Ultravox' video for the song Passing Strangers has been remastered. The song was released in 1980 and was the second Ultravox with Midge Ure on voclas.
7_Songs: Gary Numan
Back in the late 70s there were not many bands experimenting with electronic music and Gary Numan was one of the first artists to make a commercial success with the new technology driven sound. Kicking off at the height of punk rock, with his band the Tubeway Army, he already made prominence with the influential Are Friends Electric? clearing the path for the electro pioneer Gary Numan as solo artist.
In 1979, Numan released Cars, his most commercial song to date, purely synthesized and drum machine driven, which explained the European concept of New wave and anticipated the future at the same time. His image of an android like persona, cold and mysterious, which perfectly fit the music and the themes around J.R. Ballard and dystopian Sci-Fi. With the decline of synth pop, Numan adapted new music influences like jazz and funk, and his music became more sophisticated. Beyond the 90s, it became loud, adapting industrial and goth styles.
With more than 40 years in the music business, Numan has released more than 20 albums and more than 60 singles and 10 mill records in total. Replicas as well as the debut album The Pleasure Principle and Telekon all reached No1 in the UK. With all the upcoming releases, his popularity started to decline and after his fifth studio album, he left Beggars Banquet and launched his label Numa Records, on which his sixth album Berserker was released. This label continued to release his music as well as from other artist as well with little success.
Along OMD and the Human League, he is considered as the Pioneer of electronic music in the 80s, and his influence goes beyond the decade. At one point, his music was even seen as a love child between Kraftwerk and David Bowies Berlin trilogy albums. With the emergence of Nine Inch Nails and Marylyn Manson, his music was rediscovered and often cited as an influence. Below is a selection of favorite Gary Numan songs discovered throughout the years under different circumstances.
Are 'Friends' Electric?
Are 'Friends' Electric? was the first hit for Gary Numan and his band Tubeway Army which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, staying there for four weeks. Sales in particular benefited from the record company's use of a picture disc. It was the first time a band reached No 1 in the UK charts where all band members played electronic instruments and synthesizers. This was also a totally unheard of sound in mainstream chart music in 1979 where technology and alienation was perfectly portrayed with great synth walls and robotic and cold lyrics. The Sugarbabes covered this song and achieved a number one UK hit in 2002.
Cars
After Numan dropped the name Tubeway Army and continued with the same band members as solo artist, he released his debut Cars, his most commercial and biggest hit to date. The song was featured on Numan's debut album 'The Pleasure Principle' and both the song and the album were released in 1979. Similar to Are Friends Electric, this song was avant-garde, futuristic and different from everything else what one could hear in the charts. It was an electronic odyssey with the rhythm section, bass guitar, gloomy and apocalyptic synths and a shot of tambourine. The song was covered twenty years later, emphasizing more the guitar sound on it.
We Are Glass
Released as a third single, We Are Glass reached the No 5 in the UK charts and it was also his first official release in the 80s. It was in the fashion of Numan's second album 'Telekon' although it was not originally included on it, only on the album reissue. The sound was enriched with more guitars and even piano and viola and the great effect of hand clapping, which was also visualized in the music video. Futuristic as the previous with the Numanoid factor, it was the closest he ever got to Cars with the success factor.
Music for Chameleons
Numan joined the Air Training Corps as a teenager, when he wanted to be either a pilot or a pop star. The sudden popularity in the music only delayed his first dream however delayed until late 1981 when he took a trip around the world in his airplane. Music for Chameleons was composed during the trip, and it was the first song that was taken from his third album 'I, Assassin' released in 1982. The song failed to cope with the popularity of the above-mentioned singles, but is still one of the favorite Numan tunes.
We Take Mystery To Bed
We are still on the 'I, Assassin' and We Take Mystery To Bed was the second single and the follow-up to the above which even charted better. On this track, fretless bass and drums play well with the dance groove and the general atmosphere is still dark and reminds of Gary's early work, still less synthetic. According to his biography, the song was written about Gary's girlfriend Deb whose letters are also visible in the video. This single was the last top 10 hit for Gary Numan.
Berserker
With the release of his fifth studio album 'Warriors', Gary Numan left Beggars Banquet and for his sixth album he decided to launch his own record label Numa Records, on which 'Berserker' was the first long player and also the first single. Numan had full control over the production process and on this album he geared up the synths growing more in the dance genre, with less gloomy bass and more female backing vocals, still keeping the guitars. Despite the solid production, neither the album nor the single managed to make an impact on the charts and Numan further wandered off from the mainstream.
My Name is Ruin
Taken from Gary Numan's 21st studio album, My Name is Ruin was the lead single released in 2017. The song is about a man living in a post-apocalyptic world, whose daughter gets taken away from him, and his whole life from then on becomes the need to get her back. In fact, Numan's 11-year-old daughter Persia contributes vocals to the track. The album was produced by his long time collaborator Ade Fenton. The video was recorded in the desolate deserts of southern California.
Below is the link to YouTube playlist with almost all Gary Numan Releases from 1978-2021.
Best of 2021 - Albums / EPs
Year two of Covid ups and downs and a quiet year for us here. Following the songs list here comes the favorite albums and EP list for the first time together. If not for more, than certainly a great Duran Duran return and anniversary celebrating 40 years in the music business.
Best of 2021 - Singles / Tracks
Time to roll back and motor through some of the great single releases from 2021. Musical highlights are certainly the albums by London Grammar, Wolf Alice, Big red Machine and the Duran Duran come back. More about this in the album selection.
02. Geoffrey O' Connor ft Laura Jean - Foolish Enough
03. Yves Tumor - Jackie
04. Duran Duran - Anniversary
05. London Grammar - Lose Your Head
06. Big Red Machine ft Fleet Foxes and Anais Mitchell - Phoenix
07. Fleet Foxes - Featherweitght
08. The Weeknd - Save Your Tears
09. Wolf Alice - Delicious Things
10. The Antlers - Solstice
11. Agnes - 24 Hours
12. Sharon van Etten & Angel Olsen - Like I Used To
13. The War On Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore
14. Cold Cave - Night Light
15. Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over The Country Club
16. Manchester Orcherstra - Bed Head
17. Juno Francis - Symmetry
18. Manic Street Preachers - The Secret He Had Missed ft Julia Cumming
19. Weather Station - Parking Lot
20. Shygirl - Cleo
Best of 1991 - The Singles
The early 1990s, particularly 1991, marked the peak of Grunge music's popularity, epitomized by Nirvana's groundbreaking release of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and their second album, Nevermind. This success paved the way for other influential grunge bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and even the early works of Radiohead.
Simultaneously, in 1991, Metallica and Guns N'Roses achieved their greatest commercial triumphs with their respective albums. Metallica's self-titled "black album" sold over 30 million copies worldwide, while Guns N'Roses' Use Your Illusion I & II collectively sold over 15 million copies.
However, amidst the musical milestones, tragedy struck on November 24 when Queen's frontman Freddie Mercury passed away at his home in London due to complications from AIDS. Queen's iconic song "Bohemian Rhapsody," released as a double A-side with "These Are the Days of Our Lives," reached number one on the UK charts for the second time, further solidifying Mercury's legacy.
01. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
02. REM - Losing My Religion
03. Guns 'n' Roses - November Rain
04. Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
05. Queen - The Show Must Go On
06. Pearl Jam - Alive
07. Metallica - Enter Sandman
08. Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman
09. The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored
10. Simply Red - Stars
11. Guns'n' Roses - Don't Cry
12. Metallica - The Unforgiven
13. My Bloody Valentine - When You Sleep
14. U2 - The Fly
15. Lenny Kravitz - It Ain't Over Till It's Over
16. Erasure - Love to Hate You
17. Prince and the New Power Generation - Cream
18. Prince the New Power Generation - Get Off
19. The KLF - 3 AM Eternal
20. Enya - Caribbean Blue
Top 100 Songs of the 80's
- Official releases only
- Maximum two song per artist
Best of 1991 - The Album List
The early 1990s, particularly 1991, marked the peak of Grunge music's popularity, epitomized by Nirvana's groundbreaking release of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and their second album, Nevermind. This success paved the way for other influential grunge bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and even the early works of Radiohead.
Simultaneously, in 1991, Metallica and Guns N' Roses achieved their greatest commercial triumphs with their respective albums. Metallica's self-titled "black album" sold over 30 million copies worldwide, while Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion I & II collectively sold over 15 million copies.
However, amidst the musical milestones, tragedy struck on November 24 when Queen's front man Freddie Mercury passed away at his home in London due to complications from AIDS. Queen's iconic song "Bohemian Rhapsody," released as a double A-side with "These Are the Days of Our Lives," reached number one on the UK charts for the second time, further solidifying Mercury's legacy.
01. Niravana -
Nevermind
02. Metallica - The Black Album
03. Prince and The New Power
Generation - Diamonds and Pearls
04. My Bloody Valentine -
Loveless
05. U2 - Achtung Baby
06. REM - Out of Time
07. The KLF - The White
Room
08. Massive Attack - Blue Lines
09. Primal Scream -
Screamadelica
10. Roxette - Joyride
11. Simply Red - Stars
12. Swans - White Light From
The Mouth
13. Talk Tak - Laughing Stock
14. Erasure - Chorus
15. Pearl Jam - Ten
16. Slowdive - Just for a Day
17. Army of Lovers - Massive Luxury Overdose
18. OMD - Sugar Tax
19. Mercury Rev - Yerslef is Steam
20. The Orb - The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld
Best of 2020 - The Singles List
The year 2020 has been different in many ways and could not be compared to any of the recent years. The world stopped for a certain period of time, paralyzed by the global COVID-19 pandemic where the virus spread to all corners of the world leaving difficult consequences for the population everywhere.
It certainly did affect the music world in the sense that all major music events, festivals and concerts were cancelled until further notice. Only one global event was organised to support the World Health Organisation -One World: Together at Home- a benefit concert, organised by Global Citizen and curated by singer Lady Gaga whose objective was to promote the practice of social distancing while staying together during the COVID-19 pandemic and also support the medical staff all over the world.
On the quantity level of album and singles releases, it might have been less in offer this year but certainly not on its quality level. Every year has its own charm, no matter what is going on and the events that occurred this year events certainly influenced the artists and some of them have already integrated them in their music.
Our Top 50 songs list, is as always a festival of styles and genres and while this year's saw some interesting newcomers emerging on the music market, it also meant some happy returns and comebacks. Hope you enjoy the Songs list!
Best of 2020 - The Album List
November Singles Round up
Fiona Apple - Shameika
Lana Del Rey - Summertime
Nairod Yarg - Trophy
Bleachers - Chinatown ft. Bruce Springsteen
breathe. - Home
Angelo de Augustine - Blue
Nilüfer Yanya - Crash
The Strokes - The Adults Are Talking