If you have even a passing interest in Devo, then you simply have to check out WTF episode 807. Marc Maron interviews Mark Mothersbaugh, the co-founder and driver of Akron's finest. It's a brilliant insight into Mothersbaugh's life and vision, including his time at Kent State University - he was there when the shootings happened in 1970 - to funny tour tales from Japan.
However Maron can be a grating presence, so skip to around 13 minutes in if you're not a fan of his schtick, or indeed are new to it. After 807 episodes the patter is well down by now making it a bit daunting for new listeners. WTF does often features in round-ups of best comedy podcasts, however I just don't get it. If you do want a crash course in Marc Maron though, Adam Buxton interviewed him on his excellent podcast a couple of weeks back. As an aside, the latest Adam Buxton Podcast is with Adam Curtis (The Power of Nightmares, HyperNormalisation etc.) - I've not listened to it yet but it should be fascinating.
Back to Mark Motherbaugh, if all you want is stories from Peak Devo, then that comes in around the hour mark.
The world is a better place with Soulwax doing their thing in it.
Here's an hour of acts recorded and/or mixed at their DEEWEE studio for XLR8R. It's less banging than their mid-00s maximalist heyday, however the mix has a real strut and groove to it. Touching on acid, techno, and of course electro, the Dewaele brothers still have the Midas touch when it comes to electronic music for the disco.
I've always been more of a techno man rather than a house man, but it is good to dabble sometimes. Dip the toe in, so to speak.
And so I went on a bit of house mini trip via YouTube the other day, thanks in part to Joe Goddard's Essential Mix.
Together - Together
As I made my way down Churchill Way on the X1, Goddard dropped Together. How the flamin' heck I missed a collab between Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk and DJ Falcon from the filter house golden era of 2000 is beyond me. Beyond I tell you! Together can seen as the forgotten little brother to the worldwide smash that was Stardust's Music Sounds Better With You, another Bangalter collaboration (this time with Alan Braxe) from 1998. For all its cheesiness and simplicity, I just love that filtered French house sound and it remains a joy.
DJ Boring - Winona
The first recommended video after Together was some geezer called DJ Boring. Well I just had to give it a go, especially as it had over a million plays. Clearly I'd missed something here. Winona is made up of snippet of a Winona Ryder interview and a load of sounds, textures and tricks from late 90s deep house. I'm not complaining, I mean anything along the lines of Deep Burnt is OK by me, and this really chugs along nicely. I'm just a little surprised that this sound is back in and in a big way. And that it is made by someone with a jokey name like DJ Boring.
Turns out the name thing is a bit of a meme in this new lo-fi house scene. I only know this thanks to a takedown article by Fact from back in December. DJ Seinfeld and Ross From Friends are other leading lights in this sound. From the few tracks I've heard, I don't really get the scorn that was thrown at lo-fi house in that article. OK, it's not the most original progression in the history of dance music but it sounds pretty good to these ears. Been listening to a few DJ Boring mixes as I worked from home today and it makes good working music. That's not a back-handed compliment. If you got something that needs doing, chuck on this mix, let it bump away and get your stuff done.
Midland - Final Credits
Final Credits was held up in that previously mentioned Fact article as something much more deserving of praise and plays than the efforts of DJ Boring et al. Thing is, this sounds as retrogressive as the lo-fi stuff. The other thing is that it is also really bloody good house music. It's just so damn danceable, I could cut some serious rug to this, a phrase that clearly indicates I haven't been, nor should I be allowed near, a club anytime soon.
A Llantwit Major-based music blog for things post-punk, electronic and a little bit left of centre, with second-hand cultural musings, third-rate sociological stabbings and very rarely the odd mp3.
I also write the odd album review for Buzz Magazine and used to present Amser Electroneg on Bro Radio.
