Happy 25th Birthday Suicidal Tendencies.

Suicidal Tendencies was the debut album from Suicidal Tendencies, and one of only a handful of non-new wave records that Waist High allowed to be played in her midst during the summer of 1983.

Suicidal Tendencies became one of the best-selling hardcore punk albums of the time.

"Included on the album is 'Institutionalized,' possibly the band's most popular song after two decades. In the song, the narrator describes how, despite his claims to the contrary, his overbearing parents suspect he is using drugs and verging on a nervous breakdown. The song ends with them finally deciding to send him to a mental institution."

Critic Ira Robbins writes "that, 'Institutionalized' is one of the era's quintessential expressions of teen dislocation, it converts generation gap misunderstandings into a complete communications breakdown, encapsulating all the punk sociology of such films as Repo Man and Suburbia in four minutes."

The video for the song, "was one of the first hardcore punk videos to receive substantial airplay on MTV."

The album also features the greats, "Subliminal," "Suicide's an Alternative/You'll Be Sorry," and "I Saw Your Mommy..."

Band members at the time of the recording were Mike Muir (vocals), Grant Estes on guitar, Louiche Mayorga (bass and vocals), and Amery Smith on drums.

In 1993, "Muir and the later incarnation of the band re-recorded the entire album and released it as Still Cyco After All These Years, with (mostly) faithful recreations of the originals, plus 3 songs from the also then-unavailable Join the Army."

Material: wikipedia.org

"Rio" Crowned Greatest Video Of All Time.

Duran Duran have been awarded the ultimate music video accolade by MTV viewers, who voted the band's legendary clip for their hit single "Rio," The Greatest Video Of All Time.

This is the latest honour for the band who have long been acknowledged as pioneers in this field and are widely recognized for having turned music video-making into an art form.

Lead singer Simon Le Bon said of the award: "We were all extremely honoured to hear that 'Rio' had been named the 'Greatest Video Of All Time,' particularly because it was the MTV viewers who had voted for it. Our relationship with MTV has always been a very special one to us – as we started out together and their support over the years was definitely instrumental in our success."

Le Bon said the video was, "shot on location at a time when very few artists had ventured out of the studio to film their videos. Russell (Mulcahy) did an amazing job – and should share this with us."

Fusing music, art and fashion to an unprecedented degree, Duran Duran transformed videos from what had previously been a simple marketing tool into one of the music industry's most valuable assets. With exotic locations, beautiful girls and stunning visuals, Duran Duran set a whole new standard, breaking the mould and defined an era.

On another Rio related note, on Nov. 4 Eagle Rock Entertainment will release a Rio DVD, the latest addition to the acclaimed Classic Albums series. "Released against a backdrop of riots, record unemployment and the Falklands War this optimistic and celebratory album would generate a string of hit singles and groundbreaking videos and catapult Duran Duran to global stardom. This DVD tells the story behind the writing, recording and subsequent success of the album through newly filmed interviews, musical demonstrations and both new and archive performances."

Photo: myspace.com/duranduran
Material: duranduran.com

Adam Ant Wins Icon Award.

One-time Prince Charming, and "Dandy Highwayman," Adam Ant was named Q Icon at the 2008 Q Awards on Oct. 6. "The Q Awards are the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine Q. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards have become one of Britain's biggest and best publicized music awards."

The 53-year-old singer, real name Stuart Goddard, successfully reinvented himself musically and image-wise on numerous occasions, successfully straddling the punk and New Romantic movements and coping with the loss of his entire band when Malcolm McLaren persuaded them to ditch him and form Bow Wow Wow.

Collecting the title, Ant said: "It's very good to be standing here. It's very good to be standing actually! I've always loved music and I like music that looks good as well."

He added, "It does mean a lot for Q to reward me with this award and you will never know how much it means to me."

Last year's winner of the Q Icon award was Sir Paul McCartney.

Ant has hinted that, "he may be tempted back onto the music scene - to collaborate with British rockers the Kaiser Chiefs." The singer hasn't released an album since 1995's Wonderful, "but is considering making a pop comeback. And hitmakers the Kaiser Chiefs are keen to help his return to the spotlight."

The singer also said, "I love the Kaiser Chiefs and I'd love to be able to work with them. Their first album is one of my all-time favourites and I still listen to it all of the time." Kaiser Chiefs keyboardist Nick Baines added, "I was that excited about meeting him that I missed my dinner (at the awards)."

Photo: contactmusic.com
Material: wikipedia.org, qthemusic.com & contactmusic.com

Have You Updated Your Bookmarks Yet?

 

waisthigh.net 

Photo: The Waist High Collection

Happy 25th Birthday Duck Rock.

Recorded in 1982 and released in 1983, Duck Rock was one of the earlier releases in the multi-cultural 'world music' movement, preceding others by almost ten years.

After inventing the Sex Pistols, managing an early incarnation of Adam & the Ants, and assembling BOW WOW WOW, this album was Malcolm McLaren's very own.

Mixing up influences from "Africa, Central and South America and the USA," the album proved to be highly influential in bringing hip-hop music to a wider audience in the UK. "When rap music had made its first impact in the mainstream, the bigwigs weren't sure what to make of it, and only a small handful dared to touch it. But it was a different story in Europe, where many would embrace the poetic side of the lyrics."

Two of the singles from the album, "Buffalo Gals," and "Double Dutch," became major chart hits on both sides of the Atlantic.

"McLaren has said that the first time he discovered hip-hop for himself was when he saw Afrika Bambaataa walking down the street with a pink Sex Pistols T-shirt. He met Bambaataa and Bam asked McLaren if he was interested in hearing one of his sets. It could be said that Duck Rock is a musical interpretation of the diversity Bambaataa was known for, and what Bambaataa wanted to share through his records."

Guest musicians on the album include Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, and J. J. Jeczalik. "Side recordings that these three artists did in-between Duck Rock takes would eventually become the first album for Art of Noise. Clips of the World Famous Supreme Team radio show appear between songs" as well.

Material: wikipedia.org & John Book via rapreviews.com

ZTT Celebrates 25 Years.

"Salvo, the award-winning imprint of Union Square Music, is proud to announce a special CD/DVD/book box set charting 25 years of the massively influential UK record label ZTT a/k/a Zang Tuum Tumb. Founded in 1983 by producer Trevor Horn, journalist Paul Morley and manager Jill Sinclair, ZTT has turned unknowns such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Seal into major stars, while delivering some of the most experimental and memorable pop music of the last 25 years.

"CD 1 includes early hits from 808 State, Propaganda, and MC Tunes, as well as ZTT's most recent hit - 2008's 'Move On' by David Jordan - and Frankie Goes To Hollywood's massive number one trilogy, 'Relax,' 'Two Tribes,' and 'The Power of Love.'

"CD 2 rewinds through ZTT's contribution to dance music, with tracks from David Morales Vs. Novecento, Seal Vs. William Orbit, Afrika Bambaataa Vs. LFO, 808 State Vs. Bjork and closes with the definitive chill out anthem, Art of Noise's 'Moments in Love.'

"CD 3 includes some unique stars that ZTT has nurtured over the years - Shane MacGowan, Sinead O'Connor, Kirsty MacColl, James Dean Bradfield - and closes with three top 10 hits by Seal including the double Grammy-winning 'Kiss From A Rose.'

"The DVD includes a never-before-released cut-up video remix of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Two Tribes' by Godley & Creme, a rare Shane MacGowan video directed by and starring Johnny Depp, Anton Corbijn's first ever video (Propaganda's Dr Mabuse) and a dozen others.

"A full colour 72-page book is also included, featuring 7,000 words from Paul Morley - the first time he has ever written in depth about his time with ZTT - as well as new interviews, biographies of every artist featured and scores of rare photos."

Photo & material: ztt.com

Stay True To Waist High.

4.5 years after coming into the blogosphere with this post, Waist High remains one of only a handful of New Wave Music Bloggers in the world, and can now officially declare herself an international sensation. She continues to be loved, and she continues to be hated.

If you have been a reader since the beginning, you already know why Waist High is hated. If you have not been around since the beginning, the simple explanation is that ALOT of people across the globe do not believe that music created by machines is "music." Well, that, and because she is a "cheap broad who grunts."

As the recently unearthed document above shows, Waist High really was telling the truth 4.5 years ago when she jokingly told you that she was, "one of the biggest losers to ever attend West High School," which just goes to show that she has always been true to her readers, and if you have followed the posts over the years, also goes to show that she continues to stay true to that pronouncement as she inches onward towards her 41st year on earth.

Stay true to Waist High and come with her over to the brand new waisthigh.net, where she will: continue to bring you everything you need to know about the music that was, "rewritten by machine and new technology," continue to be cheap, continue to grunt.

Photo: The Waist High Collection
Quote: Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn, & Bruce Woolley

Wild Boy: My Life In Duran Duran.

Andy Taylor autobiography now available in hardcover at all retail stores, and online through Amazon.

"Guitarist of a quintessential '80s British New Wave rock group reflects on the 'roller coaster ride' of pop stardom. In prose brimming with drinking-buddy informality, Taylor begins by summarizing his middle-class upbringing in early-'70s Birmingham and his parents' doomed marriage. After stints in cover bands, he answered a guitarist-wanted ad in Melody Maker and, still in his teens, became a member of Duran Duran, the 'it' band at Birmingham's notorious Rum Runner club.

"Swept up in the 'New Romantic' movement, the quintet generated immediate industry buzz and quickly acquired fashion-model girlfriends, recreational drug habits and a fat record contract from EMI. Yet Taylor doesn't fixate too much on the expected sex-and-drugs-related action. Rather, he emphasizes the money they made and the shameless conspicuous consumption they indulged in, including juvenile hijinks at expensive hotels (Taylor ran up a $450,000 bill at one establishment) and outrageous expenditures on food, houses, video shoots, cars and parties.

"The memoir solidifies Duran Duran's status as pop music's poster children for the materialistic Reagan-Thatcher '80s. Their exotic videos, Anthony Price suits and hooky, synthesizer-heavy songs made them fixtures on the Billboard charts and darlings of the early MTV age. Taylor depicts his band mates as distant and uncommunicative, with financial success eventually leading them all into typically self-destructive behavioral scripts."

Photo: amazon.co.uk
Material: Kirkus Reviews via amazon.co.uk