Monday, December 29, 2008

Goodbye Year (Radio Rhythm Version)

If a song about the end of a decade can come out two years after the decade, why can't we use it to celebrate the end of a decade a year in advance? Or at least simply re-celebrate the end of the seventies, 2008 style. Celebrate whatever end to whatever year(s) you want, I won't judge:

Yaz - Goodbye Seventies (1982)

Monday, December 22, 2008

Greg Wilson vs. Shell

New trends in design. Who started it all?

Greg Wilson:


Shell snake drill campaign to get at "difficult oil":

http://realenergy.shell.us/?lang=en_US&page=HardFuels&site_version=html

Saturday, December 20, 2008

West India Company - Ave Maria (Om Ganesha) (1984)

Amazing track played on a recent Beats in Space. Includes requisite: handclaps, techy synth, congas, tic-toc percussion, subdued funky bassline, layered diva echoy vocals, & some chanting. Co-produced by Stephen Luscombe from Blancmange (if you have a good ear you can tell from the bassline & drum patterns - found in songs like
"Game Above My Head").





also mentioned here in August:
http://tropicalhotdognight.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

Coke Escovedo - I Wouldn't Change A Thing (1976)

Pretty nice break in beginning with some memorable conga action throughout. Mellow vibes and decent guitar wah wahs. The break has been sampled and you probably heard it at a middle school dance. Coke was a percussionist for Santana with a connection to Prince via his neice Shiela E(scovedo).

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Dance to ZE Beat New Year's Eve: Sal P (DFA/Liquid Liquid), dj Spun (Rong), Nate B (Tussle), Conor (Red Dot)



NYE w/ Sal P (DFA/Liquid Liquid), Nate B (Tussle) & Tristes Tropiques. Early warmup sets from Spun (Rong) & Conor (Red Dot)



Sal P (Liquid Liquid/DFA/99)









Nate B (Tussle)









Special early sets to warm things up (9-11pm):

DJ Spun (Rong)



and

Conor (Red Dot)








host: Tristes Tropiques (Radio Rhythm)

Edinburgh Castle Pub

950 Geary St, San Francisco

9 pm – 2 am

$10/$12 after 11pm










Sunday, December 7, 2008

Africa System - Anikana-o (1978)

Crazy congas, scat-African-chanting, & badass bassline. Futuristic stuff that sounds like 1982, not 1978! Pick up the Zulu mix if you can find it! Produced by Dario Raimondi and Alvaro Ugolini. Energy Production Records.

John Rocca - I Want It To Be Real

Arcade action! Handclaps, lasers, and a creepy Liquid Sky type of intro. Whew!

Wobble/Edge/Czukay - Snakecharmer (1983)

Francois Kevorkian production! Czukay from Can! Jah Wobble! And even the Edge shows up for guitar work. Whoah man!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Vampire's Kiss (1989)

Horrible Nick Cage vampire movie featuring ESG live in 1989! Most people tapping their hands probably completely oblivious to the significance of what is going on. Sad, really. A few other ok non-ESG songs on the soundtrack too.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

S.C.O.R.T.A. - Pertini Dance (1984)

The shape of the fatherland appears from the pipe! SCORTA's only hit. Produced by Severino Lombardoni.

A surprising post from a great map blog, that sometimes mentions real and imaginary maps found in album art:
http://strangemaps.files.wordpress.com

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Off - Electrica Salsa

So popular you "go back to the 80s" when you listen to it, even though I haven't heard of this until today...probably sold tens of thousands of copies? Don't ever call me an elitist.Badass bassline. Entertaining vocals. One of two hits by OFF.

More info if you speak Deutsch:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/OFF

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Allez Allez - Flesh and Blood (1981)

Belgian post punks given the Eskimo treatment a few years ago:



http://www.steelebonus.com.nyud.net/music/AfricanQueen.mp3
http://www.steelebonus.com.nyud.net/music/AllezAllez.mp3

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Dance to ZE Beat



w/ dj Moe Staiano (Mute Socialite/x-Sleepytime Gorilla Museum)


host dj Tristes Tropiques & more

screening: Unmade Beds

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Tony Esposito - Simba De Ammon (1984)

Sounds like a song you drunkenly try to remember the name of on the beach with an old friend. Turns out you were thinking of a different song. Play this at my funeral. -TT

Monday, November 10, 2008

Beat the Bush (1983)

Post election special:
Prince Charles and the City Beat Band - Beat the Bush (1983)

Red Hot



Edited, along with a few other songs recently on the first Par-Tay release:
http://www.phonicarecords.co.uk/detail.aspx?ID=32557

Easy to find around town or online...

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Doobie Brothers - Jesus is Just Alright (1972)

Amen break quality classic drums!
0:00 - 0:24

Drums plus Doobie gee-tarin' it up:
3:30 - 4:35

From their first album in 1972.

Significant not only for the amazing break but because in 1991 my grandmother won a cd player and a cd. They were both given to me and that cd was the 1991 release of the Doobie's "Brotherhood" (no relation to New Order). My very first compact disc, this was truly a very painful introduction to the digial era.

Random video of a Tijuana graveyard set to the music:

Billy Idol - Hot in the City - 1987 Remix

Trancy Italo type synth that makes Billy want to dry hump his guitar.
Rides the whole Terminator zeitgeist bandwagon as seen in the beginning of the video.
The video is beyond words. Sexy if you are 12 years old. If not, ridiculous. Mildly nauseating and entirely inexcusable Idol crotch rub. The good parts were looped by the Glimmers a few years ago in a mix.

Friday, October 31, 2008

JAH WOBBLE, LIEBEZEIT & CZUKAY - How Much Are They - 1981

Holy shit!!!!!
Post-PiL, post-Can, dubby disco delight! Excellent blend of percussive layers, dub synths, spacey vocal samples, & jah-min' bassline.

According to Youtube "This song became a cult classic in Los Angeles due to heavy radio airplay in the early 80's." Hmmmmm...ok...also a dance floor killa in the early 80s from all the finest djs!





Also, some quick internet searching revealed that this was also discovered by Mike Simonetti a few years ago:
http://vivaitalians.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

Re-released July 2007 by Electropolis Records as a Peter Black re-edit.

Also included on a Glimmers mix cd from November 2004.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pop Dell'Arte - Querelle

Late 80s percussive polyrhythmic post punk from Portugal. A mildly psychedelic treat on the ears! What Gang of Four could have turned into if things hadn't gone seriously downhill. Also remixed a year ago by the Glimmers.





http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_Dell%27Arte

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Hercule: Sunday Morning Fever




http://www.discogs.com/release/1000378
Proto-mutant self reflexive ultra rare but recently repressed jammin' disco track. Get it quick!

From Phonica:

"The most valuable and rarest Italo Disco 7" of all time gets a timely reissue on DJ friendly 12" vinyl for all the Disco Beardo's out there. This original of this is going for silly money - £300 plus - but what you have here is a remastered, cleaned up version of this quirky funk disco nugget that sounds as dope today as when it was released back in France in 1978. Limited to 500 copies. Pick this up while you can."

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Touch Yr Life @ The Knockout this Thursday

TOUCH YOUR LIFE

THURSDAY OCTOBER 23RD 10PM $5 KNOCKOUT SF

DEBUT LIVE PERFORMANCES with...

RIPPED UP (2/3 MI AMI + STEVE SUMMERS)

SUITE (DION of LATE YOUNG)

add SUITE as a friend!

COSMIC DJ SETS by

ROBOT HUSTLE (HONEYSOUNDSYSTEM)

& TRISTES TROPIQUES

Monday, October 20, 2008

Will Powers - Adventures in Success (1983)

Motivational moniker of video/photo artist Lynn Goldsmith. The "first music video to use computers", whatever that means. Strong candidate for New York Noise 4, if it ever comes out. Way cooler than "Macho City".

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Angela - I Gotta Little Love

Amazing lyrics! Trippy synths! And some rapping! Lots of change-ups throughout that keep you fully engaged! Sultry, juicy sound! Just picked this one up from juno.co.uk too! Whew!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Dr Destructo

Saw the movie Thief earlier this year. Just got the Tangerine Dream Soundtrack LP yesterday for a few bucks.

A very motortik "Dr Destructo":


A more cosmic and trancy "Diamond Diary":


Trailer:

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Klein & MBO - Dirty Talk (1982)

Classic you may have heard of...with a proto house, trancey, italo sound. A classic on many big comps! Horrible video of airplanes taking off. Zanza Records.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Cole Palme / Factrix!








"Out Come ZE Freaks", SAT 11/1/08, Edinburgh Castle, 950 Geary, SF. $3. Co-presented with West Add Radio (93.7)






djs:

COLE PALME (Factrix)



(image from "We're Desperate")



Also djs:

Goutroy (A Viable Commercial)

Josh Cheon (Honey Soundsystem/West Add Radio)

host: Tristes Tropiques



Halloween post punk and mutant disco dance party, screening classic art damaged no wave film "Liquid Sky". Special guest DJ appearance Cole Palme, of one of the major post punk/experimental/industrial SF bands Factrix, who alongside with Tuxedomoon and co-collaborator Monte Cazazza (who also collaborated with Throbbing Gristle) defined the SF post punk sound of the late 70s and early 80s.



Plenty of mutant disco from ZE Records, minimal european synth & cold wave, & post punk.



FACTRIX INFO (Julian Cope article):



"Alongside such artists as Monte Cazazza and Boyd Rice, the aforementioned were responsible for creating unearthly and unexpectedly vampiric blends of A Certain Ratio’s “All Night Party” 45, Throbbing Gristle’s ‘Slugbait’, Cabaret Voltaire’s canon of Krautdub, the Detroit rock-through-an-ERASERHEAD filter of Chrome, the NO NEW YORK Do-Nuthing distorto-epic that was Mars circa “Hairwaves”, the micro-orbiting dirges of 1977/78 Pere Ubu’s “My Dark Ages”/“Chinese Radiation”/”Laughing”, etc. If the EDWARD SCISSORHANDS soundtrack had been supplied by Hollywood musos using Factrix’s SCHEINTOT LP as their blueprint, it would have created a perfect snapshot of the hairbrushed post-punk twilight zone that was the 70s/80s gateway."



full article:

http://www.headheritage.com/unsung/albumofthemonth/1307



big write-up from Aquarius Records:


"Factrix just happen to be AQ faves Wolf Eyes favorite band, so much so that not only do they try to sound like them, but to this day they continue to send their industrial-doom heroes letters of gratitude and worship! … In their short lifespan from 1978 - 1982, Factrix developed a language that clearly rivaled that of their European comrades; but in many ways, Factrix owed their sound to their San Francisco roots, as they inverted the paisley pretenses of psychedelia into a grim seance of sound in which free love became sexual taboos, universal peace became soul-crushing dread, and transcendence became morbidity. This inversion of psychedelia used many of the same tools of Haight-Ashbury in composing through non-structured improvisations as well as through a steady diet of psilocybin mushrooms; but the sound came out all wrong. Factrix devolved '70s pop banalities into dissonant slabs of noise with squiggling guitar feedback and all-encompassing dirges from over-distorted basslines, with a continuous, tinny pulse from an abused drum machine. "



Full Review

http://www.aquariusrecords.org/bin/search.cgi/keyword=factarticd



More Info:

http://factrix.sevcom.com/factrix_chronology.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factrix



Listen (mp3s):

http://thethingonthedoorstep.blogspot.com/2006/11/factrix-scheintot.html




Look and Listen:

Factrix - Night to Forget









Factrix - Theme From Now









Factrix - Center of the Doll









Factrix - Subterfuge











Linkage:

www.westaddradio.com

www.myspace.com/colepalme

www.myspace.com/goutroy

http://www.myspace.com/hunkafiedfridays



Samoa Park - Monkey Latino (1983)

Great song with a mildly offensive name! All 12" covers from 1980-1984 with monkeys are guaranteed to satisfy!

Sounds like: lite lady vocal chorus, battling verse vocals, warm funky bass, some dude rapping midway in, & conga drums. Executive Producer - Salvatore Annunziata. Zanza Records.


(no embedding available)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SikthT2wwmg

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Smiles People - Pendulum (1983)

Inaugural post!

Trancy, electro flavored italo groove! Used as theme music in the films: Warriors, Escape From N.Y., Assault On Precinct 13. Zanza Records, 1983.

Arranged By, Performer [All Instruments] - Roberto Rossi
Artwork By [Cover & Design] - Julius
Executive Producer - Salvatore Annunziata
Mixed By - Francesco Vaccari
Photography - L'Imago
Producer, Other [Quality Control], Other [Starting Idea] - Gigi Maini