The Walrus is a Philadelphia-based music blog written by Michael. You may send me stuff through the send a tip page or email me. All mp3s should be sent as links. NO ATTACHMENTS, PLEASE. If I like your music, chances are I will write about it.
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mp3s on this site are for promotional purposes only. If you wish to have an mp3 removed please contact me.
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, whichhas 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:
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:
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.
Start your weekend off right with this video clip from ’80s Detroit dance show “The Scene“, featuring songs from Changing Of The Guard, Master C&J, Santos and Freestyle with their classic “It’s Automatic“. You just died and went to rollerskating heaven.
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”
In 1982 German producer Anthony Monn laid down a spacey, disco beat and asked the world “Who Built The Pyramids?” Then someone yelled back “Who gives a shit?!” An awesome song, nonetheless…
Awhile back, when digging around for some Laurie Anderson videos, I stumbled upon this new-wave weirdness by XYNN, one of the early pioneers of music videos. Awesome!
I included the track in my recent mix as well, which you can grab HERE.
Some Yugoslavian minimal synth shit coming at ya, courtesy of the Cold Waves tumblr. The girl in the video is super hot, but is also super into heroin. Don’t judge!
The queen of No Wave, Lydia Lunch, was/is a TRUE badass. Watch as she discusses her thoughts on making money, entertainment and FILTH in 2 on air interviews from back in ‘83. And if you are looking to learn more about the No Wave scene, check out the great documentary Kill Your Idols.
This is a fantastic synth-punk tune from a very little know band. Land of Giants (presumably named after the American Sci-fi TV show) were a Canadian outfit who released just this one single in 1982. Blood-boiling synths and sexy, paranoid female vocals. Who could ask for more?
The band recorded a bunch of demos throughout the first half of the ’80s, which have finally been released after a ton of requests. You can grab that collection here.
From early electronic pioneers like Wendy/Walter Carlos, Kraftwerk and Giorgio Moroder to mainstream mega-stars Depeche Mode, the new BBC Four documentary, Synth Britannia, surveys the origins and escalation of British electronic music and what is now considered “modern dance pop”. Watch the trailer above.
Since Comcast doesn’t offer BBC Four in my current package (surprise surprise) and the documentary isn’t available online for people in the States and other countries, I was forced to track this down on a torrent. I’m glad I did. It was fun to listen to ground-breaking musicians like Daniel Miller, Philip Oakey and Throbbing Gristle reminisce about the early days of synth-pop and industrial music–not to mention seeing all the great fashion!
Despite the fact that the film totally neglects Eno’s brilliant and influential solo work, it covers a nice amount of ground and is a great primer for folks looking to be both educated and entertained on the subject.
As you can see, I have been digging around for some older stuff and trying to expand my horizons lately. I came across this gem earlier today and I’m loving it. It’s an atmospheric synth-pop tune reminiscent of Suicide and Cocteau Twins, originally found on the British band’s only tape release Space Museum. Beautiful melancholia.
