1. “( I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – Devo: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

1. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – Devo

(From the album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!)

1978

Devo started out as a performance art project for several students at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and went on to become one of the seminal bands of the American new wave movement. The core of the group were Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh and these two named their fledgling band Devo as a shortened version of the word “de-evolution”. The basic concept behind their project was that mankind was devolving rather than evolving and that this could be seen by the social dysfunction and herd mentality found in modern American society. Originally, Devo was only seen by its members as a semi-serious outlet for their ideas and the group used a combination of real instruments, cheap early synthesizers, toys, toasters, and other weird objects to make their music. In its very early days the band also tried to reinforce the idea of mankind’s regression by wearing baby masks or dressing as potatoes when they performed. Truthfully, Devo was mostly considered by its members to be an elaborate joke until Gerald Casale personally witnessed the Kent State shootings, where National Guard troops on the Kent State campus opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding others. After the Kent State Incident the ideas being espoused by Devo suddenly seemed to be more serious and Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh began to take the band and their music much more seriously (ultimately finalizing a line-up that also included their brothers Bob Casale and Bob Mothersbaugh, along with drummer Alan Myers). Devo spent the next several years honing their skills and sound and eventually got their big break when they scored the short film The Truth About De-Evolution in 1976. The Truth About De-Evolution was screened at the Ann Arbor Film Festival where it was seen by Iggy Pop and David Bowie who were impressed enough with Devo’s music and concept to help them secure a record deal with Warner Bros. In early 1977 Devo released their debut single “Mongoloid”. A short time later Devo released a completely deconstructed cover of the Rolling Stones’ hit “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” as their second single. Like their first single, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” wasn’t a hit for them either, but Devo were gaining attention in the underground and they were able to parlay this growing notoriety into an appearance as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live where they performed both “Mongoloid” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”. Nominally, this appearance was to support their just released debut album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! as both non-album singles had been re-recorded and included on the album. However, the timing of Devo’s SNL appearance was fortuitous and added to their growing reputation as musical provocateurs since the Rolling Stones themselves had been the musical guest on SNL the week prior; thus making Devo’s robotic and mechanical version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” seem even more provocative and cutting edge than it might have otherwise have been by juxtaposing it against the sex-fueled rock and roll allure of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones a week earlier.  Suddenly the Rolling Stones seemed like part of the old guard and Devo like part of what was new.

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com 

7. “Intruder” – Gary Numan: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

7. “Intruder” – Gary Numan

(From the album Intruder)

2021

By the early 1990’s Gary Numan was largely seen as a has been by nearly everyone outside of his dedicated cult of fans. Numans run of late 80’s albums had been both critical and commercial disappointments as Numan seemed to bounce from style to style in an attempt to breathe life back into his moribund career. However, as the 90’s dawned Numan’s work began to be reassessed as a new generation of musicians including Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz began to cite Numan as a key influence. Furthermore, Numan himself seemed to find new inspiration in using the industrial and dance influences found in the newer music he had helped inspire. This led to a run of albums in the late 90’s and early 00’s such as Exile and Pure that helped to reestablish Numan’s career and rebuild his reputation. Numan also had a UK Top  30 single when the non-album track “Rip” hit #29. In the 2010’s Numan released several more albums that found critical success and continued to build up his cult of fans with Jagged, Dead Son Rising, Splinter, and Savage. All this led to 2021’s new album Intruder, which was yet another peak in Numan’s late career Renaissance. “Intruder”, the album’s title track, was a superb amalgamation of Numan’s own early sound, his fascination with dystopian science fiction (fueled by recent real world events), and a skillful adoption of the sound of some of his own scions such as Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Stabbing Westward and others.

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com 

6. “We Are Glass” – Gary Numan: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

6. “We Are Glass” – Gary Numan

(From the album Telekon)

1980

In 1980 Gary Numan released the third of his “machine phase” albums with Telekon, which had been preceded by the single “We Are Glass” (originally a non-album single but later added to reissues of Telekon). While Telekon continued the general synth-based and sci-fi themed direction of The Pleasure Principle Numan decided that his decision to completely abandon guitars on that record had been a mistake and so both “We Are Glass” and the Telekon album include guitars on the tracks. Indeed, while Telekon was not a radical reworking of his sound, Numan was carefully expanding it, not only by putting guitars back into his music but by adding violas, pianos, and a variety of newer and more advanced synthesizers. “We Are Glass” incorporated all these elements and managed to be a successful follow-up to the success of “Cars” and The Pleasure Principle album when it reached #5 on the UK charts. While a hit in Numan’s native UK though, “We Are Glass” failed to find much success elsewhere in the world. So while “We Are Glass” would continue Numan’s run as a British hitmaker and musical pioneer, in most of the rest of the world the failure of “We Are Glass” to become a hit single started Numan’s descent in the mind of the public to his eventual characterization as a one-hit-wonder who couldn’t follow-up the success of that hit. Numan himself played into this perception to some degree when after Telekon he drastically altered his sound and image, largely abandoning his android-persona and “machine phase” music to adopt a slicker, more dance-oriented crooner image similar to that of David Bowie or Brian Ferry. These changes saw his commercial success diminish, even in the formerly faithful UK, until by the late 80’s Numan was generally remembered as little more than a novelty act who had scored a one-hit-wonder early in the decade. Still, none of this demise is due to “We Are Glass”, which is a solid song that follows the early sound of Numan’s career even while attempting to expand it into something a little more anthemic and commercial. The fact that “We Are Glass” failed as a single outside of England has more to do with the fickle nature of pop music than to do with Numan or the quality of his song. 

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com 

5. “Metal” – Gary Numan: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

5. “Metal” – Gary Numan

(From the album The Pleasure Principle)

1979

Numan followed up the success of “Cars” with the slower-paced song “Complex” as the second single. “Complex” is easily one of the best songs on The Pleasure Principle and it did manage to become a UK Top Ten hit. However, while the synths-meet-viola sound of “Complex” is unique and beautiful, it is also understandable why the song did not catch fire as a hit single around the world with people that only knew Numan for “Cars” and wanted more songs in that style. The song that Numan probably should have released as the second single off of The Pleasure Principle is “Metal”. “Metal” is a slightly faster, harder, edgier sonic cousin to “Cars” that is about an android who longs to be human. “Metal” would have been an excellent choice to follow up “Cars” both because it is musically similar to “Cars” and because it deals with similar technological themes. In the end though, whether a hit single or not, “Metal” is one of Gary Numan’s best songs from The Pleasure Principle or any album. 

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com 

4. “Cars” – Gary Numan: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

4. “Cars” – Gary Numan

(From the album The Pleasure Principle)

1979

Even while “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” and Replicas was shooting up the charts Gary Numan was back in the studio working on new songs with a new backing band. So just five months after Replicas was released Numan released his most successful album The Pleasure Principle under his own name and officially launched his solo career (although the Tubeway Army songs and albums have since been readopted into his discography). One of the effects of leaving behind his old bandmates was that Numan was able to completely abandon guitars. On his new album The Pleasure Principle the synths were run through pedals and other effects that replaced where the guitars would have been on previous albums. Thus, The Pleasure Principle is a key album in the further development of synthpop and plays an important role in connecting synthesizers to the alternative rock scene. After all, if the essence of punk was that rock didn’t require musical talent, only attitude and emotion, then what could be more leveling and democratic than not needing to play any instruments at all? Just let the computers do the work. Numan wasn’t quite there yet, his songs still had live bass and percussion, but he, along with his own key inspirations, Kraftwerk and Bowie (with Eno), had set the template that would soon completely blossom into its own genre – synthpop. The Pleasure Principle would also feature the song that would really take synth-based music to the world and make Numan, for a brief time, an international sensation. That song is “Cars”. Written by Numan about how being behind closed doors, metal, and glass made him feel safe and isolated from the world, “Cars” went on to be another UK #1 while also being Numan’s only North American hit as “Cars” hit #1 in Canada and #9 in the US. “Cars” balances a futuristic (and now retro-futuristic) sound that embeds an undeniable pop hook into something that feels cold, alien, and machine-like. It isn’t that hard to understand why “Cars” gripped people at the dawn of the computer age when the possibilities and evils of computer technology still felt both so immediate and so unreal; in “Cars” technology is both the devil (the menacing computer/synth-based music) and the savior (the safety of your car) and it is that balance that makes the song so powerful and lasting. What is hard to understand is why, outside of the UK, Gary Numan became a one-hit-wonder, as The Pleasure Principle is loaded with other great songs that could and should have been hits, including “Complex” (which did reach #6 in the UK), “Metal”, “M.E.”, “Conversation”, and others.

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com 

3. “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” – Gary Numan & Tubeway Army: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

3. “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” – Gary Numan & Tubeway Army

(From the album Replicas)

1979

With Gary Numan and Tubeway Army’s second single from Replicas, the tense and pulsing “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”, the group finally scored a hit in the UK. In fact, “Are ‘Friends” Electric?” went all the way to #1 on the UK charts, while the song’s momentum swept Replicas to #1 on the UK albums chart as well. The entire Replicas album was a loose concept album based on a dystopian science fiction novel Numan was writing at the time. The novel was never completed but the success of Replicas and “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” fully launched Gary Numan’s career, kicking off a successful three-album run with Replicas, The Pleasure Principle, and Telekon, that Numan has called his “machine phase”. Over the course of those three albums, Numan would have a great deal of success in the UK scoring a run of hits and, of course, one massive international hit, which we will get to tomorrow.

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com 

2. “Down In The Park” – Gary Numan & Tubeway Army: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

2. “Down In The Park” – Gary Numan & Tubeway Army

(From the album Replicas)

1979

While there were no hits on The Tubeway Army album there was some buzz around the band so Numan and company quickly went back to work on their second album Replicas, which would be released in April of 1979. However, this second Tubeway Army release had a couple of key differences that would point the way forward for Gary Numan. First, the album relied much more heavily on synthesizers and keyboards than even their debut album did, dropping most of their punk roots to allow Numan to pursue his fascination with electronic music and sci-fi dystopias. Second, to highlight Numan’s ownership of the group it was credited to Gary Numan and Tubeway Army, and would be the last album where the Tubeway Army would be part of the Numan story at all. “Down In The Park”, a slow, shimmering, and slightly menacing synth ballad, was released as the album’s lead single. Like the previous singles released by Tubeway Army “Down In The Park” did not find any commercial success, but it would eventually go on to become one of the key songs from Gary Numan’s discography, becoming both a fan and critical favorite. “Down In The Park” also was an influence on many other groups like OMD, Depeche Mode, Radiohead, and Nine Inch Nails, and has been covered by Marilyn Manson and Foo Fighters among others. While not a hit, “Down In The Park” was a key early track in showcasing how synthesizers could create not just mood, but whole songs.

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com 

1. “Listen To The Sirens” – Gary Numan & Tubeway Army: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

1. “Listen To The Sirens” – Gary Numan & Tubeway Army

(From the album Tubeway Army)

1978

Gary Numan is one of the pioneers of the genre that became known as synthpop. The young Numan would be among the very first to take the programmed, synthetic sound of Kraftwerk and reshape it into something more song-oriented. However, it took him some time and work to get to the point. In the wake of the punk explosion in the UK Numan’s own fledgling punk/new wave band named Tubeway Army was signed to a record contract and the group quickly released two failed singles. However, Numan had also recently discovered early synthesizers and was beginning to experiment with them so that by the time Tubeway Army released their self-titled debut album Numan and the group were already incorporating the synths and science fiction/dystopian themes Numan became best known for into their music. This can be heard on the opening track on Tubeway Army, a synth meets punk (or post-punk) nearly forgotten gem called “Listen To The Sirens”. “Listen To The Sirens” already shows Numan’s fascination with both Kraftwerk and Bowie while also creating something that was almost completely new for the time. “Listen To The Sirens” does still feature more of a full-band sound than Numan’s music would soon have, but it is definitely a gateway to the music he would soon make (and ultimately sounds a lot like the music he would ultimately make during his 21st-century comeback, bringing his career full circle to a degree).

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com 

7. “Anything” – The Damned: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

7. “Anything” – The Damned

(From the album Anything)

1986

The success of 1985’s Phantasmagoria album and the non-album single “Eloise” meant two things: First, The Damned doubled down on the goth-influenced direction of that era. Second, The Damned hurried back into the studio to record a follow-up. That follow-up record, 1986’s Anything, sadly was not very good. Despite having three singles reach the UK Top 40 (mostly on the band’s momentum) Anything feels like the rushed affair it is. The songwriting is inconsistent and relies far too often on clichéd goth rock tropes and gloomy, cavernous production to try and make the music interesting. These failures can be heard on the title track “Anything”, which was released as the lead single. “Anything” is a plodding rocker that lacks the campy gloom of “Grimly Fiendish” and instead tries to achieve the anthemic darkness of The Cult or The Sisters of Mercy and fails. Most of the rest of the album is similarly misguided and weak and Anything proved to be both a critical and commercial failure. Following Anything The Damned went back into the studio to record another album but that album was never finished as MCA dissolved their record contract. Both original members Brian James and Captain Sensible returned for a handful of farewell shows and The Damned decided to quit in 1989. That end proved premature however as various line-ups of the group have reformed to tour and record in the years since then and, ultimately, The Damned would release four more albums between 1990 and 2018, including 2018’s critically hailed Evil Spirits which reached #7 on the UK albums chart. 

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com 

6. “Grimly Fiendish” – The Damned: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

6. “Grimly Fiendish” – The Damned

(From the album Phantasmagoria)

1985

Following the departure of guitarist and key member Captain Sensible for a solo career, The Damned took some time off to regroup and rethink their direction going forward. Somehow, in the midst of all this chaos and with a fanbase that seemed to be losing interest in the group’s newer music, The Damned were able to convince the major label MCA to sign the band to a record deal. MCA’s decision to do this paid off as The Damned recast themselves as a full-blown goth band (albeit of the more campy, fun variety) and focused their new music on the deep, haunting voice and vampire-like stage persona of singer Dave Vanian more than ever before. This new emphasis on the gothic elements that had always been in their music resulted in The Damned’s biggest hit since 1979 when the lead single from Phantasmagoria, the campy goth of “Grimly Fiendish”, hit #21 in the UK. The success of “Grimly Fiendish” led to “Is It A Dream?”, another single from Phantasmagoria, cracking the UK Top 40 as well. The Damned were able to follow up this success with the non-album single “Eloise” which rose all the way to #3 on the UK singles charts, the highest chart position The Damned ever achieved. The Damned finally had earned a taste of the mainstream success that had long eluded them. 

Follow all the posts at the Alternative Reality site: www.alternativealbumsblog.wordpress.com