Marc

I'm reading the latest blog post from Marc Almond's MySpace page. Aside from him having OCD and doing the same things over and over again in the same places, and aside from his and my dismay at fabulous cities being destroyed by tearing down old buildings, he adds that he has almost finished with his new album. It's a "band" album with real instruments much like "Stars We Are." He is revisiting his teenage years and will have 70s references all around.

"Orpheus in Exile" is out next month.

Marc also ends with:

SOMEONE TELLS ME ANDROGYNY IS IN NEXT YEAR. WHAT AGAIN? I CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN IT WASN'T. I LIVED THROUGH AT LEAST HALF A DOZEN ANDROGYNY REVIVALS SINCE THE ONE THAT I WAS ORIGINALLY A PART OF. AT LEAST IT MEANS THE ERA OF ENDLESS GIRL ACTS THAT STARTED WITH AMY WINEHOUSE AND MUTATED INTO LITTLE BOOTS LA ROUX ETC WILL COME TO AN END AS RECORD COMPANIES HAVE SIGNED EVERY SINGLE DAMN ONE OF THEM IN EXISTANCE AD NAUSEUM. BRING ON THE PRETTY BOYS AGAIN.

Up From The Debths (Godzilla)

You'll enjoy this if you, like me, grew up watching Japanese monster movies.

O Superman

Ok, I'm on a Laurie Anderson kick right now. I LOVE this mix!!

Depeche Mode's Tour of the Universe- August 4, 2009

Last night I went to the Garden to attend yet another Depeche Mode concert.

I went by myself and I think at this point, any other way would probably make me feel out of sorts. Unless I'm with you off course! With you, I think the experience would be 100 times better! Thank you.

So I really wasn't expecting much and I was pretty proud of myself to stay away from any reviews or pictures of the show. I wanted the element of surprise to be there for me. I may be the only who gives a crap about that so I don't feel too bad about posting on the show for others to read if they haven't seen it yet.

I was proved wrong for not expecting much - for this concert just blew me away. I tell you the set list was just excellent! And the visuals they used blew me away too. By now, we have been treated to these kinds of stage visuals at just about every concert we go to and really there's nothing more you can do. But for the songs they chose and the visuals used to put it together really made it very unique.

Dave was in excellent form. He did his usual stage-running all over the place. The dancing and twirling was all there and done in the same place where you'd expect him to. The one thing I have to say is that Dave does not like to sing the choruses to all the previous hits. I wish he'd stop that. He's been doing this for the past few tours and it's getting on my nerves. He should sing the chorus at least twice and let the crowd do it at the end like when they used to do with "Everything Counts" in the old days. Dave, please sing the choruses. It makes the song incomplete when you don't do it.

Martin looked great and wants to let you know that he owns a lot of guitars. With each song, Martin switched guitars. He's like Cher.

Andy still has no rhythm and I still don't think he does anything at the boards. But I love him all the same.

There was a big love affair with the drummer. He was the loudest and both Dave & Martin worshipped him from time to time. He was pretty good though.

Another keyboard player was present but I don't know much about him. There's really not much to tell about this guy.

OK, so I had scored a really good ticket. My seat was not too far off from the stage on the floor. I was in the middle of section 6. The stage extended out into the audience and for one song "Waiting for the Night" Both martin and Dave sang together at the front of the stage where it extended and I had a really good view of the boys from where I was at. It was very sweet and moving.

So here's the set list in no particular order. I'm going to list the albums in order of release and the songs performed.

Speak & Spell

none

A Broken Frame

none

Construction Time Again

none

Some Great Reward

Master & Servant - I would have never expected this but was totally surprised and was a great treat to hear it live again!

Black Celebration

A Question of Time
A Question of Lust
Fly on the Windscreen - Again I was pretty shocked when this came up.
Stripped

Music for the Masses

Strange Love - who knew this song was about foot fetish?? (visuals)
Never Let me Down Again - Ah, you can bet this will always be played, because, you know - you gotta do the wave!

Violator

Enjoy the Silence - Big crowd pleaser.
Personal Jesus
Policy of Truth
Waiting for the Night - A touching moment.

Songs of Faith & Devotion

Walking in My Shoes - Very emotional moment for me.
In Your Room
I Feel You

Ultra

It's No Good

Exciter

none - OK with me!

Playing the Angel

Precious

Sounds of the Universe

In Chains
Hole to Feed
Wrong
Miles Away
Jezebel

There were two encores - I have a feeling there might have been a third, but people began leaving after the second encore when the lights were still down. I was waiting for them to perform "Peace" because that was the one really good song on their new album. I was a little surprised that they left it out of the set unless they were preparing to play it during the third encore.

I wish they would have put in a couple of songs from their earlier albums. It would have been nice to see them do "Puppets" or "Photographic." How about "Boys Say Go!"

But I was very pleased with the set and there was not a dull moment - With the exception of the very new material, it was like vintage Depeche Mode. I was surprised that they really didn't play that many songs from the new album. That's OK with me too.

Sorry I don't have pictures. After all this time, I have not invested in a decent camera I could use to take pictures during these events. Maybe for the Pet Shop Boys coming up in September.

Pictures from Monday night's performance.

Crash Course in Science

Well, this is the type of stuff we got exposed to as teenagers while watching TV on late night weekends. I remember the Uncle Floyd show very well. I watched it because either SCTV was going to start after Uncle Floyd or I was staying up to watch the rest of TV madness after SCTV. There was always that one guy in the background providing the laughter. He was the "studio audience" and never shut up with that annoying laugh of his. You can hear him shouting during the interview.

But this was a local show. You could have only seen this show if you lived in New York or New Jersey (I think).

Anyway, listen to this weird formation. It's total 80s weirdness. People experimented a lot with electronics in those days. I think about Laurie Anderson, Kraftwerk, and very early Cabaret Voltaire.

CCIS on MySpace

Keepin it alive.

Lovely Sioux

I got lost on FABULON. It's a blog full the most fabulous images like the one above - and you kinda get lost in them. Not much words but the images speak for themeselves. Check it out.

Why has Siouxsie stopped? Isn't it time she gave us some new stuff?

They're lemony and they're mighty

So I'm starting to import some CDs into my new computer and giving my iPod a fresh start. So far all the new stuff from Moz, Pet Shop Boys & Morrissey are in there.

So I'm going through my boxes as I have not straighten my CDs out yet and put them up proper - I spotted a much loved CD from times gone. The year was 1992 and it was slim pickings for me regarding this type of music. I think all that Seattle grunginess was coming towards us like some tsunami of flannel shirts and dirty long hair - I think it may have ruined it for me. Sort of clashed with everything I believed in. These were the days of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Anything new by Morrissey at that time was a major life saver.

Side note - though the new Smashing Pumpkins might me worth looking into. Just heard a preview of their sound during trailers in movie theater (Star Trek if you must know).

Where was I? Oh, Ricochet. I can't remember what made me buy it. I hadn't heard a thing from it. But I got home, stuck it into the CD player and just loved almost every track. I haven't heard it for quite a while so it will be a welcoming sound during tomorrow's commute.

The Mighty Lemon Drops probably will appeal to those that are also into Echo & The Bunnymen, Jesus & Mary Chain, Lush and the like. And I write as if you've never head of The Mighty Lemon Drops but off course you probably have. I think "Inside Out" was a pretty big hit in the late 80s among the alternative playlists. Anyway, here's something out of Ricochet to help you decide on buying the whole album. I think they've been re-issued and re-packaged with extra tracks since.

Peace will come to me

This is not a full review of the new Depeche Mode album "Sounds of the Universe." I must say that the track "Peace" has blown me over. Big time!

I heard the album today and in short I will say that it is analog heavy. They weren't kidding bout using a lot of vintage synths. The intro to "In Chains" says it all.

But "Peace" Oh man - I just love it. Somewhere out there Phillip Oakey is screaming "That's MY song." Just imagine Phil singing this and think of the pre-Dare Human League albums and you'd know what I mean. I daresay that this track borrows a lot from early Human League.

I'm staying away from anything YouTube related to DM or any review of any of their shows. I don't want any spoilers. And August is so far away!

I’m leaving anger in the past
With all the shadows that it caused
There is radar in my heart
I should have trusted from the start

V does DIY

Hello, Hello!

It's been a month or thereabouts that I have not posted. Sorry if you've visited lately only to keep finding the last post over and over. I know when I followed some blogs it would frustrate me a little bit because of lack of updates. But there you go.

So what is the DIY that I'm referring to? Well, for a while I've wanted to put together a computer. Not one bought off the shelf, but one built by my own specifications and needs. The last PC I owned ran under Windows 95 and that was pretty brief. Since then I've been using a Mac.

Though I enjoy the Mac OS, I am not a fanboy. I'm bi. when it comes to platforms. Linux isn't that bad either, so I'm tri.

Anyway, I went over to NewEgg and proceeded to make my selections. I took some time off from work and waited for the goods to arrive.

Here's what I chose:

Processor: Intel Core i7 2.66 GHz

Motherboard: Asus P6T Deluxe V2

Memory: Corsair Dominator 6GB kit

Graphics Card: Sapphire ATI Radeon 4870 HD 512 MB

Power Supply: Corsair 1000HX 1000 W

Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar 750GB and 320GB (OEM)

DVD burner: LG (OEM)

Heatsink Cooler: Cooler Master V8

Enclosure/Case: Antec 900 two

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Wireless/Laser Mouse

Monitor: Samsung P2370 23" - This was actually bought separately at BestBuy.

OS: MS Vista Ultimate SP1 64 bit. (OEM) (32 bit will not recognize memory over 3GB)

So on Tuesday everything got here and I set to work. Took my time and by Wednesday afternoon, I had everything put together and ready to power-up. The one thing I didn't do was put in the heatsink & cooler. I decided on the stock cooler. I don't know what I'm going to do with the V8 but maybe someday I'll decide to put it on if my system needs it. The thing is the size of my head! I have a feeling it's not going to fit my case though.

Anyway, I was really nervous putting my finger on that power button. I read so many reviews on some of these components that I chose where they either didn't work or arrived DOA or are faulty, etc. I was surprised and kinda shocked that everything began working so smoothly. Antec has these really nice fans inside the case with blue led lighting. When those lights turned on, the fans began to whir, and my BIOS began posting, I couldn't be happier. Yay!

So there we are. Prior to this, I thought about buying a Mac Pro but I think this was the more practical approach for my needs at this time. And this was a more fun experience rather than just opening a box and turning the thing on. I feel better about turning on my computer knowing that I pieced it together rather than it coming from an assembly line (even though the components are put together on the assembly line - but there it is.)

OK, that's as nerdy as I'm going to get with this post.

Music.

Very briefly, I'm taking the Red Radio approach to the new releases (Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys). I've had the opportunity to download these albums but skipped it. I prefer the old fashioned way of waiting for the release date and buying the darn thing and listening to it as intended. Though I've heard several of the new PSB stuff, I don't have the album proper.

That's all I got for now - But before I go, check this out.



Yeah, I had one of those too (Amiga 500). I go way back. :P

Concert everybody

I got my ticket today for Mode's Tour of the Universe. I didn't know they had added a second night until I was trying to get a good seat for the first night. So I decided to go for the second show (Tues. Aug. 3). I figure I can get a better floor seat for that night. And I did. But I did have a WTF moment for a little while. Did I just pay THAT much for a ticket? Again? Why always MSG? Mind you, I'm pleased that my boys like DM and The Cure can fill up the place after all these years - I guess that proves something. Don't quite know what.

A rush and a push

Don't you all give up on me all at the same time now!

So it's been about two weeks and I haven't spread any words of wisdom.

Fact.

I haven't seen any shows lately. Or been to a concert.
Even an off-Broadway show. It could be me. Or it could be that nobody brings anything interesting to the stage anymore. It's all song and dance which I don't care for that much.

Book.

So I read one of Calvino's books: Cosmicomics.

I'm not articulate enough to explain and can only tell you that I enjoyed reading these wonderful and imaginative short stories written specifically for me. But maybe for you too, so check the link and see if it interests you. OK?

Music

There's still no U.S. release date for Grace Jones' Hurricane album so I guess I must order it from Amazon or something.


Moz to play at Carnegie Hall. I don't know if I should be shameful of this but I have not purchased a ticket. Have I said this before? Every time I see this guy perform, I always think it's going to be the last. That maybe he'll be retiring from the biz. But he keeps coming back! I'm thankful for his longevity and energy of going out there every year.

It was during his last tour I took a trip all the way to Atlantic City to go see him cause he had cancelled Madison Square because of illness. I thought I'd miss him. But a few months later he'd announced a whole week of shows in Hammerstein!

The most interesting thing about Moz concerts now is to see him perform Smiths songs. I'm always curious as to which one's he's going to pull for a particular show.

Recession.

I'm sure this is old news but we are saying goodbye to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. The Virgin Megastore hasn't been in business all that long and it's already closing its doors in one of the most busiest places in the world. The one in Union Square is still open. I'm sure it's because it's a much smaller place and the rent isn't all that high there. But it's sad all the same. My neighborhood FYE just closed its doors too.

Circuit City is also shutting down. So what next?

I apologize for not checking in with the blogs regularly lately. I hope you understand.

I will be back with more music nostalgia. Stay tuned!

I look out from my window view......

Read a book, maybe write a letter. Mother things are getting better.

Lately there's been some snow falls. It seems the most we've got since winters past. I welcome it.

So these are some window views from the fire-escape side. The other widow has my air conditioner in it so I can't open it.

And I *need* to invest in a moderately good digital camera. The one I've been using has had its run.

Atmos

Atmospheric Optics is the place to go to and see lovely photos of sky phenomena.

Early morning with coffee and APOD. Never miss a day.

They posted this today:



Click on the pic to go there.

These things don't often happen where we are at. Though there was something happening in the sky once and some brilliant colors were displayed. It was not a rainbow because if twas just a patch of colors. Wispy clouds of brilliant color. Off course my friend said it was a miracle. She thinks in these lines and I'm always there to kill the joy.

What's happened to me? I used to be a much happier person when I was more superstitious, delusional and believed in magic. The shops I used to walk into to buy yet another pack of Tarot cards to add to my collection - That smell. The smell of incense. The sparkle of crystals everywhere, the books and candles. My pentagram - and all these things I have taken them away. I guess I no longer need to escape in that manner. I am facing things head-on. And it's depressing.

Happy 2009!

Just a note to wish you all a Happy New Year! I wish Earth and all its residents a safe journey around the Sun yet one more time. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Jennifer, where are you tonight?

I'm like Muriel in this sense - You know, she's the one in that movie "Muriel's Wedding" where she was put down by the girls around her for being stuck in the 70s and listening to nothing but ABBA while they listened to The Baby Animals and Nirvana.

I've been listening to the Eurythmic's second album "Sweet Dreams."
This is one of those albums you can listen to all the way through and enjoy every song. When you have that much talent, you can make it work with anything you got around you. This album was recorded using no more than an 8 track recorder, drum machine, some synths and guitars. As the saying goes "less is more." Annie and Dave make a perfect team as like Vince and Alison of Yazoo.

1983 was all about image, music videos as well as the music istelf and gender bending was the name of the game. Annie had short cropped orange hair and wore men's suits. It was a nice contrast to Boy George, Marilyn and Pete Burns.




During the 1984 Grammy Awards, the Euryhmics gave an excellent performence of "Sweet Dreams." Annie looked rather like a young Elivs compelete with sideburns!




It's hard to pick a favorite from this album, but I will have to say that "Wrap it Up" is among my all time favorites. Annie sang this with Scritti Politti's Green Gartside.

Here's a version of the song and video. It's not the same as the one on the ablum, but still excellent and check out Annie's moves!

Happy Holidays!

This picture was taken sometime ago at Rockefeller Center. I thought I'd recycle.

Wishing everyone a great holiday and peace, joy and love and all that good stuff. Whether you're with friends, family or just on your own, may it be special.


I'm just kicking back watching "Mixed Nuts." I guess this is my pick of holiday season movies not to be outdone by "A Christmas Story." I don't know what it is about "Mixed Nuts" that I find so amusing. Maybe it's because all the characters are so dysfunctional and Liev Shriebner is in drag or that Steve Martin runs a suicide hotline business.

You can practically watch the entire movie on YouTube

Hearing sounds of celebrations makes me lonely too

Finally the search is over! I have finally in my hands a newly re-issued CD of Visage's >> The Anvil << And with five extra tracks, it's a don't miss to any fan of the New Romantic scene.

Fronted by Steve Strange alongside Midge Ure, Billy Currie and Rusty Egan, Visage made some great pop music incorporating a lot of synths and clever guitar riffs. >> The Anvil << was originally released in 1982 on the Polydor label. This 2008 re-issue is by CherryPop a division of Cherry Red Records. This album is somewhat more darker than their self titled album which included the phenomenal Fade To Grey. Starting with a melancholy The Damned Don't Cry, then we go into a dark underworld night club scene at Anvil (Night Club School). The next track is my absolute favorite called Move Up. This track has been in quite a few of my mixtapes back in the day.

The five extra tracks:

• We Move (Dance Mix)
• Frequency 7 (Dance Mix)
• The Damned Don't Cry (Dance Mix)
• Motivation (b-side)
• I'm Still Searching (b-side)
• Mind of A Toy (Dance Mix)

Here's where I have a problem with this. Why isn't The Anvil (Night Club School - Dance Mix) included as an extra track? If it's because they could not squeeze an extra track to make it into one CD, they could have removed those that clearly were not part of the album. Both We Move and Frequency 7 appear on other Visage CDs. So it didn't make sense to me to leave out The Anvil and Night Train dance mixes which would have made it a complete re-issue of the Anvil production.

The CD comes with a booklet of pictures and bio.

But I'm not complaining. I'm just glad I finally got a CD of this. It was re-issued once back in 1997 but I had completely missed out on it. Not to say that I wasn't searching for it at the record stores. It just wasn't there whenever I looked.

Video - The Damned Don't Cry (embedding disabled)

Visage - The Horseman

Sufjan's stitches

So I found this picture of Sufjan Stevens knitting up what seems to be a scarf. See, it's more common than you think, these men who knit.

Now I'm comming up for air

I never had to call the tune
'Cause I always drifted with the tide of the moon
I would go out every night
Looking for someone to treat me right
Not a chance, not a hope in this world

The soundtrack to our lives change with the seasons. Now the weather has turned cold and along with it a slew of tunes that highlight certain moments in our lives. One song that has been on my list of tunes lately is Erasure's "Breath of Life." I was in my mid 20s at the time working for an Insurance company and I remember having to walk to work around 6 am and would listening on my walkman containing a mixed tape featuring this song among others like Pet Shop Boy's "Dreaming of The Queen" and "The Theater."

It was quite an interesting time as I had finally found a few people to hang out with during the weekends. We had the designated driver who would pick each of us up from our houses like some school bus driver and head out somewhere to eat. Then, we would hop to a few bars and have a few drinks, maybe dance and hang around. These were nowhere special and were just places to warm up. We had two clubs that we spent the majority of our time at and pretty much stayed there until closing. One was called Prestons and the other was The Works. It so happens that it was the most happening times at either of these clubs during those years.

But still things were very awkward for me. But I have to say that during that time, I think I did pretty well compared to today with the whole socializing thing. I don't recall any of those nights ever being bad. If you were looking for that other kind of good time, where you would leave with someone, then you'd have to come alone. Otherwise, there were a lot of us doing the same. There were all these groups of friends that would all show up at the same time and you kind of just hung around together, drank together, danced and gossiped and had some laughs jabbing at the other groups and making up some stories of who they were. As far as love was concerned, it was still a hopeless world out there. But if I cut out that thought, I'd say I had a heck of a time.

I can still hear the echoes...

"I got my education... I got my education"

"Miss thing... There is no guest list tonight!"

But you know, someone did save my life and I'm grateful for him. I was alone and friendless and there was all these fabulous clothes in the closet waiting to be worn. They thought they would never see the light of day.

"Why don't you put me on?"
"Wear me!"

I guess I had foresight for buying all those clothes. A phone call came one night and he said "A bunch of us are going out - want me to pick you up?"

Thank Zeus!

Erasure - Breath of Life

Planet Rock and World Destruction

Afrika Bambaataa (Goerge Clinton) in the early years of hip-hop who recognized the genius of Kraftwerk - and incorporated their sound from "Trans Europe Express" into their classic "Planet Rock" in 1982. Excellent beat and bass - guaranteed to make you move it.



Later on Afrika teamed up with John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten and recorded "World Destruction." This song is just as relevant to today as it was back when it was first recorded in the 80s, especially with what's just happened in India.