The Brothers Johnson Get Enthused

Friend in the office saw I was glum as a penguin in an Aga and suggested this. Further evidence that disco was a viable form which was drowned in too much product, Travolta trash and Rick Dees cheese.

A younger Young

The BBC used to be cooler, in a way, than it is today. This is a potent example. Not much needs to be said about the song or the man, of course.

Italo guilt and the DX7 magicians

I have a real soft spot for Italo. Long after Disco Duck banished disco from all but the most adventurous non-black or straight dancefloors, the ghost of the Munich machine kept stalking the continent. This unnamed fashion boy is just a front (most probably - apologies if not of course!) of some hidden beat genius.

Studio bound geniuz

This is one of those bands that I have have never disliked but never dug. Their ridiculous name put me off like a badly monikered cocktail. Friend sent me a link to this vid. The song is wonderful in itself but the video is funny and at the same time well observed. It has the one fucking big single chip video camera in the studio look down to perfection and a narrative palindrome. Matt Berry is a midas of wonderment.

Why Can't We Live Together

A friend sent this to many today in the office. I was not aware of it, nor Timmy Thomas at all. No idea who the alluring woman in need of a wardrobe change (or removal) is but the vid is ace. Looks a bit like the kind of footage one saw in DJ Shadow's 'Midnight in a perfect world' vid. Astonishing. So minimal and heartfelt.

And it goes on...Wire returns

Been quiet again. As were Wire after 1979ish before emerging again in 1987 with pure genius of a more ‘New Wave’ informed nature. I love this track. It somehow reminds me of teenage sexual fumblings but I doubt that is what it is about at all. Just gorgeous.

A different dimension of the 80s again

It is a real shame that Marc Almond and Dave Ball are often thought of as proverbial one hit wonders by the foolish. It is true that after a wonderful debut LP and some singles the creative fuel tank seemed to get a bit thinner and contaminated with West End theatre refuse. However, before 1983 and everything going safe and wrong one could see this chameleonic combination of Motown, Kenneth Anger fetishism and Kraftwerk on mainstream TV. Sad how times change...

Better Days? Depeche Mode's Polar Opposite in 1985

Once again we have a band that producers of today would still be aware of (not to mention those that name now past it fashionista club nights). The 80s can suck if all one remembers are Leg Warmers and Wham! but hipsters have long known there is more to matters than this. These cats from Sheffield made some serious art. As much as I love synthpop, this is about as pop as a pulsar and is the industrial alternative.