80's electronica nostalgia time

May 16, 2003 9:16 AM

80's electronica nostalgia time Phil Oakey (Human League) presents a great 2 hour BBC radio programme featuring Soft Cell, Kraftwerk, Tubeway Army, Visage, Depeche Mode and many many more. Future music that sounds strangely quaint and, well, actually rather good! (courtesy of Protein Feed).
posted by rolo (18 comments total)

Future music that sounds strangely quaint and, well, actually rather good! (courtesy of Protein Feed).

Kraftwerk would be the 70s.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 9:23 AM on May 16, 2003

Indeed, Kraftwerk started and did their best stuff in the 70's, but Computer World was done in 1981, and it's arguably in the same league as the rest of their material.
posted by ashbury at 9:44 AM on May 16, 2003

While the track they played was from the 1975 album Radioactivity - Computer World, Tour de France and Electric Cafe were made in the 80s. Also, they had a huge impact on electronic music and it would have been crazy not to include their best work in this mix.
posted by crayfish at 9:48 AM on May 16, 2003

I knew that there would be quibbles on the release dates of the singles. True, "Warm Leatherette. One off single released originally in 1978 and the first ever record on the Mute label", and Being Boiled ( the first League single) was also released initially in 1978 - there's many other anomalies on that tracklisting (RadioActivity dates from 1975) and the band first recorded in 1970!

Seeing as Phil Oakey (League frontman) presents the show, I guess he doesn't take the "80's" label too seriously.

But what great songs! What great influences! ElectroPop - thats what I'll theme my Mefi Swap Cd on...

*Hits on google and Kazaa Lite...*
posted by dash_slot- at 9:48 AM on May 16, 2003

"Computer World" arguably is their best material. It is the alpha and omega of electro.
posted by lbergstr at 9:53 AM on May 16, 2003

"Computer World" arguably is their best material. It is the alpha and omega of electro.

Trans-Europe Express is incredibly superior to Computer World.

It is more sampled, more influential, more realized, and I am correct about everything, including this, but especially this.
posted by the fire you left me at 10:06 AM on May 16, 2003

I like man machine the best actually. Some of my favorite 80s electro.

Shannon- Let the Music Play
JellyBean Benitez- The Mexican
Various Zapp songs.
Real Life- Send me an Angel
Newcleus- Jam On it, Computer Age
Johnson Crew- Pack Jam
World Class Wrecking Crew
the Afrikka Bambatta catalog
posted by LouieLoco at 10:24 AM on May 16, 2003

Check out Euroclash.com for contemporary artists working in the same vein. The movement, whether you call it "nu electro," "electroclash," or (preferably) neither, is in full swing from Detroit to NYC to Munich to Finland.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 10:24 AM on May 16, 2003

more sampled

Yes.

more influential

Yes.

more realized

Maybe.

incredibly superior

No! No! No!

It was more revolutionary, sure, mostly because it was earlier. But it (admit it) sounds slightly dated, whereas Computer World could have come out yesterday, tomorrow, five years from now. Those beats are evergreen.
posted by lbergstr at 11:21 AM on May 16, 2003

Some of my favourite stuff ... other faves include the Robert Rental single, as well as experimentalists Nocturnal Emissions. Thanks for the link, rolo.
posted by carter at 11:23 AM on May 16, 2003

Thanks for the great link, rolo -- some of this stuff I haven't heard in a decade or more! I have a vivid memory of seeing Gary Numan doing "Down in the Park" in concert on some pre-MTV cable show in the late '70s or early '80s ("Video Concert Hall," maybe?). I was just a delicate pre-teen flower whose record collection had largely consisted of Beatles records up to that point, so when I heard that, I thought my head my head was going to explode -- and I mean that in the best possible way -- because it was so strangely hypnotic and creepy all at once. And then living in Vienna at the age of 12 when Ultravox's "Vienna" was pouring out of every car radio on every strasse in town.... perhaps this is one of the key reasons I could never be a Luddite.
posted by scody at 11:42 AM on May 16, 2003

My first exposure (and I'll bet a lot of others as well) to electronic music was Kraftwerk's "Autobahn. I was pretty amazed by it and it certainly opened quite a few doors for me, musically speaking.
posted by reidfleming at 11:56 AM on May 16, 2003

Hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did. It was great to hear acts like Telex which I haven't thought about for 20 years. Of course Kraftwerk are the collosus who stand above them all, but I love all the dandified English bands too. It's fascinating how you can the roots of so much 90's music in this collection - from Detroit Techno to English rave.
posted by rolo at 12:38 PM on May 16, 2003

Kraftwerk would be the 70s.

Did you listen to the stream? He says "songs produced in the late '70s and early '80s"
posted by gluechunk at 2:11 PM on May 16, 2003

For Kraftwerk, I kinda like The Man Machine best.

At least that's the LP I slapped on when this thread reminded me how long it's been since I listened to them.
posted by wrench at 2:12 PM on May 16, 2003

i love this! thanks!

(but it's so weird for it to be backlabeled "electronica")
posted by amberglow at 3:47 PM on May 16, 2003

Great stuff! thanks!

Amberglow, you can backlabel all the way to the 1950's.
posted by vacapinta at 1:49 PM on May 17, 2003

Thanks, rolo...I had a blast last night listening to songs both familiar and unfamiliar. Great post!

Bonus: It was also my first time hearing the tune that plays in the background of Richard X's Warm Leatherette segment. Freak Like Me (link to .wma clip), with its hook from Gary Numan's Are 'Friends' Electric?, is my newest guilty pleasure.
posted by LinusMines at 3:42 PM on May 17, 2003