Archive for the 1987 tag

Fatima: Hassan

I first heard this song on an untitled mix tape with no track listing about twenty years ago. The tape was destroyed after years of over-use, and sadly I never learned the name or artist. Sometime in the early part of the last decade, DJ Dave Roberts loaned me a CD with a bunch of obscure new wave. When I realized that this song was on the CD, I nearly pissed myself. It’s crazy how songs from the past somehow always end up finding you years later. The quality of this song isn’t that great; it was ripped  from a CDR  and then burned onto another. If anyone has the actual release of this song, please let me know!

Lisa’s note: I found a great post on Hassan, along with the Razormaid mix, here on RetroWonderland. Definitely worth checking out!

Sisters of Mercy: Flood I

I always think it strange that everyone calls Neo a “goth” club; outside of fashion, the genre has seen little representation there since Scary Lady Sarah‘s departure 13 years ago. I’d love to see a proper goth night happen there again, but in the meantime, we’ll dip our feet in the dark pool for a night at Atomic this week. Peroxide will join us in the booth throughout the night to play some retro goth that we don’t normally give much attention to.

I used to spin this stuff… a really, really long time ago. I also used to spin vinyl. I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to drag a turntable into the club for this event, but I will be doing a vinyl freeform set live on Chicago’s WLUW [88.7] at 10am Thursday morning. It’s broadcast online as well, so listen in even if you’re too far away to join us that evening. Expect it to be something like the early ’80s goth and new wave set that Kamar and I did for the opening of Neo’s 30th anniversary party, for those of you who were there.

I’d post more, but I’ve got some vinyl to dust off…

Here’s one of my favorite Sisters of Mercy tracks, off the entirely fantastic Floodland, to listen to while you dig out your velvet jacket and practice those catch-and-release-the-bat dance moves.

Sisters of Mercy at Amazon.com

Give thanks for Nitzer Ebb!

Ok, so… it’s a bit hypocritical for me to post this, I’ll admit it. I mostly make fun of Nitzer Ebb; I have food related parody vocals for most of their songs. I hardly need to put much effort into it with stuff like this on their Wikipedia page: “Nitzer Ebb began when Bon Harris and David Gooday asked Douglas McCarthy to sing in their band. They shared an interest in witchcraft, talking to trees, and collecting runestones in Chelmsford and Little Baddow”

Talking to trees?

But I can’t deny their influence, which is rampant everywhere from synthpop to Detroit techno and, of course, the industrial and EBM scenes that they had a hand in founding. Their style sounded very dated to me 10 years ago, but now the minimalism sounds fresh–all things come back again, of course.

I choose to post “Let Your Body Learn” from 1987′s That Total Age release because to me, it relates well to new wave [and I'm sure the influence goes both ways]. I’m also including a new track from Neon Electronics vs The Hacker that I’ve been playing alongside various Nitzer Ebb tracks the last few weeks; it’s a fantastic modern example of their continuing impact on electronic music and instantly got a warm reception on the dance floor.

We’re thrilled to be giving away tickets to their upcoming concert on Thanksgiving night. Though lacking in trees, Nitzer Ebb put on a great live show, and I’m sure they won’t disappoint. Opening for them is my absolute favorite local-Chicago-via-way-of-Detroit band Kill Memory Crash, and if you haven’t seen them, get there early–you will be blown away. I’ve posted their song “Demento”, also wearing a bit of Nitzer Ebb inspiration, from their 2004 album American Automatic. They have new stuff and it’s amazing, but still unreleased so you’ll have to listen to my radio show if you want to hear it.

See you on Thanksgiving night, and see you at the Nitzer Ebb show!

Amazon’s Nitzer Ebb Store
Neon Electronics vs The Hacker
Kill Memory Crash on Amazon

Figures on a Beach: No Stars

Based out of Detroit, Figures on a Beach made their first mark on the new wave with their independent debut EP Swimming, which became a Detroit favorite and underground radio staple. It quickly caught the attention of dance mix master Ivan Ivan (responsible for discovering synthpop sweethearts Book of Love and scoring a club hit with “The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight”), who helped them in advancing their sound as well as getting signed to Sire Records along side the likes of Depeche Mode and Erasure.

Figures on a Beach are most notable for their track “No Stars” from their debut album Standing on Ceremony (also their debut record on Sire) in 1987. With vocals that slightly resemble Bryan Ferry and Bunnymen-esque guitars, Figures on a Beach had their five minutes with this track before becoming a victim to 90′s grunge (ick!) and calling it a day in 1991.

Standing on Ceremony was recently released in CD format, making Figures on a Beach’s material available for the first time digitally.

official website
Figures on a Beach on Amazon