Artist: Magazine
Album: Real Life
I wanted to blindly pick an album/band from the 100 Most Influential Albums list that I had absolutely never heard of... just for the fun of it. That album/band ended up being Magazine's "Real Life." I'm happy to say it's pretty amazing and I'm happy to have happened upon it.
Magazine are an English post-punk outfit that had their main output from 1977 to 1981. (They re-formed in 2009 for a tour, and an album followed in 2011.) Formed by Howard Devoto, an ex-Buzzcock with the objective to go in a more experimental direction vs. punk. Hence the influential-ness.
"Real Life" can best be described as" Springsteen-influenced psychedelic post-punk." I hear a lot of the dramatic bells and driving, euphoric melodies of The Boss, the airy-freak-outs of 60's guitar psychedelia, and the dirty/sludgy sound of straight up post-punk a-la Television and Gang of Four. But it's also a wildly melodic record... I see why it's thought of as influential.
The most well-known of "Real LIfe's" track's is "Shot on Both Sides," which has been covered by Radiohead in concert, who also used it's ascending chord progression structure on The Bends "Just." I personally love the start of the record, the one-two punch of "Definitive Gaze" and "My Tulipa," but it's a solid listen from start to finish. Oh, and towards the end "The Light Pours Out of Me" is pretty epic.
Dated? Well... I suppose. But it's still pretty immediate and vivrant. A recommended listen.
They released four albums in the '77 to '81 span which I'll have to take a listen to. As an experimental band, they apparently delved into synthesizers pretty early on as well.
The members of Magazine would end up in a variety of noteworthy bands, from Visage to Ludus, the Birthday Party to The Mekons. They are currently still together after the 2011 reunion record.
Enjoy.
My Tulpa (live)
No comments:
Post a Comment