A History of Rock and Dance Music Vol 1 by piero Scaruffi

Author:piero Scaruffi
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-11-18T04:30:00+00:00

Manhattan 1977-

The same spirit of the "blank generation" took hold of Manhattan when Suicide (101) began spinning their tales of unbearable neurosis. “The” archetypical duo of keyboards (Martin Rev) and vocals (Alan Vega), they reinvented the line-up of the rock band, with the electronic keyboards replacing both rhythm section and lead instrument. Suicide (1977), one of the milestones of the new wave, grafted the infinite modulations of minimalism onto a feverish rockabilly beat, thus coining "psychobilly". Vega's moribund vocals chased ghosts through an urban angst that was a close relative of the Velvet Underground's. Suicide sang about the individual and collective apocalypse, depicting lonely aching souls in a gothic landscape overflowing with fear, paranoia and claustrophobia. The pauses, the reverbs, the monotonous tones, the icy electronics were all functional to bleak visions of the future. Alan Vega Martin Rev (1980) used the same elements to concoct cybernetic ballads for the discos. The electronic shaman Alan Vega (2) continued the futuristic and decadent program of Suicide on albums such as Alan Vega (1980) and Collision Drive (1982) that offer cadaveric angst at infernal pace. Singing in his wavering voice, reminiscent of a Lou Reed devoid of any emotion, over a robotic rockabilly cadence, Vega staged a formidable assault on the rocker's stereotype.

The Feelies (12) were among the bands that focused on translating the emotional tension of the "blank generation" into a new song format. Formed in New Jersey by Glenn Mercer and Bill Million, they were a quiet and shy outfit, that rarely behaved like a rock band, thus predating the snobby attitude of college-pop. Crazy Rhythms (1980), featuring Anton Fier on drums, was a unique album, imbued with a controlled frenzy that employed psychedelic guitars, trance-like vocals, repetition of patterns and hypnotic beats. The resulting sound was hermetic, almost extraterrestrial, despite being rock music all right. Songs shared an ascetic and a geometric quality that recalled Zen meditation rather than punk-rock. The mood was halfway between ecstatic transcendence and detached decadence. Even the laid-back folk-rock and country-rock of Good Earth (1986), now featuring Stan Demeski on drums, had an hallucinated feeling, as if the band was performing traditional Earth music on the Moon. The eclectic Only Life (1988) failed to clarify their true substance: it merely increased the sophistication of the game.

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