Inspired by the 1977 release of Star Wars, Yves Hayat (synthesizers and sequencers) formed Droids along with Richard Lornac on keyboards and Jean-Paul Batailley on drums and tablas. Two of the guys performed the single “(Do You Have) The Force” on French TV in 1977 dressed as robots—which could explain the Daft Punk comparison. Star Peace came out a year later, and then the Droids were out. The LP is sought after for its kitsch appeal but also killer electronics and good vibes.
Star Peace’s connection to George Lucas’ space-opera is essentially negligible. Except for a few signifiers, namely the two-part “(Do You Have) The Force” with its R2D2-ish synth squelches and blaster sounds, the whole thing has less to do with Star Wars and more to do with the big astral-plane ideas of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Old New Hope: Half-Baked Record Nerd Oddities From Dennis Wilson and Droids Resurface
Definitely looks promising! Opens in New York and Los Angeles Thursday, August 14.
The history of the electric guitar as seen from the point of view of three significant musicians: Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, U2’s The Edge and the White Stripes’ Jack White. It tells the personal stories, of three generations of electric guitar virtuosos. It reveals how each developed his unique sound and style of playing his favorite instrument. Concentrating on the artists musical rebellion, traveling with him to influential locations and provoking rare discussion as to how and why he writes and plays.It Might Get Loud
With all the name-brand dying going on these days, I thought I’d mention the passing of someone less well-known who probably touched many of us more deeply and intimately than, oh, Walter Cronkite. Tom Wilkes, celebrated album cover designer for The Rolling Stones, George Harrison and The Who died recently, in, of all places, Pioneertown, California. Beyond Beggars Banquet, though, Wilkes was wildly talented, wonderfully prolific. For a good taste of it all, including his artwork for Monterey Pop, click the link below:
Marc Campbell of New Wave group The Nails posted this on Facebook:
In the 30 years since 88 LINES ABOUT 44 WOMEN was first recorded there has never been a video version authorized by THE NAILS. Of the dozens of videos on youtube that pay homage to the song, this is the only version created by a member of the band, me. So, here’s the world premier of 88 LINES the video. Hope you enjoy it. I had fun making it.
(NSFW-ish)
Update: This is the infamous video of 88 LINES ABOUT 44 WOMEN that was banned by youtube.
After The Yardbirds in Blow-Up, my 2nd favorite band cameo has got to be from The Zombies in Skidoo-auteur Otto Preminger’s Bunny Lake Is Missing. They’re seen only briefly (and on a pub TV at that), but their presence does wonders to anchor the film in a place and time. And in a clear reaching out to, you know, “the kids,” they even cut a promo for Bunny—one that manages to mock, it seems, the very serious film they’re selling!
I accidentally stumbled across this clip of Madonna making a very early appearance at the fabled Danceteria nightclub in New York. It’s a wonder more people haven’t looked at this clip—just 4k as I write this. Must be one of the earliest Madonna performances out there (according to Wikipedia it was her very first “solo” appearance, but I’m not sure I believe that).
Madonna used to work at Danceteria, in the coat check. This is from a weekly talent show/cabaret night there that was called “No Entiendes,” hosted by Howie Montaug and DJ Anita Sarko.
Um, wow! Sound designer and composer Diego Stocco says:
In the garden of my house there’s a tree with lots of randomly grown twigs. It looks odd and nice at the same time. One day I asked myself if I could create a piece of music with it.
To tune the tree I picked a fundamental note and tuned the twigs by trimming them with a pencil sharpener. I used two R?ɬ?de NT6 and a NTG-2 as microphones, combined with a customized stethoscope.
I recorded the tracks live on a Pro Tools LE system. I didn’t use any synthesizer or sampler to create or modify the sounds. All the sounds come from playing the tree, by bowing the twigs, shaking the leaves, playing rhythms on the cortex and so on.
Photos and a more detailed description here
Recent discovery and obsession: The late sixties Vancouver, British Colombia band The Poppy Family. Imagine the Mamas and the Papas if they’d gone off their meds, they had sitars and tablas, and they’d been, you know, good. Apparently they had the biggest hit of all time (all Canadian time) in 1969 with “Which Way You Goin’ Billy?” off their album of the same name. I’ve had that album on constant iPhone repeat and it never, ever gets old. It’s classic West Coast pop, but from the opposite end of the coast from California. You can almost hear the gloom creeping in from the Rockies…
Apparently the CD still hasn’t been re-issued, and it’s impossible to find on vinyl?