inner nerd » Robot Rock

Deux – Decadence LP (2010)

beaker — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:52:58 +0000

Vive La Synth Baguette!!!

The life of an anachronist is no picnic: One’s soul (do robots have souls?) is spread across time like brie on pain chaud. Fortunately for those of us stuck surfing time-space, there is music this good to keep us afloat. Minimal Wave nails it again with another anthology repress, this time by French duo, Deux. Might as well double-up on the vinyl while you’re there buying Futurisk Player Piano LP to save on shipping. If you’re feeling flush, I would pick up the Medio Mutante EP, Inestable single, too.

SCHEMATIC: Not convinced?! Check out the full Deux posting HERE!!!

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Robot Rock du Jour: Futurisk – Player Piano LP (2010)

beaker — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:20:36 +0000

Hot off the press!!!

Aptly-named revival label Minimal Wave has compiled Futurisk‘s entire catalog and pressed it on collector-quality 180g vinyl, including this alternate take of their signature track, Meteoright. Destined to be a collectible. At $22, you’d be crazy not to pick one (or two) up.

SCHEMATIC: Need more Futurisk videos??? Get your fix HERE!!!

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Robot Rock du Jour: Crash Course in Science – Flying Turns (1981)

beaker — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 03:00:54 +0000

This EP/12″ gets me all wound up with some serious non-goth electro industrial madness!

Crash Course in Science was formed in 1979 while the three members were attending art school in Philadelphia.Flying Turns is off their 12″ Signals from Pier Thirteen originally published on Press Records in 1981.

SCHEMATICS: More videos and MP3s from the 12″…

Clean, first pressings sell for upwards of $100, with second pressings from 1986 on LD Records fetching only slightly less.

Cardboard Lamb (2:41)

Crashing Song (2:35)

Factory Forehead (2:56)

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Robot Rock du Jour: The Units – High Pressure Days (1979)

beaker — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 05:00:34 +0000

High Pressure Days is a filthy, gnarly animal.

Let Uncle Rico’s time machine teleport you back to 1977 San Francisco. Eschewing guitars in favor of synths (good move, fellas), The Units become one of the very first synthpunk bands. They then start tearing it up, self-releasing the original version of this track in 1979 on what is now an absurdly rare 7″ record (sells for about £100). This video features the album version, released in 1980 on the Digital Stimulation LP.

SCHEMATIC: The ENTIRE Digital Stimulation album, band portrait and flyer (via synthpunk)…

What follows is the entire Digital Stimulation LP with each track listed in its proper order. This album is an opus and deserves a concentrated listen. The last track, Cowboy, is a mind-warping experience. I just yoinked an original 7″ copy of High Pressure Days from eBay and will make/post vinyl rips and videos as soon as it arrives. In related news, an anthology was released in 2009 called History of The Units – The Early Years: 1977 – 1983 and is available through discogs.

Digital Stimulation

Warm Moving Bodies

Go

Mission

Bugboy

Tight Fit

Passions or Patterns

Town by the River

Cowboy

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Robot Rock du Jour: Freeez – I.O.U. (1983)

beaker — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:24:24 +0000

This video somehow manages to aggregate nearly everything that was so boss about the early 1980s: 7″ records; boomboxes/ghettoblasters; BMX bikes; popping and locking; synthesizers; fashion; and even a healthy dose of naïve sexuality. If this song sounds like a cross between Afrika Bambaataa and New Order, that is because legend Arthur Baker produced it! Thanks to fellow nerdbot Tom in the UK for the heads up on this one.

SCHEMATIC: Acapella & Dub Versions…

These versions are included primarily for posterity rather than actual musical interest.

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Robot Rock du Jour: Zwischenfall – Flucht (1983)

beaker — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 14:18:09 +0000

Chew on this dark wave nugget for a while.

SCHEMATIC: Limited edition repress, original female vocal version and more videos…

Flucht was one of my very first blog posts. There is something about this song that works its way into your bones. Josh Cheon of Dark Entries Records in SF just did a limited, hyper-quality repress of the Heute EP including the superior German version of Flucht. For $13, you’d be nuts not to grab one while they’re still in supply. Josh also wrote up his great interview with Stephen Kraemer of Zwischenfall.

Flucht (Female Vocal Version) (1984)

The female vocal version of Flucht was actually the b-side of the Sandy Eyes single released on Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule and Italo champ Fuzz Dance.

Sandy Eyes (1984)

This song has a much warmer, almost pre-balearic feel to it and was NOT on the Heute EP.

Atemlos (1983)

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Robot Rock du Jour: Neil Young – Trans LP (1982)

beaker — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 04:55:17 +0000

In 1982, Neil Young was abducted by robot aliens who grafted an organic neural-net processor onto his existing human brain and sent him back to Earth to make vocoder-infused, heavily distorted guitar rock. Five of the nine tracks on Trans were recorded by this Neil Young Beta Unit, who also remixed Mr. Soul as the b-side on the Sample and Hold 12″ single.

SCHEMATIC: Other Neil Young Beta Unit videos and cover art…

So, the actual story here, according to Wikipedia, is that Neil Young’s son was born with cerebral palsy. Somewhere along the line, Mr. Young found that he was able to elicit a better response from his son when using the Moog vocoder. Pretty awesome. Not sure if this album is a result of Mr. Young pushing the creative envelope or just ruminations on technology and communication. Either way, this album was a really, really pleasant surprise.

Sample and Hold (LP Version)

We R In Control

Computer Age

Transformer Man

Computer Cowboy

Mr. Soul (Dance Remix)

Trans LP Cover Art

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Robot Rock du Jour: Justine and the Victorian Punks – Still You (1979)

beaker — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 00:47:45 +0000

This track treads a fine line between funky disco and satin-smooth pillow talk. This particular cut is actually experimental composer/saxophonist Peter Gordon’s lovely re-arrangement of Battisti Lucio’s early Italo track, Ancora Tu, with some lover’s chat provided by pioneering NY-based designer/artist Colette.

SCHEMATIC: Battisti Lucio’s Ancora Tu video and photos of Colette’s work…

Battisti Lucio – Ancora Tu (1976)

Regardless of what on Earth this dude is running from, this video is unmistakably Italian.

Deadly Feminine Installation at Fiorucci (1978?)

Living Environment (1981)

Art on Stage at Danceteria (1983)

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Robot Rock du Jour: Thomas Dolby – Windpower (1982)

beaker — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 00:32:09 +0000

The future was indeed 1982. Nerd of nerds Thomas Dolby laid out “Windpower” on his seminal LP The Golden Age of Wireless, which featured the über hit She Blinded Me With Science. This song is an intellectual call to arms; a utopian nerd manifesto. If anyone wants to build a new city (or take over a cool one like Denver) I’m IN!

SCHEMATIC: Two more versions and inspiring lyrics…

Windpower (Top of the Pops Live Version) (c.1982)

Crappy sound and video quality, but a great version nonetheless!

Windpower (High Powered Extended Play) (1982)

This particular cut is off the eponymous 12″ single. Readily available on vinyl and cheap.

Windpower Lyrics

Switch off the mind and let the heart decide
who you were meant to be
Flick to remote and let the body glide
There is no enemy !
Etch out a future of your own design
Well tailored to your needs
Then fan the flame and keep the dream alive
Of a continent
A continent a continent a continent a -
There is no enemy !
Switch of the mind and let the heart decide
We’re a continent
A continent a continent a continent a -
Shatter the lens and grind it into sand
One measured exposure
Scatter the seed and furrow in our land
The future is roses! Roses!
Switch off the mind and let the heart decide
There is no enemy!
Lift up the hearts of this your only tribe
We’re a continent
A continent a continent a continent a

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Robot Rock du Jour: Severed Heads – Lamborghini/Petrol (1982/1985)

beaker — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:32:52 +0000

I’m HOOKED! Now this is some real Aussie nerdness! Nearly five minutes of minimal synth industrial perfection from legendary Sydney band Severed Heads. Disgustingly rare in its original wax format.

Lamborghini (Live at Metro TV, July 1982)

SCHEMATIC: Recording details, the original studio cut and a later concert version…

There is some confusion regarding the actual name of this track: Is it Lamborghini or Petrol? My hunch is that Lamborghini is actually an early version of Petrol. The earliest example of Lamborghini is off the 1982 French compilation Entrave et Étouffement, whereas Petrol doesn’t show up until 1985 on a 7″. To complicate matters further, although the embedded Live at Metro TV July 1982 clip you already saw is clearly a live performance of Lamborghini, it is tagged on youtube as Petrol.

This next cut of Lamborghini was taken from a compilation CD called Can’t Stop It! II (Australian Post-Punk 1979-84) that was published in 2007. The compilation is just OK, although that track from Centerfold is good, too. Might as well pick it up digitally because Severed Heads early recordings will cost you from $50 – $2,000!

Lamborghini (CD Version)

Petrol (Live at Rock Arena, 1986)

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