Minimal Attitude
I wanted to present some relatively un-discovered '80s and '90s new-wave, techno, and electro tracks. It's not so hard to find the shit - it's everywhere - but finding the tunes that aren't difficult to listen to, that is the key.
These days, my appreciation for the typical ironic hits is failing. Used to be that I could go out to one of the myriad hot spots in Vancouver and actually get into dancing to shit. There was a guilty pleasure in Madonna and Salt'n'Peppa and bad rap and hip-hop, in Duran Duran and Flock of Seagulls, or the latest throw-away R&B hit. It all took a turn somewhere, the irony has left, and I get dubbed a snob for throwing out the odd derogatory comment when a particularly bad song comes on.
This blog has always been about my opinion, and that's not going to change. So basically, I'm calling the crew out on this: I want to go out and dance to music that surprises me; that blows me away by being simultaneously fun and good, and somehow not played out.
Recently, at a club, I walked into a sonic wall of relatively staid, typical house and electro peppered with indie-rock yelps and appreciated by all the trappings of Vice-inspired culture. Where has the sense of something unique gone? And am I being that much of an asshole for feeling this way? I mean, yeah sure it's like, "oh so three years ago," and on mentioning this everyone will dig into me and tell me to chill out and just have fun. Thing is, it's difficult to do so when I feel like I'm surrounded by a lot of people who are there for what that scene now pretends to be, rather than for the reasons it came about.
An attitude like that leads to alienation and exclusion; it leads to hurt feelings and strained relationships within a music community where - really - everyone knows everyone else. Well, too fucking bad. It is what it is -- all of it. If you read the huge section of comments from Monday's post (all 30-something of them) you'll see a clear illustration of this, as Jaime (Daughter of Invention) rips into my view of things right now. I am in no way taking a shot at anyone on a personal level -- except for those who display a dogmatic attraction to being seen. This is, afterall, just about our own opinions, and you can't love everything.
Here we go from 1981 to 1989:
A Popular History Of Sign - Guernica
Mathématiques Modernes - Disco Rough
(See also: Flexipop)
Killing Joke - A New Day
Minimal Compact - Nil Nil
Move ahead twenty years:
Pink Mountaintops - New Drug Queens
Sound Team - Don't Turn Away
Sound Team - It's Obvious What's Happening Here
---
All of this Guernica searching turned up a band from Ireland, around in the mid '80s, who borrowed the name from Picasso, and released some wicked Joy Division meets C86 tunes. Unfortunately, I can only find this one as an MP3, and additional information on the band is very sparse. Anyway, enjoy it and hopefully someone can give me some answers.
Guernica - The Queen Of Our County
These days, my appreciation for the typical ironic hits is failing. Used to be that I could go out to one of the myriad hot spots in Vancouver and actually get into dancing to shit. There was a guilty pleasure in Madonna and Salt'n'Peppa and bad rap and hip-hop, in Duran Duran and Flock of Seagulls, or the latest throw-away R&B hit. It all took a turn somewhere, the irony has left, and I get dubbed a snob for throwing out the odd derogatory comment when a particularly bad song comes on.
This blog has always been about my opinion, and that's not going to change. So basically, I'm calling the crew out on this: I want to go out and dance to music that surprises me; that blows me away by being simultaneously fun and good, and somehow not played out.
Recently, at a club, I walked into a sonic wall of relatively staid, typical house and electro peppered with indie-rock yelps and appreciated by all the trappings of Vice-inspired culture. Where has the sense of something unique gone? And am I being that much of an asshole for feeling this way? I mean, yeah sure it's like, "oh so three years ago," and on mentioning this everyone will dig into me and tell me to chill out and just have fun. Thing is, it's difficult to do so when I feel like I'm surrounded by a lot of people who are there for what that scene now pretends to be, rather than for the reasons it came about.
An attitude like that leads to alienation and exclusion; it leads to hurt feelings and strained relationships within a music community where - really - everyone knows everyone else. Well, too fucking bad. It is what it is -- all of it. If you read the huge section of comments from Monday's post (all 30-something of them) you'll see a clear illustration of this, as Jaime (Daughter of Invention) rips into my view of things right now. I am in no way taking a shot at anyone on a personal level -- except for those who display a dogmatic attraction to being seen. This is, afterall, just about our own opinions, and you can't love everything.
Here we go from 1981 to 1989:
A Popular History Of Sign - Guernica
Mathématiques Modernes - Disco Rough
(See also: Flexipop)
Killing Joke - A New Day
Minimal Compact - Nil Nil
Move ahead twenty years:
Pink Mountaintops - New Drug Queens
Sound Team - Don't Turn Away
Sound Team - It's Obvious What's Happening Here
---
All of this Guernica searching turned up a band from Ireland, around in the mid '80s, who borrowed the name from Picasso, and released some wicked Joy Division meets C86 tunes. Unfortunately, I can only find this one as an MP3, and additional information on the band is very sparse. Anyway, enjoy it and hopefully someone can give me some answers.
Guernica - The Queen Of Our County
Greg @ 3:29 PM
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