Screamadelica, the 1991 third studio album from Primal Scream, was a defining album as it successfully fused indie rock with electronic, techno, and house dance music. The album was instrumental in bringing this musical style to the international mainstream.Although Primal Scream formed in 1982 in Glasgow, Scotland, it was not until lead singer Bobby Gillespie left his other band (The Jesus and Mary Chain) in 1986 that Primal Scream began to rise. Behind Gillespie, the band’s music went through periods of jangle pop and a harder garage rock sound in the 80's before a change of direction to the acid house scene. This occurred with a new dance music sound mixing indie pop, techno, dub, and psychedelia on the landmark third album, Screamadelica. This episode will discuss this band’s formation, the early years and music up through the highly regarding 1990 single mixed by DJ Andrew Weatherall, "Loaded", and the album that followed under Weatherall's production, the classic Screamadelica.
The Velvet Underground formed in New York City in 1964 and has been considered by many as one of the most influential American rock bands. The band's music contained experimentation with instrumentation and sounds while containing raw and provocative lyrics from lead singer and guitarist Lou Reed. These features, along with unconventional and minimalist arrangements, would lead to the development of punk rock, new wave, post-punk, indie rock and many other genres of the alternative music world. In 1966, the Velvet Underground became the house band at pop artist Andy Warhol's studio, The Factory. With Warhol as producer, the band released their debut album in 1967, The Velvet Underground & Nico, featuring the German singer and model Nico. This album is considered as one of the greatest albums in music history due to it's influence on future artists and genres.This episode will discuss the influence of this band and their music, tell the story of the band's beginning and what was behind this music, and discuss the music of the classic debut album.
When 45 Grave formed in Los Angeles in 1979, their music would combine punk rock with a dark and horror themed aesthetic becoming one of the first American gothic rock bands as they helped create the genre, deathrock. After the rise of the deathrock sound from the LA Punk scene, 45 Grave would release their critically acclaimed debut album in 1983, Sleep in Safety. The band’s most notable success came with version of a song from that album, "Partytime", that was featured in the 1985 movie and soundtrack of Return of the Living Dead.45 Grave broke up in 1985, but founding member and lead vocalist Dinah Cancer would later reform the band. Cancer would be deemed "The Queen of Deathrock" from her commanding stage presence and theatrics, and distinct vocals.This episode will discuss the origin of 45 Grave, the music from the band, and their dynamic lead singer, Dinah Cancer, as we welcome the band as our Halloween representative this week. Happy Halloween!
When Bauhaus created the song “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and released it as their debut single in early 1979, they did not realize the impact the song and the band's aesthetic would have on culture and music. The song would be considered one of the greatest debut singles and the song would be deemed the first gothic rock song. This led to the dark, gloomy, and intense debut album the following year, In The Flat Field.This highly original post-punk band, their image, and their early music would be a direct influence on contemporary goth culture.In this episode, we tell the story of the creation of the single “Bela Lugosi’s Dead" from the band's legendary first recording session, how the members of Bauhaus formed just weeks prior to that session, and the debut album In the Flat Field after the band signed with 4AD Records.
Chrome was one of the more unusual alternative bands that arrived on the 70's San Francisco music scene. Chrome’s music would often take on sci-fi themes while employing tape loops, distortion and overloaded acid rock guitar, found sounds from television, and whatever noise they could create with electronics. These raw experimental and industrial sounds would be blended with elements from punk rock and psychedelia. The result of all of this would be a forerunner to industrial rock and noise rock of the 1980's.The band was founded by vocalist, drummer and keyboardist Damon Edge. After a debut album in 1976, Chrome added guitarist Helios Creed in 1977. With the pairing of Edge and Creed, Chrome became a cult band favorite with their next two albums, Alien Soundtracks and Half Machine Lip Moves. Edge and Creed went separate directions in the mid-80's with Damon Edge continuing the band until he passed away in 1995. Helios Creed, who had been away from the group since the mid-80’s, revived Chrome and has continued the band with performances and release of new albums.This episode will discuss this band’s early years, their music, and the work of Chrome especially during the influential Edge and Creed years.
Blancmange formed in London in 1979 behind vocalist Neil Arthur and instrumentalist Stephen Luscombe. On their way to becoming a classic synth-pop duo, they would take a more exotic approach to the music than others in the electropop field. Besides often creating eccentric dance rhythms and a comforting atmosphere, Blancmange would sometimes fuse synth with eastern influences as part of their music. The band would create three studio albums in the early to mid-80’s before breaking up in 1986. The band would return in the 2000’s with a fourth album in 2011. However, Stephen Luscombe had to step away soon after due to health issues leaving Arthur to continue under the Blancmange name.Just last month, Stephen Luscombe passed away at the age of 70.This episode tell the story of how Luscombe and Arthur created the band, their music of the 80's, and the years the followed.
In 1977 two art school students in London, Ana da Silva and Gina Birch, would start the post-punk band, The Raincoats. Not only did they develop an unusual sound and approach to music incorporating experimental and other elements, but this band also that took on social and political issues.The Raincoats would release their self-titled debut album in 1979 as an all-female band for this debut. The Raincoats would be one of the first bands to influence feminism and they would inspire generations of female fronted bands that came after. The band would break up in 1984 following their third album, but the band’s influence in the 90’s on artists including Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain would inspire a reissue of their catalog and a rekindling of the group in 1993. This episode will tell the story of the early years of the band, their impact on social issues, their music, and the chance meeting of Ana da Silva with Kurt Cobain that led to the reformation of The Raincoats.
Galaxie 500 formed in Boston in 1987 and would deliver three studio albums before disbanding in 1991. The creation from the band over this limited span was a mix of indie rock, dream pop, and neo-psychedelia using slow tempos and a minimalist approach. Much of this unique music would be a key to the development of the 90's sub-genre known as slowcore. Their second album, On Fire, was the most influential of their work toward slowcore. Besides impacting the development of this genre, the music from Galaxie 500 would also influence artists and other music styles.Following the break-up of Galaxie 500 in 1991, lead singer and guitarist Dean Wareham would go on to form the band Luna. In this podcast episode we will tell the story of the early years of Galaxie 500, the music and impact of the band, and the spin-off project Luna.
The Chameleons released their debut studio album in 1983, the classic and one of the best of the era, Script of the Bridge. This was followed by What Does Anything Mean? Basically in 1985 and Strange Times in 1986, completed an amazing trilogy of post-punk albums to start their career before they abruptly broke up in 1987.This Manchester, England band that formed in 1981 and was known for their atmospheric, layered guitar-based, post-punk sound became one of the most underrated and underappreciated band of the 1980s. The Chameleons reformed a couple of times over the years, most recently in 2021. Following extensive touring, the band has just released a new studio album, Arctic Moon.In this podcast, we will tell the story of the early years of the band and their first three albums, along with the years that followed up through the new release.
Coil was an English experimental group formed in 1982 by John Balance, who was soon joined by his Psychic TV bandmate and former original member of Throbbing Gristle, Peter Christopherson. Over the years, Coil's work was very diverse exploring various themes including the occult, sexuality, and alchemy while crossing through musical boundaries, styles, and genres such as experimental electronic, industrial, minimalist, dark ambient, noise, and drone among many others. After the release of their 1984 debut EP How to Destroy Angels, Coil's first album was Scatology in 1985 followed by Horse Rotorvator in 1986, an album considered as one of the most influential industrial records created.In addition to Balance and Christopherson, who were the only two consistent members of Coil, many contributors would join them over the years. Following the accidental death of John Balance in 2004, Peter Christopherson would announce the end of the band. There would be one final album and the release of a number of older recordings and compilations. Peter Christopherson died in 2010.This podcast will tell the story of the band and their experimental work over their career, with a focus on the first two classic albums.
After forming in the mid-1980's, the music of the English band All About Eve fell loosely into the UK goth rock scene. Over the next few years, the music would evolve into a more unique, folk-rock influenced style, all behind the beautiful voice and songwriting of lead singer Julianne Regan.All About Eve would create four studio albums beginning with the 1988 self-titled debut album that included the hit single "Martha's Harbour". Following the second studio album, guitarist Tim Bricheno left the band was was replaced by Marty Willson-Piper, long time member of The Church. After two albums with Willson-Piper, including one album with a guest appearance from David Gilmour, the band would end their initial run in 1993. This podcast will talk about the early years of the band, the music of their albums through the 1992 fourth and final studio LP, and their subsequent years.
The 1982 self-titled debut album from A Flock of Seagulls was one about extra-terrestrial invasion and alien abduction with themes of technology and space. This concept album blended synth-pop and post-punk while featuring atmospheric synthesizers, electronic sounds, chiming guitars, along with the iconic songs: "I Ran (So Far Away)" and "Space Age Love Song".A Flock of Seagulls' music and image, including the distinctive hair style along with innovative music videos, became synonymous with 1980s pop culture and the early years of MTV as the band helped to define and shape synth, dance and electronic music of the era. This podcast episode will tell the story of the early years of the band, the success of the debut self-titled album, and the music the band created over their next couple of albums.
In 1982, Cocteau Twins released their debut album Garlands. For this Scottish band of Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie and the amazing vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, this was the beginning of a new sound on the path to becoming one of the most influential artists of the era.Soon after the debut album, founding member Heggie would leave the band and be replaced by Simon Raymonde prior to the third album, the 1984 genre defining, Treasure.From the early works of the band, Cocteau Twins earned critical praise for their sound as the band pioneered the music styles known as “dream pop” and “ethereal wave”. Not only did this group define new genres of music and also influence the music world and countless artists that followed, but they additionally created a singing style with lyrics of no known language where the voice was more like an instrument. This episode of our podcast tells the story of the formation of the band, their early years, and the music through the time of their third studio album, 1984's Treasure.
Led by vocalist and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, the post-punk band The Gun Club blended punk music with blues and other American roots music influences to become one of the first of the early days of post-punk to fuse those genres. Formed in 1979, The Gun Club became a fixture of the Los Angeles underground scene and would create seven studio LP’s during their history, starting with the blues filled 1981 album, Fire of Love.Started by Pierce along with guitarist Kid Congo Powers, the band would go though many members over the years contributing to the evolving music styles, but the band was always fronted by Pierce. The Gun Club continued until Jeffrey Lee Pierce’s death in March of 1996 at age 37. The pioneering Pierce’s legacy continues to inspire many artists today, and that has been well represented as part of The Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project.In this podcast episode, we tell the story of the early years of The Gun Club, their music, and the legacy of Jeffrey Lee Pierce.
Document was the fifth studio album from R.E.M., but the first album with producer Scott Litt, who would co-produce this 1987 album and the next five albums with the band. This album, with such classic songs as "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and "The One I Love", would help move alternative rock to the mainstream. In 1988 the band would sign with Warner Brothers after their longtime relationship with the independent label I.R.S. Records and release the sixth studio album, Green. This album would become their biggest selling record to date as R.E.M. experimented with new instrumentation and studio elements.In this episode we will tell the story of this Athens, Georgia band during the time of these two albums, along with the music that helped define alternative rock and it's mainstream acceptance.
The Slits were one of the first all-female punk bands and one of the pioneering bands of the post-punk era as they blended reggae and dub with punk music. Formed in London in 1976, the band's unique style and music was represented in their 1978 debut album, Cut, that has been called one of the defining releases of post-punk. The highly influential album included the songs that challenged societal norms, in particular the anthem song, “Typical Girls”, a song that questioned traditional ideas about femininity.The Slits would end their original run in 1982. However, in this span The Slits made a lasting mark and influence on the future of many young female rockers, and an impact on several musical movements, most notably the Riot Grrrl movement of the early 1990’s. In this episode we will tell the story of how the band formed, their music of the early years, and the influence and impact on music.
The English synth-pop duo of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist Dave Ball, better known as Soft Cell, created one of the most successful singles ever, "Tainted Love", followed by the influential 1981 debut album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret."Memorabilia", released just after Soft Cell signed with the independent label Some Bizarre Records, has been recognized as a pioneering song of the synth-oriented techno or acid house genre that would follow later in the decade. This podcast episode tells the story of the band’s early years with Some Bizarre Records, including the incredible debut album and the follow up albums from the band through 1984.
The Wedding Present was one of the pioneering artists of UK Indie rock in the mid-80’s. Led by guitarist and lead vocalist David Gedge, the music of this band was often bittersweet love songs immersed in jangly and whirlwind guitars built on lovelorn lyrics. After forming in Leeds, The Wedding Present would be associated with C86, a compilation cassette released in 1986 by the British magazine NME, that featured new bands from Independent labels. The C86 scene is regarded as a key moment for the development of UK Indie rock.Our podcast will tell the story of this band from their early singles through albums such as the debut album, George Best, and the classic 1991 album, Seamonsters, to the late 90’s when the band went on an extended hiatus.
The Scream, the 1978 debut album from Siouxsie and the Banshees, was a landmark release to widespread critical acclaim and is considered one of the most iconic and most influential albums of the post-punk era. Formed in London in 1976 by Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin, the band used experimental rhythms and sonics to develop a new and original music on the way to becoming one of the pioneers of post-punk music. This episode will tell the story of how this band began through their first two albums, with a focus on the incredible debut album, The Scream.
Yazoo was an English synth-pop duo formed by former Depeche Mode founding member and keyboards master Vince Clarke, and the powerful soulful and bluesy contralto vocalist Alison Moyet. The band, also known in North America as Yaz, was short-lived after forming in late 1981 and breaking up by mid-1983. However, this was long enough to release two albums, Upstairs at Eric's and You and Me Both, which helped to define the synth-pop genre, electronic dance music, and the early house music scene of the mid-80’s. Our podcast will talk about the brief history of Yazoo, the two albums, and the music.