On Thu, 3 Apr 1997, Random Junk wrote:
} Thought maybe I'd start writing an occasional column about How We Got
} Here... If anybody likes it let me know. If you don't like it, go away.
I like this idea a lot. Count me in.
} CABARET VOLTAIRE - CODE
[snip]
} To further the tragedy, this album is apparently out of print on CD.
} I recommend you scour the cutout bins. This is a chunk of history
} here, and it will make you wiggle your bottom to boot. (Also
} recommended is "The Covenant, The Sword, And The Arm Of The Lord" but
} it's way less funky than Code.)
"Code" really is a great album. The only others I like a bit
more by Cabaret Voltaire are "The Covenant, The Sword, And The Arm Of The
Lord" (which you mentioned), "Drinking Gasoline" (with those amazing
staccato bass keyboard lines that I sadly don't hear much of anymore),
and "The Drain Train" (.... "shakedown the whole thing" ... once you
hear that electro funkiness you won't forget it!).
Since no one else will probably admit it for fear of being pelted
I'll go ahead and say that "Speak & Spell" by Depeche Mode was probably
my first dose of electronica, which gave me the itch to continue into the
world of IDM. When I first heard that album back in '84 I was struck by
the minimal and catchy melodies created by purely electronic instruments.
There was no looking back after that for me. Tracks like "Photographic",
"New Life" and "Any Second Now (Voices)" will forever remain in my memory
as starting points into this genre.
Another album that really moved me around that time was Devo's
"New Traditionalists". I still find myself listening to that one fairly
often.
On a related note I'm wondering if anyone can truly say that Ralf
& Florian's album from '73 got them into IDM? Granted the album is a bit
old, but maybe someone heard it later in their life -- or who knows maybe
there are some 40 years olds here who were teenagers when this first came
out? Anyway, I'll admit to hearing this only a couple of years ago, but
the track "Tanzmuzik" is so ahead of it's time that I'm blown away at how
ageless it seems now. A year later Kraftwerk came out with "Autobahn",
another classic.
Anyway, enough babbling. I hope to see more "roots of IDM" posts
soon. Good idea Jon!
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