The Blue Hour

'I'm going down the waterfront tonight'

Okay, so here's a weird one. One of the tricks I use to find random tracks to listen to is to search my hard drive for a particular word and copy over a bunch of tunes with the word in the title. A few weeks ago, I chose 'blue' and went from there.

I had to laugh when one of the tracks cued up while I was driving home. Evidently, I had recorded "The Blue Hour", a track from a 1984 EP by British band Raise The Dragon, at the wrong speed. I let it play for a while so I could chuckle at the helium vocals. Then something strange happened.

We went away to Denver for the weekend, and several times during that great trip, the keyboard part from that sped up track floated into my head. Evidently, there was something there. I had to wait until we returned to find the track, correct the speed, and replay it. Unfortunately, slowed down, it sounded wrong. It didn't sound 'right' at all. Even as a track re-recorded by the band (under the name Intimate Strangers, from the Charm LP) I missed the keyboard riff I heard that first time.

Thanks to Audacity, I got my remixing head on and got to work. I found that if I sped the track up to just slightly less than what I inadvertently did previously, and corrected for the change in pitch on the vocals, I now had a very listenable track indeed. Having listened to it about a hundred times, I still have no idea what it's about - but 'fire up the engines of love' definitely has a somewhat lascivious ring to it.

See what you think.

Raise The Dragon - The Blue Hour (remixed version)

Classic Track: Forever Young

I was researching some information on Youth Group's cover of the Alphaville classic "Forever Young" when I was reminded of how I discovered the original song in the first place. It led to some interesting musical developments for me personally so it seems appropriate to recognize this song in all the various versions.

Alphaville's one hit in the UK was "Big In Japan" in 1984 which was marginally before my time and the band did not feature on the 80's themed compilations I collected over the years. Although "Forever Young" is regarded as a prom-theme staple in the US, it also never charted and remained on the outskirts of '8o's musical history.

I'm not one to pay attention to commercials, but I caught a snippet of an ad for the Saturn Ion here in the US back in 2003 and was intrigued by the backing track. Here's the commercial:



I initially mistakenly thought the track was by The Walkmen, which led to a series of aborted downloads and confusion. After more research on some forums, I discovered that it was the Alphaville track. Here's the original music video (warning - extreme cheese alert!):



I was excited to discover that Alphaville was not only a prolific (though critically panned) outfit, but that I really liked the synthpop sound which was very polished, with slightly affected vocals. As I discovered, they had continued making music throughout the '90's and into the new millenium, in much the same style. I was mildly surprised, because synthpop had died in the UK in the late '80's and had never really flourished in the US.

What I discovered was that in Germany in particular, the synthpop sound had remained commercially viable, bucking the trends towards grunge, britpop and teen pop elsewhere, and that many German groups had built up an impressive catalogue completely unknown to me. Bands such as De/Vision, Camouflage, Sea of Sin and others became new favorites. I discovered that all this and more was available through the excellent website A Different Drum, which also acted as a US label for many acts.

While my passion for synthpop has ebbed and flowed over the following years, "Forever Young" will always remain a personal favorite. Another blogger has kindly put together the following short compilation, including the original version, the extended version, and a brilliant modern remix version. If that leaves you wanting more, then Jacyk's Music Memories has a more comprehensive compilation of remixes here.

If all this leaves you wanting more Alphaville, there's plenty around. Start here for a good rundown of various mixes of the better known songs.

And finally, let's not forget the cover version that started this whole stream of consciousness rambling:



Youth Group - Forever Young (mp3)

Link-O-Rama

It's been a while since I dished out some blog-love but a couple of sites lately have got my attention in a big way. I've just realized that even though I check the site out every few days, I don't think I've mentioned New Romantic Rules before. I initially thought that Rambul was simply recycling links from other places, but lately the content has been outstanding. In particular he has put together 15 (count 'em!) volumes of rare and obscure new wave tracks, including many extended remixes. He is from Poland, and I don't know what it is about that part of the world because everyone knows that Saltyka and RObert POland also are virtual libraries of all that's great about new wave music. If you don't have a rapidshare account, now would be a good time to get one.

Talking of Saltyka, he has lately featured comprehensive discographies of Fra Lippo Lippi and The Lotus Eaters.

I was also excited to discover a new blog It Should Have Been A Hit, produced by regular MFL commentator Mikeyten. Mikey's strategy is very simple but effective - he highlights singles that may have slipped past the charts but are worthy of a second listen. Most of them are prime time 80's but he also throws in a few almost new tracks by underrated bands. I usually find myself hitting the download button almost automatically. Excellent work, Mikey!

Several of the blogs I check out regularly are maintained by DJ's who seem to pull out a never ending stream of remixes and dance floor classics. Obviously I went to the wrong nightclubs in my youth, because all I can remember of that scene was a bunch of sadly drunk no-hopers trying to sing along to "Come On Eileen" for the tenth time. Here's a selection of dance floor classics designed to erase those memories for good:

From Retro Wonderland
Nick Heyward - Tell Me Why (Razormaid Mix)
Secession - Sneakyville (Extended Mix)
Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up (12" Version)
Sharpe & Numan - No More Lies (Extended Version)
Red Flag - If I Ever (Razormaid Mix)

From New Wave Time Machine
Fancy - Slice Me Nice (12" Mix)
The Damned - Shadow of Love (Pressure Mix)
Berlin - No More Words (Dance Mix)

From Born Again 80's
Murray Head - One Night In Bangkok (12" Mix)

Also, you need to check out the fabulous Dreamtime mixes. I think my favorite is this one
William Pitt - City Lights (Dreamtime Mix)

Excellent work, everybody.