Before Are "Friends" Electric?: How Synth-Pop Became Synth-Pop
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Channel: Trash Theory
Views: 551,136
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: Trash Theory, Music Video Essay, Music Documentary, Tubeway Army Are Friends Electric, Gary Numan Cars, The Human League Don't You Want Me, The Human League Being Boiled, Ultravox Hiroshima Mon Amour, Kraftwerk Autobahn, David Bowie Heroes, Roxy Music Editions of You, Doctor Who Theme, Delia Derbyshire, OMD Electricity, Donna Summer I Feel Love, Giorgio Moroder, Brian Eno Baby's On Fire, The Normal Warm Leatherette, Suicide Cheree, Jean-Michel Jarre Oxygene
Id: hm__xDOWxDc
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 37min 25sec (2245 seconds)
Published: Fri Apr 30 2021
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Random fun fact about Gary Numan:
In an interview he gave some years ago he was asked about his now-famous white face-paint (makeup really) that he would put on before every show, big or small. (This is generalizing it, I've never seen Numan/Tubeway Army in concert but I would've loved to) He responded by saying that right before one of his first breakout shows he had REALLY bad cystic acne, so he used the coverup/makeup to appear older and look less like the teenager that he actually was! After that it just stuck as his thing.
Modern day music OWES A LOT to genre-creators like Numan and others in the new-wave/synth music movement in the late 70s & throughout the 80s. A lot more than it would care to acknowledge, tbh. A lot of kids know the song "Cars" but they wouldn't know how truly groundbreaking and iconic songs like "Are Friends Electric?" are and continue to be to this day. And I am saying this as a 33yr old whose Dad raised him on new wave (god I love old punker supergroups like Lords of the New Church!)
Excellent rush through synth pop's history. Lots of music from my youth and some obscure key stuff that I have never heard. Great job!
This is a great little doc, lots of lesser-known pioneers in here, Delia Derbyshire seems like she was an fascinating person as well as incredible musician.
Great to see Gershon Kingsley but I always felt Popcorn overshadowed some of his other work, in particular his version of Fur Elise which sounds like a jungle dnb rave smasher about 25 years early https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSgkzbkpU8g
Where's YMO?
This was great, thank you for sharing.
I've been a bass player and guitarist most of my life having just recently gotten into syths. I still love playing Blues, but this type of music really gives me a fresh bit of creativity when I'm in a rut.
Trash Theory is a great channel. Highly recommend them for their breakdowns on 80's music history and influences.