Do you like synthesizers. Like, really, really, really like synthesizers? I mean, either way, here we go!
But before we get to that, we’ve got some rock tunes ranging all the way from mathy to nervy, starting out with a set of Cursive, Q And Not You, and The Statues.
We then venture deep into Canadian pop-rock with a lo-fi-ish track from an unexpected source, pre-Steal My Sunshine Len! We round out the set with a personal fave from The New Pornographers and then, straight from the cover of a 1974 issue of Tiger Beat, it’s Tony Defranco and the Defranco Family.
Then we crank up the nostalgia with some vibed-out tracks from Dom, Renny Wilson, and a chillwave classic from Neon Indian. Are you a DJ at an indie pop night? Cue these tracks up.
Then we move on to chillwave’s younger cousin, vapourwave, with a track by Saint John’s own Blank Banshee. Now, if you’ve never heard of vapourwave, it’s a genre of music inspired by screensavers, department store muzak, and old computer graphics, which bring us to out next track, Too Far by Jan Hammer. This is from the soundtrack of Beyond the Mind’s Eye, a 1992 CGI demo-reel featuring lots of dancing cones and spheres. Segments from this show were run late at night on stations like YTV and ASN when programs ran short, and I’ve happily watched those bip-bopping geometric shapes a gajillion times. Finally, Tangerine Dream from their album The Optical Race, from what has retroactively has been called “The Melrose Years”, a trio of very poppy albums they put out between ’88-’90. This one is delightfully corny. Or maybe obnoxiously corny. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Finally, we go hard in the electronic paint. Starting out with Classixx, we have Rhythm Santa Clara, from their album Hanging Gardens, which has almost the same cover art of Tangerine Dream’s album (check the picture). Then we move on to a really interesting track from 1988 from Dion & Tony called 1015. The Tony in this group went on to significant success as a hip hop producer under the name Twilite Tone, while Dion went on to become the MASSIVELY influential Chicago producer, No I.D! Insane to think about how they built this track back in 1988 using only drum machines and sequencers. Next Zomby brings us something really crazy with Pumpkinhead’s Revenge, which I’d describe as chiptune with a massive kick drum.
Finally, CPC Gangbangs take us home with some grimy Quebecois garage punk.
Best wishes,
Jon
| Cursive | Dorothy at Forty |
| Q And Not U | Y Minus White Girl |
| The Statues | Nerve Damage |
| Len | Trillion Daze |
| The New Pornographers | Testament to Youth in Verse |
| The Defranco Family | Abra-Ca-Dabra |
| Dom | Living in America |
| Renny Wilson | Nobody |
| Neon Indian | Deadbeat Summer |
| Blank Banshee | Holograffiti |
| Jan Hammer | Too Far |
| Tangerine Dream | Optical Race |
| Classixx | Rhythm Santa Clara |
| Dion & Tony | 1015 |
| Zomby | Pumpkinhead’s Revenge |
| CPC Gangbangs | Teenage Crimewave |
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