Constant Index

 I posted this mistakenly in the Menergy mega post last week. Here it is once again, in it's own proper post:

Legends

"Some people just wanna clean the city up. You know, you get sick of these junkies and freaks everywhere. Skulking around, following you, grabbing your wife. But that Tom Guycot got in too deep. Sure, he rattled all the punks good for a while. But after A-Number-1, The Big Man got word of him and that chain, Tom didn't have a chance..."

Legends by Tom Guycot

DETRESFA by Tom Guycot

Fans of the Il Suono Scuro mix series, take note of these recordings. All synthesizers were performed and programmed by Tom Guycot. Produced by Peter Dragontail.

Midnight Kids For Japan

Midnight Kids For Japan is a compilation album brought to you by KC.93 Records & Radio, the music label of Midnight Kids Academy. The album consists of new and unreleased music by KC.93’s roster of over 46 musicians from different corners of the world such as the United Kingdom, Germany, China, and various regions of the United States. All proceeds from the album will go towards GlobalGiving’s Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Purchase of album includes bonus cover artwork by various MDNK artists.

Black Fusion - In Japan from Tom Hardy on Vimeo.

Computer

Yes, I'm talking computers baby.

Haven't you ever wondered about new technology
It plays a major role in our society
I know you think it's so cool to own all those machines
But in the future we'll be doomed cuz they'll own everything

COMPUTER

Ooooh kay. Morris Day-esque technology concept album from the dude who (according to Discogs) went on to produce E-40's Dusted and Disgusted and a bunch of other 90s rap from the Bay. However, if you ask me, Discogs is probably wrong - I don't think you put out a soul-heavy electrofunk LP on Atlantic in 1985 and then disappear for almost 10 years and re-emerge as a mob music producer.

Regardless, this is some wild shit.

Circuitry starring Sam Bostic - Computer
Zshare | YSI | 320 kbps

Bonus - a little more on the RFTW tip:

Circuitry starring Sam Bostic - Driving Me Wild
Zshare | YSI | 320 kbps

You Get A Gold Star

My good friend Ryan Nation, of Restless Leg Syndrome, just blessed us with his new mix. "You Get A Gold Star" is actually perfect to help you come down after a long night/morning of clubbing. Track by track, it unwinds from danceable disco to bedtime electronica.

01) Wide Boy Awake - Slang Teacher
02 )Toney Lee - Reach Up (Dub)
03) Runaway - Brooklyn Club Jam (Brennan Green's Version)
04) Chaz Jankel - Glad To Know You (Todd Terje Re-Edit)
05) Samos - Alpha Storm (AN-2 Remix)
06) Lullabies in the Dark - Song for Marie and Elise (Aeroplane Remix)
07) Shocking Pinks - Dressed To Please (Deepchord Remix)
08) Otherness - Chilled By Nature (Windsurf's Golden Bear Dub)

Ryan Nation - You Get A Gold Star | Zshare | YSI | 192 kbps

Under the Radar Mix from Rogue State Records

A new mix of underground hip-hop, jazz and electronica from Rogue State Records featuring Stainless Steele and DJ Image!

Under The Radar (RSR002) | Direct Link
Under The Radar MP3
Under The Radar AAC (Includes track information and markers.)

www.myspace.com/roguestaterecords
www.myspace.com/steeleandimage
www.myspace.com/headpiecetrio

Good news, everyone!

In honor of Futurama being back on the air, I'd like to share the inspiration behind its theme song--the 1967 track composed by French electronic music pioneer Pierre Henry called "Psyché Rock." I wish I knew more about the video accompaniment because it too is pretty awesome. Check it!



Pierre Henry - Psyche Rock

Disco Undead, part 1: "When the earth spits out the dead, they will come back to suck the blood of the living!"

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and every year I'm disappointed by how few horror movies are on TV in the month of October. And the ones they do show - I mean, Jesus, Piñata: Survival Island? So here's me coping with two more of my favorite things: electronic music and zombies.

Disco Undead was a UK-only release on Device Recordings out of Manchester (the label appears to have since gone under, as its website is no longer active). The concept: reinterpretations of classic horror movie themes by modern producers. It came out in 2004, but it's basically an Italo disco compilation for the most part (with authentic-sounding production), and the songs themselves are bonafied classics.

Zombi 2 is not in fact the sequel to Zombi - the title Dawn of the Dead was released with in Italy - but was so named by director Lucio Fulci to establish a connection between the two films. It worked; Fulci became an overnight sensation in Europe, and Zombi 2 became the first movie to feature a zombie fighting a shark underwater.



Gique - Fulci's Rotting Children

I'm on a kick now, so keep checking back up through Halloween because I'm going to continue posting my favorite tracks from this record.

-Dave T

An Important Note From Space

Despite being six years away from landing on the moon, this 1963 song not only presupposes the possibility of interplanetary travel, but also that Martian culture was nearly identical to that of pre-Beatles America (i.e. bobby socks, poodle skirts, and high school hops). Talk about visionary! Well, the story doesn't end there. The band that concocted this extraterrestrial jam was also a pioneer of electronic music.

Ten years before Bob Moog invented the voltage controlled synthesizer, The Ran-Dells were manipulating sine waves and splicing tape by hand. Note the sci-fi B-movie blast-off effect at the beginning. Then take in the Doo-wop chorus. If not for the so-called "novelty" content of this song (Don't count me among the naysayers. I watched the X-Files. I want to believe! ) this song might be remembered alongside other vocal group classics. After all, Martian Hop did earn a gold record.

-Bryan



The Ran-Dells - Martian Hop

For an in-depth history of the song, check out this interview with the man who wrote it.

Es ist Krautrock, weibchen

With my inaugural post on Dollar Bin Jams I wanted to kick things off right, in the true spirit of For-Nerds-By-Nerds that this blog was founded upon. That being said, what could be more nerd-core than Krautrock, the Dungeons & Dragons of music?



And I'll start by cheating a bit. This first band, Magical Ring, isn't German at all; they're French, which I suppose makes them the direct opposite of German. Still, this track from their 1977 release Light Flight/More and More is a creeping psychedelic guitar workout that definitely wears a Krautrock influence on its sleeve. Plus, I thought it would sound great as a kind of overture to the rest of this post.

There's next to nothing about Magical Ring on the interweb, but I did find a copy of the record on sale for $266, so grab this like Paris in 1940.



Magical Ring - Fire Zone




One of the most mythical bands off all time, Faust is nonetheless distinguished for being one of the first signed to rebel billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Records. Between their breakup in 1975 and their reunion in 1990 the whereabouts of the group remain unknown. "It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" is the lead track off their sophomore release, So Far, and sounds something like a deconstructed '70s pop song, albeit a little more repetitive.



Faust - It's A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl




Cluster was probably the most innovative group in German space rock, also known as kosmische, and featured guest artists from Neu!'s Michael Rother to Brian Eno. 1974's Zuckerzeit was a departure, in that it came down from outer space in favor of a sound approaching electronic pop, which narrowly predated Kraftwerk's Autobahn.

This would be in the opening credits to Werner Herzog's adaptation of Pulp Fiction.



Cluster - Caramel




Back into the cosmos. I don't know what else to say about this except "freaking epic." And eerie, good Halloween mood music if that's your thing. My girlfriend loves Tangerine Dream but doesn't much care for electronic dance music. Figure that one out. This is a 320kbps CD rip, and it's almost 18 minutes long, so serious nerds only.



Tangerine Dream - Phaedra




In the 1980s, Harald Grosskopf was the drummer for Ash Ra Tempel, the other big kosmische band and the primary vehicle for Manuel Göttsching (whose landmark E2-E4 I would absolutely love to post in its righteous entirety, pending a discussion with my colleagues on possible legal ramifications). Grosskopf also pursued a decent solo career in his own right, expanding on Ash Ra's flirtation with New Age; here's a less cheesy example from his 1980 LP, Synthesist. For Echoes, I'm John Diliberto.



Harald Grosskopf - Emphasis




Harmonia was a veritable Krautrock supergroup, comprised of key players in the scene, and was arguably an ideal representation of its signature motorik chug. Brian Eno called them "the world's most important rock group" and would later collaborate in several sessions. Although Kraftwerk would ultimately become the most widely influential band of that era, Harmonia is often considered the flagship Krautrock band, a perfect encapsulation of its time and place. This track is off their 1974 debut, Musik von Harmonia.



Harmonia - Veterano




We've come full circle here because I'm cheating again. Davey Jones isn't German, but he moved to Berlin in the late 1970s to produce a trilogy of groundbreaking, Krautfluenced albums with help from, you guessed it, fellow ex-pat Brian Eno. Heroes was the middle child of the three, released 30 years ago this month in fact (see, I knew what I was doing). The title track is still my all-time favorite Bowie song. Amazing guitar solo from Robert Fripp, great use of oscillators, but Bowie's vocal is unreal. The lyric about a couple embracing against the backdrop of the Berlin Wall, defying that symbol of overwhelming oppression with such a visceral display of emotion, chokes me up every time. Critic Ned Raggett put it best: "Not even ending up as a Microsoft commercial theme could quench the sheer power and beauty of 'Heroes.'"



David Bowie - Heroes


-Dave T