EXTRA SPECIAL WAVE - The Undertow (punk aftermath ca. 78-81)

I sometimes use the term "progressive" because it says the most about the attitude of this music, to - with little or no prestige in mind - aim for something different, to take a relatively free concept of music (punk, "new wave", "alternative" or whatever) and salvage it from the wide path of conformism. The original spark and beauty of progressive rock was the idea to forge the aggression of rock n' roll into high art. Much too often the result lacked humor and the mandatory glimpse in the eye. The magic of punk or the new wave was it's rebelliousness and will to destroy the pompous, fat wreck of a stranded whale that rock had become in the aftermath of the prog-era, and begin from scratch with the raw, unadulterated energy of the jungle drum. Rock n' Roll Revisionists who shall remain nameless usually make up their own history from here. With their macho bullshit reactionary attitudes they forget even raw power can be delivered with elegance, and a smashing blow to the music establishment doesn't necessary have to include raw power. There are a million sophisticated ways to fuck things up. I'm not shitting you, it has been done, the evidence is right here....

Prog Wave, Jazz Punk & the likes...

Back in 1992 I was at a point where I'd realized there were more to music than Speed Metal and Hardcore. This came to me when a friend, a Death/Black Metal and Progressive Rock-fanatic (!) introduced me to the incredible musical phenomena known as * C A R D I A C S *. This band turned my world upside down. Later, at the home of a fellow CARDIACS-fan I was introduced to bands like SPARKS (the golden 74-75 era), PUNSHMENT OF LUXURY, THE RESIDENTS, PINK SECTION and many others. The beautiful off-beat craziness (all in their own special way) of these bands really made an impression on this Metalcore nut. Another thing that turned me to different music was the fact that at this moment in time I was almost totally broke and couldn't afford any new CDs. (Here comes an important lesson, kids:) I decided I'd go through the complete vinyl-sale department at the local record peddler and check on anything that looked odd and undefineable. After one week I'd discovered such godly act as THE RED CRAYOLA, SLOW CHILDREN, THE RAINCOATS etc. In the weeks to follow I discoverd more "fave acts" than I had the last couple of years. I'm still frequently rummageing the vinyl peddlers and the cool bands keep popping up.

ANONYMOUS (USA)
- "snake attack/corporate food" 7" 80 (Flat)
Sooo wonderfully warped a single, this! (Fanx a mil' for the trade, Dave!) "Snake attack" is a pulsating, paranoid, psychedelic avant-wave affair which slides along your vertebrae and leave you in a cold sweat. "Corporate food" = Total insaneorama! Screetchy, frantic, ultraqirky stuff for those who need to have their preconceptions of how punk should sound shattered. Lotsa noise! like THE DEADBEATS on far too much speed. The single is pretty rare, but the track "corporate food" is available on the Alternative Tentacles comp. "Let them eat jellybeans" for those of you who want to investigate further.

BOB (USA)
- "the things that you do/thomas edison" 7" (Dumb)
Another one of those one-off single bands, but what a single! It twists! It rocks! It jumpes around and you just can't help but jump around with it! No, it's not the proggiest of the proggy, but the the distorted guitar and the hopping mad beat and the fem/male duelling vox (really duelling this time) makes it a perfect zany party song. Very New Wave Punk Pop, Very Zany, Very B-52'S On Speed. Essential party tape song, the A-side. The flip is shorter, less instant, but no less frantic. Grab it if you find it - I can't imagine it would disappoint anyone but the original bore!

CARDIAC ARREST / CARDIACS (UK)
- "the obvious identity" tape, recorded 77-79
- s/t 7" 79 (Tortch)
- "toyworld" tape, recorded 78-79 (as CARDIACS)
- "archive" CD 95 (as CARDIACS, Alphabet Business Concern) includes the better half (?) of the trax from the 2 tape albums
CARDIACS continues into the eighties and nineties and in the PIEmag-interview.
The only band that are still around with their roots in this non-wave. CA had very clearly one foot in the progressive rock scene and the other firmly buried in the punk/NW movement. On this foundation they developed a sound so utterly unique it defies all description, but that's another story. Here they mix long, epic songs with the frantic guitar riffing of early punk rock. Intricate, but not as intricate as some of their later stuff.

CHI-PIG (USA)
- "bountiful living/ring around the collar" 7" (private)
- "k x y/go/waves of disgust" 7"
Their 1st single is one of my all time faves from this period, the second one a Major, MAJOR want. Why? Coz they were 15-20 years ahead of their time! Their Very Extra-Special new wave is very much a child of its time, but have these undefinable modern streaks that remind me alot of contemporary girl-fronted alternative rock like THE BREEDERS, TOENUT and even something like VERUCA SALT. They had a real stuttering oddity of a track on the classic Akron Compilation on Stiff Records - one of the most common NW-comps, so you shouldn't have much trouble to check it out (This LP also features some exclusive cuts by TIN HUEY and THE WAITRESSES so it's quite essential) The single equals in originality, but isn't as off-beat as the comp-track. Especially the track "ring around the collar" is really tintalizing with its steady, moody verse-beat.

THE CUT-OUTS (USA)
- "d.i.y." 7" (EMI?)
So I finally found it.

THE DEADBEATS (USA)
- "kill the hippies" 7" EP 78 (Dangerhouse)
- "live at the whiskey 1978" CD 96 (Sympathy For The Record Industry)
- "on parade" CD 96 (Sympathy For The Record Industry)
GEZA X
He did 2 or 3 singles and then the superb
- "you goddam kids!" LP 81 (Final Gear)
THE DEADBEATS were so much more punk than the Brittish batch of prog/jazz wavers, and more aggressively wacky. A wild, wild, wild punk rock jazzorama with stuttering beats and fierce timechanges featuring semi-legendary punk-producer Geza X (DEAD KENNEDYS, BLACK FLAG, CIRCLE JERKS etc) on guitar. They started out already in '77 and pretty much defined the term Jazz Punk. They were perhaps the last defenders of the totally free, no-rules extravaganza of the early '75-'77 punk scene, where dressing up in garters, plastic bags or pervy clownsuits was considered just as cool as a ripped t-shirt and safety pins. Their stage shows are legendary and included such things as tossing piles of wet seaweed into the pit and the decapitation of a mannequin with the subsequent administering of bloody cow brains to the unsuspected crowd. As far as I know their only contemporary release was the Dangerhouse EP (I'd LOVE it if somebody told me I'm wrong!), but SFTRI had the good taste of releasing a liverecording from The Whiskey '78, which included some previously unreleased songs + 2 odd demo cuts. The live material leaves much to be desired in soundquality and musicianship, but so far they're the only record of many of the songs, so it'll have to do for now. It also comes with liner notes from all original members + some other people involved with the band at that time. The "On Parade" CD is an enigma. I'm quite unsure if it is an old recording reissued or just old material re-recorded by a momentarily reformed band. If the latter is the case, then time has stood still. 12 excellent studio trax, not as cutting edge as they once were (if you look at the things that has happened since then), but still essential for the Jazz Punk connoisseur. They influenced as heavy acts as the DEAD KENNEDYS and DICKIES, and it think one critic said it best when he wrote: "They could be the real DEVO."
Geza X's excellent solo material was pretty much the musical continuation of THE DEADBEATS and really needs no further introduction. 100% essential stuff.

DEVO (USA)
- go this way for a complete DEVO discog
The early singles and 2 1st albums by DEVO were really great and cannot go unnoticed on a page like this, but I don't feel I have to rant about them that much, coz they are fairly familiar to most of you already. Here are a couple of great DEVO-sites for better information:

ESSENTIAL LOGIC (UK)
- "aerosol burns/world friction" 7" 78 (Rough Trade)
- "wake up"+3 7" EP 79 (Virgin)
- "beat rhythm news" LP 79 (Rough Trade)
- "popcorn boy/flora force" 7" 79 (Rough Trade)
- "music is a better noise/moodtown" 7" 80 (Rough Trade)
- "fanfare in the garden/the captain" 7" 81 (Rough Trade)
LORA LOGIC
- "eugene/tame the neighboors" 7" 79 (Rough Trade)
- "pedigree charm" LP 81 (Rough Trade)
- "wonderful offer/stereo" 7" 81
I think it worked out like this: Poly Styrene pretty much wanted to be the main babe in X-RAY SPEX, so sax-player Lora Logic was maneuvered out of the band by late '77. Having developed a taste for music she soon formed her own band, ESSENTIAL LOGIC. With Lora's young mind yet unspoiled by "punk correctness" the result is some of the most original music from this timeperiod. It has definitely got Brittain '77 a la X-RS stamped over it, esp. on the real punkers like "wake up" and "popcorn boy" but Lora takes this concept and totally remodel it according to her own otherworldly standards. Loads of beautiful timechanges and jazzy structures, which goes so well with Lora's sax and "warbling". The basslines of Mark Turner also deserves praise. They carry the tunes to even higher grounds and is the element that makes the music accessable despite the many off-beat rhythms. Tons of catchy hooks & melodies too. On the last 2 singles they take more influences from jazz-rock. Some of the hooks are still there, but they've lost some of the accessability. Lora's solo-album is even more jazz-wave infected and doesn't turn me on that much. She has also played with THE RED CRAYOLA, SWELL MAPS, THE RAINCOATS, THE POP GROUP and others. Later she left the music scene and converted to Hare Krshna (!). Some years ago she joined Poly & co. on an attempted X-RAY SPEX comback - another definitive loss of alterno-cred there. I'm seriously considering tracking her down for an interview. If anyone knows of her present whereabouts or if she has an e-mail address, please contact me.

FAMILY FODDER (UK?)
- "playing golf (with my flesh crawling)/my baby takes valium" 7" 79
- "warm/desire" 7" 80 (Parole/Fresh)
- "sunday girls" M-LP 80 (Parole/Fresh)
- "debbie harry/a 'version'" 7" 80 (Fresh)
- "savoir faire/carnal knowledge" 7" 80 (Fresh)
- "savoir faire/I'll be yours" 7" 80 (Crammed Discs)
- "monkey banana kitchen" LP 80 (Fresh)
- "film music/room" 7" 81 (Fresh)
- "schizophrenia party" M-LP 81(Fresh)
- "the big dig/plant life" 7" 82 (Fresh)
- "all styles" D-LP
- "coral/frustration" 7" 82 (Jungle)
- "greatest" LP
The sound of FF is quite diverse. The 3 1st releases are downright chaotic in it's amateur avant-garde, humor and free songstructures, but still have a way to go before reaching satisfying catchiness. The theme for most singles seem to be "new wave pop-hit with a few quirks" on the A-side and "fuck the rules and let's experiment our asses off!" on the B-side. This concept makes you wonder what kind of band you're dealing with, and it wasn't until I finally laid my hands on their '80 full length debut LP that saw what an amazing band they truly where. "Monkey banana kitchen" is all over the place - the "theme" of the album with all it's variations, "darling" + "monkey" + "banana", is RESIDENTSial weirdness deluxe, "philosophy" and "organgrinder" are FLYING LIZARDS pop-minimalism with extra melodies, "wrong" is excellent Zappa/TIN HUEY bendyness, "savoir-faire", "symbols" and the rest are just bloody great, highly original, Extra Special new wave songs ...with the exception of "bass adds bass" which is a dreary dub/reaggae piece for the trashcan. The "Schizo.." M-LP is a minor letdown. Opener "dinosaur sex" is a killer FF-classic, but the remaining 4 songs doesn't quite match their early material. Dominique has left the mikestand here, and the band has therefore lost a bit of it's Extra Specialness. I haven't heard the "All styles" double, but "coral" which I think is taken from it is a great new wave pop song, not as frantic as before, but with Dominique back on vox it still works real well. If I've missed anything on their discog' I'd love to know. A final great reference just sprung to mind: if DEVO had come out of the jungle instead of a robot-factory they'd probably sound alot like FAMILY FODDER.

THE FLYING LIZARDS (UK)
- s/t LP 79 (Virgin)
- "fourth wall" LP 81 (Virgin)
- "top ten" LP 84 (Static)
True pioneers! "Minimalistic tape-loop terrorists" one could call them. Who else but THE FLYING LIZARDS would dedicate an album to Mälzel, the inventor of the metronome? Primitive drum-machines, synths and the odd aucustic instrument make very monotonous sounds to even more monotonous rhythms. Sometimes almost pop, often sheer avantgarde (The bastard offspring of SUICIDE and THE B-52'S?) Their version of "summertime blues" from their '79 debut is one of the coolest trax ever recorded. On my better mix-tapes I always put it right after HC/crossover band ATTITUDE's brutal version for maximum shock value. "Decrepit", "frail" and "miserable" are all fitting words for describing their way of doing covers. Vocalist Patti Palladin speaks the lyrics with a frail and faint voice to music so stripped down and minimal you have to listen twice to be sure it's there at all (well, almost..). On the second album the sound is slightly fuller, and Patti actually sings on a track or 2. On the "top ten" (no, not a best-of LP) they leave their instrumental and most avant-garde experimentalism for their classic, but still highly original coversongs (Their whispering "whole lotta shaking going on" is just absurd!) It's a fun album, not fall-down-on-the-floor-laughing-my-ass-off fun, but fucked up and entertaining. I do however prefer their 2 first albums since they are more diverse in style. They're not the kind of band whose albums you feel like playing every day, but what makes them so special is the fact that they really had a truly original idea of how to make their music and they stuck with it. This is a very rare phenomenon and is generally what seperates the "cool" bands from the true cult acts. They did a bunch of singles as well, but the B-sides where never that exciting, mostly leftover loops from the albums.

GLORIA MUNDI (UK)
- "fight back!" 7" 78 (RCA)
- "I individual" LP 78 (RCA)
- "glory of the world" 7" 78 (RCA)
- "the word is out" LP 79 (RCA)
This is possibly my favourite original new wave-band of all time, not counting the CARDIACS embryo CARDIAC ARREST ofcourse. Their magic lies in the fact that what they did, they did like it was the most natural and obvious thing in the world - they simply had no other way to go about making their music. It's so original and yet so gentle to the unexperienced listener - not in a soft & safe way, but in a passionate and totally dead serious manner. GLORIA MUNDI do it like there really is no tomorrow. There's nothing of the PUNISHMENT O L/DEVO wackiness or ESSENTIAL LOGIC/CARDIAC ARREST wild twist and turns here. If you want silly, meaningless labels I guess you could call them "New-romantic Pomp Punk" as well as Progressive New Wave. The attutide is totally sexy '77 a la ADAM & THE ANTS/X-RAY SPEX, the music is so sensual, yet virile, like the vibes of David Bowie, early SPARKS, Rocky Horror Picture Show and the SEX PISTOLS all rolled into one, and they play it like it's the only way rock 'n' roll can be played. The androgyneous vocals of Eddie Maelov and Sunshine Pattesson is probably what makes up 50% of the GM-magic. It's really astonishing how lame their solo-material turned out. What happened? To much speedballing on glue and coke? That's it! If GM were a drug they'd be cocaine cut with Epoxy! Now you get it?

HYBRID KIDS (UK)
- "a collection of classic mutants" LP 79 (Cherry Red)
- "claws" LP 80 (Cherry Red)
1st LP is little more than a joke. You still find this record in the V/A dept. in many record stores. Mr Morgan Fisher, the brain behind HK designed this LP as a compilation album, with various mysterious acts doing covers of anything from THE STRANGLERS to old schlagers like "save your kisses for me", all under suspicious monickers like "COMBO SATORI", "PUNKY AND PORKY", "THE INCESTORS" etc. "RIFIFI"s punky and totally warped version of "catch a falling star" is brilliant, as well as the minimalist version of Sun Ra's "enlightment" (a song so great you just can't fail with it), but as a whole it's a bit too much self-indulgence here to really raise an interest. Yeah, very RESIDENTS influenced, but seldom with the same delicacy. Plenty of variation though, and enough twisted ideas to warp the minds of a small art-school. On the 2nd album "Claws", a christmas concept album, he still does some covers and is still very RESIDENTS influenced (like ALOT of experimental wave around this period), but his ideas have developed and here more than half the songs are originals and really good ones at that. Lots of creepy-crawly tapes and synths in the background, loads of various effects on all sorts of instruments and voices, dreamy and truly twisted. Mr Fisher also did some "solo" material predating the HK albums = have not heard -> would like to!

INFLATABLE BOY CLAMS (USA)
- s/t 2x7" EP 81 (Subterranean)
Quite an obscurity if I'm not misinformed. A-side "skeletons" is a very minimal, stumbling, oddball NW-track on bass and distorted organ + the occational sax and odd percussion. The vocals are frail and hoarse, sort of like "Queen of siam"-era Lydia Lunch. A mighty disturbed little ditty and very good too. B-side "snoteleks" is, you guessed it, the same song recorded backwards (!?). Side C begins with "marin", mainly rambling bass and drums with more demented vocals & lyrics that's pretty neat. Next track "i'm sorry" is a twisted tale about two girls wanting to get even. Finally there's D-side "boystown" and a great reference came to me: DAISY CHAINSAW! Remember them? They share the vocal dementia and simple nursery-rhyme ethics, but IBC are just bloody creepy and they never rock 'n' roll (which suits them fine - guitars are for filthy MEN!). A level of originality that only an early 80's New Wave all-girl quartet could conjure up. An old Subterranean mailorder sheet says: "Female members of PINK SECTION(!), LONGSHOREMEN & KI DI ME perform nursery rhymes for the perverse." Fans of Lydia Lunch, Y PANTS & RAINCOATS take note.

KLEENEX / LILIPUT (SWI)
KLEENEX:
- s/t EP 78 (Sunrise)
- "ain't you/heidi's head" 7" 78 (Rough Trade) 2-song verison of the 1st 4-song EP
- "you/ü" 7" 79 (Rough Trade)
...then a namechange to LILIPUT:
- "split/die matrosen" 7" 80 (Rough Trade)
- "eisiger wind/when the cat's away then the mice will play" 7" 81 (Rough Trade)
- s/t LP 82 (Rough Trade)
- "you did it/the jatz" 7" 83 (Rough Trade)
- "some songs" LP 83 (Rough Trade)
The original Riot Grrrls! One of the first all-female punk/NW bands and possibly the best, together with ELEGI, THE RAINCOATS and M涻EL. Not really similar to any of those bands, K/L still did quite original punk-wave. All the early singles are bloody brilliant, groovy, fun punkyriotwave in a slightly more pogo-punkin' fashion than the aforementioned. "Eisiger wind" is their anthem and musical highlight with it's "la la-la, la la-la.."-chanting and strange harmonies - a very very very good SONG. Despite their feminist politics they knew how to use their little-girl charm and managed to be cute and agressive at the same time. The lyrix to "split" needs to be seen: "hotch-potch, hugger-mugger, bow-wow, hara-kiri, huz-za, hicc-up, hum-drum, hexa-pood, hell-cat, helter-skelter, hop-scotch - yesterday was a party! yesterday the drinks were strong!". This more than anything should give you a picture of what kind of band they were. By the 1st LP most of the punk had disappeared, but they still had some interesting ideas in songs like "do you mind my dream" - a jangly odd-wave affair on stilts, "feel like snakes, twisting through the fog"- more fine "la-la" melodies and gentle harmonies, and "tschik- mo", the best song on the album. It begins with this pumping sub-bass beat shortly accompanied by a cucumber, then a weird sounding instrument sounding somewhat like a violin played like a guitar. Upon this eerie background the chinese, ethnic vocal harmonies really does it for me. Musically this album fooles around with percussion and rhythmic experiments in a quite appealing manner. Unfortunately they seemed to have run out of cool ideas with the second album. Get the singles!

LENE LOVICH (UK)

LUDUS (UK?)
- "pick pocket" tape (New Hormones)
- "the visit" 12" EP 80 (New Hormones)
- "my cherry is in sherry" 7" 80 (New Hormones)
- "mother's hour/patient" 7" 81 (New Hormones)
- "the seduction" 2x12" EPs (New Hormones)
- "danger came smiling" LP 82 (New Hormones)
- "riding the rag" LP 82 (private/Expanded Music)
- "breaking the rules/little girls" 7" 83 (Sordide Sentimental)
Some may accuse me of being mean for calling LUDUS "a poor man's ESSENTIAL LOGIC", but it's neither a bad reference nor an insult. LUDUS play really jazzy, bendy, prog/jazz wave much in the same school as EL, and Linder's warbling vocals are very similar to Lora's. What sets them apart from the aforementioned is a darker, less innocent and even more jazzy edge. They never punk it out and occationally play around with improvisation. A warning though: Avoid the "Danger.." LP at all cost. It's a annoyingly boring "free-jazz" improv-album with absolutely nothing in common with their other material. It's not even cool free-jazz, i.e. John Zornish jazz-noise, but minimalist, instrumental, one-instrument solo pieces without anything to catch your attention or stirr up a fuss. The "Riding the Rag" album on the other hand is the ultimate LUDUS-release. It includes re-recordings of some of the best trax from the early EPs as well as some new, real cool pieces. The moody, groovy and laid back parts mixed with the frantic guitar bits are miles away from EL and even if they've got a couple of nice pop melodies here and there, they are really much shadier and sexier than the work of little-girl Lora. This could explain why Sordide Sentimental released their last 7", ironically their most "accessable" and poppish material.

THE MONOCHROME SET (UK)
Go here for a complete M.S. discography
If I ever listen to pop, this is the way I want it to sound. One of my all time favourite Pop Bands! I would shamelessly describe them as early, more adventurous New Wave-edition of THE SMITHS. They share the sharp,

MURDER THE DISTURBED (UK)
- "genetic disruption" 7" EP (Small Wonder)
Another band with a pretty unique sound. The only proper label to give them would be "Doom Punk". Not enough classic RnR to be called Punk Rock, not enough kink for Goth and far to experimental for Heavy Metal. JOY DIVISION is a half-decent reference I guess, but the only band I've ever heard that comes fairly close to this would be the Swedish GUDS BARN. SONIC YOUTH, PIXIES and a few other "lo-fi"/guitar-noisy post-punk bands sometimes flirt with this kind of heavyness, but they seldom go all the way. "D.N.A." is a beautiful nightmare of a song which makes U hate the 7" format more than ever. Where did you go, my dear Murderers?:-(

NERVOUS GENDER (USA)
- "music from hell" split-LP 81 with BEELZEBUB YOUTH (Subterranean)
Corny, corny, corny... And you thought fusing punk with electronics was a sole 90's concept? NERVOUS GENDER don't use guitars in their desperate, frustrated punk rock. Instead it's synths and keyboards who stand for the primitive punk rock riffing. Does it work? Well, opener "monsters" is an excellent horror-punk song which would make 45 GRAVE real proud, the rest of the album doesn't quite reach this standard. Still it's by no means a bad album. All six NG-songs has at least some odd twist that makes them listenable. Nothing quirky or progressive about the songs themselves, not catchy by far, but the mere sound of those buzzing electronics making mean & atonal punk rock music is a pretty neat experience in itself. What about BEELZEBUB YOUTH you ask? It seems the 2 bands share some members, but soundwise they're quite different. The comment on the Subterranean Rec. insert: "Electronic music with testicles. Hi-tech passion and humor. Travellouges from civilization's rotting underbelly."

OINGO BOINGO (USA)
- s/t 10" EP 80 (I.R.S.)
- "only a lad" LP 81 (I.R.S.)
- "nothing to fear" LP 82 (I.R.S.)
- "good for your soul" LP 83 (I.R.S.)
I once read somewhere that MR BUNGLE where a 2dn rate thrash metal band until they discovered OINGO BOINGO and realized there where more to life than metal (kinda like my own life's story, albeit the band be replaced by CARDIACS) - There is at least some truth to that rumor: MR B did start out as a thrash band, and they did listen to OB, but when I asked Trevor Dunn about this he ensured me that there where a whole lot more bands responsible) Listening to the 1st MR B album you really can sense an influence, especially in the carneval-pop bits. They (OB) were a band well known for their weird musical antics and odd outlook, but one should notice: a band seldom becomes "well known" by REALLY going bezerk - OB twist their really catchy and extremely well organized songs to & fro, but they are not avant-garde by far. "Only a lad" (their Big Hit), "is this the life", "pefect system" and "nasty habits" on the 2 first releases are 1st class poppy progish wave material right up there with DEVO, the better parts of XTC and MADNESS with less (but not without) ska. All albums are extremely well produced and very "rich" soundwise and they should be - they're an 8-man band for christsake! A 3-man horn section + the classic rock line-up including keyboard/synths head for some serious orchestral pop grooves. Speaking of groove, 2nd full length album "Nothing to fear" almost exceeds the debut, slightly more danceable (i.e. not normal dancing, more silly thrashing about) and a tidbit less quirky. "Insects" sound about 10 years ahead of it's time with it's heavy Metal(!)-riffing and funky chorus. 3rd LP opens with what must be their most powerfull track ever, "who do you want to be" - the ULTIMATE party-song! Rhythmically it's a whole lot straighter album and you even call it "commercial" without being too unfair. A handful of really great songs and some forgettable ones. After this one they deteriorated into your average lame 80's pop band. In conclusion, early OINGO BOINGO shook their stuff with a very accessable twist and more than anything else they were the original happy-friendly-crazy 80's party band.

PINK SECTION (USA)
- "tour of china/shopping" 7" 79 (Systematic)
- s/t M-LP 80 (Modern)
I know next to nothing about this act, except for the fact that they once played on the same bill with the DEAD KENNEDYS on the "Jello Biafra for Mayor"-campaign fund raiser. PS were 2 guys & 2 girls doing quirky, noisy "weirdpunkwave", somewhere between DEAD KEN's, THE B-52'S and THE RESIDENTS - not that easily assimilated, but this is Punk, not rock 'n' roll so fuck off! They do a wonderful cover of "midsummer new york" by Yoko Ono (I think) on the M-LP which made me wanna check out the infamous "bane of the BEATLES". Boy was I dissappointed. I just read they had 2 exclusive cuts on the "Can you hear me? - Music from the deaf club" comp LP. Need to have it! If anyone out there know of any other material by the band you know what to do.

PRAG VEC (UK)
- s/t 7" EP 78 (Spec)
- "expert//follower" 7" 79 (Spec)
- "spec records present... 'no cowboys'" LP 80 (Spec)
PV's one claim to fame was the fact that they were the 1st band that industrial rock-legend Jim Thirlwell a k a Clint Ruin a k a FOETUS ever played a note in. The 1st EP is pretty quirky, noisy, raw new wave without that many hooks, original but not awsome. 2nd 7" is more accessable and "developed", A-side "expert" being quite a hit. The LP is a curiosity. It's not really credited to PRAG VEC - the band, but come off as a compilation with half the songs credited to "Spec Records" and the other half to PRAG VEC and other Spec-offshots. I guess you could call it a collection of demos by the band / recordlabel and their friends. The one let-down of this record is you really can tell it's a collection of demos. The "Spec Rec"-material is a bit more zany and electro-experimental, but not that far from the original PV-sound. In other words you can tell it's the same kind of people behind it all, even if the cuts on the album are quite diverse. Give it a few spins and you'll notice it's actually quite alright. The closest reference from the same era would be FAMILY FODDER. The LP is also the only release where Jim Thirlwell is credited.

PUNISHMENT OF LUXURY (UK)
- "puppet life/the demon" 7" 78 (Small Wonders)
- "engine of excess/jellyfish" 7" 79 (UA)
- "secrets/brainbomb" 7" 79 (UA)
- "laughing academy" LP 79 (UA)
- "laughing academy/baby don't jump" 7" 80 (UA)
- "hold me(never mould me)" 7" 83 (Red Rhino) (as PUNILUX)
- "7" M-LP 83 (Red Rhino)
NEVILLUXURY
- "feels like dancing wartime" LP 84 (Red Rhino)
One of the 1st PW-bands I came across, and they really fit the "Progressive Rock/New Wave Crossover"-descripion perfect. They use to be compared to bands like early DEVO and XTC, but I'd say they're even better, more sophisticated and original. The punk is definitely there in songs like "engine of excess" (covered by Swedish pop-punkers STUKAS), "brainbomb" and "all white jack", as well as all-out bendyness and Zappa/GONG/CARDIACS-prog in "baby don't jump", "puppet life" and "the message" (this one could be a VOIVOD song!). In some trax, like "Obsession", they even show a strain of pomp/symph (in a good way). The main caracteristic of POL-music is this pumping kind of de-ska-ified MADNESS-slow-pogo-beat found in about half of all their songs. The later Red Rhino-material is more of this sort and have less ochestrated parts, but it's still great. "Hold me" is a real pop-hit though, and the dark & moody "bird & the elephant" on "7" is one of the most unusual and best trax they've made. United Artists probably had more faith than most in the band, cos the UA-material is still fairly easy to get hold of. Just rummage through those sales bins. Neville Luxury's NEVILLUXURY album (also with POL drummer Steve Sekrit) is a logical but sligthly disappointing step from the "7" M-LP = poppier and not particulary extra-special, the only outstanding, POL-quality song being the title track. POL's other main man Brian Bond started playing with PUNCHING HOLES and did a 7", "la mere/mad mother". I haven't heard it but would very much like to.

THE RAINCOATS (UK)
- "fairytale in the supermarket" +2 7" 79 (Rough Trade) - s/t LP 79 (Rough Trade)
- "odyshape" LP 81 (Rough Trade)
- "no one's little girl/running away" 7" 82 (Rough Trade)
- "moving" LP 83 (Rough Trade)
- "animal rhapsody" EP 83
- "the kitchen tapes" official live tape (later released on CD)
- "extended play" CDS
- "looking in the shadows" LP 96 (Geffen)
THE SLITS may have been the 1st all-grrrl Punk/NW band, but THE RAINCOATS was by far the most interesting. Their 4 albums are very diverse in style. The 1st 7" and classic debut LP is noisy, often quirky, lo-fi avant-punk with odd or no guitars and distorted violin. The primitive and highly original "idiot-savant" drumming of Palmolive, formerly of THE SLITS, is what makes this an Extra Special Record. Both ESSENTIAL LOGIC (Lora appeared as guest sax) and VELVET UNDERGROUND spring to mind. It's truly one of the greatest New Wave records of all time. It had a genuine D.I.Y.-feel over it without sounding the least sloppy and that's something you don't see every day. "You're a million" could be the most spinechilling song of the NW-era. No Shit. Follow-up "Odyshape" I had a real hard time with at first. It was the 1st album I bought with the band, and I wouldn't recommend it as the album to start with. It is by far the most avant-garde of them all. No punk-vibes left here, more slow, moody, experimental pieces. "Only loved at night" is like THE RESIDENTS fucking VELVET UNDERGROUND on MOONDOG's acid. Awsome! The '82 single is a weakling, but the "last" album "Moving" is amazing! Despite the praise I've given to the debut, this might me my favourite RAINCOATS-album, at least songvwise. Here the avant-garde is no more, but the beautiful, folky melodies replacing all the noise and psychedelia are so bloody great you don't care ...And it's the only album in NW-history where the heavy dub-influence doesn't ruin it (like the godawful "Cut"-album by THE SLITS and many more). The End. Or...? Nope, seems like the late semi-god of grunge Curt Cobain namedropped the girls as "his favourite band" and waddayano', not long after that The 'Coats have a reunion album out on Geffen. So how much does it suck then? Not at all, really. Gina & Ana are still great songwriters and "don't be mean" really blew me away. Soundwise it takes elements from all 3 old LPs, with a polished 90's production ofcourse. THE RAINCOATS isn't just female rock history, it's Rock History period. Buy all their albums.

THE RED CRAYOLA (with ART AND LANGUAGE) (USA/UK)
- "wifes in orbit/yik yak" 7" 78 (Radar)
- "hurricane fighter plane" split flexi w/ 13TH FLOOR ELEVATOR 78 (Radar)
- "soldier-talk" LP 79 (Radar)
- "micro chips & fish/the story so far" 12" (Rough Trade)
- "born in flames/the sword of god" 7" (Rough Trade) with ART AND LANGUAGE
- "kangaroo?" LP 81 (Rough Trade) with ART AND LANGUAGE
The history of this band, the brainchild of one Mayo Thompson, begins back in the late 60's. The debut LP "Parable of arable lands" ('67) is said to be a psyche oddball classic. I'd love to hear it, so if anyone wanna send a tape, please do - the favour will be returned. I've heard the 2nd one, "God bless the Red Crayola..." ('68), but it didn't excite me that much. A minimalistic Beefheart without much to grab your attention songwise. "Comeback" album "Corrected slogans" ('76), with political art-collective ART & LANGUAGE is pretty much the same in sound, but boosted with marxist lyrix. It's the "reddest" album I've ever heard and kinda corny, but still very average. I've chosen to concentrate on their new wave period on Radar/Rough Trade coz it includes their best and most classic material. During this period the lineups include people from PERE UBU, THE POP GROUP, Gina Birch from THE RAINCOATS, Lora Logic and many others. The 1st Radar single is a killer jazz/prog punk 7". "Wifes.." is frantic DEVO/XTC on speed, "Yik Yak" quirk wave bendy mayhem! Purchase is mandatory. "Soldier-talk" has some excellent Prog Wave music on it, but is somewhat spoilt by the screechiest guitarsound imaginable. Shame... RT debut "Micro Chips.." is a noisy affair. The A-side sounds like it's largely improvised, but the flipside is an excellent piece of Prog Wave. The noise continues w/ another single on RT, but it's little more than a paranthesis between all earlier material and their masterpiece: "Kangaroo?". One thing that always kept them back, in my opinion, was Mayo's much too "original" vocals. Here Lora and Gina gets a much more fair amount of time in front of the mike, and suddenly all the pieces fall into place - a seminal Prog Wave rekkid! The record that followed, "black snakes", has a new line-up and is a tedious affair with nothing of the former magic left. I unfortunately bought their '94 self-titled comeback CD (as THE RED KRAYOLA) on Drag City, but it wasn't much more exciting than the "black snakes" fiasco.

SHOES FOR INDUSTRY (UK)
- "falling in love again(can't help it)/laughing song(laughbeat)" 7" 79 (Fried Egg)
- "spend/?" 7" (Fried Egg)
Just when I thought I had discovered just about every Extra-Special UK NW band that ever was, this 7" popped up during one of my weekly raids at the Stockholmian record peddlers. They have that typical brit-punk sound (with the awful accent too, that's why I prefere fem vox in these kinds of bands, they seldom have that accent), the typical brit-punk riffing, but are boosted with some unexpected twists and turns. Ugly toothless faces that pops out and disturbes peace & predictability. They know what's cool - the mad vocals and zany keyboard is their secret weapon. Not as classy as ESSENTIAL LOGIC, not as cute as THE CUT-OUTS, but well worth a spin and I'll probably end up paying far too much money for that 2nd 7" if it should ever cross my path...

SLOW CHILDREN (UK?)
- s/t LP 81 (Ensign)
- "spring in fialto" 12" 81 (Ensign)
- "mad about town" LP 82 (Ensign)
Another great overlooked New Wave pop band with great songs and plenty of originality with some modest quirks here and there. Far from "Prog Wave"-land, but enough to make their music stand out from the average boring NWpop of the times. If you know and appreciate better new wave like Lene Lovich, MARTHA & THE MUFFINS and THE WAITRESSES, SLOW CHILDREN should please you just as much ...Then again, if you don't I'll have a pretty hard time to explain what's so special with this particular band. Just great un-boring riffs, hooks and arrangements. 2nd album is slightly more generic, but OK if you - like me - really dig the 1st one.

THE SPACE NEGROS (USA)
- "maximum contrast from moment to moment" 7" EP (Sounds Interesting)
- "go commercial" 7" EP 80 (Arf Arf)
- "go to russia..." 7" 81 (Arf Arf)
- "have a lousy Xmas" 7" EP 81 (Jingle Jungle)
- "in-a-gadda-da-vida" 7" 85 (Arf Arf)
- "to much talk" 7" 90 (Arf Arf)
(Is there more?)
Ouch! Fuckin' obscure stuff this. I found these six singles in a store in Copenhagen before visiting the Roskilde festival in '98. I usually check out the Copenhagian vinyl stores the days before the festival, and always do great discoveries. After listening a few seconds to the 1st 7" I went back to the camping with a serious heartache, returned the day after and gave the man the equal of $70 he wanted for all 6 EPs and thereby ended all plans of buying an ATARI TEENAGE RIOT T-shirt that summer. I had a feeling this would be the 1st and last time I ever saw them and I was probably right. It's far from the best prog/experimental wave I've ever heard, but they fit perfectly in my collection. The debut have those warped & homemade vibes of early DEVO and RESIDENTS (mighty overused references here, I know..), i.e. some quirky but very stripped down songs as well all pure experimental pieces. On "go commercial" (see The RESIDENTS "Commercial Album" released the same year) the electronics start taking over and they do it well. 8 excellent, fun & fizzing 30-or-so seconds-trax on the A-side and a cover of YARDBIRDS' "happenings' ten years time ago" on the flip. The anti-Xmas single is pretty cool as well, but it's not until the 1990 7" that they are back on track. "Too much talk" is a brilliant, qirky, catchy, electric new wave pop song. In short their originals are far more interesting than their covers. SN is more or less a one-man mission, this man being Erik Lindgren, now active in BIRSONGS OF THE MESOZOIC (I didn't spell that right, did I?) as well as the mailorder/record company Foot Foot Records. Check it out! He's got lots of "Incredibly Strange" stuff on his list and from what I understand he also had something to do with the re-release of the ingenious THE SHAGGS album.

SPIZZ... (UK)
- "the peel sessions" 12" EP 87 (Strange Fruit) recorded '78 as SPIZZOIL
- "spizz history" LP 82 (Rough Trade/Roadrunner) as SPIZZOIL, ATHLETICO SPIZZ 80 and SPIZZENERGI
- "hot deserts" 7" 80 (A&M) as ATHLETICO SPIZZ 80
- "do a runner" LP 80 (A&M) as ATHLETICO SPIZZ 80
- "spikey dream flowers" LP 81(A&M) as THE SPIZZLES
Spizz, the man with the many bands with the many names with the many sounds...
On their 2 first EPs and the Peel session they were a 2 man band doing minimalist vocals-&-1-guitar punk rock. Sure, an original idea, but not that entertaining to be honest. As the band SPIZZOIL they were a fairly original punk/NW band with a couple of fairly succesful hits on their conscience like "soldier soldier" and "where's captain kirk?". The 1st album "do a runner" was recorded under the ATHLETICO SPIZZ 80-banner, as were their best single/song "hot deserts", for some reason the only single not included on the single-compilation "spizz history". Now they've started to fool around with more progressive song structures and inventive riffing, but is still far from creating anything revolutionary. Of the 2 albums I like "do a runner" better. Not that it contained any hits, but it displayed Spizz's most progressive and "difficult" songwriting and shared some ideas with their superior countrymen PUNISHMENT OF LUXURY. The SPIZZLES album has got some catchy songs, like the 3rd part of their Star Trek-trilogy "five year mission" and "risk", but is a slight step backward in terms of musical progression. It has these very 80's mellow keyboard bits and semi-funky basslines that kinda get stuck in my throat and frankly it ruins the album for me. If you're gonna pick up just one SPIZZ-release, I recommend the "hot desert" 7" - a very powerful and original NW/punk-anthem worthy of its place in any better record collection.

TIN HUEY (USA)
- "puppet wipes"+3 7" EP 77 (Clone)
- "robert takes the road to lieber nawash/squirm your worm 7" (Clone)
- "breakfast with the hueys" 7"
- "content dislodged during shipment" LP 80 (Warner)
- "english kids" 7"
Not one ounce of punk here, but the LP is surely one of the best albums of 1980. Musically they can be described as Zappaists without the virituoso-bits and mostly "proper" (but still totally zany) songs. Lots of humor and cool and inventive, non-pretentious songstructures, very quirky at times but never noisy. Namedropping Zappa, early CARDIACS and SPLIT ENZ pretty much sums it up. The 1st 7" is more psychedelic w/ some spaced-out improvs & things. Between the LP and last single (said to be more square in sound) they appeared with 2 exclusive trax on the "Bowling balls from hell" comp. LP, which is supposed to be their last truly great songs. Founding member Chris Butler later chosed to concentrate on his other band, the slightly more New Wave (but occationally bendy) THE WAITRESSES. I once found a TIN HUEY fan-page (!) on the net, but I seem to have lost it. If anyone've seen it or if the person who made it reads this, please get in touch, coz I'd like to link it.

THE WAITRESSES (USA)
- "short stack" 7" 78 (Clone)
- "I could rule the world if I could only get the parts" M-LP
- "christmas wrapping" 12" 81 (Ze)
- "wasn't tomorrow wonderful" LP 82 (Ze)
- "bruiseology" LP 83 (Polydor)
- "make the weather" 12" EP (Polydor)
Really mellow new wave pop with Chris Butler of TIN HUEY on guitar. The 1st single is kinda odd. A-side "clones" is a very unusual, experimental and playful track with some neat effects on vox and instruments. Not exactly catchy, but fun in it's strangeness. It is featured on the classic Stiff Rec. album "Akron Compilation" as a secret, unlisted bonustrack last on side 2, and so is the other song, "slide", officially listed this time. Here they're not nearly as strange, more cool and laidback, average NW. With the 12" format the band changed style completely into the aforementioned mellow pop style, now with girlie Patty Donahue on vocals. They do this style well however, and if I should try to give some references I could call them an early 80's, sometimes quirky edition of NO DOUBT ...but I can't fucking stand ND, so let's say B-52'S meet BOW WOW WOW instead. When they do their occational off-beatin', time-changein' stuff they are excellent, when they just pop it up they are very good. The christmas EP is a hit, and it's far from the only one. Even the last EP is great, so stop pouting and give 'em a chance.

WALL OF VOODOO (USA)
- "the check's in the mail" 7"
- s/t M-LP 80 (Index)
- "dark continent" LP 81 (I.R.S.)
- "call of the west" LP 82 (I.R.S.)
- "ring of fire (remix)/the morricone themes (live)" 12" 82 (Index)
Highly original band! These early releases with brilliant vocalist Stan Ridgway are really excellent. Imagine a cold/dark wave, synthesizer-driven sound with guitars oozing of The Wild West and Ennio Morricone = POWERFUL stuff for sure! Their version of "ring of fire" could just as well had been a WOV-original. They had a minor hit with the song "mexican radio" (yes! the one ruined by the otherwise excellent CELTIC FROST!) and it really is a beautiful song, just like about every second song on these first platters. Musky, moody and captivating - warm Cold Wave for those lonely nights on the praire. Unfortunately the fine, original vox of mr Ridgway got replaced after these albums, and the band continued to release rather mellow & mediocre records well into the late 80's. Stan's solo material didn't quite reach early WOV-height either. You know this story....

WARM JETS (UK)
- "sticky jack/shell shock" 7" 79 (Brigde House)
It's such a relief to know that at least the well of one-off-7" wonders will not run dry in quite a while. "sticky jack" by WARM JETS is a delightful, uppety and very Londonian piece of funwave music. It's the carnival organ-ditty that does the trick. It sounds so much like the CARDIAC ARREST 7", but not quite as off-beat. There's a beautiful ska-to-pompy-proggy mid-piece in here that truly makes it into something extra. Fun, fresh and jumping about - that's what it is, that's what it makes you do. Pity the annoying cockney-accent once again, but you can't win 'em all. Flipside "shell shock" is, in one word: cozy. Yeah, it fits. No quirks or tomfoolery here, just cool 60's inspired NW dimming the lights and going underground with a tiny tidbit o' ska (yes, you are allowed to skank, but not to fast). I swear I've heard/read that bandname somewhere long ago. They could be connected to something really cool. I'll let you know as soon as it comes up.

Y PANTS (USA)
- "little music" 7" EP 80 (99)
- ? LP 82 (99)
3 NY gals on toy instruments. It just can't fail can it? The ROLLING STONES-cover "off the hook" is great, but their own 3 songs are better. That proves scientifically that Y PANTS where a much better band than The STONES ever were, doesn't it? Just found out there's a whole album of Y PANTS recorded. Since it's my birthday next week it's pretty much your obligation to send it to me if you have it. C'mon, don't be cheap! I'd do it for you, man!

The guide to Extra-Special wave continues here.

...and the rest of the not-so-happening 80's?