October 2016 – Rocknerd

Celebrate the day with a goth pool party.

31 October, 201631 October, 2016 Goth, Industrial 0

What do you do with ten black bath bombs? Plus a goth dance howto. And proof that cyberpunk is real.

Hip-hop and post-punk synthpop: Ich habe der fahr’n fahr’n fahr’n auf der Autobahn blues.

30 October, 201625 February, 2019 Opinion, Pop, Post-Punk, R'n'B 0

I don’t often see it noted just what was happening with early hip-hop and English and European synthpop in and from the post-punk era. Hip-hop histories gloss over it, and the reconstructed histories of techno somehow jump straight from about 1988 back to Kraftwerk, as if all that stuff from 1978 to 1984 never happened.

Blue Plutos: Moon Language (2016).

29 October, 201629 October, 2016 Indie, Record 0

The sort of guitar jangle pop that was our bread and butter in the late ’80s.

Industry links: Consumers may only rip CDs to properly copyright-levied 80 minute MP3s of silence.

28 October, 201628 October, 2016 Esoterica, Industry, Links, mp3 0

It was 35 years ago today, Sergeant Adorno taught the band that HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC.

Links: Indonesian and Mexican record markets, the Mekons, jazz saxophone relationship advice.

27 October, 201628 October, 2016 Industry, Links, Musician, Punk, Sex 0

Music goes with chicken, retrospective on a scrappy punk band and how to be so foolish as to go out with a musician.

Reviews: Nápoles, Damsel in the Dollhouse, Digital Logic (2016).

26 October, 201628 October, 2016 Dance, Esoterica, Goth, Indie, Industrial, Pop, Record 0

So I use the Bandcamp new arrivals as a radio, so what, so should you. Jangly guitar indie, goth-industrial dance and some straight-up vaporwave.

J. G. Ballard and music. How to write the entire New Wave into being.

25 October, 201627 September, 2023 Industrial, Opinion, Post-Punk, Punk, Writing 0

Post-punk’s favourite writer, who didn’t listen to music himself. It’s all about the imagery.

Reviews: The Royal They, Unity One, Graveyard Love (2016).

24 October, 2016 Indie, Industrial, Punk, Record, Rock 0

Pre-grunge-style indie rock, EBM synthpop and disorienting synthesizer-guitar landscapes.

Links: Psychoacoustics for recording, blockchain band names, Dépèche Mode demos.

23 October, 2016 Audio, Industry, Links, Pop 0

Scurvy recording trickery, scurvier buzzword-compliant scams and Dépèche Mode so too has the accents in.

Reviews: Crack Cloud, Night Trap, Ivy Fae (2016).

22 October, 201622 October, 2016 Goth, Pop, Post-Punk, Record 0

Angular post-punk, synthpop and witch house with songs.

Links: Negativland, Diamond Rio MP3, Dylan, writing.

21 October, 201621 October, 2016 Industrial, Links, mp3, Writing 1

The ultimate in merchandising, reviving an old gadget, Dylan as writer, me as writer.

Culture is not about aesthetics redux: scented candles in a human face, forever.

20 October, 201620 October, 2016 Industry, Musician, Opinion 0

A retrospective on Rocknerd’s 2013 one-hit wonder “Culture is not about aesthetics. Punk rock is now enforced by law.” What musicians are now faced with.

“Oh, I already wrote the greatest pop song of the 21st century. Did that in 2006.” The National Pep.

19 October, 201630 April, 2017 Esoterica, Pop, Record 0

Andrew Hickey reminisces on “Jaded” by The National Pep, from the EP Love Punks Want To Make You Cry.

Rosebud: Discoballs: A Tribute to Pink Floyd (1977).

18 October, 20169 May, 2018 Dance, Esoterica, Prog, Record 0

Thanks to Paul Haesler for tipping me off to this inspiring work after he saw the Polka Floyd video yesterday.

Links: bad lyrical subjects, worse record companies, Psychic TV and Polka Floyd.

17 October, 2016 Esoterica, Industrial, Industry, Links, Musician 0

Don’t whinge or povertysplain, worse music industry players, Psychic TV’s film Kickstarter and a reworking that works too well.

Reviews: Frustration, Logic + Olivia, Beborn Beton, Disjecta Membra (2016).

16 October, 201620 January, 2017 Goth, Industrial, Post-Punk, Punk, Record 0

Back to the goth, industrial and punky post-punk, latest works from bands who’ve been around a while.

A note on A. C. Temple.

15 October, 201616 October, 2016 Indie, Post-Punk, Rock 0

Who else remembers late ’80s Blast First band A. C. Temple?

Deerful: Home (2016).

14 October, 201614 October, 2016 Indie, Record 0

The vocal on “Moon Maps” is so gorgeous, and the chiptune actually makes this even clearer than on the excellent original. The first chiptune record I’ve ever had a minute for, let alone three.

Theodor Adorno wrote all the Beatles’ songs as a Cultural Marxist assault on America. Possibly.

13 October, 20166 June, 2018 Esoterica, Opinion, Pop, Rock 17

One of the finest conspiracy theories in popular culture is the claim that Theodor Adorno, a main figure in the Frankfurt School of “cultural Marxism” fame, secretly wrote all the Beatles’ songs.

Links: Spotify malware ads, music manuscript fonts, drugs. And Blockchain.

12 October, 201623 October, 2016 Drugs, Links, mp3, Musician 0

It’s been another busy day with Blockchains in. Have some links.

Reviews: Black Arcade, Atlantic A.M., Bootblacks (2016).

11 October, 2016 Goth, Post-Punk, Punk, Record 1

Minimal synth darkwave with a fondness for Gary Numan, punky new-wave power pop and melodic post-punk with high bass.

How to discuss rock music, with German Fall fans.

10 October, 201623 October, 2017 Post-Punk, Writing 0

German Fall fans in a round-table discussion. Be sure to watch to the end.

Reviews: Magana, Night Club, Cybercide, Brandenburg (2006, 2016).

9 October, 201610 October, 2016 Dance, Indie, Industrial, Post-Punk, Record 0

Acoustic songwriter guitar rock, new wave disco, pounding futurepop EBM and Russian post-punk revival.

Lost post-punk classics: That time A Certain Ratio were hanging out with Grace Jones.

8 October, 20167 September, 2018 Dance, Post-Punk, R'n'B 3

Back in the day, A Certain Ratio were regarded by the outside world as post-punk no-hopers. So it was a surprise when Grace Jones, fresh off a hit with Warm Leatherette, took an interest in them …

Reviews: Möss, Ladylike Lily, Faderhead (2016).

7 October, 20167 October, 2016 Indie, Industrial, Pop, Record 0

Soundscapes with songs, indie pop with synth and guitar, and industrial gone synthpop. Three excellent finds today.

New Order, BBC Basement Studios “Saturday Live”, 25 August 1984.

6 October, 2016 Post-Punk 0

New Order live in the studio for the BBC, simulcast on Radio One and BBC Two. Watch for Bernard missing his cue. And his terrible shorts, of course. And Hooky’s famed “gay sperm” bass cabinet.

Links: September, Ziggy Stardust, Alan Turing, rap as social news system, even cheaper streaming.

5 October, 20165 October, 2016 Dance, Industry, Links, mp3, Musician, R'n'B 0

Today at work I’ve been busy discussing the horror of Blockchain. So have some interesting webpages that are completely not about that in any manner.

Spray: Living In Neon (reissue) (2002, 2016).

4 October, 20167 October, 2016 Pop, Record 0

Spray’s first album Living In Neon from 2002, with a disc of new tracks, additional remixes, alternate versions and compilation appearances. What Abba would have done had they been just that bit crankier.

Links: The record industry is still suicidally stupid, torrented MKV at 11.

3 October, 20163 October, 2016 Industry, Links, mp3 0

Shazam makes a profit but not from records, the record industry goes back to trying to sue the Internet out of existence, the record industry thinks a YouTube employee is really working for them for free, Spotify and Soundcloud will prove that 2+2=1.

Latest Rocknerd v1 recoveries.

2 October, 20162 October, 2016 Rocknerd 0

More recoveries, lovingly hand-ported from archive.org. Obviously I’m easily bored on weekends. These are from 2001 and 2002.