This Track Is Fire!

  Buckle up, this is a long one... Today is my birthday so it would be no surprise to anyone if I posted yet another Depeche Mode song, but that's not what I am doing. I said the topic this week was all about the songs who informed who I am, and this one was integral to that entire process. I had never heard of Siouxsie and the Banshees before encountering them late one night on MTV, most likely while watching 120 Minutes  some evening, probably in the summer. From the very first sound of "Peek-A-Book" with its reversed instrumental track. The effect is jarring, but not uncomfortably so; to my ears it was intriguing. I mean, who the fuck does that? Yeah, Missy Elliott did years later, but other than the Beatles, how many artists have tried to build an entire (alternative) pop song built around a track played in reverse? My mind was blown and I wanted to hear it again and again. This was well before the internet, before YouTube, and certainly before music streaming, so unl...

I found this group on Bandcamp a few of years back, and though I like their earlier, rougher stuff a bit more than this track that veers closer to pop, it’s still a fun, catchy tune. I'm always happy to see younger artists take different genres and challenge expectations by combining or changing them, something Alt Blk Era has been doing for years. Have a great weekend! Rave Immortal by ALT BLK ERA

  By this point you probably realize that I already love synthpop as well as most of its derivations over the years, whether it's Futurepop, Synthwave, or Darkwave. So, of course when I hear this track, that sounds like it escaped from the 80s with a slightly sinister sheen to it, you know I'm all in. Enjoy, but you know, in a gothy kind of way.