3 posts tagged “new romantic”

I rarely remember to search for my old favorites on YouTube, so it often happens that I happen upon them while blog surfing.  That's how I just turned up a couple lip-synching performances by Japan of the first song I ever heard by them, "Ghosts."  Having discovered New Wave and WHFS in 1981, it seemed there was a whole aternate universe of music to catch up on, and the only way to do it was to listen to HFS as much as possible, often long into the night.  It was late at night when I first heard "Ghosts"; I thought it was Bryan Ferry, but the arrangement was way futuristic, unlike anything I'd heard from him before.  I was fascinated with Bryan Ferry at the time (still am); I had always taken singers for granted before then, but his unique vocal style made me pay attention and realize that he was doing something artistic, and by extension, so do all singers.  Looking back on David Sylvian's career I see that his Ferryisms were just one stop in a long stylistic journey, and that he has always had a lot more power in his voice than Ferry.  Likewise, the weird synth burbles of "Ghosts" were the terminal point in Japan's evolution, their sound having started with glam rock and progressed through eurodisco, new romanticism, and dark balladry.  Hearing "Ghosts" again I think it sounds as fresh as ever, with lyrics that have stuck with me over the decades (despite my ignorance of lyrics in general):

Just when I think I'm winning
When I've opened every door
The ghosts of my life grow wilder than before
Just when I thought I could not be stopped
When my chance came to be king
The ghosts of my life grow wilder than the wind

Here are two choices of video, both to the album track, one from Old Grey Whistle Test, in color with some cheesy effects, the other in black and white from I-don't-know-where, focused almost exclusively on Sylvian.  In both videos he's wearing more makeup than a Maybelline man.

I didn't get to hear a lot of new wave music when I was in high school; my intake was limited to what they played on WHFS and what I could afford to buy.  All that changed when I went to college in 1982 and got involved with the college radio station (WJHU).  All of a sudden I had unlimited access to a 50,000-record library!  It was incredible!  So I spent a lot of time in the library, sampling and catching up, and that's where I first listened to Classix Nouveaux.  Look at that picture: I had high hopes for unique, otherworldly music from them; I wanted weirdness.  But no, most of their output was mildly interesting pop-rock.  The only song I felt lived up to their image was their first single, "The Robots Dance," from 1980:

I suppose that qualifies as a "novelty" song; it's novel in their catalog, at least.  Classix Nouveaux broke up after the release of their final album, Secret, in 1983.  After that, according to Wikipedia:

Solo went on to become heavily involved in Catholicism, releasing several Christian-oriented albums after Nouveaux's break up. Mik Sweeney went on to move to Los Angeles, California where he build fretless basses and recorded studio session work, he currently lives in Ireland. Gary Steadman went on to join A Flock of Seagulls. Jimi Sumen became a record producer in Finland and release a number of successful solo works there.

I haven't heard any of that.

That's the opening line of the second album, Change of Heart (1982), by Glasgow band Positive Noise, another lost band of the 80s.  The album title is significant: their first album was called Heart of Darkness, but frontman/songwriter Ross Middleton left before the second album, and the band's sound changed from competent, angular, mildly political punk-lite to bass-heavy danceability.  I think it was a change for the better, except for the lyrical content, which went from vaguely principled to catchy but practically meaningless.   ("I feel the fear / someone whispers in my ear / and I feel the fear right now," or "Get up, get up / Get up, get up up up/ Get up, get up and go.")  But they have great beats and hooks, and that's enough in my book.

Change of Heart was one of the few divisive albums between me and my college pal/housemate, Mike.  He couldn't stand it, saying it sounded like all the other "dance crap" that was coming out; I countered that since this album actually came out a few years ago (at the time), Positive Noise were ahead of the times and should be revered rather than penalized for being visionary.  I've since backed off the "visionary" claim, but I still enjoy the album as I would a confection full of empty calories.

After twenty-odd years of having Heart of Darkness in my collection, I finally got around to listening to it yesterday.  The standout is the title track, an epic song full of "jungle drums," a vein I wish they had explored further.  Of the three Positive Noise albums, all on Statik Records (a great lost label of the 80s), only Change of Heart got a US release, on Sire.  I have never seen or heard the third album, Distant Fires; I am still curious to hear how they sound as produced by Gang of Four's Dave Allen.