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.
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.
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.
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…
Check out this video from an episode of Detroit’s The Scene, a black culture dance show that ran locally from 1975-1987. It features the amazing electro track “Sharevari” by A Number of Names. Yes kids, this was the birth of Detroit Techno. Get loose:
The concept of creating literal versions of ridiculous ’80s videos was started by Dusto McNeato, but this may be my favorite attempt at the trend. “Emo kid wears too much make-up!”
Back when Hip Hop was just beginning to make an impact on popular culture, ABC’s 20/20 aired a special covering the “new artform”, interviewing such early adopters as Debbie Harry. So fun to watch!
Every musical genius needs an unfinished/lost masterpiece. Brian Wilson and Pete Townsend each had one. Why not Klaus Nomi? Look, I bet you a million dollars that his unfinished space western entitled Za Bakdaz, or “Nomi Homeland” would’ve been the biggest thing since Sgt. Pepper’s! Ok, well maybe not, but after recently reading about it on this website, I definitely think that loveable new-wave opera man was on to something. Listen to a clip below then find out more. If you are unfamiliar with the Nom-ster, see the documentary The Nomi Song immediately! Watch it/download it here for free.
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Even if you did have the balls, you would probably get sued. This was not the case for ’80s Kiwi band The Stones who named themselves after the world’s oldest living rock band as a joke. Although they didn’t make much impact at the time, (probably why no one made a stink about the name) they did influence future indie bands.
“Gunner Ho!” from their lone 1982 EP Another Disc Another Dollar is a Flying Nun stand-out, in line with their contemporaries (The Clean, The Bats), but with a bit more urgency. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t make more records. The Rolling Stones, however, are in studio recording their 56,353,739th album.
(via Kiwi Tapes)
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I recently tracked down the B-side “The Witch”, a haunting and surprisingly fresh sounding tune that could be considered the blueprint for new lo-fi girl bands like Vivian Girls.
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