Daft Punk Copied Their Helmets From 1970s Motown Artist Mandre!!!

So we all know what the Daft Punk helmets look like…turns out they are from the first and second album by 70′s Motown disco/electro/funk artist Mandre, look at these album covers (and we know how much Daft Punk samples obscure 70s disco/electro/funk like Breakwater)! Notice on the first album how there’s that band of black across the silver helmet caused by shadowing, which looks similar to the protruding black visor on that one Daft Punk helmet, the silver with black banding, and the other is just the same too, a large black panel on that gold helmet, just minus those two pointed spikes…Notice the first Mandre robot is in a tuxedo, check the Daft Punk robots in suits below…

Mandre-Solar Flight

Mandre-Fantasy

King Crimson–Red (8-bit version)

This is the coolest thing I have heard in years–someone has made an 8-bit version of King Crimson’s Red!!! It sounds like King Crimson meets Castlevania and Super Mario…please, please, please make more! How about Led Zeppelin’s Achilles Last Stand? Please make a video of how you made this!

Awesome Italo Acid House–Fare Soldi – Tutto Tutti Sempre Subito; Bucketheads–The Bomb; and Electroliners–Loose Caboose

Sounding like a mix between Daft Punk, a Just Blaze vocal sample, and early 808 State, it’s Fare Soldi’s new track Tutto Tutti Sempre Subito from the ITALO SCHOOL compilation.

Via Asian Dan via Big Stereo

As a bonus, here’s The Bucketheads–The Bomb

And,
Electroliners–Loose Caboose. 1995! Funny stuff!

Neil Young does New Wave Vocoder Postpunk Circa 1982–Sample and Hold (live, Berlin 1982); Neil Young and Devo–Human Highway

Neil Young–Sample and Hold (live, Berlin 1982)
Awesome! From the album Trans from 1982. Way before the band Trans Am from the 1990s, Neil Young in 1982 busted out the vocoders and made Styx-Roboto-like new wave postpunk music with guitars, drums, bass, and vocoders!!! He was friends with Devo in the late 70s/1980s, I wonder if any of that influenced his robotic excursions on his “Trans” album.” Viva la 80s!!!

Here’s a trailer of the film “Human Highway” starring Neil Young and Devo!!!

Human Highway Trailer (Neil Young and Devo)

New Metro Area Album in 2009/2010?

Metro Area–touches of classic disco and italo/prog-disco, classic 808 State (Utd State 90 era), some of the backing music from Michael Jackson’s Thriller, Mr. Fingers, and Daft Punk (without vocals mostly)–they’re great, but the problem is, they had like one album in the 90s and that’s pretty much it. From their Twitter account (Environ Records): “metro area back in the lab, breaking for the weekend. 6:33 PM Apr 17th from web ” Now, I can only hope that means a new album in 2009/2010!

Metro Area–Soft Hoop

Metro Area–Strut

Metro Area–Miura

Photo credits

The Cure’s Fascination Street is Inspired By Kool and the Gang’s Fresh; Radiohead’s The National Anthem Inspired By the Cure’s Fascination Street

**UPDATE** See the video which demonstrates how The Cure’s “Fascination Street” is based on Kool & The Gang’s “Fresh” in this post: The Cure’s “Fascination Street” is Based on Kool & The Gang’s “Fresh,” and The Dazz Band’s “Let it Whip” is Based on The Sweet’s “Love is Like Oxygen” (See the videos!)

Kool and the Gang–Fresh. Check out the bassline, some of the changes, the guitar, etc. Then check out The Cure’s Fascination Street…definitely inspired by Kool and the Gang’s Fresh!

Cure–Fascination Street

For those of you doubting this, here’s a less controversial one: did you ever listen to The Cure’s Hot Hot Hot (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sJovcqtdh8) and then Chic’s Good Times (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g6bUe5MDRo)? The bassline, guitars, and drums are very similar; i.e. the songs are very similar. The Cure liked to make their own version of disco/funk songs. there’s nothing wrong with that, musicians like to make their own versions of hit songs, it’s just what they do.

I always thought the bassline of Radiohead’s The National Anthem was kind of in a similar vein to the Fascination Street bassline, but just in terms of mechanics, not the melodic component. Kind of sounds like Can too.

Here’s a cover of Joy Division’s Ceremony by Radiohead..

Radiohead-Ceremony

Here’s an original Radiohead song I think is really good

Radiohead–Weird Fishes/Arpeggi

Radiohead’s Scotch Mist live DVD is amazing!

The Most Relaxing Music Ever: Mr. Fingers “Children at Play”

Mr. Fingers–Children at Play

Mr. Fingers, a.k.a. Larry Heard, makes the most relaxing music ever–tied with Lonnie Liston Smith. Mr. Fingers and Lonnie Liston Smith just about epitomize the term downtempo–music for relaxing, lounging and astral traveling.

Super Awesome Downtempo/House/Electronic YouTube Playlist

First of all, the ability to make YouTube playlists is killer.  This is a great playlist, Arna’s playlist, here is the trackslisting:

1-Café Del Mar Vol.6 – dZihan&Kamien – Homebase

2-Courtney Pine – I’ve Known Rivers (4 Hero Remix)

3-Clara Hill – Silent Distance (Icube Remix) [acid jazz]

4-Modul – Mauna Interpretation [minimal]

5-Four Tet – My Angel Rocks Back and Forth

6-Slowdive – Rutti

7-Ulrich Schnauss – Molfsee

8-four tet – everything is alright

9-Four Tet – You Could Ruin My Day

10-Four Tet – Slow Jam

11-Four Tet – A Joy

12-Sia & Four Tet – Breathe Me

13-AEROPLANE + KATHY DIAMOND | Whispers

14-Agoria – Haiku

15-ALL WOMAN Kathy Diamond

16-Jazzanova -That Night (wahoo mix)

17-Dzihan&Kamien-Ocean Air

18-Psapp – Rear Moth

19-Apparat – Arcadia

20-Beck – Broken Drum (Boards of Canada Remix)

Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (1985) versus Fleetwood Mac’s Big Love (1987)

I’m a HUGE Fleetwood Mac fan, it’s obvious here that their song Big Love (1987) was hugely influenced by Kate Bush’s Running up that Hill (1987).  Both awesome songs–this music could only have been made in the mid/late 80s.  A lot of mid/late 80s songs had those kinds of synths, and sad kind of dark romance/relationship lyrics–like the most famous Eurythmics albums.  Apparently Kate Bush was discovered by Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour, there’ are a few videos on Youtube of them playing together.

Kate Bush–Running Up That Hill (1985)

Fleetwood Mac-Big Love (1987)

Kate Bush’s song Never for Ever is AWESOME, and it has a song Egypt that sounds in parts like the Mahavishnu, parts sound like Joni Mitchell’s Hejira, lots of nice experimentation and jazz fusion and prog rock.  Here new song Aerial is pretty awesome too!!!  I wish she could get together with Joni Mitchell to do an album together!

The Most Overlooked 80s New Wave Album Ever–The Fixx: Shuttered Room

The Fixx–Shuttered Room (mp3s on Amazon)

Yes, the Fixx album Reach the Beach has those staples of alternative rock and now classic rock stations Saved By Zero and One Thing Leads to Another.  But Shuttered Room is a whole other beast–it’s the kind of new wave that indie kids and new wave revivalists have been trying to recreate like forever now.  Throw in a mix of Joy Division, PIL, Duran Duran, Kajagoogoo, Flying Lizards, Bauhaus, and Josef K and newer bands like Stereolab and you’ll get an idea of the sound–a sound emulated by bands like Franz Ferdinand, Santogold, Sebastien Tellier, Interpol, etc.  More mainstream bands this album sounds like are the Police and U2.  Every song has an unexpected and/or triumphant hook that makes the song classic.  This album will take you back to the days of Ferris Buller and Better Off Dead for sure.

Standout tracks include the totally awesome I Found You, Stand or Fall, Red Skies, Lost Planes, and Cameras in Paris.  Also recommended: Golden Earring’s 80s-tastic new wave classic rock songs Fist in Glove and N.E.W.S.

Reach the Beach is a classic, great album of course.  I never realized how dubby some of the tracks are, and standouts include Saved By Zero, One Thing Leads to Another, Reach the Beach, and Outside.

After Shuttered Room and Reach the Beach, I probably like Phantoms the most.

Also check out: The Most Overlooked 70s/80s New Wave Album Ever–Magazine: Secondhand Daylight.  It’s several times better than Shuttered Room, coming out of a true 1970s prog rock Brian Eno/Roxy Music tradition that 80s new wave grew out of.