/motorik beat, but eventually gains a nice clarity. It’s a stellar track, and one that was ahead of its time…

Neu!, the 70s/’80s German duo made up of former Kraftwerk members Klaus Dinger (deceased) and Michael Rother, made proto-punk, proto-trance music for a mechanical, yet gritty utopia. Their 3 albums – Neu!, Neu! 2 and Neu! ‘75 gave birth to the hypnotic “motorik beat” (a simple, repetitive groove that Brian Eno once referred to as one of the most important rhythms of the 20th century.) and influenced countless numbers of indie and electronic musicians.

Their unreleased (officially anyway) 4th album Neu! ‘86, which was plagued by internal politics, is now seeing the light of day thanks to a new, comprehensive Neu! vinyl boxset. Have a listen to one of the album’s more stunning tracks on Pitchfork’s site:

{Stream} Neu! – “Crazy”

More info about the Neu! Mega-Boxset can be found here. And if that’s not awesome enough, you can catch Rother and friends (Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth, Benjamin Curtis of School of Seven Bells and Aaron Mullan of Tall Firs)performing Neu! songs live this summer on a very short tour that includes Philly on 8/8! Check out the dates (including Philly) after the jump.

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Here is something for all you blotter-heads out there. In 1971, American songwriter Harry Nilsson penned a quirky children’s story with a charming concept and layers of social themes like alienation and conformity.

The Point! centers around a character named Oblio, a round-headed boy who lives in a village of pointy-headed people. Originally, it was conceived as an animated film narrated by Ringo Starr and it aired as The ABC Movie of The Week in 1971. The serene and sometimes drowsy psychedelic music from the film was released as an accompanying album in the same year with Nilsson taking over narrating duties for Starr. For those of you who enjoyed Blackalicious’ 2002 song “Blazing Arrow“, this tune below about Oblio and his dog, may ring a bell:

Harry Nilsson – “Me and My Arrow” (From The Point! Soundtrack)

So how did this story come to be? Well, as Nilsson puts it, “I was on acid and I looked at the trees and I realized that they all came to points, and the little branches came to points, and the houses came to point. I thought, ‘Oh! Everything has a point, and if it doesn’t, then there’s a point to it.” Yes, Harry, you were certainly on acid — and we are truly grateful. Watch the first segment from the film below:

You can watch the entire 7-part animated film in full on The Hobbit’s double-feature YouTube Channel which also includes the animated version of, you guessed it, The Hobbit.

Purchase the deluxe-packaged soundtrack from Amazon.

Here’s a beautiful song from the recent The Lovely Bones Soundtrack, produced by Brian Eno. It’s a haunting blend of early Nico and Eno’s more recent pop work:

There is very little info on the web about Cindy D’lequez Sage. However, one commenter on a wiki dedicated to the soundtrack suggested that it is not a solo female singer as one would be led to believe, but rather a full band with a male singer. Say what?? Anyway, we do know for certain that the song is licensed to Eno’s equally obscure label/publishing company Opal Ltd, as it is stated in in the ending credits of the film.

(via Dangerous Minds)

Somewhere between genius and madness, between Alice Cooper and Freedom Rock, lies Psychedelic music pioneer Roky Erickson’s 1981 album The Evil One.

The release, consisting of two overlapping albums and often referred to as The Evil One or I Think of Demons, is a horror-rock opus. On first listen and without prior knowledge of the man’s life, one might think that the campy imagery within the lyrics is simply that of fantasy. However, the truth is far more disturbing:

In 1968, while doing a stint at HemisFair, Erickson started speaking nonsense. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and sent to a Houston psychiatric hospital, where he involuntarily received electroconvulsive therapy.

The Elevators were vocal proponents of LSD, mescaline (peyote), DMT and marijuana use, and were subject to extra attention from police. In 1969, Erickson was arrested for possession of one marijuana joint in Austin. Facing a ten-year prison term, Erickson pled not guilty by reason of insanity. He was first sent to the Austin State Hospital. After several escapes, he was sent to the Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where he was subjected to more electroconvulsive therapy and Thorazine treatments, ultimately remaining in custody until 1972. (via Wikipedia)

Roky Erickson and the Aliens – “I Think of Demons”

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More after the jump…

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Here in Philly, it looks like we will have some pretty nice weather for skateboarding this weekend and next week. Granted, you probably won’t look as awesome as the cool cats pictured above when you ride, but these songs might make you FEEL as awesome. Check them out:

Downhill Racers – “Lovin’ Pots” (1976)

Martin Circus – “Planche de Skate” (1977)

The Carvells – “L.A. Run” (1977)

Magnum Bonum – “Skateboard” (1978)

Mabel – “Skateboard Rider” (1978)

Zack Fergusson – “Skateboard Dancin” (1978)

Listen to more, including one from T-Rex, and check out some of the sleeve art on Bootz and Glitz.