2 posts tagged “electroclash”
As I said in my previous blog post, certain time periods in my life are characterized by the music I listen to. In other words, I have a personal soundtrack tied to many of my memories. The 2000’s are my decade of independence… I graduated college in 1999, so the turn of the millennium began a whole new chapter in my life. Some of the best times, and, indeed, some of the absolute worst times have been over the past seven years. At the beginning of the decade, my musical taste was quite varied, but I enjoyed downtempo, deep house, jungle, and indie rock. By the time late 2002 came along, a musical renaissance was blossoming in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which paved the way for indie rock’s resurgence and its redefined sound in the mid-late ‘00s. The movement was coined “electroclash” and touted the early eighties’ most prized musical instrument, the synthesizer. Most electroclash was inspired by ‘80s new wave and synthpop, so fashion directly reflected the time period. As a result, we still have tinges of ‘80s revival in fashion and mainstream music thanks to electroclash. Below are some of my favorite tracks of the decade thus far. Again, I’ve linked them to YouTube videos where available. Enjoy!
2000
“Trouble” – Coldplay
“Bohemian Like You” – The Dandy Warhols
“Be Yourself” – Morcheeba
“Everything in its Right Place” – Radiohead
“Like A Feather” – Nikka Costa
“Shadows of Ourselves” – Thievery Corporation
“Never Gonna Come Back Down” – BT
“Messenger” – Aerial (now Aerial2012)
“Playgirl” – Ladytron
“Fuck the Pain Away” – Peaches
“You’re My Disco” – Waldorf
"Always" - Lisa Shaw (Restless Soul Peaktime Mix) guilty pleasure house track
"True Love" - Aquanote (Original Mix) guilty pleasure house track
2001
“Tomorrow Comes Today” – Gorillaz
“Don’t Panic” – Coldplay
“Elegant, Intricate” – pH Balance
“Sei Tu” – The Dining Rooms
“(Come Potrei) Scordare” – Bertrand Burgalat
“Sippin’ 40z” – Gravy Train!!!!
“Frank Sinatra” – Miss Kittin
“Love Burns” – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
"Family Affair" - Mary J. Blige guilty pleasure Top 40 track
2002
“Destiny” – Zero 7
"Get Free" - The Vines
“Remind Me” – Röyksopp (featuring Erlend Øye)
“In the Waiting Line” – Zero 7
“Fell in Love with a Girl” – The White Stripes
“Politik” – Coldplay
“Agenda Suicide” – The Faint
“Madame Hollywood (Mr. Hollywood Version)” – Tiga
“All Around the World (Punk Debutante)” – Cooler Kids
“Do I Look Like A Slut?” – Avenue D
“Replicunt” – Dirty Sanchez
“House of Jealous Lovers” – The Rapture
2003
“Seven Nation Army” – The White Stripes
“Sweetness” – Fischerspooner
“Kick in the Shin” – Adult.
“Strict Machine” – Goldfrapp
“Seventeen” – Ladytron
“Asymmetric” – Dirty Sanchez
“Bike Thief” – Freezepop
“Mine for Life” – The Sounds
“No, Not Now” – Hot Hot Heat
“Bandages” – Hot Hot Heat
“Talk to Me, Dance With Me” – Hot Hot Heat
“Such Great Heights” – The Postal Service
“Clark Gable” – The Postal Service
“Move Your Feet” – Junior Senior
"Movin' On" - Miguel Migs (Vocal Mix) guilty pleasure house track
2004
“No Expectations” – I Am the World Trade Center
“Between Us and Them” – Moving Units
“Emancipation” – Moving Units
“This Is How We Do” – Mount Sims
“Hello, Is This Thing On?” – !!!
“Girl and the Sea” – The Presets
“Desperate Guys” – The Faint
“Michael” – Franz Ferdinand
“Dead Disco” – Metric
“Combat Baby” – Metric
“Party Crashers” – Radio 4
“Misfit” – Elefant
“Night on Fire” – VHS or Beta
“You Got Me” – VHS or Beta
“Everything Is Everything” – Phoenix
“Run, Run, Run” – Phoenix
"Turn It Up" - Robots In Disguise
"Lola's Theme" - Shapeshifters guilty pleasure house track
"L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)" - Kasabian
"Flawless (Go to the City)" - George Michael guilty pleasure Top 40 track
2005
“Everyday I Love You Less and Less” – Kaiser Chiefs
“I Burn for You” – Paradise Boys
“Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” - The Arcade Fire
“Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth” – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above 1979
“Walking with a Ghost” – Tegan and Sara
“Dare” – Gorillaz
“Grass” – Animal Collective
“Disco Sheets” – Wolf Parade
“Tribulations” – LCD Soundsytem
“Red Light” – The Dead 60s
“Bucky Done Gun” – M.I.A.
“Random” – Lady Sovereign
2006
See blog post titled, “2006: The Year in Music” for complete list.
“Are You the One?” – The Presets
“Burning” – The Whitest Boy Alive
“Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken” – Camera Obscura
“Ice Cream” – New Young Pony Club
"Free Stress Test" - Professor Murder
"JeVeux te Voir" - Yelle
"Dirty Party" - Juan Trip'
"Photobooth" - Friendly Fires
"Jump (Radio Edit)" - Madonna guilty pleasure Top 40 track
2007
See blog post titled, "2007: The Year in Music" for complete list.
“Pieces of People We Love” – The Rapture
"Born of a Star" - Holy Hail
"Saturdays" - Cut Copy
"Fancy Footwork" - Chromeo
"Hey Scenesters!" - The Cribs
"Broken English" - Scratch Massive
"Don't You Evah" - Spoon
"Pogo" - Digitalism
"La Musique" - Riot in Belgium
"Like Bullets" - Snowden
"Homecoming" - The Teenagers
"LaLaLa" - Nouvelle Vague (featuring Julie Delpy)
"Sorry" - Kaskade (Dirty South Mix) guilty pleasure house track
2008
"Time to Pretend" - MGMT
"Kids" - MGMT
"Electric Feel" - MGMT
"Tomorrowland" - Walter Meego
"More Than I Can Say" - Walter Meego
"Mathletics": - Foals
"Hurricane Jane" - The Black Kids
"Disco Heat" - Calvin Harris
"You Belong" - Hercules & Love Affair
"Summer" - Shy Child
"Great DJ" - The Ting Tings
"American Boy" - Estelle (featuring Kanye West) guilty pleasure Top 40 track
February 2000. I turned 25. I immediately thought of “Disco 2000” by Pulp and the lyrics, “let’s all meet up in the year 2000, won’t it be strange when we’re all fully grown?” I looked toward a new decade with new trends with so much enthusiasm and excitement. At the time, I was very much engulfed with two very different music scenes… One genre was electronica (particularly jungle/drum ‘n bass, downtempo/lounge, as well as deep house), the other was Britpop. I’d become extremely disenchanted with the Alt-rock scene in the late ‘90s since it had become so saturated, so commercial, and so contrived. It lost the innovative edge and creativity it had in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. I was also extremely tired of the ‘70s fashion revival that I’d been so excited about as a high school sophomore (1991). Having the sensibility to know how fashion recycles itself. I knew it wasn’t going to be long before ‘80s trends were back.
A year later, my prediction came true. I was subscribed to Wallpaper* magazine at the time, and I received the launch issue for Wallpaper’s new fashion magazine, Spruce. I was ecstatic when I received it. As I flipped through the issue (which was geared for Autumn/Winter 2001), I spotted the first ‘80s trends…pointed toe shoes, and fluorescent colors. Earthtones were done. Baggier, shinier tops for women started to appear… Of course, these looks were borrowed from the late ‘70s/ early ‘80s disco and new wave periods. Knowing what I know about new wave, I thought I’d start incorporating some recycled looks into my wardrobe. I bought a fantastic long-sleeved fitted black and white striped boatneck tee from Sisley (I still wear it today). It was my featured outfit (with a pair of dark denim jeans) when I took a trip to New York over Labor Day 2001 to visit an ex. I can still remember my ex’s boyfriend asking me why I had two black belts on. Ugh… Some people just don’t get it.
Speaking of New York, a new subculture had emerged by the time I took my trip which was centered within the new music genre electro, which overtly mirrored ‘80s synthpop. Famed DJ/producer Larry Tee was organizing the Electroclash Festival, which showcased the emerging artists of the time...Chicks on Speed, Adult., Peaches, and Fischerspooner. Though the event was not a huge success, it spawned a tremendously successful night throughout 2002 called Berliniamsburg (named after a rumor that Dior
Homme’s Hedi Slimane proclaimed Williamsburg as the new Berlin) at Club Luxx in Williamsburg. The night was started by Larry Tee, Conrad Ventur (the creator of New York’s current wildly successful underground publication, USELESS
magazine), and Spencer Product. The night was hosted by It-tranny Sophia Lamar, andfeatured a slew of weekly guests including 2 Many DJs, the first few Scissor Sisters, LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, the foxy girl group WIT, Avenue D, My Robot Friend, etc. The night made electroclash household name, and it wasn’t long before teens across the country were gobbling it up… But then…
Just as quickly as it began, electroclash sank back into underground obscurity.
Back home in Atlanta, by 2003 the deep house scene (which dominated the larger nightclubs in the late ‘90s, and early ‘00s) was in decline. Meanwhile, a younger generation popularized the burgeoning indie rock scene, which, in the early part of the decade, incorporated elements of electro and dance-punk (Hot Hot Heat, The Faint, Ladytron, and Le Tigre were popular bands at the time). All of the sudden, the strained and waning ‘80s Night at Masquerade began to enjoy a resurgence in popularity. We were on the precipice
of an indie rock renaissance, and at the helm was local DJ/promoter Preston Craig. In 2003, Preston started the KISS rock parties at the now extinct Echo Lounge with a 50-person turnout… He later moved the party to Lenny’s where the crowd grew exponentially, until it was too large to accommodate in the small dive bar. From there, the party reconvened at Masquerade until mid 2004, when Preston conceived of an entire concept, venue, and name change. It was at an unlikely and unheard of bar called Azul located in an unlikely part of town (Decatur, a few miles east of Atlanta) where Preston named Friday nights Decatur Social Club. The new Friday night began with a rocky start, but built quite a bit of momentum in 2005 where the venue now enjoys packed out nights every Friday with indie hipsters from across the city.
When the KISS rock parties left Lenny’s, a new night was born on Fridays called the Trashed Dance Party. The new Fridays flourished with a slightly older crowd of more laid-back and music savvy hipsters compared to the younger, flashier, “see and be seen” crowd at Decatur Social Club. The night has gone through a few different residents over the past two years, and it was this time last year when my friend Lindsey Crowell and I decided that anyone can be a DJ these days and we knew our music collections were superb. We hit up our friend Bean (manager and booking agent for Lenny’s) and said we wanted to DJ. He said yes immediately. We debuted Friday night after Thanksgiving as DJ’s Haute & Couture with only a ten-minute lesson on the CD mixer. We wanted to be kitchy by being over-the-top-ridiculous in terms of fashion (suggesting that fashion was more important than the music). We wanted to be ironic. We wanted to be sarcastic. We wanted our sets to be dang good. We achieved all of those. The rest, as they say, is history. The night packs out as a haven for dancers who love everything from ‘60s mod and Motown, to ‘70s funk, glam, punk, and disco, to ‘80s new wave, to ‘90s Britpop, to current indie dance tracks. A person from any subculture will hear something they like.
As the indie rock scene has built momentum over the past few years, fashion has been most definitely influenced. Skinny jeans were something we made fun of in the ‘90s as being a “dated” ‘80s look. However, the first reappearances I noticed were in the early ‘00s by the hardcore EMO kids in the gutters of Little Five Points. I knew the trend would probably go mainstream in a few years. Sure enough, you can go to any Old Navy or Express and pick up a pair for roughly $30. Another fashion trend for guys is the moppy or shaggy hairdo (or…er…for some, hair “don’t”) inspired by ‘60s and ‘70s long, disheveled tresses. Thanks to American Apparel, we now have the HORRIFIC early ‘80s workout trends…complete with headbands, extremely short running shorts, and extremely long tube socks. Oh, and let’s not forget the contest to see how trashy you can be by how low the “v” in your deep v-neck can go. Loves it.
Needless to say, both fashion and music have come to a point where they are borrowing the highlights of the past four decades…In fact, indie rock itself is fracturing into different sub-genres:
- Baroque Pop – (Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists)
- New Weird America – (Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Animal Collective)
- Dance-punk – (!!!, The Rapture, Out Hud, Liars, DFA1979)
- Garage rock revival – (Eagles of Death Metal, The Von Bondies)
- Nu-gaze – (Sigur Rós, M83)
- Indietronic – (The Notwist, Lali Puna, Kasabian, MSTRKRFT)
- Twee Pop – (Architecture in Helsinki, Camera Obscura)
Elements of ‘60s psychedelia, ‘70s glam and punk, ‘80s new wave and synth, and ‘90s garage rock can be found in most indie rock acts at the moment. An example of such a melding can be found at the pulsating
New York nightclub Don Hill’s where The infamous MisShapes dance party takes place every Saturday night. MisShapes are a DJ triumvirate whose fashion sensibility, media savviness, good looks, and (oh yeah) music selection have made them the most talked about party in New York for the past two years. Leigh Lezark even appears on the cover of The Sounds sophomore album with MisShapes regular and New York It-girl, Alexis. Madonna, Ashlee Simpson, Kelis, and Axl Rose, are just a few celebrities who’ve graced
MisShapes with their presence. They’ve been courted by designers all over New York to DJ their parties during fashion week. Dance parties in cities across the country are modeling their night
after MisShapes. AGGGH! MisShapes, MisShapes, MisShapes!! AAAGGGHH, MAKE IT STOP!
All in all, as we move into the final third of the decade, and I inch closer to 32…OH, GOOD GOD…I begin to wonder what this decade is even called… Is it the “two-thousands,” or “The ‘00s”…or how about the “1’s?” Seriously! What is this age? What’s next? Where are we all going? What are we all doing???
The End.
