'80s Obscura

May 11, 2010 5:59 PM

Obscure, overlooked, early '80s new wave/electro/artpunk. JOHN FEKNER CITY SQUAD: Player on left. Try 2 4 5 7 9 11. Or better just listen to them all. Eighties synth wave doesn't get much better than this. Sound collage at the next level. Throbbing synths + icy guitar: Beautiful Skin - Harsh distraction. Gods of psychedelic coldwave, Lives of Angels (Gallis Pole). Trees: Sleep Convention. And Necropolis of Love (yes, that is how we danced in the eighties).
posted by puny human (13 comments total)

I have to add this, from 1984, which I was watching earlier today on dvd. The house band in this episode playing at the party is a-ma-zing. All I can say is wow.
posted by puny human at 6:44 PM on May 11, 2010

This is the best post in weeks. Thanks, puny human.awesome.
posted by koeselitz at 7:35 PM on May 11, 2010

[Seriously, Lives of Angels is blowing my damned mind. Makes me very happy. Thanks.]
posted by koeselitz at 7:40 PM on May 11, 2010

puny human: "(yes, that is how we danced in the eighties)"

Maybe you danced that way. I was one of those "stomping out the fire" types.

This has led me to look for 80s obscura (to me, anyway) that I remember; I lived in Nashville, where anything past Journey was obscure. I can't find any of it, but it didn't seem that obscure. Anyway, thanks for making me feel old!
posted by Red Loop at 7:59 PM on May 11, 2010

Yeah, I was probably even rockin the white man's overbite Red Loop :)

Thanks koeslitz. Here's more Beautiful Skin: Revolve Demo.
posted by puny human at 8:32 PM on May 11, 2010

What. The. Eff???

First link I clicked was the better one. Eighties synth wave doesn't get much better than this, eh?
posted by uncanny hengeman at 8:34 PM on May 11, 2010

If it's gonna be that kinda coldwave party, it's time to whip out "A Darkness In My Soul", by Solid Space or maybe The Vyllies' "Babylon".
posted by adipocere at 8:45 PM on May 11, 2010 [2 favorites]

awesome ! thanks for opening me up to these wonderful bands with ridiculous names.

for those of you looking for a lil primer in the universe of super-obscure vintage coldwave and other mopey synth musics, the Minimal Wave Tapes is a pretty wonderful point of entry.
posted by tealsocks at 9:05 PM on May 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is so great. And I love that one of the Necropolis of Love vids is them playing live at a club called "Giggles."
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 9:05 PM on May 11, 2010

So, so great. Thank you puny human.
posted by matthewstopheles at 9:57 PM on May 11, 2010

Ooooh, some tasty beats here. Thanks for posting... great tunes, nifty thread.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:24 AM on May 12, 2010

ooh kinnakeet :)

I've been going down there since the seventies. It was definitely a bit of heaven on earth. I've even been flounder gigging behind the Kinnakeet abandoned Coast Guard station.
posted by puny human at 1:13 PM on May 12, 2010

Ye gods. That IS how we danced in the 80s, and unfortunately I still do sometimes due to muscle memory. (Did I just admit that?!!)

Great tunes! Thanks.
posted by shifafa at 8:40 AM on May 13, 2010