Archive for the ‘post punk’ tag

Colder: To The Music

I’ll complete our series of New Order tribute posts this week with a look towards the future and an artist I have been dying to write about since we started this blog. The work of Parisian graphic designer Marc Nguyen Tan, Colder bears some resemblance to the fashion industry he works in by day; dark minimalism comes across as stylish and sexy despite it’s mechanical synthesized structure and disassociated vocals. Is this meant to be heard on a dance floor, or alone at home with the lights out?

“To The Music” is a particular favorite of mine, an anthem to the solitary dancer, lost in the music and oblivious to the gaze of bystanders. I can think of few songs more appropriate for Neo, where it seems all eyes are on the floor. It’s taken from Heat, but if I were to recommend only one Colder album, I’d first choose 2003’s solid Again. Though the influence of Joy Division couldn’t be more obvious, it’s an equally fine example of modern French new wave.

Without an official website (or even so much as a MySpace page) and a now-defunct label, it’s difficult to know if/when there will be another Colder album out. In this rare interview in 2005, he seems to indicate that making music is not a high priority, so we may be waiting a while. He also hints at a collaboration with Chris & Cosey. Yes, that Chris & Cosey.

Finally, no post on Colder would be complete without including Nguyen Tan’s unbelievably good remix of Depeche Mode’s “Clean”. I feel like Depeche Mode doesn’t get enough credit for how spot-on they are with choosing the most perfect and current producers to remix their stuff, and they really nailed it with this one. Do I dare say it? I like it better than the original.

Colder on Amazon

Coincidentally, Marc Nguyen Tan released a new album just last week; it’s a collaboration with his long time friend Guillaume Ollendorff, under the name Scratoa!. Called Live en San Antón, it was recorded in the barrio of the same name in Alicante, Spain two years ago. It’s improvised noisy experimental sound is quite a departure from Colder, and will more likely appeal to Nurse With Wound fans. Scratoa! on Amazon

New Order: Tribute at Neo 2/4/10

I  still get excited every year when we do our New Order Tribute Night. It’s not only a chance for us to play a bunch of New Order that we don’t normally play at Atomic, but it’s now one of the few times a year that I indulge in the brilliance of one of the most influential bands over the last thirty years.

The two songs here represent two completely different New Order styles, but they share that sentimental touch that ties the history of the band together. “Dreams Never End” is from their debut album Movement. Musically, the album still had a Joy Division feel to it, but it laid the ground work that turned them into international pop stars later in the decade. It’s one of the few New Order songs with Peter Hook on vocals. Listen to Dreams Never End (1982) and then The Cure’s Inbetween Days (1985). Trust me. The second song, “Here to Stay” was recorded for the 24 Hour Party People Soundtrack in 2002 and was dedicated to Martin Hannett (Joy Division/New Order producer), Rob Gretton (Joy Division/New Order manager), and Ian Curtis (Joy Division lead vocalist).

New Order Online [official fansite]

Allez Allez: Allez Allez

I got a text from the manager of the club the other day.
“Did you play Yeah Yeah Yeahs last night? Or the Ting Tings? Something you played late.”
“I got it. Tegan and Sara…”

I knew someone was going to ask me this. If I didn’t know better, I’d probably think it was the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, too. Given the current resurgence of post-punk and new wave, this song doesn’t necessarily sound like it was released in 1981. And I’m pretty sure that at least one of Karen O’s personalities believes that she actually is Sarah Osborne*. Listen, though, and you’ll hear the band’s name chanted throughout the song. They want you to know that they’re not Tegan and Sara, or Ting Tings, or Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or all that was to come after…

From their album African Queen, and also available on their Best Of [released just last year]

*A bit of ’80s new wave trivia: Sarah Osborne left Allez Allez when she married the lead singer of Heaven 17.

30 Years of The Cure

Robert Smith’s tips to sustaining a long career:

• Write good songs: “I could write songs as bad as Wham’s if I really felt the urge to, but what’s the point?”

• Don’t worry about status: “I’m not going to worry about the Cure slipping down into the second division; it doesn’t bother me because I never expected to be in the first division anyway.”

• Don’t do it for the money: “I’ve never wanted a group to ever fall out about money. It’s not important. We earn far more than we should anyway.”

• Be inspired and love what you do: “I do a job I really, really love and I kind of have fun with. People think you can’t be grown up unless you’re moaning about your job.”

• Do things in moderation: “I think the rock’n'roll myth of living on the edge is a pile of crap.”

• Don’t worry about what people say or think about you: ” Most of the time I’m a professional idiot. I really don’t care about what other people think, which can be a bad thing.”

• Know when to quit: “If any of our songs ever did make it on the top ten, I’d disband the group immediately.”

The Cure on Amazon.com
band website: www.thecure.com

Max Q: Bucket Head + Monday Night By Satellite

Formed in 1989, Max Q was a collaboration between INXS singer Michael Hutchence and underground electronic post-punk composer Ollie Olsen, who met while working on the film Dogs In Space. Their single eponymous album was quite a departure for both musicians. Layering sparse lyrics with themes of politics and paranoia over industrial-tinged post-punk guitars, disco-inspired synths, and sweeping strings, it’s closer to Depeche Mode than the alt-rock of INXS but much more commercial than Olsen’s work with Whirlywirld, The Young Charlatans, and No. Chicago house aficionados might be surprised to find that the record’s final mix was done by famous DJ and producer Todd Terry.

The album produced one top 10 hit in Australia, but it did not sell well and was never reprinted, and sadly seems largely forgotten by all but a handful of old INXS fans. Though Hutchence died in 1997, Ollie Olsen is still around, mostly doing sound design for films and art installations. If you’re into experimental noise/punk, definitely look him up.

The 1984-esque lyrics of “Bucket Head” are delivered in soulful vocals over a minimal bassy background and pop synths that sounded a lot edgier in 1989, but it’s still one of my favorites on here. “Monday Night By Satellite” is a futuristic ballad of long-distance love; pretty, dark, mysterious, and cynical.

Though out of print, there are some used copies available if you look around. Also check out the video for “Way Of The World” to see a time capsule of late ’80s politics.

Official Michael Hutchence Memorial
Ollie Olsen on MySpace