Showing posts with label Human League. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Human League. Show all posts

Monday, May 10, 2010

Savage Furs: Throne of Satyricon



Former Vancouver resident Jack Duckworth (A Luna Red, Radio Berlin) continues to pursue his idiosyncratic musical vision, this time across the Atlantic in his adopted home of London. Consistently one of the most talented musicians I've had the pleasure of knowing, Jack in this latest post-punk exploration by collaborator Delaney Jae (Silicon Vultures, Crystal Wrists), as they cut a swath through all of the clueless revivalist landscape with a sound that's equal turns sinister and endearing.

Buried beneath the crushing slabs of post-industrial production and over-driven paranoia are some actual pop chops - vocal melodies and hooks that you might find in the Human League or on Simple Minds' Reel to Real Cacophony... While these are only demo tracks, I'm glad to say that Savage Furs are a continuation of Mr. Duckworth's stellar discography (well into its second decade now), and also an interesting departure point.

Also, I know there's a fair contingent of readers who'd be interested in this, but Mr. Duckworth has recently been sorting through old records and put up a new mix on his blog, titled Dye Your Hair Black and Absorb All Waves. This encompasses just about everything I was listening to back in those days, Antioch Arrow, Satisfact, 6 Finger Satellite, Brainiac, The VSS, GoGoGo Airheart, The Audience (das?), Ex-Dead Teenager, The Rapture, Trans Am, Glass Candy, and much more. If you don't want to take the time to walk down memory lane, it's worth it for the tags he's assigned to it alone ("Discussions about that die-cast Locust belt buckle, black "highwater" Wrangler trousers") Oh, and the Long Hind Legs song: damn, that's good. (LHL were a side-project of the Unwound guys).

Friday, August 21, 2009

Speedboat Weekend

A boat.


June & July were such busts as months weather-wise, that I'm thrilled to be able to take it to the streets tomorrow for the Ste Catherine Street Sale. I'll be DJing at the American Apparel store at 1205 Ste-Catherine Est. from 2pm onwards, so come by, say hello, and block-party with me.

If you've ever made the mistake of delving into the Rockwell catalogue to discover if any of Berry Gordy's son ever matched up to the "paranoia rock" of Somebody's Watching Me, well, he never did (as you probably found out), but you were probably thrilled when Private's "Secret Lover" poppued up on your radar, as well as the various remixes that have been around on the blogs for the past couple of months. The Danish re-interpreters of 80's R&B and electro did it right on another track, Let's Make Love (Underneath the Apple Tree), this time cribbing from the same Human League cheat-sheet that The Juan MacLean had been hiding up their sleeves. And in fact, the rest of their album is full of on-target cues & sounds - enough MJisms and Stevie Wonder flourishes, but done in a fresh enough manner that it's not creepy.

Etta James, belting it out


Etta James gets the post-Pilosski treatment from Boston's Whiskey Barons, resulting in a wonderful summer BBQ stomper. It is always, always wonderful to hear a soul/R&B edit that is not Pilooski's edit of Frankie Valli's Beggin'. DJs & Sid Lee - time to leave it alone!