RE: (TV) shameful taste/ 80s digital dungeon

["gregg luvoxx" <murderedman@earthlink.net>]

Listening to the first four (MM, Adv.,TV, Dreamtime), I close my eyes and I
see 2 inch tape rolling and the (presumably) bearded engineer listening
intently over the most state of the art audiophile recording tech at the
time. It stands up to whatever ELO/ELP type prog rock played by Dr. Johnny
Fever at that time (late 1970s), whilst utilizing a band set-up similar to
any late 50's Sun Records date. Instead of extraneous synth instrumentation,
the men of Television used jazz influenced guitar jams and finely sketched
lyrics (Verlaine - "Birds chirp ('chirp') They're giving you the words. A
word is just a feeling you overtook"). In '77 I was six and I was GLUED to
FM rock radio. Sure I liked 'We Are The Champions' and 'Walk On The Wild
Side', but damn them for not letting me hear 'Venus De Milo'. How would my
six year old rock mind have reacted to 'Don't Worry About The Government' by
Talking Heads?

>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: tv-owner@obbard.com [mailto:tv-owner@obbard.com]On Behalf Of
>wal00@hampshire.edu
>
> i really don't experience this discomfort, but what i really meant was
that the
tv albums, to me, seem to suffer from some kind of production that makes the
music sound, well, really produced. of course, i use mm, adventure, and tv
as
verifying points, but the rest of the albums, although extraordinairy in
songwriting and musicianship, lacks the realness, or organic quality, of the
earlier work.
>
>

Later on, in the era of 'Born In The U.S.A.' with it's boisterous,
mechanical success and 'Bette Davis Eyes' maybe, or starting with Gary
Numan's 'Cars' (I'm talking FM radio hits here), I close my eyes and see
more blipping digital LED readouts. I see Sting marveling at his friend's
new Bennetton sweatshirt. Kenny Loggins calls me from the 'Danger Zone'. I
'get nervous'. Frankie tells me to 'relax'. Byrne tells me to 'Stop making
sense' Who should I believe?

>>
>>Leo wrote:
>> Say more about the drumming---like what particular drumming .
>so "WILL" adds
>i can't think of any stand-out trax right now, and i'm away from my
collection,
but the drums, for the most part and when audible enough, sound like synth
drums with that deep, gushing tom-tom sustain that sounds like a wave
crashings
against rocks after each hit. i seem to remember that "without a word" is a
good example of this.
>
>

It seems that when Albums are Produced (as opposed to recorded on cassette
to demo a gig at the local Budweiser Dispensery) great pains are taken to
imagine how a single might gel with an already existing playlist. At the
time of Flashlight, MTV was a major force and that should be taken into
account. Maybe the Madonna type 'dance' sound went better with the slick
futuristic videos played at the time. In the late 1970s saturated guitar
sounds still ruled. Video music had to be stripped down so the videostar
could do that 'Wake me up before you go go' soft shoe thing. So here's a
collection of songs that will make up 'Flashlight'. Verlaine, Smith and Rip
burn layers of guitar/word art genius sounds and Miles Copeland at IRS and
whoever at Phonogram UK is wondering what to do with it. Sting calls and
says, "get that lad a bolo tie and some yellow hightops." Mr. Mister adds,
"Open with 'Cry Mercy Judge'; it'll get the crowd finger snapping whilst
dancing geometrically". But alas, John Hughs begins to target his films to
the familt rather than the teen audience. The business goes bust. The rest
of the execs grab their new Belinda Carlilse CDs, leave for three year
holidays and return just in time for the marraige of Kurt Cobain and "Weird"
Al Yankovich. Then Vanilla Ice invents rap and Verlaine waits by his
answering machine, smoking.

>>
>> I think you need some new friends.
>i value your opinion.
>

And so do we.

Dave Thomas

Founder of Wendy's
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