Reading is FUNdamental!

(via TWBE)

Damn, this looks amazing. If only I was born 15 years earlier…

Mac Campbell of Dangerous Minds writes:

Killing Joke was not a band you watched, it was a band you became a part of. The zone between artist and audience was decimated in one pounding, unrelenting surge of energy and mantric mayhem. The apocalypse and resurrection in one blow to the head. Post-punk mindfuckers AND proto-industrial metal pioneers, Killing Joke approach music like alchemy: it isn’t worth a shit if it doesn’t change something. This video footage of Killing Joke performing at Philly’s legendary punk venue the East Side Club in 1981 is history, plain and simple. Not even the crude technology thru which these signals were recorded could constrain the majikal metal/flesh urgency of KJ.

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:

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.

04 August 2010 – Maxwell´s, Hoboken, NJ – “Michael Rother and Freunde”
06 August 2010 – Lincoln Center Out of Doors, New York City, USA.
08 August 2010 – International House of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
15 August 2010 – Dockville Festival, Hamburg, Germany
17 August 2010 – The Edge Festival, Picture House, Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
04 September 2010 – ATP New York, Monticello, USA
07 September 2010 – Wexner Center for the Arts, Wexner, Columbus OH, USA
14 September 2010 – Kagelbanan, Stockholm, Schweden
15 September 2010 – KB – Kulturbolaget , Malmö, Schweden
17 September 2010 – Numusic Festival, Stavanger, Norway

What would Jim Morrison say?

Find out more about Italy’s The Stupid Set on 7″ From the Underground.

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”

.

More after the jump…

Listening to Roky’s haunting vocals on album tracks like this one and others such as “I Walked With A Zombie” and “Night of the Vampire”, within the context of his personal psychosis, makes everything that much more spooky.

Personally, after watching the 2005 documentary You’re Gonna Miss Me, I feel as though it was his time spent institutionalized and given involuntary electro-shock treatment that actually led to his insanity, rather than his acid indulgence. Maybe it was both? Who knows? Nevertheless his schizophrenic behavior worsened over the years and just after this album’s release Roky claimed “that a Martian had inhabited his body” and that “aliens were coming to Earth to harm him, asking a Notary Public to witness an official declaration that he was himself an alien, hoping that this would convince the aliens to leave him alone.”

Depite all of his mental issues, there is a lot to be said for Roky’s other work. The music of The 13th Floor Elevators is awe-inspiring and his latest album with Okkervil River (his first in 15 years) is a beautiful redemption, but nothing that I have heard is as powerful as The Evil One. It’s a truly stunning and classic collection of entertaining songs that act as a window into a darkened mind, one that hears frightening voices so we don’t have to.

The album is out of print, but you can find it floating around online of from these sellers.

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…

{MP3} The Tony Monn Concept – “Who Built The Pyramids?”

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.

(via DM)

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?

{MP3} Land of Giants – “Cannibal Dolls”

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.

BONUS: If you are looking to go back further on the German side of things, check out Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution, which you can stream for free, in it’s entirety using Veoh’s new web player.

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.

{MP3} Solid Space – “A Darkness in My Soul”

Download the full tape from NLFM.

Check out this rad post-punk tune recorded in Philly by 12 year old (at the time) Chandra and The Model Citizens (who later became The Dance).

{MP3} Chandra – “Kate”

Here’s how her MySpace page describes it: “It all started with Chandra Oppenheim. At the early age of 10 she started writing her own songs. Dennis Oppenheim, father and artist, encouraged her to record these songs with infamous New York noise makers The Model Citizens (who later became The Dance). In 1980 Chandra, now 12, went into a Philadelphia studio to record her disco infused post-punk manifesto. The world from her eyes with music crafted from the borders of every genre. An unparalleled listening experience.”

Despite having the greatest title in all of film history, Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, the sequel to the classic ’80s break-dancing movie, failed to live up to the original (surprise!). However, like its predecessor it did have a an awesome soundtrack and it did feature another guest cameo from Ice-T. Fact: Anything featuring Ice-T is automatically awesome. Here are two of my favorite tracks from the soundtrack, which scream motivational ’80s bubblegum electro and are perfect for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except dancing while rollerskating OR just being stoked on life.

{MP3} Mark Scott – “I Don’t Wanna Come Down”
{MP3} Carol Lynn Townes – “Believe in the Beat”

The actual soundtrack disc is rare, but you may find more mp3s floating around on torrents. Read another review of the soundtrack and watch the trailer for the film here.

It’s pouring here in Philadelphia at the moment and this simple, beautiful song from ’80s New Zealand band The Jean Paul Sartre Experience romanticizes what most people see as an annoyance. “I Like Rain” was featured on their 1988 Flying Nun-released album Love Songs and has recently been covered, very well I might add, by Lali Puna and members of The Notwist on Morr Music’s compilation Not Given Lightly…

{MP3} The Jean Paul Sartre Experience – “I Like Rain”

Check out this rad BBC documentary which surveys the London Hip-Hop scene in 1987.

(via Dangerous Minds)

(via WFMU and NB)

Watch more archived clips from the show here.

(via)