Los Microwaves - “Reckless Dialogue” (1982)
Another one for the “synthpunks deeply ambivalent about technology” file. The performance-art style of the band makes me think of a female-fronted Devo. Fun stuff! [album via NLFM]
The Sound - “Winning” (1981)
Ok, so I don’t know if you’ve noticed how this word “winning” has been so thoroughly dragged through the mud and deconstructed of late that I cannot imagine anyone other than a complete prick wanting to deliberately employ the thing. This is an egregious wrong, and it seriously needs to be rectified right away. This is the kind of word to which we each need culturally unfettered access at all times. Thus I urge us all to make the effort to incontrovertibly demonstrate that this word “winning” is, ultimately, more closely associated with words of integrity and, dare I say it, compassion than with words of narcissism and oppression.
Looking for inspiration for participation in such a noble endeavor? Blasting this lead track from The Sound’s 1981 sophomore platter, From the Lion’s Mouth, should do the trick nicely. Especially in our current moment, as scads of hipsters sink into the embrace of their inner goth, this song provides, as Andy Kellman so alliteratively opines, “a dash of cold water in the faces of all the bands that were wallowing and withering away at the weeping well.”
If you’ve yet to familiarize yourself with The Sound, it’s only surprising to the extent that, until the last few years, what would otherwise be your second-or-third favorite post-punk band somehow remained below nearly everyone’s radar. See, this is another wrong you can now make your mission to rectify. Start with their 1980 debut, Jeopardy, and work your way forward.
Wisdom bomb.
Kimonos - “Sports Men” (2010)
Back in December, username unbornwhiskey told me that Kimonos’ self-titled LP was “the best Japanese album of 2010” (yeah, whatever) and compared the band to Talking Heads (okay now you have my attention!). And “Sports Men” has been on my favorites playlist ever since. The propulsive synth drives the track like an 80’s-style pump-up montage song, but it’s about being a weak, over-worried, inadequate person. Clever! It’s a shame that there’s no way to buy this album online as far as I can tell.
